2021 - Strike Wire

News for Democracy in the Republic and the Workplace

Strikes and Wins / Prisons, Police, Capitalist oversteps / Voting Rights Updates / Legislation (Legacy) / Protest / Bad Legislation (Legacy) / Lawsuits and Court Rulings

Strikes and Wins

See my post explaining unions

strike and protest action tracker map; (about); More fine-grained weekly labor updates here

Chicago, IL - Capping Off a Year of Labor Action at Amazon, Warehouse Workers Walk Off the Job in Illinois - For the first time, Amazon is experiencing a multi-site U.S. work stoppage. It comes at the end of a year marked by union organizing and labor militancy at the retail giant. ([1] 22/12/21)
Michigan, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Nebraska - Kellogg Workers Strike Across the United States - Workers at Kellogg cereal plants across the United States are on strike against the company’s plans to cut wages, benefits, and jobs. ([1] 5/10/21); Michigan rally supports striking Kellogg’s workers ([2] 2/11/21); 1,400 Kellogg’s workers, who have been on strike for two months, have reached a tentative agreement that could potentially end their strike. ([3] 2/12/21); 'Unbreakable Solidarity': Kellogg's Workers Reject Contract That Would Leave New Employees Out of Benefits - "We're not willing to sell our souls for our future employees that are going to work side by side with us but not get the same pay or benefits." ([4] 7/12/21, [!]); Lots has happened on the BCTGM Kellogg strike over the past two weeks – first, the company announced they’d be hiring permanent replacements, and, probably thinking this would strike fear into the workers’ hearts, soon thereafter offered a new tentative agreement. Not to be fucked with, the workers then “overwhelmingly” rejected the offer, and Kellogg’s doubled down on its commitment to hiring permanent replacements ([5] 8/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird); The 1400 BCTGM strikers have another tentative agreement with Kellogg’s, less than two weeks after rejecting the last one, but at least the Battle Creek, MI local (the largest of the four on strike, though not determinative) sounds like they’ll be voting it down, with their local president characterizing the new TA as a “Trojan Horse” at a rally hosted by Bernie Sanders ([6] 20/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird); Union Declares Victory as Kellogg's Strike Ends With Pay Raise, Moratorium on Plant Closures - "From picket line to picket line, Kellogg's union members stood strong and undeterred in this fight, inspiring generations of workers across the globe." - This contract keeps two-tier, although it's a bit weakened; critics say it will entrench two-tier, but union activists point out this is overall a victory. Likely the threat of permanent replacement influenced the contract approval ([7] 22/12/21); see here for more pessimistic analysis
Warren, PA - So do nurses [they have a new contract] at Warren General Hospital with PASNAP in Warren, PA. ([1] 20/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Breckenridge, CO - Ski patrollers in Breckenridge, CO who organized with CWA this year have their first contract with Vail Resorts ([1] 20/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA / Brevard County, FL - Teachers in Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA have a tentative agreement, as do teachers in Brevard County, FL. ([1] 20/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Chesterfield County, SC - School bus drivers in Chesterfield County, SC kept the school bus driver strike wave alive this week. ([1] 20/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Portland, OR - UFCW Local 555 won what was supposed to be a 7-day ULP strike against grocery giant Kroger (in the guise of its local avatars, Fred Meyer and QFC) in the Portland, OR area in just 24 hours. ([1] 20/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Brooklyn, NY - strike ongoing at United Metro Energy, a Brooklyn-based energy company owned by talk radio station owner and former Republican mayoral candidate John Catsimatidis. The strike emerged from circumstances all too familiar to observers of twenty-first-century American labor relations. The workers, a unit of terminal operators, fleet mechanics, and service technicians, originally organized in early 2019 with the Teamsters Local 553. Since then, protracted negotiations with the company have led to “no progress, whatsoever,” with the union accusing the company of dragging out talks to avoid reaching an agreement ([1] 3/5/21); After Four Months on the Picket Line, Striking Oil Workers Are Still Going Strong - While United Metro Energy Corp. workers were picketing in front of the company gates, the union representatives undercut the strike by allowing trucks to continue to come and go. ([2] 11/8/21); As NYC UMEC Workers Enter 6th Month of Strike, the Time for Solidarity is Now - As the strike at UMEC reaches its six-month anniversary, it is urgent to break the workers’ isolation and for the Teamsters union to mobilize its membership in support of their struggle. ([3] 19/10/21); And though it’s been many months, a couple dozen members of Teamsters Local 553 in Brooklyn are still striking UMEC, the John Catsamitidis-owned energy company (here’s a story from November on the strike, which began in April). ([4] 20/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Hungtington, WV - 450 workers at the largest nickel alloy production facility in the world, Special Metals’s Huntington, WV plant, are on strike with Steelworkers Local 40 as of Friday. Fifteen minutes down the road, 50 workers for Swiss pump manufacturer Sulzer are on strike in Barboursville, WV with Machinists Local 598, as the company apparently attempts to gut the seniority system. ([1] 2/10/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird); The strike may expand in early December to a nearby Special Metals facility where 85 steelworkers are employed. Payday has plans to head back down in mid-December to check on the strike as Christmas approaches. ([2] 2/12/21); The Steelworkers Local 40 strike of 450 workers at Special Metals’s nickel alloy plant in Huntington, WV is going to last through the holidays. The company is looking to gut seniority and triple the health insurance premiums, among other attacks. ([3] 20/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Alabama (Warrior Met Coal) - 1,100 Mine Workers are going on Strike ([1] via 1/4/21 u/psychothumbs on r/labor)([2] 6/4/21); “We Deserve More”: [1,000+] Alabama Miners Reject Tentative Agreement [in enormous landslide], Continue Strike , [reject UMWA sellout]; UMWA 'promising to pump in resources to organize rallies and has contributed more than $600,000 to pay out bi-weekly strike benefit pay to more than 1,100 dues-paying workers out on the picket line.' [but see [6]] ([3] 9/4/21) ([4] 10/4/21) ([5] 12/4/21) ([6] 12/4/21); strikers threatened with arrest on the picket line ([7] 14/5/21 via Who Gets the Bird?); Families of miners bear the burden of the Warrior Met Coal strike - When about 1,100 miners went on strike against Warrior Met Coal last month, their families immediately saw a loss in benefits, like health insurance, [picketers get benefits from union] ([8] 7/5/21 via Who Gets the Bird?); Union members arrested during Alabama coal strike protest ([9] 27/5/21); Warrior Met miners hit by strikebreakers’ vehicles on Alabama picket lines ([10] 10/6/21); From Black Lung to BlackRock: Striking Alabama Coal Miners Protest Wall St. Financiers of Warrior Met ([11] 22/6/21); "the Real News has a piece up ([12] 8/7/21) on how the strike has been fueled by the miners’ wives (if you’ve ever seen Harlan County USA you know that the women’s auxiliary tends to be a hotbed of strike militancy, even when the miners themselves might waver)." ([13] 8/7/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird); Striking miner’s wife hit by vehicle at Warrior Met Coal picket line, union says ([14] 9/7/21 via Payday Report); Coal miners carry Alabama strike to Wall Street ([15] 22/7/21); Alabama Coal Miners Bring Strike to BlackRock Offices in NYC ([16] 30/7/21); Seven months into one of the longest strikes of the 21st century, mine workers from rural Alabama took their strike to New York City to protest outside the offices of BlackRock. BlackRock is the largest stakeholder in Warrior Metal Coal, which owns the two Alabama mines whose workers have been on strike. The mines are the deepest in North America, at a depth of 2,000 feet. Cecil Roberts, the president of United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), and five other UMWA members were arrested at the protest yesterday. ([17] 5/11/21); the other 8-month-long strike, that of the UMWA miners in Brookwood, AL haven’t seen any movement in the past week either, though a judge did extend the ruthless, unjust injunction against picketing into December. ([18] 21/11/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird) An Alabama judge has once again extended the injunction against picketing anywhere near Warrior Met coal worksites, just flagrantly ignoring the basic first amendment rights of UMWA miners and supporters. ([19] 8/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird); Meanwhile, the 1100-strong UMWA strike at Warrior Met in Brookwood, AL, the other insanely long strike, rolls on. Kim Kelly went on the Takeaway to tell the story that she’s been covering closely the entire time. The only other news I’ve seen is a group of 15 senators have signed a letter calling on the company to settle the strike, which, like, cool, it’s been literally over eight months. ([20] 20/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)

Worcerster, MA - nurses strike after failing to reach staffing level agreement ([1] 8/3/21 via u/DoremusJessup on r/labor); [700+] St. Vincent Hospital nurses 'are set to enter their sixth week on strike as part of their ongoing dispute with hospital-owner Tenet Healthcare over safe staffing levels and the hospital’s alleged failure to address a growing patient safety crisis.' ([2] 11/4/21); still on strike after eight weeks ([3] 28/4/21); reject offer from Tenet Healtchare, failing to meet their demands ([4] 27/4/21); Tenent announces plans to hire permanent replacement nurses amid strike ([5] 12/5/21 via Who Gets the Bird?); Teachers show support with a cherry on top for striking St. Vincent nurses ([6] 24/6/21 via Who Gets the Bird?); Striking nurses at St. Vincent make counteroffer that will 'ensure the care and dignity our patients expect and deserve' - Strike in Worcester began in March ([7] 30/6/21 via Who Gets the Bird); Worcester's St. Vincent Hospital Says It Will Scale Back Services Due To Ongoing Nurses Strike ([8] 28/7/21 via Payday Report); Massachusetts Nurses Association calls Saint Vincent Hospital’s final offer to resolve Worcester strike an ‘unsatisfactory ultimatum’ ([9] 6/8/21 via Who Gets the Bird); "St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester, MA, says they’re “done negotiating” with the Massachusetts Nurses Association and plans to hire hundreds of replacement workers ([10] 9/8/21), starting this week. The union says they think they’re bluffing -- "If they were going to replace us, I think it would've happened back in May when they said they were going to replace us,” citing a general nurse shortage." - ([11] 12/8/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird); "The St Vincent Hospital nurses strike in Worcester, MA is officially the longest nurses strike in state history. It almost came to a close last month, but management is retaliating against Massachusetts Nurses Association strikers by refusing to give them their jobs back, which is prolonging the conflict." - ([12] 3/9/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird); The Massachusetts Nurses Association strike at St Vincent Hospital in Worcester is now the longest in state history. ([13] 16/9/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird); The Massachusetts Nurses Association strike at St Vincent in Worcester, MA is now the longest active strike in the US in the last 15 years, per the union. As far as I know, the final sticking point is a petty one: Tenet doesn’t want to give all the strikers their old jobs back, which would be trivially easy for the company to do, but is a huge hardship for the members, so they’re holding out. ([14] 2/10/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird); Striking Massachusetts Nurses Won Key Demands. They Say Management Is Retaliating. - Nurses in Worcester, Massachusetts, have been on strike for months. Now Tenet Healthcare, which owns Saint Vincent Hospital, has agreed to improve staffing — but the health care company is refusing to give striking nurses their old jobs back. ([15] 13/10/21) St Vincent’s Hospital Has Spent Nearly $4 Million Over 300 Days ([16] 18/12/21); In other news, nurses at St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts reached a tentative agreement to end their historic 285-day strike. The Massachusetts Nurses Association, which represents the 700 St. Vincent nurses, had been in negotiations with Tenet Healthcare for two years, with the final two weeks involving federal mediators and culminating in a tentative agreement during an in-person session led by U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh. Both union and hospital officials credited the involvement of Walsh as helping to bridge the divide. Details of the agreement have yet to be released, and nurses will remain on the picket line until the final agreement is ratified, which may take a few weeks. However, according to the Telegram & Gazette, union officials noted that the agreement will provide improvements in staffing, safety, health insurance and for the striking nurses to return to their jobs, calling the agreement “a tremendous victory” for the nurses, as well as for their patients and the greater community. ([17] 19/12/21); After a whopping 284 days, the longest strike in Massachusetts history, that of the Massachusetts Nurses Association at St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester, MA, has a tentative agreement. For months, the final sticking point has been corporate giant Tenet’s vindictive refusal to restore strikers to their old jobs, and a deal was apparently hammered out via Labor Secretary Marty Walsh. In a totally bizarre aside, the local news reported that the scab nurses had collected enough cards to unionize, but were disavowed by whatever field organizer’s boss at AFSCME got wind of it. ([18] 20/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Santa Fe Springs, CA - In a lesser known long-haul BCTGM strike, workers at Jon Donaire (which makes ice cream cakes for Baskin Robbins, Coldstone, and other big names) have been on strike for over a month in Santa Fe Springs, CA with Local 37; you can learn more about that fight here. ([1] 8/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird); The other BCTGM (Local 37) strike happening at Jon Donaire bakery in Santa Fe Springs, CA continues on as workers rejected the company’s latest offer; More Perfect Union is on the story. ([2] 20/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Columbia University, NYC - 3,000 Columbia Graduate Workers Go on Strike After Failed Union Negotiations ([1] 17/3/21); Columbia University (New York, NY) - Graduate Workers of Columbia Reject Tentative Agreement in Historic Vote - The Graduate Workers of Columbia are the first graduate student union ever to reject a tentative agreement with their university. Student workers at other universities should take lessons from the successes of the strong fighting stance they have taken against the wishes of the union bureaucracy. ([2] 4/5/21); Meanwhile, Newsweek reported that Columbia University sent an email to over 3,000 striking graduate student workers—who have been on strike for over five weeks over poor wages and working conditions as well as frustration with the university’s bargaining conduct—on Thursday that threatened to replace them if they do not return to their jobs ([3] 5/12/21); Columbia University student workers with UAW Local 2110 are facing the same sort of retaliation from their employer, with the administration claiming there was “violence” on the picket line, a claim which I have not seen anyone even pretend to try to corroborate. ([4] 12/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird); UAW 2110 remains on the largest strike in the country, at Columbia University. The university is still actively threatening to replace the student workers, and soliciting other desperate academic workers to take their jobs in the spring. ([5] 20/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Los Alamos National Laboratory (NM) - 1200 skilled trades workers across twelve unions at the Los Alamos (NM) National Laboratory have a new contract ([1] 12/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Oregon - 4,600 Oregon public university staff with SEIU Local 503 have a new five-year contract. ([1] 12/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Kaiser - At Kaiser, UNAC/UHCP, the largest union that was on the brink of striking before a TA was reached, held its ratification votes this week. All of their units except one – the Southern California pharmacists – voted to accept the contract; the 1600 pharmacists will go back to the bargaining table, but I doubt a strike would be back on the table for this small unit ([1] 12/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Connecticut - 150 group home workers in Connecticut with 1199 New England are also facing the threat of permanent replacement, as the strike against Sunrise Group rolls on. ([1] 8/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird) [busting-labor-news]; The 120 group home workers for Sunrise Group in Connecticut who’ve been on strike with 1199 New England for two months have a tentative agreement with the company. ([2] 12/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
New Castle County, DE - 62 school bus drivers with Teamsters Local 326 held a one-day ULP strike in New Castle County, DE; they’ve apparently rejected four contract offers from First Student. The Teamsters have a national master agreement at the company, but it’s not clear to me whether every local unit is in it, and it doesn’t cover every contract issue (I think economic proposals, i.e. wages and pensions, are handled on the local level but I’m not 100% sure). ([1] 12/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Williambsburg, VA - UNITE HERE Local 25 is picketing Colonial Williamsburg (in Williamsburg, VA) over an expired contract. ([1] 12/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Oklahoma City, OK - Several dozen film crew members working in Oklahoma City on the upcoming movie Nefarious which is I think about a demon facing the death penalty went on a recognition strike with IATSE Local 484. ([1] 12/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Northampton, MA - Column writers at the Daily Hampshire Gazette in Northampton, MA have joined a byline strike by the Pioneer Valley News Guild. ([1] 12/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Activision Blizzard - Video game workers for Fortune 500 gaming company Activision Blizzard have turned their work stoppage – in support of fired coworkers at a subsidiary – into a formal unionization drive with CWA. ([1] 12/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
California - Around 4,000 SEIU Local 521 members in Kern County, CA have a tentative agreement, having authorized a strike last month. Their counterparts in Santa Cruz County, CA authorized a strike just this week. ([1] 12/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Seattle - In Seattle, 100 concrete truck drivers have been on strike for more than two weeks and are upset the company hasn’t come back to the table with a bargaining offer since they’ve gone on strike. ([1] 2/12/21); What started as a few dozen concrete truck drivers on strike with Teamsters Local 174 has expanded to over 300 members on strike, “stopping the flow of concrete” (as local news reports have put it) in the greater Seattle area, and stopping work on several construction sites. Leverage, baby. ([2] 12/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Pharmacists - Pharmacists Stage Walkout in Early Unionization Effort - Thousands of pharmacists are protesting low pay and increased workloads. ([1] 20/12/21)
Carrboro, NC - In Carrboro, North Carolina, Acme restaurant workers went on strike on Sunday. - The workers say that management has failed to resolve sexual misconduct and racial discrimination complaints. ([1] 20/12/21)
San Diego / Orange County, CA - This week 250 garbage truck workers are striking against Republic Services in San Diego. - The Teamsters warned in a press statement that the strike could spread to even more cities where Republic Services have contracts with the union. - Last week, over 400 Teamsters in Orange County went on strike against Republic Services, leading Huntington Beach to declare a “state of emergency” because of garbage pile-up. - After an eight-day strike, the Teamsters declared victory in Orange County when they agreed to a new tentative agreement that included wage increases and other increases in benefits. ([1] 20/12/21)
Philadelphia, PA - At Olney Charter High School in Philadelphia, owned by Aspira, teachers have walked off the job following the death of 17-year-old honor student Alayna Thach who died from COVID-19. ([1] 20/12/21)
Erie, PA - For Want of a Dental Plan, the Erie Strayer Strike Grinds On - Overshadowed by larger strikes, the Ironworkers picket line stretches into its third month. ([1] 6/12/21); After 75 Day Strike, Erie Ironworkers Win Big Changes - The tentative agreement, which covers 40 unionized workers at the plant, gives workers a 3% wage increase and a dental plan for the first time in company history that could potentially save families thousands of dollars a year on out-of-pocket medical expenditures. The agreement, however, contained no concessions on health care or union rights. ([2] 20/12/21)
West Coast - Over 5,000 Fred Meyer QFC workers are on strike this week on the West Coast. - Employees are being offered a ¢.50-cent an hour raise, which the union says is not enough. ([1] 18/12/21)
Richmond, VA - Richmond retail workers win gains after strike ([1] 15/12/21, [!])
Bethlehem, PA - In Bethlehem, PA, 75 Coca-Cola delivery drivers are spending their days leading up to the holidays out on the picket line. - On Monday, delivery drivers, members of Teamsters Local 733, went on strike. - Workers are protesting the decision of the company to try and eliminate defined pension plans and switch to 401K plans. The union is also upset the company is demanding workers, who were essential employees throughout the pandemic, pay more for their healthcare. ([1] 8/12/21)
IATSE (film crew workers) - In October, 98% of IATSE members voted to strike against the major Hollywood studios. However, many were disappointed when the union cut a tentative agreement and the strike did not occur. - ... - However, some small groups of film production workers in both Oklahoma and Georgia have chosen to strike in hopes of improving conditions on film sets. ([1] 8/12/21)
Park Ridge, IL - Park Ridge, IL teachers have a new five-year agreement ([1] 8/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Peterborough, NH - Teachers in Peterborough, NH have a new three-year contract ([1] 8/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Portland, OR - Members of Painters Local 10 in Portland, OR won a much-improved contract after a “summer of chaos,” an intermittent series of job actions; the union made a great video laying out what they won and how they did it. ([1] 8/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Anaheim, CA - 10,000 Disneyland workers in Anaheim, CA with the Teamsters, BCTGM, and SEIU USWW averted a strike after one of three contracts was voted down, then quickly renegotiated and ratified. ([1] 8/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Campbell Hall, NY - 50 nursing home workers with 1199 SEIU struck Campbell Hall nursing home for one day in Campbell Hall, NY, which is apparently the last employer holdout on signing a master contract across 250 nursing homes in New York. [healthcare-news] ([1] 8/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Seattle, WA - The Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild has a first contract with Cascade Public Media in Seattle after two years. ([1] 8/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Washington - Around 300 members of Teamsters Local 174 who drive concrete trucks for several contractors in Washington State are on strike, which has shut down several construction sites in the area ([1] 8/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
'The twelve liquor distribution workers with Teamsters Local 251 who’ve been on strike at Johnson Brothers of Rhode Island protested at their boss’s home on Juneteenth ([1] 23/6/21) to keep pressure up for a settlement that wouldn’t have these workers, who make $15 an hour to start, paying $20,000 in healthcare premiums.' - ([2] 26/6/21 cr: Who Gets the Bird); Another long strike is still going in Rhode Island where wine delivery drivers who organized with Teamsters Local 251 have been on strike against Johnson Brothers distributors for months, and are taking their fight to the customers, as Dan DiMaggio reported for Labor Notes. ([3] 8/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Lansing, MI - The 2200 Michigan Nurses Association healthcare workers who info picketed and then authorized a strike at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, MI have reached a tentative agreement with the company ([1] 8/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Phoenix - Food service workers at HMS Host, the largest concessionaire at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, have gone on strike. The workers, organized with UNITE HERE Local 11, are seeking raises, better health insurance, company retirement contributions, and discrimination protections. The strike comes after four years of failed contract negotiations. The HMS Host workers, numbering between 450-475, have not received a raise since 2017. The strike will shut down more than two dozen restaurants and coffee shops at the airport. ([1] 23/11/21); Phoenix Sky Harbor Strike Ends After 10 Days and Return to Bargaining Table ([2] 2/12/21)
Buzzfeed - For more than two years, workers at Buzzfeed have been unable to win a first union contract at Buzzfeed. Now with Buzzfeed going public on the stock market, workers are concerned there’ll be even fewer reasons for the company to settle. - Wanting to pressure the company, the workers went on strike today. - “We’ve been bargaining our contract for almost 2 years, but BuzzFeed won’t budge on critical issues like wages — all while preparing to go public and make executives even richer, So TODAY, we’re walking out to send a reminder that there’s no BuzzFeed News without us,” tweeted @bfnewsunion on Twitter. ([1] 2/12/21)
Huntington, WV - 1,000 West Virginia Hospital Workers Are Going on Strike Today - Hospital workers in West Virginia are set to join the more than 20,000 U.S. workers currently on strike. ([1] 3/11/21); SEIU 1199 WV/KY/OH, representing 1,000 strikers at Cabell Hospital in Huntington, WV, says the company’s offers during bargaining this week have been getting worse, not better, as the strike nears its three-week mark ([2] 21/11/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird); At Cabell Huntington Hospital in Huntington, WV, SEIU has reached a tentative agreement with the hospital after at least 900 hospital workers have been on strike for nearly a month. The contract proposal is going up for a vote this Wednesday evening. ([3] 1/12/21); In Huntington, West Virginia, 900 SEIU members have agreed today to end a month-long strike at Cabell Huntington Hospital. SEIU lauded the tentative agreement as a victory. SEIU did concede they accepted many concessions to settle the strike. ([4] 2/12/21)
Albertville, Alabama - For the second time in two months, poultry workers in Albertville, Alabama, employed by Wayne Farms, walked off the job yesterday and demanded a new union contract with their UFCW union. Workers there are demanding less forced overtime, higher pay, and better treatment by management. ([1] 1/12/21)
Reno, NV - Teamsters Local 553 transit workers in Reno, NV are on strike -- again. They went out just over a month ago for the first time, and are back at it as transit contractor Keolis tries to make changes to scheduling and seniority that would result in longer hours and worse working conditions for drivers. ([1] 2/10/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird); After 35 total days of striking, Reno bus drivers won a major achievement this week when they reached a tentative agreement on scheduling, time off, and other issues. The Reno bus drivers celebrated the tentative agreement as a victory for the ability of the union to mobilize the public behind it. ([2] 21/10/21); The third Teamsters Local 533 strike of 2021 in Reno, NV rolls on against transit mega-contractor Keolis. Around 200 transit workers are on an unfair labor practice strike, against the backdrop of contract negotiation breakdown. ([3] 21/11/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Burgerville - The Burgerville Workers Union, the first fast-food workers union in the United States, has reached a tentative agreement with Burgerville. If ratified, the contract would be the country’s first fast-food union contract. The Burgerville Workers Union was formed in 2018 and has since conducted seven strikes, five elections, picket lines, and workplace and citywide labor actions. The tentative agreement includes free shift meals, a $1 per hour wage increase, paid holidays, the end of at-will employment, guarantees against unfair scheduling, and provisions for allowing tips. The contract now must be ratified by Burgerville Workers Union membership and Burgerville. ([1] 23/11/21); Workers At Pacific NW's Iconic Burgerville Ratify First Union Contract ([2] 17/12/21, via u/aloeveraone on r/labor)
Harvard - The Harvard Graduate Student Union (HGSU) reached an agreement with the University last night on a four-year tentative agreement that would cover student workers in research and teaching positions. The proposed agreement comes after a three-day strike last month during parents weekend. HGSU was poised to go on a second strike beginning today, in response to intimidation during the first strike that the union alleges amounted to an Unfair Labor Practice. HGSU’s bargaining committee has recommended that members not withhold labor in light of the tentative agreement, and a vote to officially call off the strike is ongoing. A ratification vote will take place from November 18 to November 27. It would be HGSU’s second contract after a one-year contract was agreed to 2020. ([1] 16/11/21)
In more labor news, unionized staff at The New York Times’ product review site Wirecutter launched a 5-day strike ahead of Black Friday and called for a reader boycott as contract negotiations continue. ([1] 29/11/21)
Portland, ME - IATSE Local 114 is picketing the Merrill Auditorium in Portland, ME after the city-owned venue announced it would be looking into using non-union stagehand labor. ([1] 21/11/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Rail - 2500 rail workers for Chicago’s Metra commuter rail have a tentative agreement after authorizing a strike. Likewise, the 365 members of SMART Local 1594 will not strike the Norristown, PA commuter rail after all, reaching a tentative agreement after authorizing a strike, just like their Philly SEPTA counterparts. ([1] 21/11/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Friendship, NY - Teamsters Local 264 ended their 10-day strike with an agreement from Friendship Dairy in Friendship, NY. ([1] 21/11/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Burlington, NJ - Nursing home workers in Burlington, NJ with 1199 SEIU struck for 24 hours. ([1] 21/11/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Philadelphia, PA - Members of UNITE HERE Local 274 are on strike at Philadelphia’s Wyndham Hotel as of Sunday morning. ([1] 21/11/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Orlando, FL - Wheelchair attendants for subcontractor Bags, Inc. at the Orlando International Airport held a one-day strike with 32BJ SEIU Florida; these workers make less than $8 an hour ([1] 21/11/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Berkeley County, SC - School bus drivers in Berkeley County, SC held a sick-out this week ([1] 21/11/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Long Beach, CA - Around 100 school bus drivers with Teamsters Local 572 in Long Beach, CA struck this week ([1] 21/11/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Scranton, PA - The striking Scranton, PA educators have a tentative agreement, ending the largest official K-12 strike since the pandemic began, with a ratification vote set for Tuesday. ([1] 21/11/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird); The Scranton Federation of Teachers as well as the school district have officially ratified the new union contract after the 12-day strike; because of days lost, the school year is being extended to June 30th. ([2] 8/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Pittsburgh, PA - Dozens of UPMC workers in Pittsburgh held a one-day strike with SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania as they keep pushing in their years-long fight to win a union at the massive healthcare employer ([1] 21/11/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Kaiser - As for the largest non-open-ended strike in the country, that award goes to the tens of thousands of sympathy strikers at Kaiser with SEIU UHW, IFPTE, OPEIU, NUHW, and the California Nurses (NNU) walking off the job. The “sympathy” in question is with the 700 or so Operating Engineers Local 39 members who’ve been on strike for over two months. Though the big contracts were settled by last Saturday, the Guild of Professional Pharmacists’ 2,000 members were still ready to walk, though they got a last-minute deal as well, as did the couple thousand UNAC/UHCP therapists who are gunning for a first contract; obviously all of these have to pass ratification votes. ([1] 21/11/21)
Columbia University - Student Workers at Columbia Are on Strike Again — What Will It Take to Win? - Yesterday, more than 3,000 student workers at Columbia walked off the job to demand a living wage and healthcare. In order to win these demands, however, the rank and file will have to unite with faculty and students, and be willing to shut down the university by taking their strike all the way to the end of the semester. ([1] 4/11/21); 3,000 Graduate Workers on Strike at Columbia University ([2] 12/11/21); That leaves the UAW Local 2110 strike at Columbia University as the largest ongoing strike in the country, in terms of number of workers ([3] 21/11/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Boston - Also in Boston, also with Local 2110, workers at the Museum of Fine Arts struck for 24 hours. ([1] 21/11/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Denver, CO - Denver Airport Janitors Win Big Wage Increases After Strike ([1] 22/11/21)
Buffalo, NW - 2,000 Buffalo healthcare workers with CWA Local 1133 at Catholic Health’s Mercy Hospital struck Friday morning against understaffing and low wages. There are actually more than 2,000 workers whose hopes hang on this contract, but only the one hospital is permitted to strike. It’s open-ended, so this could be a long one, but let’s hope it’s not. ([1] 2/10/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird); Buffalo Hospital Workers Beat Concessions, Win on Staffing ([?] 19/11/21)
Wake County, NC - School cafeteria workers in North Carolina’s Wake County are on strike today in over 30 school districts. ([1] 16/11/21)
Pittsburgh, PA - In Moon Township, an elite South Hills suburb of Pittsburgh, workers have walked off the job at a GetGo convenience store. ([1] 16/11/21)
Burnsville, NC - In rural northeast North East Carolina, workers at Bojangle in Burnsville, North Carolina, went on strike Saturday over unsafe conditions. ([1] 8/11/21)
Antioch, CA - In Antioch, California, more than 350 healthcare workers, members of SEIU, have gone on strike today over the company’s unfair labor practices and chronic understaffing. ([1] 8/11/21)
New Orleans, LA - In the New Orleans suburb of Metairie, sanitation workers, members of the Teamsters, and employed by Republic Services went on strike last Friday over low pay and unsafe working conditions. ([1] 8/11/21)
Philadelphia, PA - In Philadelphia, a group of delivery drivers employed by the app platform Gopuff went on strike this past weekend to protest cuts to their pay. Some workers, many of whom worked during the pandemic, reported seeing their pay go from about $12-an-hour to $7.50-an-hour. ([1] 1/11/21)
Las Cruces, NM - Last Friday in Las Cruces, New Mexico, school bus drivers went on a one-day strike to protest understaffing that hurt both bus drivers and families as students struggled to get to school on time. ([1] 1/11/21)
Anderson, IN - In Southern Indiana, teachers went on strike Friday in the town of Anderson (population: 50,000). Teachers are unhappy with contract talks in which the school district has refused to agree to a wage increase. Teachers wanted to show the school district how far they would go to push for better standards. ([1] 1/11/21)
Ohio - The autumn of discontent marches on. At midnight on Sunday, about 500 steelworkers in Ohio went on strike after contract renewal negotiations between ArcelorMittal and their union—United Steelworkers Local 3057—broke down abruptly. USW Local 3057 staff representative Brian Sealy told reporters that the employer made its final offer Sunday, then picked up and left to Pennsylvania before the union could give its response. Sealy was dismayed by the company’s behavior. ([1] 2/11/21)
NYC - New York Taxi Workers Stage Hunger Strike to Demand Medallion Debt Relief - "They are an essential industry here in New York City," said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, "and we need to make sure we're doing right by them." ([1] 24/10/21); NYC Taxi Drivers Win Historic Victory as City Agrees to New Debt Relief Measures ([2] 4/11/21)
John Deere - 10,000 John Deere Workers Go On Strike - Ten thousand workers at John Deere will walk out Thursday morning after management failed to reach an agreement with union negotiators. ([1] 14/10/21); Most recently, Deere & Co. successfully petitioned for a temporary restraining order enjoining thousands of union members from picketing at its Davenport Works facility in Iowa. According to Iowa state court judge Marlita A. Greve, the union has used “mass picketing” tactics to impede or prevent non-striking workers, customers and others from safely accessing the plant’s entrances, exits and parking lots, blocked the free-flow of traffic and used megaphones and audio-enhancing devices to conduct “acts of verbal and physical harassment [and] intimidation.” ([2] 24/10/21); On Saturday, UAW announced that it had reached a second tentative deal on a new six-year contract with John Deere, potentially bringing to a close the massive strike, involving nearly 10,000 workers, which began more than two weeks ago on October 14. The UAW has not yet released the details of the tentative agreement (although some alleged provisions have been leaked online), and it will not do so until members at all John Deere locations have been able to meet and review its proposed terms ([3] 31/10/21); Striking John Deere Workers Win Wage and Pension Increases in Tentative Contract ([4] 2/11/21); John Deere Workers Continue Strike After Rejecting Proposed Contract with Management ([5] 3/11/21); John Deere Workers Hold the Line and Vote Down Second Contract Offer - UAW members at John Deere rejected the latest contract offer from the bosses, holding out for the wages and benefits they’ve been demanding from the beginning of their walkout. It’s time for the entire labor movement to rally in solidarity with this strike as it continues. ([5] 2/11/21)
North Carolina, Wake County - North Carolina School Bus Drivers Begin Wildcat Strike for Higher Wages - In Wake County, North Carolina, about a third of all school bus drivers are refusing to drive their routes in protest of low wages and doubled and tripled workloads with no additional pay. ([1] 1/11/21)
Harvard - Harvard Student Workers Strike to Demand Better Pay and Healthcare ([1] 28/10/21); Finally, in local news, HGSU-UAW ended its three-day strike at midnight on Friday. ([2] 31/10/21)
Chicago - Dozens of workers who make tortillas for El Milagro in Little Village, Chicago walked off the job to protest safety conditions and low wages. They’re working with workers center ARISE, though it wasn’t immediately clear if the walkout is sustained or a one-day action, though I’ve seen some reports that it’s now a lockout. At least one worker died from COVID and others were infected. ([1] 25/9/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird); Chicago Tortilla Plant Workers Escalate Protests Against El Milagro ([2] 1/10/21); Tortilleria workers at El Milagro in Chicago’s Little Village have filed NLRB charges against their employer, after the safety walkout last week. ([3] 2/10/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird); El Milagro Tortilla Plants Ending 7-Day Workweek After Employees Organize Against Labor Abuses ([4] 28/10/21)
Lee County, FL - In Lee County, Florida, more than 100 school bus drivers went on a “sickout” strike Monday to protest low pay and working conditions. ([1] 26/10/21)
Richmond, VA - In Richmond, Virginia, non-union nurses at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Health went on a “sickout” strike Monday over low pay and understaffing. ([1] 26/10/21)
Western PA - Back in Western PA, teachers from the 860-member Erie Educators Association have voted to strike against the district. ([1] 21/10/21)
Charlotte, NC - At Union Day School, a charter school in the suburbs of Charlotte, North Carolina, teachers have gone on strike to protest the unjust firing of a beloved principal at the school. ([1] 21/10/21)
Netflix - Netflix Workers Walk Out, Issue Demands to Mgmt. over Transphobic Dave Chappelle Special [lgbtq-news] ([1] 21/10/21)
Washington state - Hundreds or thousands, depending on who you ask, of members of the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters in western Washington state went on strike today in what is a really remarkable example of rank and file organizing. Luis Feliz Leon has the story for Labor Notes, and it’s really worth the read. After three consecutive tentative agreements were voted down, the union coupled a fourth vote with a strike authorization, apparently hoping the prospect would spook members out of a “no” vote. It backfired, and the “no” vote won out, forcing a strike. But since the vast majority of worksites are covered by Project Labor Agreements which legally preclude strike action, only a small minority of work will be stopped; for good measure, the union has made sure to threaten members with legal action and expulsion for advocating any wildcat action, which is somewhat pro forma, but is also not the message of a union that’s trying to win its biggest strike in almost 20 years. ([1] 16/9/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird); The Seattle Carpenters Union decided to limit their picket lines to just a few sites in the city. However, rank-and-file carpenters chose to go on wildcat strikes at other sites, with the encouragement and support of socialist Seattle city councilwoman Kshama Sawant, who the union leadership has attacked. ([2] 24/9/21); The Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters is back at the bargaining table with the contractors association, with a rank-and-file representative from the dissident Peter J. McGuire Group sitting at the table. This article has some good details on where things stand in this weeks-long strike. ([3] 2/10/21); After Strike, Washington Carpenters Approve New Contract by Slim Margin ([4] 19/10/21)
Las Vegas, NV - Dozens of workers at Child Haven, a Las Vegas group home that serves abused and neglected children, went on strike on Tuesday. ([1] 20/10/21)
NYC - New York City Taxi Drivers Will Go on Hunger Strike to Demand Debt Relief ([1] 19/10/21)
near Louisville, KY - Right outside of Louisville, Kentucky in Bullitt County, more than 30 school bus drivers went on a sickout strike over low wages that can start at $16.67 an hour. ([1] 14/10/21)
Montana nurses overcome union busting, win first contract ([1] 14/10/21) [healthcare-news]
West Virginia metal workers on strike ([1] 13/10/21)
Connecticut - In Connecticut, group home workers at 28 homes throughout the state are on strike over low wages. ([1] 12/10/21)
Milwaukee, WI - In Milwaukee, hundreds of Latinx immigrants went on strike yesterday to demand immigration reform as part of the “Day Without Latinx and Immigrants” strike. ([1] 12/10/21)
Michigan - Following a strike, Michigan auto parts supplier ZF Marysville has agreed to recognize its employees’ union formation with UAW. ZF Marysville’s plant was previously jointly operated with Stellantis, and Stellantis workers had a labor contract. However, unionized Stellantis workers were transferred to other Stellantis locations, leaving ZF to operate the plant. When ZF workers attempted to unionize, ZF went back on a previous neutrality agreement. The ZF workers then went on strike for over a week until ZF yielded and agreed to recognize UAW as the exclusive bargaining representative. ([1] 12/10/21)
California - Two Thousand California CWA Members Strike Telecoms Corp Frontier Communications ([1] 6/10/21)
Springfield, OR - In Springfield, Oregon, more than 400 frontline healthcare workers at McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center, represented by Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 49, began a two-day unfair labor practices strike on Tuesday. Union representatives are locked into ongoing contract negotiations with the hospital, as their previous agreement expired on August 31. Hospital workers allege that management has been “interfering with their rights as union members,” according to a press release issued by SEIU Local 49, and “has ignored their safety concerns, refused to offer competitive wages or COVID hazard bonuses…all while receiving $4.5 million in CARES act bailout funds.” ([1] 6/10/21)
Annapolis, MD - In Annapolis, Maryland, school bus drivers went on strike, saying they were underpaid despite working through the pandemic. ([1] 5/10/21)
San Francisco, CA - UNITE HERE Local 2 members who work at San Francisco’s Oracle Park won some big gains in a new contract after a credible strike threat. Workers will get immediate $3/hr pay raises, going up to $7/hr increases by 2024, and $1.50/hr hazard pay on top of that for games worked in 2020 and 2021. ([1] 2/10/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)

Chicago, IL - In Chicago, 2,000 mechanics of IAM Local 701 went on strike at 5o different car dealerships to protest low wages. ([1] 2/8/21); "Over 800 mechanics at 56 car dealerships in and around Chicago walked off the job ([2] 3/8/21) with Machinists Local 701 on Monday. The proposed contract, which members rejected with a 97% vote, would have reduced base pay and raised healthcare costs" - ([3] 8/8/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird); "The 800-strong mechanics strike by Machinists Local 701 at 56 car dealerships in Chicago continued into its second week ([4] 10/8/21); the last time these workers struck, in 2017, they were out for 7 weeks, so this could certainly be a prolonged fight." - ([5] 12/8/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird); Around 600 auto mechanics who work at car dealerships in the Chicagoland area are reaching the six week mark of their strike with Machinists Local 701. South Side Weekly had a great on-the-ground dispatch from that strike that is worth a read. ([6] 16/9/21); Strike ends with narrowly approved contract - “The membership just narrowly passed the acceptance of the offer,” Ronnie Gonzalez, a spokesman for Automobile Mechanics’ Local 701, told the Chicago Tribune. “The disappointment by those voting against the offer is as a result of being on strike for eight weeks while over 120 dealers not in the NCDC association ratified virtually the same deal without having to go out on strike.” ([7] 27/9/21); The hundreds of dealership mechanics with Machinists Local 701 in the Chicago area have “marginally passed” an agreement from the hold-out dealerships, ending the two-month strike. ([8] 2/10/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
John Deere - Early Friday afternoon, the UAW and John Deere announced a tentative agreement. In keeping with UAW’s infamous blackout negotiations style (which has been particularly bad at Deere, and at the protracted fiasco at Volvo in Virginia earlier this year), members won’t even get a “highlighter” until next Friday (each member gets a single copy of the highlight sheet and has like a three hour window to pick it up, at least according to the rules of some locals) and won’t vote until Sunday the 10th. ([1] 2/10/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Denver, CO - 350 janitors with SEIU Local 105 at Denver International Airport went on strike on Friday. The main issue is wages, with janitors currently making only $17 an hour. They were back to work Saturday morning. ([1] 2/10/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
San Antonio, TX - The 72 musicians of the San Antonio Symphony are on strike (with what I think is an independent union) in response to a management proposal to cut dozens of jobs even after the musicians took an 80 percent (!) pay cut. ([1] 2/10/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Burbank, CA - 200-some workers with UAW Local 509 at Senior Aerospace SSP in Burbank, CA, are on strike, but as you can see from the source I am choosing to link to, I have almost no information on the strike. Let me know if you do. ([1] 25/9/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird); Several hundred members of UAW Local 509 at Senior Aerospace SSP in Burbank, CA remain on strike. There has been zero press coverage of this strike, despite being a large industrial action in a big metro area, but a curious reader of this newsletter went to the picket line and spoke to some workers, who say there has been no scabbing, and say the biggest issue is proposed healthcare cost increases. For Labor Notes, we’ve been able to make contact with a couple workers but would love to learn more. ([2] 2/10/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Bardstown, KY - On Monday, over 400 UFCW Local 23-D members went on strike at Heaven Hill whiskey in Bardstown, Kentucky, after workers voted down a proposed contract by a margin of 372-13. - Workers say that Heaven Hill’s wages are well below the wages of other unionized whiskey makers in the Bardstown, Kentucky area. In addition, Heaven Hill is asking workers to work on weekends when the distillery typically only operates during weekdays. ([1] 13/9/21); The 420-member distillery workers strike at Heaven Hill in Bardstown, KY continues as UFCW Local 23-D fights management’s attempt to move to an “alternative” schedule which would eliminate weekend overtime, among other issues. ([2] 2/10/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
14,000 nurses with the California Nurses Association (NNU) have a contract with Dignity Health. Marin County, CA public employees have settled contracts as well, after an impasse. ([1] 25/9/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Kalispell, MT - Kalispell hospital nurses strike - Management at Logan Health walked away from the bargaining table last week after 18 months of negotiations. ([1] 1/6/21 via Who Gets the Bird); Contract settlements: After a three-day strike this summer, 650 nurses with SEIU 1199NW at Logan Health in Kalispell, MT have a contract ([2] 25/9/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)

NATIONWIDE (started in Portland, OR, Virginia, Colorado) - "200 members of BCTGM Local 364 who make Oreos and Chips Ahoy for Nabisco in Portland, OR are on strike ([1] 11/8/21) as of late Tuesday night. The top concern the local is citing is the company’s push to drop overtime pay for weekend work and other scheduling changes, while the national union says ([2] 10/8/21) it’s about parent company Mondelez’s years-long outsourcing of union jobs to Mexico." - ([3] 12/8/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird); Nabisco Workers in Virginia, Oregon and Colorado Strike Against Long Hours, Outsourcing ([4] 18/8/21); "Remember last week when I said every Nabisco production facility in the country was out on strike? Well now a Nabisco distribution center, run by members BCTGM Local 42 in Norcross, GA, has joined the strike. The nationwide strike is now well over 1,000 workers, and is getting the attention of the mainstream press." - ([5] 27/8/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird); "Over 1,000 BCTGM Nabisco workers in five states are still on strike, and Fast Company is taking the company’s social media game to task. NW Labor Press has a good overview of the strike, the best detail being some successful efforts to block rail shipments of supplies into the plants by enterprising community supporters." - ([6] 3/9/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird); Nabisco Workers in 5 States Continue Strike, as Buffalo Starbucks Workers Fight to Unionize ([7] 10/9/21); "The Nabisco BCTGM strike rolls on in five states, with particularly good stories coming out of Portland, where strike supporters have successfully impeded production by blocking railroad tracks and allegedly puncturing tires. The company lawyers have sent the union a cease and desist letter, but since it’s not the union or its members, but rather union supporters taking these actions, there’s nothing for the union to desist from. Checkmate, Nabisco." ([8] 9/9/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird?); On Wednesday, BCTGM announced they had reached a tentative agreement with Nabisco. Talks had resumed on Monday and Tuesday, bringing the two sides together for the first time since July, to discuss the company’s latest offer which apparently includes a one-time $5,000 bonus and keeps at least some chunk of the scheduling changes which sparked the whole thing in Portland. Meanwhile, on the ground, things got a bit rough, with a security company assaulting a supporter, who is now suing. Ratification votes are rolling at each of the five locals (Portland, Denver, Richmond, Chicago, and Atlanta), with Portland workers rejecting the TA there and calling on other locals to do the same. Since it’s a master agreement, presumably votes will be tallied in aggregate, not local by local, but I wouldn’t call this one over yet. ([9] 16/9/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird); The Nabisco BCTGM strike is over, after members ratified a contract (I haven’t seen numbers officially reported, but have seen some say it was about a 3 to 1 vote, something like 600-200 out of the 1,000 or so workers). Portland seems to have voted it down, but the larger Chicago facilities, plus Richmond, plus Georgia, plus the small facility in Colorado, apparently voted the other way. ([10] 25/9/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
NYC - 'taxi drivers shut down the Brooklyn Bridge demanding federal and local relief from the excessive debt they’ve accrued from purchasing the required medallion certification to drive taxis in the city.' ([1] 10/2/21); NYC Taxi Drivers Hold 24/7 Protest to Demand Debt Relief from Purchase of Medallions ([2] 1/10/21)
Texas - Report on Ongoing Hunger Strike Inside Texas Prison [over 60 involved] ([1] 27/9/21)
Kansas City - In the suburbs of Kansas City in Overland Park, donut workers at LaMar’s Donuts walked out in protest over poor treatment and being “strained and stretched thin.” ([1] 27/9/21)
Workers at Chicago Tortilla Plant Walk Out to Protest Low Pay and Poor Working Conditions - ([1] 27/9/21)
Chicago - But yesterday, more than 60 workers walked out to protest their low pay and unsafe working conditions at the factory. However, when 14 workers attempted to return to work today, they discovered their employer was not allowing them to return to work. ([1] 24/9/21)
Seattle - Washington Mental Health Workers Win Safety Strike ([2] 23/11/21); 'If Your House Is On Fire You Run': Workers Strike for Safety At Understaffed Mental Health Center [law-enforcement-oversteps-news] ([1] 24/9/21)
Harvard - Harvard dining workers with Unite Here Local 26 ratified a new five-year contract yesterday that guarantees no lay-offs or decreases in paid hours for employees over the next five years as well as 15% in raises and increases to summer stipends. The contract ratification comes just two days after five unions at Harvard came together for a historic joint-rally demonstrating the collective power of all five unions uniting together. ([1] 24/9/21)
Michigan - University of Michigan lecturers have a tentative agreement that secures a major priority, pay parity across campuses, after the union threatened to let the contract expire, paving the way for a possible strike. AAUP-AFT Local 6075, representing Wayne State University faculty, also have a tentative agreement. So do faculty (and part-time instructors and IATSE members) at Western Michigan University with AAUP, after contentious negotiations. ([1] 16/9/21)
Phoenix, AZ - Phoenix airport concessions workers with UNITE HERE Local 11 organized a one-day strike yesterday over -- you guessed it -- understaffing. ([1] 16/9/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Philadelphia, PA - After a threatened strike, AFSCME Council 33 has a new agreement with the city of Philadelphia. ([1] 9/9/21)
Rochester, MI - "Over 800 faculty members at Oakland University in Rochester, MI are on strike with AAUP when their contract expired the night before the first day of classes, while the university administration continued to push for wage cuts" - ([1] 3/9/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird); After two days, AAUP members at Oakland University in Michigan ended their strike with a tentative agreement. AAUP faculty at Northern Michigan University authorized a strike and then got a tentative agreement. ([2] 9/9/21)
Marysville, MI - As of this morning, 340 auto parts makers for ZF International in Marysville, MI are on a recognition strike with the UAW. ([1] 9/9/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird?)
Ewing, NJ -50 social services workers with AFSCME Council 63 for SERV in Ewing, NJ held a one-day strike as they push for a first contract. ([1] 9/9/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird?)
University of Oklahoma - At the University of Oklahoma, faculty and staff have gone on strike on Monday and Tuesday to protest the lack of protections against COVID on campus. ([1] 21/9/21)
Coal Valley, IL - In Coal Valley, Illinois, located in the Quad Cities region, more than two dozen machinists employed by escalator manufacturer Kone have gone on strike. - Workers there said that a two-tier pay system, which pays younger workers on a different pay schedule than older workers, has led to unnecessary divisions in the plant. ([1] 21/9/21)
Allegany, NY - On Tuesday, the staff at the SmartStyle hair salon at Walmart in Allegany, New York, locked the doors and put up a sign saying “We Out.” The staff posted a notice telling their customers of the new locations of the hair salons and where they could find them. ([1] 15/9/21)
New Bethlehem, PA - Today teachers in rural New Bethlehem, PA, with a population of roughly 900, went on strike after the school board refused to offer a counter-proposal to the union, which had earlier attempted to push back on concession demands by the school board. - The strike comes after the school board proposed that the teachers’ union, the Red Bank Valley Education Association (RVEA), accept a two-year wage freeze and pay more for healthcare out of pocket. ([1] 13/9/21)
AT&T - "AT&T and the Communications Workers of America agreed yesterday to settle a lawsuit between them, resulting in the preservation of 29,000 landline technical jobs until the end of 2023. Not only did the settlement result in job preservation, it also included a commitment by AT&T to hire 6,000 more customer service workers and make Martin Luther King Jr. Day a holiday for all union members. " - ([1] 9/9/21)
Birmingham, AL - On Monday, over two dozen nurses from the University of Alabama-Birmingham hospital walked out over unequal pay. ([1] 8/9/21)
Bradford, PA - In rural Bradford, Pennsylvania, McDonald’s workers have walked out over low pay and poor management. ([1] 8/9/21)
Savannah, GA - Earlier this week in Savannah, Georgia, 54 of the 200 bus drivers in the Savannah-Chatham’s school district went on a wildcat “sick out” strike over pay and other issues. ([1] 8/9/21)
Park City, UT - "Non-union workers at Redstone 8 Cinema, a movie theater in Park City, UT, are on strike for a $15 wage." - ([1] 27/8/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird); This Wednesday in Kimball Junction, Utah, non-union movie theater workers at Redstone 8 Cinemas have ended their two-week strike. - While the workers didn’t win the $15-an-hour pay they were hoping for, they did win an increase to their wages by $2-an-hour, raising their pay to $12.50 an hour and adding energy for their new union effort. ([2] 3/9/21)
New Jersey - On Labor Day, inpatient behavior therapists and maintenance employees are going on strike in Mercer County, New Jersey, over unsafe conditions and low pay. ([1] 3/9/21)
Stanford - 500 Stanford RAs Strike Over Unsafe Working Conditions - Resident assistants at Stanford have gone on strike Thursday over a lack of COVID protections and low pay. ([1] 3/9/21)
St. Louis, MO - "Two dozen nursing home workers with SEIU Healthcare Missouri struck for one day at Blue Circle Rehab in St. Louis, demanding a $15 minimum wage." - ([1] 3/9/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Philadelphia, PA - "K-12: The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers gave everyone whiplash as their contract expired, and then they said they were going to call a strike vote, and then the district almost immediately gave them a tentative agreement." - ([1] 3/9/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
East Bay, CA - "600 East Bay (CA) parks workers with AFSCME Local 2428 have reached a tentative agreement with management after authorizing a strike" - ([1] 3/9/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Providence, RI - "Nurses and hospital workers with UNAP Local 5110 at Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in Providence were planning to take a strike vote next week, but that turned into a contract ratification vote as management offered a deal… " - ([1] 3/9/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Compton, Ca - "245 poultry workers in Compton, CA with Teamsters Local 630 have ratified a contract after authorizing a strike at Foster Farms" - ([1] 3/9/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Teacher contracts Nationwide - "Moline, IL teachers have a new contract, with 5.5% raises over two years. So do teachers in Bloomington, IL, where first-year educators will just barely clear the statewide salary minimum of $40,000. Educators in Fargo, ND, Pittsburgh, and Murrysville, PA, and bus drivers with AFSCME Local 2227 in Polk County, FL and with Teamsters Local 610 in Wright City, MO also have new contracts, as do support staff with Teamsters Local 911 and the CSEA in Pasadena, CA. Contract negotiations in Billings, MT and Rutland, VT are going considerably less well." - ([1] 3/9/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Omaha, NB - "Four non-union foster care case workers in Omaha walked off the job in protest of horrendous conditions. (h/t to the Cornell Labor Action Tracker for these two stories I missed!)" - ([1] 3/9/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
In Chicago, 125 warehouse workers and 200 truck drivers at a Sysco Food warehouse in the northern suburb of Des Plaines, went on strike Monday to protest unfair treatment by management. ([1] 1/9/21); "125 warehouse workers for food wholesaler Sysco in Des Plaines, IL went on strike with Teamsters Local 703 on Monday, and by Thursday evening had a tentative agreement. The drivers weren’t on strike but honored the picket line, so functionally they were, complicating matters for the company, which supplies food to Chicago Public Schools, hospitals, and other big customers." - ([2] 3/9/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Pittsburgh, PA - "After authorizing a strike, 700 nurses with SEIU Healthcare PA at West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh have a first contract." - ([1] 27/8/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Twin Cities, MN - "The 2,350 members of ATU Local 1005 in the Twin Cities ratified a contract after previously authorizing a strike and rejecting a “final” offer from management. Final offers have a way of becoming less final in the face of a credible strike threat." - ([1] 27/8/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Kansas City - "Over 1,000 nurses in the Kansas City area with NNU have a tentative agreement after months of protests; the main issues for these nurses have been, like every other hospital in the country (world?), short staffing and job safety." - ([1] 19/8/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
San Mateo County, CA - "Bus operators for SamTrans, the San Mateo County, CA transit system, unofficially seem to have organized a two-day sickout. The union, ATU Local 1574, and the transit system, agreed, because of the pandemic, to indefinitely extend the contract, which expired last summer. Bus drivers are apparently ready for a new agreement." - ([1] 19/8/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Coffee shop workers at Biggby Coffee in Toledo, Ohio walked out last Friday to protest poor treatment by management. ([1] 1/9/21)
Last weekend, over 40 bartenders walked out of the Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash Festival after a lack of security led to drunken festival attendees rushing their understaffed booths and becoming violent. - ([1] 1/9/21)

Minneapolis, MN - Striking Window Cleaners Want Their Dangerous Job Recognized as a Skilled Trade - want pay increases, reduction in health care costs, and a state-recognized, fully funded apprenticeship program to improve training and safety ([1] 16/8/21); After a 10-Day Strike, a Cleaners Union Wins a Landmark Contract With Pay Raises and Safety Reinforcements ([2] 27/8/21)

Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine - "Sunday night, after agreeing to a one week extension past the contract deadline, 1,000 telecom workers for Consolidated Communications in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine with CWA Local 1400 and IBEW Locals 2320, 2326, and 2327 reached a tentative agreement ([1] 8/8/21), averting a strike." - ([2] 12/8/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)

Flint, Dearborn, Ann Arbor, MI - "AFT Local 6244, the Lecturers’ Employee Organization (“LEO”) at University of Michigan is taking advantage of a clause in their contract to “quit the contract,” ([1] 11/8/21) giving the university 30 days to renegotiate a new agreement or let it expire, which among other things would mean the “no strike” clause would no longer be in effect as of September 5th, as the union was careful to point out. At the core of the dispute is pay parity for lecturers across campuses, with Flint and Dearborn non-tenure-track faculty making considerably less than those on the main campus in Ann Arbor." - ([2] 12/8/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)

New York Times - "Hundreds of tech workers at the New York Times walked off the job ([1] 10/8/21) as part of the New York NewsGuild response to the Times’s refusal to recognize the union and delay for months. Two of the workers spoke with Jacobin last week ([2] 2/8/21) about their fight." - ([3] 12/8/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)

Tukwila, WA - "About 100 mental healthcare workers with 1199NW at Cascade Behavioral Health in Tukwila, WA struck last week ([1] 12/8/21) over safety concerns after a violent incident with a patient. It’s unclear to me whether the core issue the workers are raising is understaffing, or security presence and/or police responsiveness to issues at the facility." - ([2] 12/8/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird); ([3] 25/9/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)

Reno, NV - Yesterday in Reno, Nevada, Teamsters Local 533 members, employed by the Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) for-profit contractor Keolis Corporation, went on strike over the company’s threat to switch from a Teamsters’ owned health insurance to a cheaper-run plan chosen by the company. ([1] 5/8/21); Reno-Sparks bus service still disrupted on driver strike's second day. Rides will be free ([2] 4/8/21 via Who Gets the Bird); "The Teamsters Local 533 strike against transit contractor Keolis in Reno, NV also continues, with the mayor getting involved ([3] 10/8/21). Also at issue in this strike is healthcare, specifically the management of the health fund and the level of employer contribution. While Keolis claims to be acting in good faith and acting shocked that the union won’t bend, they’re also calling the police on strikers. ([4] 10/8/21)" - ([5] 12/8/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird); Now, after more than a combined 65 days on strike over the past four months, the union has reached a tentative agreement yesterday with the company, which they will vote on Thursday. ([6] 1/12/21)

Munster, IN - WATCH NOW: NWI Pepsi drivers strike over potential 5-fold health care cost hike ([1] 12/7/21); "The Teamsters Local 142 Pepsi strike in Munster, IN remain on strike, since July 12th, over rising healthcare costs ([2] 28/7/21). Inside production workers, also Teamsters, ratified a contract but drivers remain on the line." - ([3] 29/7/21 cr. Who Gets the Bird); More than 100 drivers at a Pepsi bottling facility in Munster, Indiana, responsible for delivering pop to the shelves of major grocery chains across the Midwest and represented by Teamsters Local 142, have been on strike for nearly a month, protesting the company’s proposal to sharply raise the workers’ health insurance premiums from $14 to more than $80 over the next four years — a more than fivefold increase. ([4] 11/8/21); "The Teamsters Local 142 Pepsi strike in Munster, IN hits the one-month mark today, and the neighboring city of Hammond says they’ll boycott Pepsi ([5] 9/8/21) if the company doesn’t settle an agreement by next Friday. The main issue is that the company wants to sextuple healthcare premiums. The union does not want that." - ([6] 12/8/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)

Macomb County, MI - "The 500 nurses at McLaren Macomb Hospital in Mt Clemens, MI who were ready to strike yesterday with OPEIU Local 40 reached a deal before the strike began ([1] 27/7/21), and a ratification vote is scheduled for early August." - ([2] 29/7/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird); McLaren Macomb nurses overwhelmingly ratify new contract - 3-year agreement includes pay raises, improved nurse-to-patient ratios ([3] 4/8/21)
Sacramento, CA - In Sacramento, California, Jack in the Box workers walked out over abusive work conditions, claiming that their employer owed them $184,000. ([1] 5/8/21)

Puyallup, WA - "After authorizing a strike, 500 warehouse workers with Teamsters Local 117 at Fred Meyer in Puyallup, WA landed a tentative agreement ([1] 30/7/21) that’s expected to be ratified in the coming days. Meanwhile, Local 117 workers at Darigold remain on high alert ([2] 2/8/21) for a strike, as their contract expired in May and members authorized a strike in July." - ([3] 8/8/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
New York City, NY - Dozens of butcher shop workers at four of Fleishers’ high-end butcher shops went on strike after a newly appointed CEO removed signs supporting the Black Lives Matter Movement and LBGTQ+ Pride. [lgbtq-news, civil-rights-news] ([1] 5/8/21)

Baton Rouge, LA / Orange County, FL / Quincy, MA - "In what could be considered the first K-12 job action of the new school year, some teachers in East Baton Rouge, LA refused to attend ([1] 3/8/21) in-person professional development sessions due to the spread of the delta COVID variant [Louisiana is a big hot spot for it as of reporting]. In Orange County, FL 750 more teachers resigned in the past school year than in the previous one, and more continue to leave, as COVID spreads and the union and district are at an impasse in bargaining ([2] 5/8/21) over a pay dispute. The teachers union in Quincy, MA is knocking the city ([3] 30/7/21) for failing to use any of its COVID relief funding to provide increased compensation for teachers." - ([4] 8/8/21)
Washington State - In Washington State, Burger King workers walked off the job because of understaffing and poor working conditions. It wasn’t enough, however, f0r them to simply close the place and leave. The workers decided to stand outside and hand out free food to frustrated customers looking to eat. ([1] 5/8/21)
Missouri Aviary Cafe workers strike, charge they are “overworked like slaves” ([1] 1/8/21)
Palm Peach, FL - In Palm Beach, Florida, it is suspected that union teachers went on a “sickout strike” to protest Governor DeSantis’ ban on schools implementing mask bans. ([1] 2/8/21)

Fort Lee, VA - At Fort Lee military base in Virginia, over 20 barbers employed as contractors at the base have gone on strike this week over changes in their pay structure, resulting in some barbers making $1,000 less a month ([1] 9/7/21); "Twenty barbers at Fort Lee, VA remain on strike ([2] 30/7/21) with Laborers Local 572 since the Fourth of July, as contractor Sheffield cut their pay while raising haircut prices." - ([3] 8/8/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, CA - This week, 235 skilled trades workers, members of the IFPTE, have gone on strike at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. ([1] 28/7/21); "The strike among 200 skilled tradespeople with UPTE CWA at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which does nuclear research for the federal government, ended after three days ([2] 30/7/21), as planned." - ([3] 8/8/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
"The New York NewsGuild announced that, after two and a half years, workers at The New Yorker, Pitchfork, and Ars Technica have ratified their first union contract, which includes raises of up to 76% for some members, and a salary floor of $60,000 by 2023. They also won just cause and a ban on non-disclosure agreements. The Guild was already facing an avalanche of new organizing interest, and if non-union media workers get wind of this, I’d imagine there’ll be more where that came from. The NDA provision in particular marks a trend across media unions, as Indigo Olivier at The Nation reports ([1] 26/7/21)." - ([2] 29/7/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
"After unionizing with the Steelworkers in September of 2019, 65 workers for Google subcontractor HCL America have a tentative agreement ([1] 23/7/21). I believe it’s the first contract for any Google subcontractor, but I could be wrong about that (I know the Teamsters and others have at least attempted to organize shuttle bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and other staff.)" - ([2] 29/7/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird) [big-tech-news]
California - In California, 300 video game workers have decided to walk in solidarity with co-workers, who had been sexually harassed at the video game maker Activision Blizzard ([1] 28/7/21)
Baton Rouge, LA - Breaking: David Wade Prison Guards retaliate against hunger strikers ([1] 28/7/21)
Boston, MA - In Boston, another group of 39 Nurses at the Boston Visiting Nurses Association have started a seven-day strike. The strike comes after nurses have struggled for 19 months to win a first contract. ([1] 27/7/21)
Chicago, IL - At Community First Medical Center in Chicago, more than 200 nurses went on a one-day strike Monday to protest poor working conditions. ([1] 27/7/21)
Tucson, AZ - Tucson Restaurant Workers Move to Create First Restaurant Workers Union in Arizona ([1] 27/7/21)
Florence, SC - In Florence, South Carolina, Ruby Tuesday workers decided to walk out on Monday, complaining about being poorly paid and underappreciated. ([1] 27/7/21)
Pittsburgh, PA - Kitchen Staff at Famous Pittsburgh Bar “ Squirrel Hill Cafe” Quit-En-Masse ([1] 27/7/21)
British Columbia, Canada - 900 workers at Rio Tinto’s British Columbia smelter strike over contract labour and pension rights ([1] 27/7/21)
Topeka, KA - With more than 500 Frito Lay workers on strike since Monday in Topeka, Kansas, the company has now begun to advertise that they’ll hire scabs to replace workers out on strike. ([1] 9/7/21); Hundred of workers at snack and beverage company Frito-Lay have remained on strike since July 5th at its Topeka plant in response to crushing working conditions. ([2] 15/7/21); Frito-Lay Workers Are on Strike for Their Lives - Hundreds of workers are on strike at the Frito-Lay plant in Topeka, Kansas. Many of them are working 12-hour days, seven days a week, and some haven’t had a day off in five months — conditions that are literally killing them. ([3] 19/7/21); Frito-Lay Workers Win a Day Off After 19-Day Strike ([4] 27/7/21)
Somerville, NJ - "Workers at Fullerton Auto Group car dealerships in Somerville, NJ are on strike with ([1] 20/7/21, fb link) UAW Local 259, as management refuses to sign a contract after apparently already agreeing to it. I haven’t seen any coverage of the strike, feel free to send me any local stories I may have missed." - ([2] 23/7/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Puerto Rico - In Puerto Rico, truck drivers hauling food and retail goods have gone on a nationwide strike today ([1] 21/7/21)
Pelham, GA - In the small 4,000-person municipality of Pelham city in Southern Georgia, low-wage municipal workers have gone on strike Tuesday, demanding higher wages and better treatment. ([1] 21/7/21)
Kansas City, MO - Missouri Tractor Trailer Workers Win Strike; After a 12-Day Strike at Highway Trailer Sales in Kansas City, the Machinist Union is declaring victory this week after winning a significantly better contract ([1] 16/7/21)
University of Southern California - "1400 nurses with the California Nurses Association (NNU) struck two University of Southern California healthcare facilities for two days this week ([1] 13/7/21). The two-day strike is followed by a functional three-day lockout, as is often the case with nurse strikes where traveling nurses are hired as temporary replacements." - ([2] 15/7/21, cr: Who Gets the bird)
Dublin, VA - On Saturday, nearly 3,000 Volvo workers went on strike in Dublin, Virginia, one of the largest of 2021 so far. ... The strike is in response to three months of failed negotiations with Volvo representatives, and the striking workers, who belong to UAW Local 2069, are, according to the union, protesting a host of issues, including wages, job security, health and safety, work schedules, and benefits. ([1] 18/4/21) ([2] 19/4/21) ([3] 23/4/21); Volvo Truck workers oppose concessions deal pushed by UAW ([4] 3/5/21); Volvo Workers Vote Down UAW Contract - 'with 91% voting for rejecting the contract and going back into bargaining' ([5] 17/5/21)([6] 17/5/21)([7] 17/5/21); BREAKING: Volvo Truck workers overwhelmingly (around 90% against) vote down second UAW-backed contract ([8] 6/6/21); 3,000 Volvo Workers Are on Strike Again - After rejecting a second contract offer, Volvo workers at the Mack and Volvo Truck of North America manufacturing plant in Dublin, Virginia are on strike again. They say that this time they are not going back until a new contract is ratified. ([9] 16/6/21); Volvo Trucks, UAW reach [third] tentative agreement - The strike will continue until a ratification vote ([10] 1/7/21 via Who Gets the Bird); Volvo Trucks workers in Virginia reject third consecutive sellout deal, in massive rebuke of UAW ([11] 9/7/21); Volvo Workers Forced to Vote Again on Contract They Just Rejected ([12] 12/7/21); United Auto Workers moves to rapidly shut down Volvo Trucks strike after dubious passage of new contract ([13] 16/7/21)

Philadelphia, PA - Hunger strikers in Pennsylvania solitary win demands ([1] 15/7/21)
Los Angeles, CA - hundreds of nurses have gone on strike at Keck Hospital of USC and the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center [over short staffing and reliance on insufficiently trained outside contractors] ([1] 14/7/21)
Tullahoma, TN - AEMTC workers strike from National Aerospace Solutions at Arnold Airforce Base ([1] 8/7/21); Tennessee workers at military research facility continue strike for health and safety - ([2] 13/7/21); "The two-week metal trades workers strike at Arnold Air Force Base in Tullahoma, TN ended ([3] 16/7/21) with a 3 year contract." - ([4] 23/7/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Cook County, IL - Today, over 2,500 workers, employed by Cook County in Chicago are protesting cuts that the county government has proposed. ([1] 25/6/21); SEIU strikes for 5th day after three other unions reach contract agreements with Cook County - AFSCME, National Nurses United and the Teamsters all agreed to terms, but the union representing custodians, technicians and administrative workers remained on the picket line. ([2] 29/6/21 via Who Gets the Bird); 2,500 Chicago-Area Workers Win Tentative Contract, Ending 18-Day Strike ([3] 13/7/21)
Everett, WA - "After authorizing a strike, UFCW Local 21 members at Providence Medical Center in Everett, WA have a tentative agreement (([1] 13/7/21)." - ([2] 15/7/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Los Angeles, CA - This July 13 and 14, nurses at Keck Hospital of USC and USC Norris Cancer Hospital in Los Angeles, California are slated to go on strike.; “Cancer patients need safe staffing and specialized care,” said Michael Simonton, RN in the Intensive Care Unit at USC Norris Cancer Hospital. “USC claims they have no problems hiring nurses, so I have to ask myself why our hospital is chronically short-staffed.” ([1] 9/7/21)
As part of Southern trend, Elizabeth City workers strike for better pay ([1] 7/7/21)
Lifeguards in Maine Walk Out on 4th of July Weekend - 'Veteran lifeguard captain J.P. Argenti argued that it was tough to recruit lifeguards because the pay was so low. But rather than increasing workers’ pay, they demoted Argenti, prompting workers to take a stand. ' ([1] 6/7/21)
500 Frito-Lay Workers Struck in Topeka - 'The strike comes after the union’s membership overwhelmingly rejected the last contract proposed by management as workers say something needs to change at the plant.' ([1] 6/7/21)
2,000 Arkansas Krogers Workers Strike - 'The strike is motivated by the desire of Kroger to no longer have to pay into the union’s owned and administered Taft-Hartley healthcare plan. Instead, Kroger wants to change the union contract to stipulate that workers have to switch to the company-owned health insurance plan instead, which would give the company far more power over how healthcare is administered. ' ([1] 6/7/21)
100 Berry Pickers Strike in California - 'Late last week in Santa Maria, California, over 100 farmworkers, employed by West Coast Berry Farms, walked off the job demanding a minimum wage of $14 an hour along with $1.25 for each box of berries picked.' ([1] 6/7/21)
Air Force Base Workers Strike in Tenn. - 'At Arnold Air Force Base in Tullahoma, Tennessee, skilled metal trades workers from a variety of unions, employed as contractors, went on strike against the main contractor NAS–National Aerospace Solutions, LCC and its subcontractor Chugach. The workers say they are striking over low pay and concern about safety conditions. ' ([1] 6/7/21)
Portillo’s workers stage walkout, claim unfair hours and pay - “All we want is to be treated decently, treated fairly and paid fairly,” a worker said a rally in River North Friday. ([1] 2/7/21 via Payday Report)
Bellingham Cold Storage workers are out on strike — again ([1] 2/7/21 via Payday Report)
Twenty drag performers leave the Globe after disagreements over pay and working conditions ([1] 1/7/21 via Payday Report)
Atlanta’s homeless form union and occupy City Hall, demands met with arrests ([1] 5/7/21)
Portland, OR - Voodoo Doughnut Workers Go on Strike, Claiming Sweaty Shop Conditions - “The doughnuts themselves melt in the heat as the frosting never fully dries,” the striking workers added in their Facebook post. ([1] 28/6/21 via Who Gets the Bird)
Brooklyn, NY - 'Around 400 employees of the Brooklyn Public Defender’s Office In New York, known as Brooklyn Defender Services (BDS), sought unionization with the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys this week.' ([1] 2/7/21)
Portsmouth, RI - Marijuana Workers Strike in Rhode Island ([1] 28/6/21); Union workers hold one-day strike at Greenleaf in Portsmouth - Charge that employee was fired in retaliation for union activities ([1] 30/6/21 via Who Gets the Bird)
Elizabeth City, NC - 'public employees went on strike Tuesday after the City Council declined to pass an ordinance that would have raised pay for city employees.' ([1] 30/6/21)
Sacramento, CA - Sacramento Jack in the Box Workers Walk Out Over No A/C ([1] 30/6/21)
New Orleans Public Works Employees Strike - 'The workers say they aren’t just protesting low wages, but also unsafe working conditions, including a lack of protection from the summer heat.' ([1] 28/6/21)
Camden, PA - Camden teachers are getting a 15% raise in their new contract - “Our long-term survival is still under constant threat,” a union leader said. “This contract is the bare minimum, and you don’t get kudos for the bare minimum.” ([1] 24/6/21 via Who Gets the Bird)
Black Tik Tok Content Creators Strike ([1] 25/6/21)
New York City, NY - Brooklyn Oil Workers At United Metro Energy Enter Second Month of Strike - The workers of United Metro Energy Corp. in New York City have been striking for two months to win a first contract. Against a billionaire boss who continues to delay negotiations, it will take militant action to break this deadlock. ([1] 23/6/21)
New York City, NY - Workers at Oxford University Press Announce Unionization Effort - Workers at the New York branch of the largest university press in the world are forming a union to fight for better working conditions in their workplace and across the industry. ([1] 23/6/21)
Bellingham, Washington - Washington State Cold Storage Workers Strike [to protest a lack of progress in contract negotations] ([1] 21/6/21)
Washington - Striking Washington Farmworker Move to Vote on Union Again ([1] 21/6/21)
Atlanta, GA - Atlanta Film Crew Walks Off of TBS Show Set ([1] 17/6/21)
Houston, TX - Hooters Workers Walkout in Texas Over Lack of A/C; 'As a result of the walkout, an A/C company showed up on Wednesday to fix the A/C unit.' ([1] 17/6/21)
Pittsburgh, PA - Pittsburgh Family Dollar General Workers Walkout ([1] 17/6/21)
MSNBC - MSNBC employees are forming a union ([1] 17/6/21)
Chicago, IL - Dispersed but Undaunted, Chicago Amazon Workers Help Win Megacycle Pay Nationwide ([1] 15/6/21)
Ashland, Ohio - [70] Ohio Hoist Manufacturing Workers Strike ([1] 15/6/21)
Oakland and Seattle - Longshoreman Refusing to Unload [Israeli] Ships (fixed typo) ([1] 15/6/21)
Hayesville, OH - About 70 manufacturing workers with Steelworkers Local 7008 who make hydraulic cylinders at Custom Hoists in Hayesville, OH also struck on Monday ([1] 15/6/21) over wages, working conditions, and healthcare costs. ([2] 17/6/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird); "After six weeks on strike with the Steelworkers, hydraulic cylinder manufacturing workers for Custom Hoists in Hayesville, OH ratified a contract ([3] 26/7/21), which, among other things, closes (but does not eliminate) the two-tier pay gap." - ([4] 29/7/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Belleville, WI - '80-some manufacturing workers who make food display cases for Federal Industries in Belleville, WI went out on strike ([1] 14/6/21) Monday with Machinists Local 1406.' - ([2] 17/6/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
New Nersey - 100 New Jersey Teachers Wildcat Strike over Selection of New Superintendent ([1] 14/6/21)
Colorado - ‘We moved a mountain’: Colorado pre-K teachers win a union ([1] 13/5/21)
Janitors with 32BJ SEIU in Miami, FL struck ([1] 11/6/21) building maintenance company CBM. ([2] 17/6/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
The 4,000 or so electrical workers in Seattle with IBEW Local 46 reached a tentative agreement ([1] 11/6/21) an hour past a midnight deadline, averting what would’ve been 2021’s largest strike ([2] 10/6/21). ([3] 17/6/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Flint, MI - Teachers Strike Over Lack of A/C ([1] 9/6/21)
Oakland, CA - ([1 / facebook link] 9/6/21, via Who Gets the Bird)
Teachers Enter Second Day Of Strike At Urban Prep Charter Schools After 3 Years Of Negotiations ([1] 8/6/21)
Kingstown, RI - Strike! Workers at Johnson Brothers Demand Living Wages and Better Healthcare ([1] 28/5/21 via Who Gets the Bird)
Puerto Rico - Puerto Ricans Set to Go on Strike After Weeks of Protest Against Privatization of Electric Grid ([1] 2/6/21); Puerto Rican Unions to Hold Biggest National Strike since 2019 - Today in Puerto Rico, workers and activists are calling for a national strike and mobilizations in response to the privatization of Puerto Rico’s electric grid under the U.S. and Canadian company LUMA Energy. ([2] 3/6/21); Puerto Rico Faces Massive Blackout Days After Privatization of Electrical Grid ([3] 11/6/21)
Sudbury, Ontario (Canada) - After rebelling against USW-backed deal, 2,400 Canadian miners launch strike against multinational Vale Inco ([1] 1/6/21)
Oregon - Oregon legislative employees become first in the nation to unionize ([1] 28/5/21 via u/Votings_Good_Folks on r/labor)
Del Mar is one of DC’s glitziest restaurants run by the Michelin-starred chef Fabio Trabocchi. However, this past weekend, the restaurant was closed after workers decided to walk off the job. - ([1] 27/5/21)
In Huntersville, North Carolina, 15 Frankie’s Fun Park employees walked off the job Wednesday to protest racist comments by a supervisor. ([1] 27/5/21)
Workers at the Whitney Museum Just Won a Union - After workers announced their organizing drive last week, the Whitney Museum of American Art has voluntarily recognized the union — the latest in a rising tide of cultural workers unionizing. We spoke to one of the Whitney workers about why the museum went union.([1] 28/5/21)
UFCW has announced its own pair of groundbreaking organizing victories, as two of the nation’s largest cannabis producers—Union Harvest and Nature’s Root Labs—have signed onto an organizing agreement with the union. ([1] 27/5/21)
University of California schools - 'On Monday, organizers from the United Auto Workers (UAW) submitted 10,441 union cards to the California Public Employee Relations Board to request a union election for around 17,000 higher education workers across ten University of California (UC) schools.' ([1] 27/5/21)
'The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists union has filed an unfair labor practice claim against New York Public Radio after NYPR laid off 14 employees, including a shop steward.' ([1] 26/5/21)
Connecticut - 'Many travelers expected the interstates to be jammed this Memorial Day weekend in Connecticut. However, many Service Plaza restaurants along 1-95 will be closed as workers are planning a strike to protest poor working conditions and union-busting by their employers.' ([1] 25/5/21)
San Francisco, CA - Chinese Hospital nurses in San Francisco strike over substandard work conditions ([1] 25/5/21 via u/diaspora_warrior on r/labor)
Austin, TX - 4 Austin-Area Juiceland Stores Go on Strike ([1] 18/5/21); won a raise via a raised guaranteed-tip-wage ([2] 19/5/21 via Who Gets the Bird); boss threatening legal action ([3] 21/5/21 via u/Matthew_John); workers legal fund GoFundMe
Pennsylvania - More than 4,000 SEIU Healthcare Pa. workers are expected to picket today outside of nursing homes and other healthcare facilities. The workers are protesting Pennsylvania’s nursing home regulations, which have not been updated for decades. ([1]25/5/21)
Quebec, Canada - 2,500 workers at steel giant ArcelorMittal go on strike [since May 10] on Quebec’s North Shore ([1] 24/5/21)
Los Angeles, CA - In Los Angeles, union members whose friends and family have been killed by the police are organizing with Black Lives Matter LA against the powerful police union there. ([1] 24/5/21)
Calgary, Vancouver Canada - More than 500 WestJet employees unionize in Calgary and Vancouver ([1] 21/5/21 via u/RedditGreenit on r/labor)

Medical/Hospitals and University of New Mexico - 'After a year of bargaining, 70 workers with SEIU Local 668 at six low-income health centers with the Public Health Management Corp. in Philadelphia have their first tentative agreement ([1] 14/5/21). So do 170 hospital support staff ([2] 19/5/21) with SEIU Local 49 at Providence Milwaukie Hospital in Milwaukie, OR, as do [around 1,600 staff at] University of New Mexico ([3] 19/5/21) faculty with AAUP-AFT. The 20,000 state employees with AFSCME Local 4041 have their first (and the state’s second-ever, after CWA beat AFSCME to the punch last week) tentative agreement (4] 20/5/21) after a new law legalized state employee collective bargaining in Nevada.' - ([5] 20/5/21) [cr: Who Gets the Bird]
AFA-CWA has secured a one-year contract extension with pay raises and healthcare costs caps at Alaska Airlines, and has generally managed to stay afloat (aloft?) ([1] 19/5/21) in bargaining during the pandemic.' - ([2] 20/5/21) [cr: Who Gets the Bird]
Cincinnati, OH - 'SEIU 1199 has won ([1] 17/5/21) a $15 minimum wage for their 90 members at Cincinnati State Technical & Community College, but the Operating Engineers are at an impasse in negotiations.' - ([2] 20/5/21) [cr: Who Gets the Bird]
Hyattsville, MD - '115 call center workers ... for DC’s paratransit service MetroAccess with ATU Local 689 authorized a strike ([1] 11/5/21) against WMATA subcontractor MV Transportation, then hit the picket line just before 11am on Friday morning (14/5/21). Allies should call WMATA’s Managing Director of Access Services, Christiaan Blake at: 202-281-8984 & demand that he tell WMATA contractor MV Transportation to settle a fair contract today. If that voicemail fills up, email cblake@wmata.com. At issue is a 1% wage increase offer from the company, who, when pressed, apparently told a worker that a job that doesn’t require a degree isn’t worth more than that.' - ([2] 14/5/21) [cr: Who Gets the Bird]; strike last one day 'due to concerns about stranding disabled riders ... but vowing that if things don't change at the bargaining table, they may strike again' ([3] 17/5/21); 115 call center workers strike at DC’s public transit system WMATA, we hardly knew ye. The ATU Local 689 strike in Hyattsville, MD lasted about ten hours ([4] 14/5/21), with a return to work agreement that made sure no strikers would be disciplined, but also didn’t settle the underlying contract settlement dispute that provoked the strike in the first place.' - ([5] 20/5/21) [cr: Who Gets the Bird]
Top Chef (tv show) - IATSE ([1] 20/5/21) members ([2] 19/5/21) struck the new Top Chef spinoff, “Top Chef Family Style,” and won within 24 hours, avoiding a threatened replacement with scab workers. ([3] 20/5/21)
Sunbury, PA - '[~50] School support staff in Sunbury, PA with the Shikellamy Education Support Professionals Association (NEA) are on strike as of last Friday ([1] 15/5/21), as new contract negotiations have stalled for nearly a year and a half, and the district moves to outsource the jobs (primarily teaching aides and secretaries) to a staffing agency.' - ([2] 20/5/21) [cr: Who Gets the Bird]
McDonald's - McDonald's Workers Will Strike for $15 an Hour in 15 Cities - Striking cashiers and cooks say there's an easy solution to McDonald's labor shortage: a $15 minimum wage. ([1] 7/5/21 via u/Lilyo on r/labor) ([2] 9/5/21); call out pay raise that benefits just 5% of branches ([3] 14/5/21); McDonald’s workers have launched a national strike in more than a dozen major cities across the U.S. before the company’s annual shareholders meeting scheduled for tomorrow, demanding a $15/hour wage. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) are expected to join the striking workers and deliver remarks at the event. ([4] 19/5/21)
Tonawanda, Western NY - 180 Towanda Steelworkers Strike at Unifrax ([1] 18/5/21)
San Diego, CA - Cannabis workers unionize at three local dispensaries, a first for San Diego region ([1] 18/5/21 via u/RedditGreenit on r/labor)
Audubon Society (bird protection non-profit) - Audubon Society Refuses to Recognize Its Staff Union, But Employees Say Victory Is Near - After more than a year of organizing and turmoil at the top, the bird-focused nonprofit’s workers are confident they will win. ([1] 17/5/21)
New York City, NY - Workers at the Whitney Museum Move to Form a Union - Like other museums in the city, members of the Whitney staff are organizing with the United Auto Workers. ([1] 17/5/2)
California - Another California school district, Santa Maria, is at an impasse in negotiations (1] 5/5/21) with its teachers union. The Santa Maria Education Association is rallying for public support ([2] 12/5/21), and talking about bringing in a mediator.' - ([3] 14/5/21) [cr: Who Gets the Bird]
Charles County, MD - Teacher's union hosts rally to fully fund Charles schools' budget ([1] 12/5/21 via Who Gets the Bird?)
At the University of California system, UC-AFT and the administration are close to an impasse ([1] 12/5/21), which could mean some labor action this fall, though there’s nothing concrete yet.' - ([2] 14/5/21) [cr: Who Gets the Bird]
Kentucky - 'University of Kentucky workers with United Campus Workers Kentucky (CWA) rallied this week ([1] 12/5/21) for more staff and faculty input on top-level hiring decisions, in particular the search for a new dean of the university’s graduate school, and won.' - ([2] 14/5/21) [cr: Who Gets the Bird]
San Francisco, CA - 'AFT Local 2121, representing faculty at City College of San Francisco, is getting pummeled by austerity. First, the administration proposed laying off 163 faculty (and 34 administrators) to avoid going into a sort of state receivership due to financial insolvency. After protests ([1] 7/5/21) by the union and student groups alike, the College made a deal ([2] 9/5/21) to stop the layoffs in exchange for a 4-11% wage cut across the board. The deal was put to a membership vote, where it won over 80% approval from the 79% of members who voted, according to the union ([3] 10/5/21). If that weren’t enough, there’s also a reopening fight brewing on campus ([4] 12/5/21). The layoff situation is of course not unique to CCSF, and Inside Higher Ed has a comparison ([5] 11/5/21) of the CCSF cuts as against an arbitrator’s decision to cut 17 faculty jobs at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, whose faculty are unionized with the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh.' - ([6] 14/5/21) [cr: Who Gets the Bird]
Rochester, NY - 'building trades unions are protesting the Monroe County Economic Development Agency’s proposal to waive labor regulations ([1] 13/5/21) for the construction of a new Amazon facility in Gates, NY. The idea that Amazon needs these kinds of enticements is laughable, and just pits local governments against one another as they prostrate themselves before the retail giant, offering supplication and sacrificial tax abatements in return for low-wage jobs. That’s how you get a world in which Amazon workers pay more in taxes than Amazon does.' ([2] 14/5/21) [cr: Who Gets the Bird]
Connecticut - more than 2,000 group home workers across Connecticut notified their employers that they were prepared to strike beginning May 21 for better wages (including a $20 minimum hourly wage), staffing and health care benefits, after more than 3,000 nursing home workers likewise notified 33 facilities of their intent to strike as of May 14 the previous week. [all represented by SEIU 1199 New England] ([1] 9/5/21); Connecticut Nursing Home Workers Reach Tentative Deal [following threats of calling in the National Guard by CN gov] ([2] 13/5/21); SEIU calls off [more accurately - POSTPONED] strike by Connecticut nursing home workers, accepts governor’s inadequate last-minute deal ([3] 14/5/21); 'Behind the scenes, Lamont’s talk wasn’t apparently as tough, and 1199 agreed to delay ([4] 13/5/21) the nursing home strike, and then called it off entirely, announcing a wage increase ([5] 12/5/21) of more than 10% over two years, winning their demand for a $20/hour minimum wage in the state’s nursing homes. Apparently ([6] 13/5/21) the agreement doesn’t cover the group home workers, so we’ll see what happens on the 21st.' ([7] 14/5/21) (switched [4] and [5], think original author made mistake) [cr: Who Gets the Bird]
More unfair labor practice charges have been filed against Greene Kleen, a cleaning company based in Doral, Florida. The charges allege union busting and retaliation against janitorial employees attempting to organize with the SEIU. ([1] 11/5/21); 'Janitors with 32BJ SEIU struck cleaning contractor Greene Kleen ([2] 11/5/21) in Doral, FL after filing unfair labor practice charges [to the NLRB], accusing management of surveillance and threats regarding union organizing attempts.' - ([3] 14/5/21) [cr: Who Gets the Bird]
Mount Union, PA - 21 workers with Workers United Local 9 in Mount Union, PA at Bleyer Industries, which does business as “Fun World,” and whose claim to fame is being the only US producer of Easter grass and Halloween spiderweb tinsel, walked out on Tuesday (11/5/21) ([1] 11/5/21). The main demand is a pay raise, as the average wage among the workers is a whopping $8.50 an hour, which doesn’t sound Fun at all, no matter how much tinsel is involved. - ([2] 14/5/21) [cr: Who Gets the Bird]
Pittsburgh, PA (now at 9 plants across the country) - (at five different facilities) 'In 2016, ATI (Allegheny Technologies Inc.) locked out the steelworkers for more than six months. Now with working conditions getting worse at the plant, more than 1,500 Steelworkers voted by 95% margin to strike at ATI.' ([1] 12/3/21) ([2] 31/3/21); talks break off ([3] 20/4/21); ATI issues contract ultimatum to strikers as USW isolates workers ([4] 22/4/21); ATI, Steelworkers open to involving [federal] mediator as strike continues ([5] 14/5/21); Striking ATI Steelworkers Hold the Line for Premium-Free Health Insurance ([6] 14/6/21); "After 107 days, the 1300-member Steelworkers strike at ATI ended with a ratified contract. There were lots of issues at play in the strike, but healthcare premiums became one of the central sticking points, and the union appears to have kept them at $0 ([7] 6/7/21), albeit with deductibles going up." - ([8] 15/7/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
New York City, NY - [Interview] Striking NYU Grad Workers: “Our Struggle, Like Every Labor Struggle, Is Part of a Larger Fight” - New York University's finances are flush, yet the administration has stonewalled grad workers on wages and other demands, including limiting New York police officers' access to campus buildings. Now, the thousands-strong union is on strike. ([1] 28/4/21) ([2] 28/4/21) ([3] 27/4/21); NYU graduate student strike enters second week as GSOC-UAW makes concessions ([4] 3/5/21); reached tentative agreement ([5] 14/5/21) although member ratification still required ([6] 14/5/21)
Los Angeles, CA - 80 drivers of Imperfect Foods, an environmentally conscious delivery service, voted yesterday to unionize 28-23 with the United Food & Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) Local 5. ([1] 13/5/21) (see also Imperfect Foods organizing in San Francisco in April here)
New York - management at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have agreed to voluntarily recognize their employees’ new staff union, represented by the Non-Profit Professional Employees Union (NPEU), an affiliate of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) Local 70. ([1] 13/5/21)
New York City - After twelve weeks of negotiations the Metropolitan Opera has reached a yet-to-be disclosed deal with the American Guild of Musical Artists, a union which represents the Met’s chorus, dancers, actors, and stage managers. ([1] 13/5/21); Yesterday, the Metropolitan Opera’s stagehands, musicians and designers protested outside of New York City’s Lincoln Center in response to a contract dispute with its employer. ([2] 14/5/21)
More & More Restaurant Workers Going on Spontaneous Strike Across the Nation ([1] 12/5/21)
Mount Union, PA - Holiday Decoration Workers Walk Off the Job in Mount Union, PA - 'In rural central PA, a group of about 21 workers, making only $8.50-an-hour producing holiday decorations, is demanding higher wages and going on strike.; Finally, after discovering that their employer received more than $350,000 through federally funded Paycheck Protection Program loans, workers at the plant decided to strike.' ([1] 12/5/21)
Saginaw, MI - Workers at Nexteer Automotive in Saginaw, Michigan demand details of tentative agreement negotiated by UAW ([1] (10/5/21)
Staffers at The Appeal announced they had formed a union. Five minutes later, management announced layoffs. - The nonprofit news site focused on criminal justice reform has a vision for “an America where stability and dignity are within everyone’s reach.” Some of its employees say you wouldn’t know that from its management. (([1] 10/5/21 via u/psychothumbs on r/labor)
New Jersey - Three New Jersey daily newspapers, including Bergen Record, unionize ([1] 7/5/21 via u/Cyclone_1 on r/labor)
Durham, NC - Duke University Press Workers Organize with NewsGuild [1] (4/5/21)
Amazon delivery drivers - The @Teamsters [president James Hoffa] reveal their plan to unionize Amazon delivery drivers: "We're about ready to launch... Amazon is going to be our next big thing." ([1] 3/5/21, via On Labor)
Portland, ME - Nurses Vote To Form Union At Maine Medical Center ([1] 29/4/21, via u/malloryhair on r/labor)
Flint, MI - Flint Nurses Beat Anti-Union Campaign to Organize ([1] 29/4/21)
Grosse Pointe, MI - In the wealthy Detroit suburb of Grosse Pointe, over 100 teachers have gone on a wildcat strike to protest unsafe COVID changes at Grosse Pointe North High School, including reducing social distancing from 6 feet to 3 feet. ([1] 29/4/21) ([2] 29/4/21)
Greenville, MS - In Greenville, Mississippi, nearly two dozen bus drivers went on a wildcat strike Monday to protest reduction in pay and hours. ([1] 29/4/21)
Louisville, KY - Strike Looming at the Kentucky Derby [over unfair wages and 'substandard working conditions that face Churchill Down's largely immigrant workforce'] ([1] 29/4/21)
Klamath Falls, OR - Oregon Tech faculty on strike in state’s first public university faculty strike [96% voted to strike] ([1] 28/4/21) ([2] 28/4/21); Victory in historic Oregon Tech faculty strike ([3] 19/5/21)
Normal, IL - Illinois State University graduate students vote “yes” to strike, union delays until fall ([1] 26/4/21)
Richmond, VA - 'Adjunct faculty and graduate students at Virginia Commonwealth University have unionized. 60 staffers and graduate students organized under United Campus Workers of Virginia .. asking for more pay per credit hour and more job security, as many are struggling to pay for household expenses under the current rate.' ([1] 27/4/21) ([2] 27/4/21)
Portland, OR - Portland Museum of Art employees vote to unionize ([1] 22/4/21 via u/RedditGreenit on r/labor)
Montreal, Canada - General strike at Port of Montreal set to begin on Monday, says dockworkers union ([1] 23/4/21 via u/leftwingmememachine on r/labor); threats to strikers from Trudeau via strike-breaking legislation (see also the oversteps section) ([2] 26/4/21)
West Virginia Unions Pressure Manchin To Back Biden On Infrastructure Plan ([1] 23/4/21 via u/alllie on r/labor)
Pennsylvania - more than 80 healthcare workers at Tyler Memorial Hospital, a small clinic owned by the massively profitable Community Health Systems and located in a rural town in Pennsylvania, have announced that they will engage in a three-day Unfair Labor Practices strike ([1] 21/4/21)
Chicago, IL - Ascend Dispensary workers in Springfield vote to unionize, become 4th group to join ([1] 20/4/21 via u/RedditGreenit on r/labor)
Los Angeles, CA - Truck drivers joined by dock workers in protests at the Port of Los Angeles ([1] 19/4/21)
Pittsburgh, PA - 3,000 Pitt Faculty Move Closer to a Union Election ([1] 19/4/21)
Staten Island, NY - Staten Island Amazon Workers Begin Union Drive, Drawing Lessons From Bessemer ([1] 19/4/21 via u/easyone on r/labor)
Canada - BC budtenders make history as first private dispensary in Canada to unionize ([1] 20/4/21 via u/RedditGreenit on r/labor)
Insider - [300+] Insider journalists forming union [that will be part of the NewsGuild of New York] ([1] 19/4/21)
Sacramento, CA - SEIU 1021, which represents 1,900 workers in the Sacramento City Unified School District, including bus drivers, custodians, and food workers, announced that its members will also be going on strike next week – on April 22 – and the Sacramento City Teachers Association promised to join in support with a sympathy strike and pledged not to cross the picket line. The strike arises out of failed negotiations involving a safe return to in-person instruction, and union and district officials failed to agree on issues of childcare and physical distancing guidelines, among others. ([1] 18/4/21); school strike called off by union, in spite of worker support ([2] 21/4/21)
Tunkhannock, PA - healthcare workers at Tyler Memorial Hospital announced that they are planning an unfair labor practice strike on April 21. ([1] 18/4/21)
Washington State - [220] Truckers for Boeing in Washington State vote unanimously to strike [if new contract agreement not reached], while Boeing executives rake in bonuses [and publisher is critical the union doesn't go far enough] ([1] 16/4/21)

San Francisco, CA - Food delivery startup [Imperfect Foods] drivers vote to unionize; company plans to challenge the results; 'Unlike other platforms like Instacart or Doordash, Imperfect Foods drivers are full employees rather than independent contractors.' ([1] 16/4/21 via u/RedditGreenit on r/labor)
Minneapolis, MS - Minneapolis Transit Union Refuses to Transport Arrested BLM Protesters ([1] 14/4/21)
Minneapolis, MS - Union Members Expel National Guard From St Paul Minnesota Labor Center; 'Workers spoke with Guard members, expressing understanding of the soldiers’ working class background and orders, but imploring them to break ranks and join the anti-racist movement sparked by the murders of Black people by the police.' and they left! ([1] 15/4/21); see retaliation here ([2] 19/4/21 via u/RedditGreenit on r/labor)
Washington DC - staff at both the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute on Tuesday announced their intention to unionize with the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union (NPEU) and requested voluntary recognition. ([1] 15/4/21)
South Lake Tahoe [California] Nurses to Strike [over low nurse-to-patient staffing levels; many nurses leaving due to poor working conditions, the short-staffing issues, and the board's general disrespect for nurses] ([1] 14/4/21)
Following Death of Co-Worker, Teamsters & ILWU Shut Down Major LA Port Terminal ([1] 14/4/21)
Missoula Airport Workers Strike [employed by contractors of Delta and United airlines, over low wages] ([1] 14/4/21)
AT&T/Verizon workers’ union urges states to regulate ISPs as utilities ([1] 14/4/21 via u/alllie on r/labor)
New York Times tech workers form a union ([1] 13/4/21 via u/adelaire on r/labor)([2] 13/4/21 via u/RedditGreenit on r/labor); NYT refusing to recognize the Times Tech Guild, 'requiring that the union petition for a representation election with the NLRB' ([3] 25/4/21)
Baton Rouge, LA - 600 Teachers “Sickout” Strike in East Baton Rouge ([1] 12/4/21)
ABC (Network) - Game Show Writers Walk Off the Set, strike ([1] 24/3/21)
St. Louis, MO - Prisoners in St. Louis Jail [held without trial] Hold Uprising to Demand End to Cash Bail, Court Dates ([1] 6/4/21) ([2] 12/4/21)
Pittsburgh-area, PA - Hundreds of Pittsburgh-Area Charter School Educators Are Voting on Unionization ([1] 8/4/21)
Chicago, IL - Amazon Workers in Chicago Strike [at DIL3 delivery station] Over Ruthless 'Megacycle' Shifts; Amazon's 10-and-a-half-hour graveyard shift, known as the 'megacycle,' has been rolled out across the United States over the past year. ([1] 7/4/21) ([2] 7/4/21)
PA, OH, NY, MA, CT - [1,300] Steelworkers Begin Second Week of Strike over Unfair Labor Practices at Allegheny Technologies (plus, 'opportunity' tax subsidies to big corporations once again does not provide jobs, just enriches the wealthy)([1] 5/4/21) ([2] 1/4/21 via u/easyone on r/labor)([3] 6/4/21)
Oregeon - Oregon unions update organizing ([1] 2/4/21)
Goldman Sachs - "In a perhaps unlikely upswell of concerted worker activity, a group of junior investment bankers at Goldman Sachs banded together last week to demand better conditions on the job." ([1] 22/3/21)
Music, publishing industry - In the music world, music publication Pitchfork‘s union joined a strike authorization with The New Yorker and Ars Technica, who are all owned by Condé Nast. The New Yorker has alleged that Condé Nast has stonewalled and delayed bargaining over a period of years and are demanding better pay increases. ([1] 30/3/21)
Long Island, NY - woerkers try to unionize Tate's Bake Shop where undocumented workers have been facing threats of deportation in their effort to unionize ([1] 23/3/21)
Westborough, MA - [80] Teamsters [Local 170] Coca-Cola workers strike [over company's decision to propose a contract that would eliminate union seniority rules] ([1] 23/3/21)
Detroit, MI - Detroit Teamsters [Local 337] Strike Against Two-Tier Wages [at warehouse 7-UP]([1] 23/3/21) ([2] 21/3/21); 66% of strikers voted to accept negotiated contract ([3] 15/4/21)
San Francisco, CA - [700+] San Francisco Janitors Are on Strike for COVID Safety—and the Fight Doesn’t End There ([1] 25/3/21 via u/easyone on r/reddit)([2] 24/3/21)
San Diego, CA - UCSD graduate student-workers fight back against rent hikes ([1] 23/3/21)
San Francisco, CA - [Dandelion] Chocolate Factory Workers are Organizing a Union [with ILWU] ([1] 23/3/21)
Wisconsin, Illinois - Colectivo Coffee Workers are Organizing a Union [interview] ([1] 26/3/21)
NYC - New York City: ‘Keep Jin Fong restaurant open!’ ([1] 31/3/21)
Boston, MA - Boston School Bus Drivers Union [1,000-strong United Steelworkers Local 8751] blasts bosses’ reopening schemes, [picketing their employer, Transdev, March 9] ([1] 15/3/21)
St. Louis, MO - [25] Oil Workers [of Teamsters Local 618] Strike [over health care deductibles price increase dispute] ([1] 18/3/21)
Smyrna, Tennessee - Tenn. [87] Nissan Workers Move to Unionize [with Machinists Union] ([1] 18/3/21)
Spotify, Musicians - Newly Formed Musicians’ Union Demands Spotify Pay Artists a Penny Per Stream, Up from $0.0038 ([1] 16/3/21)
Kenyon College, OH - Kenyon College Students Are on Strike Today [the first undergrad student worker strike in US history]. They Want a Student-Worker Union. ([1] 16/3/21)
New Haven, CT - 'bus drivers have gone on a wildcat strike over the lack of vaccines.' ([1] 11/3/21)
Northwest Georgia - 'In rural northwest Georgia, firefighters went on a second strike to protest low pay as some firefighters make as little as $11.67-an-hour.' ([1] 12/3/21)
Chicago, IL -Hunger strike against General Iron ends with protests outside Chicago mayor’s home ([1] 11/3/21)
Cincinnati, OH - Disabled workers (here, visually impaired and blind) have been unfairly targeted and are petitioning management - ([1] 12/3/21)
Renton, WA - Unions, community come out to support ‘Bamazon’ union drive [around 300 people] ([1] 3/3/21)
Iowa - 'Could an Amazon union form in Iowa? The Teamsters say they're organizing employees.' ([1] 26/2/21 via u/Lilyo on r/labor)
El Paso, Texas - 'certified nursing assistants at [facilities] owned by HCA Healthcare Inc. (one of the largest private hospital corporations i nthe country) walked off the job as they are demanding that the hospital increase their wages in union negotiations with the SEIU; According to SEIU, more than 54% of nursing assistants at the hospital make less than $15 an hour. ([1] 25/2/21)
Tacoma, Washington - Teachers on '"sickout" strike to protest unsafe school repoening plans' - ([1] 24/2/21)
Austin, Texas - American-Statesman journalists vote to unionize - ([1] 24/2/21 via u/RedditGeddit on r/labor)
Southern California - journalists at 11 daily newspapers announce plans to unionize, following Alden hedge fund buying spree - ([1] 24/2/21 via r/RedditGreenit on r/labor)
Google - 'Google workers to form global union alliance' - ([1] via 24/2/21? (no date listed) u/Turbulent_Friend1551 on r/labor)
"Sick-out" Strike - Columbus, OH - 'teachers at three elementary schools there refused to return to the in-person instruction because COVID cases were still high' ([1] 8/2/21)
Strike - Oxnard, Northen California - '76 unionized construction workers went on strike late last week after non-union construction workers were brought in from out-of-state to complete work on an Amazon warehouse' ([1] 8/2/21)
Strike - South Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania - public works employees after 'the township demanded that they, frontline workers, pay more for their health care contributions while being some of the most poorly paid workers in the township' ([1] 8/2/21)
Strike - Montana - volunteer paramedics say they are working in unsafe conditions ([1] 3/2/21)
Strike - East Hartford, Conn. - 'more than 40% of snow plow drivers went on a "sickout" strike", union has not commented yet ([1] 3/2/21)
Strike - Savannah, GA - Bus drivers go on strike after CEO's dismissal ([1] 3/2/21)
Strike - Miami - workers at SFM Janitorial Services exposed to dangerous chemicals and have inferior pay ([1] 18/2/21)
Hunger Strike, Feb 17 - Angola Penitentiary (Louisiana) - 'entire tier CBC Lower Left (solitary ward) ... began a hunger strike over unlawful and excessive detention in solitary confinement, as well as horrendous conditions' ([1] 20/2/21) ([2] 25/2/21) ([3] 3/3/21)
Feb 12 - Meeting - organizers and solidarity activists together for Bessemer Amazon warehouse union ([1] 16/2/21)
Strike - The Rawlin (Springfield Oregon) - Onelife memory care facility - understaffing, turnover, insufficient training, refusal to recognize union threatent residents' and workers' safety ([1] no date? ?/2/21 via u/johnabbe at r/labor) (see also ([2] 15/2/21 via u/mozrocks at r/labor), ([3] 15/2/21)
'Fast-food workers in 15 cities will hold a Black History Month strike on Tuesday [2/16/21] to demand that McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's restaurant chains pay them $15 an hour' ([1] 12/2/21 via @JoshuaPotash)
Norwalk, Ohio - Successful card check from Borger auto parts plant's 170 workers to join Workers United - 'now plan to petition for a union authorization election with the NLRB' - favoritism (dressed as 'meritocracy'), sexism, racism, and safety issues (2/12/21) ([1] 12/2/21)
100+ St. Louis Prisoners (in jail, not prison, thus likely not convicted [2] - protested on Feb 6 over COVID violations and inhumane conditions; media coverage has been dubious at best [2]) ([1] 10/2/21) ([2] 13/2/21) ([3] 10/2/21)
Philadelphia public school teachers - defied orders to go to in-person classrooms (Feb 10 2021) - Organized by: WE (Working Educators of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers), with local labor support - concerned over lack of adequate ventilation ([1] 10/2/21)
Victory! Chicago teachers - return to in-erson eaching, only required to once offered a vaccine; agreement between Chicago Teachers Union and school district increases vaccines for teachers, improved school ventilation, better contact tracing, and other accomodations (Feb 10 21, updated on 2/13/21) ([1] 10/2/21) ([2] 12/2/21) (From earlier: ([3] 3/2/21)
Southern Workers Assembly - call for National Day of Solidarity (Feb 20) with Amazon workers at Bessemer, Alabama ([1] 8/2/21)
Golden Gate Branch 214 (National Assn. of Letter Carriers) - San Francisco, CA - solidarity with Bessemer, Alabama([1] 8/2/21) ([2] 8/2/21)
Nurses, health care workers (Portland) demonstrate (1,500+) - Feb 5 - large donors and board members received COVID-19 vaccine when meant for those at risk, and not protecting workers or respecting their paid time off for quarantine([1] 8/2/21)
5,800 workers - Amazon warehouse BHM1 - Bessemer, Alabama - voting to form a union, Feb 8 to March 29, supervised by NLRB; Amazon tries to stop them (ie ([1] 10/2/21))
Victory! Hunts Point (New York City), 1400 workers - - Jan 23 (six days) - organized by: Teamsters Local 202 ([1] 26/1/21)
Dallas - Camp Rhonda (houseless organization); faces police sweep ([1] 4/2/21) (some more recent news from 2/5/21: ([2] 5/2/21))
cancel rent/evictions/mortgages protests - 30 cities (Tampa Bay, FL, Portland OR, Los Angeles CA, Boston MA, etc.) - Jan 30-Feb 1 ([1] 3/2/21)
Hunger Strikes at three New Jersey prisons (Jan 7 2021) ([1] 7/1/21)
Canadian autoworkers blockade minivan plant (([1] 13/1/21 published Jan 13 2021) - started Jan 5 2021 - Windsor Ontario (Canada) - organized by: Unifor Local 444
Alabama state prison strike (organized by: Free Alabama Movement) (duration: January 2021?)

Capitalist, Prison and Policing Oversteps

Thirteenth Amendment section 1: Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States

The United States has the highest prison population in the world (total and per-capita) (although maybe now topped by China due to awful Uighyr concentration camps), currently around 1.4 million people[1]))

The Hill (30/12/21): Idaho sheriff must surrender guns amid probe into incident with church youth group [!]; The Hill (16/12/21): Idaho sheriff accused of pulling gun on church youth group [!]
WSWS (29/12/21): Detroit police killed 33-year-old mother one week before Christmas [!]
The Hill (29/12/21): Florida mayor says 'city and police' responsible in dirt bike death of 13-year-old [!]
Law and Crime (29/12/21): Minnesota Landlord Arrested for Murdering Father and Sister After Asking Brother to Help ‘Clean Up’ the Bodies: Prosecutors [!]
Vice (29/12/21): Death of Black Teen Handcuffed in Custody Now Ruled a Homicide - The cause of death was “complications of cardiopulmonary arrest sustained after physical struggle while restrained in the prone position.” [!]
Democracy Now (29/12/21): Family of Valentina Orellana-Peralta Demands Justice for 14-Year-Old Killed by LAPD; New York Times (28/12/21): Video Shows Chaos and Violence at Scene of Los Angeles Police Shooting - Body camera and surveillance footage shows a man attacking holiday shoppers before police officers opened fire, killing him and a 14-year-old girl who was in a dressing room. [!]
Washington Post (27/12/21): Opinion: How many people were wrongly convicted because of D.C.'s dysfunctional crime lab?
New York Times (27/12/21): Idaho Sheriff Is Accused of Pointing Gun at Woman Who Delivered a Thank-You Card - Sheriff Craig Rowland of Bingham County, Idaho, threatened to shoot a neighbor in November, according to an affidavit. Local officials are calling on him to resign. [!]
Democracy Now (27/12/21): Minnesota Cop Kim Potter Guilty of Manslaughter for Killing Daunte Wright; Democracy Now (13/12/21): Daunte Wright’s Girlfriend Testifies About Fatal Shooting by Officer Kim Potter; Democracy Now (9/12/21): “She Showed Him How to Kill Someone”: Manslaughter Trial of Kim Potter Gets Underway; Democracy Now (1/12/21): Trial of Kimberly Potter, Who Shot and Killed Daunte Wright, Gets Underway in Minnesota; Just Security (15/10/21): Lawyers for Kimberly Potter, the officer who killed Daunte Wright in Brooklyn center Minnesota in April 2021, argued in a recent court filing that she mistakenly believed that she had grabbed her taser before she shot Wright; Law and Crime (11/4/21): Police Kill Black Man Daunte Wright During Traffic Stop Near Minneapolis — What to Know ([2] 11/4/21) ([3] 12/4/21)
Law and Crime (24/12/21): Suspended Police Chief Admits Sharing ‘Misinformation’ About ‘Clinic’ Where Cops Could Receive Fake COVID Vaccination Cards: Reports [covid-news] [!]
Left Voice (23/12/21): NYPD Murders Black Man Having Mental Health Crisis - Eudes Pierre, a 26-year-old Black man having a mental health crisis, was murdered by two NYPD officers early Monday morning. [!]
New York Times (23/12/21): Upstate Man Is Fatally Shot by State Trooper - State Police said Mark Beilby, 24, who died on Wednesday, had repeatedly refused to drop a knife and had “advanced at the trooper.” [!]
Vice (23/12/21): Police Chief Told Cops Where to Get Fake Vaccine Cards - He’s been suspended and placed on probation after telling officers about a “self-vaccination clinic.” [covid-news] [!]
New York Times (22/12/21): The F.B.I. Deployed Surveillance Teams Inside Portland Protests - Federal agents infiltrated Portland’s unruly racial justice protests, dressing to blend in and capturing clandestine video. The tactics raised internal concern. [!]
Vice (22/12/21): Cops Covered Up Sex Trafficking Ring to Receive Free Sex Acts, Lawsuit Says - Top cops from the Fairfax County Police Department allegedly hindered a sex trafficking investigation for almost four years in exchange for sex acts. [!]
Law and Crime (22/12/21): Since-Resigned Michigan Undersheriff Faces Charges for Allegedly Drunk Driving with an Open Container [!]
KWTX (21/12/21): Police arrest bystander for filming traffic stop, allegedly interfering with investigation (via u/FullmetalGameMaster on r/Libertarian)
ProPublica (22/12/21): He Was Filming on His Phone. Then a Deputy Attacked Him and Charged Him With Resisting Arrest. [!]
The Hill (22/12/21): No charges brought against former Miami officer who slapped woman at airport [!]
Law and Crime (21/12/21): Retirement and Back Pay, But No Charges, for Miami Cop Who Struck Woman for Saying He Was Acting ‘White’ [!]
Law and Crime (21/12/21): Denver Cops to Pay $365,000 for Killing a Man, Wounding Another with Barrage of Bullets in Botched Manhunt for Escaped Inmate [!]
Vice (17/12/21): A Congressman Wants Answers About Alleged ‘Modern-Day Slavery’ in Georgia - Farms in Georgia were allegedly forcing migrant workers to dig onions for pennies per bucket, sometimes at gunpoint. Now, Rep. David Scott wants to know how they were able to use a legal visa program to do it.
On Labor (17/12/21): After workers at the D.C. independent bookstore Politics and Prose launched a union drive earlier this month, yesterday, the bookstore’s owners Bradley Graham and Lissa Muscatine hired the Jones Day law firm, infamously known for its aggressive union busting tactics as well as for representing Donald Trump in efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 Election
ProPublica (17/12/21): Boston Police Bought Spy Tech With a Pot of Money Hidden From the Public [surveillance-and-censorship-news] [!]
Democracy Now (17/12/21): Thousands of ICE Prisoners Denied Access to COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters
Al Jazeera (17/12/21): Starbucks waged ‘shock and awe’ campaign on workers, union claims - The union won a landmark vote at a Starbucks in Buffalo, New York in the United States last week. Now, it’s urging the National Labor Relations Board to reject results of another location’s failed union vote. [busting-labor-news] [!]
New York Times (16/12/21): Man Dies After He Is Shot by the Police With a Stun Gun and Catches Fire - New York’s attorney general said her office would investigate the man’s death, which followed an altercation in an upstate police station. [!]
Law and Crime (9/12/21): Kentucky Sheriff Arrested After Allegedly Punching Girl in the Face During Basketball Game (VIDEO) [!]
Democracy Now (16/12/21): Texas County Settles in Police Killing of Black Motorist Javier Ambler; Democracy Now (31/3/21): Two Police Deputies Indicted in Texas for Killing Javier Ambler After Traffic Stop
Democracy Now (16/12/21): Keechant Sewell Named NYPD’s First Black Woman Commissioner; 2 Top Officers Falsified Vaccine Cards
Law and Crime (15/12/21): Ex-Police Captain Indicted for Holding Man at Gunpoint Under False Belief That ‘Hispanic Children’ Signed 750,000 Fake Ballots [!]
Law and Crime (15/12/21): ‘I Always Date Younger’: Former Federal Corrections Officer Is Going to Federal Prison for ‘Enticement of a Minor to Engage in Sexual Activity’ [!]
Law and Crime (15/12/21): Former Sheriff’s Deputy Sexually Abused Male Relatives, Told 8-Year-Old Boy He ‘Might’ Grow Up to ‘Be A Porn Star’ Some Day: Authorities [!]
Democracy Now (15/12/21): Killing of Mario Gonzalez by Alameda Police Ruled a Homicide; Liberation News (22/4/21): Alameda, California police kill 26-year-old father Mario Gonzalez; Video of Police Killing of Mario Gonzalez Prompts Comparison to George Floyd [and contradicts earlier accounts from police], Call for Probe ([2] 28/4/21); was inebriated, and not even a threat to the officers (although regardless, he stopped breathing long after being cuffed and pinned) ([3] 27/4/21); footage shows Gonzalez was unwell during the encounter ([4] 28/4/21)
Law and Crime (12/12/21): Chicago Police Officer Allegedly Shot His Girlfriend in the Head, Then Hid Behind a Flimsy Alibi About Meeting Informant
New York Times (14/12/21): Officer Is Charged With Protecting Prostitution Ring in Exchange for Sex - Prosecutors say Wayne Peiffer, a police officer in Brewster, N.Y., had women from sex-trafficking and prostitution rings brought to him at the police station. [!]
The Hill (14/12/21): Landlord accused of sexually harassing tenants to pay $4.5M to settle federal lawsuit [!]
Liberation News (9/12/21): Hundreds facing removal in Huntsville public housing complex [social-woes-news]
More Perfect Union (8/12/21): EXCLUSIVE: Starbucks Worker FIRED After Revealing Union-Busting Plans [busting-labor-news]
Law and Crime (23/11/21): ‘Please Kill Her, Babe’: Tennessee Cop on Administrative Leave After Arrest for Allegedly ‘Begging’ Mistress to Murder His ‘B****’ Wife Over ‘a Million’ Dollars [!]
Democracy Now (9/12/21): CA Justice Dept. Probing Torrance Police After Revelation of Racist, Homophobic Text Messages [exchanged by more than a dozen current and former police officers and recruits]
Rhode Island - AFSCME Council 94, representing 3,000 state workers in Rhode Island, has ratified a new contract that includes vaccination incentives [covid-news] ([1] 8/12/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Who Gets the Bird (8/12/21): Civil Beat has a look at how Hawaii’s state police union uses union contract language to avoid accountability for cops. After much back and forth, including a contract that was overwhelmingly rejected by the membership, the Louisville FOP has a new union contract that includes bigger raises and no new reforms. Percentage-wise, Youngstown, OH cops have Louisville beat, winning a 27% raise (dollars-wise, it brings them up to $21 an hour).
Who Gets the Bird (8/12/21): Around 100 IBEW Local 666 maintenance workers at a DuPont plant in Chesterfield County, VA that makes Tyvek and Kevlar and other materials have been locked out by management as negotiations stall. [busting-labor-news]
Democracy Now (8/12/21): House Probe Finds Irwin County ICE Center May Have Defrauded U.S. Gov’t In Medical Abuse Scheme
The Guardian (7/12/21): CEO of US mortgage company fires 900 employees on a Zoom call – video [!]
On Labor (5/12/21): Meanwhile, Newsweek reported that Columbia University sent an email to over 3,000 striking graduate student workers—who have been on strike for over five weeks over poor wages and working conditions as well as frustration with the university’s bargaining conduct—on Thursday that threatened to replace them if they do not return to their jobs
Law and Crime (2/12/21): Ex-Ohio Deputy Charged with Murdering Man in Doorway of Home Is Also Accused in Civil Suit of Finding ‘Happiness in Exercising Force’
Vice (1/12/21): Cop Caught on Video Shooting Man in Wheelchair 9 Times From Behind - The off-duty Tucson, Arizona, cop has since been fired and may face criminal charges
Democracy Now (30/11/21): Get Off Our Territory: Wet’suwet’en Land Defenders Condemn Canadian Police Raid on Pipeline Protest
Law and Crime (29/11/21): After Judge Suspends Prison Sentence, Ex-Cop Gets House Arrest for Raping Drunk Woman
Liberation News (29/11/21): Landlords spearhead Seattle Sawant recall
Common Dreams (27/11/21): Police Aerial Surveillance Threatens Freedom to Protest - "We must act now to protect future protestors from the civil liberties infringements the government conjures on a regular basis. Aerial surveillance of protests must stop."
Democracy Now (30/11/21): Amazon Violated Labor Law in Alabama Union Drive, NLRB Rules, Setting Stage for New Election; On Labor (30/11/21): In her decision, Region 10 Director Henderson pulled no punches when she discussed Amazon’s conduct during the election campaign. Amazon’s “flagrant disregard for the Board’s typical mail-ballot procedure compromised the authority of the Board and made a free and fair election impossible.” She wrote that, before the election, “I specifically disapproved of the Employer’s suggestions for making voting “easier” because the Employer is neither responsible for conducting elections nor is it tasked or authorized to aid the process. Such responsibility and authority rests solely with the Board.” Amazon’s decision to place the mailbox outside the warehouse, then, “essentially highjacked the process and gave a strong impression that it controlled the process. This dangerous and improper message to employees destroys trust in the Board’s processes and in the credibility of the election results.”
Democracy Now (30/11/21): Advocates Say Haitian Refugees Face Neglect and Mistreatment at New Mexico ICE Jail
Law and Crime (25/11/21): Former Louisiana Cop and K-9 Officer Sentenced to 20 Years for Sexually Abusing His Dog and Possession of Child Porn
New York Times (26/11/21): After Meeting With Victim, Former Missouri Officer Is Cleared of Assault - The charge was dropped after the former police officer and the woman she shot outside a supermarket in Ladue, Mo., agreed to meet with a mediator over Zoom, prosecutors said.
Law and Crime (25/11/21): N.J. Cop Charged with Killing Pedestrian, Stuffing Body in Car, and Taking the Dead Man Home. Prosecutors Say His Cop Father Turned Him In.
Law and Crime (22/11/21): ‘There Is Evil in this World’: Ex-Cop Abducted and Killed Two Daughters, Killed Accomplice and Himself After Police Failed to Execute Emergency Protective Order
The Hill (22/11/21): Texas school district to investigate police use of force during student protest; Law and Crime (20/11/21): Texas Cops Tase, Pepper Spray High School Students Protesting Suspension of Student Who Reported Alleged Sexual Assault
Democracy Now (22/11/21): White Missouri Police Detective Found Guilty in Fatal Shooting of Black Man
Just Security (22/11/21): The FBI and the CIA secretly arranged for nine FBI agents to temporarily become CIA operatives in the overseas “black sites” network where the CIA used to torture and interrogate its prisoners. The information, which undermines the FBI narrative of not being involved in the torture at the prisons, emerged during an evidentiary hearing to prepare for an upcoming Sept. 11 trial at Guantánamo Bay. Carol Rosenberg reports for the New York Times.
Just Security (19/11/21): A man seen carrying an AR-15 rifle outside the courthouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where a jury is deliberating in the double homicide trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, has identified himself as a former police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. Jesse Kline said that he had traveled to Kenosha from Arizona, where he lives, to “exercise my constitutional rights.” Tim Stelloh reports for NBC News.
Just Security (19/11/21): Facebook has written to the LAPD demanding that it stop setting up fake profiles to conduct surveillance on users. “Not only do LAPD instructional documents use Facebook as an explicit example in advising officers to set up fake social media accounts, but documents also indicate that LAPD policies simply allow officers to create fake accounts for online investigative activity,’” wrote Facebook’s Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for civil rights Roy Austin. “While the legitimacy of such policies may be up to the LAPD, officers must abide by Facebook’s policies when creating accounts on our services. The Police Department should cease all activities on Facebook that involve the use of fake accounts, impersonation of others, and collection of data for surveillance purposes,” Austin wrote. Marry-Ann Russon reports for BBC News.
Just Security (19/11/21): The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) pursued a contract with a technology company that would enable the police to use fake social media accounts to surveil civilians and use algorithms to identify people who may commit crimes in the future. Internal LAPD documents obtained through public records requests by the Brennan Center for Justice have revealed that LAPD in 2019 trialed social media surveillance software from the analytics company Voyager Labs. The trial ended in November 2019 and LAPD is currently not using Voyager, according to a police spokesperson. Sam Levin and Johana Bhuiyan report for the Guardian.
Democracy Now (18/11/21): Aurora, CO to Pay $15 Million Settlement to Family of Elijah McClain; The Hill (15/9/21): Probe spurred by Elijah McClain's death finds Aurora Police 'racially biased'; Law and Crime (19/10/21): Family of Elijah McClain Settles Lawsuit Against City Over Death in Police Custody
Democracy Now (29/10/21): “Shadow Units”: How Secretive Border Patrol Teams Shield Agents from Accountability
Payday Report (16/11/21): Following the death of six workers in an accident at Messer Gas last January, Messer Gas has been sanctioned for destroying evidence.
Law and Crime (15/11/21): Federal Appeals Court Denies Qualified Immunity for Police Officer Who Shot Service Dogs
The Rational National (13/11/21): Toronto Star Smears Alberta Workers In Propaganda Piece For Cargill
Law and Crime (11/11/21): Black Ohio Officer Files Discrimination Complaint Over KKK Sign Incident, Says Ex-Police Chief Harassed Him Because of His Race
On Labor (9/11/21): Yesterday, Fran discussed ongoing unionization efforts at Starbucks stores in Buffalo, New York, particularly that ballots are set to be mailed by the NLRB this Wednesday. Starbucks has now filed a request for the NLRB to issue a stay and delay the ballot mailings. Starbucks is asking the NLRB to overturn the regional director’s determination that workers can vote store-by-store rather than as a regional unit of the stores in the area. The regional director’s original ruling was based on the presumption that employees at a single worksite are an appropriate group for voting, combined with factors of the distance between Starbucks’ locations, differences in working conditions across stores, and local store autonomy. It is unclear when the NLRB will issue a response to Starbucks’ request.
The Hill (9/11/21): Colorado officer won't face charges in death of bystander at supermarket shooting
Law and Crime (8/11/21): Fired Oklahoma Police Officers Convicted of Murder for Using Taser on Man More Than 50 Times
Left Voice (30/6/21): Six Months Ago, a NY State Cop Murdered an 11 Year Old Black Girl. He’s Still on Duty. - Last December, New York State Police murdered an 11-year-old girl. An officer rammed the SUV that a Black family was driving, causing it to crash. The murderer remains on duty.; Law and Crime (7/11/21): Bail Denied for New York State Trooper Charged with Ramming a Family’s SUV, Killing 11-Year-Old Girl
Law and Crime (3/11/21): Illinois Police Left ‘Person in Crisis’ in a Parking Lot Alone on Cold Winter Night Before He Was Hit by a Car: Lawsuit
Just Security (3/11/21): 400 people incarcerated in the D.C. jail are being moved to a federal penitentiary after a surprise inspection of the jail “found evidence of ‘systemic’ mistreatment of detainees, including unsanitary living conditions and the punitive denial of food and water.” During the investigation, an 8-member team of deputy U.S. marshals recorded standing human sewage, water and food withheld from incarcerated people as punishment, staff members “antagonizing detainees,” and a failure to follow Covid-19 protocols.
Salon (30/10/21): Texas cops refused to help Biden bus after "Trump Train" incident, 911 transcripts reveal - One officer even called the Democrats a derogatory slang term for someone who is mentally disabled in a group chat
Law and Crime (29/10/21): Ex-NYPD Cop Convicted of Obstructing Murder-for-Hire Investigation Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for ‘Brazen’ and ‘Violent’ Plot
Left Voice (29/10/21): Police Violently Evict Kalamazoo Houseless from Encampment - Last weekend, a rally was held in Kalamazoo, Michigan to protest a recent houseless sweep, and show support for the houseless against the repressive policies of the city. [social-woes-news]
Vice (27/10/21): It Took 7 Years to Charge Cops Who Shot Jamarion Robinson 59 Times - A U.S. Marshals task force shot Jamarion Robinson, a 26-year-old Black man with paranoid schizophrenia, 59 times during a 2016 raid.
The Hill (27/10/21): Trooper charged with murdering girl during high-speed chase
Law and Crime (26/10/21): Missouri Landlord ‘Viciously Stabbed’ Tenant More Than 30 Times in Front of Fiancée Over Complaint About Lack of Heat: Cops
Vice (26/10/21): Terrifying Ring Camera Video Shows Cops Raiding Wrong Apartment at Gunpoint - The only people on the other side of the door were a terrified young mother and her three-month-old.
Just Security (26/10/21): The House Oversight and Reform Committee has released a report finding that around 60 Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents posted inappropriate comments in a Facebook group, but only two were fired
The Hill (25/10/21): NYPD union sues city over vaccine mandate [covid-news]
Law and Crime (22/10/21): Minneapolis Cop Charged with Manslaughter for Killing Uncle of Teen Who Recorded George Floyd’s Murder
Vice (22/10/21): This Black Cop Got Kicked Out of Her Union for Supporting BLM - Carmella Means posted a photo of herself kneeling with a fist raised and holding a “Black Lives Matter” sign. Chicago's FOP Lodge 7 suspended her.
Left Voice (22/10/21): New Photo Confirms: Peyton Ham Was Murdered by the Police - Peyton Ham, a 16-year-old-boy, was killed by police in supposed “self-defense” earlier this year. A new photo reveals that it was murder.
Democracy Now (22/10/21): Report Reveals U.S. Immigration Officers’ Violent and Sexual Abuse of Asylum Seekers
New York Times (21/10/21): Chicago Police Officer Accidentally Shoots and Injures 2 Colleagues, Official Says - The shooting occurred during a struggle with a man after officers followed a car linked to a homicide investigation, the city’s police superintendent said.
Yahoo News (20/10/21): When truckers voted to unionize, their employer retaliated with illegal layoffs, judge rules [from r/labor via u/DoremusJessup]
On Labor (21/10/21): Elsewhere in the technology industry, Facebook is being forced to pay up to $14 million to settle a U.S. lawsuit alleging employment discrimination. Facebook allegedly intentionally favored foreign-born employees for its job positions.
On Labor (21/10/21): Activision Blizzard remains embroiled in controversy over its poor treatment of its employees. Now, Activision faces dueling lawsuits from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing.
The Majority Report (20/10/21): Unmasked NYPD Forcibly Remove Subway Rider After He Confronts Them [covid-news]
ProPublica (16/10/21): Three Children Attacked a Black Woman. A Sheriff’s Deputy Arrived — and Beat Her More. - Black residents of Louisiana’s Jefferson Parish have long accused the Sheriff’s Office of targeting them. A new video, which shows a deputy slamming a Black woman’s head into the ground, raises more questions.
Law and Crime (20/10/21): Indiana Cop Charged with Seduction of 16-Year-Old Girl Allegedly Told Her He Did ‘Nothing Wrong’
Al Jazeera (20/10/21): Ex-Minneapolis cop to be resentenced after reversed conviction - Former police officer Mohamed Noor is set for new sentencing hearing for shooting of unarmed 911 caller.
On Labor (18/10/21): In response to the historic unionization drive in Buffalo, Starbucks management has seemingly launched a “counteroffensive…intended to intimidate workers, disrupt normal operations and undermine support for the union.” Starbucks headquarters has sent two managers—imported from out of state—into three Buffalo area stores that have separately filed for union elections with the NLRB.
Democracy Now (19/10/21): SCOTUS Decisions Bolster Doctrine of Qualified Immunity for Police Officers
New York Times (18/10/21): Video Shows Louisiana Sheriff’s Deputy Slamming Black Woman to the Ground - The A.C.L.U. said that the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office had opened an investigation into the violent encounter. The woman was treated at a hospital, and no charges were filed against her.
The Guardian (17/10/21): Kenosha police accused of ‘deputizing’ militia vigilantes during Jacob Blake protests - Lawsuit brought by Gaige Grosskreutz, who was wounded by Kyle Rittenhouse during anti-police brutality protests in August 2020 [militant-far-right-news]
Just Security (18/10/21): A report in Oregon has found that dozens of law enforcement officers are or have been members of the Oath Keepers militia.
Just Security (18/10/21): A Capitol Police officer has been charged with helping a Jan. 6 attacker to obstruct justice.
Liberation News (15/10/21): Protesters for justice, not killer cops, taken to court after police kill Alexis Wilson in Dolton, Illinois
The Intercept (15/10/21): NYPD Lawyer Who Oversaw Violent Arrests of Legal Observers Should Be Disciplined, Watchdog Says - It’s the first time the Civilian Complaint Review Board has recommended discipline against an NYPD lawyer for conduct at a protest.
Just Security (15/10/21): U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement does not effectively monitor its use of solitary confinement in immigration detention facilities around the country, according to the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general.
Democracy Now (15/10/21): ICE Sued over “Cruel, Inhumane” Restraints Used on African Asylum Seekers
Payday Report (14/10/21): With a strike set to begin on Monday, many Hollywood studios are forcing employees to work weekends and extra overtime to finish production before the strike begins.
Payday Report (14/10/21): With Starbucks workers unionizing at five Starbucks locations in Buffalo, New York, Starbucks has decided to suddenly close two of them, citing the need to remodel as the justification.
Just Security (14/10/21): The Justice Department is investigating an Indianapolis police sergeant who was shown in body-camera footage kicking a handcuffed man in the face during an arrest last month
EFF (14/10/21): California Activists Sue Marin County Sheriff for Illegally Sharing Drivers’ License Plate Data With ICE, CBP and Other Out-of-State Agencies - Immigrants’ Privacy, Security Threatened by Sheriff’s Practice, Which Violates California Law [surveillance-and-censorship-news, immigrant-news]
Black Wall Street Times (14/10/21): Missing Black woman found dead in back of police van
On Labor (13/10/21): On Tuesday, former Apple employee Ashley Gjovik filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) alleging that certain company policies and statements from management that restrict disclosure of internal company information violate federal labor laws.
The Hill (13/10/21): Louisiana trooper who spoke out about police brutality is fired
New York Times (13/10/21): N.Y.P.D. Officer Fatally Shoots Woman at Girlfriend’s Home, Police Say - The officer, whom a police official identified as Yvonne Wu, also shot and wounded her girlfriend, the police said.
The Hill (13/10/21): Chicago police union chief calls on officers to defy vaccine order [covid-news]
The Hill (13/10/21): DOJ probing treatment of juveniles at Texas facilities
Law and Crime (12/10/21): Former Kentucky Deputy Pleads Guilty to Production of Child Porn After Allegedly Raping Girl, Asking for Nude Photos on Snapchat
Law and Crime (11/10/21): Louisville Pays $75K to Settle Federal Discrimination Lawsuit Over 2018 Traffic Stop and Search of Black Couple: Report
On Labor (10/10/21): The Hotel Association of New York City filed suit this week alleging that a New York City law requiring certain large hotels that shuttered during the pandemic to pay laid-off workers $500 in weekly severance is preempted by federal law.
On Labor (11/10/21): Goldman Sachs has reached a settlement with a former college intern who was harassed and physically assaulted by his supervisors, Bloomberg reports. The lawsuit was pending before a San Francisco Superior Court, and the terms of the settlement agreement have not been released. The former intern alleged that employees and interns were given derisive nicknames, forced to drink large amounts of alcohol, and subjected to physical violence.
Democracy Now (11/10/21): Justice Department: No Federal Charges in Police Shooting of Jacob Blake
On Labor (8/10/21): An Amazon worker who worked at two warehouses in Colorado Springs filed a proposed class action on Tuesday claiming that Amazon failed to compensate warehouse workers for time spent waiting in line to have their temperatures checked and answer questions for COVID-19 screening before being able to clock-in to work, a process that generally took 20-60 minutes
The Black Wall Street Times (8/10/21): Police under investigation after dragging paraplegic from driver’s seat of vehicle
New York Times (8/10/21): The L.A. sheriff rejects the county’s vaccine mandate for his officers, saying too many would quit. [covid-news]
Law and Crime (8/10/21): Former Cop Sentenced for Using Hidden Camera to Record 14-Year-Old Girl in ‘Various States of Undress’
Law and Crime (8/10/21): Teen Shot by School Safety Officer Dies after Being Taken off Life Support; Police Investigate Case as ‘Homicide’; The Guardian (30/9/21): Long Beach school officer shoots 18-year-old, leaving her on life support - Video appears to show officer firing at fleeing car in incident fueling calls for removal of armed officers from schools
The Intercept (7/10/21): Video Shows U.S. Marshals Task Force Brutalizing Teenage Boys in Mississippi - The FBI and the Justice Department are investigating the task force after security footage emerged of a violent arrest in September.
On Labor (7/10/21): The Department of Labor has sued a luxury Texas car dealer for unlawfully firing an employee who emailed the entire company about a colleague’s testing positive for COVID-19. The DOL alleges that Hi Tech Motorcars violated the anti-retaliation provisions of the whistleblower section of Occupational Safety and Health Act.
On Labor (7/10/21): Thomson Reuters will pay out a $550,000 settlement amid U.S. Department of Labor allegations “that the multinational media conglomerate discriminated against more than 100 female, Black, and Hispanic workers.” Reuters paid “administrative, technical professional, and client specialist employees” less than male, White, or Asian employees in comparable positions.
Law and Crime (5/10/21): ‘We’re Going to Hunt’: Bodycam Footage Shows Minneapolis Cops Describe Being ‘Out Hunting,’ Linking ‘Looting’ with Race During George Floyd Protests
Las Vegas, NV - In Las Vegas, UNITE HERE Local 226 (“the Culinary”) organized a march calling for members to get their jobs back and return to work; over twenty thousand members are still out of work. ([1] 2/10/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Bozeman, MT - 400 members with Montana Nurses Association Local 4 at Deaconess Hospital in Bozeman, MT have a contract with employer Bozeman Health after a credible strike threat and filing ULPs. ([1] 2/10/21, cr: Who Gets the Bird)
Law and Crime (1/10/21): Federal Prosecutors Bring Another Tow-Truck Bribery Scheme Case Against Three Current and Former NYPD Officers
The Black Wall Street Times (30/9/21): Columbus police officers from narcotics unit charged with distributing fentanyl
Law and Crime (29/9/21): Two Cops Being Sued Over Tasing of Elderly Man Face New Lawsuit for Arrest of Deaf Man Who Couldn’t Understand Their Commands
Law and Crime (28/9/21): Arizona Police Broke into Unarmed Schizophrenic Woman’s Home with Guns Drawn and Tased Her in Her Own Bedroom: Lawsuit
The Hill (25/9/21): Rochester officer faces departmental charges in death of Daniel Prude
Law and Crim (24/9/21): D.C. Police Officer Indicted for Murder in Deadly Motor Scooter Chase That Sparked Protests in Nation’s Capital
The Hill (23/9/21): Los Angeles County sheriff's unit accused of targeting critics, political opponents: report
Law and Crime (23/9/21): Federal Grand Jury Indicts Louisiana State Police Officer Who Said Beating of Black Man with Flashlight Was ‘Pain Compliance’; New York Times (25/8/21): Video Shows Louisiana Trooper Beating a Black Man With a Flashlight - The trooper, Jacob Brown, who was charged with assaulting Aaron Larry Bowman in May 2019 and later resigned, defended the attack as “pain compliance.”
Law and Crime (23/9/21): ‘Disturbing’ Video Footage of Missouri Police Dog Biting Black Suspect Sparks Investigation by Prosecutors
Democracy Now (23/9/21): 12 Prisoners Have Died in New York City Jails in 2021
Who Gets the Bird (9/9/21): Employees of the Missouri Democratic Party say their collective firing, following a unionization campaign in 2020, was intended to bust the union. [busting-labor-news]
Law and Crime (21/9/21): Woman Admits Sex Trafficking 17-Year-Old Relative to West Virginia Police Chief for $100: DOJ
Just Security (21/9/21): A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer who was arrested for carrying a gun at Saturday’s “Justice for J6” rightwing rally at the U.S. Capitol will not be prosecuted.
Vice (20/9/21): Stockton Cops Charged With Assault After Leaving Boot-Print on Black Teen’s Face - Two former Stockton police officers have been charged with assault over the brutal beating of Devin Carter last December.
Common Dreams (17/9/21): 40+ NYC Activists Arrested for Protests Against Banks Fueling Climate Emergency - "We're sending a message loud and clear that the little action that politicians and greenwashing CEOs have taken so far does not begin to deal with the magnitude of this crisis." [protest-news]
The Guardian (17/9/21): LAPD to stop requesting civilians’ social security numbers after backlash - Department says it will remove social security numbers from ‘field interview cards’, which Guardian investigated in recent report; The Hill (8/9/21): LAPD directed to monitor social media information of every civilian they interview [surveillance-and-censorship-news]
Newsweek (17/9/21): Minnesota Police Criticized Over 'Not-Reaching Pouch' to Reduce Deadly Traffic Encounters
Law and Crime (18/9/21): ‘I Never Felt So Violated’: Former Florida Cop Charged With Sexual Battery For Allegedly Forcing His Finger into Man’s Anal Cavity During Traffic Stop
Law and Crime (17/9/21): Federal Judge Advances Muslim Women’s Lawsuit: Former NYPD Policy Forcing Hijab Removal Was Unconstitutional [civil-rights-news]
Vice (17/9/21): Lee County Cop Told Inmate He Looked Like George Floyd, Told Him to Say ‘I Can’t Breathe’ - Deputy First Class Rodney Payne has since been fired.
Law and Crime (16/9/21): 8-Year-Old Boy Was ‘Forced to Watch the Murder of His Aunt’ by Police in Texas, Lawsuit Alleges
Payday Report (15/9/21): New Orleans Bus Drivers Union Leader Fired for Demanding Hazard Pay
Just Security (15/9/21): The Justice Department has opened an investigations into allegations of unconstitutional and civil rights abuses of prisoners in Georgia
New York Times (15/9/21): Philadelphia to Pay $2 Million to Woman Pulled From S.U.V. During Protest - “It’s life-changing money for Rickia and her family,” a lawyer for Rickia Young said. “But what she went through was equally life-changing.”; NBC News (16/9/21): Black woman sues police union over misleading Facebook photo of toddler son - The National Fraternal Order of Police shared a photo of Rickia Young’s son, claiming he was “lost” after Philadelphia police beat her and took the child.
The Hill (15/9/21): Minnesota high court tosses out conviction of Minneapolis police officer
Democracy Now (15/9/21): “A Humanitarian Crisis”: New York Officials Call Out Horrific Conditions at Rikers
Vice (13/9/21): Cops Beat and Tased a Black Dad in Front of His Daughter at a Traffic Stop - Pulled over after his temporary license plate fell off, Imani Ringgold-D'Abell was tased multiple times by police.
Democracy Now (10/6/21): Louisiana Police Unit That Killed Ronald Greene Investigated for Other Abuses Against Black Drivers; Miami Herald (4/8/21): AP: Police brass eyed in probe of Black man’s deadly arrest; The Advocate (10/9/21): Critics bemoan discipline for Black trooper who leaked Ronald Greene files, ripped State Police (via u/curlyhairlad on r/Libertarian) [surveillance-and-censorship-news]
Dallas Morning News (10/9/21): FBI will probe whether Dallas police data loss was intentional while city seeks outside review - Dallas Police Chief Eddie García met with the FBI earlier this week to ask for help in determining whether criminal intent was behind the massive police evidence loss by a former employee. (via u/SoonerTech on r/Libertarian)
Vice (10/9/21): Cop Accused of Tasing Man in the Testicles in Front of His Wife and Kids - A former Arizona cop allegedly pulled down a handcuffed man’s pants and tased him in the genitals—all in front of his terrified wife and children.
Democracy Now (10/9/21): Whistleblower Details Abuse of Migrant Children at Fort Bliss Base in Texas
Vice (9/9/21): Cop Was Instructed to Use Music to Disrupt Filming - Police are playing copyrighted music while being filmed to prevent activists from uploading the video; one in Illinois says he was "advised" to do so.
Vice (8/9/21): A Cop Killed Another Cop. A Woman Was Charged Instead. - She’s facing up to 30 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter and assault.
The Hill (7/9/21): Vermont state troopers resign amid probe into fake COVID-19 vaccine cards
Vice News (7/9/21): A Sheriff’s Deputy Was Caught on Video Yelling the N-Word. He Wasn’t Fired. - Monroe County Sheriff’s Deputy Billy Littleton has been suspended for 30 days without pay and will be placed on probation for a full year.
The Black Wall Street Times (6/9/21): Minnesota State Patrol purged messages after Floyd protests
Democracy Now (3/9/21): Georgia Ex-Prosecutor Indicted for Allegedly Protecting Ahmaud Arbery’s Killers
Left Voice (2/9/21): Police Murder Mike Anthony Rosado in New York City - NYPD recently murdered Mike Anthony Rosado, a 24-year-old man in the Bronx. The racist police exist to protect property, terrorize communities of color, and uphold capitalism, not to keep communities safe.
The Hill (2/9/21): Chicago police lieutenant fourth officer charged with battery in recent weeks
Law and Crime (1/9/21): Former W. Va. Cop Sexually Assaulted a 16-Year-Old, Set Fire to a Woman’s Property, and Obstructed Justice: Feds
Law and Crime (1/9/21): Body Camera Footage Shows Alabama Cop Pushing Past ‘Senior Officer,’ Killing Suicidal Man with Gun; Law and Crime (21/8/21): Former Alabama Cop Begs for ‘Mercy,’ Has Friends Proclaim His ‘Christian’ Values Before Sentencing for On-Duty Murder; Law and Crime (9/7/21): Alabama Cop Convicted of Murdering Suicidal Man is Still Collecting Police Department Paycheck: Report
New York Times (1/9/21): Three Officers and Two Paramedics Are Charged in Elijah McClain’s Death - A grand jury has issued charges in the 2019 death of Mr. McClain, a young Black man who was put in a chokehold while walking home from a convenience store.
The Black Wall Street Times (31/8/21): VIDEO: Officer under investigation after grabbing Black woman walking her dog
The Hill (28/8/21): 2 Black men say they were handcuffed returning a TV to Walmart, sue company
Law and Crime (27/8/21): ‘I Can’t Believe You F***ing Shot Him’: Family Sues Officers, Police Department for Killing 14-Month-Old Dog
New York Times (27/8/21): Austin Police Officer Is Charged With Murder in a Second On-Duty Killing - Prosecutors said Friday that Christopher Taylor had been charged with fatally shooting Mauris DeSilva in July 2019, about nine months before he fatally shot another man.; Democracy Now (12/3/21): - Austin Police Officer Christopher Taylor Indicted for Murder of Michael Ramos
The Intercept (27/8/21): Minnesota Law Enforcement Shared Intelligence on Protest Organizers With Pipeline Company - Documents reveal Enbridge’s close relationship with police, including offering training on responding to protests.
Vice (27/8/21): Cops Killed a Man Who Was Passed Out in His Car, and No One Knows Why - Police have said that Antwan Gilmore had a gun in his waistband—but not that he touched it before one D.C. cop shot at his car several times.
Vice (27/8/21): Cops Sent a Helicopter, a Drone, and Cars to Go After a Graffiti Artist - No one really knows why.
Democracy Now (27/8/21): Watchdog Warns of “High Level of Disorder and Chaos” at Rikers Island
The Hill (25/8/21): Arkansas inmates prescribed animal parasite medicine to combat COVID-19 [covid-news]
ABC News (23/8/21): California officer shoots at suspect but kills bystander - Authorities say a California police officer accidentally killed a bystander over the weekend while shooting at a suspect (via u/L86C on r/Libertarian)
Vice (24/8/21): A Black Veteran Was Having a PTSD Episode. Cops Shot and Killed Him. - “I called police to help him—not to murder him,” his wife said at a vigil for him.
Law and Crime (23/8/21): ‘I’m a Cop’: Off-Duty Police Officer Allegedly Grabbed Woman’s Hips During Karaoke, Punched Her Husband
The Majority Report (22/8/21): Progressive Vegan Company Caught Using Union Busting Tactics w/ David Dayen [busting-labor-news]
Law and Crime (21/8/21): Miami Beach Police Ordered to Stop Enforcing Law Used to Charge Only Black Bystanders Filming Cops After Slew of Problematic Arrests
Law and Crime (19/8/21): Judge Dismisses Murder Cases Against Three Hawaii Cops Who Opened Fire on Vehicle After High-Speed PursuitJudge Dismisses Murder Cases Against Three Hawaii Cops Who Opened Fire on Vehicle After High-Speed Pursuit
Democracy Now (18/8/21): Philadelphia Ex-Cops Charged in Wrongful Conviction of Black Man Who Was Jailed for 25 Years
Law and Crime (13/8/21): ‘Smiling and Laughing’ Landlord Shot Three Tenants Because He Did Not Want to Go Through Eviction Process: Authorities
Huffpost (13/8/21): 3 Former Cops Charged In Wrongful Conviction That Sent A Man To Prison For 25 Years - Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, a leader of the progressive prosecutor movement, has made reviewing wrongful convictions a key part of his agenda. (via u/johntwit on r/Libertarian)
Left Voice (13/8/21): American Racism in Action: Michigan Cops Handcuff Black Realtor and Client - When a Black realtor, his client, and the client’s son visited a home in Michigan, police arrived and handcuffed them, accusing them of burglary. More than a year after the massive Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, systemic racism in the United States persists.
Vice (13/8/21): She Flagged Down Cops for Help. She Was Handcuffed and Forced to Strip. - The woman, Yessenia Garcia, was eventually cleared of all charges—yet her mugshot is still online for anyone to see.
The Hill (12/8/21): 'White Devil' disgraced DEA agent sentenced to 13 years for corruption
Vice (12/8/21): [Bay Area] Cops Allegedly Beat Up a Black Woman Over Fare Evasion. Now, She’s Suing. - “She repeatedly cried out to the three officers that she was unable to breathe. They ignored her cries,” the lawsuit alleges.
Law and Crime (11/8/21): Fired Sheriff’s Deputy Gets Four Years in Prison for Killing Son
Law and Crime (11/8/21): Ex-Prosecutor Gets Five Years for Covering Up Police Chief’s Assault of Prisoner Who Allegedly Stole Bag of Porn and Sex Toys From His Car
The Hill (10/8/21): Ex-LAPD officer charged with manslaughter in shooting of man with intellectual disabilities
The Hill (10/8/21): DC officers suspended after man seen being punched in face during arrest
Law and Crime (9/8/21): Police Department Permitted 911 Supervisor to Sexually Assault and Harass Dispatchers During Nearly Two-Decade ‘Reign of Terror’: Lawsuit
WXVU (3/8/21): Elaine Chao [corrupt Trump Transportation Secretary and Mitch McConnell's wife] Elected To Kroger Board [capitalist-farce-news, corruption-news]
Liberation News (7/8/21): Ayesha Johnson dies in custody at Boston’s Suffolk County Jail, family demands justice
The Hill (6/8/21): 2 Seattle police officers who illegally trespassed Capitol on Jan. 6 fired [capitol-storming-news]
Vice (6/8/21): Elon Musk's Brother Wants to Build Utopian Learning Gardens, Without Unions - Staff at Kimbal Musk's non-profit Big Green have been forbidden from talking to each other or the media about their union, and threatened with termination for doing so, according to an unfair labor practice charge. [busting-labor-news] (via u/barakabakan on r/labor)
Vice (6/8/21): 5-Year-Old Had to Get Stitches After Police Dog Bit Him in the Face - “It's unfortunate that it happened, and we're concerned that it happened,” the police chief said in a statement.
The Hill (5/8/21): DOJ launches probe of Phoenix police department
Chicago Sun Times (4/8/21): Cop who accidentally shot budding teen musician won’t face criminal charges - A lawyer who represents the Wilder family in a civil lawsuit said he’s outraged that he only learned Tuesday of Foxx’s decision not to charge the Des Plaines officer.
The Hill (4/8/21): Ex-deputy accused of racist posts sentenced to prison for illegal gun
The Seattle Times (3/8/21): Man stomped by police glad for bodycam, honest officer
The Miami Herald (3/8/21): New charge against Georgia sheriff added in new indictment New charge against Georgia sheriff added in new indictment
Democracy Now (3/8/21): Water Protectors Shot with “Less Lethal” Police Munitions at Line 3 Pipeline Protests
Democracy Now (3/8/21): 200+ Arrested at D.C. Protest Demanding End to Filibuster, Voting Rights
Democracy Now (29/7/21): Whistleblowers: Migrant Children Are Being Mistreated at Fort Bliss; Democracy Now (3/8/21): HHS Watchdog to Probe Reports of Dire Conditions at Migrant Youth Detention Camp
Liberation News (3/8/21): People held in ICE detention 50 times more likely to test positive for COVID
Law and Crime (3/8/21): Five Miami Beach Police Officers Charged with Battery for Alleged ‘Disturbing’ Use of Excessive Force
Vice (29/7/21): Off-Duty SWAT Cop Reportedly Caught on Video Hurling Man into Lamp Pole - Two other officers had to pull their colleague off the man
The Hill (2/8/21): Detroit police investigating after video shows officer apparently punching man in face
Law and Crime (2/8/21): FBI Special Agents ‘Used Photographs of Young Female Support Staff’ to ‘Entice Sexual Predators,’ Potentially Placing the Women ‘in Danger’: OIG
The Flashpoint (30/7/21): Audio: MSNBC Bosses Try to Bust Union During Town Hall With Workers - "It's kind of a shame that they used what could have been a nice moment to sort of spread these subtly anti-union talking points." [busting-labor-news] (via u/psychothumbs on r/labor)
Democracy Now (30/7/21): Brooklyn Mutual Aid Group Attacked by NYPD While Serving the Community; NYPD Arrest 11 People Protesting City’s Plan to Evict Unhoused People From Hotels
Liberation News (28/7/21): Breaking: David Wade Prison Guards retaliate against hunger strikers
The Hill (27/7/21): Body camera footage shows Colorado officer choking unarmed man: 'You're killing me'
The Hill (27/7/21): Atlanta officers relieved of duty after video shows handcuffed woman being kicked in head
Democracy Now (23/7/21): Rep. Hank Johnson, Prominent Black Voting Rights Advocates Arrested at Pro-Democracy Demonstration
Law and Crime (22/7/21): Body Cam Video Shows Colorado Police Officer Tasing Unarmed, Unclothed 75-Year-Old Man in His Apartment Before Moving a Weapon into the Hallway
The Intercept (21/7/21): Secret NYPD Document Teaches Cops to Illegally Raid Sealed Records - Police are running roughshod over a half-century-old law preventing access to the sealed arrest records of 3.5 million people.
Law and Crime (21/7/21): Lead FBI Agent on Whitmer Kidnapping Case Allegedly Beat Wife Until She Had ‘Blood All Over’ After Sex Party
Law and Crime (20/7/21): DEA Agent Flashed Service Weapon and Badge While Raiding the U.S. Capitol, Sharing Video of Ashli Babbitt with Other Officers: Feds
Law and Crime (20/7/21): Former Federal Prison Guard in Alabama Admits Having Sex with Female Inmate in Laundry Room, Trying to Get Colleague to Lie About It
Democracy Now (20/7/21): Winona LaDuke & Water Protectors Arrested in Enbridge Pipeline Protest; 100 Arrested in D.C. at Poor People’s Campaign’s Women’s Moral March
New York Times (14/7/21): Baltimore Police Officer Charged With Murdering His Teenage Stepson - Anne Arundel County police officers found Dasan Jones, 15, “unresponsive” in an attic crawl space, authorities said. The cause of death was asphyxiation.
On Labor (18/7/21): In other news, the AFL-CIO, CWA and two other workers’ groups accused Ray-Ban maker Luxottica, the Italian arm of the EssilorLuxottica, of unlawfully discouraging 2,000 workers from unionizing through an “aggressive and fear-inducing campaign” at its U.S. plant in Georgia, and have asked the Italian, French and U.S. governments to mediate.
Law and Crime (17/7/21): Police Sergeant Accused of Making Child Porn, ‘Lustful Touching’ After the FBI Put His Picture on Wanted Poster
WGME (16/7/21): Maine police officers who beat porcupines to death while on duty sentenced to jail time (via u/instant_regret78 on r/Libertarian)
Law and Crime (16/7/21): Woman Claims Delaware Police Threatened ‘I’m Going to F*** You Up,’ Used Excessive Force During Mistaken Identity Incident: Lawsuit
Democracy Now (26/4/21): Protesters Condemn News White Cop Rusten Sheskey, Who Shot Jacob Blake, Will Return to Work; Virginia Sheriff’s Deputy Shoots Black Man During 911 Response, 1 Hour After Giving Him a Ride Home; 'Isaiah Brown was unarmed and was holding a cordless phone in his hand when the officer fired seven shots at him.'; The Hill (15/7/21): Virginia deputy indicted for shooting of Isaiah Brown
Law and Crime (30/3/21): Jury Acquits on Some Charges, Deadlocks on Others Against Three White Cops Accused of Severely Beating Black Undercover Detective [undercover during protest against police let off of charges of murder, and was mistaken as a protester]; The Hill (15/7/21): Former St. Louis officer sentenced to prison in beating of undercover Black colleague at protest
CBS News (22/4/21): Deputy shoots and kills Black man [Andrew Brown] while serving warrant in North Carolina ([2] 26/4/21); after watching 20-sec of footage of the incident, family/lawyers say had hands on steering wheel, was shot in back of head ([3] 27/4/21); Private Autopsy Shows Deputies Shot Andrew Brown Jr. 5 Times ([4] 27/4/21); FBI Opens Probe into Police Killing of Andrew Brown as Autopsy Confirms He Was Shot in Back of Head; Brown’s family and their lawyers have only been allowed to see a 20-second video of the killing from a single body camera, which shows Brown had his hands on the steering wheel of his car when he was shot dead. New surveillance video shows a group of officers in a car in the moments before Brown was killed; On Tuesday, five people were arrested as protesters defied an 8 p.m. curfew in Elizabeth City to demand justice for Brown. ([5] 28/4/21); Judge Says Andrew Brown’s Family Can Watch Just a Fraction of Footage Showing Police Killing ([6] 10/5/21); Andrew Brown Jr’s shooting ‘justified’, no charges filed: DA; Three deputies involved in the shooting will not face charges from county officials after prosecutorial probe. ([7] 18/5/21); State Autopsy Confirms Police Shot Andrew Brown Jr. in the Back of His Head ([8] 11/6/21); Family of Andrew Brown, Who Was Gunned Down by Police, Files Civil Rights Lawsuit ([9] 15/7/21)
Law and Crime (15/7/21): Convicted Killer Cop Is Now Accused of Possessing Child Pornography Behind Bars
Democracy Now (14/7/21): Jailed Immigrants File Complaint over Abuse and Neglect at Bergen County ICE Facility
Law and Crime (13/7/21): Fired Sheriff’s Deputy Sentenced to More Than 12 Years in Prison for Planting Drugs on Innocent People
PBS (12/7/21): VIDEO: A Utah Police Officer Killed a Man Inside the Police Department. It Was His Third Shooting. (via u/johntwit on r/Libertarian)
Law and Crime (12/7/21): Colorado Cop Charged with Felony Assault of Unarmed Man, 75, in His Home. Family Claims ‘Lack of Transparency’ and ‘Information Monopoly’ From Police, DA.
Black Wall Street Times (12/7/21): Breonna Taylor’s family sues Louisville PD over possible body cam footage; G20 Members Back 15% Global Minimum Tax; Critics Say Greater Change Is Needed
The Hill (10/7/21): Texas authorities release security footage from in-custody death of Black inmate
Workers World (7/7/21): Abuse continues as Texas repurposes prison for migrant detention
Law and Crime (16/3/21): ACLU, Libertarians Oppose Qualified Immunity for Cops Who Set Man on Fire to Stop Him from Setting Himself on Fire; Law and Crime (7/7/21): Appeals Court Affirms Immunity for Cops Who Tased Gasoline-Soaked Man and Burned Him to Death
Law and Crime (6/7/21): DOJ Refuses to Prosecute Fired Police Officer Who Shot Unarmed Black Man in Head During Traffic Stop
Law and Crime (6/7/21): Former Florida Police Officer Sent to Prison For Forcing Teens to Strip and Run Naked to Avoid Arrest
Law and Crime (2/7/21): WATCH: Ohio Police Chief Leaves Ku Klux Klan Sign on Black Officer’s Desk, Then Retires Under Pressure
Law and Crime (26/6/21): Off-Duty Rhode Island Cop Under Investigation For Shooting Teen Driver Leaving Pizzeria Parking Lot; Law and Crime (2/7/21): Off-Duty Rhode Island Cop Charged With Four Felonies After Shooting Teen Driver Leaving Pizzeria Parking Lot
Law and Crime (2/7/21): Ex-Cop Who Invaded U.S. Capitol Had a ‘Partially Assembled Pipe Bomb,’ Flouted Court Order by Buying Guns: Prosecutor;
Law and Crime (22/7/21): FBI Report Shows Explosive Components Allegedly Found in Home of Ex-Cop Charged in U.S. Capitol Breach [capitol-storming-news, militant-far-right-news]
Al Jazeera (2/7/21): Ex-officer pleads guilty to manslaughter as family blasts deal - A white former Nashville police officer will serve three years or less in prison for death of 25-year-old Black man.
The Intercept (3/7/21): Orange County Prosecutors Operate “Vast, Secretive” Genetic Surveillance Program - A DA’s office in California offers plea deals and dismissals for misdemeanor offenses — but only if people give up their DNA.
Salon (2/7/21): 'Bombshell' lobbyist video reveals Exxon's secret campaign to water down U.S. climate legislation - Climate experts pointed to the footage as confirmation of findings from previous investigations into the company
On Labor (2/7/21): On Thursday, The NLRB charged CW Building Maintenance in San Francisco, California, with an Unfair Labor Practice, and ordered the company to cease and desist from failing and refusing to bargain in good faith with SEIU Local 87. The NLRB also ordered the employer to make employees whole for its failure to make pension payments as required by its CBA with Local 87. In March, 700 local 87 janitors walked off the job fighting for workplace safety protections, seniority rights and fair pay.
Law and Crime (1/7/21): Boston Police Officer Produced Phony Arrest Report in Plot to Help Best Friend’s Brother: Ethics Board
Law and Crime (30/6/21): Southern California Sheriff’s Sergeant Faces 16 Felony Charges of Child Pornography, Including ‘Sadomasochistic’ Material
Law and Crime (1/7/21): Cop Caught in Prostitution Sting Claimed He Had His Penis Out to Make Prostitutes ‘Feel Comfortable,’ Vice Officer Recalls
Vice (Motherboard) (1/7/21): The LAPD Exploded a Stash of Illegal Fireworks in the Middle of the City - The LAPD seized 5,000 pounds of illegal fireworks for routine disposal. The subsequent explosion destroyed homes and sent residents to the hospital.
The Intercept (1/7/21): Secret Internal Report Slammed Warden For Freezing Jail Conditions — Then He Was Promoted Anyway - After conditions at MDC Brooklyn stirred outrage, the Bureau of Prisons fought in court to keep a report on the 2019 incident under seal.
Democracy Now (1/7/21): Amazon Seeks to Force New FTC Chair to Recuse Herself over Past Amazon Criticism
Oregon Live (30/6/21): Oregon farmworker dies at worksite during heat wave (see context) (via On Labor)
Law and Crime (30/6/21): Ohio Corrections Officer Arrested and Charged With Raping Three Male Inmates Across Seventeen-Day Span
Democracy Now (30/6/21): Immigrant Prisoners in New Jersey Attacked by Guards, Moved to Undisclosed Location
LaborNotes (28/6/21): Striking Alabama Miners Call Out NYC Hedge Funds for Bringing in Scabs

On Labor (29/6/21): A heat wave is pummeling the Pacific Northwest this week. In Salem, Oregon, the temperature reached 117º Fahrenheit, a record for Salem that would also have been a record in Las Vegas. This has been devastating in a region where many buildings are not climate controlled. The Amazon warehouse in Kent, Washington, for example, has no air conditioning and instead relies on fans to cool the workplace. This week, the tech behemoth has kept that warehouse fully in operation, despite the blistering temperatures. Not only is the warehouse remaining open, but Amazon is forcing some workers into “‘power hours,’ in which workers are asked to move as quickly as they can for an hour to boost productivity.” And as the United Farm Workers (UFW) pointed out in a lengthy twitter thread, it is peak cherry season in Washington, so farmworkers are pressured to harvest the cherries—which shrivel in extreme heat—as quickly as possible. The UFW’s thread ended with a plea for help for the workers braving the extreme heat to keep the rest of society fed: “Protect us.”
Law and Crime (29/6/21): Colorado Cop Charged With Felony Assault After Fellow Officers Reported Him For Using Chokehold on Suspect
Ars Technica (28/6/21): Amazon is using algorithms with little human intervention to fire Flex workers - Retailer lets bots manage many HR decisions for its Flex delivery program. (via u/CarolinianRevolution on r/labor)
Democracy Now (29/6/21): “An Overt Political Blockade”: Minnesota Police Barricade Line 3 Pipeline Protest Camp
New York Times (28/6/21): Lawmakers Sue N.Y.P.D., Saying They Were Beaten With Bicycles at Protest - State Senator Zellnor Myrie and Assemblywoman Diana Richardson say they were assaulted and pepper-sprayed by the police during last year’s Black Lives Matter protests.
New York Times (25/6/21): Bystander Who Intervened in Shooting of Officer Was Fatally Shot by Police - The police in Arvada, Colo., said a good Samaritan who fatally shot a gunman who had just killed a police officer was himself shot by responding officers.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (24/6/21): Lonoke County deputy kills teenage driver at traffic stop - Authorities offer few details; boy’s kin demand answers
Law and Crime (24/6/21): Family Threatens to Sue Florida Trooper Caught on Camera Tasing ‘Suspicious’ Biracial Teen Who Was Visiting his Girlfriend
Salon (24/6/21): Corporations like Amazon pay big bucks for "union avoidance" — and it all happens in the dark - Amazon's union-busting plan was almost certainly crafted by legal experts. But everything about that is a secret
Liberation News (23/6/21): Calls for justice grow after Houston officers fired over Jaquaree Simmons killing
Democracy Now (24/6/21): ICE Force-Fed Immigrant Prisoners Who Went on Hunger Strike Against Poor Conditions
Democracy Now (24/6/21): Revs. Jesse Jackson and William Barber Arrested at Nonviolent Protest Against Senate Filibuster
Democracy Now (22/6/21): Dozens of Incarcerated Texans Died in Prison After They Were Cleared for Parole
Law and Crime (18/6/21): state will not move forward with the two charges brought against Vechirko
Law and Crime (19/6/21): ‘I’m About to Die’: Dash Cam Footage Shows Ohio Cop Running Over Black Shooting Victim
Law and Crime (17/6/21): Portland Police Quit Crowd Control Team After One of Their Own Is Indicted for Assault During 2020 Protest
Democracy Now (18/6/21): Arizona to Pay Prisoners $1.50/Hour to Fight Wildfires as Record Heat Scorches Western U.S.
Liberation News (15/6/21): Sheriffs kill two in Racine, Wisconsin, county jail
Liberation News (15/6/21): Milwaukee police kill Roberto Zielinski, no body cam footage released
Liberation News (16/6/21): Police violently clear homeless encampment near Austin City Hall
Democracy Now (17/6/21): 3 Honolulu Police Officers Face Murder Charges in Fatal Shooting of Teenager; Video Shows Honolulu Officers Failed to ID Themselves Before Killing Black Man Who Posed No Threat
Law and Crime (15/6/21): Shake Shack Manager Sues NYPD, Police Unions for Defamation Over False Claims That Cops Were ‘Poisoned’
Al Jazeera (15/6/21): US police shooting of Black man in Georgia echoes Breonna Taylor - Atlanta police burst into the apartment where Johnny Lorenzo Bolton was lying down and shot him, the family lawyer says.
New York Times (15/6/21): 5 Police Officers Are Fired After a Man in Custody Hangs Himself - Three of the officers in Savannah, Ga., mocked the death of William Harvey in a group text message exchange, in which an inappropriate GIF was shared, officials said.
Mother Jones (14/6/21): Cops Tased and Tackled Black Teenagers Just Because They Were Holding Vapes - In the “family-friendly resort town” of Ocean Beach, Maryland the police were violent.
Al Jazeera / Bloomberg (14/6/21): Boeing resumes donations to Republicans who contested US election - Beginning on May 3, Boeing gave out nearly $900,000 to political committees and candidates, including four of the 147 Republicans who voted against certifying United States President Joe Biden’s win.
Democracy Now (14/6/21): Louisiana ICE Jail Puts Prisoners on “Communications Lockdown” After Mishandling Tuberculosis Case
Law and Crime (11/6/21): Minnesota State Trooper Pleads Guilty to Sending Himself Nude Photos From Phone of Woman He Detained
Law and Crime (11/6/21): Chicago Cop Charged in Jan. 6 Siege Ignored Friend’s Warnings About Sidney Powell, Texted ‘N**** Don’t Snitch’ a Week Later: Feds
On Labor (9/6/21): The NewsGuild of New York has filed an Unfair Labor Practice complaint against the New York Times, it announced in a press release today.
Democracy Now (9/6/21): Shocking Video Shows Officer Tasering Teenage Refugee from Honduras at Children’s Shelter in Texas; Texas Sheriff Deputy Placed on Leave for Tasering Teenage Honduran Asylum Seeker ([2] 11/6/21)
The Intercept (8/6/21): Low-Flying DHS Helicopter Showers Anti-Pipeline Protests With Debris - Authorities said the risky low-flying maneuver was used to warn demonstrators to disperse, but the reasoning doesn’t hold up.
Democracy Now (8/6/21): NJ Governor Orders Closure of Edna Mahan Women’s Prison over Widespread Abuses
Law and Crime (10/6/21): Police Sued After Officer Flipped Pregnant Woman’s Car for Not Pulling Over Fast Enough (VIDEO)
Law and Crime (10/6/21): Honolulu Woman Backed by ACLU Sues Police, Alleging Conspiracy with Her Boss to Have Her Arrested
Mother Jones (5/6/21): Protests Erupt in Minneapolis Again After Man Shot and Killed by US Marshals - There is no bodycam or squad car footage of the shooting of Winston Boogie Smith Jr., authorities said Friday.
Law and Crime (3/6/21): Idaho Deputy Under Investigation for Tasing 78-Year-Old Man Who Was Left Bloody Following Arrest
Law and Crime (2/6/21): Ex-Cop Pleads Guilty to Lying About Botched, Fatal Raid That Resulted in Houston Police Killing 2 People
New York Times (2/6/21): As Nashville Bomber Plotted, Police Investigation Into Warning Sat Dormant - A review found deficiencies in how police officers followed a 2019 tip that Anthony Q. Warner was building bombs in his vehicle.
The Intercept (2/6/21): Ambushed by the Cops: When Police Deliberately Trap Peaceful Protesters - An Intercept and SITU reconstruction of an incident in North Carolina last June shows police intentionally trapped and tear-gassed hundreds of peaceful protesters.
The American Prospect (1/6/21): Biden Administration ICE Contracts Encourage Forced Labor - A contract signed in April with the detention facility in Port Isabel, Texas, continues $1-a-day wages for those detained.
Law and Crime (31/5/21): Federal Appeals Court Rejects Former Inmate’s Lawsuit that Alleged Prison Meals Were ‘Contaminated with Feces and Urine’
New York Times (31/5/21): Retired F.B.I. Agent Is Accused of Swindling Texas Woman Out of $800,000 - The former agent told the woman she was on “secret probation” over drug crimes and at one point proposed marriage, federal prosecutors said.
Mother Jones (30/5/21): As Texas Enters Another Hot Summer, Lawmakers Kill Effort to Cool Sweltering Prisons - “The reality is in Texas, we are cooking people in prison.”
Law and Crime (29/5/21): Convicted Murderer Tortured, Dissected, and Decapitated Cellmate; Guards Reported Both Men Alive: Inspector General Report
Law and Crime (30/5/21): Attorney Admits D.C. Police Used Tear Gas on Protesters Near Trump’s Controversial Church Photo Op
Law and Crime (28/5/21): ‘I Could Make Up a Fake Arrest and Put You in Jail’: Police Chief Agrees to Plead Guilty to Threatening an Arrest Over Negative Facebook Post
Payday Report (27/5/21): Amazon Installing “Zen Boxes” for Stressed-Out Warehouse Workers
The Intercept (28/5/21): Imprisoned Anti-Fascist Activist Says Federal Guards Let White Supremacists Beat Him - Eric King’s civil rights lawsuit alleges a pattern of abuse by Bureau of Prison guards across several facilities.
Democracy Now (28/5/21): Washington Prosecutors Charge Tacoma Police Officers with Murdering Manuel Ellis ([2] 27/5/21)
World Socialist Web Site (28/5/21): School bus drivers in Greenville, Mississippi face disciplinary measures after striking in April
Chattanooga Times Free Press (27/5/21): Union members arrested during Alabama coal strike protest
Law and Crime (26/5/21): [Kansas City, Kansas] Disgraced School Resource Officer Gets Life Behind Bars for Sodomy of a Child Under 14 Years Old, Rape
Law and Crime (26/5/21): [Louisville, KY] No Charges for National Guard Soldiers and Police in Shooting Death of Black Owner of Popular Barbecue Restaurant - 'Law enforcement sources criticized the official operation occurring in the area, according to VICE in April.'
Salon (26/5/21): Pharma giant AbbVie funds ads attacking prescription drug bill — after hiking prices up to 470% - New congressional report shows that AbbVie inflated drug prices — then poured cash into dark-money ads on Rx bill
The Intercept (25/5/21): Oracle Boasted That Its Software Was Used Against U.S. Protesters. Then It Took the Tech to China. - To sell the CIA-backed Endeca software for use by Chinese authorities, Oracle touted its use in Chicago for predictive policing.
The Intercept (25/5/21): Senate Preparing $10 Billion Bailout Fund for Jeff Bezos Space Firm - Bezos’s Blue Origin lost its bid for a major NASA contract to Elon Musk, but the Senate is ordering the agency to give a second one now.
Democracy Now (26/5/21): Marcus Smith “Died Like an Animal” When Cops Hogtied Him. Police Have Known for Decades It Can Kill
Tribune of the People (21/5/21) Austin: Juiceland Owners Threaten Legal Action Against Striking Workers (via u/Matthew_John); workers legal fund GoFundMe
Law and Crime (24/5/21): Houston Cops ‘Molested’ Female Deputies During Undercover Stings, Forced One to Be ‘Penetrated in Both Her Vagina and Anus’ by ‘Known Rapist’: Lawsuit
@AshAgony (23/5/21): NYPD cops (including SRG) forced people out of Washington Square Park last nite & even kept moving their bike line forward until folks were more than a block away from the park. Cops charged at the crowd multiple times & even chased people around the area to make violent arrests. - NYPD cops were already lined up like this at the north side of Washington Square Park by the time I got there around 11:20pm last nite. The park was filled with young people just hanging out, dancing, & listening to music. All this just to kick people out of a park!
Law and Crime (23/5/21): No State Charges for Officer Who Shot and Killed Man During Mental Health Crisis
Law and Crime (21/5/21): Video Shows Multiple Officers Restraining Man at Jail Before He Died. One Said ‘You Shouldn’t Be Able to Breathe, You Stupid Bastard.’
Al Jazeera (21/5/21): Leaks show DC cops justify ‘aggressive’ protest tactics: Expert - DC police training presentation obtained by Al Jazeera depicts ‘increasingly violent’ left-wing protest movement.
Mother Jones (20/5/21): Despite Moratorium, Bay Area Landlords Are “Taking the Law Into Their Own Hands” to Drive Tenants Out - Counterfeit red tags, changed locks, harassment campaigns, and more.
On Labor (20/5/21): Lawsuits levied at Amazon, one over allegations that 'Amazon managers used racial epithets against Latinas, fired employees in retaliation for complaining, and demoted another employee for rebuffing advances by a male manager'; In a second suit, 'Workers alleged in the Second Circuit yesterday that Amazon was engaging in a “public nuisance,” a claim sounding in tort, for failing to adequately protect them from coronavirus.'
Good development: Law and Crime (20/5/21): Two ICE Facilities Dogged by Claims of ‘Nightmarish’ Abuses Will No Longer Be Used by Biden Administration
Salon (20/5/21): Trump DOJ secretly collected CNN reporter's email, phone records: report - The DOJ covertly obtained CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr's records over a two-month period in 2017
Law and Crime (18/5/21): Fired Deputy Zachary Wester Guilty of Planting Drugs on People During Traffic Stops, But Only in 3 Cases
Law and Crime (18/4/21): [Loveland, CO] Police Dislocated Shoulder of 73-Year-Old Woman, Who Had Dementia, After She Forgot to Pay Walmart $13.88 [and covered up the ordeal] : Lawsuit; ‘Did You Hear the Pop?’: Officers Fist Bump After Injuring Shoulder of 73-Year-Old Woman Who Has Dementia (VIDEO) ([2] 26/4/21); officers on leave over issue ([3] 29/4/21); Arresting Officer, Two Others Resign After Lawsuit Says They Celebrated Violent Arrest of 73-Year-Old Woman with Dementia ([4] 30/4/21); Colorado Cops Remain Unpunished For Breaking 73-Year-Old Woman’s Arm ([5] 5/5/21); Two Former Police Officers Charged in ‘Disgusting’ Arrest of Elderly Woman Who Lives with Dementia([6] 19/5/21); Loveland, Colo., to Pay $3 Million to Woman With Dementia Who Was Arrested - The settlement comes more than a year after Karen Garner, then 73, was grabbed by a police officer and flung to the ground for allegedly shoplifting from a Walmart. ([7] 8/9/21)
Democracy Now (19/5/21): Amazon Worker Says Security Guards Had Keys to USPS Ballot Mailboxes During Bessemer Union Vote
Al Jazeera (19/5/21): Video shows grisly death of Black man in police custody: AP - Body camera footage obtained by Associated Press shows Louisiana police brutalising Ronald Greene in 2019.
On Labor (18/5/21): It was not the only suspicious detail to emerge about the mailbox yesterday [relating to the Bessemer union drive]: a USPS official also testified that the agency removed a divider normally placed between the outgoing mail slot and the slot where parcels were collected by a USPS customer. In other words, a customer collecting their parcels could also access outgoing mail.
WCVB 5 (ABC) (12/5/21) [Tenent] announces plans to hire permanent replacement nurses amid strike (via Who Gets the Bird?)
Law and Crime (15/5/21): U.S. Marshal Indicted for Allegedly Luring Men from Craigslist to Rape His Wife in Plot to Blame His Ex-Girlfriend
Huffpost (14/5/21): Kroger CEO Cut Workers’ COVID-19 Hazard Pay, Grabbed Record $22.4 Million Package Himself - Now Kroger is closing stores where communities are requiring hazard pay (via u/Cyclone_1 on r/labor).
Business Insider (10/5/21): Some Amazon managers say they 'hire to fire' people just to meet the internal turnover goal every year (via u/snooshoe on r/labor)
Law and Crime (12/5/21): Bank Robbery Hostage’s Lawsuit Against Trooper Who Shot Her Revived by Federal Appeals Court
Democracy Now (12/5/21): AP Reports Biden Admin Holding 21,000 Migrant Children in Crowded Facilities with No Oversight; ' Some of the facilities are run by contractors facing lawsuits and accusations of physical and sexual abuse. The government is also using about a dozen unlicensed facilities, including former military installations, to hold children.'
Law and Crime (12/5/21): ‘Somebody Get on His Back with a Knee’: Lawsuit Claims Georgia Police Responsible for Asphyxiation Death of Man Officers Tased 15 Times, ‘Pinned’ to the Ground
Mother Jones (11/5/21): ICE Allowed COVID-19 Breakouts and Concealed Hospitalizations, a New Report Shows - Nearly 2,000 people in ICE detention are being monitored for active infections right now.
On Labor (11/5/21): More unfair labor practice charges have been filed against Greene Kleen, a cleaning company based in Doral, Florida. The charges allege union busting and retaliation against janitorial employees attempting to organize with the SEIU.
New York Times (11/5/21): ‘Bro I Robbed Everyone’: 3 N.Y.P.D. Officers Charged in Bribe Scheme - The officers, one of them retired, funneled work to a tow truck company for kickbacks and sold car crash victims’ personal information, prosecutors say.
Law and Crime (10/5/21): Watch Live: Fired Deputy on Trial for Allegedly Planting Drugs During Traffic Stops
NiemanLab (10/5/21): Staffers at The Appeal announced they had formed a union. Five minutes later, management announced layoffs. - The nonprofit news site focused on criminal justice reform has a vision for “an America where stability and dignity are within everyone’s reach.” Some of its employees say you wouldn’t know that from its management. (via u/psychothumbs on r/labor)
Liberation News (9/5/21): Family [and protesters] demands arrest of 8 police for torture, killing of Marvin Scott III
Bloomberg (5/5/21): Amazon Work Rules Govern Tweets, Body Odor of Contract Drivers [and random drug tests, among other things] - The company’s efforts to bring order to its sprawling delivery operation could risk a legal and regulatory backlash. (via On Labor)
The Intercept (9/5/21): Law Enforcement Groups Drive Anti-Protest Laws, New Analysis Shows - A separate Greenpeace report looked at corporate support for politicians who pushed anti-protest and voter suppression laws.
The Intercept (9/5/21): Weeks Without a Shower: Neglect Defines Covid-19 Containment in California Jails - Incarcerated people have been denied basic services in the name of fighting the virus, exacting a heavy psychological toll.
Liberation News (8/5/21): Black student, 17, killed by cops in Knoxville, Tenn; community demands justice
Reason (7/5/21): Louisiana Can't Prove This 74-Year-Old Inmate Took Drugs. They Revoked His Parole Anyway. - After spending 47 years behind bars, Bobby Sneed may die in prison for no good reason.
The Intercept (7/5/21): ICE Subverting Biden’s Priorities for Detention and Deportation - A new report sheds light on how, despite orders from the Biden administration to narrow its immigration enforcement, ICE is still casting a wide net.
Vice (6/5/21): Amazon Drivers Are Instructed to Drive Recklessly to Meet Delivery Quotas - Drivers say they’re being asked to quietly disable a driver safety system partway through their shifts. (via u/RedditGreenit on r/labor)
Reason (6/5/21): Mississippi Cops Kill Baby [in car] in Barrage of Gunfire [knowing a baby was in the car - they were pursuing the driver for kidnapping]
Reason (6/5/21): Watch a Cop Intentionally Damage a Car While Executing a Search Warrant - A Messina, New York, police officer is under investigation after video showed him intentionally slamming a door into a car several times.
Democracy Now (6/5/21): Drone Whistleblower Daniel Hale Jailed Ahead of July 13 Sentencing
Law and Crime (5/5/21): ‘Yeah, I’m Good, Bro’: Cops Crash Cruisers While Drag Racing One Another in Washington, D.C. Neighborhood (WATCH)
Law and Crime (5/5/21): Fired Officer Who Was Charged for Killing Rayshard Brooks Gets His Job Back
Vice (4/5/21): The Animation Studio That Makes ‘Archer’ Won’t Recognize Workers’ Union - Unionizing animators at Floyd County Productions say the company has failed on multiple accounts to live up to its progressive values. (via u/moxie_girl on r/labor)
World Socialist Web Site (3/5/21): Amazon steps up violations of workers privacy with new surveillance methods ([1] 15/4/21)
KHN News (3/5/21): CVS and Walgreens Have Wasted More Vaccine Doses Than Most States Combined
The Intercept (3/5/21) Your Car Is Spying on You, and a CBP Contract Shows the Risks - A “vehicle forensics kit” can reveal where you’ve driven, what doors you opened, and who your friends are.
Law and Crime (1/5/21): Three Cops from Two Law Enforcement Agencies Accused of Firing Guns During Booze-Fueled Night; Two Have Since Been Fired
Liberation News (29/4/21): Escondido community demands justice after Steven Olson is killed by police
The Intercept (29/4/21): New Jersey Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak Kept Quiet in State Prisons - After one person died and another spent a month in a coma, state officials found Legionella bacteria in the water at two New Jersey prisons.
Democracy Now (29/4/21): Video: Chicago Police Shot Anthony Alvarez Dead as He Was Running Away
PayDay Report (27/4/21): NJ Teacher Union Leaders Arrested During Contract Talks; 'The teachers union has yet to release a statement, but many local union supporters suspect that the charges are retaliation for the two union leaders’ outspoken advocacy on behalf of their fellow teachers’ union members.'
Law and Crime (28/4/21): Two New Jersey Police Officers Charged with Assaulting 19-Year-Old and Filing False Police Report [exposed due to footage incidentally caught by a security camera]
World Socialist Web Site (28/4/21): After two deaths in one week at Sterling Stamping Plant, autoworkers describe dangerous conditions inside Stellantis factorie
Law and Crime (17/3/21): Newly Released Body Cam Footage Shows Police Fatally Shooting Lymond Moses in Delaware; Delaware police used ‘unnecessary force’, killing Black man: suit - Lawsuit comes after bodycam footage released that appears to show Lymond Moses died while fleeing police, differing from original police press release [2] (28/4/21)
World Socialist Web Site (28/4/21): Thousands of migrant workers labouring on Canada’s farms in unsafe conditions amid deadly COVID-19 third wave; 'As seasonal work makes up 53 percent of Canada’s paid agricultural workforce, the recruitment of international cheap labor, sometimes referred to as “Canada’s dirty little secret,” is essential and highly lucrative for the country’s agricultural sector. According to the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance, Canada is the fifth largest exporter of agricultural products and agri-foods in the world, with total exports amounting to an estimated $56 billion annually. ... As hundreds of farmworkers were being infected with COVID-19 during the first wave of the pandemic in spring 2020, some media outlets carried reports that exposed how the squalid and cramped dormitories in which many farmworkers live contributed to the spread of the virus. Reports also detailed how some workers had to work for 12 to 14 hours a day, sometimes in the pouring rain, to compensate for labour shortages.'
New York Times (22/4/21): Chevron Lobbies [lobbyists including former State Department officials] to Head Off New Sanctions on Myanmar - The oil company is arguing against efforts to restrict its involvement in a gas operation in Myanmar that provides funding for the junta there.; 'This year, Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise is expected to collect at least $536 million worth of gas and revenue from the operation of the Yadana field. Additionally, Chevron and its partners in the Yadana project pay taxes to the government in Naypyidaw to be able to operate in Myanmar — at least $120 million in 2018. ... After taxes and other payments to the Myanmar government, Chevron has been netting annual profits of $100 million to $150 million from its stake in Yadana and a pipeline company that transports the gas from Myanmar to Thailand, experts at EarthRights estimated.' (more context)
On Labor (27/4/21): Contract negotiations between the United Steelworkers and ExxonMobil Corp at Exxon’s Beaumont, Texas refinery facility are reaching a boiling point. Exxon has threatened to lock out workers on May 1 if no agreement is reached by then ... The president of the union’s local Darrel Kyle stated that the focus of the negotiations are currently on worker safety and job security ([2] 28/4/21)
World Socialist Web Site (28/4/21): 3,000 Kroger workers in Arkansas still without a contract after a year
CTV News (?/4/21): President of CUPE (Canada's largest union) says the government is doing 'exactly' what the employer wants by introducing back to work legislation for striking Montreal dockworkers; Interviewer: 'Some folks are worried that key medical supplies won't come here because of the strike, saying this ain't the time to strike?' CUPE President Mark Hanock: 'No, we took care of that as part of the essential services order that's in place, any key medical supplies that are needed will be offloaded from those ships at the port, so that's not an issue.' (via u/leftwingmememachine on r/labor); 'The Trudeau government’s intervention on behalf of the employer to help enforce its concession demands underscores that the struggle faced by dockers is above all political. A fight for even their most immediate demands, including manageable work schedules, no speedup, and the ending of oppressive workplace discipline regimes, immediately pits the dockers against the entire ruling elite and its state institutions.' ([2] 26/4/21)
New York Times (26/4/21): Court Chides F.B.I., but Re-Approves Warrantless Surveillance Program - Newly disclosed episodes in which analysts improperly searched for data about Americans largely came before changes at the bureau.([2] 6/5/21)
New York Times + other collected publictions: Likely extrajudicial, and unjustified, killing of (and subsequent coverup) of activist Reinoehl by U.S. Marshals - which [then president] Trump subsequently praised
New York Times (24/4/21): C.E.O. Pay Remains Stratospheric, Even at Companies Battered by Pandemic - While millions of people struggled to make ends meet, many of the companies hit hardest in 2020 showered their executives with riches.
Law and Crime (24/4/21): Body Camera Captures Sound of Police Shooting and Killing Man Accused of Tasing an Officer
Law and Crime (25/4/21): Police Officer Threw ‘Confused and Afraid’ 17-Year-Old Autistic Boy to Ground, Punched Him (VIDEO)
World Socialist Web Site (25/4/21): Law enforcement arm of the US Postal Service tracking social media activity
Law and Crime (24/4/21): Governor Demands Criminal Investigation into White Sheriff Who Said Black Newspaper Carrier Threatened His Life
Left Voice (22/4/21): Mumia Abu-Jamal Shackled to Hospital Bed after Heart Surgery
Jacobin (23/4/21): The Nation’s Largest Health Insurer Pressured Its Employees to Fight a Public Option - A newly obtained video shows an executive at UnitedHealth Group, the country’s largest health insurer, opposing a proposed public option bill in Connecticut — and actually pushing employees to lobby against the bill.
Law and Crime (22/4/21): Librarian, 68, Alleges Police Pulled Her Out of Vehicle by the Hair and Tore Her Rotator Cuff After Traffic Stop
Law and Crime (23/4/21): ‘Touch Me and See What’s Up!’: Body Cam Video Shows Cop Fatally Shooting Man Who Brandished Knife in California Intersection
Law and Crime (21/4/21): Sheriff’s Deputy Remains on the Force After Using Racial Slur, Begging Police Officer Not to Arrest Him for DUI (WATCH)
The Intercept (22/4/21): U.S. Marshals Used Drones to Spy on Black Lives Matter Protests in Washington, D.C. - The flights, revealed in documents obtained by The Intercept, underscore the growing militarization of policing.
World Socialist Web Site (21/4/21): Whistle-blowing auto parts worker says he was harassed, victimized after exposing safety issues on line producing airbags for Ford
Democracy Now (22/4/21): U.S. Capitol Cop Instructed Personnel to Monitor for Anti-Trump Protesters on Jan. 6"
Al Jazeera (21/4/21): US police shoot, kill Black teenage girl holding knife in Ohio ([2] 22/4/21) ([3] 22/4/21)
On Labor (20/4/21): Defector reported yesterday on the horrifying rising trend of violence against gig workers, and how their misclassification as independent contractors allows their employers to skirt responsibility for their injuries and deaths.
Law and Crime (20/4/21): DHS Inspector General Blocked Investigation into Secret Service’s Role in Clearing Protesters from Lafayette Square: Report
Democracy Now (20/4/21): Amazon Hit with 23 Unfair Labor Practices Complaints over Union-Busting Campaign in Alabama
Democracy Now ((19/4/21): Police Brutalize Protesters in Minneapolis as Chauvin Trial Moves Toward Verdict
New York Times (16/4/21): Jurors in Daniel Prude Case Voted Overwhelmingly in Favor of Police - Mr. Prude’s death last year became part of a fraught national conversation around racism and brutality in policing.
Left Voice (17/4/21): “It Felt Like War”: Tear Gas, Rubber Bullets, and 100 Arrests in Brooklyn Center Protest
Liberation News (18/4/21): Homeless people in Manchester [New Hampshire] face yet another eviction; ‘Where are they supposed to go?’
Law and Crime (17/4/21): NYPD Detective Filmed Using ‘Banned’ Chokehold Won’t Face Disciplinary Trial After Choosing to Retire
Law and Crime (18/4/21): [Austin, TX] Manhunt: Suspect in Triple Homicide Used to Be Sheriff’s Deputy, Say Police ([2] 19/4/21)
World Socialist Web Site (16/4/21): Data breach exposes financial support from police officers for fascist shooter Rittenhouse
The Intercept (17/4/21): Local Cops Said Pipeline Company Had Influence Over Government Appointment - Sheriffs in Minnesota worried about who would oversee an escrow account, funded by pipeline giant Enbridge, to reimburse the costs of policing protests.
Law and Crime (15/4/21): Graphic Body Cam Footage Shows Officer Shooting and Killing 13-Year-Old Adam Toledo
Law and Crime (15/4/21): ‘Violence to the Statutory Text’: Two Female Judges Issue Blistering Dissents as Court Rules Epstein Victims Can’t Sue Over Prosecutors Who Lied About Sweetheart Deal
Law and Crime (15/4/21): Sheriff’s Deputies Arrested Man for a Warrant That Was Out on His Brother: Lawsuit
ProPublica (15/4/21): Inspecting the NYPD “Puzzle Palace” - Withheld records. Canceled interviews. Slow-walk requests. The Inspector General keeps hitting walls while trying to probe problems in the NYPD. “There’s a reason people call 1 Police Plaza the puzzle palace,” one city official said.
Liberation News (14/4/21): Hospital patient shot and killed by police in Columbus, Ohio [locals protest] ([2] 15/4/21)
Democracy Now (15/4/21): Maryland State Trooper Shoots Dead 16-Year-Old with Airsoft Pellet Gun ([1] 15/4/21)
Democracy Now (15/4/21): New York Police Deploy Advanced Surveillance Robot in Public Housing Complex; N.Y.P.D. Robot Dog’s Run Is Cut Short After Fierce Backlash - 'He [deputy commissioner for intelligence and counterterrorism at NYPD, Miller] allowed for the possibility that Digidog might return, saying the department could decide it was more effective than other such devices.' ([2] 28/4/21)
The Intercept (14/4/21): The Border Patrol’s Abdication in the Sonoran Desert - Customs and Border Protection is dropping asylum-seekers in remote border towns with few resources to receive them.
Democracy Now (14/4/21): Watchdog Report Says Officers Instructed to Hold Back in Response to Jan. 6 Insurrection
Democracy Now (13/4/21): Georgia Prisoners Shackled and Placed in Solitary Confinement Days After Giving Birth [in violation of state and federal law]
World Socialist Web Site (12/4/21): Lawsuit reveals deadly conditions for Washington D.C. jail inmates during the pandemic
World Socialist Web Site (12/4/21): Colorado high school lays off all teachers, tells them to reapply for their own jobs
Mother Jones (10/4/21): Video: Cops Draw Guns on a Black Army Officer, Pepper Spray Him, Force Him to the Ground [Virginia] ([2] 12/4/21)
Law and Crime (11/4/21): Police Union President, Now Charged with Abusing 6 Kids, Kept Badge Despite Internal Affairs Determining He Broke Law in 1995 Case ([2] 15/4/21)
World Socialist Web Site (12/4/21): Prosecutors and media smear 13-year-old killed by Chicago police
Mother Jones (3/4/21): Chicago Police Rolled Out a Cover-Up After Killing a 13-Year-Old Latino Boy
On Labor (8/4/21): A report released by the Worker Rights Consortium has found that garment workers employed in factories abroad for companies like Nike, Walmart, and Benetton have lost their jobs in the past year due to the pandemic and have still not received severance benefits owed to them upon termination.
Law and Crime (6/4/21): Lawyers Say Texas AG Ken Paxton Admitted His State Violated the Constitution While Accusing Biden Admin of Breaking Immigration Laws
Law and Crime (7/4/21): ‘This Is a Perfect Girl for Me’: [Denver, CO] Cop Faces Temporary Suspension for ‘Inappropriate’ Conduct with 17-Year-Old He Met While Investigating a Theft
Law and Crime (9/4/21): Off-Duty Pentagon Cop Charged with Murdering Two Men Also Pointed Rifle at Homeless Woman in 2020: Report ([2] 12/4/21)
The Intercept (7/4/21): NYPD “Goon Squad” Manual Teaches Officers to Violate Protesters’ Rights; Exclusive: Internal NYPD documents shed new light on the Strategic Response Group, or SRG, the heavily militarized police unit behind the crackdown on George Floyd protesters.
Liberation News (6/4/21): Miami police kill woman while serving illegal eviction order; local sources say that landlords pay police up to $1,000 to evict their tenants first
Democracy Now (9/4/21): Allegations of Abuse, Sexual Assault in Texas Migrant Facility for Unaccompanied Children
Workers World (6/4/21): For trans people, ‘there should not be for-profit detention centers’
In These Times (5/4/21): McGraw Hill Rejects Calls to Stop Charging Its Freelancers a Fee in Order to Get Paid
Law and Crime (2/4/21): ICE Agents Pepper Sprayed Peaceful Protesters During Sit-in at Arizona Detention Center [in April 2020], DHS OIG Report Shows
Law and Crime (3/4/21): Former Cop Who Texted Friends that Donald Trump Was ‘The Rightful President’ Now Faces Federal Charges in U.S. Capitol Siege
The Guardian (2/4/21): US fossil-fuel companies took billions in tax breaks – and then laid off thousands: Figures show 77 companies received $8.2bn under tax changes related to Covid relief and yet almost every one let workers go (giving money to corporations doesn't help the workers, it helps the wealthy!) ['the oil and gas industry has sought to paint itself as the protector of thousands of American workers who face joblessness due to Joe Biden’s climate policies.'] (via u/easyone on r/labor)
The New York Times (5/4/21): Amazon Illegally Fired Activist Workers, Labor Board Finds (via u/DoremusJessup on r/labor)
The Intercept (2/4/21): LexisNexis to Provide Giant Database of Personal Information to ICE: The company signed a contract with an ICE division that plays a key role in deportations. - 'While you can at least attempt to use countermeasures against surveillance technologies like facial recognition or phone tracking, it’s exceedingly difficult to participate in modern society without generating computerized records of the sort that LexisNexis obtains and packages for resale.' - 'The company claims it holds 283 million distinct individual dossiers of 99.99% accuracy tied to “LexIDs,” unique identification codes that make pulling all the material collected about a person that much easier.'
Democracy Now (5/4/21): Chicago Protests Erupt over Police Killing of 13-Year-Old Adam Toledo
Democracy Now (5/4/21): Texas Police Officers Fired for Killing Black Man Jailed for Marijuana Possession
Democracy Now (2/4/21): Arizona ICE Jail Violated Prisoners’ Rights and Failed to Prevent COVID-19 Outbreak
On Labor (30/3/21): NBC News has reported on how the number of charges filed with the NLRB against Amazon concerning the right to organize have more than tripled during the pandemic. At least 37 charges have been filed against Amazon since February 2020 regarding organizing rights. Walmart and the meat-processing industry had 8 and 9 such charges, respectively.
Law and Crime (20/3/21): Recording of Former LAPD Homicide Detective Calling Black Driver ‘A Dumb N***er’ Leads to Review of 370 Cases He Worked
Law and Crime (24/3/21): Former Texas Trooper Charged with Sexually Assaulting 2 Women. Investigators Are Looking for More Possible Victims.
Law and Crime (26/3/21): Federal Appeals Court Gives ‘Zip-Tie Guy’ and His Mom Another Shot at Pre-Trial Freedom in Capitol Riot Case
In These Times (24/3/21): At a Major Education Company [McGraw Hill], Freelancers Must Now Pay a Fee In Order to Get Paid [although the policy does not violate any laws, due to lack of regulation] (via u/RedditGreenit on r/labor)
The Guardian (25/3/21): Georgia - US employee says he received $915 in oily pennies as final wages (via u/easyone on r/labor)
Tampa Bay Times (24/3/21):Florida's only lead smelter exposed hundreds of workers to high lead levels (via u/burtzev on r/labor)
The Mercury Times (26/3/21): Tesla and CEO Elon Musk punished by feds over ‘illegal’ anti-union actions at Fremont plant (via u/mrcanard on r/labor)
ProPublica (17/3/21): Only Two NYPD Officers Face Serious Discipline From a Watchdog’s Investigations Into Abuse of Black Lives Matter Protesters
ProPublica (26/3/21): A Police Union Contract Puts Taxpayers on the Hook to Defend Officers When the City Won’t: A little-known labor contract provision obligates New Yorkers to help pay officers’ legal bills in lawsuits that city lawyers won’t defend.
Democracy Now (24/3/21): Standing Rock Water Defender Jailed After Refusing Testimony to Protect Fellow Protesters
Democracy Now (25/3/21): NYPD Issued 217,000 “Secret Subpoenas” [to internet providers] to Target Outspoken Cops, Critics & Journalists
Democracy Now (26/3/21): Los Angeles Police Arrest Protesters, Reporters as They Evict Echo Park Encampment (see also ([1] 1/4/21)); Water Protectors Arrested as Indigenous Leaders Continue Struggle Against Enbridge Line 3
Workers World (19/3/21): Outrage over child detention center reopened over toxic dump [in Florida; run by private enterprise]
Law and Crime (13/3/21): Two Former California Cops Pulled Over Suspects, Took their Drugs and Cash, and Pocketed the Loot For Themselves: Feds
Law and Crime (17/3/21): Two St. Louis Police Officers Charged with Forcible Rape; Third Officer Charged with Thwarting the Investigation
Law and Crime (18/3/21): Former Cop’s Conviction for Killing Daughter’s Boyfriend Vacated Because of U.S. Supreme Court Ruling
Liberation News (18/3/21):Text scandal exposes bigoted character of Eureka, Calif., police
Law and Crime (9/3/21): Teen Sues Off-Duty Cop Who Pulled Gun On Him at Skate Park in California
Law and Crime (12/3/21): 5 Police Officers in Oklahoma Charged with Killing 15-Year-Old Robbery Suspect Who Put His Gun on the Ground (See also: ([1] 12/3/21))
Southampton, Long Island (NY) - 'workers at the “iconic” Tate’s Bake Shop are being told that if they unionize, they will be deported.' ([1] 11/3/21)
Law and Crime (6/3/21): Rochester, NY - ‘I Don’t Have Time for Your B.S.’: Officer Pepper Sprays Black Woman While Her 3-Year-Old Child Cries (see also ([1] 8/3/21))
Liberation News (4/3/21): - Atlanta, GA - Atlanta DA refuses to prosecute killer cop in Rayshard Brooks’ murder
@protest_nyc (4/3/21): Last night, NYPD violently arrested an activist, a medic, and a member of CopWatch on the subway, reportedly for dancing. At least two arrestees reported injuries; one was knelt on.
Law and Crime (4/3/21): Maryland - Former Police Chief Is a Serial Arsonist Who Targeted His Enemies and Tried to Murder Them: Investigators ([2] 13/4/21)
Law and Crime (4/3/21): Dallas, TX - Veteran Dallas Police Officer Charged with Two Counts of Capital Murder
Law and Crime (3/3/21): New Orleans, LA - Since-Fired Police Officer Sexually Assaulted 14-Year-Old Girl He Took to Hospital for Rape Kit: Lawsuit
Institute for Justice (4/3/21): (video) SWAT Team Destroyed Innocent Woman’s Home and Refused to Pay for Repairs (via u/jjustinwilson on r/Libertarian)
Naches, WA - Naches-based fruit company to contest unfair labor practice complaints filed by union - (Yakima Herald (4/3/21) via u/EverettLeftist on r/labor)
The Hill (4/3/21): NJ lawmakers ask Gannett to stop 'union-busting' efforts at 3 state newspapers (via u/DoremusJessup on r/labor)
Good news! All Families Released from Berks County ICE Jail - ([1] 1/3/21)
Washington Post (26/2/21): ICE investigators used a private [commercial] utility [CLEAR] database [run by Reuters] covering millions to pursue immigration violations; 'a way to pursue undocumented immigrants who may have tried to stay off the grid by avoiding activities as getting driver’s licenses but could not live without paying to keep the lights on at home' (via u/johntwit on r/Libertarian) (see also: ([1] 27/2/21 via u/Psychological-Pie857 on r/labor)
ABC 7 News (19/2/21): Bay Area family files wrongful death lawsuit claiming officers used controversial chokehold that killed 30-year-old man
@yobrams (24/2/21) Insane #nypd response to 20 peaceful #blm protesters [Daniel Prude protest] in #brooklyn #ny ... it looked like a drug bust! (via @JoshuaPotash) (see also: ([1] 24/2/21),([2] 25/2/21),([3] 24/2/21),([4] 25/2/21),([5] 25/2/21),([6] 25/2/21),([7] 24/2/21)
PayDay Report (25/2/21): Molson Bringing in Scabs to Bust Union in Toronto During Lockout
Liberation News (26/2/21): Activists who forced Elijah McClain investigation facing retaliation, decades in prison (see also ([1] 26/2/21))
Payday Report (24/2/21): Hunts Point Strikers Face Retaliation Following Strike
Democracy Now Headlines (25/2/21): Consumer Watchdog and 3 States Sue Bail Bond Co. for “Preying” on Jailed Immigrants
Democracy Now Headlines (24/2/21): No Charges Filed Against Rochester Police Officers Who Killed Daniel Prude
Law and Crime (20/2/21): Connecticut - Officers ‘Racially Profiled,’ Shot, and Killed Fleeing Connecticut Man Who Made a Wrong Turn in an Unregistered Car: Lawsuit
Law and Crime (23/2/21): A ‘Danger to the Community’: 20-Year NYPD Veteran Denied Bail Over Role in Jan. 6 Insurrection
Payday Report (11/2/21):After Co-Worker Died of COVID, 2 Texas Educators [Collin College] Fired for Union Organizing
Payday Report (21/2/21): Amazon Offers $2,000 “Resignation Bonuses” to Bust Union Drive in Alabama
The Verge (17/2/21): Amazon changed traffic light timing during union drive, county officials say
The American Independent (19/2/21): GOP congressman says 'best stimulus' is stripping workers of their rights (via u/easyone on r/labor)
Salon (21/2/21): Pennsylvania cop charged in Capitol riots says he has "no regrets"
///EFF (21/2/21): 'Cops Using Music to Try to Stop Being Filmed Is Just the Tip of the Iceberg' - cops playing copyrighted music to trigger streaming platforms' filters, shutting down streams and videos of said police
Louisiana (Pine Praire ICE Processing Center) and Texas (South Texas ICE Processing Center at Pearsall, South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley) - prisoners left in cold, even as prisons, as ICE themselves report, had power due to backup generators ([1] 19/2/21) (See also: ([2] 22/2/21))
The Intercept (20/2/21): Thirsty, Cold, and Scooping Feces With Their Hands: Crisis in Reality Winner’s Texas Prison
The Intercept (19/2/21): 'Indigenous Standing Rock Activist Imprisoned for Resisting Grand Jury', the grounds for this Grand Jury are suspicious (released ([1] 21/2/21))
Portland, 2/16/21 - police face off with a group trying to get food that been thrown away, some of which was to be used for food aid - an example of defending capital, not the people ([1] 16/2/21) (~via MajorityReport)
'Prisons are Skimming Big Chunks of Cares Act Stimulus Checks' - The Intercept (17/2/21); the IRS also stopped sending them checks, and asked for the money back from those who had recieved (skimmed!) checks
'Uber Proposes California-style Gig Work Reforms in Europe - SlashDot (15/2/21) (via u/easyone on r/labor)
'Amazon kept $62 million in tips intended for drivers, FTC says' - CBS News (2/2/21)
LAPD - 'George Floyd Image With the Words 'You Take My Breath Away' Prompts Internal Police Investigation' - The New York Times (14/2/21) (via @JoshuaPotash) (see: ([1] 13/2/21))
Greedy grocery giants sue to stop Seattle hazard pay for essential workers - Liberation News (14/2/21)
$3 billion to spare? Alabama's governor spends on prisons - Liberation News (12/2/21)
'Oberlin outsources over 100 unionized dining and custodial jobs in order to save $2 million annually... despite opposition from students, faculty, alumni, staff, and the broader community.'([1] 12/2/21 via @ddayen)
"Grand jury dismisses felony assault charges against 2 Buffalo police officers who pushed 75-year-old protester to the ground" ([1] 12/2/21)
VIDEO: 'ICE Openly Defies Joe Biden Order' The Rational National (9/2/21)
-- See also: "Amid Unrest in Haiti, ICE Deports Dozens [72+] - Including a 2-Month-Old Baby - Into 'Burning House'" - Democracy Now (9/2/21)
Prison officials' crimes mount at Ramsey Unit in Texas - Workers World (13/1/21) (Jan 13 2021)
ICE Threatened to Expose Asylum-Seekers to Covid-19 if They Did Not Accept Deportation - The Intercept (6/2/21)
"El Monte PD escalates violence against San Gabriel Valley street vendors" - Liberation News (8/2/21)
"Mississippi police shoot child, claim 'man' was shot, outraging community" - Liberation News (6/2/21)

Voting Rights Updates

State's government represented as, for example, R/D/I is Republican controlled lower house ('house of representatives' federally), Democrat controlled upper house ('senate' federally), and Independent controlled executive office (governor); bold if I'm aware there's a veto-proof body (ie R/R/D has veto-proof upper house, controlled by Republicans)

New York Times (29/12/21): Ungerrymandered: Michigan’s Maps, Independently Drawn, Set Up Fair Fight - A citizen ballot initiative took redistricting out of the hands of partisan legislators. The result: competitive political districts — and an example of how to push back against hyperpartisanship.
The Hill (28/12/21): Virginia Supreme Court approves new lines for key swing districts [!]
The Hill (28/12/21): Michigan adopts congressional map that pits two incumbent Democrats against each other [!]
AP News (15/12/21): Proposed Virginia maps scale back majority Black districts - More recently, though, some experts — especially on the Democratic side — have suggested that majority Black districts unnecessarily pack too many Black voters into one district, diluting their influence in surrounding districts.
AP News (17/12/21): Tribes prevail as redistricting plans advance in New Mexico - In an acrimonious debate Thursday, several Republican senators said the redistricting plan was stacked in favor of Democrats at the expense of Hispanic voters, noting that it would reduce the number of majority-Hispanic voting districts in the state by at least one to 15.
AP News (3/12/21): WA Supreme Court declines to draw new redistricting plan [!]
AP News (7/12/21): State House, Senate districts OK’d in South Carolina - The initial proposal put more white, likely Republican votes in the 1st District, which is the only place a Democrat has flipped a seat from a Republican since 1986. - “This lack of competition is a very serious threat to representative democracy. General election votes become meaningless because the outcome is certain, or nearly so,” Teague said. - An analysis of the proposed House districts by the Princeton University’s Gerrymandering Project determined they would likely have 83 Republicans elected, two more than the GOP’s current advantage in the 124 seats. That would push Republicans just over the two-thirds threshold needed to override vetoes and other legislative maneuvers.
AP News (8/12/21): Newspapers sue [Michigan] redistricting panel over closed meeting [!]
AP News (22/11/21): [Michigan] State AG: Redistricting panel shouldn’t have met privately - In Detroit, residents and even the state’s civil rights director had criticized how the proposals had no majority-Black districts. The current maps, drawn in 2011, have 15. - It has since proposed state House maps with three to seven majority-Black districts — up from zero under earlier drafts but down from 11 in the map that was drawn a decade ago — but none for Congress or the state Senate.
AP News (23/11/21): Gov. Pritzker signs new Illinois congressional map into law - The map, approved in October by Democrats who control the Illinois Legislature, was intended to eliminate two Republican-held districts and make elections easier for Democratic candidates, even with the state losing one congressional seat due to population loss. Democrats said the new map reflected Illinois’ diversity by adding a second predominantly Latino district and maintaining three predominantly Black districts.
AP News (2/12/21): Voter rights groups sue over Ohio GOP’s congressional map - 'That’s 67% of seats, despite only 54% of Ohio voters leaning toward the GOP, the lawsuit said.'
The Hill (22/12/21): Democrats gain edge from New Jersey Redistricting Commission-approved maps [!]
Democracy Now (15/12/21): Voting Rights Advocates Are on Hunger Strike to Demand Passage of Freedom to Vote Act
Just Security (10/12/21): Georgian Republicans have purged Black Democrats from county election boards as part of a national Republican effort to expand control over election administration in the wake of former President Trump’s false voter-fraud claims
Mother Jones (6/12/21): The Justice Department Is Suing Texas for Gerrymandered Maps [!]
The Hill (30/11/21): Wisconsin Supreme Court hands win to GOP in key ruling on new congressional maps
Democracy Now (24/11/21): New York City Poised To Expand Voting Rights to 800,000 Non-Citizen Residents in Local Elections
The Hill (18/11/21): Wisconsin governor vetoes redistricting maps, calls them 'gerrymandering 2.0'
The Hill (19/11/21): Georgia Republicans advance map that aims to pick up House seat in redistricting
Common Dreams (19/11/21): GOP Election Maps in Ohio Latest Evidence of 'Redistricting Apocalypse' Now Underway - "Ohio leaders have disrespected voters, trampled the Ohio Constitution, and rigged the Congressional map to serve partisan, political operatives rather than fairly represent Ohioans."
David Pakman Show (19/11/21): Outrageous Trump Election "Fraud" Lawyer Appointed to Election Advisory Board [gop-shenanigans-news]
The Hill (17/11/21): Nevada lawmakers approve maps giving edge to Democrats
The Hill (16/11/21): Washington redistricting commission fails, punts maps to Supreme Court
Democracy Now (16/11/21): Meanwhile, an analysis of heavily gerrymandered Congressional maps proposed by Republican state legislatures since the 2020 census shows redistricting alone is on pace to give Republicans a House majority in the Midterm elections.
Democracy Now (5/11/21): DOJ Sues Texas over Voter Suppression Law; NC’s GOP Passes Gerrymandered Maps
Just Security (5/11/21): The Department of Justice (DOJ) is suing Texas over aspects of its new voting law
AP News (4/11/21): Panel passes Georgia Senate map that projects 33-23 GOP edge
AP News (4/11/21): Lawsuit challenges new Alabama congressional districts
AP News (4/11/21): North Carolina sued over newly passed maps favoring GOP
AP News (1/11/21): [Michigan] Redistricting panel advances congressional, Senate maps
AP News (1/11/21): Colorado Supreme Court approves new congressional districts
(29/10/21) The Hil: Iowa House maps create competitive seats
(25/10/21) The Hill: Abbott signs new Texas congressional maps into law
(22/10/21) The Hill: Wisconsin audit finds 2020 election was secure
AP News (20/10/21): Advisory panel endorses redistricting maps for New Mexico
AP News (16/10/21): Lawsuit: [Illinois] New state legislative map undermines Black voters
(13/10/21) Common Dreams: In Dead of Night, Texas House Approves GOP's Gerrymandered Map - Democracy is "quite literally dying in the dark," warned one commentator.
(11/10/21) The Hill: Georgia election workers fired, accused of shredding voting applications
(8/10/21) Vice: The GOP Plot to Steal Wisconsin Is Off to a Ridiculous Start - “Everything about this has been done unprofessionally and haphazardly.”
(8/10/21) The Hill: Arkansas legislature splits Little Rock in move that guarantees GOP seats
(24/9/21) Democracy Now: GOP-Ordered Maricopa County Recount Ends with 261 Fewer Votes for Trump, 99 More Votes for Biden
(23/9/21) The Hill: Pennsylvania AG sues to block GOP subpoenas in election probe
(17/9/21) The Hill: Court strikes down North Carolina voter ID law as racially biased [court-news]
(15/9/21) New York Times: Republicans seek Pennsylvania voters’ personal information as they try to review the 2020 results.
(3/9/21) The Hill: Michigan [R/R/D] Republicans push for sweeping election overhaul
(30/8/21) Democracy Now: Thousands Rally for Voting Rights on Anniversary of March on Washington
(26/8/21) The Guardian (26/8/21): Texas house passes sweeping voting restrictions bill - Bill comes amid nationwide Republican effort to restrict voting - Democrats attempted to block bill by walking out last month
(23/8/21) The Hill: Civil rights groups: North Carolina [R/R/D] ruling will allow 56K felony offenders to vote [court-news]
(19/8/21) Democracy Now: Texas Supreme Court Rules Absent Democratic Lawmakers Can Be Arrested
(17/8/21) AP News: Georgia board to tap election review panel for Fulton County
(16/8/21) AP News: Trial begins on challenge to NC felon voting restrictions
(13/8/21) Democracy Now: Texas Senate Passes Voter Suppression Bill After 15-Hour Filibuster by Democratic Lawmaker
(11/8/21) Democracy Now: Texas Law Enforcement Could Start Arresting Dems Who Fled the State to Block Voter Suppression Bill
(10/8/21) The Hill (10/8/21): Wisconsin [R/R/D] governor vetoes restrictions on absentee ballots
(7/8/21) The Guardian: Texas Democrats still absent as Republicans make third bid to pass vote laws - A month after fleeing the state to thwart passage of restrictive voting laws, Democrats again refused to appear at the state Capitol
(6/8/21) Democracy Now (5/8/21): Texas Governor Orders Special Legislative Session in Latest Attempt to Pass Voter Suppression Bills
(5/8/21) AP News: DOJ settles lawsuit with New Jersey [D/D/D] over voter registration
(4/8/21) ABC News: Wisconsin election officials cancel 205K voter registrations - Wisconsin elections officials have deactivated more than 205,000 voter registrations
(30/7/21) AP News: Georgia [R/R/R] GOP starts push for takeover of local election board
(21/7/21) AP News: Lawsuit: Kansas [R/R/D] altered software to hide election records
(20/7/21) Law and Crime: Conservative Appeals Court Allows Michigan to Enforce Ban on Paid Transportation to the Polls in Loss for Voting Rights Advocates
(20/7/21) Law and Crime: ‘A Win for Democracy and Racial Justice’: Federal Appeals Court Upholds Ruling Blocking Voter Purges in Indiana
(16/7/21) The Guardian: Arizona counties find fewer than 200 possible voter fraud cases among 3m 2020 ballots - Findings undermine Trump’s claims after Biden beat him by more than 10,000 votes in state
(16/7/21) The Hill: Arizona [R/R/R] audit muddles on with no clear end in sight
(15/7/21) The Hill: Georgia [R/R/R] secretary of state calls for Fulton County elections officials to be fired
(15/7/21) Salon: Michigan GOP plans “shocking” scheme to ram through voting restrictions over Whitmer’s veto - Whitmer won't sign Republican voter-suppression bills, but GOP has found one weird trick to enact them anyway
(14/7/21) AP News: Time on their side, Texas GOP waits for Democrats to return
(13/7/21) The Guardian: Biden defends voting rights – but no word on ending the filibuster - The president gave an impassioned defense of the right to vote, but while the 60-vote Senate rule is in place, reform looks a pipe dream
(12/7/21) New York Times: Texas Democrats Plan to Flee State to Highlight G.O.P. Voting Restrictions - The move would be an attempt to become national symbols in the fight for voting rights, as Republicans in the state move ahead with a bill that would impose new limits on casting a ballot.
(12/7/21) Democracy Now: 62-Year-Old Hervis Earl Rogers Faces 40 Years in Prison for “Illegal Voting” in Texas
(8/7/21) AP News: 2 tribal members join voter lawsuit against South Dakota
(8/7/21) New York Times: Texas Republicans Reveal Bills of Far-Reaching Voting Restrictions - In their second attempt to pass a sweeping elections overhaul, Republican lawmakers followed the broad outlines of the first, including a wide range of measures to limit voting access.
(7/7/21) Law and Crime: Trump-Appointed Judge Refuses to Block Enforcement of Georgia Voter Laws in Upcoming Runoff Election
(7/7/21) New York Times: Abbott Opens Texas G.O.P.’s Push to Limit Voting and Reshape the State - Calling a special session of the Legislature, Gov. Greg Abbott commenced a fierce political clash as state Republicans seek to restrict voting, transgender rights and how schools teach about racism.
(2/7/21) AP News: Ruling is final blow to New Hampshire [R/R/R] voter registration law
(1/7/21) AP News: US Supreme Court ruling could help Kansas [R/R/D] defend voting laws - 'A U.S. Supreme Court ruling Thursday narrowing a landmark federal voting rights law could help Kansas [R/R/D] defend election measures enacted by Republican state legislators.'
(1/7/21) New York Times: Supreme Court Upholds Arizona [R/R/R] Voting Restrictions - The decision, a test of what remains of the Voting Rights Act, suggested that challenges to many new measures making it harder to vote may not be successful.
(30/6/21) AP News: Kansas [R/R/D] group suspends voter registration, education efforts - 'A voting rights group plans to pause its voter registration and education activities for fear of criminal prosecution under a new election law passed this year by the Republican-controlled Kansas Legislature.'
(30/6/21) Democracy Now: Maricopa County [Arizona [R/R/R]] Will Replace Voting Machines Handled by GOP-Hired Firm in 2020 Election Audit
(25/6/21) New York Times: Justice Dept. Sues Georgia [R/R/R] Over Voting Restrictions Law - The lawsuit came after Republicans blocked ambitious federal legislation this week to protect voting rights.
(23/6/21) The Guardian: Michigan Republicans find no voter fraud and say Trump claims ‘ludicrous’ - Report finds no evidence of dead voters or Detroit ballot dump that benefited Biden, and denounces baseless allegations
(23/6/21) AP News: High court [U.S. Supreme Court] declines to hear Indiana [R/R/R] vote-by-mail limits case - 'The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a case challenging Indiana’s vote-by-mail restrictions, a rebuff that means a federal court will decide the future of absentee voting in the state.'
(22/6/21) The Intercept: Sen. Joe Manchin Bucks GOP, Votes to Break Voting Rights Filibuster - Though Democrats failed to advance debate on the “For the People Act,” the West Virginia senator is ready to introduce an alternative.
(21/6/21) Democracy Now: Georgia GOP Secretary of State to Purge Over 100,000 from Voter Rolls
(20/6/21) AP News: Analysis: Controversies had unexpected twists in La. [R/R/D] session - The majority-Republican House and Senate didn’t follow other GOP-led states in enacting broad new restrictions on voting rights or on teaching about race and racism. Meanwhile, local scandals involving Louisiana State University and the Louisiana State Police didn’t drive discussions as much as expected in the nine-week session, and neither entity suffered severe consequences.
(18/6/21) Democracy Now: Senate GOP to Filibuster Voting Rights Legislation, Reject Sen. Manchin Compromise Bill
(15/6/21) AP News: Georgia [R/R/R] lawmakers begin hearings to redraw district lines
(14/6/21) Democracy Now: AG Merrick Garland Says DOJ Will Work to Protect Voting Rights
(14/6/21) AP News: Florida [R/R/R] gets another legal challenge to new elections rules
(14/6/21) AP News: N. Carolina [R/R/D] rights groups say GOP bills impede voting access
(11/6/21) AP News: Latino group sues to block Democrat-drawn maps in Illinois [D/D/D]
(10/6/21) AP News: Massachusetts [D/D/R] lawmakers push to extend mail-in, early voting
(9/6/21) AP News: Bill moving up absentee deadline in [North Carolina] [R/R/D] clears Senate panel
(6/6/21) AP News: While states restrict voting, Illinois [D/D/D] would expand access
(6/6/21) Mother Jones: Joe Manchin May Have Just Made Democrats’ Democracy Reform Efforts Impossible - “I don’t think I’ll ever change. I’m not separating our country, OK?”
(5/6/21) AP News: NH [R/R/R] House backs bill to divide state, federal elections
(4/6/21) AP News: Pritzker flips on map promise, signs Democrats’ version
(2/6/21) AP News: Biden pushes for US voting rights law as restrictions mount
(2/6/21) U.S. PIRG: Maryland democracy reforms go into effect without signature from Gov. Hogan
(2/6/21) Democracy Now: Democrat Melanie Stansbury Clinches New Mexico House Seat in Special Election
(31/5/21) New York Times: Texas Democrats Stymie G.O.P. Voting Bill, for Now - Republicans hit a significant stumbling block in their push to enact some of the strictest voting laws in the nation. But they could yet pass the measures through a special session of the Legislature.
(30/5/21) Salon (30/5/21): Texas [R/R/R] Republicans rush to approve restrictive new voting bill in overnight, closed door session - The bill must get a final vote in the Texas House Sunday. Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to sign it
(27/5/21) Salon: New power grab: Arizona [R/R/R] Republicans move to strip powers from Democratic secretary of state - Now Arizona GOP wants to hand secretary of state's powers over to the attorney general — a Republican, obviously
(27/5/21) Jacobin: Corporations Are Still Funding the GOP Campaign to Roll Back Voting Rights - Many corporations made a big show of rejecting the GOP’s most reactionary leaders after the January 6 capitol riot. But records show that, post-riot, big business kept funneling millions to GOP groups to roll back voting rights.
(26/5/21) AP News: Arizona [R/R/R] House rejects ID requirement for mail ballots
(26/5/21) AP News: Louisiana [R/R/D] to expand early voting for presidential elections
(21/5/21) Democracy Now: AZ [R/R/R] Secretary of State Says Voting Machines May Have Been Compromised by GOP-Backed Auditors
(20/5/21) AP News: Iowa [R/R/R] Republicans pass new absentee ballot restrictions
(19/5/21) AP News:> Bill to expand Louisiana [R/R/D] early voting nears final passage
(19/5/21) AP News: New Hampshire [R/R/R] bill targets federal voter-access legislation
(19/5/21) AP News: Activists seek 30-day review of Indiana [R/R/R] redistricting plan
(19/5/21) AP News: Massachusetts [D/D/R] lawmakers weigh bills to expand voting access
(18/5/21) Democracy Now: Republicans in Arizona’s [R/R/R] Maricopa County Blast GOP-Ordered Recount of 2020 Ballots
AP News (17/5/21): Alabama [R/R/R] lawmakers approve ban on curbside voting
(17/5/21) AP News: Montana [R/R/R] - Suit targets laws that opponents say hurt Native Americans
(17/5/21) AP News: Alabama [R/R/R] lawmakers approve ban on curbside voting
(15/5/21) AP News: Navajos say new Arizona [R/R/R] restrictions will complicate voting - 'Despite the coronavirus pandemic, voter turnout on swaths of tribal land in Arizona surged in 2020 compared with the 2016 presidential election, helping Biden to victory in a state that hadn’t supported a Democratic presidential candidate since 1996.'
(13/5/21) Mother Jones: Leaked Video: Dark Money Group Brags About Writing GOP Voter Suppression Bills Across the Country - “We did it quickly and we did it quietly,” said the executive director of Heritage Action [the speaker - a former Trump official at the Office of Management and Budget].
(12/5/21) Democracy Now: Arizona Passes Law to Cut Voters from Early Mail-in Voting List
(11/5/21) AP News: Republican-backed Arizona [R/R/R] voting bill explained - [current situation:] 'Nearly 90% of all voters in 2020 used a ballot that arrived in the mail. Seventy-five percent of registered voters are on the permanent early voting list. The state did not change election procedures in response to the pandemic.'
(7/9/21) AP News: Inside Arizona’s election audit, GOP fraud fantasies live on
(7/5/21) Democracy Now: Texas [2] and Ohio ([3] 6/5/21) Republicans Advance Bills to Make It Harder to Vote
(5/5/21) AP News: Michigan [R/R/D] Senate GOP relaxes bill to close drop boxes early
(5/5/21) AP News: New law lets New Yorkers released from prison vote
(5/5/21) Mother Jones: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Signs a Voter Suppression Bill, and Fox News Has the Only Camera - The network got an “exclusive” to his signing ceremony.
(3/5/21) Reuters: Nine major sports unions join forces to oppose U.S. state voting restrictions (via u/RedditGreenit on r/labor)
(28/4/21) Democracy Now: Democrats and Election Experts Warn Census Results Underrepresent Latinx Community [2]
(27/4/21) AP News Another suit asks Minnesota [D/R/D] courts to oversee redistricting - A group of Minnesota Democratic voters filed a lawsuit Tuesday that seeks to have the courts take over the state’s redistricting process, predicting that the divided Legislature will be unable to agree on new political maps.
(27/4/21) Democracy Now: Florida [R/R/R] Senate Passes Sweeping Voter Suppression Law; The G.O.P.-controlled Florida House passes an expansive bill of voting restrictions. [2]
(26/4/21) Al Jazeera: US census gives Texas, Florida more seats in Congress - Meanwhile, California and New York lose seats as new US population data shifts voting districts for House of Representatives.
(23/4/21) AP News: Kansas [R/R/D] [Democratic] governor vetoes measures to tighten election laws; [veto override looms]
(22/4/21) AP News: Alabama [R/R/R] Senate delays vote on curbside voting ban; [other voting rights restriction bills make it through]
(21/4/21) AP News: All New Yorkers [D/D/D] released from prison could vote under bill
(20/4/21) AP News: Florida [R/R/R] Republicans barrel ahead with rewriting voting rules
(15/4/21) AP News: Benson: Michigan [R/R/D] voting bills more restrictive than Georgia [R/R/R] [using maneuvers to get around governor veto]
(15/4/21) AP News: In Texas [R/R/R], GOP voting bills zero in on Democratic Houston
(14/4/21) AP News: Kansas [R/R/D] fight shows how election ‘reforms’ may favor one side
(13/4/21) AP News: Arkansas [R/R/R] lawmakers approve changes to state’s election laws
(13/4/21) FiveThirtyEight: It’s Not Just Georgia [R/R/R]: More Than A Dozen Other States Are Trying To Take Power Away From Local Election Officials
(11/4/21) AP News: Analysis: Mississippi [R/R/R] unlikely to ease its election laws
(11/4/21) Politico: Clyburn: Georgia [R/R/R] election law is the ‘new Jim Crow’
(9/4/21) AP Nws: Kansas [R/R/D] lawmakers pass proposal targeting ‘ballot harvesting’
(9/4/21) Democracy Now Headlines: [leak:] Texas GOP Official Called for “Army” of Poll Watchers to Deploy in Communities of Color
(8/4/21) AP News: [New Hampshire [R/R/R]] Houses passes bills targeting voter ID, absentee voting
(7/4/21) AP News: Gov. Inslee signs bill to restore voting rights to parolees
(5/4/21) AP News: Corporations gave over $50M to voting restriction backers
(2/4/21) Democracy Now: Texas Senate Passes Republican-Led Voter Suppression Bill
(1/4/21) Democracy Now: Texas Court to Review Case of Black Mother Sentenced to 5 Years for Filling Out Provisional Ballot
(1/4/21) AP News: Montana [R/R/R] House kills bill on Native American voting rights
(1/4/21) AP News: GOP lawmakers advance measure to tighten Kansas [R/R/D] voting laws
(31/3/21) AP News: Iowa [R/R/R] Democrat drops bid for House seat she lost by 6 votes
(31/3/21) AP News: [Virginia [D/D/D] Governor] Northam acts on sweeping voting rights measure, other bills
(31/3/21) AP News: Under pressure, some Ga. corporate leaders slam voting bill [a little too late]
(31/3/21) AP News: New Hampshire [R/R/R] delegation [the people in the US Congress] defends voting rights legislation
(20/3/21) AP News: North Carolina [R/R/D] lawmakers begin pushing literacy test repeal
(27/3/21) AP News: GOP lawmakers seek greater control over local elections
(26/3/21) AP News: Georgia [R/R/R] Gov. Kemp signs GOP election bill amid an outcry; 'Democratic state Rep. Park Cannon, who is Black, was arrested by Capitol police amid a protest after knocking on the door of the governor's office during his remarks.'; 'One of the biggest changes gives the GOP-controlled legislature more control over election administration.', saying this is only a "temporary fix ... that ends ... after the problems are resolved"; 'bars outside groups from handing out food or water to people in line to vote'.
(26/3/21) AP News: Health concerns block some Texans [R/R/R] from testifying on voting
(26/3/21) AP News: Michigan [R/R/D] GOP plans to sidestep gov to enact election changes
(25/3/21) AP News: Federal officials: Voters' rights violated in NY [D/D/D] House race; 'DoJ said county officials in central NY who failed to process thousands [at least 2,400] of registration applications and improperly rejected [hundreds of] affidavit ballots violated the rights of voters in a congressional election [22nd District] won by Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney by 109 votes'
(24/3/21) AP News: Michigan [R/R/D] Republicans propose slew of election changes
(23/3/21) AP News: GOP-led Georgia [R/R/R] Senate panel approves ID for mail voting [H.B. 531]
(22/3/21) AP News: Debate over voting by mail intensifies in Florida [R/R/R] statehouse; 'Florida Republicans continued their drive Monday to rewrite the state’s vote-by-mail system, despite acknowledging that the state’s presidential contest last fall was a national model.'; 'The new signature-matching process “amounts to creating a tool that allows for great manipulation and targets the ability to go after certain voters,” said Earley, who joined key Democrats on a press call after the committee hearing.'
(21/3/21) AP News: Hawaii [D/D/D] bills would allow some 17-year-olds to vote in primaries
(18/3/21) AP News: GOP efforts to tighten voting laws gets underway in Texas [R/R/R]; 'Texas already has some of the toughest voting laws in the country'; 'The bills are expected to begin advancing this month, including through a House committee chaired by Republican state Rep. Briscoe Cain, who flew to Pennsylvania last year to help former President Donald Trump’s campaign investigate false claims of voting irregularities.'
(16/3/21) AP News: Virginia [D/D/D] governor restores voting rights to 69k ex-felons [on probation]; ' To take effect, the amendment must be approved by the legislature again next year and must win approval from voters in a statewide ballot referendum.'
(16/3/21) Democracy Now (16/3/21): Voting Rights Activists Lobby Georgia’s Corporations to Oppose GOP Voter Suppression
(19/3/21) Democracy Now: “Jim Crow in New Clothes”: In First Senate Speech, Raphael Warnock Slams GOP Assault on Voting Rights
(10/3/21) AP News: Oregon [D/D/D] seek answers about redistricting deadline
(10/3/21) AP News: Flordia [R/R/R] streamlines rights restoration for felons; '“What about the vast majority who can’t afford the fines, fees, court costs and money that is owed to the government?” Florida Agriculture Commissioner Fried said.'
(9/3/21) AP News: Iowa [R/R/R] Hispanic group files lawsuit challenging new voting law; 'Among the changes, the law shortens time for voters to cast mail ballots, reduces days voters can request a ballot and shortens the time polls are open on Election Day.'; '“...the bill is an exercise in voter suppression, one disguised as a solution for a problem that exists only in the fertile imaginations of its creators,” the lawsuit states.'
(8/3/21) AP News: New Hampshire [R/R/R] GOP bills to tighten voter eligibility again target students
(8/3/21) Democracy Now: Biden Issues Exec. Order to Expand Voting Access on Anniversary of Bloody Sunday
(9/3/21) Democracy Now: Georgia [R/R/R] State Senate Advances Voter Suppression Bill as Iowa [R/R/R] Rolls Back Election Access [closing polls one hour earlier on Election Day! (see also: [1])]
(4/3/21) Truthout: Georgia [R/R/R] Bill Would Criminalize Giving Water to Voters Waiting in Long Lines
(28/2/21) AP: SCOTUS - 'case about Arizona restrictions on ballot collection [from 2016], and another policy that penalizes voters who cast ballots in the wrong precinct'; 'A broad Supreme Court ruling would make it harder to fight those efforts [to restrict voting rights] in court', 'the main tool we have left now [via Section 2 of Voting Rights Act]', and the Biden administration disappointly and 'crypitca[lly]' supported Arizona (see also [1])
(27/2/21) AP: 'Republicans in Georgia’s [R/R/R] state legislature have introduced a flood of bills aimed at rolling back voting access'; bills ammended to allow Sunday early voting, which was criticized as an attack on black church's 'souls to the polls' efforts; 'The bill would limit who can vote absentee, ending broad no-excuse absentee voting adopted under a Republican-led legislature in 2005'
(27/2/21) AP: 'Montana [R/R/R] bill would make voting easier for Native Americans'; director of elections and voter services testified against the bill; not all Republicans seem to oppose (ie GOP Rep. Julie Dooling supports it)
(24/2/21) AP:'Bill to purge Arizona [R/R/R] permanent early voting list [200,000 people] revived', after Boyer's [the one dissenting Republican from 2/16/21] concerns were addressed by legislators; additional Arizona voting-rights news as well
(23/2/21) Georgia [R/R/R] - GOP proposals to put 'barriers to mail-in and early voting' (key to Democratic Senate victories) - proposal to eliminate early voting on Sundays 'seems specifically targeted at a traditional get-out-the-vote campaign used by Black churches, referred to as "souls to the polls"' - the GOP 'controls both chambers of the legislature and the governor's office' [AP]
(16/2/21) AP: 'Bill to purge Arizona [R/R/R] permanent early-voting list [of about 200,000 people] fails', thanks to 'One Republican [Boyer] join[ing] all 14 Democrats to kill the measure in a 15-15 tie' in the Arizona Senate
(16/2/21) South Dakota [R/R/R] 'GOP lawmakers try to increase scrutiny on ballot initatives' - [AP]
(13/2/21) Kansas [R/R/D] 'Some Kansas Republican legislators are backing a bill that would make it a felony for anyone besides a family member or caregiver to return another person’s absentee ballot.' - [AP], Kansas currently has a Democratic governor [2], but a Republican legislature in both chambers with a supermajority [1]
(12/2/21) Maryland [D/D/R] 'Maryland bill would provide voting info to the incarcerated' (Bipartisan support); voting rights of felons restored in 2016, 'but the state needs to do more to inform inmates of their voting rights, according to the advocacy groups that gave testimony at the SB0224 bill hearing.' [AP]
(10/2/21) Mississippi [R/R/R] - 'GOP-led Mississippi Senate OKs faster purge of voter rolls'; passed 36-16, 'with all the support coming from Republicans and all the opposition from Democrats'; ' similar proposal is awaiting consideration in the House [GOP controlled].' (the governor is a Republican as well) [AP]
(7/2/21) Virginia [D/D/D] - Virginia considering restoring voting rights to felons; 'state estimates about 1 in 7 are ineligible to vote', Republican resolutions say felons must pay off their debts first; would require a state constitutional ammendment approved by 'majority of voters in a statewide referendum' [AP]
(21/1/21) Minnesota [D/R/D] - 'Minnesota Democrats unveil bill to expand voter access'; restore right to vote to convicted felons out of prison, boost ballot drop box numbers statewide, 'protect election officials from harassment and intimidation, and increase transparency in campaign spending by requiring outside groups to disclose donors. It would also permanently remove the requirement that mail-in ballots be signed by a witness' - [AP] - the Minnesota Senate is GOP controlled, and the House is Democrat controlled; the governor is a Democrat

Misc. Legislation

Who Gets the Bird (8/8/21): Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a law ensuring fair compensation for auto mechanics who work on vehicles under warranty, closing an existing loophole by which mechanics are systematically underpaid for such work. I wonder if this had anything to do with the 800 mechanics currently on strike at over 50 car dealerships in and around Chicago.
U.S. PIRG (22/7/21): New Jersey governor signs law to replace lead pipes, protect drinking water [infrastructure-news]
U.S. PIRG (21/7/21): House votes to empower EPA to clean up PFAS “forever chemicals”
Just Security Early Edition (14/7/21): A House panel has voted to repeal the 2001 and 2002 Iraq war authorizations, the latest in a broader push in Congress for presidential war powers to be reined in.
Just Security Early Edition (15/7/21): The Senate yesterday passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act in an effort to ban the import of products from China’s Xinjiang region
Ars Technica (16/7/21): California’s ambitious fiber-Internet plan approved unanimously [both Dems and GOP!] by legislature - CA to build middle-mile network open to all ISPs and give $2B in last-mile grants.
Democracy Now (15/7/21): Sen. Schumer Unveils Proposal to Decriminalize Marijuana at the Federal Level
U.S. PIRG (13/7/21): Maine governor signs groundbreaking waste reduction bill into law
OnLabor (12/7/21): The House of Representatives released a draft appropriations bill for the Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services for the 2021-22 fiscal year. The bill would allocate $14.7 billion to Labor, a more than $2 billion increase over 2021 and $400 million more than the White House had asked for.
KHN (30/6/21): States Step Up Push to Regulate Pharmacy Drug Brokers - 'More than 100 separate bills regulating those companies, known as pharmacy benefit managers, have been introduced in 42 states this year, according to the National Academy for State Health Policy, which crafts model legislation on the topic. The flood of bills comes after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling late last year backed Arkansas’ right to enforce rules on the companies. At least 12 of the states have adopted new oversight laws. But it’s not yet clear how much money consumers will save immediately, if at all.'
Democracy Now (30/6/21): Rep. Cori Bush Introduces Bill to End Police Response in Mental Health and Substance Use Crises
Democracy Now (30/6/21): House Votes to Remove Confederate Statues from the Capitol
New York Times (29/6/21): House Passes Bills to Bolster Scientific Research, Breaking With Senate - The legislation would invest in traditional research and development, clashing with a broad Senate measure that focuses on cutting-edge technology to compete with China.
New York Times (24/6/21): Antitrust Overhaul Passes Its First Tests. Now, the Hard Parts. - When the Judiciary Committee began approving a suite of bills on Wednesday, fault lines were exposed that could make final passage difficult.
Democracy Now (24/6/21): Connecticut Legalizes Recreational Marijuana
On Labor (22/6/21): Colorado has become the first state to pass an organized-labor-backed electrification policy.
On Labor (21/6/21): A ban on at-will employment in the fast-food industry in New York City will take effect in July.
Democracy Now (18/6/21): Biden Signs Bill Making Juneteenth a Federal Holiday Commemorating End of Slavery
U.S. PIRG (17/6/21): Broad Right to Repair bill introduced in Congress
Payday Report (9/6/21): New York Lawmakers Drop Company Union Bill for Uber
U.S. PIRG (10/6/21): STATEMENT: Right to Repair passes New York Senate on 51-12 vote - This is the first time a broad Right to Repair measure has seen a full chamber vote
Democracy Now (1/6/21): Illinois Lawmakers Pass Bill Barring Police Interrogators from Lying to Minors; The Hill (15/7/21): Illinois governor signs bill banning police from lying to minors
Prison Policy Initiative (27/5/21): Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signs bill ending prison gerrymandering - Connecticut becomes the 11th state to end the practice of prison gerrymandering.
On Labor (25/5/21): Lawmakers in Illinois are pushing for a resolution to amend the state constitution to enshrine labor protections for Illinois’s public employees. The amendment to the state’s Bill of Rights would add “the fundamental right of Illinois employees to organize and bargain collectively.”
KHN (25/5/21): Colorado Lawmakers Wage Multifront Assault on High Drug Costs
Democracy Now (25/5/21): “SANE Act” Would Cut $73 Billion from U.S. Nuclear Arsenal Through 2030
Democracy Now (20/5/21): 35 House Republicans Defy Leadership, Vote in Favor of Commission on January 6 Insurrection
U.S. PIRG (19/5/21): Statement: New House bill sets 10-year deadline to replace all lead pipes
Ars Technica (13/5/21): Biden signs executive order to strengthen US cybersecurity - Move comes after high-profile hacks, including attack on crucial fuel pipeline.
EFF (14/5/21): Governor Newsom’s Budget Proposes Historic Investment in Public Fiber Broadband
Jacobin (14/5/21): In Washington State, the Left Won a Major Victory for Taxing the Rich - For a century, reformers have tried to change Washington's regressive tax system. Last month, a landmark capital gains tax became law. The story of how they got there shows how the Left can win against Democrats defending the status quo.
Democracy Now (10/5/21): Bernie Sanders, Ilhan Omar Introduce Bill to Make School Meals Free
Jacobin (2/5/21): New York State Could Finally Get Single-Payer Health Care - For the first time since it was introduced 30 years ago, New York state’s single-payer health care bill, the New York Health Act, has the votes to pass — at least on paper. But getting it signed into law will take a major grassroots mobilization.
Democracy Now (4/28/21): Biden Proposes Crackdown on Tax Evaders, Changes to Capital Gains Tax to Fund American Families Plan - 'The package would be funded in part through changes to the capital gains tax and a crackdown on tax evasion by the wealthy. Biden is proposing an $80 billion funding increase for the IRS over 10 years to fund that effort. White House officials say the move could generate $700 billion over 10 years. If passed, individuals who earn more than $400,000 a year would face a higher likelihood of an audit on their taxes.' [2]: 'Virtually no partnerships were audited in 2018. By then, with Donald Trump in the Oval Office, the kneecapped IRS was scrutinizing the individual returns of just 0.03 percent of those $10 million–plus taxpayers, down from a peak of 23 percent in 2010. Audits of the $5 million–to–$10 million filers fell from just under 15 percent to a scant 0.04 percent.'
Mother Jones: Drought-Plagued California Orders Nestlé to Stop Hogging Water - The company sucked some 58 million gallons last year from state watersheds.
Democracy Now (4/27/21): Biden Orders $15/Hour Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors, Proposes Capital Gains Tax Hike"
Democracy Now (4/22/21): Bernie Sanders and Pramila Jayapal Unveil Bill That Would Tax Wall Street to Make College Free
Democracy Now (4/21/21): AOC and Sen. Markey Reintroduce Green New Deal as Biden Sets Ambitious Emissions Target
Democracy Now (4/15/21): Washington State Bars For-Profit Prisons and Immigration Jails"
The Intercept: Rep. Betty McCollum Leads Effort to Block Israel From Using U.S. Aid to Destroy Palestinian Homes; this has precedent set by Ford, Carter, Reagan, and Bush Sr.
Jacobin: New York Is Finally Taxing the Rich - After a serious extra-parliamentary campaign in which DSA and newly elected socialist legislators figured prominently, the New York State legislature just passed the most progressive budget in years.
Mother Jones: Maryland Legislators Override a Veto to Usher in Sweeping Police Reform
Democracy Now (4/9/21): New Mexico Bans Qualified Immunity for Police and Other Government Employees
Democracy Now (4/8/21): Virginia to Legalize Recreational Marijuana Possession Beginning July 1
Democracy Now (4/7/21): Proposed NY Budget Includes $2 Billion for First-Ever Excluded Workers Fund [which protesters had hunger-striked for] [2]
Democracy Now (3/18/21): Bernie Sanders Introduces Bill to Tax Companies with Excessive CEO Pay
U.S. PIRG: Half of U.S. States looking to give Americans the Right to Repair
The Stand: State Senate approves 40-hour work week for farm workers; 'Washington would be the first state in the nation to bring the 40-hour work week [although California is a somewhat exception] and overtime pay to all agricultural workers, some of the nation’s lowest-paid workers, under a bill passed by the Senate on Tuesday. Farmworkers were exempted from the original federal Fair Labor Standards Act passed in 1938.' (via u/LaborGoon on r/labor)
Huffpost: House Passes Bill Making It Illegal For Federal Officers To Engage In Sex Acts With Detainees [although this doesn't necessarily apply at state level] (via @JoshuaPotash)
Prison Policy: We list 27 “winnable, high-impact” state legislative reforms that would change the justice system and save lives in 2021
10th Amendment Center: Maryland Senate Passes Bill to Limit State Participation in Federal Police Militarization Programs (via u/democracy101 on r/Libertarian)
ucomm blog: Right to Work Defeated in Montana and Colorado[, lawmakers pushed by unions and workers]; bipartisan opposition to the legislation in Montana, party-line vote in Colorado (Democrats supported workers, GOP did not); New Hampshire still considering a 'right to work' bill; (via u/Cyclone_1 on r/labor) (see also: [1])
U.S. PIRG Deere in the Headlights as 21 states consider Right to Repair
The Intercept: 'Massachusetts’ Progressive Lawmakers [Rep. Pressley, Sens. Markey and Warren] Push Congress to Abolish Qualified Immunity'; 'comes as Congress prepares to vote a second time on the Justice in Policing Act'
Joe Biden’s Amazon Workers Statement Was a Start. But the PRO Act Is the Litmus Test; end 'right-to-work' laws (law in 28 states), 'institute financial penalties on employers that retaliate against workers who organize, prohibit employers’ “captive audience” meetings, require employers to bargain a first contract in good faith, repeal the prohibition on secondary boycotts (an instrument of worker solidarity banned since the late 1940s), and bar employers from permanently replacing strikers.' Jacobin
Let’s Get the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act Passed Political Charge
The “For the People Act” Would Make the U.S. a DemocracyThe Intercept
'How the PRO Act restores workers’ right to unionize' - Economic Policy Institute
'Right to Repair off to the races in 2021 with 14 active states' - U.S. PIRG (1/22/21)

Protest

U.S. Protest Live Map

Liberation News (17/12/21): Activists speak out in Louisiana as support for ICE detainee hunger strike grows [immigrant-news, law-enforcement-news] [!]
Democracy Now (15/12/21): Voting Rights Advocates Are on Hunger Strike to Demand Passage of Freedom to Vote Act
The Guardian (14/12/21): Protesting voting rights activists arrested as Biden meets with Manchin - Sixty were detained as the president met with the key Democrat who has become a roadblock to his agenda [voting-rights-news, bad-democrat-news, fail-biden-policy-news, protest-news] [!]
Liberation News (10/12/21): Protesters demand Cook County Sheriff stop the evictions [!]
Democracy Now (8/12/21): Immigrants Rights Activists Demand Path to Citizenship in Build Back Better Package
Liberation News (7/12/21): Indigenous women lead march on Otay Mesa Detention Center [indigenous-news] [!]
Left Voice (7/12/21): Michigan Activists Shut Down Legislature to Read Statement on Abortion - As nine unelected Supreme Court judges prepare a likely ruling that will effectively overturn Roe v. Wade, Michigan activists are fighting to keep abortion legal in that state. [!]
Its Going Down (29/11/21): Hundreds Take to the Streets in Montreal in Solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en [indigenous-news, big-oil-news]
Liberation News (24/11/21): Ohioans rally in Columbus to speak out against right-wing attacks on health care [healthcare-news, gop-shenanigans-news, civil-rights-news]
Just Security (22/11/21): Protestors gathered in Chicago and other U.S. cities on Saturday to express frustration and anger over the jury’s acquittal of Rittenhouse. Douglas Belkin reports for the Wall Street Journal.
Democracy Now (5/11/21): Weeks-Long Indigenous Blockade Protects Wet’suwet’en Land from Coastal GasLink Pipeline
Democracy Now (29/10/21): Ahead of G20, Protesters Demand Biden Make COVID-19 Vaccines Available to Poor Countries
Democracy Now (26/10/21): Extinction Rebellion Climate Protesters Block Busy Streets in New York, Madrid
Democracy Now (20/10/21): Water Protectors Shut Down Enbridge Line 5 Pipeline in Michigan
Democracy Now (20/10/21): Climate Activists Start Hunger Strike in Front of White House
Democracy Now (19/10/21): Protesters Block Miami Port to Demand End to Haiti Deportation Flights
Democracy Now (14/10/21): Police Arrest Another 90 Activists as Climate Protests Continue in Front of White House
Liberation News (12/10/21): Atlanta tenants rally against outrageous delays in relief fund disbursal
Democracy Now (12/10/21): 135 Arrested in Indigenous Peoples’ Day Climate Action Outside White House
Liberation News (4/10/21): Sacramento organizers decry encampment eviction
Mother Jones (2/10/21): Tens of Thousands Rally Across America for Abortion Rights - Texas’s anti-abortion law is “just a few steps away from stoning women in the streets.”
The Guardian (2/10/21): Women’s March targets US supreme court, with abortion on line - Thousands gather in Washington DC and other cities protesting against Texas’s new law which has banned most abortions [civil-rights-news]
Democracy Now (30/9/21): Wet’suwet’en Land Protectors Set Up Blockades Against Incursion by Coastal GasLink
Democracy Now (30/9/21): Protesters Target Moderna CEO and Top Biden Aide, Demanding Vaccine Equity
Liberation News (29/9/21): NYC Chinatown workers protest exploitation and racist violence [labor-news, social-woes-news]
Its Going Down (28/9/21): Mountain Valley Pipeline Protesters Lock To Equipment, Block Construction In Lindside, WV
Democracy Now (22/9/21): Bernie Sanders, Healthcare Activists Slam Big Pharma’s Greed as Many Americans Die or Go Untreated
Democracy Now (22/9/21): Immigrant Rights Activists Demand Dems and Biden Establish Pathway to Citizenship
Left Voice (21/9/21): Detroit Activists Smash Former Police Chief’s Press Conference - Detroit activists shut down the former police chief's press conference. James Craig was slated to launch his campaign for governor, but instead activists spoke out against police violence and for Black lives while Craig was forced to leave.
Common Dreams (17/9/21): 40+ NYC Activists Arrested for Protests Against Banks Fueling Climate Emergency - "We're sending a message loud and clear that the little action that politicians and greenwashing CEOs have taken so far does not begin to deal with the magnitude of this crisis." [law-enforcement-oversteps-news]
Democracy Now (9/9/21): Indigenous Activists Lead Months-Long Campaign to Protect Vancouver Island’s Ancient Forests
Democracy Now (7/9/21): Rep. Ilhan Omar Leads “The Squad” in Protests Against Enbridge Line 3 Pipeline
Who Gets the Bird (27/8/21): Lots of union leaders participated in last weekend’s (and will participate in this upcoming weekend’s) marches and mobilizations in support of the voting rights bills in Congress. On the PRO Act front, there are rumors that two more Democratic holdouts have come on board, meaning it has 49 votes in the Senate, one short of being enough to pass if the Democrats weren’t afraid of governing -- I mean killing the filibuster. [union-news, labor-news, politics-news]
Democracy Now (30/8/21): Thousands Rally for Voting Rights on Anniversary of March on Washington
Liberation News (24/8/21): SDPD lets 2 Latino youth die, community demands accountability [law-enforcement-oversteps-news]
Democracy Now (24/8/21): Extinction Rebellion Launches New Resistance Campaign with London Direct Action Protests
Democracy Now (24/8/21): Florida Doctors Hold Protest as Students Return to Classes Amid Massive COVID-19 Surge
Liberation News (22/8/21): Sarasota rally for climate, care jobs demands $3.5 trillion reconciliation package
Democracy Now (20/8/21): Immigrant Justice Groups Protest Reopening of Berks County ICE Jail
Workers World (17/8/21): Protest demands ICE free all detainees Protest demands ICE free all detainees
Democracy Now (17/8/21): Water Protectors Take Direct Action to Halt Construction of Enbridge Line 3 Pipeline
Common Dreams (13/8/21): Protestors Resist Militarized Gentrification of Public Beaches in Puerto Rico - The beaches belong to the people. They are not for sale. [law-enforcement-oversteps-news, capitalist-farce-news]
Liberation News (12/8/21): Die-in held at nuke profiteer PNC Bank’s Pittsburgh HQ on Hiroshima Day
Democracy Now (12/8/21): Activists Blockade Raytheon Weapons Facility in Rhode Island
Democracy Now (10/8/21): Brooklyn Protesters Reject Fracked Gas Pipeline [big-oil-news]
Popular Resistance (8/8/21): Pipeline Fighters Lock Themselves To Drill Equipment At Crossing Of I-64 [big-oil-news]
Liberation News (7/8/21): Alabama realtors group protested for attempt to overturn eviction moratorium
Workers World (5/8/21): Hunger strike in NY opposes Egyptian repression
Democracy Now (3/8/21): Water Protectors Shot with “Less Lethal” Police Munitions at Line 3 Pipeline Protests
Democracy Now (3/8/21): 200+ Arrested at D.C. Protest Demanding End to Filibuster, Voting Rights
Democracy Now (30/7/21): NYPD Arrest 11 People Protesting City’s Plan to Evict Unhoused People From Hotels
Democracy Now (29/7/21): Voting Rights Activists Begin Selma-to-Montgomery-Style March in Texas
Democracy Now (26/7/21): Immigrant Communities Rally in NYC to Demand Pathway to Citizenship
Democracy Now (21/7/21): Immigrant Justice Activists Block New Jersey ICE “Black Site”
Democracy Now (20/7/21): Winona LaDuke & Water Protectors Arrested in Enbridge Pipeline Protest; 100 Arrested in D.C. at Poor People’s Campaign’s Women’s Moral March
In These Times (15/7/21): "How Many More Have to Die?" Protesters March Against Vaccine Apartheid - Campaigners are targeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel—and the pharmaceutical companies she is protecting.
AP News (13/7/21): Miami demonstrators block highway to support Cuban protests
Liberation News (9/7/21): Activists keep fighting for justice after killer cop relieved of police powers in Chicago
Democracy Now (1/7/21): Indigenous Groups Blockade White House Urging End to Fossil Fuel Projects
Democracy Now (30/6/21): Climate Activists Demand Congress End Fossil Fuel Subsidies
Liberation News (28/6/21): Sit-in protest at Georgia Dept. of Labor demands no cuts to federal UI
Democracy Now (29/6/21): Dozens of Youth Climate Activists Arrested at White House Demanding Action on Climate Crisis
Liberation News (23/6/21): Calls for justice grow after Houston officers fired over Jaquaree Simmons killing
Democracy Now (24/6/21): Revs. Jesse Jackson and William Barber Arrested at Nonviolent Protest Against Senate Filibuster
Liberation News (22/6/21): Justice demanded for Queens, NY man killed by plainclothes cops
Democracy Now (22/6/21): 400-Mile Youth Climate March Ends with Protest at Houston Home of Sen. Ted Cruz
On Labor (18/6/21): On Saturday, thousands of teachers protested across the country against attempts to restrict what teachers can teach in at least 15 States, especially on issues of race and gender.
On Labor (18/6/21): Hundreds of union members kicked off the “For the People” Freedom Ride today in Arizona in support of the For the People Act, a federal bill that would expand voting rights by reducing partisan gerrymandering, reducing the influence of money in politics, and addressing barriers to voter access in elections.
Democracy Now (15/6/21): Protesters Demand West Virginia Sen. Manchin End Opposition to Filibuster Reform, Voting Rights Bill
Democracy Now (8/6/21): Over 100 Water Protectors Arrested in Minnesota as Mass Civil Disobedience Targets Line 3 Pipeline; Al Jazeera (12/6/21): ‘Reclaiming the land’: Indigenous fight against Line 3 ramps up - Protests against Line 3 pipeline are part of a larger movement to reclaim Indigenous land and culture in Canada and US.
The Guardian (5/6/21): Protests erupt in Minneapolis over man fatally shot by deputies - Nine arrested on possible charges including suspicion of riot and arson after Thursday shooting of Winston Boogie Smith Jr
Democracy Now (1/6/21): National March for Palestine Demands Congress and Biden Admin Hold Israel Accountable
Liberation News (22/5/21): Historic turnout in Southeast for Palestine; thousands in Raleigh, NC, demand end to Israeli apartheid
Left Voice (22/5/21): Michigan Marches Unite Palestine Solidarity and BLM, Pointing the Way Forward - The mass mobilizations across the globe for Palestine and against the racist violence of the Israeli state show the depth of this important struggle for self-determination. They also shown the growing political maturity of protesters, expressing solidarity between the BLM movement and the fight for Palestinian liberation against U.S. imperialism.
Democracy Now (19/5/21): Protests in North Carolina After DA Says Officers Who Killed Andrew Brown Jr. Were “Justified”
Democracy Now (19/5/21): Protests Continue Across U.S. in Solidarity with Palestinians
Liberation News (14/5/21): Family [and demonstrators] demands independent investigation into death of 16-year-old Mikayla Miller in Hopkinton, Mass.
Democracy Now (14/5/21): Protesters “Evict” Enbridge After It Defies Governor’s Order to Shut Down Line 5 Pipeline
Liberation News (10/5/21): Workers rally to boycott Food4Less in Los Angeles
Workers World (10/5/21): Anishinaabe people, allies resist Enbridge Line 3 pipeline
Liberation News (9/5/21): Family [and protesters] demands arrest of 8 police for torture, killing of Marvin Scott III
Liberation News: Miami-Dade activists demand justice for Stephanie Voikin, killed by police in eviction
Democracy Now (4/27/21): Texas Fisherwoman Diane Wilson Holds Hunger Strike to Stop Dredging for Oil Exports
Workers World: Middle school students in Grants Pass, Oregon, protest anti-transgender school staff
Democracy Now (4/22/21): NC Protesters Demand Release of Footage Showing Police Killing of Andrew Brown
Liberation News: Thousands rally against police killings in Chicago [city moves to protect the business districts] [2]
Left Voice: White Lives Matter Rallies Eclipsed by Counter Protesters
Liberation News: Detroiters march against police evictions
Liberation News: Protest while you can: Ohioans demonstrate against anti-protest bills
Left Voice: [Minneapolis, MN] Protesters gathered almost immediately to express their rage both at the murder of Wright and at the ongoing problems of racist police violence. The cops responded aggressively, arriving in riot gear and shooting rubber bullets into the crowd, injuring at least one protester.; Earlier in the day, “white lives matter” protests took place around the country, and they were largely left alone by the cops. [2][3]
Liberation News: Tampa Bay activists condemn Desantis’ anti-protest bill: “Kill the bill before it kills us!”
Liberation News: Activists protest phosphate mining and treatment of jail inmates near Piney Point disaster in Manatee [near Tampa, Florida] [2]
Democracy Now (4/7/21): Yemeni American Activists on Hunger Strike to Call for End of U.S.-Backed, Saudi-Led War on Yemen
Democracy Now (4/9/21): Antiwar Activists Block Entry to Creech Air Force Base in Nevada to Protest U.S. Drones
Workers World: Demonstration protests death at Erie County Holding Center
Liberation News: Milwaukee protesters demand justice for police killing victim Joel Acevedo
Liberation News: Lansing, Michigan, rally draws radical crowd
Jacobin: New Yorkers go on hunger strike to advocate for those left behind in COVID, with growing support from NY politicians; Gov. Cuomo standing in the way [2]
Workers World: Hundreds rally, march against racist violence [dozens across the US]
AP News: NC demonstrators demand lawmakers back agenda to aid poor, [protect voting rights], [part of Poor People's Campaign]
Liberation News: Knoxville, TN, activists present ‘award’ to city’s top evictor
Liberation News: Bronx tenants to local politicians: ‘Cancel the rents!’
Liberation News: ‘Immigrants are welcome here,’ San Diego protesters in solidarity with migrant caravan
Liberation News: Poor People’s Campaign demonstrates for priorities in 30 state capitols [and against anti-voting rights laws]
Democracy Now (3/15/21): Protesters Demand Police Accountability on Anniversary of Breonna Taylor’s Killing
Democracy Now (3/17/21): Taxi Drivers Slam Mayor de Blasio’s Lender Bailout, Demand Debt Relief
Workers World:California rally against union-busting law firm Morgan Lewis, involved with Amazon's efforts to discourage Bessemer unionization
Democracy Now: (3/12/21) Brooklyn, NY - Protesters Blast Plans to Reduce Services for Majority-Black Patients at Brooklyn Hospital [Another Cuomo sin]
Oak Flat, AZ - Apache Stronghold forces U.S. government retreat [on copper mine] [1]
San Francisco, CA - Rally demands: ‘Prison profiteers out of California!’ [1]
NYC - @protest_nyc: NYPD deployed dozens of officers to arrest activists counter-protesting a pro-Trump rally this afternoon.
NYC - @protest_nyc RT of @FEWCoalition: HAPPENING NOW: Excluded Workers in uniform are mobilizing across the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges to demand #FUNDEXCLUDEDWORKERS; This bridge belongs to the workers!
San Francisco Bay Area, CA (2/27/21) - people 'gathered for a rally and caravan in Berkeley and Oakland to demand cancellation of rents and mortgages, an end to evictions, and housing for the homeless. Over 20 organizations were represented, including the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United, Do No Harm Coalition, AFSCME 3299, United Native Americans, the North Bay Organizing Project, and the Bay Area branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation.' [1]
Chicago - 'over 100 activists are on hunger strike to protest the relocation of the General Iron metal shredding plant to the Southeast Side of Chicago — in an area with mostly Black and Brown residents and which already suffers from poor air quality due to industrial pollution.'[1][2]
NY - Protesters are demonstrating against @NYGovCuomo's cuts to HIV/AIDS programs and other healthcare services in front of the governor's Manhattan office.[1]
'A coalition of seven tenant rights and housing justice organizations shut down Brooklyn eviction court the day the eviction moratorium ends.'[1]
Supporters Demand Prison Release of Mumia Abu-Jamal as He Suffers COVID-19 Symptoms [1]
Protesters in Brooklyn protest 'outside NYPD's 84th precint demanding discipline for specific officers' [1], followed by march across Brooklyn Bridge, 'followed by police on foot and in vehicles' [2]
Yahoo! News: Mother Of Duquesne Student Who Fell To His Death Taken To Hospital On Day 236 Of Hunger Strike (via @JoshuaPotash via @JDale_Shoemaker)
Liberation News: El Monte taco vendors and community: ‘LA County Department of Public Health, stop harassing us!’
Liberation News: Massive thousand-car caravan protests unsafe reopening of Montgomery County schools in Maryland
Liberation News: Milwaukee protesters demand real change from Biden administration [during Townhall]
"Haywood County, North Carolina car protest: ‘Fund services, not jails’" - Liberation News (2/18/21)
"Statewide day of action demands single-payer healthcare for California" - Liberation News
"Asheville, NC, locals reject Raytheon's blood money jobs" - Liberation News
"Another protest over Trevor Seever killing" - Liberation News

Misc. Bad Legislation

Cleveland.com: Ohio House passes bill to criminalize disobeying police orders, coming too close to officers
KHN (28/6/21): Doctors’ Lobby Scores ‘Major Victory’ on Bill to Hold Physicians Accountable
Salon (23/6/21): DeSantis signs bill requiring Florida students, professors to register political views with state - Universities may lose funding if staff and students' beliefs do not satisfy Florida's GOP-run legislature
Democracy Now (16/6/21): Texas Bans Critical Race Theory in Schools
In These Times (9/6/21): The GOP Has Declared a War on Protests - Republican state legislators across 34 states have introduced more than 80 bills this year that criminalize protesting or protect those who harm protesters.
Democracy Now (2/6/21): Florida Enacts Ban on Transgender Youth in School Sports
Al Jazeera (1/6/21): Florida joins US states banning transgender girls from sports - Florida governor’s action comes at the start of ‘Pride Month’ in the US, officially a time to celebrate LGBTQ rights.
Liberation News (30/5/21): Tennessee passes vicious anti-trans bills, considers more
Law and Crime (27/5/21): Florida Social Media Censorship Law Touted by Gov. DeSantis Is a ‘Frontal Assault on the First Amendment’: Lawsuit
On Labor (23/5/21): This weekend news and commentary article provides a good overview of issues relating to a bill in the NY state legislature about gig work and their proposed half-rights
Jacobin (19/5/21): The Texas GOP Is Taking Money From the Unemployed and Giving It to Fossil Fuel Companies - In the last week and a half, Texas Republicans moved to block $8 billion worth of pandemic unemployment benefits for 1.3 million people — just days after voting to extend a corporate subsidy program that is enriching fossil fuel companies and has already cost the state $10 billion.
Democracy Now (17/5/21): Texas Set to Enact Draconian Abortion Ban That Would Criminalize Patients, Medical Providers
Salon (13/5/21): Over a dozen GOP governors plan to snatch back unemployment insurance early - Nearly one million Americans in Republican-led states will lose assistance they've relied on during the pandemic
World Socialist Web Site (13/5/21): School districts across Texas implement massive austerity and cuts to staff
On Labor: New legislation in Montana removes an employer’s ability to make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for their employees. In nursing homes and related facilities, federal guidelines can preempt the restriction. This preemption scheme, however, does not cover hospitals."
Democracy Now (30/4/21): West Virginia, Florida & Texas Bills Target Trans Youth
Left Voice: Florida’s “Anti-Riot” Bill Becomes Law; 'Increased civil penalties can be used to strip activists of their right to vote if convicted. Defacing symbols of racial oppression such as Confederate flags and monuments will now likewise be classified as second-degree felonies, carrying a penalty of up to 10 years in prison. New misdemeanor categories have also been established, for acts as petty as a group of three or more people shouting at a political opponent, defined under the new law as “mob intimidation.”'; 'Drivers who plow into demonstrations in the streets would be granted civil immunity protections should they cause injury or even death to marchers.'
Democracy Now (4/22/21): GOP Lawmakers in Iowa and Oklahoma [+Florida] Pass Anti-Protest Bills; Legislators in Oklahoma and Iowa passed bills giving immunity to drivers who hit demonstrators with their cars.
World Socialist Web Site: Texas withholds federal aid from public schools
GovExec: Union Criticizes Civil Service Carveouts in Science Bills - Two bills aimed at revitalizing the National Science Foundation include major exceptions to federal hiring rules that AFGE officials say are reminiscent of former President Trump’s controversial and aborted Schedule F initiative. (via u/RedditGreenit on r/labor)
Liberation News: Tampa workers protest anti-union bills moving through Florida legislature
Democracy Now (4/19/21): Florida Poised to Pass “Anti-Riot” Bill, Criminalizing Dissent & Blocking Cuts to Police Budgets
Law and Crime: Florida House Passes Bill Banning Transgender Women Student-Athletes and Allowing for ‘Genital Inspections’
Salon: Republicans who pushed Arkansas' anti-trans ban just passed a bill to teach creationism in schools
Texas Tribune: Texas Senate revives push to block cities' paid sick leave ordinances (via u/alllie on r/labor)
Law and Crime: Tennessee Lawmakers Move Forward With ‘Laughably Unconstitutional’ Anti-Free Press Bill
Democracy Now (4/7/21): Arkansas Becomes First State to Criminalize Gender-Affirming Treatment for Trans Youth
Liberation News: Alabama Senate votes to criminalize health care for trans youth - 'Doctors, pharmacists, and other medical professionals who continue to provide this necessary trans-affirming health care to minors would face up to 10 years in prison.'
Democracy Now: (3/9/21) - South Dakota GOP Governor Kristi Noem “Excited” to Sign Anti-Trans Athlete Bill (see also [1])
Democracy Now: (3/12/21) - Kentucky Tries to Make “Taunting” a Cop a Crime
Liberation News: New York politicians push bill to ‘kill’ rent cancellation movement, organizers fight back
Z94: Oklahoma Working to Pass Bills Making It Illegal to Publish Photos or Videos of Law Enforcement (via u/bobbyw24 on r/Libertarian) (see also: Black Wall Street Times: Oklahoma bill makes it illegal to photo or film police, Dems vote yes, via @JoshuaPotash RT of @zellieimani; 'But it wasn’t just Republicans who voted for the Senate and House versions of this new law. This time Democrats did, too.')

Lawsuits and Court Rulings

Law and Crime (30/12/21): Jury Holds Teva Pharmaceuticals and Affiliates Liable for Worsening Opioid Addiction in New York [!]
New York Times (28/12/21): Judge Says New York Times Can Retain Project Veritas Memos, for Now - A New York appeals court said the paper did not need to immediately give up or destroy documents related to the conservative group. The paper is still prevented from publishing certain documents. [!]
The Hill (28/12/21): Virginia Supreme Court approves new lines for key swing districts [!]
Democracy Now (29/12/21): Judge Rejects First Amendment Claims of Proud Boys in Capitol Riot Conspiracy Case
New York Times (23/12/21): Officers Fire at Suspect in Store and a Bullet Kills a Girl in a Dressing Room - The suspect was killed and a shot pierced a wall during the confrontation at a clothing store in Los Angeles, fatally striking a 14-year-old, the police said. [!]
Democracy Now (17/12/21): Federal Judge Throws Out Opioid Settlement That Shielded Sackler Family from Lawsuits - A federal judge has thrown out a roughly $4.5 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma that shielded the Sackler family from future lawsuits. Judge Colleen McMahon of the Southern District of New York ruled the bankruptcy court does not have the authority to grant the Sacklers such legal protection. The Sacklers have refused to acknowledge any personal responsibility in the deadly opioid crisis.
Just Security (17/12/21): A judge in Delaware has denied a motion from Fox News to dismiss a defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems
Law and Crime (15/12/21): California Law Banning Private Prison Facilities Struck Down by Federal Court [!]
Just Security (15/12/21): A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by Trump that sought to block Congress from obtaining his tax returns
Just Security (14/12/21): The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled against the Biden administration’s bid to terminate the Trump-era “remain in Mexico” policy, which requires non-Mexican migrants to stay in Mexico until their U.S. immigration court dates.
Common Dreams (13/12/21): US Supreme Court Refuses to Intervene Against NY Vaccine Mandate - In the 6-3 decision, only Justices Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito dissented. [!]
New York Times (10/12/21): Supreme Court Allows Challenge to Texas Abortion Law but Leaves It in Effect - The law, which bans most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, was drafted to evade review in federal court and has been in effect since September.
Democracy Now (10/12/21): Texas Court Finds Abortion Ban Unconstitutional, But Stops Short of Injunction
Common Dreams (9/12/21): 'Big Step for Democracy': NC Supreme Court Delays Primaries Over Gerrymandered Maps - "These rigged maps will go to trial with the North Carolina Supreme Court next month—and, if there's any justice, be consumed in fire directly afterward," said one progressive advocacy group. [!]
Law and Crime (9/12/21): Federal Appeals Court Upholds Conviction Based on Evidence Derived from Warrantless Surveillance [surveillance-and-censorship-news] [!]
Who Gets the Bird (8/12/21): An Alabama judge has once again extended the injunction against picketing anywhere near Warrior Met coal worksites, just flagrantly ignoring the basic first amendment rights of UMWA miners and supporters. [busting-labor-news]
Al Jazeera / Bloomberg (8/12/21): US appeals court halts antitrust orders against Apple App Store - The ruling is a significant victory for the iPhone maker as it fights a broad challenge by Epic Games to its domination of the $142bn mobile-app distribution market. [big-tech-news] [!]
The Hill (7/12/21): Judge halts Biden vaccine mandate for federal contractors nationwide [!]
EFF (7/12/21): First Circuit Affirms School's Punishment of Students for Online Social Media Posts [!]
Ars Technica (2/12/21): [Federal] Judge tears apart Texas social media law for violating First Amendment - Ruling blocks law that would force social networks to carry objectionable content [far-right-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, gop-shenanigans-news]
On Labor (3/12/21): Yesterday, Judge Cory Wilson of the Fifth Circuit denied a motion from the U.S. Department of Justice to intervene in United Natural Foods Inc’s challenge that former acting general counsel of the NLRB Peter Ohr lacked authority because his predecessor Peter Robb was unlawfully removed from office by President Biden. The case was taken up by the NLRB in April, when the Board held that it did not have jurisdiction to review the president’s actions. As Fred previously wrote on this blog, the legal challenge to Ohr’s authority “remains, on the merits, tenuous” and “many have cast doubt that the attacks will amount to anything more than a time and resource drain for the NLRB . . . .” The DOJ argued that they should be allowed to intervene because the case could have significant ramifications for the president’s power.
Just Security (1/12/21): Two new rulings by separate federal judges yesterday have temporarily halted parts of the Biden administration’s mandatory Covid-19 vaccine policy for certain workers. “One ruling, issued by a Louisiana-based federal judge, effectively blocked a vaccine mandate for health workers across the country at hospitals that receive federal funding. A second ruling, by a Kentucky-based federal judge, paused the administration’s vaccine mandate for federal contractors in Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee,” John Kruzel reports for The Hill.
Just Security (1/12/21): Ten redacted passages in former special counsel Robert Mueller’s report — including one that discusses the decision not to bring criminal charges against Donald Trump Jr. and others — were ordered to be revealed yesterday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. The ruling follows a yearslong legal battle by BuzzFeed News. In an 18-page opinion the court “unanimously ruled that there is a ‘significant public interest’ in lifting the veil of secrecy that ‘disclosure would also show how the Special Counsel interpreted the relevant law and applied it to already public facts in reaching his declination decisions,’” Jason Leopold reports for BuzzFeed News.
Democracy Now (1/12/21): SCOTUS Hears Argument in Mississippi Abortion Case Which Threatens to Undo Roe v. Wade
The Hill (30/11/21): Wisconsin Supreme Court hands win to GOP in key ruling on new congressional maps
Democracy Now (30/11/21): Federal Judge Blocks Vaccine Mandate for Healthcare Workers in 10 States
On Labor (23/11/21): A federal judge in San Jose has ruled that Tesla Inc. and Eismann Corp. must continue to litigate their federal labor trafficking allegations. The suit was brought by 14 foreign workers hired for construction at the companies’ California manufacturing plant. The workers, who are from Bosnia, Herzegovina, Croatia, and Slovenia, claim that their subcontractor coerced their labor and that Tesla and Eisenmann controlled their travel to and from the manufacturing plant. The court said the workers had a plausible claim under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act and the California state equivalent law. However, the court has ruled that the workers’ Fair Labor Standards Act wage claims are untimely, as the minimum wage and overtime claims from 2014-2016 fall outside of the three-year statute of limitations.
On Labor (19/11/21): Yesterday, the Third Circuit ruled against a construction company’s attempt to consolidate arbitrations of two labor disputes over job assignments with two separate unions. P&A Construction Inc, and its affiliate Utility Systems Inc., wanted to join arbitration proceedings with United Steelworkers Local 15024 and International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825
On Labor (14/11/21): A ruling issued on Friday by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals extended its November 6 order pausing President Biden’s shot-or-test mandate for businesses with 100 or more employees by blocking implementation of OSHA’s emergency regulation, which required qualifying businesses to ensure that all employees are fully vaccinated by January 4, 2022 or subjected to weekly testing
On Labor (11/11/21): By contrast, members of the U.S. Supreme Court this week chose not to address whether federal workplace protections allow for multi-motive age discrimination claims. On Monday, the Court announced that it had declined to take up a case brought by Melanie Pelcha, a former bank teller, arguing that the Sixth Circuit had improperly required her to prove that her age was the “sole” motivation behind her boss’s adverse employment action—as opposed to one of multiple but-for causes—in order for her state a claim under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).
On Labor (11/11/21): In other judicial news, the California Supreme Court announced yesterday that it would review whether part of the Golden State’s LGBTQ protections for long-term care residents unlawfully restricts care workers’ freedom of speech
On Labor (11/11/21): Yesterday, members of Third Circuit Court of Appeals cast doubt on whether the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) recent decision against The Federalist would withstand appellate scrutiny. The case, FDRLST Media v. NLRB, 3d Cir. No. 20-03434, arose in 2019 after the conservative magazine’s co-founder Ben Domenech tweeted that he would send his employees “back to the salt mine” should they attempt to unionize. Last year, the Board’s former Republican majority affirmed the administrative law judge’s ruling that the statement constituted an unlawful threat against workers’ right to organize at the magazine, despite the company’s insistence that Domenech’s tweet was “a joke.”
Common Dreams (24/11/21): South Dakota Supreme Court Kills Recreational Marijuana Law Approved by Voters - The ruling is a win for Republican Gov. Kristi Noem, who directed the state to pay for the legal fight against the voter-backed amendment.
Democracy Now (24/11/21): Federal Jury Finds CVS, Walgreens and Walmart Responsible For Fueling Ohio’s Opioid Crisis
Just Security (24/11/21): Jurors have found the primary organizers of the deadly far-right 2017 rally in Charlottesville, Virginia liable under state law for injuries to counterprotesters, awarding more than $25 million in damages. “The “Unite the Right’ march began as a demonstration over the removal of a Confederate statue and led to the death of the counterprotester Heather Heyer, 32, when she was struck by a car driven by one of the defendants,” Neil MacFarquhar reports for The New York Times.
Law and Crime (22/11/21): Supreme Court Denies Carmen Electra and Other Models’ Petition Against Strip Clubs Over Trademark Infringement
Law and Crime (19/11/21): Appeals Court Refuses to Overturn Ruling Temporarily Blocking New York Times from Publishing Project Veritas’s ‘Privileged’ Info
Law and Crime (18/11/21): Judge ‘Prayed’ About It and Decided That Prison Time for Admitted Rapist of Teen Girls ‘Isn’t Appropriate’ [law-enforcement-oversteps-news]
Just Security (18/11/21): The federal judge presiding over Bannon’s criminal case, Judge Carl Nichols, has previously argued in court that presidential advisers should have absolute immunity against congressional subpoenas.
Law and Crime (15/11/21): SCOTUS Takes Up Case of More Than 500 Taco Bell Employees Who Say They Were Cheated Out of Overtime Pay [labor-news]
Just Security (12/11/21): A federal appeals court has granted former President Trump’s request to pause the release of White House records to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Three judges, all appointed by Democrats, issued an injunction temporarily blocking the release of the files held by the National Archives, ahead of today’s deadline for the documents to be turned over.
Just Security (11/11/21): District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan has rejected former President Trump’s effort to block access to his White House records for the third time in two days. Chutkan refused to stay, pending an appeal, her own decision issued on Tuesday denying Trump’s request for an injunction blocking the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack from accessing his White House papers held at the National Archives. In her latest ruling, Chutkan said “this court will not effectively ignore its own reasoning in denying injunctive relief in the first place to grant injunctive relief now.” Trump’s lawyers have appealed the ruling on the preliminary injunction.
Democracy Now (11/11/21): Judge Approves $626M Settlement for Flint Residents Who Were Poisoned by Lead in the Water
Democracy Now (11/11/21): U.S. Coronavirus Cases Rise Again; Texas Judge Halts Ban on School Mask Mandates
Democracy Now (11/11/21): Kyle Rittenhouse Breaks Down in Tears on Witness Stand, Claims Self-Defense - Meanwhile, the trial judge, Bruce Schroeder, continued to make headlines after he repeatedly sided with the defense, while excoriating prosecutors for asking questions he said were out of bounds
Just Security (10/11/21): A U.S. judge is putting a lawsuit against Khalifa Hifter, a former Libyan warlord, on hold until after Libya’s election in which Hifter is expected to run for president
Just Security (10/11/21): District Judge Tanya Chutkan has issued a 39-page opinion rejecting former President Trump’s request to keep the Jan. 6 records from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Just Security (10/11/21): The D.C. Superior Court has allowed the D.C. Attorney General to proceed with a lawsuit against Trump’s inaugural committee and private business
New York Times (9/11/21): Oklahoma Supreme Court Throws Out $465 Million Opioid Ruling Against J.&J. - The 5-1 decision is a setback for those who are fighting to hold big drug makers accountable for the opioid epidemic.
Just Security (9/11/21): The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has said that Facebook can pursue a lawsuit accusing NSO Group of exploiting a glitch in its WhatsApp messaging app to install the Pegasus malware
Democracy Now (9/11/21): Supreme Court to Weigh Whether Muslim Surveillance Victims Can Sue FBI
On Labor (7/11/21): In other news, a First Circuit panel ruled on Friday that Lyft Inc. drivers must arbitrate claims that they are misclassified as independent contractors and are owed employee benefits by the ride-share giant. In granting Lyft’s motion to compel arbitration, the court rejected the drivers’ argument that they qualify for a Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) exemption for transportation workers engaged in interstate commerce based on their transportation of people to and from the airport
Law and Crime (6/11/21): Fifth Circuit Slams the Brakes on Biden’s Workplace Vaccine Mandate Due to ‘Grave Statutory and Constitutional Issues’ [covid-news]
AP News (1/11/21): Colorado Supreme Court approves new congressional districts
Just Security (5/11/21): A white juror in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse was dismissed Thursday after making a racist joke about the shooting of Jacob Blake as he was escorted to his car.
Just Security (5/11/21): U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, the federal judge hearing Trump’s lawsuit, appeared ready to side with the select committee and the Biden administration yesterday.
The Black Wall Street Times (2/11/21): Alabama ethics court votes to remove judge after racism, sexism complaints [civil-rights-news]
Law and Crime (2/11/21): Federal Judge Shuts Down ‘Bombastic’ Anti-Vax Filing by Oath Keepers’ Lawyers That Argues ‘SCOTUS Could Not Have Foreseen the Holocaust’ [far-right-news, anti-vaxx-news, capitol-storming-news]
Democracy Now (4/11/21): Only One Black Juror Selected as Trial for Killers of Ahmaud Arbery Gets Underway - In Georgia, the judge overseeing the murder trial of three white men who hunted down and killed Black jogger Ahmaud Arbery last year found “intentional discrimination” in the jury selection after a single Black juror was chosen. The 11 other jurors are white. The judge nonetheless is allowing the trial to go ahead, with opening statements expected Friday.
Democracy Now (2/11/21): Judge Blocks Vaccine Mandate for Chicago Police Officers
Democracy Now (2/11/21): Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments on Texas’s Near-Total Abortion Ban
On Labor (31/10/21): On Friday, an order by the Second Circuit officially nulled a Trump-era joint employment regulation, a management-friendly interpretation that narrowed the joint employment standard and shielded employers from sharing liability over employment practices.
New York Times (29/10/21): Supreme Court Won’t Block Maine’s Vaccine Mandate for Health Care Workers - A state regulation that does not allow exemptions on religious grounds was challenged by workers who said taking a coronavirus vaccine was at odds with their faith. [anti-vaxx-news, covid-news]
Just Security (29/10/21): Chief Judge of the Washington, D.C. federal district court Beryl A. Howell has “unleashed a blistering critique of the Justice Department’s prosecution of Capitol rioters, saying the fiery rhetoric about the event’s horror did not match plea offers to minor charges.” Howell interrogated prosecutors about their decision to allow Jack Jesse Griffith to plead guilty to parading inside the Capitol, the same charge faced by nonviolent protestors who disrupt congressional hearings
Democracy Now (29/10/21): Federal Jury Says GEO Group Must Pay Minimum Wage for Labor by Immigrant Prisoners
Democracy Now (28/10/21): Environmental Lawyer Who Took On Chevron Starts Serving 6-Month Prison Sentence for Misdemeanor
Democracy Now (27/10/21): Rittenhouse Trial Judge Says the Word “Victims” Cannot Be Used to Describe Victims of Fatal Shooting
Democracy Now (25/10/21): Supreme Court Again Refuses to Halt Texas’s Near-Total Abortion Ban
The Hill (23/10/21): Judge sides with Tennessee families in mask mandate fight [covid-news]
Law and Crime (21/10/21): Federal Judge Rejects Ghislaine Maxwell’s Request for Extraordinary Secrecy on Jury Selection as Sex Trafficking Trial Looms [epstein-news]
Yahoo News (20/10/21): When truckers voted to unionize, their employer retaliated with illegal layoffs, judge rules [from r/labor via u/DoremusJessup]
Democracy Now (21/10/21): U.S. Court Rules in Favor of Guantánamo Prisoner Held for 14 Years Without Charge or Trial
Democracy Now (19/10/21): SCOTUS Decisions Bolster Doctrine of Qualified Immunity for Police Officers
Just Security (15/10/21): New Ruling Sheds Light on State-Paramilitary Cooperation in Colombia – and on the TVPA
Democracy Now (15/10/21): Appeals Court Keeps Texas Abortion Ban in Place
The Hill (13/10/21): Judge rules Maine can bar religious exemptions to health care vaccine mandate [covid-news]
EFF (28/9/21): In U.S. v Wilson, the Ninth Circuit Reaffirms Fourth Amendment Protection for Electronic Communications [surveillance-and-censorship-news]
Law and Crime (9/10/21): Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Allows Texas Anti-Abortion Law to Again Take Effect — At Least for Now [civil-rights-news]
The Hill (10/10/21): Federal judge grants preliminary injunction, blocking Iowa ban on school mask mandates [covid-news]
The Hill (8/10/21): Judge turns down Oregon State Police troopers' request to stop governor's vaccine mandate [covid-news]
Democracy Now (7/10/21): Appeals Court Blocks California Law Banning Private Prisons
Democracy Now (7/10/21): Federal Judge Temporarily Halts Texas’s Near-Total Ban on Abortions
On Labor (6/10/21): Finally, the Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a trucking company’s claim that California’s AB5 test for classifying workers is preempted by the Federal Aviation and Administration Authorization Act as applied to motor carriers. The trucking company, Cal Cartage Transportation Express LLC, represented by Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, had been sued by the city of Los Angeles for illegally misclassifying its drivers as independent contractors rather than employees. The California Court of Appeal, Second District, reversed the trial court and held that California’s state law was not preempted by the federal statute and federally licensed motor carriers must comply with California’s worker classification scheme, a holding which the Ninth Circuit has, in a separate case, recently affirmed.
The Hill (5/10/21): Judge rules against Kansas City plan to shift funds from police to community services
Just Security (5/10/21): The Supreme Court has declined to hear a dispute over the fatal police shooting of a schizophrenic man in a case that has raised questions about legal barriers to suing government workers for alleged wrongdoing
Just Security (5/10/21): The Supreme Court has declined to hear Oracle’s challenge to how the Pentagon awarded its now canceled $10 billion cloud computing contract — the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) contract
Democracy Now (1/10/21): Judge Sentences Steven Donziger, Lawyer Who Sued Chevron for Amazon Oil Spills
The Hill (28/9/21): Missouri judge rejects attorney general's lawsuit seeking statewide ban on school mask mandates
Law and Crime (29/9/21): Appeals Court Pauses Lawsuit over Georgia Abortion Ban Until Supreme Court Decides Mississippi Case
Democracy Now (29/9/21): Judge Blocks Key Part of Arizona Anti-Abortion Law Involving Genetic Abnormalities
Democracy Now (29/9/21): Pfizer-BioNTech Submits Vaccine Data on 5-to-11-Year-Olds to FDA; Mask Mandate Bans Halted in SC and AZ
The Hill (28/9/21): Judge orders prison guards in California to be vaccinated [covid-news]
Democracy Now (27/9/21): Judge Blocks NYC Teacher Vaccine Mandate as Hochul Eyes Plans to Replace Unvaccinated Health Workers
The Guardian (25/9/21): Judge recommends tribe be allowed to hunt gray whales off Washington state - Makah chairman welcomes ruling opposed by animal welfare groups and says: ‘We’re doing it for spiritual and cultural reasons’ [indigenous-news]
The Hill (25/9/21): Two federal judges rule local Tennessee school districts can mandate masks [covid-news]
EFF (22/9/21): Colorado Supreme Court Rules Three Months of Warrantless Video Surveillance Violates the Constitution [big-tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news]
Law and Crime (23/9/21): ‘The Legal System Also Fails Plaintiffs’: Judge Reluctantly Dismisses Students’ ‘Time-Barred’ Claims Against Ohio State University in Sex Abuse Scandal
On Labor (21/9/21): A federal district court judge ruled that Amazon would have to face a class action lawsuit for allegedly illegally monitoring its drivers’ Facebook discussions about workplace conditions and unionization efforts.
The Hill (17/9/21): Judge rules against Tennessee's 'opt out' option for school mask mandates [covid-news]
On Labor (15/9/21): U.S. District Judge David Hurd in Albany on Tuesday entered a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of a New York state health department rule requiring health care workers workers in hospitals and nursing homes to get a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine by Sept. 27, for those employed in public institutions, and October 9th, for those employed in private institutions. [labor-news, covid-news]
The Hill (17/9/21): Court strikes down North Carolina voter ID law as racially biased [voting-rights-news]
Just Security (17/9/21): A federal judge has ordered President Biden’s administration to stop turning back families who enter the U.S. illegally from Mexico seeking asylum, under a public-health policy implemented during former President Trump’s administration
On Labor (16/9/21): Also on Wednesday, a split three-judge panel for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) does not preempt states from creating protections for workers who refuse to consent to employment arbitration agreements, allowing much of a new California law to take effect. The law in question, Assembly Bill 51, bans employers from conditioning employment on an arbitration agreement or from retaliating against workers who refuses to consent to one.
Just Security (16/9/21): A divided federal appeals court has upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit challenging a portion of the National Security Agency’s warrantless surveillance of Americans’ international email and phone communications
Law and Crime (14/9/21): Federal Judge: Iowa’s Law Banning Mask Mandates in Public Schools Violates the Constitution and ADA [covid-news]
Liberation News (13/9/21): All charges dropped against Denver anti-racist protest leaders
Law and Crime (10/9/21): Florida Ban on Mask Mandates in Schools Temporarily Back in Place as Appeals Court Pauses Judge’s Ruling Against Gov. DeSantis [covid-news]
Vox (10/9/21): Epic’s win over Apple is actually an Apple victory - Epic Games may have won a small battle in the Epic-Apple trial, but Apple won the war
Law and Crime (10/9/21): Circuit Judge Who Was on Trump’s SCOTUS Shortlist Reluctantly Blocks Tennessee Abortion Law, But Urges High Court to Overturn ‘Wrong’ Roe v. Wade Precedent [civil-rights-news]
Just Security (10/9/21): A federal judge in Tennessee has acquitted a professor who had been accused of hiding his China ties when applying for research grants to work on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) project, saying the U.S. government hadn’t proven its case
Law and Crime (9/9/21): Federal Judge in Florida Blocks ‘Riot’ Definition in Law Backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, Likens Measure to Backlash Against ‘Freedom Rides’ in Segregated South
The Hill (8/9/21): Judge grants class-action status to Chicago stop-and-frisk lawsuit [law-enforcement-oversteps-news]
The Guardian (8/9/21): Blow to DeSantis as judge rules Florida cannot enforce mask mandate ban - Judge rules against governor while appeals court decides whether ban on public schools mandating masks is ultimately legal [covid-news]
The Guardian (7/9/21): Ohio judge reverses court order forcing hospital to treat Covid patient with ivermectin - Judge cites lack of ‘convincing evidence’ that drug is effective, siding with hospital that refused to administer medication [covid-news]
The Hill (3/9/21): Judge blocks Tenn. governor's order allowing students to opt out of mask mandates [covid-news]
Who Gets the Bird (3/9/21): A Spokane (WA) County judge has ruled that a law passed by referendum mandating open bargaining with public employees unions is unconstitutional.
Who Gets the Bird (3/9/21): A federal judge in Boston has ruled against the Department of Labor, which attempted to bar a man convicted in 2009 of a drug trafficking felony from serving as a shop steward. People convicted of certain crimes are barred from holding union office for 13 years as a holdover from the 1959 LMRDA, which was obviously intended to root out corrupt officials, not block people with unrelated felonies from serving in their union, especially as shop stewards.
Just Security (3/9/21): National Public Radio on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against two Maryland judges, claiming a state ban on the broadcasting of “lawfully-obtained official court recordings” is unconstitutional under the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
Law and Crime (3/9/21): Federal Court Dismisses Cheerleader’s Case Against Sheriff: Prohibiting Kneeling During National Anthem Wasn’t ‘Racial Discrimination’ [civil-rights-news]
Democracy Now (3/9/21): Court Orders Biden Administration to Stop Turning Asylum Seekers Around at Border
New York Times (2/9/21): Virginia Supreme Court Clears Path for Removal of Robert E. Lee Statue - Two unanimous rulings allow Gov. Ralph Northam to remove the statue from its prominent spot on Monument Avenue in Richmond. [civil-rights-news]
Law and Crime (1/9/21): Federal Judges on Fourth Circuit Hand West Virginia Democrats a Loss in Ballot-Order Statute Lawsuit [voting-rights-news]
Democracy Now (2/9/21): Judge Approves $4.5 Billion Settlement, Shielding Sackler Family from Future Opioid Lawsuits
The Hill (31/8/21): Virginia Supreme Court rules in favor of teacher who opposed transgender rules [lgbtq-news]
EFF (31/8/21): Victory! Lawsuit Proceeds Against Clearview’s Face Surveillance
On Labor (1/9/21): In Local 23, American Federation of Musicians v. NLRB, a D.C. Circuit panel overturned the National Labor Relations Board’s Trump-era legal rule for deciding when property owners can lawfully exclude employees of contractors.
On Labor (1/9/21): The Southern District of New York this Monday held that the United States Security Officers Union, which represents security officers at federal courthouses, lacks standing to sue their contractor-employer and the U.S. Marshals Service for insufficient Covid-19 workplace safety measures.
On Labor (1/9/21): The California Court of Appeal has revived a wrongful termination and retaliation claim by a former Nestlé employee.
Law and Crime (1/9/21): Judge Dismisses Hunter Biden Laptop Guy’s Defamation Lawsuit with Prejudice, Forces Him to Pay Twitter’s Attorneys’ Fees Under Anti-SLAPP Law
EFF (1/9/21): Court Ruling Against Locast Gets the Law Wrong; Lets Giant Broadcast Networks Control Where and How People Watch Free TV
Law and Crime (31/8/21): Appeals Court Upholds Dismissal of Activist Group’s Lawsuit Over Fox News Coronavirus Coverage
The Guardian (31/8/21): Judge orders hospital to treat Ohio Covid patient with ivermectin - Anti-parasitic drug used on horses can be dangerous - Jeffrey Smith, 51, to receive 30mg for three weeks
The Hill (31/8/21): Judge sides with Illinois hospital refusing to treat man with ivermectin [covid-news]
Democracy Now (31/8/21): Federal Court Strikes Down Trump-Era Rule Gutting Clean Water Act
The Hill (30/8/21): Texas law banning most abortions set to go into effect after court cancels hearing [civil-rights-news]
Law and Crime (30/8/21): Federal Appeals Court Rules Georgia Mail-in Voters Having to Pay for Stamp Costs Is Not a ‘Poll Tax’ [voting-rights-news]
Just Security (27/8/21): Texas Federal District Court Judge Kathleen Cardone sided with the Biden administration Wednesday, blocking an executive order from Gov. Greg Abbott (R) that restricted nongovernmental organizations from transporting migrants from the southern border.
CPJ (27/8/21): CPJ disappointed by U.S. appeals court ruling in Jamal Khashoggi lawsuit
The Guardian (27/8/21): Florida schools can mandate masks, judge rules - Judge says Governor Ron DeSantis overstepped authority by banning face-covering requirements
The Hill (26/8/21): Texas Supreme Court sides with Abbott in blocking San Antonio's school mask mandate [covid-news, gop-shenanigans-news]
New York Times (26/8/21): Supreme Court Ends Biden’s Eviction Moratorium - The ruling followed political and legal maneuvering by the administration to retain protections for tenants. It puts hundreds of thousands at risk of being put out of their homes.
Democracy Now (26/8/21): Pro-Trump Attorneys Face Possible Disbarment After Federal Judge’s Scathing Ruling [trump-news]
On Labor (25/8/21): In Case You Forgot How Anti-Union Trump’s Judges Are [busting-labor-news]
Vice (25/8/21): Neo-Nazi Leader Gets Prison for Disturbing Threats Against Journalists - Cameron Shea, who went by the alias Krokodil, led members of the neo-Nazi group in a plot aimed at intimidating journalists and activists. [militant-far-right-news]
Democracy Now (25/8/21): Minnesota Court Denies Appeal Aimed at Halting Enbridge Line 3 Pipeline
Democracy Now (25/8/21): Judge Faults DHS for Not Considering Ecological Harm of Militarizing Border
Law and Crime (24/8/21): Federal Appeals Court Rejects Proposed ‘Misconduct Exception,’ Keeps Memo of Trump Asking NSA Director to Refute Russia Stories Hidden from Public [trump-news]
The Hill (24/8/21): Kansas Supreme Court allows officials to limit governor's emergency powers
The Guardian (24/8/21): Supreme court orders Biden to revive Trump’s ‘remain in Mexico’ policy - Justices deny president’s effort to rescind Trump program - Blow to Biden as trio of liberal justices dissent in 6-3 ruling; Vox (24/8/21): The Supreme Court’s stunning, radical immigration decision, explained - The Court’s decision on Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy upends decades of precedent warning that judges shouldn’t mess with foreign affairs.
The Hill (23/8/21): Civil rights groups: North Carolina ruling will allow 56K felony offenders to vote [voting-rights-news]
New York Times (21/8/21): Court Allows Biden’s Replacement Evictions Ban to Remain in Place for Now - The policy is now headed to the Supreme Court, where it is expected to face a tough reception.
Common Dreams (21/8/21): Judge Says California's Prop 22 Unconstitutional in 'Major' Win for Gig Workers - “It appears only to protect the economic interest of the network companies in having a divided, ununionized workforce," the judge declared.
New York Times (20/8/21): Supreme Court Grants Temporary Reprieve to Biden Immigration Policy - Justice Samuel Alito briefly stayed a ruling from a federal judge that would have forced some asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while U.S. officials considered their cases. [immigrant-news]
Democracy Now (20/8/21): Texas Supreme Court to Allow Schools to Defy Gov. Abbott’s Ban on Mask Mandates
Democracy Now (19/8/21): Texas Supreme Court Rules Absent Democratic Lawmakers Can Be Arrested
The Hill (18/8/21): Federal appeals court upholds Texas ban on standard abortion procedure [civil-rights-news]
New York Times (18/8/21): Court Blocks a Vast Alaskan Drilling Project, Citing Climate Dangers - The multibillion-dollar ConocoPhillips plan, known as Willow, was approved under the Trump administration and then legally supported by the Biden administration. [big-oil-news, climate-change-news]
Law and Crime (18/8/21): Federal Judge Orders USPS to Produce Previously Withheld Records on Louis DeJoy’s Potential Financial Conflicts of Interest
Democracy Now (17/8/21): Trump-Appointed Judge Orders Restoration of “Remain in Mexico” Policy Rejected by Biden
New York Times (16/8/21): The Texas State Supreme Court upholds the governor’s mask-mandate ban, for now. [covid-news]
On Labor (17/8/21): An Illinois state appellate court has ruled that Hobby Lobby violated Illinois’s anti-bias law by denying a transgender woman employee access to the women’s bathroom. [lgbtq-news]
Liberation News (13/8/21): Federal judge bows to public pressure, upholds eviction moratorium [social-woes-news]
Democracy Now (13/8/21): Supreme Court Blocks Part of New York Eviction Moratorium Despite Worsening Pandemic
In These Times (12/8/21): Tribal Court Case Against Line 3 Pipeline Is First to Invoke “Rights of Nature” - The suit by the White Earth Band of Ojibwe says Enbridge’s pipeline would violate the rights of wild rice, which the tribe enshrined in law in 2018.
Law and Crime (12/8/21): Knife-Toting Three Percenter Associate Spotted with Roger Stone Before Capitol Breach Can Stay Out of Jail, Judge Rules [militant-far-right-news]
Law and Crime (11/8/21): Federal Judge Grants House Democrats Access to Trump’s Tax Records from First Two Years in Office [trump-news]
The Hill (10/8/21): Judge strikes down several Indiana abortion provisions
The Hill (10/8/21): Missouri court rules Medicaid expansion must begin immediately
Common Dreams (10/8/21): Judge Rules Local Texas Officials Can Impose Mask Mandates in Defiance of Governor - "The pandemic is not over," said a Bexar County official. "We have come too far to allow our students to be super spreaders."
Law and Crime (10/8/21): Texas Supreme Court Says Republicans Can Order Arrests of Democrats Who Fled the State to Stop Conservative Agenda [voting-rights-news]

The Hill (6/8/21): Judge blocks Arkansas from enforcing ban on school mask mandateJudge blocks Arkansas from enforcing ban on school mask mandate [see also here]
Law and Crime (5/8/21): Sixth Circuit Upholds Tennessee Abortion Waiting Period: State Has ‘Strong Interest in Protecting the Life of the Unborn’ [civil-rights-news]
On Labor (4/8/21): A Pennsylvania federal judge ruled yesterday that an employer violated their contract with USW Local 36M by firing a worker who wrote “F— Sri Lanka” on a mask, which was directed towards the facility operations manager who was Sri Lankan. ... Perhaps strikingly, the arbitrator found that the employee’s conduct did not constitute discrimination or harassment because the conduct did not “negatively affect [the manager’s] worker conditions or his terms of employment.” The district judge concluded that the arbitrator’s finding was reasonable.
The Seattle Times (3/8/21): Judge blocks Texas troopers from stopping migrant transports
ABC 17 News (22/6/21): Missouri Supreme Court sides with Medicaid expansion supporters (via u/quility_or_quality on r/Libertarian)
Law and Crime (2/8/21): Trio of GOP-Appointed Judges Unanimously Approve Indiana University’s Vaccine Mandate: ‘There Can’t Be a Constitutional Problem With Vaccination’
On Labor (27/7/21): California regulator’s lawsuit against video-game titan Activision for widespread sex discrimination and harassment, which Fred discussed yesterday, continued to make waves at the company.
The Economist World This Week (24/7/21): A federal judge ruled that Indiana University has the right to insist that its students are vaccinated, a precedent that could affect other American colleges. [covid-news]
Law and Crime (22/7/21): Federal Judge Rules Against West Virginia’s ‘Save Women’s Sports Bill’: Transgender Girl Must Be Allowed to Try Out for Girls’ Team [lgbtq-news]
On Labor (22/7/21): Also yesterday, a U.S. district court in Nevada granted a rare request by NLRB Region 28 for a temporary injunction against Red Rock Casino, Resort and Spa, ordering interim bargaining and restraining Red Rock from unlawfully suppressing employee organizing [labor-news]
Democracy Now (22/7/21): Federal Courts Block Anti-Trans Laws in Arkansas and West Virginia [lgbtq-news]
On Labor (21/7/21): A Baltimore federal judge has preliminarily approved a $29 million dollar settlement awarded to poultry plant employees by their employer, Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. The plaintiffs alleged antitrust violations involving a scheme to drive down pay for the industry’s workforce. [labor-news, antitrust-news]
World Socialist Web Site (20/7/21): Judge rules against Maryland’s threat to end extended pandemic benefits
Law and Crime (20/7/21): Conservative Appeals Court Allows Michigan to Enforce Ban on Paid Transportation to the Polls in Loss for Voting Rights Advocates [voting-rights-news]
The Hill (20/7/21): Federal judge blocks Arkansas law banning almost all abortions [civil-rights-news]
Law and Crime (20/7/21): ‘A Win for Democracy and Racial Justice’: Federal Appeals Court Upholds Ruling Blocking Voter Purges in Indiana [voting-rights-news]
On Labor (19/7/21): A jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin returned a verdict of over $125 million against Walmart in the case of a woman with Down syndrome who the retailer failed to accommodate and then fired, the New York Times reports. [labor-news]
Al Jazeera (16/7/21): US judge: DACA programme for ‘Dreamer’ migrants is illegal - The ruling blocks new applicants, saying the programme was created illegally by former President Obama.; On Labor (18/7/21): Yet, according to law professor Benjamin Eidelson, Judge Hanen may have made the exact same errors that ultimately prompted the Supreme Court to invalidate the Trump administration’s DACA rescission in its Regents decision last year. [immigrant-news]
OnLabor (16/7/21): A federal district court held that Biden’s firing of former NLRB General Counsel Peter Robb, a Trump labor appointee, is permissible under the NLRA. The court’s decision was in accord with legal analysis offered previously on this blog: while Board members are subject to for-cause removal under Section 3(a) of the NLRA, the General Counsel—who is clearly not a Board member—is not and can be removed at will by the President. [labor-news, biden-policy-news]
Law and Crime (9/7/21): Federal Judge Blocks Tennessee Law That Requires Labeling of Transgender-Inclusive Bathrooms [lgbtq-news]
Salon (8/7/21): Amy Coney Barrett ruled in favor of major backer without explaining ties - The Koch-funded advocacy group in question publicly committed more than $1 million to promote her confirmation [dark-money-news]
Law and Crime (7/7/21): U.S. Government Could Have Stopped Mass Shooter Who Opened Fire at Texas Church, Judge Finds
Law and Crime (7/7/21): Appeals Court Affirms Immunity for Cops Who Tased Gasoline-Soaked Man and Burned Him to Death [law-enforcement-oversteps-news]
OnLabor (7/7/21): The Ninth Circuit has permitted a proposed class action Title VII suit to proceed against Nevada’s Chicken Ranch brothel, lifting a temporary stay on the proceedings while the brothel applied to have the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals determine whether the brothel was an “employer” under the Civil Rights Act. [labor-news]
EFF (2/7/21): Victory! Fourth Circuit Rules Baltimore’s Warrantless Aerial Surveillance Program Unconstitutional [surveillance-and-censorship-news, tech-news]
On Labor (2/7/21): On Wednesday, an Indiana Judge granted an injunction against a section of an Indiana law that imposed severe limitations on dues authorizations for school employees in collective bargaining agreements. [labor-news, union-news]
EFF (1/7/21): Victory! Federal Court Halts Florida’s Censorious Social Media Law Privileging Politicians’ Speech Over Everyday Users [surveillance-and-censorship-news, big-tech-news]
On Labor (1/7/21): Workers at Dave & Buster’s in Arizona have filed suit against the company, alleging it “systematically underpays dozens of servers and bartenders by taking a tip-credit from their hourly pay, while not fully complying with Fair Labor Standards Act and Arizona wage rules.” [labor-news]
Mother Jones (1/7/21): Dark Money Is About to Get Much Darker - The Supreme Court’s conservative majority just gutted donor disclosure rules. [dark-money-news]
New York Times (1/7/21): Supreme Court Upholds Arizona Voting Restrictions - The decision, a test of what remains of the Voting Rights Act, suggested that challenges to many new measures making it harder to vote may not be successful. [voting-rights-news]

Highlights

Cluster of Articles/Commentary on the Politics and Consequences of Manchin and the apparent demise of Build Back Better [here]
Understanding Trump's, and the GOP's, putsch efforts - not a circus joke, a serious threat [here]
Reuters reports Georgia GOP purging Black Democrats from County Election Boards [here]
The Economist shows what a miserable catastrophe American neoliberal housing is, and why privatizing things, and then subsidizing that market, is actually an awful system [here] (Ofc, providing milquetoast solutions though)
Financial Times revealing how to slow down COVID (opening up vaccine IP tech) and impede anti-vaxx conspiracism (robust public health systems) [here]; WSJ reports how non-vaxxed lockdowns increases vaccine uptake [here]
Issues with Union Bureaucracy ties with the Democratic Party, and structural reasons for the undermining of the rank-and-file [here]
Michael Brooks Warns the Left Against Descending Into Escapism and Fantasy [here]
Inflation Politics (podcast) [here]
Corporations Control Canada’s Infrastructure — But the Major Parties Won’t Confront Them (a somewhat boring title for a pretty insightful piece!) [here]
Michael Brooks’ Lasting Lessons for the Left [here]
The Lula Interview - Part 1 w/ Michael Brooks & Brasil Wire [here]
Mine union opening up to green transition [here]
Rise of private police [here]
History of third parties [here]
Likely extrajudicial, and unjustified, killing of (and subsequent coverup) of activist Reinoehl by U.S. Marshals - which [then president] Trump subsequently praised [here]; arrest and sentencing for 3+ years of left-wing activist for just calling for armed defense against Jan. 6th capitol storming [here]
Why is there a migrant crisis? Look, in part, to counter-productive US interventionism in Central America, a legacy maintained by President Biden [here]
Vaush: The nazbol vortex [here]
The Economic Origins of Mass Incarceration [here]
How to End the GOP’s Attacks on State-Level Democracy [here]

Go here to go back to current main page (this is an archived page)!

Skip Ahead to Daily News

Kellogg's workers win compromise contract, Labor-dept mediates conclusion to St. Vincent nurses strike - Leftist Electoral Victories in Chile and Honduras over far-right - GOP + couple centrist Dems killing climate, social, and voting reform - Union-and-women-spearheaded protests in Sudan against US-backed whitewashed tyranny; brutal crackdown in response - Civil turmoil in Myanmar against junta coup; profit-greedy Chevron has thus-far successfully lobbied to avoid oil sanctions on junta - 20m+ Afghanis face starvation, health and power crisis thanks to Western sactions - Rank-and-file electoral victories in UAW and Teamsters - NLRB deal with Amazon may open door to unionizing the behemoth (23/12/21) - Farmer victory over fascist Modi's neoliberal reforms; rising Hindutva violence against Muslims and Christians in India - Escalating Israeli army and settler violence against Palestinians

FYI: "Right-to-work" laws are the reason that unions have free-rider problems! Get rid of these laws!

(See Briefing for elaboration, pointers); use ctrl+F

Posted 31 December 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page); Bleeding edge news (rough)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

The Hill (30/12/21): Publix grocery store chain to start offering paid parental leave

Publix is a worker-owned enterprise - funny they do not note this in the article!

Tags: labor-news

Common Dreams (30/12/21): Elon Musk Only Paid $11 Billion in Taxes Because He Had No Other Rational Choice - Our only quarter-trillionaire is still not paying anything close to his fair tax share.

Our story begins with stock options that Musk received back in 2012 as compensation for his services as Tesla's CEO. These options gave Musk the right to buy the shares at their 2012 price at any point he chose over the next ten years. In 2021, with the options trading at phenomenally higher than their 2012 price, he made that choice. He exercised his options to buy Tesla shares at the 2012 price, a move that caused the equity in those options to be taxable to him as wages. That became the source of the overwhelming bulk of Musk's 2021 tax liability.
My clarification: This confused me a bit, so here is how I figured it out: Musk has two competing concerns here: (1) exercising options in a manner which maximizes their cost basis (see next bullet point), and (2) the trifecta of exercising before expiration (coming up in August 2022), the stocks could be overvalued (which they appear to be, and thus a market correction, and subsequent option exercise, would result in a sub-optimal cost basis), and tax rates could be about to increase (if BBB actually passes, this would be the case). Note that regardless of when the option was exercised the actual tax cost would be the same (unless, if I understand correctly, he exercised before the stock was high-valued and immediately sold the stock... this gets back to the cost basis issue), so then the goal is to optimize for these two opposing forces. This wasn't about "trolling Senator Warren", although it was conveniently timed.
Definition help: Investopedia: Cost Basis (Go to the "Example of Cost Basis" subsection for a clear example, and why having a higher cost basis in owned assets is desirable, as Musk accomplished when he exercised his options)

Tags: tax-news, capitalist-farce-news

The Majority Report (29/12/21): Some Good News About California’s Redistricting

Tags: electoral-news, voting-rights-news

Jacobin (30/12/21): Canadian Meatpacking Workers Just Won a Historic Union Contract - The meatpacking company Cargill didn’t lift a finger when a massive COVID outbreak left half its workers in High River, Alberta, ill. The business’s unwillingness to take employees’ health seriously motivated workers to fight for — and win — a new contract.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, labor-news, covid-news, busting-labor-news

Jacobin (30/12/21): Joe Biden Has Been Very Good for the Military-Industrial Complex - Joe Biden signed a record-breaking defense budget even as his domestic agenda is languishing. We’re getting all of the Pentagon spending and anti-China saber-rattling — and none of the supposedly transformative social programs.

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, dark-security-news

The Guardian (30/12/21): ‘A horrific event’: Colorado wildfires destroy hundreds of homes as thousands evacuate - Gusts of up to 110 mph whipped flames, destroying hundreds of homes and prompting the governor to declare a state of emergency - Two fast-moving wildfires driven by strong winds erupted in northern Colorado on Thursday afternoon, destroying close to 600 homes and forcing tens of thousands of residents to flee.

Tags: disaster-news, climate-change-news

The Hill (30/12/21): Colorado governor cuts 100 years off sentence for truck driver in fatal crash

This is the power truckers have!

Tags: labor-news, court-news

Jacobin (30/12/21): Vaccine Apartheid Includes Dumping Expiring Vaccines on Africa - The Global North is responding to vaccine inequality by dumping near-expired doses on African countries without infrastructure to disseminate them in time. Those doses end up in the trash — and it’s the fault of rich countries.

Tags: vaccine-ip-news, capitalist-farce-news, pharma-news

The Majority Report (30/12/21): The 2022 Agricultural Forecast by Kowalski

Tags: food-security-news, analysis-news, fail-biden-policy-news, politics-news, rural-news

The Majority Report (29/12/21): New JFK Assassination Revelations Explained

The Majority Report (30/12/21): Conspiracy time! If CIA killed JFK why didn't LBJ invade Cuba?

Tags: history-news, dark-security-news

The New Republic (27/12/21): Is New Orleans Trading Internet Access for Corporate Surveillance? - The city's plan to use smart streetlights to deliver free WiFi is causing alarm about who will own New Orleanians data.

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news, fail-neoliberal-news, capitalist-farce-news, big-tech-news]

Salon (30/12/21): By watering down COVID self-isolation period, CDC defers to commerce - “When you [cut] back your safety standards in such a transparent way, a science agency just loses credibility"

Tags: fail-government-news, covid-news

Law and Crime (29/12/21): ‘A Lie Totally Devoid of Reality’: Venezuelan Businessman Sues Fox News, Lou Dobbs, Sidney Powell Over ‘Egregious and ‘Sinister’ Claims Linked to 2020 Election

Tags: media-news, far-right-news

Tribune (27/12/21): The Tribunite who Tried to Kill Hitler - During the Second World War, Jewish socialist Hilda Monte was forced into exile by the Nazi government — but the connections she made in Britain helped her to become one of the resistance’s most formidable operatives.

Tags: history-news, far-right-news, socialist-news

David Pakman Show (30/12/21): Marjorie Taylor Greene: Ban Dems Moving to Red States from Voting

Tags: far-right-news, voting-rights-news

Haven't Read

New York Times (30/12/21): Maxwell Prosecutors Won Their Case but Shed Little New Light on Epstein - Ms. Maxwell’s sex-trafficking trial was expected to be a potential courthouse blockbuster. Those hoping for that were almost surely disappointed. [!]

Tags: crime-news, epstein-news

Vice (30/12/21): Man Allegedly Planned to Attack White House With an AR-15 and a ‘Hit List’ From TikTok - The man allegedly told investigators he wanted to “combat evil demons in the White House” by killing those in positions of power.

Tags: militant-far-right-news

Washington Post (30/12/21): BBC faces backlash after Dershowitz analyzes Maxwell case, despite accusation from alleged Epstein victim [!]

Tags: epstein-news, media-news

Common Dreams (30/12/21): DeSantis Accused of Going 'Missing in Action' as Florida Faces Omicron Explosion - "Our residents, all Florida residents, should be outraged, and they should ask the question, 'Where is our state? Where is our governor? Where is Ron DeSantis now?'" said Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings. [!]

Tags: covid-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Jacobin (30/12/21): Baristas of the World, Unite - Following on the heels of the union drive at Starbucks, a growing number of campaigns have appeared to organize coffee shops. In Pittsburgh, baristas at Coffee Tree Roasters, a local company with five stores, are unionizing with the UFCW.

Tags: labor-news

ProPublica (30/12/21): New Documents Prove Tennessee County Disproportionately Jails Black Children, and It’s Getting Worse - Newly obtained reports show that Black children in Rutherford County are locked up more than twice as often as population size would suggest. And as the rest of the country has made progress on racial disparities, the county has gotten far worse [!]

Tags: racist-policy-news, fail-government-news

Common Dreams (30/12/21): 'That's Just Wrong': Sanders Slams Buffett for Refusing to Side With Striking Steelworkers - The Vermont senator said a company owned by the mega-billionaire's massive holding conglomerate "should not be demanding wage cuts." [!]

Tags: progressive-dem-news, busting-labor-news, capitalist-farce-news

Law and Crime (30/12/21): Jury Holds Teva Pharmaceuticals and Affiliates Liable for Worsening Opioid Addiction in New York [!]

Tags: court-news, pharma-news, social-woes-news

The Guardian (30/12/21): Biden and Putin exchange warnings during phone call amid rising Ukraine tensions - Talks represent pair’s second conversation this month - Russia massing tens of thousands of troops near border [us-policy-news, russia-policy-news] [!]

Tags: us-policy-news

Posted 30 December 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page); Bleeding edge news (rough)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

New York Times (29/12/21): Ungerrymandered: Michigan’s Maps, Independently Drawn, Set Up Fair Fight - A citizen ballot initiative took redistricting out of the hands of partisan legislators. The result: competitive political districts — and an example of how to push back against hyperpartisanship.

Tags: voting-rights-news

The Economist (1/1/22): Glencore’s message to the planet - Sorry, folks. Coal will remain alive and kicking

Tags: resource-news, big-oil-news, capitalist-farce-news, climate-change-news

Jacobin (29/12/21): Biden’s Agenda Is Dying Because the Interests of the Rich and Poor Are Irreconcilable - Joe Biden’s rationale for his own presidency was that he could bring oligarchs and working people together and hammer out a compromise that worked for both. The apparent death of his legislative agenda proves what a laughable fantasy that was.

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, social-woes-news, capitalist-farce-news

Jacobin (29/12/21): There’s Absolutely No Reason We Shouldn’t Be Cutting Child Poverty - We often hear that if you increase benefits for low-income parents, they’ll just squander it on drugs and alcohol. But the best research shows that’s elitist nonsense — giving money to poor people is exactly what we need to be doing.

Tags: analysis-news, social-woes-news, fail-biden-policy-news

The Economist (1/1/22): Is a greener, faster and more decentralised alternative to Bitcoin possible? - Building better blockchains is surprisingly hard

Tags: cryptocurrency-news

Jacobin (29/12/21): To Beat the Right, We Have to Understand Their Arguments - Since the French Revolution, the Right has deployed a common set of arguments to resist the drive to democratize economic and political power. The Left will only win if we analyze their rhetoric — and counter it.

Tags: analysis-news, leftist-news, far-right-news

Al Jazeera / Bloomberg (29/12/21): SEC charges NY lender to taxi drivers with fraud - Medallion shares took a dive after US regulators accused the lender to taxi drivers in New York City of pumping its stock price by flooding media websites with bogus news articles.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news

Democracy Now (29/12/21): Daily Headlines:

U.S. Coronavirus Infections Hit All-Time High [covid-news]
Kodiak, Alaska, Hits 67°F as Climate Emergency Fuels Extreme December Weather [climate-change-news]
Family of Valentina Orellana-Peralta Demands Justice for 14-Year-Old Killed by LAPD
Judge Rejects First Amendment Claims of Proud Boys in Capitol Riot Conspiracy Case [capitol-storming-news, court-news, far-right-news]
Jan. 6 Committee Defers Request for Trump Records as White House Cites National Security [capitol-storming-news, trump-news]
Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Dies at 82 - Harry Reid, the Nevada Democrat who served as Senate majority leader during the George W. Bush and Obama administrations, has died at the age of 82. During Obama’s presidency, Reid shepherded through several major bills including the Affordable Care Act in 2010 and a $787 billion stimulus package that followed the financial crisis of 2009 - Harry Reid was one of the 77 senators who voted to authorize the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2002. Reid would later call his vote a “horrible mistake,” telling The Nevada Independent, “It tainted my heart. It was the wrong thing to do. But I was sucked in by General [Colin] Powell and others and I believed them. So I regret that, yes, I do.” [obituary-news]

Haven't Read

New York Times (28/12/21): In Quebec, some health care workers who test positive will continue working. [!]

Tags: healthcare-news, covid-news

New York Times (28/12/21): Judge Says New York Times Can Retain Project Veritas Memos, for Now - A New York appeals court said the paper did not need to immediately give up or destroy documents related to the conservative group. The paper is still prevented from publishing certain documents. [!]

Tags: court-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

The Hill (28/12/21): Cuomo to face no charges in Westchester despite 'credible' allegations [!]

Tags: cuomo-news

Common Dreams (28/12/21): 'Let's Win This Thing!': Major Philly Union Endorses PA State Senate Candidate Paul Prescod - AFSCME District Council 33 is supporting Paul Prescod for Pennsylvania's 8th Senate District because "we know he will fight for us," said union president Ernest Garrett. [!]

Tags: electoral-news, leftist-news, labor-news, union-news

Salon (28/12/21): PEN America, the "human rights" careerists and the betrayal of Julian Assange - Corporate money and Democratic Party apparatchiks have transformed PEN America into a servant of the ruling class [!]

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news

ProPublica (29/12/21): States Are Hoarding $5.2 Billion in Welfare Funds Even as the Need for Aid Grows - Bonnie Bridgforth supported five children with an $8.50-an-hour job when she was told she no longer qualified for welfare in Maine. But the state — like so many others — was sitting on a huge stockpile of funds. [!]

Tags: social-woes-news, fail-government-news

The Hill (29/12/21): Brother of Biden adviser to lobby for company that developed a COVID-19 vaccine [!]

Tags: corruption-news, pharma-news, fail-biden-policy-news

The Guardian (29/12/21): Amazon’s Alexa device tells 10-year-old to touch a penny to a live plug socket - The child had asked the Echo smart speaker for a challenge, prompting her mother to post the response on Twitter [!]

Tags: big-tech-news

Law and Crime (29/12/21): Federal Judges Order Release of Jeffrey Epstein Civil Settlement at Issue in Lawsuit Against Prince Andrew [!]

Tags: epstein-news

Posted 29 December 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page); Bleeding edge news (rough)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

The Intercept (28/12/21): Humanitarian Exemptions to Crushing U.S. Sanctions Do Little to Prevent Collapse of Afghanistan’s Economy - More Afghan people may die from sanctions than from 20 years of war.

Tags: us-policy-news, social-woes-news, disaster-news, neo-imperialism-news, economic-news

Jacobin (28/12/21): The Right Wants to Make Disabled Veterans Into the New “Welfare Queens” - Conservatives have long worked to dismantle the American welfare state. They’ve been so successful that some are even turning their sights on a formerly sacrosanct group: combat veterans returned from war.

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, social-woes-news, veterans-news

Financial Times (28/12/21): Streaming wars drive media groups to spend more than $100bn on new content - Investment outlays come amid concerns that it will be harder to attract new viewers in 2022

Paywall Summary (?): Aggregate spending estimates rising to around $140bn; Disney streaming content investment to likely grow 35-40% next year (according to Morgan Stanley), up to $33bn including sports rights. New programmes include a 'retelling of Pinocchio starring Tom Hanks, a new instalment of the Cars franchise and Obi-Wan Kenobi starring Ewan McGregor.' In the competition is Netflix (set to spend $17bn+ next year), ViacomCBS, Fox, and Apple. There is increasing concern that there isn't much profit here.

Tags: analysis-news, capitalist-farce-news, media-news, culture-news

Good Jobs First (23/12/21): Mapping Amazon 2.0 - Where the Online Giant Locates Its Warehouses and Why

Tags: logistics-news, analysis-news

State and local governments in the United States have already awarded almost $4.2 billion in economic development subsidies to Amazon---and that's just what we can track down - by far the greatest number of deals have been awarded to the company for its warehouses---particularly the so-called fulfillment centers
Governments have been using large subsidy packages to induce Amazon to locate warehouses their localities. Each deal is touted as an achievement. But is it really the tax incentives that got the warehouse there? Or is it like what Marc Wulfraat - founder and president of the logistics consulting company MWPVL International Inc. - said: - "It doesn't make sense for the government to hand out tax incentives, because if Amazon wants to be there, they're going to be there, period."
You can also see here that the warehouses tend to cluster around arterial highways through major cities.
This map shows an overlay of Amazon facilities (red) over the estimated number of households with Amazon Prime subscriptions at the county level. Not only do the warehouses overlap with Prime households, they both also correspond to the wealthier metropolitan areas.
Here you can see Amazon facilities (red) in relation to highways across the U.S (gold). It is clear that most, if not all, Amazon facilities are within 10 minutes of drive time to highways - everywhere in the country.
Many Amazon warehouses (red) are already located near major airports (blue). Proximity calculation shows that the average truck distance from an Amazon facility to the nearest major cargo airport is 21 miles, and the average truck time is 34 minutes.
“Amazon has perfected this formula - enter quietly, move fast, pit sites against each other - and used it to elicit more than $1.24 billion in subsidies from state and local governments to help build out a massive U.S. fulfillment and delivery network. Dozens of cities across the country report similar stories of secret, high-pressure negotiations.”
The massive subsidies state and local governments have given Amazon for these warehouses have been wasted - because the evolution of the Prime business model, to rapid delivery, required Amazon to build them.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, communities like Monee and Fresno and Baltimore already had dire financial needs: for affordable housing, better schools and better health care. Now with the economic depression caused by the pandemic, these communities face catastrophic losses in tax revenue and soaring public health care and public safety expenses.
Meanwhile, Amazon’s online sale surge as Americans stay home. Isn’t it time that taxpayer dollars were saved for true public necessities?

Washington Post (27/12/21): Opinion: How many people were wrongly convicted because of D.C.'s dysfunctional crime lab?

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, fail-government-news

The Majority Report (28/12/21): How To Tell Your Liberal Parents That The New York Times Is NOT Left

Tags: media-news

The New Republic (27/12/21): Abolish the Department of Agriculture - The USDA has become an inefficient monster that often promotes products that are bad for consumers and the environment. Let’s replace it with a Department of Food.

With a budget of $146 billion and about 100,000 employees, the USDA is a mammoth agency.
There are two big problems here. On the one hand, the USDA is charged with the oxymoronic double mandate of both promoting and regulating all of American agriculture—two disparate tasks that, when combined, effectively put the fox in charge of the henhouse. On the other hand, the department remains focused on the needs of agricultural producers despite the broad social, environmental, and economic impacts of agriculture. In practice, this means that the USDA’s budget and policies must satisfy large farming interests, who demand and often get something in exchange for agreeing to the USDA’s other policies.
Because the USDA administers important parts of trade, energy, labor, and sometimes even military policy, these all appear in the Farm Bill. That means that farm-state politicians (who write the legislation) and big agricultural interests (whom they serve) use their outsized leverage to shape important policies otherwise unrelated to agricultur
The throughline of all this dysfunction is simply that the USDA puts the interests of agricultural production for its own sake over everything else. As a result, the countless systemic problems of modern American agriculture go unaddressed
Lincoln had good reason to call the USDA “The People’s Department” since 50 percent of the population lived or worked on farms, and in a country of 31 million there were 1.5 million farms ... Today, however, in a country of 330 million, there are only around 2 million farms, and of those the 5 percent largest operations make up almost 60 percent of all production. Farm workers and operators, meanwhile, make up about only 1.7 percent of the U.S. labor force, even as agricultural output is higher than ever.

Tags: corruption-news, food-security-news, trump-news, fail-government-news, social-woes-news, labor-news

Democracy Now (28/12/21): Daily Headlines:

World Coronavirus Cases Hit Record High as Omicron Surges [covid-news]
Israel Tests Fourth Vaccine Doses as COVID Surges in Largely Unvaccinated African Nations [covid-news]
Biden Warns Governors of Looming Shortages of Hospital Beds as COVID-19 Cases Near Pandemic Highs [covid-news]

Haven't Read

New York Times (28/12/21): Gunman Kills 4 in Denver Area Before He’s Fatally Shot - The shooting spree on Monday night left three others wounded, including a police officer. [!]

Tags: crime-news

The Hill (28/12/21): Texas runs out of monoclonal antibody treatment effective against omicron [!]

Tags: covid-news, healthcare-news

ProPublica (28/12/21): Your Free-Range Organic Chicken May Have Been Processed at a Large Industrial Poultry Plant - To help us make sense of the opaque poultry supply chain, hundreds of ProPublica readers sent in details about their chickens and turkeys. Here’s what we learned.

Tags: industrial-failure-news, food-security-news

New York Times (28/12/21): Riot Games to Pay $100 Million in Gender Discrimination Case - The company was originally set to pay its female employees $10 million until California fought successfully for more money.

Tags: labor-news, capitalist-farce-news

The Guardian (28/12/21): Trump claims 5,000 dead people voted in Georgia – but the real number is four - Claim was part of push to overturn election but officials confirm four cases, all involving family members submitting votes [!]

Tags: electoral-news

The Hill (28/12/21): Amtrak train collides with truck, killing 83-year-old man [!]

Tags: rail-news

Posted 28 December 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page); Bleeding edge news (rough)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

Common Dreams (27/12/21): The Pentagon Just Got $778 Billion, But USAID Is Running Out of Money for Covid-19 Vaccines? - "Why is there more money for the military-industrial complex… at the same time the U.S. is refusing to spend the $25 billion needed to make enough additional vaccines to vaccinate the world?"

Tags: fail-government-news, security-news

Labor Notes (20/12/21): Who Might Strike in 2022? Hundreds of Big Contracts Will Be Up

Tags: labor-news

The Nation (27/12/21): How Workers Can Win in 2022 - They need to create a crisis in order to turn this country around. (McAlevey)

Tags: labor-news, analysis-news

David Pakman Show (27/12/21): Trump Brutally Schools Candace Owens on Vaccines

David covers an interesting Owens video released afterwards to explain this hilarious event, and reveals how brutally out of touch the far-right is

Tags: trump-news, far-right-news, covid-news, anti-vaxx-news

Common Dreams (26/12/21): Ten Predictions For the Year Ahead in Labor - Our infallible crystal ball reveals that 2022 will make workers want to holler.

Higher ed becomes a serious player in the union world
Culture wars in the union world - If unions focus their organizing on more educated and white collar workers rather than on all workers, you can bet that outside forces who despise unions will try to drive a wedge into the movement, portraying unions as elitist. This is all bullshit. Please prepare to ignore it.
The economic situation for workers gets worse.
The political situation gets worse, too
No major organizing numbers
More name brand union shops
Amazon gets cracked
More strikes.
College athlete organizing gets real.
The South will be ignored

Tags: labor-news

Jacobin (16/9/20) (OLD): The US Agriculture System Is a Disaster for Farmworkers and the Planet - US-style industrial farming has ravaged two of the world’s most fertile regions, California’s Central Valley and the Midwest’s corn belt. But we can build an agriculture system that delivers food in a sustainable way — and empowers farmworkers, too.

Tags: food-security-news, disaster-news, resource-news, capitalist-farce-news

Tribune (26/12/21): The Radical Legacy of New York’s Winter Rent Strike - On 26 December 1907, 10,000 New York families led by teenager Pauline Newman began a historic rent strike – more than a century later, their struggle remains as relevant as ever.

Tags: history-news, housing-news

The Intercept (26/12/21): The U.S. Military Is a Machine of Impunity - Wartime savagery requires that its perpetrators are told that their actions are acceptable — maybe heroic — and must not cease.

Tags: dark-security-news

Jacobin (27/12/21): Public Broadband Internet Isn’t a Luxury — It’s a Necessity - Everybody needs high-speed internet. But private corporations will never provide it. The solution: treat internet infrastructure as a public utility, funded by the public and built by union workers.

Tags: rural-news, infrastructure-news, capitalist-farce-news, labor-news, union-news

Salon (27/12/21): A Missouri gas company figured out how to keep its illegal pipeline running - By using 400,000 customers as leverage

Tags: big-oil-news, capitalist-farce-news

Salon (26/12/21): Dem lawmaker shares vile audio of death threats against her family since Trump targeted her - "Once you're in that Trump hate tunnel, you kind of don't escape it"

Tags: far-right-news

Jacobin (26/12/21): We Can Only Go Beyond Communism by Coming to Terms With Its History - Thirty years ago today, the Soviet Union collapsed. Twentieth-century communism should be understood in all its complexity, as revolution and regime, a spur to anti-colonialism and an alternative form of social democracy.

Tags: analysis-news, leftist-news, socialist-news

Jacobin (5/12/17): Our Road to Power - The twentieth century left socialists plenty of lessons. Will we heed them?

Tags: analysis-news, leftist-news, socialist-news

The Guardian (24/12/21): Latin America urges US to reduce plastic waste exports to region - Study finds exports to region doubled in 2020 with practice predicted to grow as US invests in recycling plants [industrial-failure-news]

Tags: us-policy-news, industrial-disaster-news

The Guardian (26/12/21): Christmas storms hit California with much-needed snow and rain - State says snowpack now between 114% and 137% of normal across Sierra range while southern areas get much-needed rain

Tags: climate-change-news

Democracy Now (27/12/21): Daily Headlines:

U.S. Coronavirus Cases Skyrocket as Omicron Spreads at Unprecedented Pace - Here in the U.S., more than 200,000 people are testing positive for coronavirus each day — nearly reaching last winter’s peak — with the U.S. on pace to surpass 1 million daily infections in January - Public health officials warn of a surge in pediatric COVID-19 cases, with northeastern hospitals seeing a fourfold increase in the number of children hospitalized in the past two weeks. [covid-news]
Dams Burst After Torrential Rains in Brazil; U.S. Records Record High December Temperatures - Here in the United States, hundreds of temperature records fell over the Christmas holiday weekend as Texas and southeastern states experienced spring-like conditions. Dallas-Fort Worth airport hit 82 degrees on Saturday — a Christmas record for North Texas, and just seven degrees cooler than the high on the Fourth of July. [climate-change-news, disaster-news, industrial-failure-news]
Sarah Weddington, Who Successfully Argued Roe v. Wade at Supreme Court, Dies at 76 [obituary-news]
Georgia Poll Workers Sue Rudy Giuliani, One America News for Defamation [court-news, voting-rights-news, far-right-news]
Minnesota Cop Kim Potter Guilty of Manslaughter for Killing Daunte Wright [law-enforcement-oversteps-news]

Haven't Read

Common Dreams (27/12/21): World's Top 2021 Climate Disasters Cost Nearly $200 Billion: Study - "Climate change will bankrupt us, and along the way, we will lose so much more than money," said one activist in response to the new figures. [!]

Tags: climate-change-news

ProPublica (27/12/21): A Plant That Sterilizes Medical Equipment Spews Cancer-Causing Pollution on Tens of Thousands of Schoolchildren [!]

Tags: industrial-failure-news

Posted 26 December 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page); Bleeding edge news (rough)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

Common Dreams (24/12/21): Report Spotlights Massive GOP Push to 'Hijack Elections in This Country' - "These coordinated efforts are based on the same lies about the 2020 election that led to a violent insurrection."

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, voting-rights-news, far-right-news

The Nation (23/12/21): What Columbia Graduate Workers Are Asking For - The university has finally agreed to respond to striking workers’ proposals. Here’s what’s at stake.

Tags: labor-news, union-news

The Majority Report (24/12/21): Colorado Trucker Trial Exposes Limits Of Progressive District Attorneys

Tags: labor-news, protest-news, court-news, logistics-news

Common Dreams (24/12/21): 'Packing and Cracking': New Lawsuit Challenges South Carolina's Racial Redistricting - "This is classic gerrymandering. South Carolina lawmakers surgically carved up Black communities in key areas of the state to entrench their own political power. It has got to stop."

Tags: voting-rights-news, civil-rights-news

Common Dreams (24/12/21): 'Don't Cross the Picket Line': Apple Workers Organize Christmas Eve Walkout - "We are Apple. We deserve a respectful workplace. We deserve paid sick time. We deserve protection on the frontlines. We deserve proper mental healthcare."

Tags: labor-news, big-tech-news

Jacobin (24/12/21): The Trouble With Equity

Tags: analysis-news, capitalist-farce-news, bad-democrat-news, civil-rights-news

The American Prospect (24/12/21): ‘Trucking Action Plan’ Missing in Action - The White House effort on trucking is too focused on finding more drivers and not focused enough on making trucking jobs better.

Tags: logistics-news, fail-biden-policy-news

New York Times (24/12/21): A Dangerous Court Order Against The New York Times

The Hill (25/12/21): Judge upholds prior ruling against New York Times on Project Veritas

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news, court-news, far-right-news

The Guardian (24/12/21): Ex-Georgia election workers sue Giuliani and OAN, saying fraud claims put them in danger - Ruby Freeman and daughter claim they became center of unfounded conspiracy theories and were singled out by Trump

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, far-right-news, voting-rights-news

The American Prospect (24/12/21): It’s Not Manchin - Today on TAP: It’s those other 50 members of the Senate. - It’s time for Democrats and the media to stop bashing Joe Manchin and to start bashing the other 50 members of the U.S. Senate who are keeping the public’s business from getting done—the Republicans. Especially bash-worthy are three world-class phonies named Susan Collins, Mitt Romney, and Lisa Murkowski.

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news

EFF (24/12/21): The Future is in Interoperability Not Big Tech: 2021 in Review

Here’s the interop news that excited us this year:

The US Congress took up the ACCESS Act, a law that would require the largest platforms to open up APIs to their rivals;;
The EU launched the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a sweeping pro-competition proposal. The initial draft had a lot of stuff we loved on interop, which was removed from subsequent drafts, and then, in a victory for common sense and good policy, the European Parliament put all the interop stuff back in, and more besides!

That’s not all, of course! There’s also pro-interop action that’s more of a mixed bag: for example, China’s new “cyberspace regulations” (which ban Chinese tech giants from blocking interoperability) and the policy recommendations from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority report on ad-tech, which leans heavily on interop to encourage competition (but is intended, in part, to improve the market for commercial surveillance of internet users).

Tags: big-tech-news, open-tech-news

The Majority Report (24/12/21): Are Lithium Mines In The USA On The Way?

Tags: resource-news

The Majority Report (24/12/21): Nurse Reveals How Hospital Workers Are Overworked And Excessively Traumatized Under Covid

Tags: covid-news, healthcare-news, labor-news

The Guardian (25/12/21): Nasa launches $10bn James Webb space telescope - Successor to the Hubble telescope takes off on board rocket from ESA’s launch base in French Guiana

Tags: science-news

Financial Times (24/12/21): Private equity groups spend $42bn buying companies from themselves - Value of ‘continuation fund’ deals soars 180% since 2019 as competition for new targets threatens to curb returns Paywall Summary (?): 'The deals, known as “continuation fund” sales, involve a buyout group selling a company it has owned for several years to a new fund it has more recently raised. That allows it to return cash to earlier investors within the agreed timeframe, while keeping hold of a company that either has potential to grow or is proving difficult to sell.' This was kicked off by the COVID pandemic, when dealmaking froze, and buyout firms needed to exit somehow; with big pools of cash, they are under pressure to invest - selling to themselves then becomes an opportunity. The dealmakers also make money off the sale too, a 20% share of profits, and can collect fees from investors in the new buying fund. There are, analysts say, obvious conflicts of interest here (to say the least).

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, neo-feudalism-news

The American Prospect (23/12/21): Another Crisis Surrounds Us - Today on TAP: Life expectancy drops almost two years in the U.S., and it’s not just from COVID-19.

Tags: covid-news, social-woes-news

Mother Jones (23/12/21): This Coastal Town Needs Federal Aid for Climate Adaptation. It Will Get a Military Truck Instead. - But in Iowa, sheriffs have never even used their “mine-resistant” armored vehicle during blizzards.

Tags: fail-government-news

Haven't Read

The Guardian (24/12/21): Remembering Joan Didion: ‘Her ability to operate outside of herself was unparalleled’ - The American author was not only brilliant but also generous and kind to younger writers, writes Emma Brockes [!]

I don't know her work, and normally I'd post the Democracy Now entry... but they're off for the holidays, so hopefully this does her justice.

Tags: obituary-news

Media Matters (14/12/21): Fox News covered its own Christmas tree fire nearly twice as much as the Michigan school shooting [!]

Tags: media-news, far-right-news

Media Matters (13/12/21): Newsmax provides a haven for media figures with histories of sexual misconduct [!]

Tags: media-news, far-right-news, crime-news

The Hill (25/12/21): Two Maryland hospitals declare health care 'disaster' amid rising cases [!]

Tags: covid-news, healthcare-news

Posted 24 December 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page); Bleeding edge news (rough)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

Briefing Change Log: Updated Climate Change

Common Dreams (23/12/21): 'This Is a Big Deal': Amazon Settlement With NLRB Could Ease Worker Unionization Efforts - "This settlement agreement provides a crucial commitment from Amazon to millions of its workers across the United States that it will not interfere with their right to act collectively to improve their workplace by forming a union or taking other collective action."

First Reporting: New York Times (23/12/21): Amazon Reaches Labor Deal, Giving Workers More Power to Organize - The agreement’s national scope and its concessions to organizing go further than any previous settlement that the e-commerce giant has made.

Tags: labor-news, logistics-news, big-tech-news, biden-policy-news

Esquire (22/12/21): It Seems Bad That There Are Klansmen in Law Enforcement - An undercover FBI operative infiltrated the Klan to discover they're doing their own infiltrating. (u/vankorgan on r/Libertarian)

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, far-right-news

Salon (23/12/21): Mainstream media forgets the Afghan people, as U.S. sanctions create risk of famine - When the U.S. military finally pulled out, it was a big story. But the plight of the Afghan people definitely isn't

Tags: media-news, fail-biden-policy-news, social-woes-news

Left Voice (23/12/21): Worst Person of the Year: Elon Musk Embodies Capitalism in Decline - Elon Musk is not some environmental inventor. He’s an exploiter and an old-fashioned speculator.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news

Democracy Now (23/12/21): Tea Party Redux: How the Koch Network Funds and Fuels the Anti-Lockdown Movement

Interesting piece - the correct response to COVID would show that neoliberalism (the Koch-backed ideology) is a failed ideology. In addition, a shut-down economy is bad for the Koch oil industry.

Tags: dark-money-news, anti-vaxx-news, far-right-news, analysis-news

The Majority Report (23/12/21): Candace Owens Loses Control Of Trump Interview When Donald Goes Pro-Vax

Tags: anti-vaxx-news, trump-news, covid-news, far-right-news, gop-shenanigans-news

The Majority Report (23/12/21): FBI Will Never Stop Trying To Infiltrate Progressive Movements

A nice review, and helpful critique of the NYT piece (linked) here

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Democracy Now (23/12/21): Pentagon Clamps Down on Extremism & White Supremacy After Dozens of Jan. 6 Rioters Had Military Ties

Tags: security-news, far-right-news

The American Prospect (23/12/21): New Kellogg Contract Opens the Floodgates for Exploitation - BCTGM and Kellogg ratified a new five-year contract earlier this week after workers went on strike in October. Despite the short-term gains, many workers are skeptical.

Tags: labor-news, union-news, analysis-news

The Guardian (23/12/21): Intel apologises to China over Xinjiang products and labour directive - US chipmaker responds to backlash after telling its suppliers to avoid region at centre of human rights abuse allegations

Tags: big-tech-news

The Rational National (23/12/21): Proof YouTube Suppresses Indie Left Media

Tags: media-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, big-tech-news

The American Prospect (23/12/21): Washington Moves to Clear Unhoused People From Encampments - Social welfare advocates say these evictions are counterproductive and cruel.

Tags: social-woes-news

Jacobin (23/12/21): How Chile’s Left Won - Gabriel Boric’s victory in Chile is a vindication of the mass movement that took to the streets in 2019 — and points toward a country ready to bury Pinochet’s legacy and neoliberalism for good.

Tags: lefist-news, analysis-news, electoral-news

Labor Notes (23/12/21): UPS Drivers Stage a Walk-in to Defend a Fired Co-Worker

Tags: labor-news, logistics-news

Just Security (23/12/21): Early Edition:

The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack has requested a meeting and information from Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), a close ally of former President Trump. [capitol-storming-news]
The Jan. 6 select committee also wants to question Jordan about conversations he had on Jan. 5 or 6 with “those in the Willard War Room, the Trump legal team, White House personnel or others involved in organizing or planning the actions and strategies for Jan. 6,” Thompson said. [capitol-storming-news]
A member of the Proud Boys has pleaded guilty to obstructing Congress and conspiring to obstruct law enforcement during the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. The plea is significant because the New York man has admitted to coordinating with other New York-based Proud Boys members at the front of the mob at the Capitol, though there is no evidence that the man actually entered the Capitol building. The man “is the first self-admitted member of the Proud Boys to plead guilty in a felony conspiracy case stemming from the riot and agree to cooperate with law enforcement. He is set to be sentenced March 10,” Rachel Weiner reports for the Washington Post. [militant-far-right-news, capitol-storming-news]
Michael Flynn has lost his bid in court to block a Jan. 6 select committee subpoena compelling him to testify and to produce documents, including his phone records. [far-right-news, capitol-storming-news]
President Biden has signed into law a bill to make it easier for the U.S. Capitol Police to request emergency assistance from the National Guard. [capitol-storming-news]
Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA) was carjacked at gunpoint in her Philadelphia district yesterday. [crime-news]
Two of the Treasury Department licenses create a formal exemption for U.S. officials and certain international organizations, such as the U.N., who are engaged in permitted official business with the Taliban. A third license gives non-governmental organizations protection from U.S. sanctions on the Taliban and the Haqqani Network for work on certain activities, including humanitarian projects. Daphne Psaledakis and Jonathan Landay report for Reuters. [us-policy-news]
China has defended its education exchange programs after a Harvard University professor was convicted earlier this week of lying to U.S. federal authorities and Harvard about his affiliation with China. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian declined to comment specifically on Charles Lieber’s case but reiterated China’s objection to the “repression of scientists and damage to normal China-U.S. scientific and technological exchange.” Joseph Choi reports for The Hill. [china-policy-news]
The Five Eyes intelligence alliance–which includes the U.S., U.K., Australia, New Zealand, and Canada–has warned that hackers are “actively exploiting” the recently uncovered vulnerability in Apache logging library log4j. “These vulnerabilities, especially Log4Shell, are severe,” the alliance warned in the joint alert, adding that the “vulnerabilities are likely to be exploited over an extended period.” Maggie Miller reports for The Hill. [cyber-security-news]
Data from the U.K. has suggested that the risk of overnight hospitalization from the Covid-19 Omicron variant is 40% lower than the Delta variant. Researchers also found that those that test positive with Omicron are 25% less likely to attend hospital at all, though the reduction is only 11% for those who have neither been previously infected with Covid-19 nor vaccinated. However, as daily Covid-19 cases continue to increase exponentially, U.K. experts have warned that the high transmissibility of the Omicron variant means that the health service is still at risk of being overwhelmed. Ian Sample and Heather Stewart report for the Guardian. [covid-news, healthcare-news]

Democracy Now (23/12/21): Daily Headlines:

WHO Warns Blanket Booster Programs Divert Vaccine Supply, Prolonging Pandemic [covid-news]
FDA Approves COVID-19 Pill; Most Monoclonal Antibody Treatments Fail Against Omicron [covid-news]
New York Coronavirus Cases Surge to Record High; Supreme Court to Weigh Vaccine Mandates [covid-news, court-news]
Biden Admin Extends Pause on Student Debt Repayment [biden-policy-news, social-woes-news]
Explosion at ExxonMobil Oil Refinery in Texas Injures at Least 4 [industrial-failure-news, big-oil-news]
Taylor Energy Agrees to Pay $43 Million in Settlement over U.S.’s Longest-Ever Oil Spill [big-oil-news, industrial-failure-news]
Alabama Amazon Workers Say Two Warehouse Workers Died Within Hours of Each Other - In Alabama, Amazon workers at the Bessemer warehouse are speaking out after two of their colleagues died on the job within hours of each other last month. One of them was denied sick leave before succumbing to a fatal stroke. This is Amazon worker Isaiah Thomas speaking to the outlet More Perfect Union. - Amazon workers told More Perfect Union six people have died at the warehouse this year but that Amazon is trying to stop their stories from being told. [capitalist-farce-news, labor-news, busting-labor-news]
Oscars Documentary Shorts Shortlist Includes “Takeover,” Which Recounts Young Lords’ 1970 Protest [analysis-news]

Haven't Read

Open Secrets (23/12/21): Liberal ‘dark money’ groups’ revenue soared ahead of 2020 elections [!]

Tags: dark-money-news

Law and Crime (23/12/21): Former Wisconsin Children’s Court Judge Sentenced to Federal Prison for Distributing Child Pornography from County Courthouse [!]

Tags: court-news, crime-news

The Hill 923/12/21): Biden administration revokes Georgia Medicaid work requirements - Georgia will not be allowed to impose work requirements on Medicaid beneficiaries or charge them premiums, the Biden administration announced Thursday. [!]

Tags: biden-policy-news

The Hill (23/12/21): Ohio governor signs 'born-alive' abortion measure into law [!]

Tags: civil-rights-news, gop-shenanigans-news

ProPublica (23/12/21): A Mother Needed Welfare. Instead, the State Used Welfare Funds to Take Her Son. - Arizona spends a majority of its welfare budget on the Department of Child Safety. The agency then investigates many poor parents, sometimes removing their children for reasons stemming from their poverty. [!]

Tags: fail-government-news, social-woes-news

Salon (23/12/21): The real crime wave that Fox News is ignoring: Domestic violence has increased drastically - In 2021, property crime rates were largely down — but domestic abuse has skyrocketed in an age of pandemic [!]

Tags: analysis-news, crime-news, media-news, far-right-news

Posted 23 December 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page); Bleeding edge news (rough)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

In These Times (22/12/21): Capping Off a Year of Labor Action at Amazon, Warehouse Workers Walk Off the Job in Illinois - For the first time, Amazon is experiencing a multi-site U.S. work stoppage. It comes at the end of a year marked by union organizing and labor militancy at the retail giant.

Tags: labor-news

The Majority Report (22/12/21): ICU Nurse Exposes Dangers Forcing Experienced Health Care Workers To Quit Their Jobs

Tags: labor-news, covid-news, healthcare-news, capitalist-farce-news

On Labor (22/12/21):

Notably, the [Kellogg] contract does not do away with Kellogg’s two-tier compensation system, under which newer employers received lower wages and less generous benefits than longer-tenured workers. Instead, the contract merely provides a limited avenue for lower-tier employees to attain senior status and benefits. Anthony Shelton, the president of the workers’ union, described the agreement as a “fair contract” that “makes gains and does not include any concessions.” But Trevor Bidelman, a Kellogg’s worker and the president of the union’s local Grand Rapids chapter, expressed disappointment in the contract, noting that Kellogg’s replacement threat might have swayed the vote. Nevertheless, as the Huffington Post reported yesterday, Bidelman said he was proud of workers who took to the picket lines and “[s]tay[ed] out this long,” describing the strike as a “huge step” that “inspired many people.” [labor-news, busting-labor-news]
Amazon workers are speaking out as the company continues its rollback of COVID-19 safety protocols amidst spikes in COVID-19 cases. [capitalist-farce-news, covid-news]
Ten years after fast-food workers across the United States launched the Fight for $15 movement, a record number of states and localities have followed suit. According to a report by the National Employment Law Project, twenty-one states and thirty-five cities and counties—a record number—are set to raise their minimum wages at the turn of the new year. In two states and thirty-one localities, the minimum wage will reach or exceed $15 per hour for some or all employees. Although many states—especially southern states with a disproportionate concentration of Black workers—have not budged from the federal floor of $7.25, the record number of states and localities that have or will is a testament to the decade of activism, organizing, and solidarity that made such an outcome possible. [labor-news]

Labor Notes (6/12/21): The Supply Chain Disruption Arrives ‘Just in Time’

Tags: logistics-news, labor-news, economic-news, analysis-news

Al Jazeera / Bloomberg (22/12/21): Hunger in US is on the rise as pandemic relief dries up - Low-income families may soon face additional pressures as monthly child tax credit payments end.

U.S. Census Bureau estimating more than 21 million Americans didn’t have enough to eat in early December as pandemic relief payments run out and grocery prices rise.
Low-income families may soon face more pressure with monthly child tax credit payments ending and the Senate deadlocked on legislation to extend the program backed by President Joe Biden.
The number of households in which there was sometimes or often not enough to eat reached 9.7% this month, a five month high, according to data collected between December 1 and 13 by the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey. That figure in households with children sunk from 11% to 7.8% in August, after the first child tax credit monthly payments went out.

Financial Times (22/12/21): Maersk to buy Hong Kong’s LF Logistics in $3.6bn deal - Deal part of Danish shipping group’s push into land-based distribution Paywall Summary (?): Maersk trying to move into ecommerce and road and air freight, and is buying the 'contract logistics part of LF Logistics', based in Hong Kong and '78% owned by parent group Li & Fung with Singapore state-backed fund Temasek holding the rest'. 'LF Logistics operates 223 warehouses in 14 countries across Asia and works with fashion, retail and consumer goods multinationals in the region'. 'Li & Fung will retain LF's global freight management business'. This purchase is at a high valuation of LF, coming as Maersk is plumped with lots of cash (and little debt) amidst the global logistics crisis, which has been a boon for shipping companies. It's underlying EBITDA is $22bn-$23bn this year, 'up from $8.3bn last year'.

Tags: logistics-news, capitalist-farce-news

National Review (22/12/21): How the Conservative ‘Save America Coalition’ Helped Kill Build Back Better

Straight from the horses mouth. National Review, a bellweather of far-right perspective, is telling us how their side of things killed BBB, tapping into a dark money network with millions of dollars for advertising, both locally and in Wall Street Journal, fuelling a so-called 'grassroots' phone-banking campaign, and largely marshaled by Reagan-era-cum-Trump-advising ghoul Larry Kudlow.

Tags: bad-democrat-news, gop-shenanigans-news, far-right-news, dark-money-news

On Labor (16/12/21):

After years of appointees with narrower views of the scope of workers’ rights during the Trump Administration, President Biden has begun to reverse that course. Judge Jennifer Sung, a former union-side labor lawyer and Oregon state labor board member, is now President Biden’s second successful nomination to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals [court-news, biden-policy-news]
Raytheon Technologies, the defense contractor, and other aerospace manufacturers are facing an antitrust lawsuit by former employees for unlawful anti-poaching practices. One of the employee class-action claims alleges the scheme “operated for nearly a decade,” and was “an ideal tool to suppress their employees’ compensation that was simple to implement and easy to enforce.” [capitalist-farce-news, labor-news]

The Philosophical Salon (Zizek) (14/11/21): Beyond a Neoconservative Communism

Tags: analysis-news, zizek-news

Plastic Pills (8/12/21): RADICAL THEORY vs. the CIA

Tags: analysis-news, leftist-news

Just Security (22/12/21): Early Edition:

A prominent Harvard University nanotechnology professor has been found guilty on six counts related to payments he received from a Chinese government talent program
Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) has declined the Jan. 6 House select committee’s request to speak to him. Perry was the first known lawmaker to whom the panel had reached out to for its investigation; The Jan. 6 select committee has suggested that it will move ahead with subpoenaing Perry if he does not voluntarily provide the requested information [capitol-storming-news, gop-shenanigans-news]
Michael Flynn, a former National Security Advisor to former President Trump, is suing to block the Jan. 6 select committee subpoena of his phone records. Flynn’s lawsuit, the eighth court challenge over the select committee’s ability to gather evidence on Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, was filed the day after Flynn was scheduled to testify before the committee. Katelyn Polantz reports for CNN. [capitol-storming-news, far-right-news]
Ali Alexander, the organizer of the Jan. 6 “Stop the Steal” rally, has said that he believes that the Jan. 6 select committee will subpoena Trump. Alexander, who recently took part in an eight-hour-long deposition with the panel, told right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on his InfoWars program that: “they want a nexis, is what my lawyers call it, between the people who were violent, unjustified violent, or vandalism and then you and me and the activists…So then they can connect it to a Trump staffer and then Trump. Folks, Trump will be subpoenaed by this committee.” Zachary Petrizzo reports for The Daily Beast. [capitol-storming-news, far-right-news]
The Justice Department has reversed a legal opinion from former President Trump’s era that could have required several thousand federal convicts to return to prison from home confinement if the Biden administration declares an end to the Covid-19 national emergency. Josh Gerstein reports for POLITICO. [biden-policy-news]

Democracy Now (22/12/21): Daily Headlines:

Biden Announces New Measures, Defends Vaccine Mandates, Amid Omicron Surge [biden-policy-news, covid-news]
Rep. Barbara Lee, Govs. Hogan and Walz Announce Breakthrough COVID Infections [covid-news]
U.S. Military to Announce Highly Effective COVID Vaccine [covid-news]
Israel Rolling Out 4th Dose of COVID Vaccine; France Expected to Reach 100,000 New Cases Per Day [covid-news]
Oxfam Files Complaint Against Moderna; EU Approves Novavax COVID Vaccine [covid-news, vaccine-ip-news]
Biden Says There Is Still Hope for Build Back Better as Mining Union Urges Manchin to Support Bill [biden-policy-news, union-news, bad-democrat-news]
Incoming NYC Mayor Eric Adams Attacks Council Members, Defends Support of Solitary Confinement [bad-democrat-news]
New Report Warns “Tidal Wave” of Voter Suppression Laws Set to Intensify in 2022 - A new report by the Brennan Center for Justice warns the “tidal wave of restrictive voting legislation” pushed by Republican states this year will continue in 2022 as voters prepare to cast ballots in crucial midterm elections. The group says 19 states passed 34 voter suppression laws over the past year, despite no evidence of widespread voter fraud. At least 13 bills have been prefiled in state legislatures for the coming year. [voting-rights-news, gop-shenanigans-news]

Ars Technica (22/12/21): SEC rejects Apple’s bid to block three shareholder proposals - Decision means iPhone maker will face activist scrutiny at 2022 annual meeting

Tags: big-tech-news

The Majority Report (22/12/21): Tomi Lahren Warns Fox News About Treating Kyle Rittenhouse Like A Rock Star

Tags: militant-far-right-news, gop-shenanigans-news, media-news

Defense One (22/12/21): Don’t Attack Iran - Those who advocate strikes against nuclear sites are underestimating the risks and overestimating the benefit.

Tags: security-news

Haven't Read

Al Jazeera / Bloomberg (22/12/21): Amazon warehouse workers in New York City refile union petition - The US National Labor Relations Board said the worker group filed the necessary paperwork Wednesday; it will review the union cards over the coming days. [!]

Tags: labor-news, union-news

New York Times (22/12/21): The F.B.I. Deployed Surveillance Teams Inside Portland Protests - Federal agents infiltrated Portland’s unruly racial justice protests, dressing to blend in and capturing clandestine video. The tactics raised internal concern. [!]

See Majority Report critique of this piece here

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news

Ars Technica (22/12/21): NHTSA investigating Tesla over infotainment display gaming feature - Tesla's warnings say gaming is only for front-row passengers. [!]

The Hill (22/12/21): Corporate donors gave to Manchin before announcement he wouldn't support Build Back Better: report [!]

Tags: bad-democrat-news, capitalist-farce-news, corruption-news

NBC News (17/12/21): Oklahoma Republican introduces bill to limit how slavery is taught in schools - State Rep. Jim Olsen's bill bans institutions from teaching that “one race is the unique oppressor” or “victim” in slavery. (via u/NiConcussions on r/Libertarian) [!]

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

The Intercept (22/12/21): EPA Official Prevented Staff From Warning Public About Widely Used Carcinogen - PCBTF is on a list of “green” compounds preferred by the EPA, even though there is ample evidence that it causes cancer. [!]

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news, fail-government-news

Common Dreams (22/12/21): 'Historic' NYC Pension Fund Fossil Fuel Divestment Heralded as Model for Others - One activist said this is what "every pension fund can and should" do to address the climate crisis. [!]

The Hill (22/12/21): FDA authorizes Pfizer pill to treat COVID-19 in major advance [!]

Tags: covid-news

In These Times (20/12/21): An Ohio College Privatized Its Energy and Built a Gas Plant on Campus, Outraging Students - OSU announced in 2008 its goal to go carbon neutral by 2050. Now, however, the university is pursuing the construction of a new, gas-powered energy plant despite student protests holding them accountable. [!]

Tags: big-oil-news

Wired (22/12/21): Face Recognition Is Being Banned—but It’s Still Everywhere - Two dozen cities and states prohibit use of the tech. But it’s on phones and is increasingly used in airports and in banks. [!]

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news, big-tech-news

Posted 22 December 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page); Bleeding edge news (rough)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

Common Dreams (22/12/21): Union Declares Victory as Kellogg's Strike Ends With Pay Raise, Moratorium on Plant Closures - "From picket line to picket line, Kellogg's union members stood strong and undeterred in this fight, inspiring generations of workers across the globe." -

Under the new contract, according to BCTGM, the two-tiered system would remain in place but it wouldn't be "permanent." The Washington Post reported that management "agreed to create an 'accelerated' path from one tier to the next," but some workers voiced concern that the new contract could further entrench the status quo.
"It's a trojan horse that's been given to us," one Kellogg's worker said at a rally in Battle Creek, Michigan last week, days before the vote on the contract was held.
"The agreement accomplishes something incredibly important: it breaks a cycle of concessionary bargaining that seemed irreversible even a few years ago. That's a big deal, and shouldn't be undersold," Lewis wrote. "Strikes work, but they don't work miracles. We need to be honest."
Trevor Bidelman, a Kellogg's worker and president of the BCTGM local in Battle Creek, told HuffPost that management's threat to permanently replace the unionized workers who walked off the job likely influenced the vote in favor of the new contract.

Tags: union-news, labor-news, busting-labor-news

The Majority Report (21/12/21): Chile’s New Leftist President [Boric] Wants To Bury Neoliberalism A nice review of US intervention there around the Allende-Pinochet pivot

Tags: us-policy-news, socialist-news, leftist-news, history-news

On Labor (21/12/21):

Following the first successful unionization of a Starbucks store location, workers at a Starbucks store in Seattle, the home of Starbucks’s headquarters, filed a petition for a union election to be held on January 10. [union-news, labor-news]
The Wall Street Journal has identified the growing popularity of wage increases that are tied to inflation. Cost-of-living-adjustments, or COLAs, were included in the new Deere & Co. contract and a proposed deal made at Kellogg Co. Several states are also tying minimum raise increases to increases in the cost of living. Wage raises tied to inflation used to be popular 40 to 50 years ago when inflation was high, and uncertainty regarding future inflation and increases in cost-of-living without commiserate increases in wages are refueling their use. [economic-news, labor-news]
Jennifer Abruzzo, the NLRB’s General Counsel, released a memo recommending that the NLRB loosen the secondary picketing standard. Abruzzo in her memo stated that the NLRB’s current broad ban on secondary picketing may violate the First Amendment’s right to assembly. She wants the Board to draw a distinction between secondary picketing and unlawful coercion, which would give unions greater freedom to picket at companies associated with the employer, such as suppliers and distributors. The memo was tied to a Ninth Circuit case on remand to the Board where the then-Republican majority Board had found that some janitors had illegally picketed outside a building at their workplace. [labor-news, civil-rights-news]

The Majority Report (20/12/21): Anarchist Imprisoned After Calling For Armed Defense Of The Capitol After Jan 6th

Related: The Intercept (16/10/21): A Florida Anarchist Will Spend Years in Prison for Online Posts Prompted by Jan. 6 Riot - Daniel Baker’s calls for armed defense against possible far-right attacks led to a much harsher sentence than that facing most insurrectionists. [!]

He was arrested, and sentenced to 44 months, for just calling for it. Contrast this with the treatment of the likes of Rittenhouse, and the comparable (sometimes a little less, sometimes a little more) sentencing times for January 6th rioters.

Tags: capitol-storming-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Beau of the Fifth Column (21/12/21): Let's talk about the op-ed from the generals....

About: Washington Post (17/12/21): Opinion: 3 retired generals: The military must prepare now for a 2024 insurrection [!]

Tags: capitol-storming-news, analysis-news

Al-Monitor (21/12/21): Turkish telecommunications satellite launches into space - Turkey's President thanked SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who launched the rocket, for not succumbing to “pressure of the anti-Turkey lobbies"

Tags: big-tech-news

The Majority Report (21/12/21): Manchin Reportedly Doesn’t Trust ‘Low Income People To Spend Government Money Wisely’

Tags: bad-democrat-news

Who Gets the Bird (20/12/21): Weekly Update:

Meanwhile, UFCW Local 455 in Texas continues to teeter on the edge of a massive, 14,000-worker strike, but the rumor is that a settlement is in the works. [labor-news]
165 Klamath County, OR employees with Laborers Local 737 have voted to authorize a strike; the county is providing cost of living adjustments (of 4%) but not actual base wage increases (the union is pushing for 6% annually). [labor-news]
Workers at Veritiv in Tukwila, WA, which makes paper and packaging products, have authorized a strike over both contract negotiations and COVID workplace safety; the warehouse workers are with Teamsters Local 117, and the drivers are with Teamsters Local 174. Both locals unanimously authorized strikes. [labor-news]
85 airport workers in Minneapolis voted to authorize a strike with Teamsters Local 320, as did 275 court reporters across the state of Minnesota. [labor-news]
TWU Local 234 president Willie Brown has left his post as local leader of Philadelphia’s SEPTA’s largest union to head up the Transit Division of TWU international. He’ll be replaced by Brian Pollitt to lead the local. [union-news]

Just Security (21/12/21): Early Edition:

Boeing and Airbus, the world’s two biggest plane makers, have called on the U.S. government to delay the rollout of new 5G phone services over safety concerns
The Jan. 6 select committee has asked to meet with Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) after witnesses testified to the committee that the lawmaker played an important role in the failed attempt by Trump and his allies to install Jeffrey Clark as an attorney general who would pursue false election fraud claims. [capitol-storming-news]
Far-right radio host Alex Jones is suing Pelosi and the Jan. 6 select committee to try and stop the committee from requiring his testimony and obtaining his phone records as part of its investigation [capitol-storming-news, far-right-news, media-news]
A Washington state man has been sentenced to 46 months in prison for assaulting a police officer with a dangerous weapon in a tunnel at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 [capitol-storming-news]
Former President Trump has filed a lawsuit against New York State Attorney General Letitia James that seeks to halt her long-running civil inquiry into his business practices and prevent her from participating in a separate criminal investigation [trump-news]
Like the previous rules, the new guidance does not prohibit membership in an extremist organization, but officials have said it makes it very difficult to participate. [security-news]
A group of Haitian migrants have filed a federal class action lawsuit against the U.S. government following their experience at the border in Del Rio, Texas, including interactions with Border Patrol agents on horseback. [immigrant-news]
More than 29,000 Afghan evacuees still remain on U.S. military bases, in part, due to a shortage of affordable housing and the Covid-19 pandemic. Around 2,900 Afghans are also still overseas at a handful of U.S. military posts, waiting for a flight to the United States. Nahal Toosi reports for POLITICO. [immigrant-news]
The Apache log4j vulnerability in a hugely popular piece of computer code, which came to light on Dec. 9, has been described as the “most serious” vulnerability and security breach in decades. Key points to know about the breach and its impact on the cybersecurity community are provided by Tatum Hunter and Gerrit De Vynck reporting for the Washington Post. [cyber-security-news]

Democracy Now (21/12/21): Daily Headlines:

Omicron Variant Surpasses Delta, Now Accounts for Three-Quarters of U.S. Cases - The Pentagon said it was dispatching teams of naval doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists to Wisconsin and Indiana, as hospitals in those states face shortages of beds and medical workers [covid-news]
New York Confirms Record Number of Coronavirus Infections for Fourth Straight Day [covid-news]
NHL Cancels Hockey Games Amid COVID Surge; Record Number of NFL Players Test Positive [covid-news]
White House to Make Half-Billion COVID-19 Home Test Kits Available for Free - The Biden administration is also planning to set up 20,000 new testing sites nationwide [covid-news, biden-policy-news]
EPA Rule Would Require Gas-Powered Cars to Average 55 Miles Per Gallon by 2026 [biden-policy-news]
Meanwhile, The New York Times reports the January 6 committee may refer criminal charges against former President Trump and his allies to the Justice Department. That could include wire fraud charges against Trump and other Republicans who raised millions of dollars off false assertions that the election was stolen, and felony obstruction of Congress charges against those who tried to stop the certification of electoral votes. [trump-news, capitol-storming-news]
Jury Deliberations Open in Ghislaine Maxwell Sex-Trafficking Trial [epstein-news]
Harvard Won’t Require SAT or ACT Scores for Applicants Through 2026

The Majority Report (20/12/21): Peter Thiel Tech Bro Proposes ’Wall’ Of Solar-Powered Taser Drones To Patrol US Border

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news

Haven't Read

Texas Tribune (20/12/21): The push to ban books in Texas schools spreads to public libraries - Some Texas residents are asking for greater say in what titles appear on public library shelves. (via u/amnesiac7 on r/Libertarian) [!]

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news, gop-shenanigans-news, far-right-news

The Intercept (20/12/21): Trump Admits He Got Vaccine Booster Shot in Secret, Skipping Photo-Op That Could Save Lives - Donald Trump has declined three times in the past year to try to save the lives of his fans by having himself photographed getting vaccinated against covid-19. [!]

Tags: trump-news, anti-vaxx-news

U.S. PIRG (20/12/21): EPA expands testing for 'forever chemicals' from drinking water [!]

Tags: biden-policy-news

Washington Post (21/12/21): A UAE agency put Pegasus spyware on phone of Jamal Khashoggi’s wife months before his murder, new forensics show - The new analysis challenges NSO claims that the murdered journalist’s wife, Hanan Elatr, ‘was not a target’ [!]

Tags: surveillance-anc-ensorship-news, pegasus-news

ProPublica (21/12/21): How Black Communities Become “Sacrifice Zones” for Industrial Air Pollution - One of the most dangerous chemical plants in America sits in one of West Virginia’s only majority-Black communities. For decades, residents of Institute have raised alarms about air pollution. They say concerns have “fallen on deaf ears.” [!]

Tags: racist-policy-news, industrial-failure-news

The Guardian (21/12/1): Scientists find perfectly preserved dinosaur embryo preparing to hatch like a bird - At least 66m-year-old fossil discovered in southern China reveals posture previously unseen in dinosaurs [!]

Tags: science-news

Jacobin (21/12/21): Eric Adams Just Racked Up a Surprising Political Loss - New York City’s incoming mayor, Eric Adams, was dealt an early defeat last week when his hand-picked candidate for council speaker was rejected in favor of Adrienne Adams. It's a sign that Adams will not have a rubber-stamp council at his disposal. [!]

Tags: electoral-news

The Intercept (21/12/21): Right-Wing Groups Opposed to Government Aid Cashed In While Collecting PPP Loans - Prager University Foundation, the Ayn Rand Institute, and Americans for Tax Reform saw gains while on government aid in 2020, according to new research. [!]

Tags: corruption-news, far-right-news

Posted 21 December 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page); Bleeding edge news (rough)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

Payday Report (20/12/21): After 75 Day Strike, Erie Ironworkers Win Big Changes - The tentative agreement, which covers 40 unionized workers at the plant, gives workers a 3% wage increase and a dental plan for the first time in company history that could potentially save families thousands of dollars a year on out-of-pocket medical expenditures. The agreement, however, contained no concessions on health care or union rights.

Tags: labor-news

Common Dreams (17/12/21): Trump's Jan. 6 Coup: How It Worked, How Close It Came, and Why It Failed - The planned coup nearly worked, but leftists stayed home and likely thwarted plans to call in troops to aid insurrectionists.

Tags: capitol-storming-news, analysis-news

The Hill (20/12/21): Coal miners' union urges Manchin to reconsider opposition to Biden plan

Tags: energy-news, union-news, bad-democrat-news

On Labor (20/12/21): Daily Updates:

This weekend, the Department of Labor announced an extended compliance grace period for its vaccinate-or-test rule, Bloomberg reports. The rule, which was reinstated by a divided Sixth Circuit panel, had required that companies with at least 100 employees implement vaccinate-or-test policies by January 4th. Companies will now have until January 10th, and OSHA will not issue citations for violations for non-compliance with the testing requirement until February 9th where it finds a company is “exercising reasonable, good faith efforts to come into compliance with the standard.” The Department clarified that the vaccination component of the rule does not currently require a booster shot, the New York Times reported. [biden-policy-news, covid-news]
Prepared meal company workers are experiencing more dangerous working conditions, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. It comes as companies rush to keep up with a massive increase in demand caused by the pandemic. In October, workers at a Bay Area HelloFresh warehouse wrote to Cal/OSHA to ask for greater oversight of the unsafe working conditions they face like heavy boxes stored on lofted, broken pallets. The workers said that the injury rate at their facility was 13 per 100 workers last year, compare to 3.7 per 100 workers in the transportation and warehouse industry nationwide. [labor-news, logistics-news]

Cluster of Articles/Commentary on the Politics and Consequences of Manchin and the apparent demise of Build Back Better

Salon (20/12/21): How Joe Biden lost Joe Manchin — and how he can win him back - The huge comprehensive deal that Democrats wanted may be dead — but not all is lost

Related: New York Times (26/10/21): Democrats, It’s Time to Focus on Big Wins

Tags: bad-democrat-news, fail-biden-policy-news, analysis-news, politics-news

The Majority Report (20/12/21): AOC Was Right About Joe Manchin

The Rational National (20/12/21): Squad Reacts After Manchin Plays Biden, As They Predicted

This gives the more standard progressive perspective on this issue, which the take in Salon above has a slightly different view (albeit not totally incompatible). However, do note AOC's criticism of not just Manchin, but the Democratic leadership.

Tags: bad-democrat-news, progressive-dem-news

CNN (20/12/21): Goldman Sachs cuts US economic forecast after Joe Manchin rejects Build Back Better (via Beau of the Fifth Column (see for commentary)

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, economic-news, bad-democrat-news

End of the cluster!

The American Prospect (20/12/21): Pharmacists Stage Walkout in Early Unionization Effort - Thousands of pharmacists are protesting low pay and increased workloads.

Tags: labor-news, pharma-news, antitrust-news

The Rational National (20/12/21): Trump Gets Booed By His Supporters Over New Revelation

Tags: trump-news, anti-vaxx-news

Jacobin (20/12/21): How Dark Money Bought Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court Seat - In her confirmation hearings, Amy Coney Barrett feigned ignorance of dark money groups. But she should be very familiar with such groups: new documents show that dark money bankrolled her Supreme Court nomination.

Tags: court-news, corruption-news, dark-money-news

Who Gets the Bird (12/12/21) (LAST WEEK'S, this week's will be soon): Weekly Bits:

Maximillian Alvarez looked at how companies from Kellogg’s to Warrior Met are actively using the courts to break strikes, an age-old tradition in this country. Yet another avenue a pro-labor administration could pursue. [policy-news, court-news, busting-labor-news]
Video game workers for Fortune 500 gaming company Activision Blizzard have turned their work stoppage – in support of fired coworkers at a subsidiary – into a formal unionization drive with CWA.
SEIU Local 1021 is gearing up to strike the California College of the Arts in the Bay Area, after a 97% strike authorization vote.
Elsewhere in Kaiser news, UFCW Local 324 won a case against management at the NLRB charging Kaiser managers with “breaching a locked employee file cabinet, and removing and copying union documents.” Sounds pretty bad, right? To pay for their crimes, “the settlement agreement between Kaiser, UFCW Local 324, and the NLRB requires Kaiser to post a notice promising not to violate employees’ rights.” Not a notice! [capitalist-farce-news, busting-labor-news]

Wall Street Journal (20/12/21): Himalayan Glaciers Are Melting at Furious Rate, New Study Shows - An analysis of almost 15,000 ice sheets in the region shows they are shrinking 10 times faster now than in previous centuries Paywall Summary (?): This is having knock-on effects of disasters such as flooding and avalanches throughout South Asia, leading to agricultural disruptions that could impact hundreds of millions of people. Scientists say that the Himalayan glaciers aren't just changing fast - they're changing faster than other comparable glaciers, and evidence increasingly ties the phenomena to greenhouse-gas emissions (the faster melting in Himalayas though may due to regional changes, such as shifts in the monsoon... (I must note that this itself may be a consequence of greenhouse-gas emissions)). The "faster than centuries" estimate based off of a study from Dr. Carrivick using satellite imagery of the debris trail glaciers leave behind as they slowly grind through valleys, giving an estimate of the "span of ice sheet coverage", and compared with present ice cover. Shrinking glaciers threatens agriculture, as glacial meltwater feeds major rivers in the region, and smaller glaciers leads to reduced availability for agriculture, along with heightened avalanche probability. WSJ reports from the journal The Cryosphere that between 1994 and 2017, "the Earth lost enough ice to cover the state of Michigan with a sheet 100 meters thick".

Tags: climate-change-news, food-security-news

New York Times (20/12/21): Billions [~$66bn in total, $22bn for Amtrak... it seems is what NYT is reporting, as always, American funding is confusing] in Amtrak Funding Could Modernize Aging Rail System - The $1 trillion infrastructure bill that President Biden signed into law includes money that Amtrak hopes can fix crumbling bridges and tunnels along the Northeast Corridor.

Tags: rail-news, infrastructure-news, biden-policy-news

Jacobin (20/12/21): Billionaire Space Flights Are a Carbon Bomb That Will Destroy the Planet - Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are dead set on expanding commercial space flight — even though a single person taking one of their carbon-spewing joy rides will produce more pollution in a few minutes than people belonging to 1/8th of the world population will in their entire lives.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, industrial-failure-news, climate-change-news

Just Security (20/12/21): Early Edition:

Russia has said today that it urgently needs a response from the U.S. on its sweeping security demands and has warned of a possible Russian military response unless it sees political action addressing its concerns. [russia-policy-news, us-policy-news]
Pro-Beijing candidates have claimed a victory in Hong Kong’s Legislative Council election, the first such election since China made sweeping controversial changes to the city’s electoral systems [surveillance-and-censorship-news, electoral-news]
A set of documents reviewed by the New York Times have revealed how the Chinese government, in its global online campaign to improve its image and undercut accusations of human rights abuses, manipulates Facebook and Twitter. The documents, which were part of a request for bids from contractors, reveal “in stark detail how Chinese officials tap private businesses to generate content on demand, draw followers, track critics and provide other services for information campaigns. That operation increasingly plays out on international platforms like Facebook and Twitter, which the Chinese government blocks at home,” Muyi Xiao, Paul Mozur and Gray Beltran report for the New York Times. [big-tech-news, china-policy-news]
The Myanmar military carried out a series of mass killings of civilians in July that resulted in the deaths of at least 40 men, a BBC investigation has found. The killings occurred in four separate incidents in Kani Township – an opposition stronghold in Sagaing District in Central Myanmar. It is thought that the killings were a collective punishment for attacks by militia groups demanding a return to democracy following the Feb. 1 military coup. Rebecca Henschke, Kelvin Brown and Ko Ko Aung report for BBC World Service.
The Senate will vote next month on legislation from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) to impose sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline as part of a deal that allowed Democratic lawmakers to clear dozens of Biden’s State and Treasury nominees. Jordain Carney reports for The Hill. [politics-news, us-policy-news, russia-policy-news]
Ali Alexander, an organizer behind the “Stop the Steal” rally has testified to the Jan. 6 select committee about communications that he had with Republican representatives leading up to the rally on Jan. 6. Alexander’s lawyers have revealed in a court filing that in the Dec. 9 deposition, Alexander told the committee that he had communications with Republican Reps. Andy Biggs (AZ), Mo Brooks (AL), and Paul Gosar (AZ). Alexander said that he had “a few phone conversations” with Gosar and a text exchange with Brooks about his efforts in the run-up to Jan. 6, but that he only recalled having spoken to Biggs in person. Kyle Cheney reports for POLITICO. [gop-shenanigans-news, capitol-storming-news, far-right-news]
Manchin’s refusal to support Biden’s Build Back Better Bill, has thrown Biden’s ambitious climate-change plans into doubt and may mean that Biden struggles to meet his emissions-reduction target, according to independent analysts [fail-biden-policy-news, climate-change-news, bad-democrat-news]

Democracy Now (20/12/21): Daily Headlines:

Federal Company Vaccine Mandate Reinstated; New Data Show Moderna Booster Helps Fight Omicron [covid-news]
Southwest CEO Tests Positive After Senate Hearing; Sens. Booker and Warren Announce They Have COVID [covid-news]
Omicron Sends COVID Cases Surging, Prompts New Restrictions in Israel, U.K., the Netherlands [covid-news]
Capitol Rioter Gets 5 Years in Prison, Stiffest Sentence Yet for January 6 Insurrection [capitol-storming-news]
Black Panther Russell “Maroon” Shoatz, Who Spent 22 Years in Solitary Confinement, Dies at 78 [obituary-news]

Jacobin (20/12/21): Entertainment Monopolies Are Zombifying Mass Culture - Mass culture is becoming a museum dedicated to itself, its artifacts curated by an ever-narrowing family of conglomerates. Nowhere is that clearer than in the decline of The Simpsons, whose groundbreaking satire was killed by monopoly capitalism.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, media-news

Labor Notes (20/12/21): Review: How Labor Can Stop ‘The Privatization of Everything’

Tags: privatization-news, labor-news, union-news, book-review-news

Jacobin (16/12/21): Insurance Companies Are Profiting Big Off of Climate Change - Insurance companies not only offer coverage to fossil fuel projects, but also use millions of people’s premiums to invest in the fossil fuel industry’s expansion. We can’t stop climate change without reeling the insurers in.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, big-oil-news, climate-change-news, gop-shenanigans-news, progressive-dem-news

The American Prospect (14/12/21): Why Are Democrats Enabling Republican Sabotage? - Today on TAP: Senate Dems can raise the debt limit to any level they want—why are they allowing another showdown in 2023?

Tags: bad-democrat-news, politics-news

RMTransit (18/12/21): This Downtown [Toronto] is One Big Subway Station

Tags: civil-planning-news, rail-news

Not Just Bikes (17/12/21): How to (Quickly) Build a Cycling City - Paris

He doesn't explicitly say (because he's not a political channel), but the mayor of Paris (who Not Just Bikes seems to generally review favorably, observing that rather than wasting time on pilot projects that tell us what we already know, Paris just went for it) is of the Socialist Party - neat!

Tags: civil-planning-news, rail-news, leftist-news, socialist-news

RMTransit (17/12/21): Why Loop Lines Are So Successful

Tags: rail-news, civil-planning-news

Haven't Read

Al Jazeera / Bloomberg (20/12/21): Russian with Kremlin ties charged by US with insider trading - Authorities charged Vladislav Klyushin and four others with gleaning material nonpublic information about company performance announcements and trading ahead of the news. [us-policy-news] [!]

Tags: corruption-news

Vox (20/12/21):Restarting student loan payments could be a chaotic disaster - The fallout will hit the borrowers who can least afford it. [!]

Tags: social-woes-news, fail-biden-policy-news

Al Jazeera (20/12/21): US expands guest worker programme for Haiti, Central America - The number of H-2B visas will increase by 20,000, including 6,500 for Central America and Haiti, as migration spikes. [!]

Tags: immigrant-news

The Intercept (20/12/21): U.S. Military Hid Fuel Pipeline Flaws From Public in Okinawa - A leaked report that shows the military knew for years about dangers to civilian areas follows disclosures of toxic PFAS contamination hidden from the Senate. [!]

Tags: dark-security-news, industrial-failure-news

KHN (20/12/21): Local Pharmacists Fill Rx Void as Big Brands Pull Out of Rural Areas [!]

Tags: rural-news, pharma-news

ProPublica (20/12/21): Purdue President Condemns Tactics Used to Censor Chinese Students on U.S. Campuses - After a ProPublica story showed how China is censoring dissenting students on U.S. campuses, including Purdue, university President Mitch Daniels vowed to sanction students who report classmates for exercising free speech. [!]

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news

The Intercept (16/12/21): The Mysterious Case of Joe Biden and the Future of Drone Wars - The handling of the Kabul strike is an ominous sign that while Biden has pledged to review the drone program, a long-standing mechanism for self-exoneration remains entrenched [!]

Tags: biden-policy-news, dark-security-news

Posted 20 December 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page); Bleeding edge news (rough)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

Common Dreams (18/12/21): NY Times: US Hid True Toll of Air Wars; Thousands of Dead Civilians, Many of Them Children - President Barack Obama called it “the most precise air campaign in history”

Referred-to report: New York Times (18/12/21): Hidden Pentagon Records Reveal Patterns of Failure in Deadly Airstrikes [!]

Tags: dark-security-news

On Labor (19/12/21):

Senator Joe Manchin III (D-WV) appeared on “Fox News Sunday” this morning to say that he will not support President Biden’s signature Build Back Better Act, likely sending a death knell to the $2.2 trillion social safety net, climate and tax bill at the center of the administration’s domestic agenda. - Without Mr. Manchin on board, the Biden administration will not be able to pass the bill over an evenly divided Senate. For months, Mr. Manchin’s objections to various aspects of the bill had forced the White House to reduce the scope of the package and eliminate certain programs, including a plan to bar new off-coast oil drilling and the creation of a clean electricity program - Although it remains unclear if Manchin’s fellow Democrats will respond to this news by substantially pairing back the bill to meet Manchin’s concerns, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) responded by calling for a floor vote on the legislation as it currently stands. As he told CNN, “if [Mr. Manchin] doesn’t have the courage to do the right thing for the working families of West Virginia and America, let him vote no in front of the whole world.” [bad-democrat-news, fail-biden-policy-news, politics-news]
In other news, nurses at St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts reached a tentative agreement to end their historic 285-day strike. The Massachusetts Nurses Association, which represents the 700 St. Vincent nurses, had been in negotiations with Tenet Healthcare for two years, with the final two weeks involving federal mediators and culminating in a tentative agreement during an in-person session led by U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh. Both union and hospital officials credited the involvement of Walsh as helping to bridge the divide. Details of the agreement have yet to be released, and nurses will remain on the picket line until the final agreement is ratified, which may take a few weeks. However, according to the Telegram & Gazette, union officials noted that the agreement will provide improvements in staffing, safety, health insurance and for the striking nurses to return to their jobs, calling the agreement “a tremendous victory” for the nurses, as well as for their patients and the greater community. [labor-news, healthcare-news]
Meanwhile, the Lansing State Journal reported that Michigan State University’s Board of Trustees passed a resolution to change and expedite the collective bargaining process, including by adopting a card check process for recognition of new units on campus. The measure, passed 5-3 along party lines with Republicans in dissent, will require the university to remain neutral with respect to the issue of union representation amid any employee organizing efforts, and prohibits university officials from providing any unionization information to employees other than what is required by law. Additionally, the resolution will permit the university to certify and recognize new bargaining units based on a card-check process, without the need for a secret-ballot election. However, card-check certification requires that the union obtain signed cards from a majority among all of the targeted employees in the unit, whereas an election victory only requires a majority of those who show up to vote. The MSU resolution closely mirrors one passed by the University of Michigan Board of Regents in June 2020. [labor-news]

Vice (17/12/21): A Congressman Wants Answers About Alleged ‘Modern-Day Slavery’ in Georgia - Farms in Georgia were allegedly forcing migrant workers to dig onions for pennies per bucket, sometimes at gunpoint. Now, Rep. David Scott wants to know how they were able to use a legal visa program to do it.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, immigrant-news, labor-news

The American Prospect (17/12/21): The Eternal Recurrence of Defense Contractor Price-Gouging - For the second time in three years, TransDigm has been caught ripping off the Pentagon for millions of dollars. Will there finally be some accountability?

Tags: dark-security-news, capitalist-farce-news

Financial Times (17/12/21): California hit by record rain and heavy snow months after severe fires - Storm system causes mudslides and prompts evacuations in the south of US’s most populous state Paywall Summary (?): In addition, the region hit by winds of up to 75 mph; despite all of this, large parts of the state will likely remain in a state of drought (around 28% will still bein "exceptional" drought conditions), part of a multiyear dry spell. Some of the state has been in a drought for all but 10 weeks of 2021.

Tags: climate-change-news, disaster-news

Left Voice (19/12/21): #NoTrucksToColorado: Drivers Protest the Unjust Conviction of Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos - Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos was sentenced to 110 years in prison because of a vehicle accident in 2019, caused by the company not maintaining its equipment and the brakes failing. No one but the trucking company he is/was employed by should be held accountable for this accident.

Tags: labor-news, protest-news, logistics-news

Liberation News (17/12/21): Massive new union of student researchers at the University of California wins recognition

Tags: union-news, labor-news

Salon (17/12/21): Trump goes on anti-Semitic rant, claims Israel controlled Congress and Jews run New York Times - "I'll tell you, the evangelical Christians love Israel more than the Jews in this country"

Tags: trump-news, far-right-news

On Labor (17/12/21): Daily Updates:

After workers at the D.C. independent bookstore Politics and Prose launched a union drive earlier this month, yesterday, the bookstore’s owners Bradley Graham and Lissa Muscatine hired the Jones Day law firm, infamously known for its aggressive union busting tactics as well as for representing Donald Trump in efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 Election [busting-labor-news]
Today, the NLRB certified the union victory at a Starbucks store in Buffalo, the first Starbucks location to unionize. Starbucks now has a legal obligation to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement with workers at the shop. [labor-news]

Just Security (17/12/21): Early Edition:

More than 100 House Democratic lawmakers have called on Biden to lift U.S. regulations on Cuba to help address “the worse economic and humanitarian crisis in recent history.” “The lawmakers, led by Democratic Reps. Jim McGovern (MA), Barbara Lee (CA), and Bobby Rush (IL), urged Biden in a letter to do away with specific licenses that are required to send medical supplies to Cuba as well as lift restrictions on banking and related financial transactions,” Joseph Choi reports for The Hill. [politics-news
A former defense contractor has been arrested for an alleged attempt to send information to Russia, the Justice Department (DOJ) has said. John Murray Rowe Jr. is charged with attempting to communicate national defense information to aid a foreign government, the DOJ said. Rowe was a test engineer for nearly 40 years for multiple defense contractors. According to an affidavit, “he was terminated from employment for multiple security violations, including inquiring about obtaining a security clearance from the Russian government,” Jordan Williams reports for The Hill. [dark-security-news, russia-news]
Supporters of Trump and members of far-right extremist groups who took part in the Jan. 6 attack are raising hundreds of thousands of dollars on online crowdfunding sites. In the donation appeals the individuals are portraying themselves as maligned American patriots, martyrs, and “political prisoners.” Their scripts will often transform the Jan. 6 attack into the “fantasy that it was a peaceful and patriotic protest to uphold voter integrity,” Ed Pilkington reports for the Guardian. [capitol-storming-news]
President Biden’s administration has pulled out of negotiations to offer financial compensation to thousands of migrant families separated at the border under a policy from former President Trump’s era. “Lawyers for the families said that Justice Department lawyers had advised them that they were terminating negotiations to settle claims for damages and would instead go to court to determine any compensation due to individual families. Talks had stalled, they said, after a leak in late October suggested that up to $450,000 could be paid to each of the families affected by the policy,” Miriam Jordan reports for the New York Times. [fail-biden-policy-news, trump-news]
A judge in Delaware has denied a motion from Fox News to dismiss a defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems [court-news, far-right-news]
The Republican National Committee (RNC) has agreed to cover up to $1.6 million of Trump’s personal legal bills, according to those familiar with the matter. Under the unusual arrangement the RNC will be paying to defend Trump from ongoing investigations that focus on Trump’s private business practices in New York. Josh Dawsey and David A. Fahrenthold report for the Washington Post. [gop-shenanigans-news, trump-news]
A member of the far-right extremist group Proud Boys has been sentenced to nearly three years in prison after pleading guilty in August to threatening Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and possessing ammunition. Sarakshi Rai reports for The Hill. [militant-far-right-news]
The small number of active-duty troops in the Army and Navy who are still refusing Covid-19 vaccines, without medical and administrative waivers or pending requests, will soon be dismissed from the military, officials have said. In the Army 98% of active-duty service members have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while in the Navy roughly 1.7% are still holding out. Jennifer Steinhauer reports for the New York Times. [security-news, covid-news]

Democracy Now (17/12/21): Daily Headlines:

Thousands of ICE Prisoners Denied Access to COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters [law-enforcement-oversteps-news, covid-news, immigrant-news]
Federal Judge Throws Out Opioid Settlement That Shielded Sackler Family from Lawsuits - A federal judge has thrown out a roughly $4.5 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma that shielded the Sackler family from future lawsuits. Judge Colleen McMahon of the Southern District of New York ruled the bankruptcy court does not have the authority to grant the Sacklers such legal protection. The Sacklers have refused to acknowledge any personal responsibility in the deadly opioid crisis. [pharma-news, capitalist-farce-news, court-news]
Workers at Candle Factory Destroyed by Tornado Sue Company over “Flagrant Indifference” [capitalist-farce-news, disaster-news]
Calls Mount to Overrule Senate Parliamentarian Who Rejected Immigration Proposal [bad-democrat-news, fail-government-news, immigrant-news]
U.S. May Stop Detaining Migrant Families But Pulls Out of “Zero Tolerance” Compensation Talks [

Haven't Read

Common Dreams (17/12/21): 'Give Workers a Fair Shake,' Sanders Implores CEOs in Speech to Kellogg's Strikers - "Our message to corporate America today is stop the corporate greed, start worrying about your workers and not just your CEOs, stop outsourcing our jobs, and create an economy that works for all of us and not just the few." [!]

Tags: progressive-dem-news, union-news

Common Dreams (18/12/21): US Senate Recesses for the Year Without Build Back Better, Voting Rights - But somehow managed to confirm Rahm Emanuel as ambassador to Japan [!]

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, bad-democrat-news, voting-rights-news, infrastructure-news

Mother Jones (18/12/21): The Jan. 6 Committee Is Investigating Rick Perry for a “Big Lie” Strategy Text Message - CNN: The former energy secretary allegedly pitched a plan to help Trump steal the election. [!]

Tags: capitol-storming-news, gop-shenanigans-news

The Hill (18/12/21): More South Florida officers died by COVID-19 than gunfire in the last two years [!]

Tags: covid-news

U.S. PIRG (17/12/21): Advocates celebrate EPA’s investment in toxic waste cleanup, call for more funding [!]

Tags: policy-news

Ars Technica (18/12/21): Google warns that NSO hacking is on par with elite nation-state spies - ForcedEntry is “one of the most technically sophisticated exploits.” [!]

Tags: cyber-security-news

Posted 19 December 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page); Bleeding edge news (rough)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

The Atlantic (6/12/21): Trump’s Next Coup Has Already Begun - January 6 was practice. Donald Trump’s GOP is much better positioned to subvert the next election.

This is an enormous article. I have a summarization here.

Tags: trump-news, capitol-storming-news, analysis-news, militant-far-right-news

In These Times (15/12/21): How the Mighty Culinary Union Survived the Apocalypse - After facing 98% unemployment in the depths of the pandemic, the strongest union in Las Vegas has risen again.

Tags: labor-news, union-news

Jacobin (16/12/21): Nancy Pelosi’s Defense of Political Insider Trading Is Orwellian - It’s hard to think of anything more symbolic of America’s gilded and decadent ruling class than elected officials owning pieces of the very economy they’re officially charged with managing.

Tags: bad-democrat-news, corruption-news

Labor Notes (13/12/21): Kellogg's Strikers: We Want a Clear Path Out of Two-Tier, Set in Stone

Tags: labor-news

Jacobin (15/12/21): Supply Chains Are in Crisis, but Logistics Bosses Are Doing Better Than Ever - Pre-Christmas shortages have exposed the fallibility of global supply chains’ promise to deliver all manner of goods almost instantly. Yet logistics firms’ profits are at historic highs — showing how they’ve used the crisis to entrench their power.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, logistics-news, economic-news

Jacobin (14/12/21): Fossil Fuel Companies Are Turning the US Into a Repressive Petrostate - Recent emails show corporate America is trying to stop banks divesting from fossil fuels, the latest example of fossil fuel companies looking to use state power to block and repress climate action.

Tags: big-oil-news, fail-government-news

The American Prospect (16/12/21): Liberals With Tin Ears - Today on TAP: We need to get a lot better at political language.

Tags: analysis-news

Salon (16/12/21): How Trump just "snitched" on himself in New York fraud case - Documents show huge disparities between the value of Trump's properties and his tax reporting

Tags: trump-news, tax-news, crime-news

Open Secrets (16/12/21): Conservative ‘dark money’ group raised record $50M in 2020 after election rebranding

Tags: far-right-news, dark-money-news

Just Security (16/12/21): Early Edition:

Senior Biden administration officials have warned executives from major U.S. industries that hundreds of millions of devices could be exposed to the newly revealed software flaw. The flaw is in Java-based software known as “Log4j”” that large organizations use to configure their applications. Jen Easterly, director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, has warned the executives that they need to take action to address “one of the most serious” flaws she has seen in her career. Sean Lyngaas reports for CNN. A summary of the key points to know about the Log4j security flaw is provided by Jennifer Korn reporting for CNN. [cyber-security-news, infrastructure-news]
A report from the Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General has revealed that four FBI officials “solicited, procured, and accepted commercial sex overseas, and that a fifth FBI official solicited commercial sex overseas,” while working abroad for the federal agency, “in violation of DOJ and FBI policies.”
Iran has agreed to replace surveillance cameras at a key site that manufactures advanced uranium centrifuges. However, Iran continues to block inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, from viewing the videos which the cameras produce and from replacing the full memory cards in cameras at other sites. Steven Erlanger reports for the New York Times.
The announcement of Iran’s latest concession comes as diplomats send mixed signals on the progress of talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) forwarded a text message to Mark Meadows, the former chief of staff of former President Trump, on Jan. 5, outlining a legal theory that Pence had the authority to stand in the way of the certification of the 2020 election [capitol-storming-news, gop-shenanigans-news]
Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) sued former Vice President Pence on Dec. 27, just as Trump was ratcheting up his pressure campaign against Pence, arguing that Pence should assert unilateral control over certification [gop-shenanigans-news, capitol-storming-news]
A freelance photojournalist has filed a lawsuit against the Jan. 6 select committee, seeking to block a subpoena requesting her phone records. The photographer has said that the subpoena served to Verizon seeking some of her phone records is “expansive and invasive,” and that the requested information is protected by reporter’s privilege under the First Amendment. Caroline Vakil reports for The Hill. [capitol-storming-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news]
The Biden administration is ending the practice of holding undocumented migrant families in detention centers. Instead, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are to use remote tracking technology such as ankle bracelets. According to internal government data obtained by Axios, as of Friday last week the U.S. has no migrant families in detention facilities. The last and largest facility used for such practice is now to hold only single adults, an ICE spokesperson has said. Stef W. Knight reports for Axios. [surveillance-and-censorship-news, biden-policy-news, immigrant-news]
Advocates for immigrants and civil rights groups are asking the Department of Justice to investigate Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R)’s border enforcement operation. The advocates have argued in a federal discrimination complaint that Abbott’s program, Operation Lone Star, is discriminatory and fuels anti-immigrant hatred. Arelis R. Hernández reports for the Washington Post. [immigrant-news, gop-shenanigans-news]

Democracy Now (16/12/21): Daily Headlines:

U.K. and South Africa Set Coronavirus Records as Omicron Spreads Rapidly [covid-news]
Senate Approves Record $778 Billion Pentagon Budget [fail-government-news, security-news]
Build Back Better Act Stalls in Senate Again as Joe Manchin Rejects Expanded Child Tax Credit [politics-news, social-woes-news, infrastructure-news, tax-news, bad-democrat-news]
Democrats Call on Biden to Extend Student Loan Pause, Grant Debt Forgiveness [social-woes-news, fail-biden-policy-news]
Keechant Sewell Named NYPD’s First Black Woman Commissioner; 2 Top Officers Falsified Vaccine Cards [law-enforcement-oversteps-news]
Derek Chauvin Changes Plea to “Guilty” in George Floyd Federal Civil Rights Case [racist-crime-news]
Ghislaine Maxwell Trial Moves to Defense Arguments After 2 Weeks of Harrowing Survivor Testimony [epstein-news]
bell hooks, Pioneering Black Feminist, Prolific Writer and Social Critic, Dies at 69 [obituary-news]

Havent' Read

Common Dreams (15/12/21): Senate Slammed for Passing 'Bloated' NDAA But Delaying Build Back Better Act - "Don't tell me we can't afford to fight poverty, cancel student debt, pass paid leave, and defeat the climate crisis," said Rep. Pramila Jayapal after senators approved the $786 billion military spending bill. [!]

Tags: fail-government-news, fail-biden-policy-news

Mother Jones (16/12/21): Manchin and Sinema Are Blocking Everything - Voting rights, child care, and climate legislation are all in grave peril. [!]

Tags: bad-democrat-news, social-woes-news, legislation-news

The Hill (16/12/21): FDA broadens access to abortion pills [!]

Tags: civil-rights-news

U.S. PIRG (16/12/21): New York City votes to ban gas in new buildings [!]

Tags: policy-news

New York Times (16/12/21): Congress Passes Ban on Goods From China’s Xinjiang Region Over Forced Labor Concerns - President Biden is expected to sign the bill, which drew a fierce corporate lobbying campaign against it. [!]

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, legislation-news

Salon (16/12/21): West Virginia Sen. Manchin takes the teeth out of Democrats’ plan for seniors’ dental care - While demand for dental services would go up with the benefit, dentists' most lucrative patients would be gone [!]

Tags: bad-democrat-news, legislation-news

Washington Post (16/12/21): Nearly 50,000 Facebook users may have been targets of private surveillance, company says - Report draws attention to abuses by an industry that the social media giant says engages in “indiscriminate” targeting [!]

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news, big-tech-news

Common Dreams (16/12/21): The Royal Canadian Mounted Police Serves and Protects Fossil Fuel CEOs - It is well documented that systemic racism permeates the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to its core. The RCMP's actions in Wet'suwet'en territory are deeply rooted in that racism. [!]

Tags: big-oil-news, indigenous-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news

EFF (13/12/21): This Is Not the Privacy Bill You’re Looking For [!]

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news, legislation-news

Vice (16/12/21): San Francisco’s New Answer for Its Drug Problem: More Cops - Mayor London Breed announced a policing blitz that will crack down on “all the bullshit that has destroyed our city.” [!]

Tags: fail-government-news, drug-news

Posted 16 December 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page); Bleeding edge news (rough)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

In These Times (15/12/21): 120 Manufacturers in the Global South Could Be Producing mRNA Vaccines If Big Pharma Would Only Show Them How - A new report finds that pharmaceutical monopolies are preventing the production of significant quantities of vaccines in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Tags: vaccine-ip-news, covid-news, analysis-news

The Guardian (15/12/21): Freakish wind storm brings ‘dust bowl’ conditions to tornado-devastated US states - The powerful weather system, driven by unseasonably high temperatures, closed highways, spawned tornadoes and caused outages

Tags: climate-change-news, disaster-news

Just Security (15/12/21): Early Edition:

The House has voted to recommend holding Mark Meadows, the former chief of staff of former President Trump, in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with the House Jan. 6 select committee’s subpoena. The vote was 222 to 208, with the two Republicans who serve on the committee joining Democratic party members. The vote now sends the matter to the Justice Department to consider whether to prosecute Meadows. Luke Broadwater reports for the New York Times. [capitol-storming-news]
The District of Columbia is suing the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, alleging that the far-right groups conspired to attack the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and disrupt the certification of President Biden’s election victory. The civil lawsuit, filed yesterday in federal court in Washington, names the two groups and more than 30 individuals it says are associated with them. Alexa Corse reports for the Wall Street Journal. [militant-far-right-news, capitol-storming-news]
John Eastman, the attorney who helped Trump try to persuade then-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the 2020 election, has sued Verizon and the Jan. 6 select committee [capitol-storming-news]
Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham have lashed out at the Jan. 6 committee for releasing text messages they sent to Meadows during the Jan. 6 attack. Dartunorro Clark reports for NBC News. [capitol-storming-news, far-right-news, media-news]
A man who pleaded guilty to threatening House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) the day after the Jan. 6 attack, has been sentenced to more than two years in prison [capitol-storming-news]
Phil Waldron, a retired Army colonel who worked with Trump’s outside legal team on claims of election fraud, was an invited speaker yesterday at a state commission charged with shaping Louisiana’s voting system. “Waldron’s 90-minute talk in Louisiana came just days after revelations that he circulated and briefed members of Congress on a PowerPoint presentation that urged then-Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 6 to reject electoral votes from ‘states where fraud occurred,’ replace them with Republican electors or delay counting electoral votes until ballots could be seized and recounted with the help of National Guard troops,” Emma Brown reports for the Washington Post. [trump-news, gop-shenanigans-news, far-right-news, capitol-storming-news]
Prosecutors in Manhattan are weighing whether to charge former President Trump with fraud based on financial documents that Trump used to obtain loans [trump-news, crime-news]
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by Trump that sought to block Congress from obtaining his tax returns [court-news, trump-news, tax-news]
A longtime accountant for Trump, Donald Bender, of the firm Mazars, testified recently before a New York grand jury investigating Trump’s financial practices, according to people familiar with the investigation. In recent weeks prosecutors have also interviewed Rosemary Vrablic, a former managing director at Deutsche Bank who arranged hundreds of millions of dollars in loans to Trump. Vrablic’s interview was not before the grand jury and one person said that “prosecutors pressed Vrablic about Trump’s role in dealings with the bank,” David A. Fahrenthold, Josh Dawsey, Shayna Jacobs and Jonathan O’Connell report for the Washington Post. [trump-news]
Congress has unanimously passed legislation granting the head of the Capitol Police the power to “unilaterally” request emergency backup from the D.C. National Guard and federal law enforcement agencies, without getting prior approval from the Capitol Police Board [capitol-storming-news]
The House has voted for legislation to monitor and combat Islamophobia globally. The measure calls for the State Department to establish an office headed by a special envoy appointed by the president, which would report on Islamophobia. The vote followed a rancorous debate in which Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) falsely claimed that the goal of the legislation is “to silence dissent and critiques of terrorism,” and basely claimed that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), a co-sponsor of the bill, is “affiliated with” terrorist organizations. Felicia Sonmez and Anjuman Ali report for the Washington Post. [far-right-news, politics-news]
The House has voted unanimously to ban imports from China’s Xinjiang region over concerns about human rights abuses and the use of forced labor [legislation-news, china-policy-news]
A Harvard chemistry professor, Charles Lieber, has gone on federal trial in Boston over whether he misled the U.S. Defense Department, Harvard University, and others about his relationship with the Chinese Wuhan University of Technology. [surveillance-and-censorship-news ?]
Members of the public in Myanmar are urging targeted sanctions against oil and gas funds, the single largest source of foreign currency revenue in Myanmar. “But Western governments — most notably the United States and France — have refused to take that step amid lobbying from energy company officials and resistance from countries such as Thailand, which gets gas from Myanmar,” Kristen Gelineau, Victoria Milko and Lori Hinnant report for AP. Important context: see NYT article from (22/4/21) on Chevron lobbying against such sanctions [us-policy-news, big-oil-news]
The U.S. death toll from Covid-19 has passed 800,000, with 200,000 lives having been lost after vaccines became available last spring. The figure represents the highest reported toll of any country around the world. The U.S. accounts for approximately 4% of the world’s population but about 15% of the 5.3 million known deaths from Covid-19. The Guardian reports. [covid-news]

Democracy Now (15/12/21): Daily Headlines:

Congress Votes to Increase Debt Ceiling by $2.5 Trillion, Averting Default [politics-news, economic-news]
Thermostat Reached Unprecedented 100.4 Degrees in 2020 Arctic Heat Wave [climate-change-news]
Muhammad Aziz, Exonerated in Murder of Malcolm X, Sues State of New York over Wrongful Conviction
Killing of Mario Gonzalez by Alameda Police Ruled a Homicide
Ex-NFL Player Had Severe Brain Trauma When He Shot Dead 6 People and Took His Own Life
Voting Rights Advocates Are on Hunger Strike to Demand Passage of Freedom to Vote Act [protest-news, voting-rights-news]

ZDNet (15/12/21): AWS misfires once more, just days after a massive failure - Amazon Web Services had trouble again this morning.

Tags: big-tech-news, cyber-security-news, infrastructure-news

Haven't Read

In These Times (15/12/21): Is Money for Nukes More Important Than Paid Family Leave? Congress Thinks So. - With Biden’s Build Back Better bill sidelined, the Senate just approved a gigantic military budget—including funds for “useable” nukes. That’s unconscionable. [!]

Tags: fail-government-news, social-woes-news, fail-biden-policy-news, bad-democrat-news

Business Insider (15/12/21): Pelosi rejects stock-trading ban for members of Congress: 'We are a free-market economy. They should be able to participate in that.' [!]

Tags: corruption-news, bad-democrat-news

Common Dreams (15/12/21): More Universal Programs Would Drastically Improve Financial Stability for US Families: Analysis - New report urges Senate to include expansion of the Child Tax Credit, universal child care assistance, and expanded housing assistance in the pending Build Back Better legislation. [!]

Tags: social-woes-news, policy-news

Ars Technica (15/12/21): Patch fixing critical Log4J 0-day has its own vulnerability that’s under exploit - If you've patched using Log4J 2.15.0, it's time to update again. Stat! [!]

Tags: cyber-security-news

EFF (15/12/21): Apple’s Android App to Scan for AirTags is a Necessary Step Forward, But More Anti-Stalking Mitigations Are Needed [!]

Tags: big-tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Salon (15/12/21): Kyrsten Sinema boldly fights her own party — to save another tax break for the rich - Sinema is the only Senate Democrat opposing a crackdown on tax break abused by Donald Trump and wealthy investors [!]

Tags: bad-democrat-news, tax-news, corruption-news

ProPublica (15/12/21): Reno May Use Federal Funds to Address Housing Crisis - At a recent ProPublica event, Reno council member Devon Reese said the city will announce its plans to alleviate the city’s housing crisis next month. The event followed a ProPublica investigation on redevelopment’s impact on lower-income residents. [!]

Tags: social-woes-news

Law and Crime (15/12/21): California Law Banning Private Prison Facilities Struck Down by Federal Court [!]

Tags: privatization-news, court-news

Common Dreams (15/12/21): EPA Sued Over Refusal to Close Deadly Pesticide Loophole Decimating Honey Bees - "While EPA fiddles, grave harm to bees and other pollinators continues," said one advocacy group. [!]

Tags: fail-government-news

Posted 15 December 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page); Bleeding edge news (rough)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

Ahhh, so the Fox News texts show that all that "Antifa" chatter was just a distraction, and they knew Trump had the power to put a halt on the violence on January 6th!

Revolving Door Project (14/12/21): Biden Gets Why Meat Prices Are So High. Why Isn't He Going On Offense About It?

The White House, however, has consistently advanced a different narrative, one that is actually backed by the evidence. In a Dec. 10 post on the White House blog, National Economic Council Director Brian Deese and deputies Samira Fazili and Bharat Ramamurti showed that meat prices are “the single largest contributor to the rising cost of food people consume at home,” and identified that just four conglomerates — Tyson, JBS, Marfrig, and Seaboard — control up to 85 percent of U.S. meat processing. What’s more, they show that these companies’ net profit margins have tripled since the COVID-19 pandemic began. And none of the companies’ excuses for hiking their prices stand up to scrutiny.
The blog post follows up on an earlier post from September which observed that farmers, not just consumers, are being squeezed even as the corporate meatpacking middlemen reap record profits. In other words, most of the hike in meat prices is not due to COVID-19-related disruptions - They are due to price gouging, plain and simple
Instead, Biden needs to take the fight to his villains. The media thrives on conflict — it’s the root of all storytelling, after all — and here is a ready-made conflict against unpopular price-gouging corporations. Why isn’t the administration leaning into it?

The Biden team has many weakness, but perhaps its most fatal one will be it's terrible messaging. Jesus Christ may have died on the cross, but there would be no Christianity without messaging. "Come on, man!"

Tags: fail-biden-policy, economic-news, analysis-news

Revolving Door Project (14/12/21): FDIC Chair Uses Circular Logic And Revolving Doors To Retain Unlawful Power - At the open session of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s meeting this morning, Directors Rohit Chopra and Martin Gruenberg attempted to insert their lawful vote to open a request for information (RFI) on possible updates to merger review rules into the official record. FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams declared this motion out of order, citing a decision made by the FDIC’s legal division. - The legal division’s general counsel is Nicholas Podsiadly, who until April 2019 was a lobbyist for Fifth Third Bancorp, according to his own biography with the Practising Law Institute. Until 2018, McWilliams was the Chief Legal Officer at Fifth Third. Onlookers can reasonably assume that McWilliams brought Podsiadly into the FDIC due to their prior work history, and that his first loyalty lies with her, not with the independent governance of the FDIC.

Tags: corruption-news, capitalist-farce-news, gop-shenanigans-news, trump-news

ZDNet (14/12/21): Log4j flaw: Nearly half of corporate networks have been targeted by attackers trying to use this vulnerability - Cybersecurity researchers warn on the growing pace of scans and attempted attacks looking to exploit the Java logging library security flaw.

Tags: cyber-security-news

On Labor (14/12/21):

Meanwhile [Amazon's labor practices are under fire as they have resulted in deaths during the tornado storm], the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is investigating Amazon over the collapse of the warehouse. According to OSHA, the agency has had compliance officers on site since Saturday, one day after the warehouse collapsed. OSHA can take up to six months to complete its investigation, after which it can issue citations and propose monetary penalties if it finds safety and health violations. [capitalist-farce-news]
Finally, a former National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) field examiner was criminally charged last week with taking bribes from a union-busting consulting group and sending them pictures of unfair labor practice (ULP) charge sheets. The complaint alleges that Anett Rodrigues, a 53 year-old former NLRB examiner, was paid to text the ULP charge sheets to an unnamed labor relations consulting company. Law360 identified the consultant as Labor Relations Partners, which advertises itself as “the fastest way to obtain NLRB information.” Labor Relations Partners apparently caters to a number of major law firms, who represent employers in labor disputes. [busting-labor-news, corruption-news]

Law and Crime (14/12/21): Three Residents of Pro-Trump Community in Florida Charged With Voting Multiple Times in 2020 Presidential Election

Tags: trump-news, crime-news, electoral-news

Common Dreams (13/12/21): Groups Move to Uncover Why Biden Held Huge Drilling Sale That DOJ Said Was Not Required - "The Biden administration's official position is that they were forced to conduct this sale by the court," said one activist. "But we've done our homework and we know that is not true." - Prior to that, however, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) argued—in a memo shared Monday by The Guardian—that the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) was not required to sell new leases for fossil fuel extraction on public lands and waters despite a court decision challenging the implementation of President Joe Biden's moratorium.

Tags: big-oil-news, fail-biden-policy-news

The American Prospect (13/12/21): The Inflation-Fighting Bill You Don’t Know About - An overwhelmingly bipartisan effort would finally crack down on the ocean shipping cartel

Tags: logistics-news, politics-news, infrastructure-news, capitalist-farce-news, antitrust-news

Speak Out Now (11/12/21): Johns Hopkins Healthcare Drops Medicare Coverage for Nearly 6,000 Seniors

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, healthcare-news, social-woes-news

Just Security (14/12/21): Early Edition:

None of the military personnel involved in the botched 29 Aug. drone strike that killed 10 civilians in Kabul, Afghanistan will face any kind of punishment, the Pentagon has said [us-policy-news, dark-security-news]
The new Taliban administration in Afghanistan, devoid of international recognition and cut off by the U.S. from the global financial system, is struggling to revive a devastated economy. Combined with the worst drought in decades, and the suspension of many foreign-aid projects, a crisis in Afghanistan is looming and millions of Afghans could face starvation in coming months. “We are on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe that is preventable,” the United Nations Special Representative to Afghanistan, Deborah Lyons, has said. Yaroslav Trofimov reports for the Wall Street Journal. [social-woes-news, economic-news]
Prior to the committee’s vote on Meadows, committee member Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) read aloud text messages sent to Meadows by Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. and by the Fox News hosts Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, and Brian Kilmeade urging that Trump speak out against the Jan. 6 attack. “These text messages leave no doubt…The White House knew exactly what was happening here at the Capitol,” Cheney said. Luke Broadwater and Alan Feuer report for the New York Times. [far-right-news, capitol-storming-news, trump-news]
In a series of text messages to Meadows, Trump Jr. repeatedly said that Trump had to “condemn” the violence happening during the Jan. 6 attack. “He’s got to condemn this sh*t ASAP. The Capitol Police tweet is not enough,” Trump Jr. wrote in one message, with Meadows texted back: “we need an Oval office address. He has to lead now. It has gone too far and gotten out of hand.” Paul LeBlanc reports for CNN. [far-right-news, capitol-storming-news, trump-news]
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled against the Biden administration’s bid to terminate the Trump-era “remain in Mexico” policy, which requires non-Mexican migrants to stay in Mexico until their U.S. immigration court dates. [court-news, immigrant-news]
Some of the biggest companies in the U.S. have steadily increased their donations to Republican lawmakers who voted against certifying the 2020 election results. [far-right-news, capitol-storming-news, capitalist-farce-news]
The Air Force has discharged 27 airmen for refusing to get a Covid-19 vaccine, the Pentagon has said. The individuals, who did not apply for a religious or medical exemption to vaccination, are among the first active duty service members to be removed for not meeting the Pentagon’s vaccine mandate. In October, the Air Force discharged 23 airmen in basic training and 17 who were receiving specialized training for refusing the vaccine. Roughly 97% of the active-duty members of the Air Force and Space Force are vaccinated. Nancy A. Youssef reports for the Wall Street Journal. [covid-news, security-news]

Democracy Now (14/12/21): Daily Headlines:

Ice Sheet Holding Back Vast Antarctic Glacier Poised to Collapse Within Five Years [climate-change-news]
New York City to Require Proof of Vaccination for Kids 5 and Up to Enter Public Spaces [covid-news]
Julian Assange Suffered “Mini-Stroke” in Prison While Fighting U.S. Extradition [surveillance-and-censorship-news]
350 U.S. School Shootings Have Followed the Sandy Hook Massacre 9 Years Ago [social-woes-news, crime-news]

The Rational National (14/12/21): Fox Hosts' Texts To Trump REVEALED

Tags: capitol-storming-news, far-right-news, media-news

Didn't Read

The Intercept (14/12/21): Vaccine Makers Funneled Undisclosed Campaign Cash to Democrats and Republicans in 2020 - Biotechnology Innovation Organization, the trade group for Pfizer and Moderna, made large dark-money donations during the 2020 election, a new filing reveals. [!]

Tags: dark-money-news, pharma-news

Al Jazeera (14/12/21): Andrew Cuomo ordered to forfeit $5.1M in pandemic book profits - Andrew Cuomo, former governor of New York state in the United States, wrote a book titled ‘American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic’ in 2020. [!]

Tags: cuomo-news

Common Dreams (14/12/21): 'Let's End Kellogg's Gr-r-eed': Sanders to Rally With Striking Workers in Michigan - "Kellogg's workers made the company billions during a pandemic by working 12-hour shifts," said Sen. Bernie Sanders. "But Kellogg's is now choosing corporate greed over the workers they once called 'heroes.'" [!]

Tags: progressive-dem-news, labor-news

U.S. PIRG (14/12/21): Small decrease in antibiotic sales to meat production is not enough [!]

Tags: food-security-news

ZDNet (14/12/21): Billion-dollar natural gas supplier Superior Plus hit with ransomware - Superior Plus becomes the latest oil & gas company to suffer from a ransomware attack after Colonial Pipeline was hit in May. [!]

Tags: cyber-security-news, infrastructure-news, big-oil-news

ProPublica (14/12/21): Years Before a Police Union Leader Was Raided by the FBI, Local Investigators Didn’t Pursue Allegations Against Him - City agencies were aware of misconduct claims against Sgt. Ed Mullins, the powerful leader of the NYPD’s sergeants union, but did not investigate. Years later, his home and union headquarters were raided by federal agents. [!]

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Law and Crime (14/12/21): Prince Andrew Says New York’s Child Victims Act Is ‘Unconstitutional,’ Doesn’t Apply Because Virginia Giuffre Was Over 17 [!]

Tags: epstein-news

The Hill (10/12/21): Trump accuses former ally Netanyahu of disloyalty: 'F--- him' [!]

Tags: trump-news

Common Dreams (14/12/21): Activists Say Biden 'Bamboozled' by Big Oil as Crude Export Ban Is Off Table - "But justice is coming and it's coming soon. Our movement will force this administration to make a choice: the people or fossil fuels." [!]

New York Times (14/12/21): Amtrak temporarily drops its vaccine mandate, avoiding cuts to service.

Tags: rail-news, covid-news

EFF (9/12/21): Newspapers vs Big Tech: Antitrust Tackles the Problems That Copyright Just Can’t Fix [!]

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news, capitalist-farce-news

Posted 14 December 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page); Bleeding edge news (rough)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

NBC News (13/12/21): Factory workers threatened with firing if they left before tornado, employees say - At least eight people died in the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory. Its destruction has become a symbol of the tornado's ruinous power. (via u/amnesiac7 on r/labor)

A lot went on, and just to be clear (cause I sort of blindly assumed going in), this isn't Amazon, but Mayfield Consumer Products.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, disaster-news

On Labor (13/12/21):

Core Amazon policies and business practices have come under scrutiny in the aftermath of the Amazon warehouse collapse in Edwardsville, Illinois that killed six workers last Friday. For one, the incident raised concerns about Amazon’s reliance on contractor labor, an arrangement that enables the company to avoid liability for accidents, while inhibiting union organizing. According to this New York Times report, of the 190 people who worked at the Edwardsville facility, only seven were full-time Amazon employees. That workforce composition has created logistical challenges for rescue efforts, given the difficulty of accounting for missing workers when there is “not a set staff.” [capitalist-farce-news, disaster-news, busting-labor-news]
Several warehouse employees raised concerns that the [phone] ban prevents them from remaining apprised of extreme weather events and from contacting emergency responders or loved ones during emergencies. Employees have also expressed misgivings about exclusively relying on Amazon alone to keep them informed and safe [capitalist-farce-news, disaster-news]
On Friday, a New York City measure to eliminate hiring bias from the use of artificial-intelligence (AI) tools “lapsed” into law and will take effect January 2023. The law requires employers to conduct a “bias audit” on any automated employment decision tools prior to the use of such tools [civil-rights-news, labor-news]

More Perfect Union (13/12/21): What's Really Driving The Supply Chain Crisis?

Tags: logistics-news, busting-labor-news, economic-news

The Majority Report (13/12/21): You Might Not Like Assange, But You Should Oppose His Extradition

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news

The Majority Report (13/12/21): Teachers Must Play Squid Game 'Dash For Cash' To Supply Classrooms In South Dakota

Tags: fail-government-news, capitalist-farce-news

Law and Crime (12/12/21): CNN Producer Tried to Get Parents to Let Him Train Their Daughters to Be Sexually Submissive: DOJ

Tags: crime-news

The Majority Report (12/12/21): DC National Guard Official Calls Army Generals “Absolute and Unmitigated Liars” About Jan. 6th

Tags: capitol-storming-news, dark-security-news

Just Security (13/12/21): Early Edition:

A single top secret U.S. strike cell sidestepped safeguards and repeatedly killed civilians, as it launched tens of thousands of attacks against the Islamic State in Syria. People working in the strike cell, which was called Talon Anvil and worked around the clock between 2014 to 2019, have said that it circumvented rules imposed to protect noncombatants, and alarmed its partners in the military and the CIA by killing people who had no role in the conflict. CIA officers reported their concerns to the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Inspector General and the DoD’s leadership, but never saw evidence that these concerns were taken seriously, a former CIA officer has said. Talon Anvil also clashed with Air Force intelligence teams, pushing Air Force analysts of drone footage to say that they saw evidence such as weapons that could legally justify a strike. Dave Philipps, Eric Schmitt and Mark Mazzetti report for the New York Times. [dark-security-news, us-policy-news] See some links down in the "Haven't Read" section. As you can tell, I haven't read yet, but hope to get around to.
U.S. forces carried out a “large airborne operation” and “kidnapped a number of civilians” at dawn today, Syrian state news agency SANA has reported. The American forces landed in the town of Busayra, east of Deir al-Zor in eastern Syria, the news agency reported. There was no immediate confirmation of the report. Reuters reports. [dark-security-news, us-policy-news]
The U.S. has imposed extensive human rights-related sanctions on dozens of people and entities tied to China, Myanmar, North Korea, and Bangladesh, and has added Chinese artificial intelligence company SenseTime Group to an investment blacklist. Canada and the U.K. joined the U.S. in imposing sanctions related to human rights abuses in Myanmar. China’s embassy in Washington denounced the U.S. move as “serious interference in China’s internal affairs.” Daphne Psaledakis and David Brunnstrom and Simon Lewis report for Reuters. [us-policy-news]
The Jan. 6 select committee is scrutinizing a 38-page PowerPoint document which sets out plans to overturn the 2020 election result and which Meadows has turned over to the committee. Meadows’ lawyer has said that the document was submitted to the committee because it was not privileged, and that Meadows received it by email in his inbox but did not do anything with it. Phil Waldron, a retired Army colonel, has said that he had circulated the document among Trump’s allies and on Capitol Hill before the Jan. 6 attack. Waldron said that he did not personally send the document to Meadows, but that it was possible someone on his team had done so. “The document recommended that Trump declare a national emergency to delay the certification of the election results and included a claim that China and Venezuela had obtained control over the voting infrastructure in a majority of states,” Luke Broadwater and Alan Feuer report for the New York Times. [capitol-storming-news]
It is not clear who prepared the PowerPoint, but a similar 36-page version of the document marked for dissemination has Jan. 5 metadata and is available online. The two documents have some differences but the titles and the recommendations are the same. The documents appear to be based on the theories of Jovan Hutton Pulitzer, a Texas entrepreneur and self-described inventor who has appeared on podcasts with Waldron discussing election fraud. Hugo Lowell reports for the Guardian. [capitol-storming-news]
Waldron has said that he visited the White House multiple times after the 2020 election, spoke with Meadows “maybe eight to 10 times,” and briefed Republican members of Congress on Jan. 5. Waldron, who was working with Trump’s lawyers (Rudolph Giuliani and John Eastman) at the Willard Hotel to gather purported evidence of election fraud, has also said that he once briefed Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-SC) at the White House in Meadow’s office with Giuliani present. Emma Brown, Jon Swaine, Jacqueline Alemany, Josh Dawsey, and Tom Hamburger report for the Washington Post. [capitol-storming-news]
Meadows indicated in an email on Jan. 5 that the National Guard was on standby “to protect pro Trump people,” according to documents obtained by the Jan. 6 committee that were described in a public filing yesterday night. The context for the message is unclear, as is who Meadows relayed the information to or whether it was the result of insight provided by the Defense Department. Kyle Cheney and Nicholas Wu report for POLITICO. [capitol-storming-news]
An anti-terrorism unit within the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) federal agency investigated as many as 20 U.S.-based journalists using government databases which contained personal information and were intended to track terrorists, according to documents, including an inspector general report of more than 500 pages, obtained by Yahoo News. Jana Winter reports for Yahoo News. [surveillance-and-censorship-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news]
The head of the Oklahoma National Guard has acknowledged that the current law provides little cover for service members who refuse the Pentagon’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate and there is a risk that vaccine refusal could end military careers. Ellen Mitchell reports for The Hill. [covid-news, anti-vaxx-news]

Democracy Now (13/12/21): Daily Headlines:

Biden Declares Major Federal Disaster in KY; 100+ Feared Dead After Tornadoes Rip Through 8 States [biden-policy-news, disaster-news]
Over Half a Billion People Faced Extreme Poverty Due to Healthcare Costs During Pandemic [social-woes-news, healthcare-news, covid-news]
Gov. Gavin Newsom Says He Will Use Texas Abortion Ban as Model for CA Gun Control Laws [politics-news, civil-rights-news]
Daunte Wright’s Girlfriend Testifies About Fatal Shooting by Officer Kim Potter [court-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news]
Former New Orleans Police Monitor Elected as Louisiana’s First Black Woman Sheriff

The Majority Report (12/12/21): Kanye West’s Publicist Threatened Georgia Election Worker Over Trump’s Voter Fraud Allegations

Tags: trump-news, far-right-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Haven't Read

New York Times (12/12/21): Civilian Deaths Mounted as Secret Unit Pounded ISIS - An American strike cell alarmed its partners as it raced to defeat the enemy. [!]

Related: Common Dreams (13/12/21): 'Stomach-Wrenching' Report Reveals Secret US Strike Command's High Civilian Death Toll - The unit, called Talon Anvil, is said to have killed Syrian civilians at 10 times the rate of similar airstrikes elsewhere in the so-called War on Terror. [!]

Tags: us-policy-news, dark-security-news

New York Times (13/12/21): Nassar Abuse Survivors Reach a $380 Million Settlement - The agreement reached with U.S.A. Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee will compensate more than 500 girls and women abused in the spor [!]

Tags: crime-news

The Intercept (13/12/21): After Deadly Warehouse Collapse, Amazon Workers Say They Receive Virtually No Emergency Training - Amazon employees have been discouraged from taking time off for natural disasters because it would slow down production. [!]

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, disaster-news

The Intercept (13/12/21): Startup Pitched Tasing Migrants From Drones, Video Reveals - Well-funded Brinc positions its use of robots as nonviolent, but an early promo video undercuts this message. [!]

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, law-enforcement-news, immigrant-news

Common Dreams (13/12/21): US Supreme Court Refuses to Intervene Against NY Vaccine Mandate - In the 6-3 decision, only Justices Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito dissented. [!]

Tags: court-news, covid-news

The Guardian (13/12/21): Outrage as Quebec teacher removed from classroom for wearing hijab - Fatemeh Anvari was told her headwear ran afoul of Bill 21, which bars some public servants from wearing religious symbols [!]

Tags: civil-rights-news

Common Dreams (13/12/21): 'A Gut Punch': Biden Interior Dept Quietly Plans to Strip Protections From Key Species - "We'd hoped that the horrific anti-wildlife tactics so often employed during the Trump era had ended, but it appears we were wrong," said one conservationist. [!]

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news

The Guardian (8/12/21): ‘This is a job’: Why college players reject the insidious term ‘student athlete’ - The NCAA crafted a phrase to describe the unpaid workers who generate billions in revenue every year. But now many of them are fighting back [!]

Posted 13 December 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page); Bleeding edge news (rough)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

The Guardian (11/12/21): At least 70 dead as tornadoes rip across central and southern US states - Kentucky was hardest hit as four tornadoes, including a massive storm, devastated a town and collapsed a factory building

Tags: disaster-news, climate-change-news

The Guardian (12/12/21): Biden calls on EPA to investigate role of climate crisis in deadly tornadoes - Experts say tornadoes with such intensity are rare later in the year during colder seasonal weather

Tags: disaster-news, climate-change-news, biden-policy-news

Mother Jones (11/12/21): An Election Conspiracy Theorist Responsible for Circulating Batshit Coup PowerPoint Spoke Several Times with Meadows and the Trump White House: Report - He also briefed lawmakers on the presentation the night before the Capitol riot.

Tags: capitol-storming-news, trump-news, far-right-news

Wall Street Journal (11/12/21): Austria’s Restrictions on the Unvaccinated Appear to Be Working - Covid-19 measures and a looming general vaccine mandate are persuading more to take the shot as Omicron spreads Paywall Summary (?): After a surge in cases, Austria imposed a lockdown and vaccine requirements - now cases are going down, vaccination rates are going up (up 2% since tightening restrictions, which seems to mean 15 November, 2021), and the lockdown is slowly being rolled back - Ausria has experienced the steepest fall in cases on the continent. A lockdown is in place on unvaccinated people since 15 November, and such lockdowns have been shown to increase willingness to get the shot. The booster rate is the 2nd highest in Europe after Hungary... quite interesting, given their far-right leadership, tbh (although Austria is also governed by the center-left Greens).

Tags: covid-news, analysis-news, anti-vaxx-news

On Labor (12/12/21): Weekend Update:

Amazon has received criticism not only for compelling its workers to return to work amid the sirens of tornado warnings but also for banning phones on the warehouse floor, which likely meant that workers were unaware of emergency weather warnings as the tornado approached. Moreover, meteorologists suggest that climate change was likely a major contributor to the ferocity and scope of the extraordinary December tornado outbreak, and, as this year’s World Inequality Report pointed out, Bezos’s own nine-minute joyride to the precipice of the great beyond emitted as much carbon into the atmosphere as one billion of the poorest people emit in their entire lifetimes.
On Saturday, a Senate panel released an updated proposal of the budget reconciliation bill that, following the passage of the infrastructure bill into law last month, constitutes the second, more ambitious portion of President Biden’s domestic agenda. The proposal contains, among other provisions, increased funding for labor enforcement – including a provision permitting the NLRB to impose civil monetary fines on employers who violate labor law. The package provides the NLRB with the authority to impose $50,000 civil penalties for violations of the NLRA, which could be doubled under some circumstances. The proposal also includes $350 million for the NLRA, $321 million for the EEOC, $405 million for the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division, $201 million for the OFCCP, and $707 million for OSHA, and it allocates additional funding for workforce development agencies. Pres. Biden, as the Wall Street Journal noted on Saturday, appears to be placing union support at the center of his agenda, aiming to stymie the gradual gravitation of many rank-and-file union members towards the Republican Party.
On Friday, the Supreme Court announced that it will consider whether a Southwest Airlines cargo ramp supervisor should be considered a transportation worker involved in the flow of interstate commerce and thus exempt under §1 of the Federal Arbitration Act, which would permit her to bring her overtime claim in court despite a mandatory arbitration provision in her employment contract ... The Supreme Court’s fealty to private arbitration agreements, however, as demonstrated in its modern FAA jurisprudence, might not bode well for the worker’s claim.
For those interested in a longer weekend read, a Saturday Washington Post piece details the failed UFCW campaign at a Connecticut Dollar General in October. Through a detailed exploration of the lives of the workers who spearheaded the campaign, it illustrates many of the themes that animate modern labor organizing – such as desperation, low-wage work, instability, and insecurity, all playing out amid a backdrop of poverty, inequality, and deindustrialization – but also demonstrates the hope, opportunity, solidarity, and strength offered to ordinary workers by unions and the labor movement. It is a bleak but profoundly inspiring article.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, climate-change-news, biden-policy-news, union-news, labor-news, court-news

Haven't Read

Left Voice (12/12/21): Workers at Video Game Company Activision Blizzard Lead Week-Long Work Stoppage - Workers at video gaming company Activision Blizzard entered a five-day work stoppage and are making moves to unionize. This worker action could have powerful effects for the industry. [!]

Tags: labor-news

Posted 11 December 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page); Bleeding edge news (rough)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

The Hill (12/12/21): Biden sharply criticizes Kellogg's plan to replace striking workers

Tags: biden-policy-news, busting-labor-news, capitalist-farce-news

Jacobin (10/12/21): Seattle’s Capitalists Couldn’t Defeat Kshama Sawant - Seattle socialist city councilor Kshama Sawant has been subject to repeated corporate-backed attempts to remove her from office. Last night, she defeated yet another. Despite attacks from some of the world’s most powerful capitalists, Sawant isn’t going anywhere.

Tags: good-news, socialist-news, capitalist-farce-news, electoral-news

Reuters (9/12/21): Georgia Republicans purge Black Democrats from county election boards

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, voting-rights-news, analysis-news

CPJ (10/12/21): UK ruling on extraditing Wikileaks’ Assange ‘seriously damages journalism’ - The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed deep disappointment at a British court’s decision to uphold the United States Justice Department’s appeal to extradite Julian Assange, which allows the U.S. to continue pursuing the extradition of the WikiLeaks founder, according to news reports.

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news

The American Prospect (10/12/21): A Good Day for Labor - Today on TAP: As the EU provides rules for gig workers, young people foul up Kellogg’s strikebreaking plans.

Tags: labor-news

New York Times (10/12/21): Supreme Court Allows Challenge to Texas Abortion Law but Leaves It in Effect - The law, which bans most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, was drafted to evade review in federal court and has been in effect since September.

'“Make no mistake,” he [Mr. Hearron, a lawyer for abortion providers] said. “While the court allowed our legal challenge to proceed against some state licensing officials, an injunction against those officials will not block Texas’ bounty-hunting scheme.”'

'“In this preliminary posture,” he [(Conservative) Justice Gorsuch wrote, “the ultimate merits question — whether S.B. 8 is consistent with the federal Constitution — is not before the court. Nor is the wisdom of S.B. 8 as a matter of public policy.”'

The effect of this is that abortion restrictions stay in place, while the conservative Supreme Court nominally leaves a window for challenge open - this is the 2nd time the issue has been raised to the Supreme Court though. As Justice Sotomayor points out, this should have been thrown out by now.

Tags: civil-rights-news, court-news

On Labor (10/12/21): Death-by-a-Thousand-Papercuts: The Pandemic’s Tremendous Toll on K-12 Teachers

Related: Jacobin (10/12/21): The Great American Teacher Exodus - Chronic disinvestment in public education, a corporate reform model that punishes student poverty, and the pandemic’s disruption of school life are making it impossible for teachers to do the job they love. Many educators are reaching their breaking points.

Tags: labor-news, social-woes-news, fail-government-news, fail-biden-policy-news

Jacobin (10/12/21): A New Report Shows Just How Brutal Amazon Warehouse Work Can Get - A new report finds that Amazon warehouses in Minnesota have more than double the injury rate of non-Amazon warehouses, with a sky-high turnover rate and black workers making far less than their white counterparts.

Tags: labor-news, capitalist-farce-news, logistics-news

Jacobin (10/12/21): Who Cares About Welfare Fraud?

Tags: social-woes-news, far-right-news, economic-news

Mother Jones (10/12/21): Pro-Bernie Nevada Dems and the DNC Are in a Voter Data Feud - Is this a Democratic establishment power grab?

Tags: bad-democrat-news, progressive-dem-news, politics-news

The Revolving Door Project (10/12/21): The "Coup" At The FDIC Is Jelena McWilliams Overturning Majority And Congressional Will

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, fail-government-news

Just Security (10/12/21): Early Edition:

The U.S.-led global coalition against the Islamic State (IS) has ended its combat mission in Iraq. However, the 2,500 troops currently in the country will, at the Iraqi government’s invitation, remain to “advise, assist and enable” Iraqi security forces. BBC News reports.
A growing number of Republican Senators are seeking to find ways around Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)’s block on confirmation votes for 54 of President Biden’s ambassador nominees. Republicans reportedly are discussing potential workarounds with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), including potentially allowing the Senate to vote on five nominees at a time. Manu Raju and Ted Barrett report for CNN.
The Biden administration is expected to announce an initiative today to tighten U.S. restrictions on exports of cyber tools that have been used by authoritarian governments and bad actors for repression. Laura Kelly reports for The Hill.
The U.S. is determined to walk Bosnia “back from the cliff” amid secessionist threats from Serb nationalists and is exploring sanctions, according to senior adviser to Secretary of State Antony Blinken Derek Chollet. Julian Borger reports for the Guardian.
The Uyghur Tribunal, a U.K.-based panel of lawyers, academics and activists, has concluded that China’s policies regarding the treatment of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang amount to a form of genocide. The panel’s judgment “found that the Chinese government, through policies including what it described as forced birth control and sterilizations, intends to partially destroy the predominantly Muslim Uyghur community and its way of life; and that Chinese President Xi Jinping and other senior officials bore ‘primary responsibility for acts in Xinjiang,’” Sha Hu reports for the Wall Street Journal.
A federal appeals court has thrown out former President Trump’s effort to stop the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack from obtaining Trump’s White House records
Two former top D.C. National Guard officials are claiming that an internal Army report on the army’s response to the Jan. 6 attack is incorrect
Multiple whistleblowers who worked in the Capitol Police intelligence division on Jan. 6 have since faced retaliation, according to an employment lawyer representing the individuals.
The final version of the annual defense policy bill, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), will create a new office to study UFOs, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) has announced
Georgian Republicans have purged Black Democrats from county election boards as part of a national Republican effort to expand control over election administration in the wake of former President Trump’s false voter-fraud claims HUGE RED FLAG
New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking a deposition from Trump in January next year as part of the civil investigation into whether Trump’s company, Trump Organization, committed financial fraud in the valuations of properties to different entities.
The Democratic-led New York City Council has approved a bill that will allow more than 800,000 non-U.S. citizen residents to vote in municipal elections, becoming the largest U.S. city to grant access to the polls to non-citizens. Jimmy Vielkind reports for the Wall Street Journal.

Tags: international-news, politics-news, gop-shenanigans-news, cyber-security-news, biden-policy-news, social-woes-news, court-news, capitol-storming-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, security-news, voting-rights-news, trump-news

Democracy Now (10/12/21): Daily Headlines:

Venezuela’s Juan Guaidó, Who Led Failed Coup Efforts, Speaks at White House Democracy Summit - The Biden administration continues to recognize Guaidó as Venezuela’s leader. That’s despite his involvement in a failed coup attempt in 2019 and his failed bid in 2020 to storm parliament with a group of lawmakers in order to forcefully swear himself in as Venezuela’s leader. Guaidó was also linked to a failed coup plot in 2020 led by Venezuelan dissidents and an American mercenary company.
New York Attorney General Letitia James Ends Gubernatorial Bid, Will Subpoena Trump
National Guard Called Out as COVID-19 Cases Overwhelm U.S. Hospitals
WHO Warns Rich Countries Against Vaccine Hoarding as Omicron Variant Spreads
Police Thwart Possible Columbine-Inspired Mass Shooting at Florida College
Texas Court Finds Abortion Ban Unconstitutional, But Stops Short of Injunction
Environmental Lawyer Steven Donziger Released to Serve Rest of Prison Sentence from Home - Donziger was sentenced in October for contempt of court, after a corporate prosecutor tied to the oil and gas industry went after him for successfully taking on Chevron on behalf of Indigenous groups in the Ecuadorian Amazon whose land and water were contaminated by the oil giant

Tags: international-news, trump-news, covid-news, vaccine-ip-news, crime-news, court-news, civil-rights-news, gop-shenanigans-news, big-oil-news

New York Times (9/12/21): Columbus Reaches $5.75 Million Settlement Agreement With Protesters - Under the deal, which is subject to City Council approval, the money would go to 32 plaintiffs who said they were injured by the police during 2020 social justice protests.

Tags: protest-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news

Haven't Read

Al Jazeera (10/12/21): Biden halts US funding for new fossil fuel projects overseas - The policy bans federal funding of overseas coal projects that do not capture or partially capture carbon emissions. [!]

Tags: big-oil-news, biden-policy-news

Law and Crime (10/12/21): Kanye West Publicist Pressured Georgia Election Worker to Falsely Confess to Manipulating Votes: Report [!]

Tags: trump-news

Posted 10 December 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page); Bleeding edge news (rough)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

Left Voice (9/12/21): One Down, 8,952 Starbucks to Go: Buffalo Baristas Make Unionizing History - Starbucks workers at a store in Buffalo, New York voted in favor of a union today, making them the first Starbucks workers to unionize in the United States. Two other stores in Buffalo are in the process of counting their votes.

Tags: labor-news, union-news

Popular Front (8/12/21): Is Russia About to Invade Ukraine? - We speak to independent Ukrainian journalist Illia Ponomarenko about the tense situation right now between Ukraine and Russia. Will Putin invade?

Taking a look at the Ukraine page, if you see around (8/11/21), the Kyiv Post, a big newspaper in the country (and oldest English-language in Ukraine), was suspended due to the conflicting interests of the oligarch who owned it and the independence of its journalists, and on (12/11/21) said journalists announced they would form a new outlet, the Kyiv Independent. On this podcast, Jake speaks with a reporter from that outlet, Illia Ponomarenko, to get a reporter's insight into developments on the ground. He reports that the Kremlin-backed Donbas largely have low morale, and are in it because they need a paycheck, that the coup allegations from Zelensky (26/11/21) were probably made up, that protests occur almost daily in Kyiv, how scary the threat of Russian invasion is, but reasons why an invasion is unlikely right now.

Tags: russia-policy-news, podcast-news, capitalist-farce-news

The Intercept (9/12/21): Your Debt Is Someone Else’s Asset - Student loans, medical bills, credit cards — Americans are drowning in a record-breaking $15 trillion in debt.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, social-woes-news

On Labor (8/12/21):

Reuters reported yesterday that Kellogg Co. plans to hire permanent replacements for approximately 1,400 workers who have been on strike from four plants across the Midwest and Southeast since early October. Kellogg had previously threatened to replace striking workers but reiterated its threat—and announced that it had no plans to bargain further with the union—after workers rejected a revised contract proposal that would have preserved a two-tier compensation structure unfavorable to newer workers. OnLabor’s own David Doorey posted an analysis last night explaining the roots of American labor law’s permissive stance on striker replacements—and how Canada’s more pro-worker approach offers an alternative model.
The Guardian explored the term “student-athlete” in an article this morning about labor issues in college sports. Objections to the term, The Guardian explained, are widespread because it obscures the extent to which these athletes are workers and presents a misleading impression that they retain the freedom to put school first. Even NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo has weighed in, taking “direct aim at the NCAA’s use of the term” as undermining college athlete’s efforts to organize for workplace rights. As one such athlete emphasized, “It is silly to try and pretend that we function as regular students who simply participate in an extracurricular activity. This is a job.”

Tags: busting-labor-news, analysis-news

The Economist (11/12/21): How landlords thwart America’s attempts to house poor people - It is one thing to receive a housing voucher and quite another to successfully use it

When towering public-housing projects were demolished in the 1990s, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) used vouchers as a way to house America’s poor through the private market
With a voucher, tenants put 30% of their monthly income towards rent and the federal government covers the rest. Many people on voucher waiting lists are homeless or living with their families. Nearly half of all voucher-holders are black, 70% are racial minorities and about a third earn less than $10,000 a year.
A new study from the Housing Initiative at Penn, a research outfit at the University of Pennsylvania, estimates that 10.4m households would be eligible for a voucher under HUD’s criteria, four times as many families as there are vouchers for
The Penn researchers found that only about one in five households who were eligible for a voucher successfully obtained and used one in 2019. It is tricky to find a home to rent at all in a tight market. But poor renters face extra barriers. The HCVP only gives voucher-holders two months to sign a lease before they need an extension; security deposits can be pricey; and voucher-holders may not have access to a car or a computer to help with their search.
The biggest barrier to using a voucher may be the outsize role that landlords play in choosing whom to rent to ... The authors found that they had to look at 39 adverts, on average, to find one potential home. When they called landlords to check whether they would accept a housing voucher, more than 75% of property-owners in Fort Worth and Los Angeles immediately declined.
While the Democrats’ Build Back Better bill focuses on increasing the number of vouchers, it also includes $230m in incentive programmes to entice more landlords to accept them
Other adjustments could make the programme more effective. The maximum amount of money a landlord can get from the government is based on the average rent for an entire metropolitan area. Some landlords in poor neighbourhoods covet voucher-holders because they can charge much more for a unit than it would otherwise fetch

Jesus Christ, even the Economist can't dress up this neoliberal nightmare. Just give us public housing, why do we need this byzantine, ineffective system that leaves millions out to dry, and enriches landlords?? This idea that free markets are the most effective thing is both inhumane, and totally wrong - if you need the government to subsidize your market, how is that more efficient than the government just providing the damn service?

Tags: social-woes-news, capitalist-farce-news, fail-government-news

Related: Jacobin (8/12/21): "Gentrification" Is Not About Race. It's Class — Touré Reed & Adolph Reed

Adolph Reed: "Publically-subsidized rent intensifying redevelopment, that's what the process is. One of the things that happens is, is if you define the problem as cultural displacement, then that opens the door for the response to be, 'representation in the process'. Through the alchemy that makes the first person singular into the first person plural, the benefit for the developer from the community, stands in for the benefits supposedly going to the people who are displaced. If you misidentify the process, then you can't address it in an effective way."

Tags: social-woes-news, capitalist-farce-news, economic-news

The Majority Report (9/12/21): Elon Musk’s Childlike Libertarian Fantasy That Government Is The Biggest Corporation

A nice teardown of Musk's capitalist propaganda by Sam.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news

Jacobin (8/12/21): The Weapons Industry Couldn’t Be Happier About Biden’s Nominee for Pentagon Arms Buyer - The revolving door between the Pentagon and the military industry never stops spinning. The latest to walk through it: Bill LaPlante, who's moving from the arms industry to a top government position — buying arms from the arms industry.

Tags: corruption-news, dark-security-news, fail-biden-policy-news, fail-government-news, capitalist-farce-news

Payday Report (8/12/21): Daily Updates:

In October, 98% of IATSE members voted to strike against the major Hollywood studios. However, many were disappointed when the union cut a tentative agreement and the strike did not occur. - ... - However, some small groups of film production workers in both Oklahoma and Georgia have chosen to strike in hopes of improving conditions on film sets.
Yesterday, teachers in Richmond became the first teachers in Virginia to be granted collective bargaining rights. - The move comes after a law took effect this spring granting municipalities in Virginia the ability to enter collective bargaining agreements.
In Bethlehem, PA, 75 Coca-Cola delivery drivers are spending their days leading up to the holidays out on the picket line. - On Monday, delivery drivers, members of Teamsters Local 733, went on strike. - Workers are protesting the decision of the company to try and eliminate defined pension plans and switch to 401K plans. The union is also upset the company is demanding workers, who were essential employees throughout the pandemic, pay more for their healthcare.
10,622 out of 10,890 from University of California Student Researchers United (SRU) voted to authorize a strike for union recognition with UAW.

The Revolving Door Project (9/12/21): Big Business Taps Trump's Lead Union-Buster To Attack Workers' Rights - On Wednesday, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and International Franchise Association, two big business advocacy groups, named Philip Miscimarra to lead their campaign to undermine franchise and sub-contractor workers’ rights. - Following his departure from the NLRB, Miscimarra immediately returned to the law firm MorganLewis, whose clients include about 90 percent of Fortune 100 corporations, including 9 of the 10 largest corporations, and two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies. He now serves these corporate clients by leading MorganLewis’ NLRB appeals practice.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, trump-news, busting-labor-news

Ars Technica (8/12/21): Apple reaches quiet truce over iPhone privacy changes - Apple is trusting the same groups CEO called "hucksters" trying to make "a quick buck."

Tags: big-tech-news, capitalist-farce-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

The Economist (9/12/21): The Supreme Court seems ready to poke a hole in the church-state wall - Government funding for religious schools gets a high-court hearing

Tags: far-right-news, gop-shenanigans-news, court-news, fail-government-news

Left Voice (9/12/21): The U.S. Navy Poisoned Hawaii’s Water — and Covered It Up - In the latest instance of military pollution and cover-ups, the U.S. Navy has been leaking jet fuel into drinking water in Honolulu. The environmental movement must stand with victims of climate imperialism

Tags: industrial-failure-news, fail-government-news

Jacobin (9/12/21): Democrats Chose Bad Policy Over Truly Universal Childcare - Democrats’ half-baked childcare proposal opened itself up to Republican attacks. There’s an easy solution: scrap the byzantine and expensive scheme Dems have concocted, and just give everyone universal childcare.

Tags: bad-democrat-news, fail-biden-policy-news, social-woes-news, economic-news, analysis-news

Vice (9/12/21): John Deere Blows Off Shareholders Asking About Right to Repair - Facing mounting legislation and pushback from customers and shareholders, an embattled John Deere looks to the SEC to keep it from answering questions.

Tags: right-to-repair-news

The Revolving Door Project (9/12/21): The Bureau Of Prisons Needs New Leadership, Now

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, busting-labor-news, fail-biden-policy-news, trump-news, fail-government-news, social-woes-news, covid-news

Just Security (9/12/21): Early Edition:

Meadows’ lawsuit also notes that Trump had told him not to comply with the subpoenas from the Jan. 6 select committee, citing executive privilege
A prominent organizer of the Stop the Steal rallies with ties to far-right members of Congress is cooperating with the Jan. 6 select committee.
A low-profile heiress and Trump doner who “played a strong role” in financing organizations that helped stage and promote the Jan. 6 rally in Washington, is now facing public scrutiny as the Jan. 6 select committee seeks to expose the financing of the rally that preceded the attack on the Capitol. Julie Fancelli, the 72-year-old daughter of the founder of the Publix grocery store chain, wired a total of $650,000 to three organizations eight days before the Jan. 6 rally. Beth Reinhard, Jacqueline Alemany and Josh Dawsey report for the Washington Post.
New evidence disclosures both support and conflict with special counsel John Durham’s indictment of Michael Sussman, a prominent cybersecurity lawyer, for lying to the FBI about whether he was representing a client during a Sep. 2016 meeting about former President Trump’s possible links to Russia. One piece of newly disclosed evidence, described in a filing by Durham’s team, consists of handwritten notes of an FBI lawyer saying that Sussman told the FBI he did not have a client. However, at a hearing yesterday, a lawyer for Sussmann cited evidence turned over by the prosecutors last week that muddies that picture and suggests Sussman may instead have told the FBI he had a client. Charlie Savage reports for the New York Times.
Putting additional U.S. troops on the ground in Ukraine is “not on the table,” Biden told reporters yesterday. The NATO obligation to provide defense support to its members “does not extend to … Ukraine,” Biden added. Biden said that it would “depend upon what the rest of the NATO countries were willing to do as well,” but rejected the idea that the U.S. would “unilaterally use force to confront Russia” if it were to invade Ukraine. Morgan Chalfant reports for The Hill
The Biden administration is moving to tighten enforcement of sanctions against Iran, according to senior State and Treasury Department officials.
A growing number of former Israeli security officials are publicly blaming Tel Aviv for opposing the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, while warning that economic sanctions against Iran are not slowing its nuclear progress. Shira Rubin reports for the Washington Post.
The U.S. Navy has seized 171 surface-to-air missiles, eight anti-tank missiles, and 1.1 million barrels of petroleum products worth $261 million from two Iranian ships in the Arabian Sea in three separate instances since 2019
The U.S. Treasury has accused El Salvador’s government of secretly negotiating a truce with imprisoned leaders of the country’s top criminal gangs. The deal aimed “to ensure that incidents of gang violence and the number of confirmed homicides remained low,” the Treasury said, adding that the deal also secured the gang’s political support for El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele’s ruling party in midterm elections earlier this year. The Treasury is “imposing sanctions on Osiris Luna, El Salvador’s Deputy Justice Minister and Prisons Director, and Carlos Marroquín, head of a welfare agency, for their participation in the secret negotiations,” Santiago Pérez reports for the Wall Street Journal.
In a largely symbolic move, the Senate has approved legislation aimed at nullifying President Biden’s vaccine-or-test mandate for private employers. Eliza Collins reports for the Wall Street Journal.

Tags: capitol-storming-news, biden-policy-news, international-news, politics-news

Democracy Now (9/12/21): Daily Headlines:

Senate Approves Bill to Reverse Vaccine Mandate for Large Employers
Biden Orders Transition to Renewable Energy for Federal Buildings and Vehicles
Lawmakers Grill Instagram Head over App’s Damaging Effects on Children - Instagram recently halted plans for an app geared toward children, but, under questioning, Mosseri would not commit to never developing such an app, saying instead, if created, it would require parental consent.
Mark Meadows Sues Jan. 6 House Cmte.; “Stop the Steal” Rally Organizer Cooperating with Panel
“She Showed Him How to Kill Someone”: Manslaughter Trial of Kim Potter Gets Underway
CA Justice Dept. Probing Torrance Police After Revelation of Racist, Homophobic Text Messages [exchanged by more than a dozen current and former police officers and recruits]
Sen. Warren Blames Big Tech for Price Hikes as Amazon Employee Shares Inhumane Working Conditions

Tags: covid-news, biden-policy-news, energy-news, big-tech-news, capitol-storming-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, capitalist-farce-news, progressive-dem-news

The Majority Report (9/12/21): Anti-CRT Legislator Refuses To Call Three-Fifths Compromise Racist

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, far-right-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Haven't Head

Jacobin (8/12/21): The Mainstream Abortion Rights Movement Needs a Complete Rethinking of Strategy - Abortion rights in the United States are in greater danger than any time since Roe v. Wade — and the abortion rights movement’s national leadership has proven incapable of mounting the kind of strategy needed to protect it. That needs to change. [!]

Tags: civil-rights-news, analysis-news

Common Dreams (8/12/21): 'Alarming': ALEC's New Model Bill Would Penalize Banks for Divesting From Fossil Fuels - One critic called the proposal, which describes green investment policies as a form of "energy discrimination," a "desperate attempt by fossil fuel companies and their lobbyists to maintain their profits." [!]

Tags: big-oil-news, corruption-news

Law and Crime (9/12/21): Jussie Smollett Convicted of Staging Fake Hate Crime Against Himself and Lying to Police About It [!]

Tags: crime-news

Common Dreams (9/12/21): 'Total Hypocrisy': Elon Musk Rebuked for Hit on EV Subsidies After Building Empire With Billions in Taxpayer Funds - "Elon Musk only likes corporate welfare when it benefits himself and pretends to be concerned about the deficit—except when it comes to tax breaks for billionaires." [!]

Tags: capitalist-farce-news

Vice (9/12/21): Josh Duggar, Reality Star and Conservative Activist, Convicted for Child Porn - Duggar, who was the oldest child in TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting,” faces up to two decades in prison. [!]

Tags: far-right-news, crime-news

Common Dreams (9/12/21): Biden Commerce Secretary Panned for Remarks 'In Defense of Big Tech Monopolies' - The "comments about European efforts to address Big Tech's dominant power are highly concerning and inconsistent with President Biden's executive order on competition," said one critic. [!]

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, big-tech-news

Common Dreams (9/12/21): 'Big Step for Democracy': NC Supreme Court Delays Primaries Over Gerrymandered Maps - "These rigged maps will go to trial with the North Carolina Supreme Court next month—and, if there's any justice, be consumed in fire directly afterward," said one progressive advocacy group. [!]

Tags: voting-rights-news, court-news

Open Secrets (9/12/21): Defense lobbying hits eight-year high ahead of defense spending bill [!]

Tags: corruption-news, dark-security-news, capitalist-farce-news

ProPublica (9/12/21): A Massive Oil Spill Helped One Billionaire Avoid Paying Income Tax for 14 Years - Phyllis Taylor’s company is responsible for the longest-running oil spill in U.S. history. That’s been a disaster for the Gulf of Mexico — but a tax bonanza for Taylor. [!]

Tags: big-oil-news, capitalist-farce-news, industrial-failure-news

Posted 9 December 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page); Bleeding edge news (rough)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

Who Gets the Bird (8/12/21): Updates:

SEIU Local 49 members at McKenzie Willamette Medical Center in Springfield, OR are set to strike for five days starting Monday if a deal can’t be reached; it follows a two-day strike in October, as members push for higher wages and more COVID protections in a new contract, among other issues
Becker’s Hospital Review, a very useful hospital industry website that I link to frequently, has a useful roundup of big union contract settlements at hospitals over the past six months.
Over 400 sanitation workers with Teamsters Local 396 have authorized a strike against sanitation giant Republic in Anaheim and Huntington Beach, CA.
Berkeley, CA hotel workers with UNITE HERE Local 2 are pushing for their first contract since 2018 at the DoubleTree at the Marina.
At Harvard, the labor unrest just keeps on rolling, as 32BJ SEIU custodians and security guards rally for a fair contract, following in the footsteps of the graduate workers and the clericals, both of whom recently settled contracts.
10,000 other workers are staring down a potential strike, at the Newport News, VA Huntington-Ingalls shipyard, after members of the Steelworkers biggest local, USW Local 8888, voted down a contract 2 to 1. Now the local is telling members to prepare to be on the picket line in 2022; which would be the first strike at the shipyard since, I believe, 1999
At the other big Ingalls shipyard, in Pascagoula, MS, members of the Metal Trades Council (which includes UA members, and Boilermakers, and a few others, I believe) apparently rejected a contract, then had to re-vote on it, and accepted it; but the IBEW members voted it down again.
Nearly 1,000 UFCW Local 1995 poultry processing workers at Wayne Farms in Albertville, AL voted to reject a contract offer. A few days prior, some workers walked off the job to protest the weak raises on offer, along with forced overtime.
70 school psychologists in Contra Costa County, CA have authorized a ULP strike.
The district’s negotiations with the 600-member K-12 union in Neptune, NJ remain stalled since the summer; similar troubles are facing teachers in Sicklerville, NJ
The independent union the Association of Buildings, Grounds, and Warehouse Workers is suing Denver Public Schools over failure to pay out hazard pay.
The teachers union in Mount Desert Island, ME is filing charges against the school board for failing to bargain in good faith
Speaking of leadership challenges, the opposition forces in the largest local of the largest affiliate of the AFL-CIO, AFT Local 2, the United Federation of Teachers, have joined forces to challenge the decades-long incumbent Unity Caucus which basically controls the national union (the AFT), not to mention one of the largest local unions in the country. Elections are in the spring, but the reformers seem to be winning some small victories in a fight to make class size a flagship issue in this campaign. Historically, reformers in the UFT have had a tough row to hoe; I wouldn’t hold my breath, but it also appears a more credible threat than we’ve seen in many election cycles in the UFT.

David Pakman Show (8/12/21): Trump's Next Coup Has Already Started

Tags: trump-news, far-right-news, gop-shenanigans-news, analysis-news

Just Security (8/12/21): Early Edition:

President Biden warned Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday in a two-hour secure video conference that a Russian invasion of Ukraine would result in heavy economic penalties for Moscow and lead NATO to reposition its troops in Europe. During the meeting, Biden reiterated that measures imposed in response to any Russian invasion would go well beyond the West’s response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea seven years ago and an invasion could end Russia’s hopes of completing the Nord Stream II gas pipeline to Europe. U.S. officials have said that Putin gave no indication of his ultimate intent during the call. David E. Sanger and Michael Crowley report for the New York Times.
The Russian government said Putin warned Biden during the video conference that Western military activity in and around Ukraine was approaching a “red line” threatening Russia’s security. The Kremlin statement said Putin had stressed that Russia should not be held responsible for tensions because NATO was making “dangerous attempts to take over Ukrainian territory and increasing its military potential” on Russia’s borders. “Therefore, Russia is seriously interested in getting reliable guarantees fixed in law to rule out the eastward expansion of NATO and the location in countries neighboring Russia of offensive weapons systems,” the statement added. The White House said President Biden did not make any guarantees to limit NATO expansion. BBC News reports.
The House overwhelmingly passed a $768 billion annual defense policy bill (the National Defense Authorization Act or NDAA) after lawmakers dropped proposals that would have required women to register for the draft, repealed the 2002 authorization of the Iraq war, and imposed sanctions for the Russian Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The measures in the bill provide significant increases for initiatives intended to counter China and bolster Ukraine, as well as for the procurement of new aircraft and ships. The 363-to-70 vote in favor of the bill yesterday sent the legislation to the Senate, where it is expected to pass with strong bipartisan support as soon as this week. Catie Edmondson reports for the New York Times.
The head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), has called the revised NDAA a “missed opportunity” to deter Moscow. Amid growing concerns that Russia is preparing for a military offensive against Ukraine, “a provision in the sprawling annual legislation will modestly boost U.S. military assistance for Ukraine, but lawmakers declined to give Biden additional tools to push back on Putin,” Andrew Desiderio reports for POLITICO.
Efforts to repeal the 1991 and 2001 Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMFs) were dropped in the Senate’s year-end scramble to pass the NDAA. The NDAA was viewed as the best chance for Congress to repeal the AUMFs, however Republicans blocked a package of amendment votes last week. Andrew Desiderio and Connor O’Brien report for POLITICO.
Language requiring certain critical organizations to report cyber incidents has been left out of the compromise version of the NDAA that the House voted on yesterday. “A cyber incident reporting provision, which established a new Cyber Incident Review Office at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency was included in the version of the NDAA passed by the House in September… A Senate aide told The Hill Tuesday that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) blocked the provision from inclusion in the NDAA compromise package during negotiations,” Maggie Miller reports for The Hill.
House and Senate negotiators reached an agreement yesterday that will overhaul how the military prosecutes sexual assaults and certain other offences, stripping military commanders of most of their authority to prosecute. Under the agreement, set out in the latest version of the NDAA, independent military prosecutors will replace commanders in determining whether those accused of sexual assault, rape, murder, domestic violence, and an array of other offenses would be prosecuted. However, commanders will maintain their authority to conduct the trials, choose jury members, grant immunity, and approve witnesses, which Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) has said renders the new legislation insufficient. Jennifer Steinhauer reports for the New York Times.
Australia has announced a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, following the announcement of the U.S. diplomatic boycott. New Zealand has said that it decided months ago that its diplomats would not be attending. In July, the European Parliament overwhelmingly passed a nonbinding resolution calling on diplomatic officials to boycott the Winter Olympics, however, an official response yesterday from the European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm, to a question about the boycott offered no support for the U.S. position. Steven Lee Myers and Steven Erlanger report for the New York Times.
Google has announced that it is pursuing litigation to disrupt a botnet run by operators based out of Russia. “Google filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York on Tuesday against two Russian nationals, Dmitry Starovikov and Alexander Filippov, and more than a dozen other unnamed individuals for allegedly creating and running the ‘Glupteba’ botnet,” Maggie Miller reports for The Hill.
Mark Meadows, former President Trump’s former chief of staff, has informed the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack that he will no longer cooperate with its investigation.
More than 400 congressional staff members – including more than 50 Muslim aides – have sent an open letter to House leadership calling for Congress to “categorically reject the incendiary rhetoric that endangers the well-being of Muslim staff,” following the recent anti-Muslim remarks by Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) about Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN). Ayman Mohyeldin and Dartunorro Clark report for NBC News.
Top Republican and Democratic lawmakers have struck a deal for a process to raise the debt ceiling in the Senate, with the House passing a bill late yesterday. The bill does not itself raise the debt ceiling but sets up a procedure for an additional vote on the issue that would require a simple majority in the Senate rather than the 60 votes needed for most legislation. Andrew Duehren and Eliza Collins report for the Wall Street Journal.
A bipartisan commission appointed by President Biden has unanimously adopted a report detailing controversies over the Supreme Court and assessing proposals to address them. However, the report was not designed to, nor did it, produce consensus or any recommendations to resolve the political divisions concerning the judiciary that have intensified in recent years. Jess Bravin reports for the Wall Street Journal.; The report on the Supreme Court described public support for imposing term limits on Supreme Court justices, but found “profound disagreement” about the process for adding justices. Ann E. Marimow reports for the Washington Post.

Democracy Now (8/12/21): Daily Headlines:

House Jan. 6 Cmte Warns Mark Meadows Could Be Charged With Contempt if No-Show at Deposition - CNN is reporting the House committee has formally subpoenaed phone records for over 100 people, including Meadows. Meanwhile former Trump adviser Steve Bannon’s contempt of Congress trial has been set for July 18, 2022.
COVID Booster Shots Could Help Slow Down Spread of Omicron Variant - An early South African study on the Omicron coronavirus variant finds that people who received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine could still be vulnerable to breakthrough infection, though a third booster shot appears to offer greater protection. Early data has not shown Omicron causes more severe illness and health officials have reaffirmed widespread vaccination is the best protection against COVID-19.
Young People Facing Mental Health Crisis, Exacerbated by Pandemic - Young people have reported higher rates of depression and anxiety, and emergency room visits for suicide attempts went up by over 50% for adolescent girls in early 2021, compared to figures from 2019.
Billionaires’ Wealth Skyrocketed During Pandemic, as 100 Million People Pushed Into Extreme Poverty - In financial news, the World Inequality Lab found the world’s billionaires saw their net worth grow exponentially during the pandemic, by more than $3.6 trillion in 2020 alone
Immigrants Rights Activists Demand Path to Citizenship in Build Back Better Package
House Probe Finds Irwin County ICE Center May Have Defrauded U.S. Gov’t In Medical Abuse Scheme
Senate Confirms Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus to Lead CBP, Jessica Rosenworcel as FCC Chair

Haven't Read

The Guardian (8/12/21): Canada military’s former head of HR charged with sexual assault - V Adm Haydn Edmundson is the latest to be embroiled in a series of sexual misconduct scandals in the military [!]

Salon (8/12/21): Florida researchers say they felt "pressure to destroy" COVID-19 data for fear of Gov. Ron DeSantis - “We knew there was more silencing and pressure coming from above" [!]

Tags: science-news, covid-news, gop-shenanigans-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Al Jazeera (8/12/21): How prisons in a US state botched wildfire evacuations - More than 20 inmates were assaulted in Oregon after authorities merged prison populations, documents show. [!]

Salon (8/12/21): Black and Latino neighborhoods pay more for energy despite far lower emissions - A new study explores the rift between who gets energy benefits and who bears energy burdens [!]

ProPublica (8/12/21): When You’re a Billionaire, Your Hobbies Can Slash Your Tax Bill [!]

Vice (8/12/21): The GOP Just Forced Tennessee to Let Doctors Spread COVID Misinformation - Republican lawmakers have strong-armed the state’s medical licensing board, which deleted its warning against doctors spreading misinformation. [!]

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, anti-vaxx-news

The Intercept (8/12/21): Oil-Backed Group Opposes Offshore Wind — for Environmental Reasons - Local think tanks that previously supported offshore drilling have engaged in a wide-ranging campaign to stop the expansion of offshore wind farms. [!]

Common Dreams (8/12/21): $25 Billion Pentagon Budget Boost Alone Could Fund Enough Vaccines for the World: Analysis - "Why is there more money for the military-industrial complex," asked one critic, "at the same time the U.S. is refusing to spend the $25 billion needed to make enough additional vaccines to vaccinate the world?" [!]

KHN (8/12/21): Oncology Doctors Say the Build Back Better Act Will Slash Cancer Care Funding — A Skewed Argument [!]

Posted 8 December 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page); Bleeding edge news (rough)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

Briefing Change Log: Updated Labor Today

Lots of excellent articles today - coverage of the current power of labor in the shipping industry as contract negotiations come up, a nice framing of FTC chair Lina Khan's antitrust program so far, a history and analysis of unions, reduction of rank-and-file action, and the connections with the Democratic Party, and something from Financial Times I find interesting. They basically find that public healthcare boosted trust in healthcare and science and reduced anti-vaxx sentiment greatly, in spite of the rhetoric of far-right conspiracist president Bolsonaro. In addition, they provide analysis supporting the idea of technology transfers speeding up vaccine production, helping nations to stabilize ahead of COVID variant waves. Who'da thought! There's also some stuff about the GOP censoring and surveilling, as they always cry liberals are trying to do. A lot more... plus, coverage of a shady $200bn+ deal between Apple's Tim Cook and China. Strange!

Jacobin (7/12/21): West Coast Dockworkers Are Preparing to Negotiate a New Contract - The shipping industry is making record money as supply chain snarls and consumer demand drive up opportunities for profit. It’s the perfect moment for the 15,000 dockworkers who keep the goods flowing to negotiate their new contract.

Tags: economic-news, logistic-news, labor-news, antitrust-news, union-news, biden-policy-news, analysis-news

The American Prospect (7/12/21): Lina Khan Cashes In Her Chips - Her first big antitrust enforcement action seeks to block two semiconductor firms from merging

Tags: biden-policy-news, antitrust-news, analysis-news

Left Voice (7/12/21): Why Are There So Few Large Strikes? Blame the Democratic Party - The number of large strikes has plummeted since the 1970s. The main reason is the link between union leaders and the Democratic Party. That link has to be cut.

See my summary, and response/criticism of this article in the Postwar section (as of writing, the second paragraph) of the `American History Broad Strokes` post. I think this is useful analysis, but sort of misses itself - it's own analysis shows that the yoking of union bureaucracy is largely a function of structural changes in the American legal, labor, economic, and political landscape. Simply un-yoking unions from the Democratic Party won't solve the problems, and there can be productive relations between the Democrats and the unions. But right now, due to the current landscape, this relationship has a VERY uneven power dynamic. See my comments in the link (and read the article).

Tags: labor-news, union-news, bad-democrat-news, analysis-news, economic-news

Financial Times (6/12/21): Brazil emerges from Covid ‘nightmare’ through vaccination blitz - Brazilians largely welcome inoculations despite scepticism of leader Jair Bolsonaro

Paywall Summary (?): This past spring, Brazil went through a brutal COVID wave, and now has the 2nd highest death toll after the US, at 615k lives. Now things have relatively stabilized, and a contribution factor is Brazil's relatively high vaccination rate, with around 64% full vaccination. Plus, a World Bank/UN survey showed only 3% Brazilians didn't intend to get the jab (compare this to the wider Latin America + Caribbean region, with an average of 8%). Contrast this with Bolsonaro, a flagrantly anti-vax person and has pedaled conspiracy theories about the COVID vaccine and hydroxychloroquine, and who had stalled vaccine deals. What's the secret to the high vaccination rates? Strong trust in science and the public health system, which dishes out "tens of millions of injections every year against diseases such as influenza, yellow fever and meningitis, across a territory the size of a continent". Other state-run biomed establishments filled in the gaps that Bolsonaro left, working with China's Sinovac, for example, to get out vaccines. While the Sinovac vaccine has arond 50% efficacy (pretty low), it still served as a "vital bridge", and has since been overtaken by Pfizer and Oxford/AstraZeneca, the latter being produced in Rio de Janeiro. Currently, the government reports, a variety totalling 600m doses have been ordered. Still, some criticize the operation (the flaws largely due to Bolsonaro), and warn that the effort is not over. Easing vaccine production has been technology transfers from AstraZeneca, and the Butantan Institute (who partnered with Sinovac) will start making Sinovac's active pharmaceutical ingrediant (API) next year.

Two notes: (1) This is largely due to a strong national healthcare program, and strong government responsibility for vaccines. Public healthcare is pretty good, look, it even supresses anti-vaxx sentiment! (2) The FT reporting here lets slip a little factoid - As the tech transfers between Brazilian producers and AstraZeneca show, sharing vaccine technology helps facilitate more production! Maybe IP walls aren't helpful at slowing pandemics and saving lives.

Tags: anti-vaxx-news, vaccine-ip-news, policy-news, analysis-news, healthcare-news, covid-news

NBC News (7/12/21): Texas school district pulls 400 books from library shelves for review after legislator’s inquiry - The books featured on the legislator's list cover topics such as racial and gender equality, sexual orientation and abortion. (via u/amnesiac7 on r/Libertarian)

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

In These Times (6/12/21): For Want of a Dental Plan, the Erie Strayer Strike Grinds On - Overshadowed by larger strikes, the Ironworkers picket line stretches into its third month.

Tags: labor-news

New York Times (7/12/21): President Biden’s pick for a key banking regulator backs out. - Saule Omarova, a Cornell Law School professor whom critics painted as a communist after President Biden picked her for a key banking regulator job, withdrew from consideration for the post on Tuesday.

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, far-right-news

The American Prospect (6/12/21): A Closer Look at the Labor Market - Today on TAP: The job recovery is on track, but not in the health and education professions.

Tags: labor-news, economic-news, healthcare-news, analysis-news, capitalist-farce-news

Ars Technica (7/12/21): Report: Apple CEO Tim Cook engineered a secret $275 billion deal with China - Apple invested heavily in Chinese tech to prevent hostile regulations.

Tags: big-tech-news, international-news

The Hill (7/12/21): South Dakota governor proposes spending $1B on infrastructure, state employee raises

Credit where credit is due, this seems overall good! Although as Democratic Sen. Reynold Nesiba points out, these investments are possible due to a "handout" from Biden, whilst Noem simultaneously criticizes Biden's investment policies supposedly driving inflation, saying "horrifically high inflation stemming from the administration in Washington DC's policies".

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, infrastructure-news

On Labor (7/12/21):

A group of quality assurance testers and developers at Activision Blizzard studio Raven Software, responsible for Call of Duty: Warzone, have staged a walkout over terminated testers. This is the third recent worker action at Activision Blizzard. The demonstrating employees have demanded that all quality assurance testers, including those laid off, receive full-time position offers. So far 30% of the testers have had their contracts terminated, right after testers have engaged in five weeks of overtime. All of those terminated were in good standing with the company. The demonstrating employees protested that some of the employees terminated had relocated to Wisconsin without assistance from Activision Blizzard anticipating a return to in-person work. According to Ethan Gach of Kotaku, quality assurance testers are among the most exploited workers in game development.
Following a wave of coffee shop unionizations in the greater Boston area, employees at three Somerville coffee shops have requested voluntary recognition from management to unionize with the New England Joint Board UNITE HERE union. The employees at Diesel Café, Bloc Café, and Forge Baking Company, which share management, are seeking structural changes such as better frameworks for raises, sick leave, time off, and management communication. The organizing committee represents about fifty employees across the shops.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, labor-news

Just Security (7/12/21): Early Edition:

U.S. diplomats are to boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Biden will make clear to Putin that there would be “very real costs” should Russia take military action against Ukraine, a senior administration official has said. “The official said that the U.S. believes Russia is putting in place the capacity to engage in military action but is unclear whether Putin has decided to carry out the plans,” Shannon Pettypiece reports for NBC News.
A U.S. airstrike targeting an al-Qaida leader in northern Syria wounded a family of six, including a 10-year-old child who suffered serious head injuries. The U.S. drone targeted a man on a motorcycle who Ahmad Qassim was trying to overtake in the car he was driving with his wife and four children. The U.S. military has said that it conducted a strike from a remotely piloted MQ-9 aircraft Friday near the city of Idlib targeting “a senior al-Qaeda leader and planner.” An initial review of this strike indicated the potential for possible civilian casualties, which “was immediately self-reported to U.S. Central Command,” a spokesperson said. The spokesperson added that the military is “initiating a full investigation of the allegations and will release the results when appropriate.” Bassem Mroue reports for AP.
The U.K. Foreign Office’s handling of the evacuation from Afghanistan after the Taliban seized Kabul was dysfunctional and chaotic, a whistleblower has said. “Raphael Marshall said the process of choosing who could get a flight out was arbitrary and thousands of emails with pleas for help went unread. The then Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab was slow to make decisions, he added,” James Landale and Joseph Lee report for BBC News.
Republican senators have introduced legislation which aims to disrupt the Palestinian Authority’s policy of paying a salary to families of alleged Palestinian terrorists who are killed or imprisoned by Israeli forces, so-called “martyr payments.”
Three more hostages from a group of 17 Canadian and American missionaries and their children kidnapped in Haiti have been released, the American Christian charity they were with have said. The latest releases bring the total number of people freed to five. The organization did not provide the names or ages of those released, or the circumstances of their release, including whether a ransom had been paid. Oscar Lopez and Maria Abi-Habib report for the New York Times.
A Russian government-linked hacking group which was behind the SolarWinds hack has only intensified its hacking efforts in the year since, research by cybersecurity group Mandiant has found
Microsoft has announced that a federal court has granted a request to allow Microsoft to seize websites being used by a Chinese-based hacking group that is targeting organizations in the U.S. and 28 other nations. “The hacking group, which Microsoft has dubbed ‘Nickel,’ was observed to be targeting think tanks, human rights organizations, government agencies and diplomatic organizations for intelligence gathering purposes,” Maggie Miller reports for The Hill.
Indian and Russian officials rejected U.S. pressure to downgrade their close defense ties yesterday, as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in New Delhi and agreed to extend military technical cooperation for another decade. At the summit, “both sides said they were proceeding with delivery of S-400 surface-to-air missile systems from Russia to India despite the threat of U.S. sanctions on India. Agreements signed also included a contract for a joint venture in India to manufacture more than 600,000 Russian-designed AK-203 assault rifles, which will replace the INSAS model used by the Indian military for three decades,” Rajesh Roy, Jeremy Page and Ann M. Simmons report for the Wall Street Journal.
Mark Short, the top aide to former Vice President Pence, has been cooperating with the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. The committee subpoenaed Short a few weeks ago and his cooperation may “signal a greater openness among Pence’s inner circle” to cooperating with the committee. Jamie Gangel, Michael Warren and Ryan Nobles report for CNN.
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) is seeking to avoid a public split between President Biden and Senate Democrats over the U.S.’s policies towards Russia and China. Schumer is looking to neutralize tough amendments to the NDAA on the two topics, including pushes for the U.S. to take tougher sanction stances in relation to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia and the human rights abuses of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in China. Alexander Bolton reports for The Hill.
Department of Homeland Security officials advised in August against deporting Haitians back to Haiti, fearing the deportations could violate U.S. human rights obligations, according to an internal warning sent to officials at Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. Hamed Aleaziz reports for BuzzFeed News.
Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), a key ally of former President Trump will resign from Congress at the end of this month to become CEO of Trump’s new Media & Technology Group, which is billing itself as an alternative to Big Tech. “Recently, I was presented with a new opportunity to fight for the most important issues I believe in. I’m writing to let you know I’ve decided to pursue this opportunity, and therefore I will be leaving the House of Representatives at the end of 2021,” Nunes told constituents. Scott Wong reports for The Hill.

Tags: international-news, security-news, cyber-security-news, capitol-storming-news, politics-news, immigrant-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, gop-shenanigans-news, far-right-news, trump-news

Democracy Now (7/12/21): Daily Headlines:

Justice Department Sues Texas Over Political Maps That Diminish Power of Voters of Color - "Texas will gain two new Congressional seats because of its population growth, almost all of which is due to growth in the state’s minority population. However, Texas has designed both those new seats to have white voting majorities."
Biden Meets Putin as Russian Troops Mass on Ukraine Border
Biden Administration Reinstates and Expands Trump-Era “Remain in Mexico” Policy - Earlier this year a federal judge ordered the Biden administration to revive the program. But immigrant justice advocates are denouncing Biden’s government for choosing to expand those who are eligible to include asylum seekers from the entire western hemisphere, which includes Haitians
Trump-era Oil & Gas Drilling Boom Continues Under Biden, Despite Campaign Pledge - The Biden administration has accelerated the expansion of new oil and gas wells in the United States, issuing drilling permits on public lands at a faster pace than under President Trump. That’s according to a new report by Public Citizen, which found the Bureau of Land Management has approved an average of 333 oil and gas drilling permits per month under Biden—40% faster than it did in the first three years of Trump’s presidency. This comes despite a campaign promise Biden made during a 2020 debate with Bernie Sanders.
Meanwhile a new study finds the world’s biggest fossil fuel companies have made $174 billion in profits during the first nine months of 2021.
Jussie Smollett Testifies in Own Defense, Denying He Staged a Hate Crime
Animal Rights Activist Convicted of Felonies for Rescuing Sick Baby Goat
Justice Department Ends Emmett Till Murder Probe Without Filing Charges

Tags: voting-rights-news, biden-policy-news, international-news, fail-biden-policy-news, immigrant-news, trump-news, big-oil-news, capitalist-farce-news, court-news

The David Pakman Show (7/12/21): "Warmonger" Biden Mostly Ended Drone War, Media Silent

Tags: biden-policy-news, international-news

The Rational National (7/12/21): Jen Psaki Mocks The Idea Of Free COVID Tests, Available In The UK

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, covid-news, capitalist-farce-news, fail-government-news

Haven't Read

Left Voice (7/12/21): A TERF-Far Right Alliance Has Launched a New Transphobic Onslaught - In view of the increasing number of reactionary articles in the press and other public statements of that ilk, this article proposes a short guide to survival in transphobic territory — with a focus on Britain, the United States, and France [!]

Tags: lgbtq-news, far-right-news

The Hill (7/12/21): Statue of Confederate general, KKK leader removed in Nashville [!]

Tags: racist-history-news

Common Dreams (8/12/21): Senate Dems Help Torpedo Resolution That Would Have Blocked $650 Million Arms Sale to Saudi Arabia - "My simple question is, why in the world would the United States reward a regime that has caused such pain in Yemen with more weapons," Sanders asked after the vote. "The answer is we should not." [!]

Tags: bad-democrat-news, progressive-dem-news, fail-biden-policy-news, international-news

Left Voice (7/12/21): Michigan Activists Shut Down Legislature to Read Statement on Abortion - As nine unelected Supreme Court judges prepare a likely ruling that will effectively overturn Roe v. Wade, Michigan activists are fighting to keep abortion legal in that state. [!]

Tags: protest-news, civil-rights-news, court-news

Common Dreams (7/12/21): Rosenworcel FCC Confirmation Hailed as a Step Toward a 'Just and Democratic Media System' - "We're immensely pleased that the agency is being led by such a great champion of an open internet and of bringing affordable broadband to everyone in the United States."

[!]

Tags: biden-policy-news

ZDNet (7/12/21): AWS goes down and with it goes a host of websites and services - UPDATE: Many of the websites and services you rely on run on Amazon Web Services. When it goes down, so do they. [!]

Tags: big-tech-news, cyber-security-news, infrastructure-news, antitrust-news

Law and Crime (7/12/21): Disgraced LA Official Will Plead Guilty to Federal Charges in Major Bribery Scheme [!]

Tags: fail-government-news, corruption-news

Common Dreams (7/12/21): Sanders Applauds Buffalo Starbucks Workers for Union Drive to 'Fight for What's Right' - The senator spoke with employees about their demands for a fair pay structure and the union-busting efforts they've witnessed from the international coffee chain. [!]

Tags: progressive-dem-news, labor-news

Posted 7 December 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page); Bleeding edge news (rough)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

Common Dreams (1/12/21): Why Dangerous Fox News Talking Heads are Comparing Fauci to Notorious Nazi Death Camp Doctor - It's another lie—designed to keep the pandemic going in America. It completely ignores the success that vaccine mandates have had from United Airlines to the New York Police Department to the largest hospital chain in Houston.

Tags: far-right-news, media-news

The Rational National (5/12/21): Kyrsten Sinema BLATANTLY Lies To CNN. Plays Reporter Like A Fiddle

Tags: media-news, bad-democrat-news

Financial Times (5/12/21): Elon Musk being allowed to ‘make the rules’ in space, ESA chief warns -Billionaire’s thousands of satellites risk crowding other operators out of low earth orbits Paywall Summary (?): Pretty much the title; Musk is currently sending about 100 satellites each month, with nearly 2,00 in low earth orbit (LEO), and monopolizing the desirable orbital planes, effectively "creating a Musk sovereignty in space". The concern is that a totally de-regulated space will lead to too many satellites in LEO, which could lead to collisions and catastrophic amounts of debris. Musk currently owns about half of satellites in the world. Starlink is currently approved for 30k satellites by US regulators, and Germany has recently applied for Starlink to be approved for another 40k satellites. Europe is concerned this will limit their capacity, and sees this as the United States trying to take up space.

The Guardian (6/12/21): Rohingya sue Facebook for £150bn over Myanmar genocide - Victims in US and UK legal action accuse social media firm of failing to prevent incitement of violence

Tags: big-tech-news, social-woes-news

On Labor (6/12/21):

The 2018 teacher strikes in Oklahoma and Arizona offer important insights into how social media can advance labor goals, Eric Blanc argues in Jacobin. While both strikes show the power of social media to organize, he suggests that Arizona teachers used it more effectively to mobilize, which helps explain why 91.8% of Arizona teachers struck compared to 72.06% of Oklahoma teachers
In Salon, Matthew Rozsa reflects on the wave of sit-down strikes in the late 1930s. The Flint sit-down strike, in which workers won a union at GM, buoyed the CIO and led U.S. Steel, fearful of equally effective disruption, to voluntarily recognize its Steelworker Organizing Committee. Rozsa argues that, like the sit-down strikes of the post-Depression years, “the Great Resignation . . . challenges the implicit notion that workers must play by the rules of the game—as set by the owners of capital—and have no power to change them.”

Tags: labor-news, analysis-news, history-news

On Labor (5/12/21):

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Thursday that the city’s Law Department and the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection have filed a lawsuit against L’Officiel USA, the American subsidiary of the French-owned global media company that operates many print and digital magazines covering fashion, music, film, literature, politics and so on. The lawsuit, which was filed in state court, alleges that L’Officiel has engaged in a pattern of failing to pay freelancers on time or at all
Meanwhile, Newsweek reported that Columbia University sent an email to over 3,000 striking graduate student workers—who have been on strike for over five weeks over poor wages and working conditions as well as frustration with the university’s bargaining conduct—on Thursday that threatened to replace them if they do not return to their jobs
In other news, Bloomberg reported this week that the NLRB’s General Counsel’s office, acting through its San Francisco regional director, Jill Coffman, issued a complaint that accuses Amazon.com Inc’s Whole Foods Market of unlawfully banning employees from wearing “Black Lives Matter” masks and punishing workers for non-compliance with its rule

Tags: labor-news

Beau of the Fifth Column (4/12/21): Let's talk about Florida State Guard and DeSantis....

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news

Democracy Now (3/12/21): From Abortion Bans to Anti-Trans Laws, a Christian Legal Army is Waging War on America

Tags: civil-rights-news

Jacobin (6/12/21): A Materialist Answer to the “Race vs. Class” Debate

Tags: analysis-news, policy-news

Just Security (6/12/21): Early Edition:

U.S. intelligence has found that the Kremlin is planning a multi-front offensive into Ukraine, involving up to 175,000 troops, as soon as early next year, according to U.S. officials and an intelligence document obtained by The Washington Post. “The Russian plans call for a military offensive against Ukraine as soon as early 2022 with a scale of forces twice what we saw this past spring during Russia’s snap exercise near Ukraine’s borders,” said an administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Shane Harris and Paul Sonne report for the Washington Post.
A court in Myanmar has sentenced ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi to four years on charges of inciting public unrest and breaching Covid-19 protocols. The sentence is the first in a series of rulings that Suu Kyi is facing that together entail a possible maximum imprisonment of 102 years on a total of 11 charges. “This ridiculous ruling is a travesty of justice,” Charles Santiago, a Malaysian legislator and chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Parliamentarians for Human Rights, said in a statement. Sui-Lee Wee reports for the New York Times.
At least three people are feared dead after an army vehicle plowed into a peaceful march by anti-government protestors in Yangon, Myanmar’s biggest city, witnesses have said. Yesterday’s march was one of at least three held in Yangon, and similar rallies were reported in other parts of the country a day ahead of the expected verdict against Suu Kyi. Grant Peck reports for AP.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has cautioned national security leaders and industry executives against over-hyping recent Chinese weapons tests, while also calling for deeper ties between the Pentagon and technology companies to counter China Exactly what we need! Deeper ties between companies and the Pentagon
A former D.C. National Guard official has accused two senior Army leaders of lying to Congress and trying to rewrite the history of the military’s response to the Jan. 6 attack. “In a 36-page memo, Col. Earl Matthews, who held high-level National Security Council and Pentagon roles during the Trump administration, slams the Pentagon’s inspector general for what he calls an error-riddled report that protects a top Army official who argued against sending the National Guard to the Capitol on Jan. 6, delaying the insurrection response for hours,” Betsy Woodruff Swan and Meridith Mcgraw report for POLITICO.
Federal prosecutors have accused two men of having ties to a Proud Boys leader and being among the first to breach the police line near the Capitol on Jan. 6. Marshall Cohen reports for CNN.
The longtime senator and Republican leader Bob Dole has died aged 98 years old.
Former President Trump’s social media start-up, Truth Social, has raised $1 billion from unidentified investors as it moves forward with going public via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (Spac)

Tags: international-news, dark-security-news, capitol-storming-news, obituary-news, trump-news

Democracy Now (6/12/21): Daily Headlines:

More Protests Erupt as European Countries Tighten Vaccine Mandates
Parents of Michigan High School Shooting Suspect Arrested After Manhunt
CNN Fires Chris Cuomo For Helping Brother, Ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo Respond to Sexual Misconduct Claims
Masked, Far-Right Patriot Front Members March in D.C., Get Booed by Bystanders

Tags: protest-news, covid-news, crime-news, media-news, corruption-news, cuomo-news, far-right-news

The Majority Report (3/12/21): Tucker Carlson Asked Hunter Biden For Help Getting His Son Into Georgetown University

Tags: far-right-news, media-news

Haven't Read

The Intercept (1/12/21): Investigators Debunk Far-Right Claim That Dayton Mass Shooting Was Linked to Antifa - The FBI refuted a right-wing claim that the 2019 mass shooting in Dayton was left-wing political violence; now the same people are making that claim about the Waukesha parade massacre. [!]

Tags: far-right-news

The Intercept (1/12/21): The Biden Administration’s Game of Chicken With Border Patrol Over Vaccines - “I thought this would all be a bluff,” one agent wrote. “The threat of losing my job is one I cannot afford to go against.” [!]

Tags: covid-news, biden-policy-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news

EFF (1/12/21): Facebook’s Secret “Dangerous Organizations and Individuals” List Creates Problems for the Company—and Its Users [!]

Tags: big-tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

EFF (1/12/21): The Internet Needs Fair Rules of the Road – and Competitive Drivers [!]

Tags: tech-news

The Intercept (1/12/21): Marco Rubio Met With Far-Right Chilean Candidate Tied to Military Dictatorship - José Antonio Kast’s father was in the Nazi army. Kast often speaks fondly of Chile’s former dictator Augusto Pinochet. [!]

Tags: international-news, far-right-news

New York Times (12/11/21): A Frenzy of Book Banning [!]

Tags: far-right-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

The Guardian (3/12/21): Maxwell prosecutors: ‘sexualized’ photo of young girl displayed outside Epstein bedroom - Prosecution and defense argue about several photographs that might be presented at sex-trafficking trial in New York - This article contains depictions of sexual abuse [!]

Tags: epstein-news

ProPublica (3/12/21): Head of New Mexico Child Support Agency Asks State to Stop Intercepting Payments to Poor Families - Following a ProPublica investigation, the New Mexico Child Support Enforcement Division is calling on the state Legislature to stop funding the agency with millions in child support confiscated from single mothers who previously received welfare. [!]

Tags: fail-government-news, social-woes-news

The American Prospect (3/12/21): Latest Jobs Report: More Ammo for Build Back Better - Today on TAP: The recovery is broadly on track but needs all the help it can get. [!]

Tags: labor-news

The Revolving Door Project (3/12/21): Active Revolving Door Between Government and Contracting Industry Could Threaten Reform [!]

Tags: corruption-news, capitalist-farce-news, fail-government-news

The American Prospect (3/12/21): As Buttigieg Eyes a Presidential Run, His DOT Is Floundering - The transportation secretary has a major role to play in easing the supply chain crisis. Pete Buttigieg isn’t doing the job. [!]

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, bad-democrat-news

CounterPunch (3/12/21): This Must End: Saudi Warplanes Carpet-Bomb Yemen With US Backing [us-policy-news] [!]

Tags: international-news, fail-biden-policy-news

The Intercept (2/12/21): Blackwater Founder Erik Prince Sues The Intercept Over Russian Mercenary Report - Mercenary Erik Prince filed a defamation lawsuit in a New York federal court after an earlier suit in Wyoming was dismissed. The Intercept stands by its reporting [!]

Tags: far-right-news

The Hill (5/12/21): Cuomo's firing from CNN came amid allegation of sexual misconduct: report [!]

Tags: cuomo-news, corruption-news, media-news

Vox (4/12/21): Israeli spyware was used against US diplomats in Uganda - A hack targeting US officials is just the latest problem for NSO Group, the Israeli company behind Pegasus spyware. [!]

Tags: cyber-security-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, pegasus-news

Common Dreams (6/12/21): With Maxwell Sacrificed, the Ruling Oligarchs Will Once Again Escape Justice - The Maxwell trial will not hold the powerful men complicit in the rape and abuse of countless girls by the Epstein ring accountable or challenge the oppressive systems which fuel the scourge of male violence. [!]

Tags: epstein-news, capitalist-farce-news

Common Dreams (6/12/21): Biden Continues Drilling Boom on Public Lands Despite Campaign Pledge, Analysis Shows - "The reality is that in the battle between the oil industry and Biden, the industry is winning." [!]

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, big-oil-news

The Guardian (6/12/21): Malaria kills 180,000 more people annually than previously thought, says WHO - UN agency says world must support urgent rollout of new vaccine as it reveals new figures for malaria deaths [!]

Tags: healthcare-news

Salon (6/12/21): "Utterly Obscene": Just 8 Big Pharma investors became $10B richer after Omicron emerged - "Pharma execs and shareholders are making a killing from a crisis they helped to create. It's utterly obscene" [!]

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, pharma-news

Mother Jones (6/12/21): The Justice Department Is Suing Texas for Gerrymandered Maps [!]

Tags: voting-rights-news

Common Dreams (6/12/21): Dems Urge DOJ Antitrust Probe Into $43 Billion Discovery-WarnerMedia Merger - "Giant corporations must not be allowed to stomp out competition, put up barriers to enter the market, and continue to exclude Latinos from the media industry." [!]

Tags: antitrust-news, media-news

The Guardian (6/12/21): New York City sets Covid vaccine mandate for all private employers - New rules will take effect on 27 December while vaccinations are already required for city employees [!]

Tags: covid-news

CNBC (2/12/21): FTC sues to block Nvidia’s $40 billion acquisition of Arm [!]

Tags: big-tech-news, antitrust-news

Media Matters (3/12/21): Rep. Lauren Boebert has a lengthy record of bigotry and extremism. Coverage of her recent anti-Muslim comments erases it. [!]

Tags: far-right-news, media-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Posted 4 December 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page); Bleeding edge news (rough)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

Jacobin (2/12/21): UAW Members Have Voted for Democracy in Their Union - The United Auto Workers is one of America’s most important unions. It has long been hobbled by an autocratic internal culture and widespread corruption. The members’ vote in favor of a direct voting system to elect leadership could change that.

Tags: good-news, labor-news, union-news

The Economist (4/12/21): The Democrats’ fiscal policy makes a mockery of their progressive pledges - It is regressive and self-defeating

Wow, the Economist is calling out Democrats for not taxing enough. The Dems have hit a new low! This bodes very bad.

Tags: bad-democrat-news, fail-biden-policy-news, tax-news

The Guardian (1/12/21): Ghislaine Maxwell accuser says she met Trump at 14 and flew with Prince Andrew - ‘Jane’, who did not accuse Trump or duke of misconduct, testifies in court she was introduced to former president by Jeffrey Epstein - This article contains depictions of sexual abuse

Tags: trump-news, epstein-news

The Majority Report (3/12/21): CNN Reporter Fails To Ask Kyrsten Sinema ONE Relevant Follow-Up Question

Tags: media-news, bad-democrat-news

The Economist (4/12/21): World This Week:

America’s Supreme Court heard arguments about abortion. A law in Mississippi bans most abortions after 15 weeks. It has not been enforced because the Supreme Court has held for nearly half a century that states may not ban abortion before a fetus is viable. Pro-life activists hope, and pro-choice activists fear, that the current court will reverse this ruling and return the matter to the states. If so, several states would quickly ban most abortions.
America’s air-force secretary said his country was engaged in an “arms race” with China in the development of hypersonic weapons. He said this did not necessarily involve boosting their number, but rather their quality. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has said that China tested such technology this year, calling it close to a “Sputnik moment”. This is pretty scary rhetoric

Tags: court-news, civil-rights-news, international-news, dark-security-news

The Hill (3/12/21): Koch Industries buys solar power company from GOP Senate candidate

Tags: corruption-news, gop-shenanigans-news

The Majority Report (2/12/21): Trump Rigged Tax Codes To Make Up For Nazi Gathering In Charlottesville

Tags: trump-news, corruption-news, capitalist-farce-news, tax-news, far-right-news

ZDNet (3/12/21): FBI: Cuba ransomware group hit 49 critical infrastructure organizations - The FBI claimed the group has made at least $43.9 million in ransom payments.

Do note that while they call themselves 'Cuba', it is not clear if this group is actually Cuban.

Tags: cyber-security-news

On Labor (3/12/21):

Yesterday, Judge Cory Wilson of the Fifth Circuit denied a motion from the U.S. Department of Justice to intervene in United Natural Foods Inc’s challenge that former acting general counsel of the NLRB Peter Ohr lacked authority because his predecessor Peter Robb was unlawfully removed from office by President Biden. The case was taken up by the NLRB in April, when the Board held that it did not have jurisdiction to review the president’s actions. As Fred previously wrote on this blog, the legal challenge to Ohr’s authority “remains, on the merits, tenuous” and “many have cast doubt that the attacks will amount to anything more than a time and resource drain for the NLRB . . . .” The DOJ argued that they should be allowed to intervene because the case could have significant ramifications for the president’s power.
On Wednesday, the Boston City Council approved a pilot program proposed by mayor Michelle Wu to make several bus lines transit-free. The program uses funds from the American Rescue Plan to reimburse the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and follows Michelle Wu’s campaign goal of making public transportation free, beginning with bus service. The bus routes in the pilot program are in areas with high proportions of low-income people of color. When the city eliminated fares on the 28 bus earlier this summer, ridership increased substantially. Eliminating fares has significant benefits now for ensuring that everyone has a means of transportation available and increasing people’s mobility, including to get to work. Fare elimination can also help us avoid climate disaster by disincentivizing people from driving. Somewhere around 100 cities in the world have already instated free public transportation, including Kansas City, Missouri and Olympia, Washington.

Tags: court-news, labor-news, progressive-dem-news, infrastructure-news

The Rational National (2/12/21): Ilhan Omar Shares Her Main Fear After Recent Threat

Tags: militant-far-right-news, progressive-dem-news

David Pakman Show (1/12/21): Unemployment Claims Lowest in 52 Years, Job Growth Up

Tags: labor-news, economic-news

David Pakman Show (1/12/21): OH NO: Epstein's Pilot Names Trump AND Clinton as Passengers

Tags: epstein-news, trump-news, bad-democrat-news

The Guardian (2/12/21): Canada votes to ban LGBTQ ‘conversion therapy’ - Conservatives joined Liberals in unanimous vote, prompting applause in House of Commons

Tags: lgbtq-news

ZDNet (3/12/21): Sensitive information of 30k Florida healthcare workers exposed in unprotected database - Ethical hackers discovered the names, addresses, social security numbers and tax information for more than 30,000 healthcare workers in a database run by Gale Healthcare Solutions

Tags: cyber-security-news, healthcare-news

Mother Jones (3/12/21): The Chilling Alleged Role of the Michigan School Shooter’s Parents - “LOL, I’m not mad at you,” the mom allegedly texted her son about his ammo search. “You have to learn not to get caught.”

Tags: mass-shooting-news, crime-news

Ars Technica (1/12/21): Thousands of AT&T customers in the US infected by new data-stealing malware - Malware exploits 2017 vulnerability in a widely used network edge device

Tags: cyber-security-news

Democracy Now (3/12/21): Daily Headlines:

Biden Administration to Reinstate and Expand Trump-Era “Remain in Mexico” Policy
Biden Says Lockdowns Not Needed to Combat Looming Winter Surge of COVID-19
Congress Passes Stopgap Spending Bill After GOP Threatens Shutdown Over Vaccine Mandates
Rep. Peter DeFazio Becomes 19th House Democrat to Retire Ahead of Midterms
Heatwave In Northern U.S., Canada Breaks Temperature Records, Sets Montana Fields on Fire
Plans for Oregon Pipeline and Export Terminal Dropped After Intense Community Pushback
U.S. Shuts Down International Calls to Ban “Killer Robots”
Michigan Schools Shut Down Amid Fears of Copycat Attacks as New Details Emerge on Teen Shooter
Martha “Marty” Nathan, Activist and Greensboro Massacre Survivor, Dies at 70

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, immigrant-news, covid-news, gop-shenanigans-news, climate-change-news, big-oil-news, protest-news, good-news, mass-shooting-news, crime-news, obituary-news

Democracy Now (2/12/21): Daily Headlines:

U.S. Detects Omicron Coronavirus Variant in California
Russia Expels Some US Ambassadors as Blinken Warns Russia Against Invading Ukraine
Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams to Run for Governor in Possible Rematch Against GOP’s Brian Kemp
Andre Dickens Elected Atlanta Mayor in Runoff Election
January 6 Committee Recommends Contempt Charge for Former Trump DOJ Official
House Votes in Favor Of Bill Requiring Judges to Report Financial Investments - The bill was introduced after the Wall Street Journal found hundreds of lawsuits were overseen by judges involving corporate litigants in which the judges themselves or their families had an ownership stake. A companion bill was introduced in the Senate in October but has not yet been taken up by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
House Dems Call for Release of Jailed Environmental Lawyer Steven Donziger
Major League Baseball Enacts Player Lockout, Leading To First Work Stoppage Since 1994

Tags: covid-news, international-news, progressive-dem-news, electoral-news, capitol-storming-news, legislation-news, corruption-news, big-oil-news (Donziger case), busting-labor-news

Just Security (3/12/21): Early Edition:

Negotiations to revive the 2015 nuclear deal hit another roadblock yesterday following a report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that Iran is continuing to expand its uranium enrichment.
Lawyers for different groups of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks are considering make claims against the $7 billion in Afghan central bank funds deposited at the New York Federal Reserve — money the Taliban now claims is theirs. Various lawsuits that groups of Sept. 11 attack victims filed against al-Qaeda and others they said provided support to the terrorists, like the Taliban, obtained default judgments against the defendants years ago, which at the time seemed merely symbolic given the inability to obtain the money awarded. However, the Taliban’s military takeover of Afghanistan has raised the possibility that the victim groups could try and seize the Afghan government funds in New York. Charlie Savage reports for the New York Times.
The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which would stop the importation to the U.S. of products connected to abuses of Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minorities in China’s Xinjiang region, is stuck in Congress after passing the Senate unanimously in July. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman reportedly told co-sponsor of the bill Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) to slow down the approval of the bill, indicating that President Biden’s administration prefers a more targeted approach to determining which goods are the products of forced labor. Josh Rogin provides analysis for the Washington Post.
The U.S. annual defense bill (the National Defense Authorization Act or NDAA), which sets the policy agenda and authorizes funding for the Pentagon, is also stalled in the Senate in part because of a disagreement over Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)’s push to include an amendment that would place more import restrictions on Chinese goods manufactured by Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minorities in China’s Xinjiang province
Twitter has shut down thousands of state-linked accounts in China that seek to counter evidence of human rights abuses in Xinjiang. The accounts were part of what experts have described as a propaganda operation, which used photos and images, shell and potentially automated accounts, and fake Uyghur profiles, to disseminate state propaganda and fake testimonials about their happy lives in Xinjiang. Helen Davidson reports for the Guardian.
The U.S., the U.K., Canada and the E.U. have imposed coordinated additional sanctions on Belarus, in relation to human rights abuses and a migrant crisis on Belarus’s border with the E.U., which is attributed to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. The sanctions blacklist entities and individuals that “support the regime and facilitate its repression,” Blinken said in a statement. They include targeting three aircraft as blocked property and designating 32 individuals and entities, including Belarusian state-owned enterprises and government officials. Laura Kelly reports for The Hill.
A new review by intelligence officials has not found any hard evidence that points to a common cause for the mysterious “Havana syndrome,” the chronic ailments that intelligence officers and diplomats have reported. No microwaves, other readings of energy pulses or any other weapons that could be to blame, have been detected, and there have been no intelligence intercepts implicating an adversarial spy service. Julian E. Barnes and Adam Goldman report for the New York Times.
The Los Angeles chapter of Planned Parenthood was subject to a ransomware attack in October that compromised the personal information of about 400,000 patients. According to a breach notification the organization, the unidentified perpetrator stole documents from the Planned Parenthood affiliate. Aaron Schaffer, Joseph Marks and Hannah Knowles report for the Washington Post.
Members of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack have said that Mark Meadows, the former chief of staff of former President Trump, may have damaged his case for executive privilege by divulging secret details in his forthcoming book, due to be released next week
Far-right activists and Neo-Nazis are using Twitter’s new rule against posts sharing people’s private information to persuade the social media platform to remove photos of them posted by anti-extremism researchers and journalists
Five House Democratic caucus chairs, along with 36 members of the progressive Caucus are calling for Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) to be stripped of her committee assignments following her “anti-Muslim” attacks, including against Rep. Illan Omar (D-MN).Five House Democratic caucus chairs, along with 36 members of the progressive Caucus are calling for Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) to be stripped of her committee assignments following her “anti-Muslim” attacks, including against Rep. Illan Omar (D-MN).
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) wants to reestablish a civilian military force in Florida that he, not the Pentagon, would control. DeSantis has proposed the idea as a means to further support the Florida National Guard during emergencies. DeSantis also said this unit would “not [be] encumbered by the federal government,” and that the force would give him “the flexibility and the ability needed to respond to events in our state in the most effective way possible.” Steve Contorno reports for CNN.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the leading Republican on the Senate judiciary committee, has blocked a request from Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) to proceed on gun control legislation in the Senate following the Michigan school shooting this week. Maya Yang reports for the Guardian.
The state of Oklahoma has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to stop President Biden’s administration from mandating Covid-19 vaccines for the National Guard

Tags: international-news, legislation-news, big-tech-news, economic-news, dark-security-news, cyber-security-news, capitol-storming-news, far-right-news, gop-shenanigans-news, covid-news

Just Security (2/12/21): Early Edition:

Mexico has announced a joint plan with the U.S. to send development and agricultural aid to Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, in an effort to stem the wave of migration. The joint plan did not contain any specific funding commitments, and the U.S. Agency for International Development called the plan “a new framework for development cooperation to address the root causes of irregular migration from northern Central America.” AP reports.
The U.N. is predicting that a record 274 million people will require emergency humanitarian aid next year. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, in its annual overview of future needs, is projecting a 17% increase in the number of people who will need urgent assistance in 2022, highlighting countries like Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Syria, and Yemen which face a range of challenges including war, insecurity, hunger, climate change, and the Covid-19 pandemic. Jamey Keaten reports for AP.
The 15-year old suspect in the Michigan school shooting has been charged with terrorism, four counts of first-degree murder and an array of other charges. Four students died after Eric Crumbly fired rounds from a handgun at Oxford High School, Michigan on Tuesday. “The Oakland County prosecutor, Karen D. McDonald, acknowledged that her decision to charge the suspect with terrorism was not typical for a mass shooting prosecution, but she said it reflected the wider trauma suffered by the hundreds of students who fled gunshots, hid under their desks and will be haunted for years,” Jennifer Conlin, Mitch Smith, Giulia Heyward and Jack Healy report for the New York Times.
McDonald has also strongly suggested that she will charge Crumbly’s parents in connection with the shooting in Michigan. Officials have said that the father of the suspect bought the semiautomatic handgun used in the killings. “While it is unclear how Crumbley may have obtained the gun from his father, McDonald said that gun owners have a responsibility to secure their weapons — particularly when young people are involved,” Griff Witte, John Woodrow Cox and Mark Berman report for the Washington Post.
The House yesterday passed three bipartisan bills intended to shore up network security and increase cyber literacy across the nation
Former President Trump tested positive for Covid-19 on September 26, 2020 three days before his debate with now President Biden, Trump’s last chief of staff, Mark Meadows, has revealed in a new book. Trump returned a negative result from a different test shortly after the positive result. Trump announced he had Covid-19 on October 2, 2020. In a statement yesterday, Trump called Meadows’ claims “Fake News.” Martin Pengelly reports for the Guardian.
Meta (formerly Facebook) has announced that it has removed hundreds of accounts, pages and groups linked to a Chinese effort to spread disinformation claiming that the U.S. is pressurizing the World Health Organization to blame the Covid-19 pandemic on China. Maggie Miller reports for The Hill.

Tags: international-news, immigrant-news, social-woes-news, mass-shooting-news, cyber-security-news, trump-news, covid-news, big-tech-news

Just Security (1/12/21): Early Edition:

Thompson has told reporters that Meadows has turned over “probably about 6,000 emails” to the Jan. 6 select committee. Thompson added that the committee has taken the threat of recommending Meadows in contempt of Congress “off the table for the time being.” Ellis Kim, Melissa Quinn and Caroline Linton report for CBS News.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) spoke with the Jan. 6 select committee for roughly four hours yesterday, according to his office and an aide working for the committee. “I spoke to the January 6th committee to ensure they included the full record of how stolen election claims damage our democracy — whether in 2016, 2018, or 2020,” Raffensperger, said in a statement to CNN. Zachary Cohen, Jason Morris, Sara Murray, Ryan Nobles and Annie Grayer report for CNN.
Ten redacted passages in former special counsel Robert Mueller’s report — including one that discusses the decision not to bring criminal charges against Donald Trump Jr. and others — were ordered to be revealed yesterday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. The ruling follows a yearslong legal battle by BuzzFeed News. In an 18-page opinion the court “unanimously ruled that there is a ‘significant public interest’ in lifting the veil of secrecy that ‘disclosure would also show how the Special Counsel interpreted the relevant law and applied it to already public facts in reaching his declination decisions,’” Jason Leopold reports for BuzzFeed News.
In Trump’s final months in office, former Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker headed a project for the right-wing nonprofit FreedomWorks, asking the White House for pardons and commutations for “deserving individuals,” according to FreedomWorks. Whitaker however never registered as a lobbyist while advocating for pardons and FreedomWorks, who paid Whitaker $400,000 last year in “consulting” fees according to a federal filing, never named clemency issues in any of its 2020 lobbying reports. Roger Sollenberger reports for The Daily Beast.
The wife of Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was sentenced yesterday to three years in prison and four years of supervised release, along with a forfeiture of $1.5 million, in connection with drug trafficking and money laundering charges related to her husband’s narcotics empire. Emma Coronel Aispuro pleaded guilty in June to the charges. Addressing the court, Coronel expressed remorse for her involvement with Guzman and the Sinaloa Cartel, and the harm she may have caused U.S. citizens. Maria Santana reports for CNN.
The Justice Department has announced the sentencing of the last member of an international hacking group, known as “The Community” indicted for allegedly stealing millions in cryptocurrency as part of a “SIM hijacking” effort from 2019. Missouri-based Garrett Endicott was sentenced Monday to 10 months in prison and ordered to pay a fine of more than $120,000. Maggie Miller reports for The Hill.
Saudi Arabia used “incentives and threats” to shut down a U.N. investigation of human right violations committed by all sides in the Yemen conflict, according to sources. The U.N. human rights council voted in October against extending the independent war crimes investigation. “Speaking to the Guardian, political officials and diplomatic and activist sources with inside knowledge of the lobbying push described a stealth campaign in which the Saudis appear to have influenced officials in order to guarantee defeat of the measure,” Stephanie Kirchgaessner reports for the Guardian.
Two new rulings by separate federal judges yesterday have temporarily halted parts of the Biden administration’s mandatory Covid-19 vaccine policy for certain workers. “One ruling, issued by a Louisiana-based federal judge, effectively blocked a vaccine mandate for health workers across the country at hospitals that receive federal funding. A second ruling, by a Kentucky-based federal judge, paused the administration’s vaccine mandate for federal contractors in Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee,” John Kruzel reports for The Hill.
National Guard members who refuse to be vaccinated against Covid-19 will be barred from training and have their pay withheld, the Pentagon has said. Alex Horton reports for the Washington Post.

Tags: capitol-storming-news, trump-news, gop-shenanigans-news, crime-news, drug-news, cyber-security-news, corruption-news, international-news, court-news, covid-news

Democracy Now (1/12/21): Daily Headlines:

Omicron Detected in Europe Days Before South Africa Reported Variant; FDA Endorses Merck COVID Pill
Michigan High Schooler Kills 3 Other Students in Shooting Rampage
Mark Meadows to Testify Before House Jan. 6 Cmte, Panel Pursues Jeffrey Clark Contempt Charges - In related news, Meadows has revealed in his new memoir that Trump tested positive for COVID-19 three days before his first debate with Joe Biden in September 2020, but went on to the debate, and other public events, without publicly revealing his positive test.
U.S. Removes FARC From Terror Blacklist
Rep. Ilhan Omar Shares Violent, Islamophobic Threats Received Since Boebert’s Racist Comments
SCOTUS Hears Argument in Mississippi Abortion Case Which Threatens to Undo Roe v. Wade
CNN Suspends Chris Cuomo For Helping Then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo Handle Sexual Misconduct Reports
Trial of Kimberly Potter, Who Shot and Killed Daunte Wright, Gets Underway in Minnesota
NYC Opens Safe Injection Sites In Bid to Combat Record Overdose Deaths
Phil Saviano, Survivor-Turned-Whistlblower of Catholic Church Child Sex Abuse, Dies

Tags: covid-news, mass-shooting-news, capitol-storming-news, trump-news, international-news, progressive-dem-news, militant-far-right-news, court-news, civil-rights-news, media-news, corruption-news, drug-news, obituary-news

David Pakman Show (2/12/21): Joe Rogan Crosses Dangerous Line Into Total Conspiracy

Tags:media-news, anti-vaxx-news

Posted 1 December 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page); Bleeding edge news (rough)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

Common Dreams (12/11/21): Documents Expose 'Staggering Pattern of Political Interference' in Trump's Covid-19 Response - "Top elected officials preferred to keep Americans in the dark and set policy based on political considerations, not science," said one former CDC adviser.

Tags: healthcare-news, covid-news, corruption-news, fail-government-news, trump-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Democracy Now (30/11/21): Get Off Our Territory: Wet’suwet’en Land Defenders Condemn Canadian Police Raid on Pipeline Protest

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, indigenous-news, big-oil-news, capitalist-farce-news

Common Dreams (30/11/21): As Executives Hike Prices, US Corporations Rake in Biggest Profits Since 1950 - "Prices are high," said Sen. Sherrod Brown, "because corporations are raising them—so they can keep paying themselves with ever-larger executive bonuses and stock buybacks." - "Corporations can get away with it," he added, "because they have too much power in the economy."

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, economic-news, labor-news

The Majority Report (21/11/21): How The US Opioid Crisis Showed That Literally Anyone Could Make Fentanyl

Tags: drug-news, social-woes-news, analysis-news

Jacobin (26/11/21): The Sacklers Manufactured a Drug Crisis

Tags: drug-news, social-woes-news, analysis-news, capitalist-farce-news

Common Dreams (24/11/21): How Deep Canvassing by Progressives Can Change Rural Politics in the US - In North Carolina, progressive activists reach out to rural voters as an overlooked segment of the electorate.

Tags: rural-news, electoral-news, progressive-dem-news

Jacobin (17/11/21): Big Pharma’s Favorite Democrats Saved the Drug Industry Half a Trillion Dollars - Corporate Democrats like Senator Kyrsten Sinema saved Big Pharma $450 billion by watering down the party’s drug pricing plan.

Tags: pharma-news, bad-democrat-news, corruption-news, dark-money-news

Jacobin (27/11/21): Is Wisconsin Still a Democracy? - All signs now point to a full-court press by the GOP to rig state election rules in a bid to stay in power permanently. So far, Democrats have barely put up a fight.

The article opens with an interesting note: "Earlier this week, Wisconsin senator Ron Johnson appeared on local radio to declare his “loss of confidence” in the state’s elections commission and assert the need for its legislature to take control of future elections. The context for Johnson’s remarks is important, coming as they do in the wake of a nonpartisan report that found no significant evidence of fraud during the 2020 election — the upshot being that if actual evidence of foul play cannot be found, Republican lawmakers will simply continue to assert that it has occurred as a pretext for continuing to meddle with election rules." As the Economist noted (3/7/21), this is perhaps one of the most dangerous trends the GOP is pursuing - directly taking over elections, based on nebulous claims of fraud.

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, voting-rights-news, analysis-news

On Labor (30/11/21):

In her decision [on the Bessemer Amazon warehouse union re-election situation], Region 10 Director Henderson pulled no punches when she discussed Amazon’s conduct during the election campaign. Amazon’s “flagrant disregard for the Board’s typical mail-ballot procedure compromised the authority of the Board and made a free and fair election impossible.” She wrote that, before the election, “I specifically disapproved of the Employer’s suggestions for making voting “easier” because the Employer is neither responsible for conducting elections nor is it tasked or authorized to aid the process. Such responsibility and authority rests solely with the Board.” Amazon’s decision to place the mailbox outside the warehouse, then, “essentially highjacked the process and gave a strong impression that it controlled the process. This dangerous and improper message to employees destroys trust in the Board’s processes and in the credibility of the election results.”

Tags: busting-labor-news

Common Dreams (27/11/21): Police Aerial Surveillance Threatens Freedom to Protest - "We must act now to protect future protestors from the civil liberties infringements the government conjures on a regular basis. Aerial surveillance of protests must stop."

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

David Pakman Show (21/11/21): Toe-Curling Trump Propaganda Aimed at Kids

Tags: media-news, far-right-news

Common Dreams (28/11/21): This Is How Amazon Is Fueling the Climate Crisis - It's easy to see how Amazon is able to provide its products so cheaply and undercut its brick-and-mortar competitors when it doesn't need to play by the same rules.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, climate-change-news

On Labor (29/11/21): Don’t Let Amazon Eat the Film Industry – It’s Just a Side Dish

Tags: antitrust-news, labor-news, media-news, analysis-news

The Hill (30/11/21): Pence-linked group launches $800K ad campaign in West Virginia praising Manchin

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, media-news, bad-democrat-news

Liberation News (29/11/21): Landlords spearhead Seattle Sawant recall

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, progressive-dem-news

The Intercept (29/11/21): Pfizer Is Lobbying to Thwart Whistleblowers From Exposing Corporate Fraud - Pfizer is among the Big Pharma companies trying to block legislation strengthening whistleblowers’ ability to report corporate fraud

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, gop-shenanigans-news, corruption-news, legislation-news, pharma-news, dark-money-news, bad-democrat-news

Mother Jones (28/11/21): Republican Governor Says GOP Leader Should Condemn Boebert’s Bigoted Remarks - “It has to be called out.”

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news

David Pakman Show (30/11/21): Historically Dishonest COVID Disinformation Explodes

Tags: covid-news, media-news, anti-vaxx-news, far-right-news

The Majority Report (30/11/21): CNN Should Have FIRED Chris Cuomo A Long Time Ago

Tags: media-news, cuomo-news, corruption-news

Just Security (30/11/21: Early Edition:

Security officials in China’s Henan province, one of China’s largest provinces, have commissioned a surveillance system that they want to use to track journalists and international students among other “suspicious people.” A July 29 tender document details plans for a system that can compile files on people of interest coming to Henan using 3,000 facial recognition cameras that connect to national and regional databases. The contract was awarded in September to Chinese technology company Neusoft, which was due to complete construction of the system within two months. It is not known whether the system is currently being used. Reuters reports. [surveillance-and-censorship-news]
A newly published cache of documents directly links top Chinese leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, to the crackdown on Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in China. The documents, which were passed to the independent Uyghur Tribunal in the U.K., include speeches and statements from Chinese Communist Party leaders, which analysts say prove senior government leaders called for measures that led to mass internment and forced labor in the Xinjiang province. BBC News reports. [surveillance-and-censorship-news]
The Pentagon is to focus on building bases in Guam and Australia to better prepare the U.S. military to counter China, a senior defense official has said.
Talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal recommenced yesterday, with optimistic statements being made by E.U., Iranian and Russian diplomats, despite skepticism about the likelihood of success.; Iran is “insisting on sanctions lifting” immediately, which may be a stumbling block to progress in the talks
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III has ordered a new high-level investigation into a U.S. airstrike in Syria in 2019 that killed 80 people, including women and children. The investigation will be led by Gen. Michael X. Garrett, the four-star head of the Army’s Forces Command, and will examine the strike as well as the military’s initial inquiries into the strike, according to Pentagon officials. Eric Schmitt and Dave Philipps report for The New York Times.
Hours before the Jan. 6 attack, Trump made several calls from the White House to top lieutenants at the Willard hotel in Washington and talked about ways to stop the certification of President Biden’s election win from taking place, according to sources. Trump first told his lieutenants at the hotel, a team led by Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Boris Epshteyn and Trump strategist Steve Bannon, that then Vice President Pence, was reluctant to go along with the plan to commandeer Pence’s largely ceremonial role at the joint session of Congress. Trump then pressed his lieutenants about how to delay the certification process to get alternate slates of electors for Trump sent to Congress. Hugo Lowell reports for the Guardian.
Federal prosecutors have indicted three men — including one who is accused of assaulting DC police officer Michael Fanone — for planning to be violent together on Jan. 6, according to court records and a Justice Department statement. “The group communicated on Telegram under the name ‘Patriots 45 MAGA Gang,’ prosecutors said, riffing about their anger toward officials who supported the 2020 election result and gloating about the violence of the siege,” Katelyn Polantz reports for CNN.
Senate Republicans have blocked the annual defense policy bill, throwing the legislation into limbo. “The Senate voted 45-51 to start winding down debate on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which sets spending levels and policy for the Pentagon. But that is short of the 60 votes needed to overcome the hurdle. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) was the only Republican to vote with Democrats to advance the bill, while Democratic Sens. Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) voted against moving forward along with 46 Republican senators,” Jordain Carney reports for The Hill.
President Biden’s administration’s decision to waive sanctions on the Russian-built Nord Stream 2 pipeline between Russia and Germany, is imperiling the passage of the annual defense policy bill. Republican senators have resorted to hardball tactics to force the Biden administration to implement sanctions on the gas line, including it being a key factor in yesterday’s block of further action on the defense policy bill. Andrew Desiderio and Connor O’Brien report for POLITICO.
The Islamophobia controversy engulfing Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) worsened yesterday after Boebert went after Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) in a video following a tense phone call between the two lawmakers.

Tags: international-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, security-news, dark-security-news, capitol-storming-news, trump-news, politics-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Democracy Now (30/11/21): Daily Headlines:

World Health Organization Warns of “Very High” Risk Posed by Omicron Variant
Nurses Demand COVID-19 Vaccine Patent Waiver; China Pledges 1 Billion Doses for Africa
Centers for Disease Control Strengthens Vaccine Booster Recommendation for Adults
Federal Judge Blocks Vaccine Mandate for Healthcare Workers in 10 States
Ghislaine Maxwell Sex Trafficking Trial Gets Underway in New York
CNN to Review Records Detailing How Chris Cuomo Helped His Brother Discredit and Smear Accusers
Rep. Ilhan Omar Hangs Up on Rep. Lauren Boebert, Who Joked Omar Was Suicide Bomber
Amazon Violated Labor Law in Alabama Union Drive, NLRB Rules, Setting Stage for New Election
Pioneering Black Former Congressmember Carrie Meek Dies at 95
Advocates Say Haitian Refugees Face Neglect and Mistreatment at New Mexico ICE Jail

Tags: covid-news, vaccine-ip-news, healthcare-news, international-news, court-news, epstein-news, media-news, corruption-news, cuomo-news, progressive-dem-news, politics-news, far-right-news, gop-shenanigans-news, busting-labor-news, obituary-news, immigrant-news

Jacobin (25/11/21): Fentanyl Is Driving the Record Drug Overdose Deaths

Tags: drug-news, social-woes-news

David Pakman (30/11/21): Beyond Parody: Republican Doesn't Remember Shortages Under Trump

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, media-news

Posted 30 November 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page); Bleeding edge news (rough)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

A bit behind, but posting some for now to keep daily intake digestable :)

On Labor (29/11/21):

With job market data from the Fall coming into focus, it is becoming ever clearer that Striketober was accompanied by a period of unprecedented worker mobility. This “Great Escape” is the subject of an extended profile by David Dayen in this morning’s American Prospect. “Workers are quitting across the labor force,” Dayen reports. A record 4.43 million, a full 3% of the American workforce, left their jobs in September, with quits in some sectors reaching almost 7%. Through careful interviews with a diverse group of workers, Dayen traces the historical, material, and ideological forces driving the trend. The entire article is worth exploring as a welcome contrast to the often employer-centric coverage of the Biden labor market. On a similar note, the Wall Street Journal reported this weekend that “[s]ome restaurants, struggling with labor shortages and the return of customers to on-site dining, are choosing to scale back at times on often less-profitable delivery and to-go orders.” The labor implications of this shift remain to be seen, but, at the very least, it is yet another sign that emboldened workers are gaining leverage and affecting the day-to-day calculus of business owners.
Elsewhere in long-form labor journalism Jacobin’s fall issue reviews explores the state of pay-secrecy laws in the United States and abroad. These state laws, which ban employers from prohibiting workers from discussing their wages, have been shown to reduce the gender pay gap and boost wages across the board. In theory, these laws are unnecessary in light of Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act, which the NLRB has interpreted to make unenforceable employers’ pay-secrecy rules. Nevertheless, the article explains, “[s]ome 60 percent of private-sector workers report that their employers have similar policies,” and efforts to end the practice remain hamstrung by the NLRB’s limited power to meaningfully penalize violators.

Tags: labor-news, analysis-news

The Rational National (29/11/21): Republican Praises Vaccine On CNN Then Dismisses It On Fox News

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, anti-vaxx-news, media-news

The Majority Report (29/11/21): Here's The Thing About Joe Biden's Popularity...

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, electoral-news, analysis-news

The Majority Report (27/11/21): How Republicans Use Gerrymandering To Literally Choose Their Voters

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, voting-rights-news, analysis-news

On Labor (24/11/21):

Last Friday, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) prosecutors issued a formal complaint accusing subsidiaries of the Kroger Company of violating federal labor law by prohibiting their employees from wearing Black Lives Matter (BLM) apparel and buttons

Tags: busting-labor-news

On Labor (23/11/21):

A majority of teachers in Northbrook School District 28 in Illinois have declared their intent to form a union. District 28 is one of the few public school districts in Illinois that is not unionized, as less than 10% of teachers in the state are not members of the Illinois Federation of Teachers or the Illinois Education Association.
The Burgerville Workers Union, the first fast-food workers union in the United States, has reached a tentative agreement with Burgerville. If ratified, the contract would be the country’s first fast-food union contract. The Burgerville Workers Union was formed in 2018 and has since conducted seven strikes, five elections, picket lines, and workplace and citywide labor actions. The tentative agreement includes free shift meals, a $1 per hour wage increase, paid holidays, the end of at-will employment, guarantees against unfair scheduling, and provisions for allowing tips. The contract now must be ratified by Burgerville Workers Union membership and Burgerville.
Labor Secretary Walsh has announced that the final rule from the Department of Labor raising the federal contractor minimum wage to $15 an hour will take effect on January 30, 2022. The rule will likely provide a wage increase for more than 300,000 workers and raises the federal contractor minimum wage from its current $10.95 rate.
Terra Field and B. Pagels-Minor, two transgender former Netflix employees, have dropped their labor complaints against Netflix for retaliation. However, Field voluntarily resigned after dropping the complaint. The two filed a complaint with the NLRB after Field was temporarily suspended and Pagels-Minor was fired amidst the controversy surrounding Dave Chapelle’s “The Closer” Netflix special, which included disparaging language from Chapelle about transgender people. Netflix claims it fired Pagels-Minor for disclosing confidential financial information about the cost of “The Closer,” which Pagels-Minor denies having done.
Food service workers at HMS Host, the largest concessionaire at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, have gone on strike. The workers, organized with UNITE HERE Local 11, are seeking raises, better health insurance, company retirement contributions, and discrimination protections. The strike comes after four years of failed contract negotiations. The HMS Host workers, numbering between 450-475, have not received a raise since 2017. The strike will shut down more than two dozen restaurants and coffee shops at the airport.
A federal judge in San Jose has ruled that Tesla Inc. and Eismann Corp. must continue to litigate their federal labor trafficking allegations. The suit was brought by 14 foreign workers hired for construction at the companies’ California manufacturing plant. The workers, who are from Bosnia, Herzegovina, Croatia, and Slovenia, claim that their subcontractor coerced their labor and that Tesla and Eisenmann controlled their travel to and from the manufacturing plant. The court said the workers had a plausible claim under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act and the California state equivalent law. However, the court has ruled that the workers’ Fair Labor Standards Act wage claims are untimely, as the minimum wage and overtime claims from 2014-2016 fall outside of the three-year statute of limitations.

Tags: labor-news, biden-policy-news, lgtbq-news

On Labor (22/11/21):

Across the country, other workers are planning to go on strike as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches. Concession workers at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport announced that they would begin their strike today, Arizona’s ABC 15 reported. They have been in contract negotiations with HMS Host since 2017, and are demanding a contract with strong protections for their tips, affordable health insurance, company retirement contribution, and protections against discrimination. Meanwhile, GoPuff workers are planning to strike tomorrow, PhillyVoice reports. As GoPuff’s delivery service expanded rapidly in recent years, relying on drivers it classifies as independent contractors. As driver Candace Hinson explained, the drivers’ demands are straightforward: “we’re human and we deserve to be paid for the effort we put in.” In the face of average wage cuts of $2/hour across the country, they are calling for a mandated minimum wage of $20/hour with the cost of mileage, protection from deactivation, and better shift access. And, in Denver this weekend, airport janitors won a $4/hour wage increase after striking for twelve hours. Tikdem Atsbaha, who has been a janitor at the airport for eighteen years, reflected on the victory with Colorado’s Fox 31: “[w]e walked off the job united, and we won historic wages and workload protections for janitors at this airport.”

Tags: labor-news

On Labor (19/11/21):

More than 1300 employees at Activision Blizzard have signed a petition calling for the resignation of CEO Bobby Kotick after many employees staged a walkout on Tuesday with the same demand. The employee actions come after a Wall Street Journal report alleging that Kotick knew about sexual misconduct claims for years without taking action or informing the board of directors. The petition also demands that Kotick not have a role to play in deciding the next CEO. Kotick disputes the allegations.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, labor-news

Jacobin (16/11/21): Zillow Fail Shows the Lunacy of For-Profit Housing

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, economic-news

On Labor (14/11/21):

A ruling issued on Friday by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals extended its November 6 order pausing President Biden’s shot-or-test mandate for businesses with 100 or more employees by blocking implementation of OSHA’s emergency regulation, which required qualifying businesses to ensure that all employees are fully vaccinated by January 4, 2022 or subjected to weekly testing
Finally, in New York City, the Amazon Labor Union, an independent organization, unaffiliated with any national labor union, created to represent Amazon warehouse workers in a Staten Island facility, withdrew its petition to hold a unionization vote from the NLRB on Friday after being informed that it did not have sufficient signed cards from workers to meet the threshold (typically 30 percent of the proposed bargaining unit). Union organizers filed the petition at the end of last month, delivering more than 2,000 signed union-support cards to the NLRB, and a hearing to determine whether there was sufficient interest to form a union at the distribution center was scheduled for November 22. Last week, however, Amazon informed the NLRB that it had a payroll list of more than 9,500 workers at the Staten Island warehouse, and the NLRB notified organizers that it did not have enough signed cards. The organizers have announced that they intend to resubmit their petition to the NLRB as soon as possible.
The above situation also happened in Bessemer last year (see Jane McAlevey's piece in The Nation on 9/4/21)

Tags: court-news, covid-news, busting-labor-news

On Labor (11/11/21):

Yesterday, members of Third Circuit Court of Appeals cast doubt on whether the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) recent decision against The Federalist would withstand appellate scrutiny. The case, FDRLST Media v. NLRB, 3d Cir. No. 20-03434, arose in 2019 after the conservative magazine’s co-founder Ben Domenech tweeted that he would send his employees “back to the salt mine” should they attempt to unionize. Last year, the Board’s former Republican majority affirmed the administrative law judge’s ruling that the statement constituted an unlawful threat against workers’ right to organize at the magazine, despite the company’s insistence that Domenech’s tweet was “a joke.”
In other judicial news, the California Supreme Court announced yesterday that it would review whether part of the Golden State’s LGBTQ protections for long-term care residents unlawfully restricts care workers’ freedom of speech
By contrast, members of the U.S. Supreme Court this week chose not to address whether federal workplace protections allow for multi-motive age discrimination claims. On Monday, the Court announced that it had declined to take up a case brought by Melanie Pelcha, a former bank teller, arguing that the Sixth Circuit had improperly required her to prove that her age was the “sole” motivation behind her boss’s adverse employment action—as opposed to one of multiple but-for causes—in order for her state a claim under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).
Further north, workers at a major Cargill meat-packing facility in High River, Alberta gave notice yesterday of their plans to strike on December 6 following two days of negotiations with the company. According to the workers’ union, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 401, around 75% of the plant’s 1,400 employees took part in a strike authorization vote last Thursday, with some 97% voting to strike if the union’s demands are not met. Much of the labor dispute centers around health and safety concerns in the wake of the pandemic, as around half of the plant’s workers fell ill and three died due to COVID-19 last year. Around 40% of Canadian beef is processed through Cargill’s High River facility, and the strike is expected to generate price increases even as much of the West already is experiencing some of the highest “meatflation” in decades. In the United States, food and energy price hikes last month helped drive the sharpest inflation spike in 31 years, according to Labor Department data released yesterday.
After nearly a month on strike, John Deere workers in Iowa and throughout the Midwest have finally begun to draw the ire of Republican politicians.

Tags: court-news, labor-news, gop-shenanigans-news, economic-news, lgbtq-news

Jacobin (27/11/21): Billionaire Bill Gates Uses Money to Shape the Media - The role of philanthropy in Bill Gates’s global empire is well known. But the Gates Foundation’s contributions to media organizations are huge, underexamined, and a significant part of how one of the world’s wealthiest men has built and protected his image.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, media-news

The Dig (Jacobin) (28/7/21): Inflation Politics with Tim Barker - Inflation is once again at the center of political debate. Dan interviews Tim Barker to put monetary policy in its historical and class war context.

Tags: economic-news, leftist-news, analysis-news

Just Security (29/11/21): Early Edition:

Undercover Taliban agents spent years infiltrating Afghan government ministries, universities, businesses and aid organizations, to then step out of the shadows and help the Taliban seize control as the U.S. forces withdrew from Afghanistan. “We had agents in every organization and department,” Mawlawi Mohammad Salim Saad, a senior Taliban leader who directed suicide-bombing operations and assassinations inside Kabul, said. “The units we had already present in Kabul took control of the strategic locations,” he added. Yaroslav Trofimov and Margherita Stancati report for the Wall Street Journal.
The talks with Iran to revive the 2015 nuclear deal (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) will restart today, with the U.S. and allies “unsure how Tehran’s new government will approach negotiations, not optimistic about the prospects ahead and emphasizing that if diplomacy fails, the U.S. is ‘prepared to use other options,’” Nicole Gaouette, Kylie Atwood and Jennifer Hansler report for CNN.
U.S. government officials have become increasingly suspicious of Chinese scientists in U.S. universities, leading to research disruptions. Officials are concerned that Chinese scientists are exploiting the openness of American institutions to steal sensitive taxpayer-funded research at the behest of the Chinese government. However, this has had a chilling effect across campuses, slowing research and contributing to a flow of talent out of the U.S. that may benefit Beijing. Amy Qin reports for The New York Times.
Five House members met with the Taiwanese president last Friday, despite objections from China
The German government has urged members of Congress not to sanction the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The pipeline would circumvent Ukrainian transit infrastructure and deliver Russian gas directly to Germany. President Biden has waived sanctions in response to the pipeline but dissatisfied Senate Republicans are pushing for new sanctions as an amendment to the annual defense bill. According to documents obtained by Axios the German government has argued that imposing sanctions would “weaken” U.S. credibility and “ultimately damage transatlantic unity.” Zachary Basu reports for Axios.
Prosecutors in the case against former White House strategist Steve Bannon have accused Bannon of attempting to try his criminal contempt case through the media instead of in court
In the 10-page filing the DOJ accused Banno[n]’s defense team of lodging “frivolous” legal complaints in order to cause a public dust-up with prosecutors
Michael Flynn, Trump’s first National Security Advisor, appears to have called QAnon theories “total nonsense” and a “disinformation campaign” created by the CIA and the political left. Flynn’s statement, which contradict with his own extensive links to the conspiracy theory and seeming eagerness to serve as its hero, was revealed by Lin Wood, a pro-Trump attorney and QAnon supporter. Victoria Bekiempis reports for the Guardian.

Tags: security-news, international-news, science-news, capitol-storming-news, far-right-news

Democracy Now (29/11/21): Daily Headlines:

Federal Govt Sends Health Workers to Michigan, Which Leads U.S. COVID Surge
Rep. Ilhan Omar Calls on Congressional Leaders to Punish Rep. Boebert Over Anti-Muslim Remarks
In more labor news, unionized staff at The New York Times’ product review site Wirecutter launched a 5-day strike ahead of Black Friday and called for a reader boycott as contract negotiations continue.

Tags: healthcare-news, covid-news, far-right-news, progressive-dem-news, labor-news

The Majority Report (27/11/21): Chris Christie EMBARRASSES Himself On Anderson Cooper

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, trump-news, funny-news

Posted 27 November 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page); Bleeding edge news (rough)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

Common Dreams (26/11/21): 'It Was Entirely Avoidable': Rich Countries Blamed as New Covid Variant Sparks Global Alarm - "Allowing new variants to emerge and spread, 13 months into the vaccine era, is a policy choice by the rich world."

Tags: vaccine-ip-news, international-news, covid-news, capitalist-farce-news

Law and Crime (24/11/21): Georgia Jury Reaches Speedy Verdict and Convicts Ahmaud Arbery’s Killers of Murder

Tags: racist-crime-news

The Rational National (17/11/21): 'SALT' Turns Biden's Budget Bill Into A Joke (a $285bn Tax Cut!)

Tags: bad-democrat-news, fail-biden-policy-news, infrastructure-news, tax-news

Jacobin (26/11/21): How Private Insurance Fueled the Opioid Crisis

Tags: drug-news, privatization-news, healthcare-news, social-woes-news

The Rational National (22/11/21): Police Stand With Pipeline, Arrest Journalists & Land Defenders In B.C.

Tags: indigenous-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, big-oil-news

The David Pakman Show (25/11/21): Hundreds of Proud Boys Commit Crime for Which Black Teens Are Often Arrested

Tags: militant-far-right-news, racist-crime-news

The Majority Report (26/11/21): Drunk Driving Tech Required In Infrastructure Bill Will Test The 4th Amendment

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news, fail-biden-policy-news

Common Dreams (21/11/21): Bloom's Exit Offers a Chance for Much-Needed Change at the Beleaguered Postal Service - A number of public interest groups sent a letter to Biden asking him not to reappoint Bloom, who is the vice chair and managing partner of the Brookfield Asset Management investment firm.

Tags: bad-government-news, biden-policy-news

Jacobin (24/11/21): The Age of Liberal Conspiracy Theories?

Tags: media-news, analysis-news

In These Times (23/11/21): The Union Busters on Starbucks’ Board of Directors - Starbucks is trying to crush a groundbreaking organizing drive. A closer look at the company reveals a board of directors stacked with anti-worker executives.

Tags: busting-labor-news, capitalist-farce-news

Jacobin (25/11/21): Black Friday Strikes and Protests Target Amazon in 20 Countries - On Black Friday, workers around the world are targeting Amazon under the banner of Make Amazon Pay. The actions span the supply chain and traverse borders — just like Amazon itself.

Tags: labor-news, big-tech-news, international-news

Vox (26/11/21): How Puerto Rico became the most vaccinated place in America - Politics — or the lack thereof — was a key factor

Tags: covid-news

On Labor (26/11/21): Employers and Legislators Eye Child Labor as the Answer to the Labor Shortage

Tags: labor-news, capitalist-farce-news

Vice (24/11/21): Jan. 6 Organizers Used Burner Phones to Talk to Trump Family: Report - Kylie Kremer, of Women for America First, reportedly told an aide to pick up three burner phones and said it was “of the utmost importance” to use cash

Tags: capitol-storming-news, trump-news

The Hill (26/11/21): Alabama AG threatens $25K fine after city changes Confederate name

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news

The Economist World This Week (27/11/21): A statue of Thomas Jefferson was removed from New York’s City Hall, after black council members complained that it was a reminder of slavery. The author of the Declaration of Independence also owned 600 slaves. The statue, a copy of the sculpture in Congress given as a gift to America in 1834 by its first Jewish naval commodore, has a new home in the city’s historical society.

Tags: progressive-dem-news

Posted 26 November 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page); Bleeding edge news (rough)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

Mother Jones (22/11/21): Republicans Are Rigging Elections for the Next Decade - Gerrymandering is turning swing states like Georgia and Ohio deep red.

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, voting-rights-news

The Guardian (23/11/21): Starbucks launches aggressive anti-union effort as upstate New York stores organize - Management urges baristas to reject the union at mandatory ‘listening’ sessions and shuts stores holding drives

Tags: busting-labor-news

Common Dreams (24/11/21): South Dakota Supreme Court Kills Recreational Marijuana Law Approved by Voters - The ruling is a win for Republican Gov. Kristi Noem, who directed the state to pay for the legal fight against the voter-backed amendment.

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news

The Rational National (24/11/21): Police Axe Through Door Of Indigenous Leaders As NDP Enable It

Tags: indigenous-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, capitalist-farce-news, big-oil-news

The Guardian (23/11/21): Jeffrey Epstein documents reveal master manipulator who claimed he couldn’t kill himself - Sex trafficker’s final days detailed in more than 2,000 pages of never-before-seen records obtained by the New York Times

Tags: epstein-news

Common Dreams (23/11/21): Amid GOP Attacks, UN Expert Warns of Near 'Tyranny' Against Voting Rights of US Minorities - "It is very far from, to borrow from the country's Constitution, 'a perfect union.'"

Tags: voting-rights-news

Who Gets the Bird (21/11/21): Weekly:

The Teamsters have counted the votes in the election of international officers, and it was an absolute rout, with the Teamsters United O’Brien-Zuckerman slate creaming the incumbent-backed slate, two-to-one. It’s hard to overstate how big a deal this might be for the US labor movement, but the mainstream press is starting to get it.
...the UAW Local 2110 strike at Columbia University as the largest ongoing strike in the country, in terms of number of workers. Grad students at Harvard with UAW Local 5118 almost joined 2110 on the Ivy League picket line, but reached a last-minute tentative agreement this week, though it might get voted down. Also in Boston, also with Local 2110, workers at the Museum of Fine Arts struck for 24 hours.
Meanwhile, the UAW referendum is hot on the Teamsters election’s heels, with voting closing on November 29th. The Toledo Blade looked at the referendum as voting winds down. My sense is this thing is going to pass, possibly by a wide margin, which will kick off a campaign season in the union in preparation for their convention next summer.
At the University of California, two big UAW unions of a combined 24,000 or so workers have authorized strikes by impressive margins; over 10,000 members of Student Researchers United, the new union that has not been fully recognized by the administration, voted to strike, along with thousands of post-doctoral workers with Local 5810. Talk about a credible threat. The 6,000 lecturers with UC AFT who had also threatened a strike reached a tentative deal with the university system, averting what would’ve been a big one.
IATSE has ratified its two big contracts, ending a months-long strike threat among over 60,000 film and TV workers. Because we live in the dumbest possible timeline, the big contract was actually voted down by the majority of voting members, but due to IATSE’s electoral college-style system, it was ratified anyway. Luckily for the national leadership of IATSE, their next elections aren’t until 2025, the year after the next contracts are up, but leadership elections are also delegated, so any would-be challengers have a tough row to hoe. Local elections on the other hand, are next year, at least in some locals, and there is open talk of voting out the leadership, especially in unions like Local 80, where the members voted two-to-one against the contract. The head of Local 871, Crystal Hopkins, preemptively jumped ship, voicing apparent regret over the ratification process in a resignation letter; she had been a leader of the “vote no” movement in 2018, and won local union office that year, but publicly supported the contract this time around.
2200 workers at Lansing, MI’s Sparrow Hospital are just wrapping up a strike authorization vote with the Michigan Nurses Association.
Teachers in Russiaville, IN have a new one-year contract, which brings up the minimum salary to a whopping $41,250
Around 350 aerospace manufacturing workers with IAM Local 388 have authorized a strike at Eaton in Davenport, IA.
Contract votes at two Ingalls-run shipyards in Newport News, VA and Pascagoula, MS did not go as the leadership planned; in Virginia, the members of Steelworkers Local 8888 voted down their contract, two-to-one, and is now talking openly of a strike, and in Mississippi nobody knows what happened because the leadership said simply that they need to do a “revote” among the 13 unions at the shipyard. That sounds to me like it went down hard but who knows.
After three years without, 300 Boston Globe employees with the Boston Newspaper Guild have a new contract.
Colorado WINS, the statewide union of 30,000 state workers in Colorado, has its first contract under a new law allowing state workers to collectively bargain.
Johnny Doc has resigned from the top post of IBEW Local 98 in Philadelphia, after being convicted on bribery and other public corruption related charges.

Tags: labor-news, union-news, corruption-news

Vice (24/11/21): Workers Held at Gunpoint in Modern-Day Slavery Operation in Georgia, Feds Allege - Migrant laborers were allegedly forced to dig onions with their bare hands for pennies per bucket as supervisors threatened them with a gun

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, immigrant-news

Common Dreams (24/11/21): Disaster Capitalism 'Hits New Heights' as Wall Street Profiteers Cash In on Recovery Loans - "Seems a lot easier and cheaper to make an emergency fund permanent rather than pay private lender fees."

Tags: capitalist-farce-news

Jacobin (21/11/21): Destroying Democracy Is Central to the Privatization of Public Goods - The obsession with privatization isn’t just about turning public goods into profit generators for a small handful of wealthy people. It’s also about trampling on democracy.

Tags: analysis-news, privatization-news

Common Dreams (21/11/21): What's at Stake in the Patent Battle Between Moderna and the US Government? - The battle has important implications, not only for efforts to contain the pandemic but more broadly for drugs and vaccines that could be critical for future public health crises.

Tags: vaccine-ip-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Common Dreams (22/11/21): The High Stakes of the U.S.-Russia Confrontation Over Ukraine - Americans should beware of romanticizing the "old" Cold War as a time of peace, simply because we somehow managed to dodge a world-ending nuclear holocaust.

Tags: international-news

The Revolving Door Project (22/11/21): RELEASE: Revolving Door Project Criticizes Biden For Choosing To Own Ethics Scandals And Deregulation By Renominating Powell

Tags: corruption-news, fail-biden-policy-news

New York Times (20/11/21): How Hunter Biden’s Firm Helped Secure Cobalt for the Chinese - The president’s son was part owner of a venture involved in the $3.8 billion purchase by a Chinese conglomerate of one of the world’s largest cobalt deposits. The metal is a key ingredient in batteries for electric vehicles.

Tags: corruption-news

CPJ (20/11/21): CPJ calls on Canadian police to release detained journalists

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news

The Guardian (20/11/21): App outage locks hundreds of Tesla drivers out of cars - Dozen of motorists report error as company’s CEO, Elon Musk, apologises on Twitter

Tags: big-tech-news

Business Insider (20/11/21): 3 million workers are missing amid the labor shortage, and 2 million of them are immigrants who never came to the US because of Trump-era policies (via u/alllie on r/labor)

Tags: labor-news, immigrant-news

Democracy Now (24/11/21): Daily Headlines:

House Cmte Subpoenas Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers Over Jan. 6 Insurrection
Kevin Strickland Exonerated and Freed 43 Years After He Was Wrongfully Convicted by All-White Jury
U.S. and Other Nations To Tap Oil Reserves In Attempt To Lower Consumer Fuel Prices
Federal Jury Finds CVS, Walgreens and Walmart Responsible For Fueling Ohio’s Opioid Crisis
New York City Poised To Expand Voting Rights to 800,000 Non-Citizen Residents in Local Elections
Malikah Shabazz, One of Malcolm X’s 6 Daughters, Found Dead in NYC Home
Indigenous Activist Amber Ortega Faces Prison Time For Protecting Ancestral Lands

Tags: capitol-storming-news, energy-news, pharma-news, crime-news, drug-news, voting-rights-news, indigenous-news

Just Security (24/11/21): Early Edition:

The head of the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) left Tehran late yesterday after failing to reach a deal to allow IAEA inspectors to gain access to a factory involved in centrifuge production for the Iranian nuclear program. The factory in Karaj has resumed production of key centrifuge components for enriching uranium without IAEA monitoring. Diplomats have said that the talks between the IAEA and Iran are ongoing. Laurence Norman reports for the Wall Street Journal.
Qatar employed a former CIA officer to help spy on rival teams and key soccer officials who were responsible for picking the host of the FIFA 2022 World Cup in 2010, an investigation by The Associated Press has found. Alan Suderman reports for AP.
The U.S. is to drop the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) from a list of foreign terrorist organizations in a move intended to demonstrate U.S. support for a fragile five-year old peace agreement between rebels in Colombia and then-President Juan Manuel Santos. The officials said the move would come no later than Nov. 30, coinciding with the five-year anniversary of the historic peace accord. The FARC began to demobilize shortly after the signing of the accord, and have taken steps to transform their group into a political party, now called the Common People party. Vivian Salama and Juan Forero report for the Wall Street Journal.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has decided to take Nigeria off a list of countries accused of engaging in or tolerating religious persecution, leading to anger from Christian groups, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, and former senior U.S. diplomats. Blinken’s decision was revealed last week before he visited Nigeria, where Muslim-Christian tensions have long flared. State Department officials have said that Blinken’s move followed the advice of various department sections, but critics are calling it political and designed to appease an important African partner. Nahal Toosi reports for POLITICO.
Apple Inc. has sued the Israeli spyware group NSO Group, alleging the company misused Apple’s products and services. “The lawsuit alleges that NSO Group engaged in ‘concerted efforts in 2021 to target and attack Apple customers, Apple products and servers and Apple through dangerous malware and spyware,’ and seeks to bar NSO Group from using Apple’s products,” Robert McMillan reports for the Wall Street Journal.
Jurors have found the primary organizers of the deadly far-right 2017 rally in Charlottesville, Virginia liable under state law for injuries to counterprotesters, awarding more than $25 million in damages. “The “Unite the Right’ march began as a demonstration over the removal of a Confederate statue and led to the death of the counterprotester Heather Heyer, 32, when she was struck by a car driven by one of the defendants,” Neil MacFarquhar reports for The New York Times.
The death toll from the attack in Waukesha, Wisconsin on Sunday has increased to six people, after an 8-year old boy died, with more than 60 others having been injured. Prosecutors have had their request for a $5 million bail for the suspect Darrell E. Brooks granted. Mitch Smith, Brandon Dupré, Serge F. Kovaleski and Miriam Jordan report for The New York Times.

Tags: international-news, dark-security-news, big-tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, court-news, militant-far-right-news, crime-news

Democracy Now (23/11/21): Daily Headlines:

Senators Move to Block Biden’s Planned $650M Weapons Sale to Saudi Arabia
U.S. COVID-19 Cases Surge Ahead of Thanksgiving Holiday
Israel Arrests Relatives of Palestinian Man Behind Jerusalem Attack
Driver of SUV That Plowed into Wisconsin Parade Has Record of Domestic Violence
NY Lawmakers Find “Overwhelming Evidence” Andrew Cuomo Sexually Harassed Women
Florida Exonerates Four Black Men Falsely Accused of Raping White Woman in 1949

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, international-news, covid-news, crime-news, cuomo-news

Just Security (23/11/21): Early Edition:

A U.S. warship sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait today as part of what the U.S. military calls routine activity but which will likely add to Beijing’s perception that Washington is trying to stir regional tensions. The Navy said that the warship conducted a “routine Taiwan Strait transit” through international waters in accordance with international law. Reuters reports.
The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol has issued five new subpoenas to former President Trump’s allies. The subpoenas focus on those who helped draw crowds to Washington, D.C. before the attack on Jan. 6, and include the political operative Roger J. Stone Jr. and the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. Luke Broadwater reports for the New York Times.
An Indiana man has been arrested and charged with bringing a loaded gun to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C. Monique Beals reports for The Hill.
The Department of Justice is to pay about $130 million to 40 survivors and families of victims of the 2018 massacre at a high school in Parkland, Florida. The family members and survivors sued over how the FBI handled tip warnings about the gunman before he killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Patricia Mazzei and Katie Benner report for the New York Times.
The U.S. for the first time was added to a list of “backsliding democracies” in a report released yesterday by the Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. Miriam Berger reports for the Washington Post.
The Republican National Committee (RNC) is paying some personal legal bills for former President Trump in relation to criminal investigations into Trump’s financial practices in New York, a party spokesperson has said. In October, the RNC made two payments totaling $121,670 to the law firm of Ronald Fischetti, a veteran defense attorney who Trump hired in April. “Fischetti has been representing Trump as he faces investigations by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. (D) and New York Attorney General Letitia James (D). There has been no indication that either investigation involves Trump’s time as president or any of his political campaigns,” David A. Fahrenthold, Josh Dawsey, Isaac Stanley-Becker and Shayna Jacobs report for the Washington Post.
The man accused of killing five after driving an SUV through a parade in Wisconsin intentionally struck people with the vehicle, but there is no indication that the attack was motivated by terrorism. Waukesha Police Chief Daniel Thompson also added that there had been no pursuit by police officers before Darrell E. Brooks steered into the parade, though he was not able to say whether Brooks drove down the parade route in an attempt to escape an earlier confrontation with the police. Mitch Smith, Dan Simmons, Glenn Thrush and Serge F. Kovaleski report for the New York Times.
Large biomanufacturing companies are being targeted by hackers potentially tied to Russia, researchers from the Bioeconomy Information Sharing and Analysis Center (BIO-ISAC) disclosed yesterday. BIO-ISAC said that the effort involves a type of malware labeled “Tardigrade” that was first detected following a ransomware attack on an unnamed major biomanufacturing facility this spring. The same malware was found at a second biomanufacturing facility last month. Maggie Miller reports for The Hill.
Internet domain host GoDaddy has disclosed a recent data breach that resulted in the emails and customers numbers of 1.2 million Managed WordPress users being exposed. In a document filed to the Securities and Exchange Commission, GoDaddy warned that the data breach, which had been ongoing since September, increased the chances of email phishing attacks against impacted customers. Maggie Miller reports for The Hill.

Tags: international-news, capitol-storming-news, trump-news, gop-shenanigans-news, crime-news, cyber-security-news

Just Security (22/11/21): Early Edition:

Five people were killed and more than 40 injured after a driver in an SUV sped into a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, yesterday evening. Authorities have taken one “person of interest” into custody, Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson said at a news conference yesterday evening, adding that police fired shots at the driver. Thompson did not comment on a possible motive. Reis Thebault, Andrea Salcedo and Bryan Pietsch report for the Washington Post.; The incident does not appear “at this time” to be an act of terrorism, a law enforcement official has said. The suspect also appeared to have been fleeing another scene, possibly a knife fight, when he ran into people at the parade, the official said. Jordan Freiman and Brian Dakss report for CBS News.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), a member of the House Jan. 6 select committee, has said that many of the more than 200 witnesses interviewed by the committee so far are former officials from the Trump administration who came forward voluntarily. Lofgren made the comments during a CNN interview, where she explained that some officials have also volunteered testimony but needed a subpoena for “cover.”
A jury acquitted Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager who fatally shot two protesters in Kenosha, Wis., and wounded a third, of all criminal charges on Friday, including intentional homicide. Harper Neidig reports for The Hill.
Protestors gathered in Chicago and other U.S. cities on Saturday to express frustration and anger over the jury’s acquittal of Rittenhouse. Douglas Belkin reports for the Wall Street Journal.
A conservative dark money group, Donors Trust, has been giving large amounts of funds to white supremacist groups, the Jan. 6 organizers, efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and more than a dozen private and public universities, according to the group’s latest Internal Revenue Service filing. Roger Sollenberger reports for The Daily Beast.
The House has approved more than $500 million in cybersecurity funding as part of its version of President Biden’s roughly $2 trillion Build Back Better package $500m? This country is insane. That is a drop in the bucket, for an issue that is clearly one of our top security concerns. No, we need more expensive rockets to fire at militants with a $50 budget!
The FBI and state investigators are investigating an attempted hacking of an Ohio election network that occurred in May. The attempt bears similarities to an incident in Colorado earlier this year, when government officials helped an outsider gain access to the county voting system in an effort to find fraud. State and county officials said no sensitive data were obtained in Ohio, but that a private laptop was plugged into the Ohio country network in the office of John Hamercheck (R), chair of the Lake County Board of Commissioners. Amy Gardner, Emma Brown and Devlin Barrett report for the Washington Post.
Two of the 17 American and Canadian missionaries kidnapped in Haiti last month have been released. The two hostages who were released “are safe, in good spirits, and being cared for,” Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries said in a statement. The Haitian authorities confirmed the release but provided no further details. Widlore Mérancourt, Miriam Berger and Claire Parker report for the Washington Post.
The FBI and the CIA secretly arranged for nine FBI agents to temporarily become CIA operatives in the overseas “black sites” network where the CIA used to torture and interrogate its prisoners. The information, which undermines the FBI narrative of not being involved in the torture at the prisons, emerged during an evidentiary hearing to prepare for an upcoming Sept. 11 trial at Guantánamo Bay. Carol Rosenberg reports for the New York Times.
The top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has pushed back against the Republican party’s block of President Biden’s picks for diplomatic posts
The U.S. has shared intelligence with its European allies that shows the build up of Russian troops near the border with Ukraine. The intelligence lays out a scenario where Russian troops would enter Ukraine from Crimea, the Russian border and via Belarus, with potentially 100,000 soldiers deployed in rough terrain and freezing conditions, people familiar with the conversations have said. Alberto Nardelli and Jennifer Jacobs report for Bloomberg.
China’s hypersonic weapons test from July included technological advances that allowed it to fire a missile mid-flight over the South China Sea as it approached its target, travelling at least five times the speed of sound. No country has previously demonstrated this technology, with China’s test catching Pentagon scientists and U.S. intelligence agencies off guard. Demetri Sevastopulo reports for the Financial Times.
American hypersonic missile capabilities are “not as advanced” as those of China or Russia, Space Force General David Thompson has said. During an interview at the Halifax International Security Forum in Canada, Thompson admitted that the U.S. is lagging behind the other two countries. Brad Dress reports for The Hill.
Although 94% of Marine Corps have met the Covid-19 vaccine requirement or are on the path to do so, up to 10,000 active-duty Marines will not be able to comply with the vaccine mandate by the Nov. 28 deadline. The holdouts will join approximately 9,600 Air Force personnel who have outright refused the vaccine, did not report their status, or sought an exemption on medical or religious grounds. Alex Horton reports for the Washington Post.

Tags: crime-news, capitol-storming-news, trump-news, court-news, protest-news, militant-far-right-news, dark-money-news, cyber-security-news, international-news, gop-shenanigans-news, covid-news

Democracy Now (22/11/21): Daily Headlines:

White Missouri Police Detective Found Guilty in Fatal Shooting of Black Man
U.S. Regulators Approve COVID Boosters For All Adults as Officials Warn of Possible Winter Surge

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, covid-news

Posted 20 November 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page); Bleeding edge news (rough)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

Great stuff! I've got three things for you. (1) In India, a year long protest by farmers (and very well-organized!) (initialized with a general strike of 250 million people last year) has actually forced Modi to completely withdraw three bills that would have privatized and corporatized India's agricultural sector, putting food security (and farmer livelihood) to the whims of international capital and "the market". This is amazing democratic action in display, and how to do it - good organization, no matter what! (2) Next, in the recent Teamsters elections, the Hoffa dynasty has been voted out, and more rank-and-file oriented reformers are in! This could translate into highly effective organizing strategies at Amazon (I hope!), as well as democratic contract implementation policies in upcoming negotiations with UPS (the Teamsters, under Hoffa, rammed a contract through a few years ago, despite a majority of members voting against it), and possibly stronger advocacy in Washington DC for the Pro-Act (although I'm skeptical on this being realistic). (3) Finally, while lots of labor action has resulted in benefits (and some outrages - such as with IATSE), there are two big notable examples I'd like to raise: John Deere (where workers got a pretty hefty contract, resisting the weak-spined UAW initial TA), and at several Buffalo hospitals, where (it seems) amazing organization has translated (in spite of the odds) into a strong contract.

While it's easy to fixate on frustrating and bad news coming out lately, keep in mind that there is one way for democratic power to emerge - to organize and fight (metaphorically - don't physically assail people!). These news items only support this claim, and as we hurdle into an uncertain future, we can't leave it up to chance.

Sorry, been quite busy lately, so updates have been irregular, and perhaps not as comprehensive as I'd like (the briefing sections need some TLC), but trying to keep up! Hope all is going good :)

Labor Notes (19/11/21): Buffalo Hospital Workers Beat Concessions, Win on Staffing - After five weeks on strike, 2,000 Buffalo hospital workers returned to work November 10 with what they are calling a “landmark” agreement on their top demand: safe staffing ratios. - Pay and benefits at Catholic Health have long lagged behind a rival local chain, Kaleida Health. Under the new agreement, registered nurses will see an average 6.3 percent raise retroactive to June, while service, technical, and clerical employees will get an average bump of 8.4 percent. The agreement also raises the hospitals’ minimum wage to $15 an hour. Workers hope this will help attract more staff. - “This time there wasn’t much chance of us not going out on strike, ” said Bob Scime, who’s been at Mercy for 40 years and currently works in billing. “People had just reached the point where they can only work so hard.”

The labor movement here seems to be quite alive, with strong rank-and-file organization, grassroots community interactions, and what labor organizer Jane McAlevey would call (I think) "structure testing". Small wonder their efforts worked out, demonstrating the power of rank-and-file labor action - even as only a fraction of the represented workers went on strike (due to contract restrictions, not worker apathy).

Tags: labor-news, healthcare-news, good-news

Jacobin (19/11/21): With Reformers Victorious, It’s a New Day for the Teamsters - The rank-and-file reform slate Teamsters United has secured victory in the union’s internal election. Its agenda is modest: bargain hard against UPS, organize Amazon, push the PRO Act, and revitalize the labor movement.

Tags: labor-news, union-news, good-news

Left Voice (19/11/21): In Victory for Year-Long Farmers’ Protests, Modi Announces Repeal of Agricultural Laws - In a victory for the protests that have raged for over a year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced that the government will repeal the three farm laws. The fight to protect farmers’ and workers’ rights needs to continue, striking at the heart of capitalist production. [labor-news, good-news, privatization-news, far-right-news, food-security-news]

Tags: international-news, labor-news, good-news, privatization-news, far-right-news, food-security-news

Common Dreams (18/11/21): 'Sacrifice and Solidarity' Pay Off as Striking John Deere Workers Win Bigger Wage Hike - "Our members' courageous willingness to strike in order to attain a better standard of living and a more secure retirement resulted in a groundbreaking contract."

Tags: labor-news, good-news

Common Dreams (19/11/21): GOP Election Maps in Ohio Latest Evidence of 'Redistricting Apocalypse' Now Underway - "Ohio leaders have disrespected voters, trampled the Ohio Constitution, and rigged the Congressional map to serve partisan, political operatives rather than fairly represent Ohioans."

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, voting-rights-news, analysis-news

Vice (19/11/21): Neo-Nazis Who Plotted to Kill Antifa Activist Sentenced to Prison - The men had planned to ambush an antifascist activist inside his rural home, execute him and his wife with guns, and then burn the house down.

Tags: militant-far-right-news, crime-news

The Majority Report (19/11/21): Here’s The Thing About Kyle Rittenhouse’s Verdict...

Tags: court-news, militant-far-right-news

Revolving Door Project (19/11/21): FOIA Response Suggests Fed's Powell Was Dishonest About Personal Ethics Signoff

Tags: corruption-news, bad-government-news

The Guardian (18/11/21): US states investigate Instagram for ‘wreaking havoc’ on teens’ mental health - Attorneys general launch bipartisan inquiry after company’s own research showed platform harmed children

Tags: big-tech-news, social-woes-news

Law and Crime (19/11/21): Appeals Court Refuses to Overturn Ruling Temporarily Blocking New York Times from Publishing Project Veritas’s ‘Privileged’ Info

Tags: court-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, media-news

The Hill (19/11/21): New Hampshire Gov. Sununu condemns tweet offering $500 'bounty' on teachers

Tags: far-right-news

New York Times (19/11/21): Biden Nominates Two New Postal Service Board Members - The president moved to replace two members who have been supporters of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a step that could portend a shift in leadership at the agency.

One of the nominees (a Democrat) seems very revolving door, and the other (a Republican) served various roles under Trump, and was a policy advisor to Mitch McConnell. These nominees seem pretty ugly, tbh. Which is funny, as this article seems to reflect some relief amongst Democrats that Biden won't renominate a pro-DeJoy board member... but are these two really that exciting?

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, bad-government-news

Louis Rossmann (19/11/21): Lina Khan pushes to prosecute corporate misconduct CRIMINALLY - no more slaps on the wrist

I share Louis' excitement for Khan's zeal! I hope the best for her efforts.

Tags: biden-policy-news, antitrust-news

Chron (19/11/21): 14,000 Kroger workers in Houston could go on strike before Thanksgiving - Negotiations over a new contract have been ongoing since April 2020 (via u/Chroncom on r/labor)

Tags: labor-news

The Guardian (18/11/21): Residents brace for torrential rains in already flooded western Canada - Summer wildfires wiped out vegetation that could have slowed the water, flooding the vulnerable small communities

Tags: climate-change-news, social-woes-news

ProPublica (18/11/21): Texts Show Kimberly Guilfoyle Bragged About Raising Millions for Rally That Fueled Capitol Riot - Text messages reviewed by ProPublica represent the strongest indication yet that members of the Trump family inner circle were involved in financing and organizing the Jan. 6 “Save America” rally, which immediately preceded the Capitol riot

Tags: trump-news, capitol-storming-news, corruption-news

Ars Technica (18/11/21): Nvidia acquisition of Arm now under scrutiny by FTC - FTC highlights potential objections, adding to UK and European scrutiny of the deal.

Tags: big-tech-news, antitrust-news, international-news

Law and Crime (19/11/21): Lawyer for Man Accused of Murdering Black Man in Deep South Suggests Client Is Victim of ‘Public Lynching’ by ‘Woke Left Mob’

To be clear, this is offensively inaccurate hyperbole.

Tags: far-right-news, court-news

Common Dreams (17/11/21): 'Inappropriate Giveaway of Galactic Proportions': Outrage Over $10 Billion Taxpayer Gift to Bezos Space Obsession - "No," said Sen Bernie Sanders. "Congress should not provide a $10 billion handout to Jeff Bezos for space exploration as part of the defense spending bill. Unbelievable."

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, corruption-news, bad-government-news

ZDNet (19/11/21): Pentagon asks AWS, Microsoft, Google and Oracle to bid for new cloud contract - After scrapping the $10 billion JEDI contract that was awarded to Microsoft, the Defense Department is seeking out new bids.

Oh great! This is the most America-in-decline news article I can imagine

Tags: big-tech-news, privatization-news, cyber-security-news

Common Dreams (19/11/21): Biden Applauded for Reversing Trump Assault on 'Priceless' Tongass National Forest - "The Tongass National Forest's indispensable habitats serve as home to a multitude of species and also play a vital role in helping fight global warming," said one conservation advocate

Tags: biden-policy-news

Democracy Now (18/11/21): Daily Headlines:

White House Plan Would Expand U.S. Vaccine Production by One Billion Doses a Year
Travis McMichael, Who Shot and Killed Ahmaud Arbery, Testifies in Own Defense
Students Walk Out of Oklahoma Schools to Protest Planned Execution of Julius Jones
Two Men Convicted of Killing Malcolm X Will Be Exonerated - This comes after decades of advocacy on behalf of the men and after a 2-year investigation by the Manhattan D.A.’s office and the Innocence Project found that prosecutors, the FBI and the New York Police Department omitted key evidence around the murder. Muhammad Aziz is 83, he was released on parole in 1985 and has been fighting to clear his name. The other man, Khalil Islam, was released in 1987 and died in 2009.
Bernie Sanders Blasts Record-Shattering Pentagon Budget Proposal
200+ Voting Rights Demonstrators Arrested Outside White House

Tags: covid-news, racist-crime-news, protest-news, progressive-dem-news, dark-security-news, voting-rights-news

Just Security (18/11/21): Early Edition:

A Russian internet entrepreneur has ended a four-year legal battle against Buzzfeed that was initiated in response to Buzzfeed’s publication of the Steele dossier. A similar defamation suit made by three other Russian tycoons remains on appeal after being dismissed by a New York judge in March. Josh Gerstein reports for POLITICO.
American, British, and Australian officials have warned that hackers linked to the government of Iran are targeting critical sectors of the U.S. economy, including transportation, healthcare and public health
The vice Foriegn Ministers of Japan and South Korea pulled out of a joint press conference yesterday with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, after a disagreement over the Takeshima/Dokdo islands, which are administered by South Korea but claimed by Japan.
China’s hypersonic missile test from the summer went “around the world,” Gen. John Hyten, outgoing vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said. The missle “went around the world, dropped off a hypersonic glide vehicle that glided all the way back to China, that impacted the target in China,” Hyten told CBS News. Hyten also said that he is “very concerned” about China’s military buildup. CBS News reports.
The U.N. envoy for Afghanistan has told the U.N. Security Council that the country is on the brink of a “humanitarian catastrophe.” Deborah Lyons pointed to food scarcity and Afghanistan’s collapsing economy, and warned that extremism could arise in Afghanistan due to the current conditions. Lyons said that the regional and global community must continue to help Afghanistan as it heads into the winter. Mychael Schnell reports for The Hill.
The last group of Afghan refugees housed at the Fort Lee military base in Virginia has been resettled, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced. “Overall, more 25,000 evacuees have been resettled as of Wednesday, DHS said, while a remaining 45,000 await resettlement at seven additional bases in Virginia, Indiana, New Mexico, Texas and Wisconsin,” Jordan Williams reports for The Hill.
Former White House strategist Stephen Bannon moved to plead not guilty yesterday to criminal contempt of Congress charges, after Bannon failed to comply with a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Bannon was expected to plead not guilty at the arraignment scheduled for today, but his lawyers yesterday filed a motion to enter the not guilty plea and skip the arraignment. Rebecca Beitsch and Harper Neidig report for The Hill.
The federal judge presiding over Bannon’s criminal case, Judge Carl Nichols, has previously argued in court that presidential advisers should have absolute immunity against congressional subpoenas.
Jacob Chansley, more commonly known as the QAnon Shaman, was sentenced to 41 months in prison after pleading guilty to a single felony count of obstructing an official proceeding before Congress. Alan Feuer reports for the New York Times.
Prosecutors agreed to drop the remaining charges against Chansley at the conclusion of Wednesday’s sentencing hearing. Chansley originally faced six charges and a maximum of 20 years imprisonment, though the 41-month sentence is still the longest sentence for any individual prosecuted in connection with the attack to date. John Kruzel reports for The Hill.
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) was formally censured by the House of Representatives yesterday for posting an animated video depicting him killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and physically assaulting President Biden. The vote was largely along party lines with just two Republicans, Reps. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), joining Democrats in favor of the censure. The censure of Gosar, which also resulted in him being stripped of his two committee assignments (the House Oversight and Reform Committee and the House Natural Resources Committee), was the first censure since 2010 and only the 24th in U.S. history. Jonathan Weisman and Catie Edmondson report for the New York Times.
Republicans lined up to denounce Gosar’s censure prior to the vote. There were accusations that the Democratic Party is “chilling debate” (Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX)) and that they want to seize “totalitarian control” of the country (Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA)).
Ocasio-Cortez urged her colleagues in an impassioned House floor speech ahead of the censure vote to make clear that they will not tolerate any lawmaker promoting depictions of political violence
The Senate advanced its version of the National Defense Authorization Act late last night after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) agreed to pursue separate legislation intended to improve U.S. competitiveness against China. Schumer has previously sought to unilaterally attach China legislation to the annual defense policy bill.
The jury in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse will proceed with its third day of deliberations today. Michael Tarm, Scott Bauer, and Amy Forliti report for the Associated Press.
Defense attorneys for Rittenhouse asked the judge yesterday to declare a mistrial, arguing that the defense did not receive the same quality of a key drone video as the prosecution. Judge Bruce Schroeder did not immediately rule on the new mistrial request. Maya Yang reports for the Guardian.
Three MS-13 gang members were convicted of murder and racketeering charges yesterday at a federal court in New Jersey. The three El Salvadoran men committed the crimes related to murder, drug trafficking, witness tampering and extortion from September 2014 to October 2015, the Department of Justice press release stated. Brad Dress reports for The Hill.
Days after President Biden told world leaders at the COP26 climate summit that his administration is committed to slowing climate change with “action, and not words,” his Interior Department oversaw one of the largest oil and gas lease sales in U.S. history. The lease of eighty million acres of the Gulf of Mexico was put up for auction yesterday, wth environmentalists decrying the action. “Energy companies, led by Exxon Mobil Corp., only placed bids on a total of 1.7 million acres, and it’s unclear how much of that will later be developed,” Nathan Rott reports for NPR.
The U.S. recorded its highest number of drug-overdose deaths in a 12-month period, surpassing 100,000 for the first time, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “There were an estimated 100,306 drug deaths in the 12 months running through April, according to the latest CDC data. This marks a nearly 29% rise from the deaths recorded in the same period the previous year, indicating the U.S. is heading for another full-year record after drug deaths soared during the Covid-19 pandemic,” Jon Kamp and Julie Wernau report for the Wall Street Journal.
Almost entirely along party lines, Republican state lawmakers in Florida passed various pieces of legislation yesterday restricting the use of mask and vaccine mandates

Tags: international-news, cyber-security-news, immigrant-news, gop-shenanigans-news, politics-news, capitol-storming-news, crime-news, drug-news, social-woes-news, fail-biden-policy-news, big-oil-news, covid-news

Just Security (19/11/21): Early Edition:

An armed drone strike against a U.S. military base in southern Syria last month was conducted by Iran as retaliation for Israeli airstrikes in Syria, according to various U.S. and Israeli officials
The U.S. has indicted two Iranian nationals for interfering in the 2020 presidential elections, and has sanctioned six Iranian officials for their role in the alleged plot. According to the Treasury Department, state-sponsored Iranian cyber actors conducted wide-ranging disinformation operations in an attempt to influence American voters and undermine voter confidence in the electoral process. The two Iranians charged by the Department of Justice are still at large and presumed to be based in Iran. Mark Hosenball and Sarah N. Lynch report for Reuters.
The North American Leaders’ Summit involving President Biden, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau focused on presenting a unified front rather than grappling with more controversial issues such as trade disputes or migrant policy. The leaders agreed to form a working group on regional supply chain issues and also agreed to limited vaccine sharing. Katie Rogers and Natalie Kitroeff report for the New York Times.
The Senate has confirmed Julianne Smith to be Biden’s ambassador to NATO after Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) agreed to lift a “hold” on Smith’s nomination.
Three senators have made a bipartisan push to block a proposed $650 million weapons sale to Saudi Arabia. Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY), Mike Lee (R-UT) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced a joint resolution against the proposed arms sale in light of Riyadh’s role in Yemen’s civil war
A leading Israeli politician’s campaign lobbying against the reopening of a U.S. consulate for Palestinians in East Jerusalem has been amplified on Facebook by a network of fake accounts, according to research by the Israeli disinformation research company FakeReporter. Olivia Solon reports for NBC News.
The Biden administration added more U.S. troops to Taiwan over the past few months, according to newly published Defense Department data. There are now nearly 40 troops on the island, making the U.S. footprint on the island nearly twice as big as last year. The U.S. troops are there to train Tawainese troops and protect the de facto U.S. embassy on the island. However, the small but steadily growing U.S. footprint on Taiwan “could represent increased concern in the White House and Pentagon over the island’s fate,” Jack Detsch reports for Foreign Policy.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced the repeal of three controversial farm laws after a year of protests. Farmers have been saying that the laws would allow the entry of private players in farming and that will hurt their income. Modi’s announcement marks a major change in the stance of the Indian government, who had been steadfastly insisting that the laws were good for farmers and that there was no question of reversing them. BBC News reports.
A new report from the Department of Defense’s Office of Inspector General has raised questions about the account that William Walker, the now-retired commander of the D.C. National Guard, gave about deploying troops to the Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack
Mobilewalla, a company that collects and sells consumer information extracted from cell phones, has announced that it has provided some of this advertising data to the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies. Byron Tau reports for the Wall Street Journal.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has warned Democratic party members that their censure of Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) for showing a video depicting him killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) could allow Republicans to apply a “new standard” toward Democrats if Republicans regain control. Aaron Blake reports for the Washington Post.
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) pursued a contract with a technology company that would enable the police to use fake social media accounts to surveil civilians and use algorithms to identify people who may commit crimes in the future. Internal LAPD documents obtained through public records requests by the Brennan Center for Justice have revealed that LAPD in 2019 trialed social media surveillance software from the analytics company Voyager Labs. The trial ended in November 2019 and LAPD is currently not using Voyager, according to a police spokesperson. Sam Levin and Johana Bhuiyan report for the Guardian.
Facebook has written to the LAPD demanding that it stop setting up fake profiles to conduct surveillance on users. “Not only do LAPD instructional documents use Facebook as an explicit example in advising officers to set up fake social media accounts, but documents also indicate that LAPD policies simply allow officers to create fake accounts for online investigative activity,’” wrote Facebook’s Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for civil rights Roy Austin. “While the legitimacy of such policies may be up to the LAPD, officers must abide by Facebook’s policies when creating accounts on our services. The Police Department should cease all activities on Facebook that involve the use of fake accounts, impersonation of others, and collection of data for surveillance purposes,” Austin wrote. Marry-Ann Russon reports for BBC News.
A man seen carrying an AR-15 rifle outside the courthouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where a jury is deliberating in the double homicide trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, has identified himself as a former police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. Jesse Kline said that he had traveled to Kenosha from Arizona, where he lives, to “exercise my constitutional rights.” Tim Stelloh reports for NBC News.
Soldiers who refuse to be vaccinated against Covid-19 and have not requested an exemption will no longer be allowed to re-enlist or be promoted, according to a memo from U.S. Army Secretary Christine Wormuth. The memo applies to active-duty troops as well as reservists and National Guardsmen, including those serving in states whose governors do not require the vaccine. The memo states that troops’ service records will be “flagged” if they continue to refuse to be vaccinated, without an exemption. This flag will bar them from being promoted, reenlisting, continuing to receive enlistment bonuses, attending service-related schools, or receiving tuition assistance. The memo also authorizes “commanders to impose bars to continued service…for all soldiers who refuse the mandatory vaccine order without an approved exemption or pending exemption request.” Tara Copp reports for Defense One.

Tags: international-news, security-news, politics-news, capitol-storming-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, big-tech-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, militant-far-right-news, covid-news

Democracy Now (19/11/21): Daily Headlines:

House to Vote on Build Back Better Act After Filibuster-Style Delay by Republican Leader
Julius Jones Granted Clemency Hours Before Scheduled Execution
Henry Montgomery, Sentenced to Life Term at 17, Leaves Angola Prison on Parole
18,000 Cut Off by Flooding in British Columbia; Millions of Kenyans at Risk of Hunger Amid Drought
Travis McMichael Admits Ahmaud Arbery Never Threatened Him as Defense Rests
Aurora, CO to Pay $15 Million Settlement to Family of Elijah McClain
GOP Sen. John Kennedy Uses “Red Scare” Tactics to Discredit Biden Treasury Nominee - Omarova grew up in Soviet Kazakhstan, and came to the U.S. in 1991. As a child, she was required to join a Soviet youth group. That became the basis for Senator Kennedy’s questioning. - “Senator, I’m not a communist. I do not subscribe to that ideology. I could not choose where I was born.”

Tags: politics-news, infrastructure-news, racist-crime-news, climate-change-news, social-woes-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, gop-shenanigans-news, far-right-news

The Nation (19/11/21): Democrats Must Stand Firm on Funding the Civilian Climate Corps - A key program in the Build Back Better Act, the Civilian Climate Corps has the potential to mobilize young voters for Democrats next year—assuming the bill survives.

Tags: policy-news, climate-change-news, labor-news

The Intercept (18/11/21): The U.S.-Led Bombings That Ended the ISIS “Caliphate” Killed Scores of Civilians - The aerial campaign in eastern Syria dislodged the terrorist group from the final patch of land it controlled but cost an untold number of lives

Tags: dark-security-news

CounterPunch (17/11/21): What’s Driving Global Deforestation? Organized Crime, Beef, Soy, Palm Oil and Wood Products

Tags: international-news, capitalist-farce-news, food-security-news, climate-change-news, industrial-failure-news, crime-news

Vox (18/11/21): Improving public transit makes it easier for people to stay healthy - A new study found improving public transportation makes it easier for people to make it to their doctor appointments

Tags: infrastructure-news, analysis-news, healthcare-news

New York Times (18/11/21): Search for Jimmy Hoffa Leads the F.B.I. to Jersey City Landfill - A deathbed statement by a man who claimed to bury the Teamster boss’ body in a steel drum brought agents to the site for an inspection

Tags: crime-news, history-news, union-news

The Intercept (18/11/21): Bipartisan Bill Seeks to Stop Warrantless Car Spying by Police - Federal authorities can extract photos, texts, and other sensitive data from automotive computers, The Intercept previously revealed.

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, legislation-news

Vice (17/11/21): FBI Raids Home of GOP Election Official Linked to QAnon’s Ron Watkins - Tina Peters is accused of leaking sensitive election information to Watkins, who then shared it at a QAnon conference. - The raid on Tina Peters’ house took place in the early hours of Tuesday morning and coincided with raids on three other properties, including the home of Sherronna Bishop, who was formerly the campaign manager for Rep. Lauren Boebert.

Tags: far-right-news, gop-shenanigans-news

New York Times (16/11/21): Archdiocese of New Orleans to Pay $1 Million to Settle FEMA Fraud Claims - The archdiocese was accused of participating in inflated damage claims to the federal government after Hurricane Katrina.

Tags: crime-news, corruption-news

The Rational National (17/11/21): Ilhan Omar Fires Back HARD At Lauren Boebert's Unhinged Rant

Tags: progressive-dem-news, far-right-news, politics-news

ZDNet (16/11/21): Google glitch triggers major internet outage - Google's networking went awry and many sites failed. (UPDATED)

Tags: big-tech-news, cyber-security-news, infrastructure-news

Posted 18 November 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page); Bleeding edge news (rough)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

Left Voice (16/11/21): IATSE Members Vote No, Contract Passes Anyway - By using undemocratic voting measures, public pressure, and delaying tactics, the IATSE bureaucracy overrode the wishes of the membership to ram through a terrible contract. This is a betrayal of Halyna Hutchins, and all the IATSE members who voted to strike and who are demanding safe working conditions.

Tags: labor-news, union-news

Democracy Now (17/11/21): Ari Berman: With Extreme Gerrymandering, the Republicans Are Rigging the Next Decade of Elections

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, voting-rights-news, analysis-news

Vox (17/11/21): Apple will finally let you fix your own devices — sort of - The announcement comes as regulators prepare to crack down on restrictive device repair policies.

Louis Rossmann (17/11/21): Apple makes parts and manuals available to all

Tags: right-to-repair-news

Common Dreams (14/11/21): 'Infuriating' Report Reveals 'Breathtaking Cover-Up' of US Airstrike That Killed Syrian Civilians - "This NYT report on the cover-up of U.S. war crimes in Syria should make your blood boil. The U.S. wantonly kills civilians, covers it up, and then tells other countries how 'democracy' works."

Tags: dark-security-news

Democracy Now (29/10/21): “Shadow Units”: How Secretive Border Patrol Teams Shield Agents from Accountability

Tags: immigrant-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news

Mother Jones (14/11/21): “Band-Aid on a Bullet Wound”: Flint Locals Seethe Over $626 Million Water Settlement - “Man-made disaster” left thousands of families exposed to toxic lead

Tags: flint-news

The Majority Report (10/11/21): Nancy Pelosi Marries Billionaire Oil Heiress Ivy Getty In San Francisco City Hall

Tags: bad-democrat-news

The American Prospect (12/11/21): The Bus Driver Strikes - After a long slump, more drivers are winning the right to collective bargaining. Now, the threat of privatization looms.

Tags: privatization-news, labor-news

Just Security (11/11/21): US Focus on `Open Balkan’ Economic Project Risks Open Season Instead

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, international-news

The Revolving Door Project (10/11/21): A Fossil Fuel-Aligned Investment Executive Is Biden's Final Nominee to Manage Federal Retirement Funds

Tags: big-oil-news, fail-biden-policy-news

Common Dreams (17/11/21): Scientists Warn Experimental Nuclear Plant Backed by Bill Gates Is 'Outright Dangerous' - "Gates has continually downplayed the role of proven, safe renewable energy technology in decarbonizing our economy."

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, energy-news

Jacobin (17/11/21): Puerto Rico Is Facing Down Another Undemocratic, Austerity-Obsessed Bankruptcy Deal - Financial vultures are pushing a new round of bankruptcy and austerity in Puerto Rico. Puerto Ricans themselves, meanwhile, continue to fight for pensions, basic services, and a democratic say in their lives that has been denied them so long.

Tags: neo-imperialism-news, labor-news

On Labor (15/11/21): The Child Tax Credit is Changing Lives – And Could Change the Future

Tags: economic-news, biden-policy-news

The Guardian (15/11/21): Researchers identify 102 students who died at Native American school in Nebraska - School was operated by the federal government between 1884 and 1934 and was known for brutal punishments and hard labour

Tags: mass-grave-news, indigenous-news

The Guardian (15/11/21): Amazon to pay $500,000 fine for failing to notify workers of Covid cases - In a landmark US judgment, California official says the company failed to ‘adequately notify’ employees and local health agencies

This is kind of small news, sharing though as it shows how farcical this is. Imagine the gall of saying that a $500k fine will mean anything to Amazon! LOL

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, labor-news

Common Dreams (15/11/21): Big Ag Furious After EPA Determines Top Herbicides Driving Vulnerable Species Toward Extinction - "It's long past time for atrazine to be banned, and the EPA needs to crack down on the reckless overuse of glyphosate."

More info: Tyrone Hayes at SACNAS (8/3/18): 2017 SACNAS Keynote Presentation: Tyrone B. Hayes, PhD

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, food-security-news, biden-policy-news, industrial-failure-news

Vice (15/11/21): Maryland Mayor Accused of Posting Revenge Porn to r/needysluts Reddit Forum - Mayor Andrew Bradshaw of Cambridge, Maryland, was just charged with 50 counts of distributing revenge porn.

Tags: crime-news

The Majority Report (15/11/21): GOP Senator Squirms Away From Criticizing Trump’s ‘Hang Mike Pence’ Comments

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, far-right-news

On Labor (15/11/21):

This week, the House Judiciary Committee will hear testimony about “how forced arbitration keeps victims of sexual violence and sexual harassment in the shadows.” As Bloomberg Law reports, despite widespread acknowledgement of the unfairness of forced arbitration and despite the nationwide conversation about sexual harassment prompted by the #MeToo movement, employers continue to mandate confidential, individual arbitral proceedings for sexual harassment and discrimination complaints.
Finally, John Oliver hosted a full twenty-minute segment on union busting last night, shining a spotlight on the abusive—though, unfortunately, often legal—tactics employers use to thwart their workers efforts to organizes. The segment can be seen as part of the broader increase in the mainstream media’s interest in and receptiveness to labor concerns—and, of course, the heartening recent rise in public support for labor unions. Whether these favorable trends can find expression in policy remains to be seen.

Tags: labor-news, busting-labor-news

EFF (16/11/21): EFF’s How to Fix the Internet Podcast Offers Optimistic Solutions to Tech Dystopias

Tags: big-tech-news, open-tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, podcast-news

Vice (16/11/21): Burgers, Fries, and Family Leave: Fast-Food Workers Are Finally Unionizing - Employees at Burgerville just became the first unionized fast-food workers in the country.

Tags: labor-news

ProPublica (16/11/21): One Major Reason the U.S. Hasn’t Stopped Syphilis From Killing Babies - In reporting on the rising number of newborns needlessly dying of syphilis, ProPublica reporter Caroline Chen identified a contributing factor: the CDC’s funding structure, which is influenced by both politics and shifts in public attention.

Tags: social-woes-news, policy-news, analysis-news

The Majority Report (17/11/21): Mehdi Hasan Shocked By Sad GOP Candidate Threatened By Trump Who Won't Rule Out Voting MAGA In '24

Tags: far-right-news, gop-shenanigans-news

On Labor (17/11/21):

On Tuesday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, won the lottery to hear the consolidation of thirty-four petitions filed by more than two dozen Republican attorneys general, industry groups, corporations, and labor unions challenging the Biden Administration’s recently-enacted rule mandating vaccines or weekly testing for employees of large companies, which applies to more than 80 million private sector workers and was issued last month
All twelve Circuits were in the running, as petitions for review of OSHA’s regulation were pending in each, and the Ohio-based Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, dominated by Republican–appointed judges, including six Trump appointees, was ultimately chosen via ping-pong ball raffle on Tuesday afternoon.
Several major unions filed legal challenges against the OSHA regulation in a strategic attempt to steer the consolidated litigation into a more favorable Circuit. The Massachusetts Building Trades Council, for example, contested the rule in the First Circuit; SEIU Local 32BJ filed in the Second Circuit; United Association of Journeymen & Apprentices in the Fourth; and the Denver Newspaper Guild in the Tenth, each of which boasts a majority of judges appointed by Democratic presidents. Additionally, United Food & Commercial Workers filed a lawsuit in the DC Circuit, which is evenly split between Democratic and Republican-appointed judges. Most of the union petitions didn’t make legal arguments against or in favor of the OSHA regulation, though SEIU, in their brief petition, charged that the rule “fails to adequately protect all workers who face a grave danger from COVID-19 exposure in the workplace,” and a UFCW representative explained that the union is seeking to “strengthen the worker protections to ensure that as many workers are covered as possible.” In any event, the legality of the Biden Administration’s vaccine-or-test policy is widely expected to end up being decided by the ultraconservative Supreme Court.
In Boston, Michelle Wu (D) was sworn in as the 56th Mayor of Boston on Tuesday, becoming the first woman and first person of color to hold that office, despite the fact that Boston is one of the nation’s oldest cities. As I noted two weeks ago, Wu was endorsed by several major unions operating in the City, and on the campaign trail she espoused commitment to a broad vision of economic justice and worker empowerment. “Michelle is focused on confronting wealth inequality and building economic prosperity through a commitment to labor rights,” reads her campaign website, where she further insists that “Boston must proactively affirm the right of all workers to organize and bargain collectively” and “must also support the creation of worker-owned cooperatives.” Wu also promised to establish a Cabinet-level Chief of Worker Empowerment to, among other things, ensure accountability for wage theft, workplace safety, and labor law violators, educate and empower workers, and support worker-owned cooperatives. Additionally, while campaigning for the job, Mayor Wu committed her administration to “tackling wage theft,” “guaranteeing a fair work week,” “combating wealth inequality” and “closing the racial wealth gap.” As a member of the Boston City Council, Mayor Wu introduced an ordinance that would require all city contractors to provide their workers with notice before changing their schedules, sponsored a paid parental leave measure, signed into law by then-Mayor Marty Walsh (D) in 2017, and filed a resolution in support of state legislation to establish a domestic workers’ bill of rights, which was passed by the City Council and signed into law by then-Governor Deval Patrick (D) in 2014.
In the latest news on Congressional Democrats’ once ‘big, bold’ budget reconciliation package, the Build Back Better Act, which conservative Democrats have since whittled down to a $1.75 trillion framework, economists and analysts in leading rating agencies have found that the social spending package will not add inflationary pressures in the American economy, according to a Reuters report released Tuesday, which has been one of conservative Senator Joe Manchin’s (D-WV) express concerns with the bill.
In New York City, more than 100 staffers at the New York Times protested outside The Times’ headquarters in Manhattan on Tuesday, accusing the newspaper of delaying contract negotiations with their union. The Times Guild, which represents more than 1,000 journalists, reporters, and editors at The Times, has been bargaining for a new CBA with The New York Times Company for nearly eight months. In South Burlington, Vermont, school bus drivers for the city’s public school system overwhelming voted to unionize. Citing “low wages, a grueling working schedule” and the “hardest working conditions in years,” 23 of the 24-member bargaining unit, consisting of drivers and bus monitors, voted to join the South Burlington Educators Association and the National Education Association.

Tags: covid-news, labor-news, union-news, court-news, fail-biden-policy-news, media-news

The Majority Report (16/11/21): Texas Church Hosts Q Rally Chanting ‘Let’s Go Brandon’

Tags: far-right-news

Common Dreams (17/11/21): 'A Slap in the Face': Biden Oil and Gas Lease Sale Ignites Outrage, Legal Challenges - "Biden can't be the climate president when he is actively selling our water to the highest bidder and lobbying oil states to produce more fossil fuels."

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, big-oil-news, privatization-news

Vice (12/11/21): Joe Manchin Opposes Tax Incentives For Union-Made EVs on Behalf Of Toyota, Which Doesn’t Have Unions or an EV - Toyota says it would stand to lose if the proposed $4,500 EV credit for union-made cars became law. It would have to sell one first.

Tags: bad-democrat-news, busting-labor-news

Democracy Now (17/11/21): Daily Headlines:

Pfizer Seeks Approval For COVID Pill, Agrees to Deal To Make it Available in 95 Poorer Countries - Vaccine and health equity advocates say the move is a good first step but condemned the fact that the deal excluded so many countries. Doctors Without Borders said, “The world knows by now that access to COVID-19 medical tools needs to be guaranteed for everyone, everywhere, if we really want to control this pandemic.” Meanwhille, vaccine makers continue to report massive profits from COVID treatments. Oxfam found that Pfizer, BioNTech, and Moderna are making combined profits of more than $1,000 every second, or $65,000 every minute.
Record Flooding Kills One Person, Displaces 1,000s in British Columbia
Jury in Rittenhouse Trial Enters Second Day of Deliberations
Medical Examiner Says Ahmaud Arbery Shot at Close Range as Prosecution Rests Case
Julius Jones Set to Be Executed on Nov. 18 Unless Clemency Granted, Despite Evidence of Innocence
U.S. Bars Entry For Nicaraguan President Ortega and Other Officials Following Election
U.S. Temporarily Curbing Refugee Admissions to Prioritize Resettlement of Afghan Evacuees
North Dakota Bans Teaching About Structural Racism in Schools
Sandy Hook Families Win Case Against InfoWars Propagandist Alex Jones

Tags: covid-news, pharma-news, climate-change-news, crime-news, militant-far-right-news, international-news, immigrant-news, gop-shenanigans-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, far-right-news

Just Security (17/11/21): Early Edition:

Just one day after a meeting between President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the two countries have announced an agreement easing restrictions on foreign journalists operating in the U.S. and China
Biden has said that the U.S. does not endorse Taiwan’s independence and has reiterated that the U.S. is not changing its “one China” policy. Biden clarified that the U.S. abides by the Taiwan Relations Act and its commitment to provide Taiwan with arms for its defense. “It’s independent. It makes its own decisions,” Biden added. “I said that they have to decide — ‘they’ — Taiwan. Not us. And we are not encouraging independence, we’re encouraging that they do exactly what the Taiwan Act requires,” Biden told reporters.
The Pentagon has accused Iran of “unsafe and unprofessional” conduct after an Iranian helicopter approached the USS Essex in the Gulf of Oman last week. Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby told reporters that the Iranian helicopter flew approximately 25 yards off the port side of USS Essex and circled the ship three times.
The U.S. is moving forward with the $23 billion sale of 50 F-35 stealth fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Mira Resnick has said. Resnick also told reporters that even though the U.S. intends to proceed with the deal, there has to be a clear understanding of “Emirati obligations,” without elaborating on the nature of those obligations. Reuters reports.
Bruce Bagley, a retired University of Miami professor, has been sentenced to six months in prison in a money laundering case connected to Venezuela. Bagely was the go-to academic expert on drug trafficking in Latin America, however a Manhattan federal judge yesterday sentenced Bagley “for his role in secretly laundering millions of dollars on behalf of some of the same bad guys he dedicated his life to studying,” Joshua Goodman reports for AP.
A staff memo from the House Oversight and Reform Committee has concluded that series of “small lapses” in cybersecurity contributed to the recent ransomware attacks against Colonial Pipeline, meat producer JBS USA, and insurance group CNA Financial Corporation.“Ransomware attackers took advantage of relatively minor security lapses, such as a single user account controlled by a weak password, to launch enormously costly attacks,” the memo reads. “Even large organizations with seemingly robust security systems fell victim to simple initial attacks, highlighting the need to increase security education and take other security measures prior to an attack,” the memo added.
Former President Trump has asked a federal appeals court to prevent the National Archives from providing Congress with White House records pertaining to the Jan. 6 attack, arguing that litigation over whether executive privilege should prevent their disclosure should be resolved first
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has said that he called Gosar last week after Gosar posted the anime video on Twitter. However, McCarthy, speaking to CNN, did not directly condemn Gosar’s behavior, only noting Gosar had deleted the tweet after their conversation. Melanie Zanona reports for CNN.
U.S. army recruiters are using TikTok as a tool to convince young Americans to join the military in direct violation of an order banning all official uses of the China-based social media platform.
The FBI has set up a process to track threats against school-board members and teachers.
The Biden administration is seeking to purchase Pfizer antiviral pills for ten million people, believing that this treatment, along with another created by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, could prove to be a game-changer in the pandemic.

Tags: international-news, security-news, court-news, cyber-security-news, trump-news, capitol-storming-news, gop-shenanigans-news, covid-news, pharma-news

Democracy Now (16/11/21): Daily Headlines:

Biden Signs $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Bill; Build Back Better Act Remains Stalled in Senate
Biden Proposes Drilling Ban Near Sacred Indigenous Sites in Chaco Canyon
Sen. Patrick Leahy to Resign in 2022; Beto O’Rourke Will Run for Texas Governor - Meanwhile, an analysis of heavily gerrymandered Congressional maps proposed by Republican state legislatures since the 2020 census shows redistricting alone is on pace to give Republicans a House majority in the Midterm elections.
Steve Bannon Surrenders to FBI; Wyoming GOP Dumps Liz Cheney Over Trump Criticism
Judge Rejects Defense Request to Bar Black Pastors from Trial of Ahmaud Arbery’s Killers
Howard University Reaches Agreement With Students Who Protested Campus Housing Conditions

While Biden does a nice thing for an indigenous community, see Common Dreams article above to see how Biden is expanding fossil fuel development... right after COP26!

Tags: infrastructure-news, fail-biden-policy-news, biden-policy-news, big-oil-news, indigenous-news, far-right-news, capitol-storming-news, voting-rights-news, gop-shenanigans-news, court-news

Just Security (16/11/21): Early Edition:

The U.S. has condemned a Russian anti-satellite missile test yesterday which caused crew members on the International Space Station to seek shelter in their spacecraft; The test marked the first time that Russia demonstrated an ability to strike down a satellite using a missile launched from Earth
President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping held virtual talks yesterday in an attempt to reduce tensions between the two countries. Throughout the virtual meeting the two leaders engaged in “healthy debate,” but there were no breakthroughs, according to a senior administration official. Officials also dismissed the notion that the summit was intended to ease the increasingly tense relationship between China and the U.S. on issues including trade, military aggression towards Taiwan and human rights. Analysis of what was discussed at the virtual meeting is provided by Kevin Liptak reporting for CNN.
The chair of a group of more than 300 former generals and top security officials in Israel has expressed his support for the U.S. reopening a consulate for Palestinians in Jerusalem.
President Biden signed a $1 trillion infrastructure bill into law yesterday afternoon with billions of dollars devoted to roads, ports, and power lines. Biden claimed that the legislation constituted evidence of the benefits of bipartisanship and further argued that it demonstrated the potential of democratic governments to work on behalf of their citizens. Jim Tankersley reports for the New York Times.
The prosecution and defense have offered dueling narratives in the closing arguments of Kyle Rittenhouse’s trial. The jury will today begin deliberating on the fate of Rittenhouse, who is accused of first-degree intentional homicide and four other felonies in the shootings of three men in the aftermath of protests in 2020. Julie Bosman, Dan Hinkel and Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs report for the New York Times.
The judge in Rittenhouse’s homicide trial yesterday dismissed the misdemeanor gun possession charge. Defense lawyers argued that Rittenhouse did not violate the state statute in question because of his age and the length of the barrel of his semiautomatic rifle. Dan Hinkel reports for the New York Times.
Prosecutors are demanding that Facebook hand over data relating to a New Mexico militia group but the social media company is saying that the records no longer exist because they were deleted after it banned the organization in August 2020. Prosecutors are seeking a civil injunction to bar the group known as the New Mexico Civil Guard from acting as a paramilitary organization at future public demonstrations. Will Oremus and Craig Timberg report for the Washington Post.
The Pentagon has failed its fourth comprehensive audit. The failure reflects ongoing problems in systems and accounting, however the department is making “steady progress” towards a passing grade, the Department of Defense’s chief financial officer has said. Mike Stone reports for Reuters.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin “has the authorities he needs to require this vaccine across the force, including the National Guard,” press secretary John Kirby has told reporters. The comments were made after the commander of the Oklahoma National Guard, Army Brig. Gen. Thomas Mancino, stated that members of the Oklahoma National Guard were not required to be vaccinated. Ellen Mitchell reports for The Hill.

Tags: international-news, infrastructure-news, court-news, big-tech-news, militant-far-right-news, dark-security-news, covid-news

Democracy Now (14/11/21): “A Process of Violence”: Indian Author Amitav Ghosh on How Colonialism Fueled the Climate Crisis

Just Security (15/11/21): Early Edition:

Dany Fenster, a U.S. journalist detained in Myanmar and sentenced to 11 years in prison, has been freed and will soon return home, according to the U.S. Embassy in Burma. Fenster, who was the managing editor of the online magazine Frontier Myanmar, had been detained in Yangon’s Insein prison since his arrest in May. His release was negotiated following a trip to Myanmar by Bill Richardson, a former U.S. diplomat.
The FBI’s external email system was compromised yesterday by hackers who sent spam emails to potentially thousands of people and companies with fake warnings of a cyberattack. The emails did not include any malicious attachments.
Adam Schiff, member of the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, said the committee will “move quickly” to refer Mark Meadows, former chief of staff to then-President Trump, for criminal contempt charges.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) has 500 National Guard troops on standby outside of Kenosha, ahead of a possible verdict in Rittenhouse’s trial
Michael Flynn, former President Trump’s first National Security Advisor, has been widely condemned after calling for the establishment of “one religion” in the United States.
The Pentagon has said it will respond to Oklahoma’s governor after the Oklahoma National Guard’s recently installed adjutant general said the organization would not enforce the Department of Defense vaccine mandate for its troops
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed into law a bill that bars businesses from requiring proof of a Covid-19 vaccine.

Tags: media-news, international-news, cyber-security-news, capitol-storming-news, court-news, far-right-news, covid-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Democracy Now (15/11/21): Daily Headlines:

COP26 Final Agreement Waters Down Coal Pledges, Leaves World on Track for Climate Disaster
COVID Cases Rising in Over Half of U.S. States; OK Nat’l Guard Defies Pentagon’s Vaccine Mandate
Mark Meadows Faces Contempt of Congress Charge; Steve Bannon to Surrender to Authorities
Biden Nominates Robert Califf to Reprise Role as FDA Commissioner - He was previously confirmed with bipartisan support but has faced opposition from some lawmakers and others over his work consulting for pharmaceutical companies. After leaving the FDA, he started working as an adviser for Google Health and Verily, both owned by Google’s parent company Alphabet
9-Year-Old Boy Dies of Injuries Sustained at Astroworld, Pushing Death Toll to 10

Tags: climate-change-news, covid-news, capitol-storming-news, fail-biden-policy-news, pharma-news, crime-news

Posted 15 November 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page); Bleeding edge news (rough)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

Mother Jones (13/11/21): Kaiser Permanente Workers Just Scored One of Striketober’s Biggest Victories

The Hill (12/11/21): Sanders backs Kaiser Permanente workers ahead of Monday strike

Tags: labor-news, healthcare-news, progressive-dem-news

The Rational National (13/11/21): Toronto Star Smears Alberta Workers In Propaganda Piece For Cargill

Tags: busting-labor-news, media-news, capitalist-farce-news

The Intercept (11/11/21): The Main Driver of Inflation Is a Murderous Maniac in Riyadh - Saudi Arabia is withholding oil production because Biden won’t meet with Mohammed bin Salman after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, the president suggested.

Tags: big-oil-news, capitalist-farce-news, energy-news, economic-news, analysis-news, international-news, fail-biden-policy-news

ProPublica (2/11/21): The Most Detailed Map of Cancer-Causing Industrial Air Pollution in the U.S.

Tags: industrial-failure-news, analysis-news, capitalist-farce-news

Left Voice (11/11/21): How to Escape the Eternal Debt Trap - The fight against the foreign debt that strangles Argentina is at the center of the electoral campaign of the Workers Left Front — Unity (FIT–U). This article explains how imperialism uses the debt to subjugate the masses, and spells out a program in opposition.

Tags: economic-news, neo-imperialism-news, analysis-news

Common Dreams (12/11/21): Outrage as AstraZeneca Ditches Pledge Not to Profit From Publicly Funded Vaccine - "AstraZeneca's decision to start profiting from Oxford University's coronavirus vaccine mid-pandemic shows the utter folly of giving away publicly funded science to Big Pharma."

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, pharma-news, covid-news

Ars Technica (11/11/21): You shall not pinch to zoom: Rittenhouse trial judge disallows basic iPad feature - Judge: iPad pinch-to-zoom could "insert more items" into video of shootings.

Tags: court-news, far-right-news, corruption-news

The Majority Report (11/11/21): GOP’s Elaine Chao Says Americans Have ‘Patriotic Duty’ To Work Crappy Jobs

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Vox (11/11/21): Facebook is quietly buying up the metaverse - Can Mark Zuckerberg M&A a new monopoly?

Tags: big-tech-news, antitrust-news

Al-Monitor (13/11/21): US Rep. Ilhan Omar moves to block $650 million Saudi arms sale - If passed by the Senate, the joint resolution would block the sale of 280 air-to-air missiles to Riyadh.

Tags: progressive-dem-news

The Hill (12/11/21): Meadows defies Jan. 6 committee, risking contempt charges

Tags: capitol-storming-news, trump-news

The Economist (13/11/21): The World This Week:

NASA pushed back its planned mission to land astronauts on the Moon, its first since 1972, by at least a year, to 2025. A lawsuit brought by Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin over the contract awarded to SpaceX to build the Moon lander was one reason for the delay (a judge recently dismissed the suit).
Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri-Kani, visited European capitals ahead of talks with America and European powers aimed at resurrecting the nuclear deal that Iran signed in 2015. Mr Bagheri-Kani seemed to rule out any discussion of Iran’s nuclear activity at the talks, and said that instead they should focus on lifting sanctions. America, which walked away from the deal in 2018, disagrees.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, international-news

On Labor (12/11/21):

Staff at Wirecutter, a product review site owned by the New York Times, say they will go on strike over Black Friday if they don’t reach an agreement with Times management beforehand
In other strike news, members of the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) Union voted overwhelmingly (96%) to authorize a strike on November 17. The union has asked people to support their efforts by picketing the museum, one of the largest art museums in Boston and in the country, on November 17. The vote authorizes the union to go on strike for one day.
Here at Harvard, HGSU-UAW, one of multiple unions on campus, said it will go on strike again next week. The union, which represents around 5,000 student workers, went on strike in late October after negotiations with Harvard management stalled.
Finally, a new study using computational analysis to evaluate Republican economic speeches found that from the Jim Crow era until now, segregationist language and ideology has become more and more associated with Republican economic speeches. The study analyzes speeches from the Congressional Record, finding that Republican economic speeches have shedded overtly racist language but have continued to use abstract language used in the Jim Crow era to signal racial conservatism.

Tags: labor-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Law and Crime (12/11/21): Steve Bannon’s Criminal Contempt Indictment Is First of Its Kind in Decades

Tags: crime-news, far-right-news

The Majority Report (12/11/21): Starbucks Billionaire Uses Holocaust Analogy To Discourage Union Voters

Tags: busting-labor-news, capitalist-farce-news

EFF (11/11/21): Lawmakers Choose the Wrong Path, Again, With New Anti-Algorithm Bill

Tags: antitrust-news, legislation-news, politics-news

Just Security (11/11/21): Early Edition:

Newly released call logs from the White House on Jan. 6 show a “flurry” of calls between the former Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and former Vice President Mike Pence. The call logs were released in response to a public records request by American Oversight. Rosen’s records include calls from redacted numbers between 3:10 pm and 3:30 pm on Jan. 6 as rioters were marching through the Capitol. Rosen also had multiple calls with White House Counsel Pat Cipplione and the acting U.S. Attorney with the District of Columbia. The first call directly from the White House came after 4:30 pm.
District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan has rejected former President Trump’s effort to block access to his White House records for the third time in two days. Chutkan refused to stay, pending an appeal, her own decision issued on Tuesday denying Trump’s request for an injunction blocking the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack from accessing his White House papers held at the National Archives. In her latest ruling, Chutkan said “this court will not effectively ignore its own reasoning in denying injunctive relief in the first place to grant injunctive relief now.” Trump’s lawyers have appealed the ruling on the preliminary injunction.
A New Jersey man has been sentenced to 41 months in prison for assaulting a police officer at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
The Justice Department has announced that a federal grand jury has indicted three men for operating two fraudulent political action committees (PACs) during the 2016 election and collecting approximately $3.5 million from unwitting contributors.
More than 35,000 Air Force personnel have said that they experienced some form of physical or psychological violence in the past two years, according to the results of a new study by the service’s Interpersonal Violence Task Force
The 13 Republican lawmakers who broke with the Republican party to support a $1 trillion bipartisan public works bill have faced vicious backlash from their constituents, and even from some of their own colleagues, who regard their votes as a betrayal.

Tags: capitol-storming-news, trump-news, court-news, corruption-news, security-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Just Security (12/11/21): Early Edition:

A federal appeals court has granted former President Trump’s request to pause the release of White House records to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Three judges, all appointed by Democrats, issued an injunction temporarily blocking the release of the files held by the National Archives, ahead of today’s deadline for the documents to be turned over.
President Biden’s administration is weighing the sale of armed drones to Indonesia, amid concerns over human rights abuses in Indonesia and the country’s past purchases of Russian equipment, according to government and defense industry officials.
The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, the U.S., and Israel have launched joint naval exercises for the first time, U.S. and Israeli military officials have said.
Border crossings by Haitian migrants into the U.S. fell by more than 90% in October
The FBI has warned U.S. companies that Iranian hackers have searched cybercriminal websites for sensitive data stolen from American and foreign organizations that could be used in future efforts to hack those organizations
President Biden has signed legislation that will prevent companies deemed security threats from receiving new equipment licenses from U.S. regulators. The Secure Equipment Act is the latest effort to target Chinese telecom and tech companies, such as Huawei and ZTE Corp, and prevent their technology from entering the American communications network. The law requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to not approve or authorize any application for equipment that poses “an unacceptable risk to national security.” The FCC previously approved more than 3,000 applications by Huawei since 2018

Tags: court-news, international-news, immigrant-news, cyber-security-news, legislation-news

Democracy Now (11/11/21): Daily Headlines:

Kyle Rittenhouse Breaks Down in Tears on Witness Stand, Claims Self-Defense - Meanwhile, the trial judge, Bruce Schroeder, continued to make headlines after he repeatedly sided with the defense, while excoriating prosecutors for asking questions he said were out of bounds
U.S. Coronavirus Cases Rise Again; Texas Judge Halts Ban on School Mask Mandates
Judge Approves $626M Settlement for Flint Residents Who Were Poisoned by Lead in the Water
Boeing Accepts Responsibility for Ethiopia Airlines 737 MAX Crash, Will Compensate Families
DOJ Sues Uber for Discriminating Against Passengers with Disabilities
Advocacy Group Demands Gov. Hochul Increase Clemencies as NY Announces Plan to Close 6 Prisons

Tags: court-news, covid-news, flint-news, capitalist-farce-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news

Democracy Now (12/11/21): Daily Headlines:

New Draft Agreement Weakens Earlier Calls to Phase Out Coal, Fossil Fuel Funding as COP26 Nears End
Beyond Oil and Gas: Denmark and Costa Rica Lead New Push to Phase Out Fossil Fuels
Biden and Xi Jinping to Hold Virtual Summit Amid Ongoing Tensions
NIH and Moderna in Legal Battle over COVID Vaccine Patent Rights
U.N.: 84 Million People Worldwide Displaced by War, Insecurity and the Climate Crisis
“We Don’t Want Any More Black Pastors”: Lawyer for Arbery’s Killer Says Pastors Are Intimidating Jury
Olympic Gold Medalist Sunisa Lee Suffers Racist Attack in L.A.
“It’s Common Sense”: Trump Defends Calls to Hang Mike Pence on Jan. 6
3,000 Graduate Workers on Strike at Columbia University

Tags: big-oil-news, climate-change-news, vaccine-ip-news, capitalist-farce-news, international-news, social-woes-news, court-news, far-right-news, racist-crime-news, trump-news, capitol-storming-news, labor-news

Posted 12 November 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page); Bleeding edge news (rough)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

The Hill (10/11/21): Biden touts social spending bill as key to lowering prices

Funny enough, Biden is right. The current factors contributing to inflation are rising energy prices (largely out of Biden's control) (if there is an increase in transport cost, there is an increase in commodity price), and a shortage of truck drivers (and longshoremen in LA, I believe). If there is a shortage of logistics workers, there is a shortage of goods; if there is a shortage of goods, there is an increase in price - ie inflation. While the impact of BBB likely won't be immediate, the provisions in it would make the labor market more friendly to workers, and perhaps helping to incentivize workers back to these sorts of jobs. Contrast this with Sen. Manchin, who lives in a fairytale world where the economy runs like a mom-and-pop drug store.

Tags: biden-policy-news, infrastructure-news, politics-news

New York Times (9/11/21): Oklahoma Supreme Court Throws Out $465 Million Opioid Ruling Against J.&J. - The 5-1 decision is a setback for those who are fighting to hold big drug makers accountable for the opioid epidemic.

Tags: court-news, pharma-news, corruption-news, capitalist-farce-news

Jacobin (8/11/21): Last Week’s Elections Actually Gave Leftists Plenty to Cheer - For many on the Left, last week’s elections came like a gut punch. But zoom out beyond the high-profile races cable news pundits fixated on, and Tuesday saw many significant victories for left-wing candidates and policies.

Tags: electoral-news, leftist-news

Vice (9/11/21): Father of Ahmaud Arbery’s Killer: ‘I Would Have Shot Him Myself’ - “To be perfectly honest with you, if I could have got a shot at the guy, I would have shot him myself,” he said, according to body camera footage.

Tags: racist-crime-news

Left Voice (9/11/21): Wealthy Liberal Arts Colleges Are Exploiting International Students for Cheap Teaching Labor - Left Voice spoke to a teacher at Grinnell College about the working conditions of the severely underpaid “language assistants,” student workers who teach for-credit classes. Such practices are widespread across the United States.

Tags: labor-news

The Hill (9/11/21): Radio host says he won't eat until Congress passes voting rights legislation

Tags: voting-rights-news, protest-news

ZDNet (10/11/21): A stalker's wishlist: PhoneSpy malware destroys Android privacy - A new surveillance campaign has revealed widespread infection on Android devices.

Tags: cyber-security-news

New York Times (10/11/21): Mozambique’s Former Finance Minister Will Face Corruption Charges in U.S. - A judge overturned the South African government’s decision to send the minister back to Mozambique, where civil society groups say his political clout will protect him.

Tags: corruption-news, international-news, court-news

The Hill (9/11/21): Watchdog cites 13 Trump officials who violated Hatch Act before 2020 election

Tags: trump-news, corruption-news, crime-news

The Hill (9/11/21): Biden administration clarifies it's not weighing Line 5 shutdown

Tags: big-oil-news, fail-biden-policy-news

Jacobin (7/11/21): The CIA Undermined Postcolonial Africa From the Start - From undermining national liberation leaders to playing a central role in the assassination of Congolese radical Patrice Lumumba, not enough attention is paid to the CIA’s shameful role in Africa. A new book aims to correct that.

Tags: dark-security-news, international-news, history-news

Ars Technica (9/11/21): Bipartisan bill would force Big Tech to offer algorithm-free feeds, search results - People could use Facebook, Google free from algorithms fed with user data.

Tags: big-tech-news, antitrust-news

Ars Technica (9/11/21): Google sends anti-regulation propaganda to small businesses using Google Maps - Scary new site tells Google users antitrust limits could "impact your business."

Tags: big-tech-news

On Labor (10/11/21): Daily Highlights:

This week, Fran and Zachary have covered ongoing union organizing efforts at three Starbucks stores in the Buffalo area. Yesterday, the union petitioned the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to hold votes at three additional locations, in its historic push to unionize the first Starbucks store in the United States. The filing comes on the heels of Starbucks’s request that the NLRB delay the mailing of union ballots—as well as union accusations that Starbucks unlawfully threatened, intimidated, and surveilled employees during the union election campaign.
Yesterday, employees at the political journalism company Politico secured voluntary recognition of their union by management—a little over a week after the employees’ unionization campaign went public in late October. Voluntary recognition refers to an employer’s formal acknowledgement of a labor organization as the bargaining representative of their employees. As Josh Eidelson of Bloomberg writes, the agreement represents just the latest labor victory in a “wave of successful organizing efforts in the media industry.”
And at Harvard, the graduate student union announced a new strike deadline of November 16—just weeks after the union’s three-day strike in October. Per the union’s announcement, unless the University agrees to the union’s demands for increased compensation, additional procedural protections in discrimination and harassment cases, and an agency shop, student workers will begin striking on November 16 for an undetermined length. The union also alleges that University staff and faculty intimidated, surveilled, and threatened strikers during the union’s picketing effort last month. Moreover, the union claims that the administration has threatened to deduct pay for striking workers without clearly defining what constitutes withheld work.

Tags: labor-news

The Guardian (10/11/21): Facebook bans ads targeting race, sexual orientation and religion - Platform says it is responding to feedback on preventing firms from abusing targeting options

Tags: big-tech-news

On Labor (9/11/21): Daily Highlights:

Yesterday, Fran discussed ongoing unionization efforts at Starbucks stores in Buffalo, New York, particularly that ballots are set to be mailed by the NLRB this Wednesday. Starbucks has now filed a request for the NLRB to issue a stay and delay the ballot mailings. Starbucks is asking the NLRB to overturn the regional director’s determination that workers can vote store-by-store rather than as a regional unit of the stores in the area. The regional director’s original ruling was based on the presumption that employees at a single worksite are an appropriate group for voting, combined with factors of the distance between Starbucks’ locations, differences in working conditions across stores, and local store autonomy. It is unclear when the NLRB will issue a response to Starbucks’ request.
Constructions worker members of the Laborers International Union of North America in Long Island are protesting Stony Brook University for using a non-union contractor from New Jersey to renovate the school’s lecture hall. Picketers protested outside the university entrance with inflatable rats and open coffins. The union is arguing that local contractors should be paid for the job since New York public funds are being used, and that union workers should be used to ensure proper pay and medical benefits. The university maintains that it properly followed its contract bidding process to find the lowest qualified bidder.
Women’s labor force participation rate remains two percent lower than pre-pandemic levels, with over three million less women participating. More women than men lost their jobs during the pandemic, and many had to take on additional caregiving responsibilities. While some schools reopening have alleviated some childcare responsibilities, it did not help return women’s employment to pre-pandemic levels. While remaining caregiving responsibilities remain an impediment, Tappe highlights complex factors affecting the workforce as a whole that have slowed hiring rates in recent months across the board.
Anne Riley Moffat of Bloomberg Law has highlighted that around 185 major labor union contracts are set to expire in 2022. Teachers and grocery store employees make up the majority of workers whose contracts are set to expire, with motion picture and sound recording, government support, and hospital workers following behind. Moffat writes that these industries are worth watching for labor activism and strike activity in the coming months.

Tags: busting-labor-news, labor-news, protest-news, economic-news, analysis-news

ZDNet (9/11/21): These cybersecurity vulnerabilities could leave millions of connected medical devices open to attack - Cybersecurity researchers at Forescout detail Nucleus:13, a set of vulnerabilities in TCP/IP stacks that could allow attackers to launch denial of service attacks and interfere with devices.

Tags: cyber-security-news

The Hill (10/11/21): Republican billionaire helping Manchin raise funds

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, bad-democrat-news

Jacobin (9/11/21): A Pharma Front Group Has Spent $1.2 Million Backing Kyrsten Sinema - A front group funded by Big Pharma is running more ads praising Kyrsten Sinema — perhaps in gratitude for her role in gutting Democrats’ drug pricing plan.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, corruption-news, pharma-news, bad-democrat-news

Shaun (5/11/21): Jimmy Dore's Anti-Vaccine Lies

Tags: far-right-news, anti-vaxx-news, analysis-news

Just Security (9/11/21): Hidden Negligence: Aug. 29 Drone Strike is Just the Tip of the Iceberg

Tags: dark-security-news, analysis-news

The Rational National (9/11/21): Josh Hawley Blames The Left For Rightwing Policy That Killed Jobs

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, politics-news

The Rational National (9/11/21): Rep. Paul Gosar Shares Video Of Him Attacking AOC & Biden With A Sword

Tags: politics-news, far-right-news, gop-shenanigans-news

David Pakman Show (9/11/21): Trump PANICS, Loses Attempt to Block Jan 6 Investigators

Tags: capitol-storming-news, trump-news, politics-news

Jacobin (9/11/21): Commonsense Solidarity: How a Working-Class Coalition Can Be Built, and Maintained - An experimental study, the first of its kind, from Jacobin, YouGov, and the Center for Working-Class Politics offers a new and powerful perspective on working-class political views.

Tags: analysis-news, electoral-news, politics-news

The Rational National (8/11/21): Obama Suffers Amnesia During Climate Speech In Glasgow

Tags: bad-democrat-news, climate-change-news, politics-news

Jacobin (8/11/21): Nina Turner: Our #1 Priority Has to Be Medicare for All

Tags: healthcare-news, politics-news, social-woes-news

Democracy Now (10/11/21): Daily Headlines:

Pfizer Seeks OK on Booster for All Adults; Moderna Tries to Exclude Gov’t Scientists from Vaccine Patent
Survivor of Rittenhouse Shooting Says He Thought He Was Going to Die During Attack
Police Officers Says Gregory McMichael Did Not See Ahmaud Arbery Commit Crime Before Killing Him

Tags: pharma-news, militant-far-right-news, racist-crime-news

Just Security (10/11/21): Early Edition:

District Judge Tanya Chutkan has issued a 39-page opinion rejecting former President Trump’s request to keep the Jan. 6 records from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol has issued 10 further subpoenas to former Trump administration officials, including former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and senior adviser Stephen Miller - The latest round of individuals subpoenaed by the Jan. 6 committee also include John McEntee, the former White House personnel director; Ben Williamson, a former deputy assistant to the president and senior adviser to Chief of Staff Mark Meadows; Nicholas Luna, Trump’s personal assistant; and Molly Michael, the Oval Office operations coordinator to Trump
The vast majority of the suspects charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack are not members of far-right groups or premeditated conspiracies, according to court records analyzed by the Washington Post
The Department of Justice under Trump weighed the possibility of both holding a briefing with Congress on Jan. 5 and releasing a public statement about potential “unrest” the next day but ultimately scrapped their plans, according to heavily redacted documents obtained by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
The D.C. Superior Court has allowed the D.C. Attorney General to proceed with a lawsuit against Trump’s inaugural committee and private business
China has criticized the use of a U.S. Navy aircraft to fly U.S. lawmakers to Taiwan for a routine trip this week, describing the visit as “sneaky.”
President Biden’s administration is looking to improve security, climate and economic cooperation with Cairo, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken kicking off the first set of strategic dialogue talks with Egypt since 2015
The U.S. government has pledged to strengthen Haiti’s National Police as Haiti struggles with a spike in gang-related violence and severe fuel shortages that have deepened its looming economic crisis
A former U.S. Marine jailed in Russia for drunk driving has declared a hunger strike to protest his treatment in prison

Tags: court-news, capitol-storming-news, trump-news, international-news, fail-biden-policy-news

Posted 10 November 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page); Bleeding edge news (rough)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

Jacobin (6/11/21): No, the Democrats’ Reconciliation Bill Is Not “Twice as Big” as the New Deal - Grasping for any available talking points to stave off progressive anger, Democrats are trying to depict Joe Biden’s Build Back Better bill as some sort of New Deal 2.0. The comparison is absurd.

Tags: analysis-news, bad-democrat-news, infrastructure-news

Al Jazeera (6/11/21): US court convicts Chinese intelligence agent of spying - Xu Yanjun was found guilty on two counts of conspiring and attempting to commit economic espionage, and three counts relating to trade secret theft.

Tags: international-news, security-news, court-news

Common Dreams (8/11/21): The FBI Spied on Orange County Muslims and Then Attempted to Get Away With It - The FBI had been surveilling Muslims in Southern California, home to the second-largest Muslim population in the United States, since late 2001.

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Wired (5/11/21): 1.8 TB of Police Helicopter Surveillance Footage Leaks Online - DDoSecrets published the trove Friday afternoon. Privacy advocates say it shows how pervasive law enforcement's eye has become, and how lax its data protection can be.

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, cyber-security-news

The Hill (6/11/21): Idaho lt. governor alleges governor unlawfully left state without telling her

Tags: far-right-news, gop-shenanigans-news

New York Times (7/11/21): With Cases Piling Up, an Eviction Crisis Unfolds Step by Step - Evictions are rising nationwide. “We don’t know where the ceiling is,” one expert said.

Tags: social-woes-news, analysis-news

On Labor (7/11/21):

In other news, a First Circuit panel ruled on Friday that Lyft Inc. drivers must arbitrate claims that they are misclassified as independent contractors and are owed employee benefits by the ride-share giant. In granting Lyft’s motion to compel arbitration, the court rejected the drivers’ argument that they qualify for a Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) exemption for transportation workers engaged in interstate commerce based on their transportation of people to and from the airport

Tags: busting-labor-news, court-news

Just Security (8/11/21): Early Edition:

The Haitian gang that kidnapped 17 American and Canadian missionaries, including five children, has shown the U.S. proof that at least some of those kidnapped are still alive, a senior Biden administration official has said.
Bill Richardson, a veteran U.S. diplomat, has visited Myanmar to meet with the leaders of February’s military coup
Paul Whelan, a jailed former U.S. Marine convicted by Russia of spying, will continue to fight for his transfer to the U.S. from Russia despite losing a court appeal today, Interfax news agency has quoted his lawyer as saying.
Hackers have breached nine global organizations in the defense, energy, health care, technology and education sectors, according to findings from security firm Palo Alto Networks, with at least one of the targeted organizations being in the U.S
Cornell, Columbia, and Brown Universities have said that they received bomb threats yesterday that prompted evacuations of some facilities, however, there were no reports of explosion or damage as of yesterday afternoon and no credible threats were found.
Israeli officials have said that the U.S. should open its consulate for Palestinians in the West Bank instead of in Jerusalem

Tags: international-news, security-news, cyber-security-news

Democracy Now (8/11/21): Daily Headlines:

100,000+ People Take to Streets to Call Out Climate Inaction, COP26 Greenwashing
House Passes Bipartisan $1.2 Infrastructure Bill Without Vote on $1.75T Build Back Better Package - Meanwhile, as conservative lawmakers have worked to slash climate provisions in the Build Back Better Act, a new report finds at least 28 U.S. senators collectively hold up to $12.6 million in fossil fuel investments.
U.S. Advises Citizens to Leave Ethiopia as Specter of All-Out War Increases
Eight Killed, Hundreds Injured in Crowd Crush at Astroworld Music Festival in Houston

Tags: climate-change-news, protest-news, infrastructure-news, politics-news, international-news

Democracy Now (9/11/21): Daily Headlines:

Climate Activists Blast COP26 Draft Statement for Failing to Phase Out Fossil Fuels
As U.S. Opens Borders to Vaccinated Travelers, Asylum Seekers Remain Trapped in Mexico - In related news, the Biden administration is launching an operation this week to start deportation proceedings for some 78,000 migrants who crossed into the U.S. this year but were not immediately expelled or taken to an immigration jail.
Justice Department Brings New Charges Against Ransomware Hackers - The Justice Department said Monday it has indicted two hackers behind major ransomware attacks in the U.S. and has recovered more than $6 million in cryptocurrency payments. Attorney General Merrick Garland said one of the two men, a Russian hacker with the REvil ransomware gang, remained at large, while a Ukrainian co-conspirator had been arrested in Poland and would be extradited to the U.S. for trial. Garland said the criminal gang’s ransomware has infected over 175,000 computers worldwide, with at least $200 million paid in ransom. [The guys who hit Kaseya]
January 6 Committee Subpoenas Michael Flynn and 5 More Trump Loyalists - An alleged Capitol rioter wanted by the FBI is seeking political asylum in Belarus.
Supreme Court to Weigh Whether Muslim Surveillance Victims Can Sue FBI

Tags: climate-change-news, protest-news, court-news, cyber-security-news, capitol-storming-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news

Just Security (9/11/21): Early Edition:

Co-ordinated action against the REvil has been announced by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Europol and the Romanian police, dealing a devastating blow to the cyber-crime gang.
The two individuals allegedly linked to REvil arrested by Romanian authorities were said by Europol to be behind more than 5,000 cyberattacks and are accused of having gained more than half a million Euros in ransomware payments made by victims.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has said that Facebook can pursue a lawsuit accusing NSO Group of exploiting a glitch in its WhatsApp messaging app to install the Pegasus malware.
The Israeli government continues to consider NSO Group’s software a crucial element of its foreign policy and is lobbying Washington to remove the company from its blacklist and to lift the sanctions against the company, two senior Israeli officials have said
Robinhood Markets Inc. has announced that an intruder gained access to its systems last Wednesday and obtained the personal information of millions of its users
Republican Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) has shared a threatening voicemail he received after voting for the bipartisan infrastructure bill last week
CIA Director Willaims Burns held a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last week, to convey “serious” U.S. concerns about Russia’s military buildup along the Ukrainian border and to attempt to determine Russian intentions, two sources have said
U.S. officials have arrived in Bosnia and Herzegovina in an effort to defuse tension and frustration with E.U. facilitated discussions with nationalist Serb leader Milorad Dodik.
The Pentagon has said that it has not located an Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) safe house in Kabul that prompted an erroneous drone strike on Aug. 29.

Tags: cyber-security-news, security-news, court-news, big-tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, international-news, gop-shenanigans-news, far-right-news

Posted 6 November 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page); Bleeding edge news (rough)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

The American Prospect (11/8/21): Infrastructure Summer: Bipartisan Bill Boosts Corporate Giants - In broadband and other areas, the corporate dominance that has been an impediment to progress emerges unscathed.

I just saw that the House passed the infrastructure bill, and noticed I didn't have a most recent update on this bill... so found this from TAP! It's not as bad as it could have been (see the TAP article from 21/6/21), but in failing to structurally change anything, it feeds into corporate structures. For example, take rural telecoms/broadband. There, corporate powers have local monopolies, in fact its illegal to challenge them. As a result, all of the money going to these areas is going to giants such as AT&T. And over the past five years, billions that have gone to these giants to boost said infrastructure has done basically nothing. Anyone in rural America will tell you that you that the service is sh*t. There are no new taxes in this bill ("pay-fors" anyone?). Read through the article for more!

Tags: infrastructure-news, politics-news, legislation-news, analysis-news, privatization-news

Vox (5/11/21): The chicken industry’s worker safety problem - There’s a human cost to factory-processed chicken.

Tags: labor-news, industrial-failure-news, capitalist-farce-news, food-security-news

The American Prospect (5/11/21): SALT in the Democrats’ Wounds - Today on TAP: Why are Democrats cutting taxes for the rich, at the expense of building back better?

Tags: trump-news, bad-democrat-news, tax-news, analysis-news

Left Voice (5/11/21): Wyndham Hotel Workers in Philadelphia Vote to Authorize Strike - After being called “essential” during the pandemic, another set of workers is being offered an insulting contract by management. In response, they are preparing to strike. They deserve the support of every union in Philadelphia.

Tags: labor-news

ZDNet (5/11/21): Senators add CISA cyberattack/ransomware reporting amendment to defense bill - Republican and Democratic lawmakers joined forces to introduce a new amendment to the massive $740 billion NDAA.

Tags: cyber-security-news

Vice (5/11/21): NRA Shell Companies Funneled Up to $35 Million to GOP Candidates, Lawsuit Says - The lawsuit claims the NRA used the shell companies to make illegal campaign donations to at least 7 candidates for federal office.

Tags: corruption-news, far-right-news, dark-money-news

New York Times (5/11/21): Congress Is Investigating McKinsey Over Its Role in the Opioid Crisis - A House committee has requested documents related to the firm’s advice to drug makers and potential conflicts of interest with the F.D.A.

Tags: drug-news, big-pharma-news, corruption-news, capitalist-farce-news

On Labor (5/11/21):

Yesterday, OSHA publicized a new rule—an emergency temporary standard (ETS)—that mandates workers at U.S. companies with 100 or more companies to either receive COVID-19 vaccinations or undergo weekly testing and wear a face covering at work. The rule takes effect today, and sets a deadline of December 5th—a month away—for employers to comply by the ETS.
Seven months into one of the longest strikes of the 21st century, mine workers from rural Alabama took their strike to New York City to protest outside the offices of BlackRock. BlackRock is the largest stakeholder in Warrior Metal Coal, which owns the two Alabama mines whose workers have been on strike. The mines are the deepest in North America, at a depth of 2,000 feet. Cecil Roberts, the president of United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), and five other UMWA members were arrested at the protest yesterday.

Tags: labor-news, biden-policy-news, covid-news

On Labor (5/11/21): Oracle Park Could be Just the Start for Stadium Worker Strikes

Tags: labor-news

Jacobin (5/11/21): It Pays to Be a Conservative Democrat Blocking Popular Legislation - Why do conservative Democrats like Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin oppose wildly popular progressive policy measures? Because it’s a very lucrative racket.

Tags: corruption-news, bad-democrat-news, capitalist-farce-news

AP News (25/10/21): 3rd Pima County resident faces illegal voting charges

I include this because notice the number... 3 (very small). Plus this guy didn't commit "fraud" in the sense you might think, but he was a felon (similar situation for the other two)

Tags: crime-news

David Pakman Show (5/11/21): Ron DeSantis Anti-Mask Kid Interview Looks Like Hostage Video - Plus, DeSantis announces election police... and the crowd cheers the announcement with "Let's go Brandon"

Tags: far-right-news, gop-shenanigans-news

The Rational National (5/11/21): New COVID-19 Pill Shows INCREDIBLE Results

Tags: covid-news

Secular Talk (4/11/21): Trump Says Israel 'Rightfully' Owned Congress | The Kyle Kulinski Show

Tags: trump-news, international-news, far-right-news

The Majority Report (5/11/21): Joe Manchin’s Maserati Retreats From Climate Activists Fast And Furiously

Tags: corruption-news, bad-democrat-news, protest-news, climate-change-news

David Pakman Show (4/11/21): 8+ Republicans Who Were at Jan 6 Trump Rally Elected This Week

Tags: electoral-news, far-right-news, capitol-storming-news

Al Jazeera (5/11/21): What’s in Biden’s $1.75 trillion ‘Build Back Better’ package? - The legislation proposes sweeping changes for US housing, climate, healthcare, tax, education and other policies.

Tags: politics-news, biden-policy-news, infrastructure-news, climate-change-news

Common Dreams (5/11/21): Biden to Unleash 'Irrevocable Climate Chaos' if US Fracked Gas Export Projects Proceed: Groups - "To limit global warming to 1.5°C, the U.S. must ultimately stop building new export terminals and pipelines that prop up this dangerous fossil fuel worldwide."

Tags: big-oil-news, fail-biden-policy-news, climate-change-news

New York Times (5/11/21): University of Florida Reverses Course to Allow Professors to Testify Against State - Facing a storm of protest, the university said three professors could testify as expert witnesses in a voting-rights lawsuit against the state.

Tags: voting-rights-news

Just Security (5/11/21): Early Edition:

Joined with lawyers from the Justice Department, lawyers for the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack have argued in court that President Biden — not former President Trump — has the authority to decide which records are shared with the committee.
U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, the federal judge hearing Trump’s lawsuit, appeared ready to side with the select committee and the Biden administration yesterday.
Trump attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell have testified under oath that they had done little to verify debunked claims of fraud in the 2020 election before spreading them on the national stage, according to a tape of their depositions.
Congressional investigators looking into the Jan. 6 attack have conducted two interviews with a rioter who has shared knowledge about pre-Jan. 6 interactions between key state-level Republican officials and Trump allies.
The U.S. Navy has sacked three top crew members aboard the nuclear submarine, USS Connecticut, that crashed into an underwater mountain (a “seamount”) when operating in the South China Sea last month
A white juror in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse was dismissed Thursday after making a racist joke about the shooting of Jacob Blake as he was escorted to his car.
The Manhattan district attorney has convened a second grand jury to hear evidence about the Trump organization’s financial practices, such as how the company valued its assets.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is suing Texas over aspects of its new voting law
President Biden is “perfectly comfortable” with his administration paying immigrant families to resolve lawsuits alleging they suffered trauma from being separated after illegally crossing the Mexico border, a White House spokesperson has said.
The State Department has announced a $10 million reward for anyone who can provide information on leaders of DarkSide, the cyber criminal group that launched a ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline in May.
Robert Santos, a Latino, has become the first person of color confirmed as head of the Census Bureau, following the Senate vote yesterday
President Biden’s administration has approved a potential $650 million sale of arms to Saudi Arabia. This would be Biden’s first major arms sale to Saudi Arabia. During his campaign, Biden promised he would make Saudi Arabia a “pariah,” however, he has since been criticized for failing to hold the country accountable for the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and for other human rights abuses
Republicans are projected to win at least 50 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates, consolidating the Republican party’s sweep of Virginia’s top seats of public office
In New Jersey’s gubernatorial election, Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli is not conceding a day after The Associated Press called the race for incumbent Democrat Phil Murphy. Ciattarelli said the election will be “legal and fair” and declared that “no one should be declaring victory or conceding the election until every legal vote is counted.”
Canada has announced that all allegations of sexual misconduct within the country’s armed forces will now be investigated and prosecuted by civilian authorities, rather than within the military.

Tags: capitol-storming-news, trump-news, international-news, security-news, court-news, corruption-news, voting-rights-news, immigrant-news, cyber-security-news, infrastructure-news, biden-policy-news, fail-biden-policy-news, international-news, electoral-news, gop-shenanigans-news, far-right-news, crime-news, civil-rights-news

Democracy Now (5/11/21): Daily Headlines:

House Schedules Votes on Infrastructure Bill & Build Back Better Act
“We Want to Live!”: Climate Activists Confront Sen. Joe Manchin over Climate Emergency
White House Announces Vaccine Mandate for Over 100 Million U.S. Workers by January 4
U.S. to Cancel Contract with COVID-19 Vaccine Maker That Ruined Millions of Doses
Press Freedom Tribunal in The Hague to Hold Governments Accountable for Journalist Killings
Clemency Recommended for OK Man Facing Execution; Judge Denies New Trial for TX Death Row Prisoner
Weeks-Long Indigenous Blockade Protects Wet’suwet’en Land from Coastal GasLink Pipeline
Striking Alabama Coal Miners Return to NYC; 34K Kaiser Permanente Workers Poised to Strike

Tags: infrastructure-news, politics-news, climate-change-news, protest-news, bad-democrat-news, covid-news, media-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, crime-news, court-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, indigenous-news, big-oil-news, labor-news

Posted 5 November 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page); Bleeding edge news (rough)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

The results of the elections yesterday showed that (A) in Buffalo, NY, Democrats are willing to betray progressives and run as de facto Republicans when they are defeated in primaries ("spoil the ballot" amirite), and (B) that centrist Democrats have a tenuous see-saw (at best) with far-right Republicans, with the victory in Virginia of Trumper Youngkin. In addition to this axis, there is subtlety in centrist failures - Manchin+Sinema obstructionism to policies such as childcare and paid parental leave means that the GOP can fill the void as a "party of parents". This would not be the case if the Democrats could provide ANYTHING, but their conservative wing has sunk their ship. This is not a notice to abandon electoral politics, but to recognize other avenues of mobilization are necessary as well. Electoralism alone is insufficient.

Common Dreams 4/11/21): No Time to Lose: Why Democrats Should Include Voting Rights In Their Build Back Better Compromise - Nothing is more important to the future of the republic and to the future of the Democratic party than voting legislation.

Tags: voting-rights-news, analysis-news, politics-news, electoral-news

Common Dreams (2/11/21): 'Complete Attack on Our Democracy': FEC Rules Foreign Corporations Can Donate to Influence US Elections - "Foreign donors shouldn't be influencing our elections, no matter whether it's at the federal, state, or local level, said Rep. Katie Porter.

Tags: corruption-news, fail-biden-policy-news, dark-money-news, voting-rights-news

The Rational National (1/11/21): Progressives Cave To Joe Manchin's Games

Tags: bad-democrat-news, progressive-dem-news, politics-news

Independent (1/11/21): Only 34 police officers defy New York’s vaccine mandate after union threatened 10,000 would quit - ‘There is literally no effect on service at this point,’ says New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea (from r/labor via u/alllie)

Tags: covid-news

On Labor (2/11/21):

The autumn of discontent marches on. At midnight on Sunday, about 500 steelworkers in Ohio went on strike after contract renewal negotiations between ArcelorMittal and their union—United Steelworkers Local 3057—broke down abruptly. USW Local 3057 staff representative Brian Sealy told reporters that the employer made its final offer Sunday, then picked up and left to Pennsylvania before the union could give its response. Sealy was dismayed by the company’s behavior.
Meanwhile, 6,000 University of California lecturers are preparing to strike. The workers, ”who do one-third of all teaching but earn just a fraction of what their tenure-track counterparts do,” authorized a strike in May, with 96 percent of lecturers authorizing the University Council American Federation of Teachers (UC-AFT) to call a strike. The lecturers are calling for three things as they prepare to launch a strike
Next, in what I believe is the first time that workers in this industry have ever been mentioned on this blog, workers at Image Comics, an independent comic book publisher, have announced that they have formed a union.

Tags: labor-news, union-news

Common Dreams (2/11/21): Rather Than Pass Wage Increases, GOP Legislatures Move to Weaken Child Labor Laws - Lawmakers in Ohio and Wisconsin are pushing to allow 14- and 15-year-olds to work longer hours as exorbitantly wealthy corporations pay their adult employees less than $15 per hour on average.

Tags: labor-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Law and Crime (2/11/21): DOJ Sues to Stop Two Largest Rivals From Becoming the ‘Largest Book Publisher in the United States’

Tags: antitrust-news

Salon (2/11/21): An "alarming finding," but no surprise: Many Republicans now ready to support violence - New PRRI poll finds direct links between Trump's Big Lie, far-right media and support for potential violence

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, militant-far-right-news, media-news

On Labor (3/11/21):

In Boston, city council member Michelle Wu (D) became the first woman of color elected mayor of the capital of Massachusetts. Wu, a political protégée of Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), was endorsed by Teamster Local 25, 32BJ SEIU, OPEIU Local 453, and the Alliance of Unions at the MBTA, and she campaigned on bold progressive causes, including eliminating fares for the city’s public transportation system, implementing a “Boston Green New Deal” that would achieve net-zero municipal emission by 2024 and decarbonize the city entirely by 2040, imposing rent control to combat the city’s affordable housing crisis, and promoting economic justice and worker empowerment. Progressive mayors, endorsed by major unions, were also elected in Cleveland and Pittsburgh.

Tags: electoral-news, progressive-dem-news, labor-news

Jacobin (3/11/21): Buffalo’s Establishment Pulled Out All the Stops to Defeat India Walton - To beat India Walton, the establishment smeared her, changed the rules, and threw piles of cash. In the end, she flipped Byron Brown’s base while he drove up turnout in the city’s wealthiest areas.

Tags: bad-democrat-news, electoral-news, analysis-news, progressive-dem-news, leftist-news, socialist-news

David Pakman Show (4/11/21): Centrist AND Socialist Dems BOTH Lost

David Pakman Show (3/11/21): Election DISASTER for Democrats in 2021 Races, Panic Rising

Pakman both says the elephant in the room... but also Jacobin's deep-dive here reflects a lot of nuance he lacks. My comment is that while yes, the label "socialist" may be baggage... this is reflective of the need for a more organized working class base.

Tags: bad-democrat-news, electoral-news, analysis-news, progressive-dem-news, leftist-news, socialist-news

The Rational National (4/11/21): Joe Manchin Spreads Mainstream Lie On CNN

Tags: bad-democrat-news, media-news

On Labor (4/11/21):

Workers in Tucson, Arizona, obtained a victory with voters yesterday when they approved a $15 minimum wage. Known at Proposition 206, the citizen initiative passed overwhelmingly by a 2-to-1 margin
Worker influence continues in the House of Representatives where the House Judiciary Committee advanced the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act, also known as the FAIR Act. In stark contrast to the difficult-to-surmount application of the Federal Arbitration Act, this bill “would allow people to pursue employment, consumer, antitrust, or civil rights claims in court when they are physically or financially harmed by a corporation, even if they had signed a mandatory arbitration agreement.”

Tags: labor-news, politics-news, legislation-news

The Rational National (3/11/21): Media Tries To Blame The Left For Another Corporate Democrat Loss

Tags: media-news, corruption-news, electoral-news

In These Times (1/11/21): Broadband Expansion. Will It Go Where It’s Needed Most? - Rural communities in Wisconsin scramble to use tidal wave of public funding.

Tags: rural-news, infrastructure-news, biden-policy-news, progressive-dem-news, gop-shenanigans-news

The Guardian (4/11/21): Russian source for Steele’s Trump dossier arrested by US authorities - Five-page indictment released by justice department accuses analyst Igor Danchenko of lying to FBI

Tags: trump-news

The Hill (4/11/21): Michigan removes sales tax on tampons, other menstrual products

Tags: civil-rights-news, tax-news

Common Dreams (4/11/21): Moderna Reports 'Obscene' Profits From Covid Vaccine Funded by US Taxpayers - "The U.S. must use its vast legal powers to force or compel Moderna to share the tech and help boost global production of the vaccine."

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, covid-news, vaccine-ip-news

Jacobin (4/11/21): Economically Left but Socially Moderate?

This isn't the nazbol vortex; a good leftist will stick to their guns on their principles. The point is to foreground economic issues, and NOT allow the "social/culture" issues to dominate an election. It's in this context that American politics has crystallized in a deadlock, and the way to break out of this to pursue working class politics.

Tags: analysis-news, electoral-news, leftist-news

Just Security (4/11/21): Early Edition:

The U.S. drone strike that killed aid worker Zemari Ahmadi and nine of his family members, including seven children, did not violate the laws of war, a Pentagon internal review has concluded.
Chair of the House Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff (D-CA) has said that he is unconvinced that the summary of the investigation into the drone attack “provides for real accountability” for the mistake
President Biden’s administration has placed the Israeli spyware company NSO Group, and another Israeli company, Candiru, on a U.S. blacklist after it determined that the companies acted “contrary to the foreign policy and national security interests of the U.S.” The U.S. Department of Commerce issued a statement saying that the action is a part of the administration’s “efforts to put human rights at the center of U.S. foreign policy, including by working to stem the proliferation of digital tools used for repression.”
A U.S. journalist, who has been jailed in Myanmar for the past five months, was denied bail yesterday by a Myanmar court. The court also added a new charge against Danny Fenster, who has already been charged with incitement for allegedly spreading false or inflammatory information and with violating the Unlawful Associations Act for alleged links to illegal opposition groups, his lawyer said
The Marine Corps have released a new plan saying that it must overhaul how it recruits and retains Marines in a shift away from a young, “replaceable” force. “Gen. David H. Berger, commandant of the Marine Corps, said that he sees no alternative but to pivot away from a system that through multiple wars has prioritized massing a ‘young, physically tough, replaceable force’ that was ‘not all that highly skilled.’.. Berger said the Marine Corps is going to have to ‘treat people like human beings instead of inventory,’ making it appealing for more who already have experience to stay. There is urgency to do so, he said, because rising challenges such as China will require mature, experienced service members who possess multiple skills and can act on their own in the absence of communications with higher headquarters,” Dan Lamothe reports for the Washington Post What??? The admission here is kinda unsettling tbh
Google is reportedly pursuing a major cloud contract with the Pentagon. The company is hoping to land the potentially lucrative Pentagon contract, known as the Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability. However in 2018 an employee revolt forced Google to abandon work on a Pentagon program that used artificial intelligence, and it is possible that the latest move from Google could raise furor among Google’s workforce again.
Payments from former Trump’s campaign for “command centers” at D.C. hotels, from which efforts to deny President Biden the presidency, could undermine executive privilege claims over documents requested by the Jan. 6 investigation
At least seven people who travelled to Washington D.C. on Jan. 6 to attend the pro-Trump protest were elected to public office this week
New Jersey Governor Phillip D. Murphy (D) has narrowly won re-election. During the campaign, the pandemic and its impact on the state — including Murphy’s aggressive public health measures — was the defining issue. Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli made Murphy’s pandemic response a focal point of his own campaign, attacking vaccine and mask mandates and claiming that the governor’s public health measures were bad for businesses.
Michelle Wu has been elected Mayor of Boston, becoming the first woman and first person of color to be elected to the office. Wu was considered the progressive candidate and her mayoral platform includes proposals for free public transit, rent stabilization and rent control, and abolishing the Boston Planning and Development Agency.
Jury selection has concluded for the trial of the three white men that chased and killed Ahmaud Arbery and 1 Black juror and 11 white jurors will decide the case. Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley acknowledged that “intentional discrimination” by the lawyers for defendants Greg and Travis McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan appeared to shape jury selection. However, the judge claimed his ability to intervene was limited because the defense attorneys “have been able to explain to the court why besides race [eight Black potential jurors] were struck from the panel.”
Iran has announced that it will resume multilateral talks in Vienna on reviving a nuclear deal on Nov. 29.
U.S. and Iranian officials have both said that Iran seized an oil tanker in the Sea of Oman last month after an encounter with the U.S. Navy, but the two sides have given “widely differing accounts of whose tanker it was and what, exactly, had happened.” Iranian officials and a statement by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said that the United States had seized a tanker carrying Iranian oil on Oct. 24 and that an assault by Iranian commandos had taken the tanker back. “Two U.S. officials…said that Iran had seized a Vietnamese-flagged tanker, the MV Southys. A U.S. Navy destroyer, The Sullivans, arrived to monitor the seizure but took no action and was not threatened by approaching Iranian speedboats, one of the officials said. John F. Kirby, the chief Pentagon spokesperson, denied Iran’s allegations that the United States had seized the merchant vessel, whose nationality he declined to identify,” Farnaz Fassihi and Eric Schmitt report for The New York Times.
Vietnam has been in talks with Iranian authorities over the seizure last month of a Vietnamese oil tanker off the Iranian coast, in an effort to guarantee the safety of the crew, Vietnam has said today. Talks had taken place on a diplomatic level “to verify information and settle the incident to ensure safety and humane treatment for Vietnamese citizens,” a Vietnam Foreign Ministry spokesperson told a regular briefing.

Tags: international-news, dark-security-news, cyber-security-news, biden-policy-news, big-tech-news, trump-news, capitol-storming-news, electoral-news, far-right-news, progressive-dem-news, bad-democrat-news, racist-court-news

Just Security (3/11/21): Early Edition:

Addis Ababa city officials have told the capital’s five million residents to register all firearms within two days and prepare to defend the city from Tigrayan forces.
Ethiopia has said that it is “extremely disappointed” about U.S. plans to withdraw a deal for duty-free exports to the United States. U.S. policymakers are planning to suspend duty-free rights for Ethiopia, Mali and Guinea under the African Growth and Opportunities Act to address concerns about human rights abuses. [us-policy-news]
The U.N. human rights chief’s office is receiving ongoing reports of violations in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, including shelling and airstrikes causing civilian deaths, summary executions, large-scale displacement and a worsening humanitarian situation
[Afghanistan] At least 25 people were killed and more than 50 wounded from the attack in the military hospital, a Taliban security official has said. Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam reports for Reuters. - ISIS-K has claimed responsibility for the attack on the hospital.
China has accused the U.S. of a “lack of transparency and responsibility” regarding an accident in the South China Sea involving a Navy submarine last month.
American universities and research institutes are saying that the U.S.’s dominance in science and technology could be undermined by stricter U.S. visa requirements for Chinese students.
400 people incarcerated in the D.C. jail are being moved to a federal penitentiary after a surprise inspection of the jail “found evidence of ‘systemic’ mistreatment of detainees, including unsanitary living conditions and the punitive denial of food and water.” During the investigation, an 8-member team of deputy U.S. marshals recorded standing human sewage, water and food withheld from incarcerated people as punishment, staff members “antagonizing detainees,” and a failure to follow Covid-19 protocols.
Senate Republicans have criticized Democratic leadership for their decision not to push ahead the annual defense authorization bill and bring it to the floor for a vote, calling the move a “dereliction of duty.”
The House has approved two bills to strengthen the cybersecurity of small businesses: the Small Business Administration (SBA) Cyber Awareness Act and the Small Business Development Center Cyber Training Act.
A man who plotted to bomb a 2019 political rally in Long Beach, California, has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison

Tags: international-news, dark-security-news, science-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, politics-news, legislation-news, cyber-security-news, crime-news

Democracy Now (3/11/21): Daily Headlines:

Youngkin Beats McAuliffe in VA Gov. Race; India Walton Trails Write-in Primary Loser Byron Brown in Buffalo
Eric Adams Wins NYC Mayoral Race; Michelle Wu Is 1st Woman, BIPOC Elected as Boston Mayor
Ohio Special House Races Go to Republican Mike Carey and Democrat Shontel Brown
Minneapolis Rejects Police Overhaul Measure; Oregon Legalizes “Magic Mushrooms” for Medical Use - Meanwhile, in Austin, Texas, voters have overwhelmingly rejected a referendum to require the hiring of more police officers.
COP26: U.S. Joins 90 Nations in Pledge to Cut Methane Emissions; South Africa Coal Deal Announced
CDC Approves Pfizer COVID Vaccine for 5- to 11-Year-Olds
Facebook Shutting Down Facial Recognition Program - Facebook announced it’s shutting down its facial recognition system and deleting face scan templates of over 1 billion people by December. Facebook will not, however, get rid of the algorithm which powered the facial recognition technology, called DeepFace. It also did not rule out using such technology in the future.
Dems Reach Deal for Gov’t to Negotiate Drug Prices Through Medicare - But drug companies would have patent exclusivity for nine to 12 years before the government could begin those negotiations. The legislation would also ban pharmaceutical companies from raising prices quicker than inflation and cap out-of-pocket expenses for seniors on Medicare at $2,000 per year.
Same-Sex Partners Will Be Able to Access Social Security Benefits of Deceased Loved Ones
John Deere Workers Continue Strike After Rejecting Proposed Contract with Management

Tags: electoral-news, progressive-dem-news, leftist-news, bad-democrat-news, covid-news, big-tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, politics-news, civil-rights-news, labor-news

Just Security (2/11/21): Early Edition:

A 15-page confidential agreed communications timeline on the AUKUS pact and cancelled French submarine contract has been reported by The Australian newspaper. The Australian states that the timeline undermines claims from Biden that he did not know that Australia had not informed France earlier about the cancellation of the submarine contract. A text message sent from French President Emmanuel Macron to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison two days before the announcement of the AUKUS pact has also been leaked. In the message, Macron asked Morrison whether to expect good or bad news on the submarine project, and the text appears to have been shared to reinforce Australia’s position that France was not blindsided about the contract’s cancellation. However, Morrison has been accused of putting his personal political interests ahead of healing Australia’s diplomatic rift with France, and it has been suggested that the documents were leaked by the Australian government.
A U.S. nuclear-powered submarine that struck an underwater object in early October hit an uncharted underwater mountain, an investigation has found. The USS Connecticut had been operating in the contested waterway when it struck the object on Oct. 2, forcing it to head from the South China Sea to Guam for repairs
The jurors for the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse have been selected in an unusually swift process that was completed in a single day.
As lawmakers were being evacuated from the Capitol on Jan. 6, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) reportedly told the Senate sergeant-at-arms to use guns to quell the people who had breached the building
Gun dealers are marketing weapon parts and ammunition using a right-wing slogan “Let’s go, Brandon,” widely understood as code for profanity directed at President Biden.
Officials are on high alert for cyberthreats ahead of today’s Election Day in over 30 states, including Virginia. - CISA stressed Monday that while preparations were underway to monitor for any security concerns, there is currently ‘no specific, credible threat to election infrastructure,’” Maggie Miller reports for The Hill.

Tags: international-news, court-news, dark-security-news, militant-far-right-news, cyber-security-news

Democracy Now (4/11/21): Daily Headlines:

Global Carbon Emissions Near Record High as Nations Meet for Crucial Climate Summit - “Frankly speaking, there is no dignity to a slow and painful death. You might as well bomb our islands instead of making us suffer, only to witness our slow and fateful demise. Leaders of the G20, we are drowning, and our only hope is the life ring you are holding.”
NJ Gov. Phil Murphy Narrowly Wins Reelection, in Ominous Sign for Democrats Ahead of 2022 Midterms [in a state with a million more registered Democrats than Republicans, 1.24m vs 1.2m [1], a 40k vote difference]
Socialist Candidate India Walton Concedes Hard-Fought Mayoral Race in Buffalo, NY; In Minneapolis, Mayor Jacob Frey has won reelection. Frey opposed a ballot measure to replace the Minneapolis police with a Department of Public Safety. That measure failed to pass.; In Detroit, voters passed ballot initiatives to form a reparations task force and to decriminalize some psychedelic drugs, including magic mushrooms. Similar drug ballot initiatives passed in Oregon and Washington, D.C., last year. On Wednesday’s broadcast, we mistakenly said those votes took place on Tuesday.; Meanwhile, in Tucson, Arizona, voters have approved a citywide $15-an-hour minimum wage by a two-to-one margin.
Senate Republicans Filibuster Voting Rights Legislation Again - For the second time, Republicans in the United States Senate have used the filibuster to block a bill to restore parts of the 1965 Voting Rights Act gutted by the Supreme Court eight years ago. On Wednesday, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski was the sole Republican to join 49 members of the Democratic Caucus voting in favor of opening debate on the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. The 50-49 majority was not enough to overcome the 60 votes needed to break a Republican filibuster.
U.S. COVID-19 Death Toll Passes 750,000
White House Warns of Vaccine Misinformation, Urges Parents to Get Children Vaccinated
Biden Rebuffs Reports His Administration Could Pay $450,000 Per Separated Child at Border
World’s Most Polluting Nations Spend Twice as Much on Border Militarization Than Climate Crisis - Additionally, the world’s largest fossil fuel companies are employing the same companies that receive government contracts to militarize their borders.
Only One Black Juror Selected as Trial for Killers of Ahmaud Arbery Gets Underway - In Georgia, the judge overseeing the murder trial of three white men who hunted down and killed Black jogger Ahmaud Arbery last year found “intentional discrimination” in the jury selection after a single Black juror was chosen. The 11 other jurors are white. The judge nonetheless is allowing the trial to go ahead, with opening statements expected Friday.
NYC Taxi Drivers Win Historic Victory as City Agrees to New Debt Relief Measures

Tags: climate-change-news, electoral-news, bad-democrat-news, progressive-dem-news, leftist-news, civil-rights-news, covid-news, immigrant-news, fail-biden-policy-news, industrial-failure-news, racist-court-news, labor-news

ZDNet (2/11/21): Toronto subways hit by ransomware as US lawmakers slam 'burdensome' cybersecurity rules - As Canada's largest city struggles with a ransomware attack on its transportation system, US lawmakers are balking at new transportation-related cybersecurity regulations.

Tags: cyber-security-news

The Hill (2/11/21): DEA seizes more than 920 kilograms of cocaine headed to New York

Tags: crime-news, drug-news

ZDNet (2/11/21): Google just tripled its bounty for Linux kernel bugs. Here's why - Linux is everywhere and it needs extra protection, according to Google.

Tags: big-tech-news, open-tech-news

The Majority Report (4/11/21): Kamala Harris 'Please Clap' Moments Are A Liability For Democrats On The Campaign Trail

Tags: bad-democrat-news, electoral-news, analysis-news

Posted 2 November 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page); Bleeding edge news (rough)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

Financial Times (28/10/21): Johnson & Johnson’s ‘Texas-two-step’ sparks outcry over US bankruptcy regime - World’s largest healthcare company uses unusual legal manoeuvre to contain talc-based baby powder liabilities

Paywall Summary: The strategy is used to contain the cost of litigation, as the baby powder has been found to cause various forms of cancer. This has generated outrage as J&J tries to sidestep the issue, a company worth about $500bn. The strategy has two steps (and is called the "Texas two-step"): (1) create a new subsidiary in Texas, then split the company in two and put all of the liabilities in the new entity. (2) "Put the subsidiary into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in North Carolina, and ask a judge to pause all talc cases against the new subsidiary and J&J". FT analysis suggests the case could blow up in J&J's face, as the strategy is quite maverick; the company usually pursues cases to the bitter end. Similar strategies, FT reports, have been used by entities such as Koch Industries' Georgia-Pacific (asbestos) and Purdue Pharma (opioids). So far the talc cases have cost the company $4.5bn, including awards, settlements, and litigation costs; while the company claims these costs could be debilitating, FT reports that financial analysts are less concerned that the company, with $34bn of cash on balance sheet and $94bn in annual sales, is really threatened. This maneuver has also garnered calls for bankrupty reform in Congress, but that seems unlikely. For now, the courts will set a heavy precedent as the North Carolina bankruptcy case (step 2) moves forward.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, corruption-news, court-news

The Guardian (1/11/21): Barclays chief Jes Staley steps down after Epstein investigation - Executive plans to challenge findings of FCA inquiry and will be replaced by CS Venkatakrishnan

Tags: epstein-news

The Moscow Times (1/11/21): Russian Tycoon Oleg Tinkov Pays $500M to End U.S. Tax Dispute [us-policy-news]

Tags: tax-news, international-news

ZDNet (1/11/21): Signal unveils how far US law enforcement will go to get information about people - The encrypted messaging developer said Santa Clara County police wanted very specific personal information of certain users, including IP addresses along with dates and times for each login.

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, open-tech-news, cyber-security-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Mother Jones (31/10/21): The FBI Received Highly Specific Tips About Violence Set for Jan. 6—But Declined to Act - A blockbuster new investigation by the Washington Post details previously unreported “red flags.”

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, militant-far-right-news

Al Jazeera (1/11/21): US judge dismisses most charges against Maduro ally Alex Saab - Judge keeps in place one charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries maximum 20-year prison sentence. [us-policy-news]

Tags: international-news, court-news

Left Voice (1/11/21): Elections in Virginia: Between Trumpist Culture Wars and Clinton’s Right-Hand Man - Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe is in a dead heat with his Republican opponent ahead of Tuesday’s gubernatorial race in Virginia. The vote will be seen as a referendum on the Biden presidency and Trump's plans for a comeback.

Good analysis but do note - McAuliffe IS better than Youngkin

Tags: electoral-news, far-right-news, bad-democrat-news

On Labor (31/10/21):

On Saturday, UAW announced that it had reached a second tentative deal on a new six-year contract with John Deere, potentially bringing to a close the massive strike, involving nearly 10,000 workers, which began more than two weeks ago on October 14. The UAW has not yet released the details of the tentative agreement (although some alleged provisions have been leaked online), and it will not do so until members at all John Deere locations have been able to meet and review its proposed terms
On Friday, an order by the Second Circuit officially nulled a Trump-era joint employment regulation, a management-friendly interpretation that narrowed the joint employment standard and shielded employers from sharing liability over employment practices.
Finally, in local news, HGSU-UAW ended its three-day strike at midnight on Friday.

Tags: labor-news, union-news, court-news

Just Security (1/11/21): Early Edition:

The U.N. COP26 climate summit in Glasgow has commenced, with calls from diplomats and politicians for more action and ambition for curbing greenhouse emissions and adapting to the impacts of a warming planet
Biden has acknowledged that his administration’s handling of a submarine deal with Australia was “clumsy,” as he sought to repair relations with France following the AUKUS security pact between the U.S., U.K. and Australia [us-policy-news]
Seven senior military officers who form part of an eight-member jury, who heard graphic descriptions last week of the brutal treatment of an al Quaeda member while in the CIA’s custody, have written a letter calling the CIA’s carrying out of torture following the Sept. 11 attacks “a stain on the moral fiber of America.”
Former President Trump has found a way around social media bans and election finance laws as he rebuilds his political operation before a potential 2024 presidential campaign. Trump is skirting barriers by using his primary political action committee, Save America, to pump out more than $100,000 worth of Facebook ads a week.
One woman died and 36 migrants were detained after they tried to swim around a portion of the U.S.-Mexico border fence that extends into the Pacific Ocean

Tags: international-news, climate-change-news, biden-policy-news, dark-security-news, trump-news, far-right-news, dark-money-news, immigrant-news

Democracy Now (1/11/21): Daily Headlines:

G20 Members Agree to Minimum Corporate Tax Rate, Vaccines Push, Make Little Progress on Climate
Global COVID Death Toll Tops 5 Million; FDA Approves Vaccines for 5- to 11-Year-Olds
SCOTUS Rejects Religious Objection to Vaccine for Maine Health Workers; NYC Mandate Takes Effect
Biden Admin Issues New Memo to End “Remain in Mexico” as Migrant Caravan Takes Break on Trek to U.S.
Texas Homeowner Who Killed Unarmed Driver Will Use “Stand Your Ground” Law as Defense
Philadelphia Bans Cops from Stopping Drivers for Low-Level Traffic Violations
Labor Board Ruling Boosts Union Drive of Buffalo, NY Starbucks Workers
Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Texas’s Near-Total Ban on Abortions

Tags: tax-news, international-news, covid-news, court-news, immigrant-news, crime-news, labor-news

Democracy Now (2/11/21): Daily Headlines:

Sen. Joe Manchin Won’t Commit to Build Back Better Act, Imperiling Biden’s Domestic Agenda
Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments on Texas’s Near-Total Abortion Ban
Virginia Governor’s Race Takes Center Stage on Election Day
Kids as Young as 5 Set to Be Vaccinated Within Days as Pediatric Doses Begin Shipping
Judge Blocks Vaccine Mandate for Chicago Police Officers - New York City has placed about 9,000 municipal workers who defied a vaccine mandate on unpaid leave. Mayor Bill de Blasio says 91% of New York employees got at least one shot ahead of Monday’s deadline.
U.N. Warns Afghanistan Faces World’s Worst Humanitarian Crisis Amid Mounting Hunger
Striking John Deere Workers Win Wage and Pension Increases in Tentative Contract
Homicide Trial of Teen Gunman Kyle Rittenhouse Gets Underway in Wisconsin
Senate Confirms Beth Robinson as First-Ever LGBTQ+ Federal Appeals Court Judge
Rev. Jesse Jackson Hospitalized After Fall at Howard University

Tags: bad-democrat-news, legislation-news, politics-news, infrastructure-news, court-news, civil-rights-news, covid-news, international-news, labor-news, militant-far-right-news, lgbtq-news

Posted 1 November 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

Labor Notes (29/10/21): Viewpoint: Beneath Striketober Fanfare, The Lower Frequencies of Class Struggle

Tags: labor-news, analysis-news

The Guardian (27/10/21): Biden’s $500m Saudi deal contradicts policy on ‘offensive’ weapons, critics say [us-policy-news]

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, international-news, dark-security-news

Democracy Now (27/10/21): White Nationalists on Trial in Charlottesville over Deadly Rally After Victims Sued Under KKK Act

Tags: militant-far-right-news, court-news

OpenSecrets (25/10/21): Details of the money behind Jan. 6 protests continue to emerge

Tags: capitol-storming-news, far-right-news, corruption-news

Vice (25/10/21): A Pair of Jan. 6 Planners Just Rolled on Their Congressional Accomplices - Two organizers of the pro-Trump rallies that turned violent told Rolling Stone that Arizona GOP Rep. Paul Gosar floated a “blanket pardon.”

Tags: capitol-storming-news, far-right-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Left Voice (22/10/21): Antifa Activist Dan Baker Sentenced to Three Years for Online Posts and a Flyer - The arrest and sentencing of Dan Baker reveal the priorities of law enforcement and the justice system.

Tags: leftist-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news

The Hill (28/10/21): Michigan redistricting meeting delayed for hours by death threat

Tags: crime-news

New York Times (27/10/21): Brett Favre Repays $600,000 in Mississippi Welfare Fraud Case - The Mississippi state auditor said that Mr. Favre, the Hall of Fame quarterback, could still be sued if he does not pay an additional $228,000 in interest that he owes.

Tags: corruption-news

The Hill (27/10/21): Feds accuse Kansas 'cult' of running unpaid child labor network

Tags: labor-news, crime-news

The Guardian (29/10/21): Facebook trained its AI to block violent live streams after Christchurch attacks - Leaked papers detail emergency exercise that followed 2019 mass murder in New Zealand

Tags: big-tech-news, far-right-news

Vice (29/10/21): A Michigan QAnon Official Was Stripped of Her Power. Then a Voting Machine Went Missing. - A voting machine has gone missing in Michigan after a QAnon-linked Republican election official was stripped of her duties.

Tags: far-right-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Law and Crime (28/10/21): QAnon Influencer Who Accuses Democrats of Being Pedophiles Is Identified as Convicted Child Molester Designated as ‘Sexually Violent Offender’

Tags: crime-news, far-right-news

South China Morning Post (29/10/21): FBI director asks US businesses to work more closely with the agency to defeat Chinese espionage efforts - Christopher Wray says the Chinese government commands a ‘multi-avenue threat’ to acquire technology that requires businesses to help the bureau to combat - The call was the latest in a series of dire warnings he has issued about Chinese espionage since he became the FBI director in 2017 Important Note on SCMP

Tags: security-news, international-news

Jacobin (28/10/21): Obama’s Failure to Adequately Respond to the 2008 Crisis Still Haunts American Politics - Meltdown, a new podcast from David Sirota and Alex Gibney, makes a compelling case that the failures of 2008 and 2009 — when Barack Obama had a chance to enact the visions of reform that swept him into office — are key to understanding American politics today.

Tags: bad-democrat-news, analysis-news

David Pakman Show (28/10/21): Ted Cruz Cites Nazi Salutes to Defend Free Speech

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news

The Hill (30/10/21): University of Florida bars three professors from testifying in lawsuit over elections bill

Tags: voting-rights-news

Mother Jones (30/10/21): The More We Learn About John Eastman’s Involvement in Trump’s Coup, the Worse it Gets - While rioters raged through the Capitol, he blamed Mike Pence for the insurrection

Tags: capitol-storming-news

Vice (29/10/21): Lincoln Project Posed as Charlottesville White Supremacists at GOP Event - The Lincoln Project acknowledged they were behind the stunt after VICE News identified one of the people in the photo as a Democratic operative.

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news

Just Security (27/10/21): Early Edition:

Sudan’s security forces have detained three prominent pro-democracy figures and critics of the apparent military coup, according to their relatives and other activists.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has revoked the authorization for China Telecom’s U.S. subsidiary to operate in the U.S. [us-policy-news]
Two U.S. senators have urged Biden to waive sanctions against India over its purchase of Russia’s S-400 air defense system, saying sanctions against India would endanger growing cooperation
The U.S. support’s Taiwan’s inclusion in the U.N. system, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said, a move that is likely to anger China
An Israeli committee, the Defense Ministry’s higher planning council, is expected today to approve 2,800 new settler homes in the occupied West Bank, a day after the Biden administration issued its strongest condemnation yet of Israeli settlement construction
The Jan. 6 select committee is postponing its request for about 50 pages of Trump White House records, even though the National Archives has concluded the documents were relevant to the committee’s investigation. The committee decided to “defer” the request for the records after talks with President Biden’s White House. A White House official said this was “a routine part of the accommodation process between Congress and the Executive Branch in these types of matters” and that it “reflects a productive engagement between the Select Committee and the Executive Branch.”
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) was targeted by a suspicious substance which was subsequently deemed not to be hazardous, U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) said yesterday.
A top Pentagon official has testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Islamic State in Afghanistan could be ready to attack the West within six months.

Tags: international-news, security-news, capitol-storming-news, crime-news

Just Security (28/10/21): Early Edition:

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Loavrov has told Afghanistan’s neighboring countries to refuse to host U.S. or NATO military forces
The U.S. embassy in Moscow could stop performing most functions next year unless there is progress with Russia on increasing the number of visas for diplomats, a U.S. official has warned.
The National Rifle Association (NRA) has been hit by a ransomware attack
The Department of Justice is pushing back on claims of mistreatment of individuals held at a Washington DC jail in connection with the Jan. 6 attack
Facebook has told its employees to preserve internal documents and communications for legal reasons, as governments and regulators open inquiries into its operations.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has expanded the list of “sensitive locations” where immigration officers cannot make arrests.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has confirmed the presence of U.S. military trainers in Taiwan. Tsai made the remarks during an interview with CNN. Tsai would not say exactly how many U.S. military personnel are on the island at present but said it was “not as many as people thought,” adding that “we have a wide range of cooperation with the U.S. aiming at increasing our defense capability.”

Tags: international-news, cyber-security-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, big-tech-news, immigrant-news

Just Security (29/10/21): Early Edtion:

The Sudanese military will appoint a technocrat prime minister to rule alongside it within a week, Gen Abdel-Fattah Burhanhan, the Sudanese general who seized power in the coup, has said
Violent abductions by army officers are targeting Sudanese civilians who have opposed the coup, including politicians, journalists and activists. “In the space of barely a week, dozens of individuals selected by the army for detention, or who have spoken out against the coup, have been swept up, including ministers and journalists, as well as activists in the ‘resistance committees’ who have been involved in organising street protests,” the Guardian reports. [surveillance-and-censorship-news]
Sudan’s envoys to the U.S. and several other countries, including the E.U. and France, have been fired after condemning the military’s takeover, a military official has said.
President Biden will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron in an opportunity to address France’s concerns after a dispute over the Australian submarine deal with Paris that fell through following the U.S., U.K. and Australia AUKUS pact [us-policy-news]
An envoy for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro will plead not guilty to money laundering charges he is facing in the U.S., his lawyer has said. Alex Saab, a Colombian businessman, is accused of using a low-income housing project in Venezuela to gain $350 million in personal wealth.
The second most senior U.S. general, outgoing Vice Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General John Hyten, has said that the pace at which China’s military is developing capabilities is “stunning,” while U.S. development suffers from “brutal” bureaucracy.
The U.S. is committed to helping Taiwan defend itself, the top U.S. representative in Taiwan, Sandra Oudkirk has said, amid heightened tensions between Taipei and Beijing
The U.N. special envoy on unilateral coercive measures has urged the U.S. to end sanctions against Zimbabwe which she said have worsened the country’s humanitarian crisis, and she urged dialogue to end the impasse between the U.S. and Zimbabwe.
U.S. prosecutors have alleged that Vladimir Dunaev, a Russian man extradited from South Korea, was part of a transnational criminal group that stole millions of dollars using a malicious software called Trickbot
The U.S. Senate has unanimously passed the Secure Equipment Act, which will “further crack down on the use of telecommunications products from companies deemed to be a national security threat, such as those based in China.”
Chief Judge of the Washington, D.C. federal district court Beryl A. Howell has “unleashed a blistering critique of the Justice Department’s prosecution of Capitol rioters, saying the fiery rhetoric about the event’s horror did not match plea offers to minor charges.” Howell interrogated prosecutors about their decision to allow Jack Jesse Griffith to plead guilty to parading inside the Capitol, the same charge faced by nonviolent protestors who disrupt congressional hearings
A police planning memo from Jan. 5 has further demonstrated how unprepared the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) were for Jan. 6.
Doors on Capitol Hill are shutting on Facebook’s lobbying attempts, as the company seeks to recover from the revelations of whistleblower Frances Haugen. “Several congressional aides involved in efforts to regulate the tech companies say they are fed up with Facebook’s government relations strategy…Some offices on the Hill have started to either ignore the company’s outreach or ban its representatives altogether,” Emily Birnbaum reports for POLITICO.
Leaders of the U.S. oil industry refused to concede that their companies had ever misled the public about the link between burning fossil fuels and global warming during a tense hearing before the House Oversight and Reform Committee yesterday.
The leaders of the four major oil and gas companies touted their support for a transition to clean energy, and while acknowledging that the burning of their products was driving climate change and citing their internal targets for cutting emissions, the leaders told lawmakers that fossil fuels are not about to disappear.

Tags: international-news, court-news, dark-security-news, economic-news, cyber-security-news, capitol-storming-news, big-tech-news, big-oil-news, capitalist-farce-news

Democracy Now (28/10/21): Daily Headlines:

Biden Set to Announce “Framework” for Revised Social Spending and Climate Bill
Iran to Rejoin Talks to Restore Nuclear Deal Abandoned by Trump
Top U.S. General Compares Chinese Hypersonic Missile Test to “Sputnik Moment”
COVID-19 Sickened Nearly 60,000 Meat Industry Workers During Pandemic’s First Year
Inexpensive Antidepressant Fluvoxamine Shows Promise as COVID-19 Therapeutic
Merck to Allow Generic Manufacturing of Pill That Reportedly Can Cut COVID-19 Deaths by Half
Nor’easter Rips Through New England, Cutting Power to 600,000 Customers
New York Denies Permits to 2 [LNG] Power Plants, Citing Emissions-Curbing Law
Biden Campaigns for McAuliffe in VA as GOP Candidate Revives Attack on Toni Morrison’s “Beloved”
Facebook Papers: Mark Zuckerberg Reinstated Anti-Abortion Video, Opposed Spanish Voting Resources
Environmental Lawyer Who Took On Chevron Starts Serving 6-Month Prison Sentence for Misdemeanor
U.S. Pushes to Extradite WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange in London Court
Striking John Deere Worker Hit and Killed by Car as He Joined Picket Line
El Milagro Tortilla Plants Ending 7-Day Workweek After Employees Organize Against Labor Abuses
Harvard Student Workers Strike to Demand Better Pay and Healthcare

Tags: politics-news, legislation-news, security-news, covid-news, labor-news, energy-news, progressive-dem-news, electoral-news, big-tech-news, big-oil-news, corruption-news, court-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Democracy Now (29/10/21): Daily Headlines:

Biden Unveils Stripped-Down Build Back Better Act After Sens. Manchin, Sinema Demand Cuts
Big Oil Executives Grilled by House Democrats over Deception on Climate Crisis
As Climate Crisis Worsens, 10 World Heritage Forests Become Net Carbon Emitters
China Won’t Commit to New Emissions Targets Ahead of COP26 Climate Summit
Protesters at Site of COP26 Climate Summit Demand Real Action to Limit Warming to 1.5°C
Ahead of G20, Protesters Demand Biden Make COVID-19 Vaccines Available to Poor Countries
Guantánamo Bay Prisoner Describes Surviving CIA Torture in “Black Sites”
Biden Admin in Talks to Compensate Families Who Were Separated at Border Under Trump
Federal Jury Says GEO Group Must Pay Minimum Wage for Labor by Immigrant Prisoners
Facebook Rebrands as “Meta” as Scandals Pile Up
Ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo Charged with Groping Former Aide at Executive Mansion
DOJ to Pay $88 Million to Survivors of 2015 Black Church Massacre
Neo-Nazi on Trial for “Unite the Right” Delivers Racist Opening StatementNeo-Nazi on Trial for “Unite the Right” Delivers Racist Opening Statement
Oklahoma Executes John Marion Grant as Witnesses Describe Torturous, Drawn-Out Killing
Lisa Brodyaga, Beloved and Pioneering Immigrant Rights Lawyer, Dies at 80

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, bad-democrat-news, legislation-news, politics-news, big-oil-news, climate-change-news, protest-news, dark-security-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, immigrant-news, big-tech-news, cuomo-news, militant-far-right-news, obituary-news

Democracy Now for today will be posted next time!

Posted 27 October 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

Labor Notes (26/10/21): Puerto Rican Electrical Workers Union Fights Privatization of Island’s Grid

Tags: labor-news, energy-news

On Labor (26/10/21):

William recently wrote about unionization efforts at Amazon’s Staten Island distribution center and warehouses. The campaign has now hit a new milestone, as workers filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to request an election to unionize.
The U.S. Senate has confirmed Doug Parker as assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health. Parker is the first Senate-confirmed OSHA agency leader since the Obama administration. Parker worked as head of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health and helped develop California’s pandemic workplace safety rules. He also previously worked in the Labor Department’s Mine Safety and Health Administration during the Obama presidency, as an attorney for United Mine Workers of America, and as the executive director of worker-safety nonprofit Worksafe Inc.
TIME has profiled shifting worker relations and strategies for established unions as recent labor activism has grown increasingly grassroots-oriented. Using the John Deere and Kellogg’s activism as examples, authors Abby Vesoulis and Julia Zorthian focus on rifts opening between union contract negotiation strategies and grassroots worker demands. Large unions are finding themselves playing “catch up” to grassroots efforts, such as individual workers increasingly using social media to publicize their striking motivations and garner additional support.

Tags: labor-news, politics-news, union-news, analysis-news

Liberation News (21/10/21): AFL-CIO leadership attempts to censor San Francisco labor solidarity with Palestine

Tags: union-news, labor-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, bds-news

Law and Crime (26/10/21): Anti-Chevron Crusader Steven Donziger Denied Reprieve, Says He Must Report to Prison Within a Day

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news, court-news, big-oil-news

Al Jazeera (26/10/21): US says it ‘strongly’ opposes Israel’s settlement expansion plans - In rare criticism of Israeli government, Biden administration slams plans to build thousands of settlement units.

Tags: international-news

Payday Report (26/10/21): Daily Headlines:

In Richmond, Virginia, non-union nurses at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Health went on a “sickout” strike Monday over low pay and understaffing.
In Lee County, Florida, more than 100 school bus drivers went on a “sickout” strike Monday to protest low pay and working conditions.
In the suburbs of Hartford, Connecticut, workers at a Dollar General this week have narrowly voted down the union. However, the outcome of the union election could change based on two ballots that were challenged by management.

Tags: labor-news, union-news

David Pakman Show (26/10/21): World Horrified as Anti-Vaccine Madness Takes Over USA

Tags: anti-vaxx-news, covid-news, far-right-news

Vice (26/10/21): What Crisis? Facebook Made $9 Billion in Profit in the Last 3 Months - If you read the headlines, Facebook has been having one of the worst weeks in its history. Its quarterly earnings report tells a different story.

Tags: big-tech-news, capitalist-farce-news

New York Times (25/10/21): Shooting at Boise Mall Leaves 2 Dead and 5 Injured, Including Suspect - A police officer was among those injured at Boise Towne Square in Idaho, and a suspect was critically injured in a shootout with the police.

Tags: crime-news

The Hill (26/10/21): Top Arizona elections official says violent threats fueling worker turnover

Tags: electoral-news, voting-rights-news, militant-far-right-news

ZDNet (26/10/21): DOJ, Europol arrest hundreds as part of international darknet drug operation - Authorities from nine countries seized $31 million and hundreds of kilograms of drugs as part of an effort to disrupt criminal rings operating on the DarkNet.

Tags: drug-news

Just Security (26/10/21): Early Edition:

U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met yesterday with representatives of Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG), set up by opponents of army rule, the White House has said. [us-policy-news]
Israel is sending an envoy to Washington amid a deepening rift with President Biden’s administration following Israel’s outlawing of six Palestinian rights groups. “Israel last week designated the prominent Palestinian human rights groups as terrorist organizations, sparking international criticism and repeated assertions by Israel’s top strategic partner, the United States, that there had been no advance warning of the move….The State Department has said it would seek more information on the decision. Joshua Zarka, a senior Israeli Foreign Ministry official, told Israeli Army Radio the envoy would ‘give them all the details and to present them all the intelligence’ during his visit in the coming days. Zarka said he personally updated U.S. officials on Israel’s intention to outlaw the groups last week, and said he believed Washington wanted a more thorough explanation of the decision,” Tia Goldenberg reports for AP. [us-policy-news]
Organizers of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol have detailed “dozens” of planning meetings they participated in with members of Congress and White House staff, to coordinate contesting the election results and plan the rallies that preceded the Jan. 6 attack. Some of the organizers of the pro-Trump rallies that took place in Washington, D.C. before the Jan. 6 attack have started communicating with congressional investigators, including detailing allegations that multiple members of Congress, including Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Mo Brooks (R-AK), Madison Cawthorn (R-NC, Andy Biggs (R-AZ) and Louie Gohmert (R-TX), were intimately involved in planning both Trump’s efforts to overturn his election loss and the Jan. 6 events that turned violent. Two sources who spoke to Rolling Stone also claimed that they interacted with members of Trump’s team, including former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who they describe as having had an opportunity to prevent the violence. Hunter Walker reports for the Rolling Stone.
Democratic lawmakers are renewing calls to expel members of Congress implicated in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, following the reports that witnesses recently informed congressional investigators of their coordination with lawmakers
The House Oversight and Reform Committee has released a report finding that around 60 Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents posted inappropriate comments in a Facebook group, but only two were fired
In Charlottesville, the trial has begun against the organizers of the 2017 Unite the Right rally. The plaintiffs in the federal civil trial have invoked the reconstruction-era Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 in making the claim that the organizers engaged in a conspiracy to commit racially motivated violence. Jury selection has started and the trial is expected to last until November 19
Internal documents have revealed Facebook’s years-long struggle to crack down on its platforms’ facilitation of human trafficking. Facebook has been aware of human traffickers’ use of its platforms since at least 2018, and took emergency action to address it when Apple threatened to pull the Facebook and Instagram apps from the App Store.
Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen encouraged U.K. lawmakers yesterday to pass legislation to rein in social-media platforms. Haugen explained to a parliamentary committee considering the U.K. Online Safety Bill, which aims to curb harmful online content, that Facebook struggles to curb misinformation and hate speech in many languages and dialects, including British English
Facebook’s own researchers have repeatedly warned that the company is ill-equipped to address issues such as hate speech and misinformation in languages other than English. According to internal Facebook documents, which are part of disclosures made to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and provided to Congress in redacted form by Haugen’s legal counsel, Facebook’s moderation teams are often not equipped to handle all languages and dialects spoken in many of countries the company refers to as “at risk.” This means that a large amount of hate speech and misinformation still slips through, potentially making users in some of the most politically unstable countries more vulnerable to real-world violence.
The U.K.’s spy agencies, M15, M16 and GCHQ, have given a contract to Amazon Web Services (AWS) to host classified material in a deal aimed at boosting the use of data analytics and artificial intelligence for espionage. The high-security cloud system will also be used by other government departments, such as the Ministry of Defense, during joint operations. The agreement, estimated by industry experts to be worth £500m to £1bn over the next decade, was signed this year, according to sources familiar with the discussions. “Although AWS is a U.S. company, all the agencies’ data will be held in Britain, according to those with knowledge of the deal. Amazon will not have any access to information held on the cloud platform, those people said,” Helen Warrell and Nic Fildes report for the Financial Times.

Tags: international-news, capitol-storming-news, trump-news, far-right-news, politics-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, immigrant-news, big-tech-news, dark-security-news, cyber-security-news

Democracy Now (27/10/21): Daily Headlines:

U.N.'s Guterres Warns World on Track for Climate Catastrophe, Even with Gov't Pledges Ahead of COP26 - In more encouraging climate news, a new report highlights the power of the grassroots divestment movement, as some 1,500 institutions and other investors have committed to divesting $40 trillion in assets from fossil fuels over the past decade.
Brazilian Senators Back Report Accusing Bolsonaro of Crimes Against Humanity for Pandemic Response
Deborah Birx Says 130,000 Lives Could Have Been Saved, But Trump Admin “Distracted” by Election
FDA Panel Recommends Pfizer Vaccine for Children Aged 5-11; Moderna to Sell 110M Vaccines to African Countries
Rittenhouse Trial Judge Says the Word “Victims” Cannot Be Used to Describe Victims of Fatal Shooting
Senate Democrats Push Tax Plan for Billionaires to Help Fund Build Back Better Act
El Milagro Tortilla Company Facing Investigations over Working Conditions
Ex-Black Panther Russell “Maroon” Shoatz Freed After Half-Century Behind Bars, 22 Years in Solitary

Tags: climate-change-news, international-news, far-right-news, covid-news, trump-news, court-news, militant-far-right-news, tax-news, politics-news, legislation-news, labor-news, capitalist-farce-news

Posted 26 October 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

Left Voice (24/10/21): Philly Transport Workers Prepare to Strike. So Should Every Philly Union. - During the pandemic, while bus drivers and train and trolley operators were getting sick and dying, they were called heroes. Now, the bosses are demanding major concessions from transport workers in Philly. In response, their union voted unanimously to strike. It will take more to build real worker power in the city.

Tags: labor-news, union-news

On Labor (25/10/21):

A New York Times investigation into Amazon revealed a “whole leave system [that] was run on a patchwork of programs that often didn’t speak to one another.” While the company invested heavily in systems that allowed it to get products to customers quickly and earn record profits, it left workers who sought to go on leave and return from leave without support. Some workers were erroneously terminated for not appearing at work and others were chronically underpaid. James Watts, who worked in a Tennessee warehouse before going on paid disability leave, had to sell his wedding ring to be able to afford food and doctors’ bills. In other cases, Amazon is accused of violating state leave laws.
...Amazon is currently in the midst of a massive internal investigation, sparked by an Oklahoma warehouse worker’s email. Tara Jones repeatedly reported her significant underpayment, which left her behind on bills as she cared for her newborn. She decided to email Jeff Bezos, which led to the discovery that warehouse workers at as many as 179 other facilities may have also been harmed.
Top Republicans in the Florida legislature have proposed that the state withdraw from OSHA’s direct oversight, the Tampa Bay Times reports. “It makes no sense,” said Jordan Barab, a former deputy assistant secretary of labor at OSHA. Any state program would still require federal approval and it would need to “be at least as effective.” The approval process would take years and the creation of a new agency would cost Florida taxpayers millions of dollars. Florida already has the fewest OSHA inspectors per workers of any state. The proposal to withdraw comes after OSHA announced that it would promulgate an emergency rule that would mandate that businesses with 100 or more employees require their employees to be vaccinated or tested weekly.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, big-tech-news, gop-shenanigans-news, covid-news

On Labor (24/10/21):

Most recently, Deere & Co. successfully petitioned for a temporary restraining order enjoining thousands of union members from picketing at its Davenport Works facility in Iowa. According to Iowa state court judge Marlita A. Greve, the union has used “mass picketing” tactics to impede or prevent non-striking workers, customers and others from safely accessing the plant’s entrances, exits and parking lots, blocked the free-flow of traffic and used megaphones and audio-enhancing devices to conduct “acts of verbal and physical harassment [and] intimidation.”

Tags: court-news, busting-labor-news

Vice (25/10/21): Howard University Students Are Sleeping in Tents Because Their Dorms Are Moldy - Students at Howard University, the acclaimed historically Black college in Washington, D.C., say they’re paying thousands to live in squalor.

Tags: social-woes-news

Just Security (25/10/21): Early Edition:

Large crowds of anti-military protesters are marching on the street of Sudan’s capital Khartoum, denouncing the overnight detentions of government members, according to images posted on social media
There have been reports of gunfire and injuries in clashes on the streets in Khartoum, involving thousands of people opposed to the apparent military coup.
Hamdok is under pressure to release a statement in “support of the takeover,” but has refused to do so, Sudan’s Information Ministry has said
Russia’s intelligence agency has launched another campaign to pierce thousands of U.S. government, corporate, and think-tank computer networks, Microsoft officials and cybersecurity experts have warned
The Navy and Army last week conducted three “successful” hypersonic weapon tests, the Defense Department has said.
In the days leading up to and after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, Rudy Giuliani led the legal effort to prevent Congress from certifying the 2020 election results from the Willard Hotel in downtown Washington D.C.
Millions of Afghans will face starvation this winter unless urgent action is taken, the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) has warned. “More than half the population — about 22.8 million people — face acute food insecurity, while 3.2 million children under five could suffer acute malnutrition, the WFP said,” BBC News reports.
The Biden administration is taking an unprecedented step to resettle the 55,600 Afghan evacuees into permanent homes from the U.S military bases where they’ve been housed.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has clarified that there was no change in Taiwan policy after President Biden said that the U.S. would come to Taiwan’s defense if it were attacked by China
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has disclosed that New York City-based nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance, as part of research conducted in partnership with the Wuhan Institute of Virology, enhanced a bat coronavirus to become potentially more infectious in humans.

Tags: international-news, cyber-security-news, security-news, capitol-storming-news, immigrant-news, biden-policy-news, covid-news

Democracy Now (26/10/21): Daily Headlines:

Sudan’s Military Opens Fire on Protesters Opposing Coup - News outlets are reporting at least 10 protesters have been shot dead during today’s protests demanding an end to military rule.
FDA Panel to Review Pfizer’s Application for COVID Vaccines for Children
U.S. to Allow Entry to International Travelers Who Prove Vaccination
U.N. Warns Greenhouse Gas Levels Hit Record High in 2020
Rare Mediterranean Hurricane Strikes Italy; California Sees Record October Rainfall
Planners of Deadly Charlottesville “Unite the Right” Rally Face Federal Civil Charges
White House Rejects Trump’s Latest Claims of Executive Privilege in January 6 Probe

Tags: international-news, pharma-news, covid-news, climate-change-news, militant-far-right-news, capitol-storming-news, trump-news

Posted 25 October 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

Common Dreams (23/10/21): Fatal Film Set Shooting Followed Outcry by Union Crew Members Over Safety Protocols - "When union members walk off a set about safety concerns, maybe 'hiring scabs' isn’t the solution you think it is."

Tags: labor-news

The Guardian (23/10/21): Facebook missed weeks of warning signs over Capitol attack, documents suggest - Materials provided by Frances Haugen to media outlets shine light on how company apparently stumbled into 6 January

Tags: big-tech-news, capitol-storming-news, far-right-news

New York Times (22/10/21): Biden Names Neera Tanden as White House Staff Secretary - The move comes after her nomination as budget director was pulled earlier this year over her frequent caustic remarks on social media.

This is bad - she has made a career on sniping progressives. And now she is the "central nervous system" of the Biden White House.

Tags: bad-democrat-news, fail-biden-policy-news

The Black Wall Street Times (22/10/21): NY Dem Party leader compares Black socialist candidate to KKK leader David Duke

Tags: bad-democrat-news

Law and Crime (22/10/21): Federal Jury Finds Lev Parnas Guilty of All Charges in Illicit Foreign Campaign Donation Case

Tags: crime-news, trump-news

The Guardian (22/10/21): Twitter admits bias in algorithm for rightwing politicians and news outlets - Home feed promotes rightwing tweets over those from the left, internal research finds

Tags: big-tech-news, far-right-news

Jacobin (22/10/21): The Right Is Embracing the Reactionary Brutality of “Special Operators” Like Eddie Gallagher - The military’s elite units have long stoked some of the country’s most reactionary politics. But the Right has recently worked hard to defend and normalize the barbarity of special operators — even those accused of major war crimes, like former Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher.

Tags: far-right-news, dark-security-news

CNBC (21/10/21): Fed to ban policymakers from owning individual stocks, restrict trading following controversy

Tags: corruption-news

The Guardian (22/10/21): Lyft admits it recorded 4,000 sexual assault claims in long-awaited report - Company reveals figures, promised in 2019, as ride-hailing companies face growing safety scrutiny

Tags: big-tech-news, crime-news

Common Dreams (21/10/21): Sinema Shatters Democrats' Plan to Raise Corporate Tax Rate - Although "all of President Biden's Build Back Better agenda can be paid for by fairer taxes on the wealthy and corporations," noted Americans for Tax Fairness, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's refusal to support tax hikes on the rich could kill the bill.

Tags: corruption-news, bad-democrat-news

Jacobin (23/10/21): The Anti-Politics and Anti-Comedy of Norm Macdonald - From his early days honing his craft at comedy clubs in Canada to his later Saturday Night Live fame, Norm Macdonald was one of the most brilliant stand-up comedians of his generation.

Tags: obituary-news

Just Security (22/10/21): Early Edition:

President Biden has admitted that he was wrong to make a statement last week that those that defy subpoenas from the Jan. 6 select committee should be prosecuted.
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) called Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) out for falsely signing a letter to at least one government agency claiming that he is a ranking member of the Jan. 6 select committee
The Pentagon and the White House also released reports on climate change and, together with the National Intelligence Estimate, the reports paint a picture of climate change being likely to exacerbate long-standing threats to global security.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is charging three Colombians and two Venezuelans for an alleged Venezuelan bribery scheme, the DOJ has announced.
The U.S. and other nations earlier this week in a joint operation hacked and forced offline the REvil cyber criminal group.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ordered Apple, Facebook, and other technology companies to turn over information about how they handle customer data
Facebook’s oversight board has criticized the company for a lack of transparency regarding its preferential treatment of the platform’s most prominent users
A group representing Navajo communities is presenting its case to an international human rights body, saying that U.S. regulators violated the rights of tribal members when they cleared the way for uranium mining in western New Mexico.
Chanel Dickerson, the assistant police chief in Washington, D.C. and one of 10 Black women who filed a class-action lawsuit last month against the city alleging widespread discrimination, said this week that as a cadet aged 18 she was told she had to get an abortion or she would be fired
President Biden has said that the U.S. would come to Taiwan’s defense and has a committed to defend the island China claims as its own, forcing the White House to clarify that U.S. policy on the subject has not changed.

Tags: biden-policy-news, gop-shenanigans-news, climate-change-news, international-news, cyber-security-news, big-tech-news, indigenous-news, civil-rights-news

Democracy Now (25/10/21): Daily Headlines:

Sudanese Military Dissolves Transitional Gov’t, Detains Prime Minister in Coup
“Facebook Papers” Reveal How Co. Fueled Violence in India, Facebook’s Role in Jan. 6 Insurrection - Another trove of documents reveals internal anger and regret at Facebook over the company’s role in spreading the QAnon conspiracy theory and so-called Stop the Steal pages that helped fuel the violence at the U.S. Capitol on January 6
“Stop the Steal” Organizers Say GOP Lawmakers, Trump Staffers Involved in Planning Jan. 6 Rallies
Thousands of Asylum Seekers Form Caravan in Southern Mexico, March Toward U.S.
Apache Nation Asks Federal Court to Halt Proposed Copper Mine at Oak Flat
Supreme Court Again Refuses to Halt Texas’s Near-Total Abortion Ban
Union Members Walked Off “Rust” Set Ahead of Prop Gun Killing of Halyna Hutchins

Tags: international-news, big-tech-news, capitol-storming-news, gop-shenanigans-news, trump-news, far-right-news, immigrant-news, indigenous-news, court-news, civil-rights-news, labor-news

Posted 22 October 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

Common Dreams (21/10/21): After Months of Organizing, Amazon Workers Ready Union Drive at Staten Island Warehouse - "The energy and culture we built over the last six months with these workers, it's been very strong," said Amazon Labor Union president Chris Smalls. "Everybody's excited."

Tags: labor-news

Common Dreams (21/10/21): Leaked Docs Reveal Fossil Fuel-Soaked Nations Lobbying to Sabotage Climate Action - "They are using every opportunity to protect their corporate interests and continue with business as usual while the planet burns."

Tags: climate-change-news, leak-news, corruption-news

Yahoo News (20/10/21): When truckers voted to unionize, their employer retaliated with illegal layoffs, judge rules [from r/labor via u/DoremusJessup]

Tags: court-news, busting-labor-news

The Hill (21/10/21): Schumer endorses democratic socialist India Walton in Buffalo mayor's race

Tags: socialist-news, progressive-dem-news, electoral-news

On Labor (21/10/21):

Union drives have also continued to success elsewhere, this time in an industry often historically overlooked: the video game and entertainment industry. Workers at Paizo, one of the largest tabletop roleplaying companies in the world, have officially formed a union called the United Paizo Workers.
Activision Blizzard remains embroiled in controversy over its poor treatment of its employees. Now, Activision faces dueling lawsuits from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing.
Elsewhere in the technology industry, Facebook is being forced to pay up to $14 million to settle a U.S. lawsuit alleging employment discrimination. Facebook allegedly intentionally favored foreign-born employees for its job positions.

Tags: labor-news, capitalist-farce-news, big-tech-news

Just Security (21/10/21): Early Edition:

A U.S. military base in Syria has been the target of a “deliberate and coordinated” attack involving both drones and indirect fire.
Spain’s highest criminal court has agreed to extradite Venezuela’s former intelligence chief, Hugo Carvajal, to the U.S., where he faces drug trafficking charges
Rep. Norma Torres (D-CA) has requested that the army conduct a “full and independent” examination on the initial investigation in the death of a paratrooper, Enrique Roman-Martinez. Roman-Martinezo was reported missing in May 2020, and later found dead, after going on a camping trip with fellow soldiers on an island off the North Carolina coast
Former President Trump has announced that he is launching his own social media company, “TRUTH Social.”
Special counsel John Durham gave a glimpse yesterday of his extensive use of a federal grand jury to bring a false statement charge against former Hillary Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann, as part of his investigation of the FBI probe into Trump and Russia.
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-NB) has stepped down as the top Republican on the House appropriations subcommittee on agriculture, one day after a federal grand jury indicted him on charges of lying to federal investigators about his campaign contributions.
A hacking tool linked to a Russian crime ring is believed to have been used in ransomware attack that disrupted programming at Sinclair Broadcast Group.

Tags: international-news, security-news, trump-news, court-news, gop-shenanigans-news, corruption-news, cyber-security-news

Democracy Now (21/10/21): Daily Headlines:

Republican Senators Use Filibuster to Block Federal Voting Rights Bill
Biden Touts Compromise Deal After Sens. Manchin and Sinema Reject Build Back Better Agenda
Senate Questions Rahm Emanual on Police Murder of Laquan McDonald in Ambassadorship Hearing
U.S. Court Rules in Favor of Guantánamo Prisoner Held for 14 Years Without Charge or Trial

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, voting-rights-news, fail-biden-policy-news, bad-democrat-news, court-news

Democracy Now (22/10/21): Daily Headlines:

Report Reveals U.S. Immigration Officers’ Violent and Sexual Abuse of Asylum Seekers
National Guard Troops Helped Texas Law Enforcement Arrest Over 70,000 Asylum Seekers
Just 14% of Vaccines Pledged to Poorer Nations Have Been Delivered as Rich Countries Hoard Doses
House Votes to Hold Steve Bannon in Contempt for Defying Capitol Insurrection Subpoena
J&J Spinoff Company Files for Bankruptcy to Stem Damage from Talcum Powder Cancer Lawsuits
Alec Baldwin Fires Prop Gun on Set, Killing Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and Injuring Director

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, immigrant-news, crime-news, covid-news, capitol-storming-news, far-right-news, capitalist-farce-news, pharma-news

Posted 21 October 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

Law and Crime (20/10/21): Mark Zuckerberg Was ‘Personally Involved’ in Cambridge Analytica Scandal, ‘Encouraged’ 2016 Election Manipulation: D.C. Attorney General

Tags: crime-news, big-tech-news

Truthout (19/10/21): Half a Million South Korean Workers Walk Off Jobs in General Strike

Tags: labor-news, capitalist-farce-news, history-news

On Labor (20/10/21):

Officials with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) threatened on Tuesday to revoke approval of the state occupational safety plans in three GOP-controlled states — South Carolina, Arizona, and Utah — thereby asserting federal jurisdiction over workplace safety within these states.
Hospitals in New York have been rapidly consolidating in recent years, and the Empire State has come to be dominated by a small network of mammoth private health systems. In fact, forty-one New York hospitals have closed all of their inpatient services over the last 20 years, and the 12 largest hospital systems in the state now control 70 percent of all inpatient acute care beds. These mega-systems, which represent part of a national trend towards healthcare provider consolidation — and an even larger global trend toward greater capital concentration worldwide — command a large share of the market and tend to charge higher prices. In response to these conditions, a group of nine labor unions representing hundreds of thousands of workers in the state have launched a collaborative endeavor, titled The Coalition for Affordable Hospitals, to advocate for state action to address hospital consolidation and rising healthcare prices.
The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported on Monday that as Tennessee labor unions are becoming more aggressive amid the nationwide labor shortage, business groups in the state and the GOP-dominated legislature are attempting to enshrine the state’s so-called “right-to-work” law into the state constitution.

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, labor-news, healthcare-news, antitrust-news, busting-labor-news, capitalist-farce-news

ZDNet (19/10/21): Software Freedom Conservancy sues Vizio for GPL violations - The major US TV vendor Vizio stands accused of failing to fulfill the basic requirements of the General Public License (GPL) in its TV source code.

Tags: open-tech-news, capitalist-farce-news

Law and Crime (19/10/21): GOP Congressman Indicted for Allegedly Lying About Illegal Campaign Contributions Feels ‘Personally Betrayed’ by FBI Agents He Let into His Home

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, crime-news, corruption-news

Jacobin (19/10/21): The Global Far Right Is Betting the House on Bolsonaro - Far-right organizations like Project Veritas in the US and the Vox party in Spain are increasingly looking to Latin America as the key to consolidating their international network. To prevent that from happening, Jair Bolsonaro must be stopped from winning — or stealing — Brazil's 2022 election.

Tags: far-right-news, analysis-news

ProPublica (19/10/21): The Trump Administration Used Its Food Aid Program for Political Gain, Congressional Investigators Find - The Food to Families program, touted by Ivanka Trump, gave tens of millions of dollars to unqualified firms and was also used to promote then-President Trump.

Tags: corruption-news, trump-news

Law and Crime (19/10/21): Ghislaine Maxwell Asks Judge Not to Let Prosecutors Mention ‘Victims,’ ‘Minor Victims’ or Alleged ‘Rape’ by Jeffrey Epstein

Tags: epstein-news, crime-news

The Guardian (19/10/21): FBI raids Washington mansion linked to Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska - US agents conduct search at property in capital’s north-west - Putin associate sanctioned by US treasury department in 2018

Tags: crime-news, international-news

New York Times (18/10/21): Washington Metro Pulls Most Train Cars From Service After Derailment - The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority idled 748 Metro cars on Monday after one train derailed at least three times on Oct. 12, officials said.

Tags: rail-news

The Rational National (20/10/21): Exposing Tucker Carlson's SHOCKING Vaccine LIES

Tags: far-right-news, media-news

The Rational National (19/10/21): Cori Bush & Jamaal Bowman Tear CNN Host Apart Over Ridiculous Questions

Tags: progressive-dem-news, media-news, bad-democrat-news

The Majority Report (17/10/21): Americans Showing Solidarity With Labor Strikes Rising Up Across The Unites States

Tags: labor-news

Common Dreams (20/10/21): 'Bombshell': Total Knew About Climate Threat From Fossil Fuels for Decades, But Denied It - "The dire consequences of climate change we are now experiencing could have been avoided if Total executives 50 years ago had decided that the future of the planet is more important than their profits."

Tags: climate-change-news, corruption-news, big-oil-news

Payday Report (20/10/21):

Today, dozens of Netflix employees walked out to protest the airing of Dave Chappelle’s “The Closer” comedy special, which many trans activists have considered offensive and dangerous to their community, which has been the target of numerous hate crimes.
At the University of Pittsburgh yesterday, election officials announced more than 3,300 faculty members voted to unionize with the United Steelworkers by a margin of 1511-612.
Dozens of workers at Child Haven, a Las Vegas group home that serves abused and neglected children, went on strike on Tuesday.Dozens of workers at Child Haven, a Las Vegas group home that serves abused and neglected children, went on strike on Tuesday.

Tags: media-news, labor-news, lgbtq-news

The Hill (19/10/21): Idaho GOP's power struggle underscores fissures in party

Tags: far-right-news, gop-shenanigans-news, politics-news

Just Security (19/10/21): Early Edition:

The Haitian gang called 400 Mawozo that abducted the group is asking for $1 million each for their release, a total of $17 million, a top Haitian official said yesterday. Justice Minister Liszt Quitel said the FBI and Haitian police are in contact with the kidnappers and seeking the release of the missionaries as well as five children, one an 8-month baby and the others 3, 6, 14, and 15 years old. Quitel said negotiations could take weeks. “We are trying to get them released without paying any ransom. This is the first course of action. Let’s be honest: when we give them that money, that money is going to be used for more guns and more munitions,” he said
Local unions representing Haitian public transportation drivers, schools, and other businesses have gone on strike to protest the nation’s lack of security and the growing wave of kidnappings in the country. “This strike is our way of saying that we can’t take it anymore,” Diego Toussaint, a Haitian entrepreneur said
The U.S. Treasury has warned that digital currencies could weaken the U.S. sanctions program. In a new report, the Treasury Department said that the U.S. needs to modernize how sanctions are deployed so that they remain an effective national security tool. So sad :( Poor USA
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has signed an agreement to continue U.S. support for Georgia’s military for six years
Sinclair Broadcast Group has announced that it was hit by a ransomware attack over the weekend. The attack resulted in data theft and network disruption of one of the largest television station operators in the nation.
Three federal agencies yesterday warned that critical infrastructure groups, particularly agricultural organizations, are being targeted by a prolific ransomware group named BlackMatter.
Five members of the House Judiciary have accused Amazon of lying to Congress about its business practices. In a letter addressed to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, lawmakers referenced a Reuters report that found that Amazon engaged in a “systematic campaign” to rig search results to boost sales of its own brands — activity that Amazon has denied in sworn testimony.

Tags: international-news, labor-news, economic-news, cyber-security-news, food-security-news, big-tech-news, corruption-news

Just Security (20/10/21): Early Edition:

Russia scrambled two fighter jets to escort a pair of U.S. strategic bombers over the Black Sea, Russia’s Defense Ministry has said.
The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol has voted unanimously to recommend criminal contempt charges against former White House strategist Steve Bannon.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) has placed a hold on Biden’s pick to lead the State Department’s Middle East Bureau, escalating the lawmaker’s battle with Biden’s administration over diplomatic nominations.
A U.S. Navy report has concluded that major failures within the military chain of command allowed a fire to destroy the USS Bonhomme Richard, which burned for four days in San Diego, California in July 2020.
Iowa authorities are investigating multiple threats — including one of lynching — that Iowa Democratic Party Chair Ross Wilburn received soon after writing an op-ed criticizing former President Trump.

Tags: russia-policy-news, international-news, gop-shenanigans-news, politics-news, security-news, racist-crime-news

Democracy Now (20/10/21): Daily Headlines:

Climate Activists Start Hunger Strike in Front of White House
Water Protectors Shut Down Enbridge Line 5 Pipeline in Michigan
Parkland Massacre Victims’ Families Reach Settlement with School District Ahead of Gunman Guilty Plea

Tags: protest-news, climate-change-news, big-oil-news, crime-news

Putting the "Democracy Now" for tomorrow - will return to normal formatting though!

Posted 19 October 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

Left Voice (17/10/21): IATSE Leaders Betray Workers With an Atrocious Tentative Agreement. But It’s Not Over Yet. - In a huge betrayal to workers, IATSE leadership struck a deal with the bosses to avert a strike that was set to begin on Monday. But the fight isn't over. Now, workers should vote no and prepare to strike until all their demands are met.

Tags: union-news, labor-news

Labor Notes (18/10/21): The Strike Wave Shows the Tight Labor Market Is Ready to Pop

Tags: labor-news, economic-news, analysis-news

On Labor (15/10/21):

Here at Harvard, HGSU-UAW (one of the multiple student worker unions on campus) has set a date for a strike if Harvard and the union haven’t agreed to a contract: October 27-29, which is also parents’ weekend
Finally, a new piece from the Center for Public Integrity illustrates the rampant wage theft issues in the garment industry, which has an outsized impact on immigrants because they make up a large portion of garment workers. In California, Governor Newsom recently signed a bill into law that ends per-piece wages, which was seen as enabling wage theft because employers often didn’t add on to per-piece wages to meet the minimum wage despite being legal obligated to do so (similar to how the tipped minimum wage is supposed to work). The article cites data from the UCLA Labor Center showing that wage theft hits immigrant workers in California especially hard – the Center estimated that low-wage, predominantly immigrant workers in L.A. County lost approximately $2,000 in stolen wages a year, or $26 million each week (as of 2010).

Tags: labor-news, capitalist-farce-news

The Guardian (16/10/21): US throws out millions of doses of Covid vaccine as world goes wanting - Figures surged over summer as doses expired and vaccinations flagged amid widespread hesitancy

Tags: covid-news

New York Times (17/10/21): As a Woman Was Raped, Train Riders Failed to Intervene, Police Say - The SEPTA train car near Philadelphia had several passengers aboard but none called 911 while the woman was sexually assaulted, the authorities said.

Tags: crime-news

Left Voice (18/10/21): Colin Powell Brought “Diversity” to War Crimes and Imperialism. - From Vietnam to Nicaragua to Panama to Iraq, Colin Powell has played an important role in imperialist violence for decades. Don't mourn his death.

Tags: obituary-news, history-news

The Guardian (16/10/21): Netflix fires employee trans activist for allegedly leaking internal documents - The worker has encouraged trans employees to protest the company’s release of the Dave Chapelle show in which he made anti-trans jokes

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, lgbtq-news

Liberation News (16/10/21): Colombian union leaders fighting Philip Morris greeted in NYC with solidarity

Tags: labor-news, union-news, capitalist-farce-news

The Hill (18/10/21): Authorities say three dead after Arkansas officer attacked with knife

Tags: crime-news

Jacobin (16/10/21): Starbucks Workers Are Organizing — and Management Is Worried - Starbucks portrays itself as a “community of partners,” not an average workplace. But now that workers are organizing a union drive in Buffalo, that warm and fuzzy rhetoric has vanished, replaced by coercion and union-busting.

Tags: labor-news

On Labor (17/10/21): Weekend Edition:

In political news, a program to replace the nation’s coal- and gas-fired power plants with renewable wind, solar, and nuclear energy – the single most critical part of President Biden’s ambitious climate agenda, which included $150 billion to incentivize utility companies to switch from burning fossil fuels to renewable energy sources – is likely to be dropped from the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill because of opposition from Sen. Joe Manchin, who has infamously deep ties to the coal industry

Tags: bad-democrat-news, big-oil-news, corruption-news, politics-news, legislation-news

On Labor (18/10/21):

In response to the historic unionization drive in Buffalo, Starbucks management has seemingly launched a “counteroffensive…intended to intimidate workers, disrupt normal operations and undermine support for the union.” Starbucks headquarters has sent two managers—imported from out of state—into three Buffalo area stores that have separately filed for union elections with the NLRB.
Two bills are currently pending in the New York State legislature that would decriminalize sex work.
More Perfect Union has released a tracker that follows what national politicians have said about ongoing strikes, with a focus on what politicians in states where major strikes are ongoing have said about those (for example, the tracker follows Iowa, Illinois, and Kansas politicians’ comments on the John Deere strike)

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, legislation-news, labor-news, politics-news, tracker-news

The Hill (16/10/21): Florida vendor sells hats with Nazi symbols during motorcycle rally

Tags: far-right-news

Mother Jones (17/10/21): American Missionaries and Their Families Have Been Kidnapped in Haiti - “Port-au-Prince is posting more kidnappings in absolute terms than vastly larger Bogotá, Mexico City, and São Paulo combined.”

Tags: international-news, crime-news

Democracy Now (18/10/21): Daily Headlines:

Gutting Democrats’ Climate Plans, Manchin Opposes Renewable Energy Program in Reconciliation Bill - This comes as Indigenous leaders and climate activists capped off a week-long protest in D.C. Friday with a march on the U.S. Capitol and a sit-in on Pennsylvania Avenue and called again on President Biden to declare a climate emergency. Over 90 activists were arrested, bringing the total number of arrests during the week of action to 655.
Manchin Wants Strict Conditions on Child Tax Credit, Which Has Lifted Millions of Kids from Poverty
FDA Panel Unanimously Recommends Booster Shots of J&J COVID-19 Vaccine
U.S. to Compensate Afghan Families over August Drone Strike That Killed 10 Civilians
Advocates Walk Out of Virtual Meeting with White House over “Remain in Mexico” Policy
China Denies Report It Tested Nuclear-Capable Hypersonic Missile
Puerto Ricans March to Protest Ongoing Power Outages After Privatization of Electric Grid
Texas Republicans Pass Bill Banning Trans Youth from School Sports
Jury Selection Begins in Trial of Three White Men Charged with Killing Ahmaud Arbery
Colin Powell, Whose False 2003 Testimony at U.N. Helped Launch U.S. Invasion of Iraq, Dies of COVID-19

Tags: bad-democrat-news, indigenous-news, protest-news, corruption-news, climate-change-news, social-woes-news, covid-news, international-news, immigrant-news, energy-news, lgbtq-news, gop-shenanigans-news, racist-crime-news, obituary-news

Just Security (18/10/21): Early Edition:

The U.S. has extradited Alex Saab, a top ally of Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro, leading to swift retaliation from the Venezuelan government. Saab, a Colombian businessman, had been detained in West Africa for over a year. His extradition to the United States on Saturday prompted Venezuela to re-apprehend six oil executives on house arrest in Venezuela, including five Americans, and call off negotiations with the U.S.-backed opposition party in Venezuela. Saab is the highest-level Maduro supporter to be extradited to the United States and faces money laundering charges in the Southern District of Florida
President Biden’s administration has informed the Supreme Court that Abu Zubaydah, who is currently held in Guantánamo Bay, can provide limited testimony for use in a Polish investigation into the use of CIA black sites
Russia’s Defense Ministry has claimed that it prevented a U.S. Navy destroyer from entering its waters in the Sea of Japan on Friday
An American warship and a Canadian warship sailed through the Taiwan strait last week, the U.S. military has said, a move condemned by China amid heightened tensions between China and Taiwan
Biden is failing to impose any implications on Saudi Arabia for its human rights abuses, despite coming into office calling the country a “pariah,” advocates and regional experts have said
A Capitol Police officer has been charged with helping a Jan. 6 attacker to obstruct justice.
A report in Oregon has found that dozens of law enforcement officers are or have been members of the Oath Keepers militia.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is in the process of planning how to build an intelligence-gathering cell that would more closely monitor and better predict the movements of groups of migrants to the U.S., according to a copy of the plans
Facebook’s artificial intelligence (AI) has only minimal success in removing hate speech, violent images, and other problematic content, according to an internal Facebook Inc. company report reviewed by the Wall Street Journal
China tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in August that circled the globe before speeding towards its target, according to people familiar with the test. “The missile missed its target by about two-dozen miles, according to three people briefed on the intelligence. But two said the test showed that China had made astounding progress on hypersonic weapons and was far more advanced than U.S. officials realized,” Demetri Sevastopulo and Kathrin Hille report for the Financial Times.

Tags: international-news, biden-policy-news, dark-security-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, capitol-storming-news, fail-biden-policy-news, militant-far-right-news, immigrant-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, big-tech-news

Democracy Now (19/10/21): Daily Headlines:

Trump Sues to Block Release of Documents to Congressional Committee on Jan. 6 Riots
FDA Panel Recommends Third Shot of Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine for Certain Groups
Colin Powell Died of COVID-19 Complications After Blood Cancer Left Him Immunocompromised
Sen. Joe Manchin Wants Strict Limits and Work Requirements for Child Tax Credit
Justice Department Asks Supreme Court to Halt Texas’s Near-Total Ban on Abortions
SCOTUS Decisions Bolster Doctrine of Qualified Immunity for Police Officers
Venezuelan President Maduro Says U.S. “Kidnapped” Diplomat Alex Saab
Biden Administration Plans to Spy on Caravans of Asylum Seekers in Latin America
Protesters Block Miami Port to Demand End to Haiti Deportation Flights

Tags: trump-news, capitol-storming-news, covid-news, obituary-news, bad-democrat-news, social-woes-news, legislation-news, court-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, international-news, immigrant-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, protest-news

Posted 16 October 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

OpenSecrets (15/10/21): Amazon dominates lobbying while growing telehealth group

Tags: big-tech-news, healthcare-news, corruption-news, dark-money-news

The Intercept (12/10/21): Revealed: Facebook’s Secret Blacklist of “Dangerous Individuals and Organizations” - Experts say the public deserves to see the list, a clear embodiment of U.S. foreign policy priorities that could disproportionately censor marginalized groups.

Tags: big-tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Jacobin (15/10/21): We Need Thomas Sankara’s Political Vision Today - Thomas Sankara, the socialist president of Burkina Faso, was assassinated 34 years ago today. With Global South debt levels at an all-time high, Sankara’s call for resistance to debt as a tool of neocolonial domination has never been more relevant.

Tags: leftist-news, analysis-news, history-news, international-news

The Economist (16/10/21): The IMF decides to keep its boss - But not everyone is happy

Tags: economic-news, international-news

Just Security (15/10/21): New Ruling Sheds Light on State-Paramilitary Cooperation in Colombia – and on the TVPA

Tags: international-news, far-right-news, court-news, crime-news

Just Security (15/10/21): Early Edition:

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement does not effectively monitor its use of solitary confinement in immigration detention facilities around the country, according to the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general.
President Biden signed into law a bill raising the U.S. debt limit until early December.
Researchers at the Center for Social Media and Politics at New York University found that YouTube’s decision on Dec. 8 to remove videos that promoted certain election misinformation resulted in a sharp decline in the prevalence of false and misleading videos posted on Facebook and Twitter
All public high school students in California will soon have to take an ethnic studies course to graduate because of a bill signed by Governor Gavin Newsom earlier this month
Mark Forkner, a former chief test pilot for Boeing, has been charged with fraud for allegedly withholding critical information from the Federal Aviation Administration in connection with its efforts to investigate two plane crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people
Over a dozen cybersecurity experts “criticized plans by Apple and the E.U. to monitor people’s phones for illicit material, calling the efforts ineffective and dangerous strategies that would embolden government surveillance.”
The U.S. has been reelected to the United Nations Human Rights Council for the first time since withdrawing under former president Trump in 2018 on the basis of so-called “chronic bias” against Israel.The U.S. has been reelected to the United Nations Human Rights Council for the first time since withdrawing under former president Trump in 2018 on the basis of so-called “chronic bias” against Israel.
Ramesh Rajasingham, the U.N. deputy humanitarian chief, issued a dire warning yesterday about the state of Yemen, saying that its economy was collapsing, the already horrific humanitarian situation was worsening, and the civil war was becoming more violent. More than 20 million Yemenis, representing two-thirds of the population, require humanitarian assistance, and aid agencies are beginning to run out of money.
LinkedIn has announced that it will be shutting down its professional networking service in China later this year due to “a significantly more challenging operating environment and greater compliance requirements.” LinkedIn, which is owned by Microsoft, has indicated that it would offer a new app for the Chinese market. In China, where Twitter and Facebook have been blocked for years and Google exited more than a decade ago, the departure of LinkedIn ends “one of the most far-reaching experiments by a foreign social network in China.”

Tags: immigrant-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, politics-news, legislation-news, economic-news, big-tech-news, far-right-news, progressive-dem-news, crime-news, cyber-security-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, international-news

Posted 15 October 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

The Hill (14/10/21): Michigan orders 'all-hands-on-deck' response to water crisis

Tags: industrial-failure-news

Jacobin (14/10/21): Republicans Are Trying to Repeal Vaccine Mandates for Every Disease - If the GOP has its way, diseases like measles and tuberculosis could make a big comeback.

Tags: covid-news, healthcare-news, gop-shenanigans-news

On Labor (14/10/21):

A record 2.9% of U.S. workers left their jobs in August, marking the highest month-to-month quits rate of the century. According to a report released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), some 4.2 million workers resigned from work, including over 1.6 million in the retail and hospitality industries. While quits remain disproportionately concentrated in the service sector, other areas such as manufacturing have also seen a sharp rise in worker departures. The Washington Post offers a number of possible causes for the uptick—chief among them, a historically tight labor market, which has increased employee leverage and allowed workers to more securely leave their jobs and seek employment with improved terms.
Unions also appear emboldened by labor market conditions. Yesterday, Matthew Loeb, President of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), announced plans to begin a nationwide strike Monday in event that no deal is reached before then between the union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
IATSE members will hardly be alone on the picket line. This morning, over 10,000 John Deere employees are set to walk off the job in Iowa, Illinois, and Kansas for the first time in 35 years, hoping to secure better wages and pension benefits than those negotiated by UAW staff and voted down last Sunday. Meanwhile, about 2,000 New York hospital workers, 700 Massachusetts nurses, 1,400 Kellogg factory employees, and 300 Denver Airport janitors are already on strike. As Zach noted Tuesday, as well, around 24,000 Kaiser Permanente employees are poised to walk off the job in Oregon and California after an overwhelming strike authorization vote, with some 38,000 Kaiser employees now authorized to strike nationwide. All told, well over 100,000 unionized employees could be manning picket signs by the end of the month. Many observers view the tight labor market as key several unions’ decisions to strike this fall, as many employers will likely be hard-pressed to find strike replacements under current conditions.
Other workplace actions have made Hollywood headlines this week, as well. Yesterday, a group of Netflix staffers announced plans to stage a walkout next Wednesday, October 20, protesting the company’s decision to stream Dave Chappelle’s latest comedy special “The Closer” for its transphobic content
A tight labor supply has also led to major supply chain issues, as critical transportation and retail posts remain understaffed. In particular, a massive, 67% increase in the number of empty trucking and warehouse job positions has begun creating serious transportation bottlenecks as the holiday season approaches, prompting the Biden administration to arrange 24-hour operations at the Port of Los Angeles yesterday in order to clear growing pileups.
In the trucking sector, meanwhile, a new $30-million settlement approved Tuesday between hundreds of LA port drivers and their employer, XPO Logistics, underscores some of the reasons workers might hesitate to enter the business in the first place. According to plaintiffs, XPO, the world’s second-largest logistics provider and freight broker, paid its drivers below the minimum wage, failed to compensate for missed meal and rest breaks, and refused to reimburse truckers for business expenses and wait-time penalties at the ports. In the trucking sector, meanwhile, a new $30-million settlement approved Tuesday between hundreds of LA port drivers and their employer, XPO Logistics, underscores some of the reasons workers might hesitate to enter the business in the first place. According to plaintiffs, XPO, the world’s second-largest logistics provider and freight broker, paid its drivers below the minimum wage, failed to compensate for missed meal and rest breaks, and refused to reimburse truckers for business expenses and wait-time penalties at the ports.

Tags: labor-news, union-news, economic-news, logistics-news, capitalist-farce-news

The Hill (14/10/21): Florida official followed, told to 'beg for mercy' for supporting masks in schools

Tags: covid-news, far-right-news

Vice (14/10/21): Looks Like Facebook Found a Way to Bypass Europe’s Privacy Rules - The draft decision, if ratified, could upend the protections provided by GDPR, Europe’s gold-standard privacy protections.

Tags: big-tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, international-news

Common Dreams (14/10/21): While Roadblocking Party Agenda, Sinema Absconds to Europe for Fundraising - "She might as well start fundraising for McConnell at this point."

Tags: bad-democrat-news, corruption-news

Ars Technica (14/10/21): Missouri gov. calls journalist who found security flaw a “hacker,” threatens to sue - Governor also threatens to sue paper for finding flaw that exposed teachers' SSNs.

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, cyber-security-news

The Economist World This Week (16/10/21):

Chile’s president, Sebastián Piñera, declared a state of emergency for 15 days in two southern regions. The army will be deployed to help local police, who have struggled to contain violent attacks by indigenous groups seeking to reclaim ancestral lands. A demonstrator died during a protest led by indigenous groups in Santiago. Chile is in the process of drafting a new constitution, which may decentralise power and expand indigenous rights. A far-right presidential candidate campaigning on a law-and-order platform is polling well in a tight race ahead of the election on November 21st, in which Mr Piñera cannot stand.
The American government said it would open up land and ferry crossings at its borders with Canada and Mexico in November, but only to travellers who are vaccinated against covid-19. From January this will also apply to truckers and students from Canada and Mexico, who had been exempted from the ban on crossings.

Tags: international-news, covid-news

The Majority Report (14/10/21): Virgina GOP Pledges Allegiance To Jan. 6th Insurrectionist Flag

Tags: far-right-news

Just Security (14/10/21): Early Edition:

Two more detainees have been approved for transfer out of Guantánamo Bay
The criminal trial of Lev Parnas, a former associate of Rudy Giuliani who faces six counts of campaign-finance charges, started in a New York federal court yesterday.
A Texas judge has strongly recommended that a convicted murderer on death row be granted a new trial on the basis that the trial judge in his case “consistently used racist language and antisemitic slurs” when referring to the defendant
Veterans are increasingly joining extremist groups, however there is a lack of data on the topic, which makes it difficult to determine how extensive the problem is, a panel of experts told the House Veteran Affairs Committee yesterday
The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6. attack on the Capitol has issued a subpoena for Jeffrey Clark, a Justice Department official under former President Trump who attempted to utilize department resources to support Trump’s false claims of mass voter fraud in the 2020 election
A Marine Lieutenant colonel who posted videos criticizing the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other senior military leaders for their roles in the Afghanistan withdrawal will plead guilty to multiple charges at his court martial, his attorney has said.
France’s national intelligence and counterterrorism coordinator, Laurent Nuñez, has said that right-wing extremist movements in the U.S. such as QAnon have been influencing the French far right
The U.S. has overtaken China to account for the largest share in the world’s bitcoin mining, according to data published by researchers at the University of Cambridge.

Tags: trump-news, corruption-news, court-news, veteran-news, militant-far-right-news, capitol-storming-news, international-news, cryptocurrency-news

Democracy Now (15/10/21): Daily Headlines:

Bomb Attack on Mosque in Afghanistan’s Kandahar Province Kills at Least 32
U.K. and EU Nations Block COVID Vaccine Patent Waiver at World Trade Organization
FDA Panel Recommends Moderna Vaccine Boosters for Some Groups
ICE Sued over “Cruel, Inhumane” Restraints Used on African Asylum Seekers
House Memo Shines Spotlight on Police Use of Tear Gas, a Chemical Banned in Wars
Appeals Court Keeps Texas Abortion Ban in Place
Texas School Official Instructs Educators to Teach Students “Opposing” Views on Holocaust
Actor Lili Bernard Sues Bill Cosby, Says He Drugged and Raped Her
Jan. 6 Committee to Recommend Criminal Charges Against Steve Bannon
Climate Activist Confronts Shell CEO: “You Are Directly Responsible for Climate Deaths”

Tags: international-news, vaccine-ip-news, covid-news, immigrant-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, protest-news, civil-rights-news, court-news, far-right-news, crime-news, capitol-storming-news, climate-change-news, big-oil-news

Posted 14 October 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

Left Voice (14/10/21): 10,000 John Deere Workers Go On Strike - Ten thousand workers at John Deere will walk out Thursday morning after management failed to reach an agreement with union negotiators.

Tags: labor-news, union-news

Jacobin (13/10/21): “Fiscal Conservatives” Have No Problem With Astronomical Military Spending - Conservatives in both parties are blocking the current infrastructure and reconciliation bills on account of the price tag. But the record shows they’ve never objected to sky-high defense budgets.

Tags: analysis-news, far-right-news, analysis-news, politics-news, legislation-news

Financial Times (14/10/21): The supply chain crisis and US ports: ‘Disruption on top of disruption’ - The Biden administration announced measures on Wednesday to ease bottlenecks and shortages but the problems are deep-seated

Paywall Summary: As China shut down production due to the COVID pandemic, commodities were drained throughout the supply chain (so good luck manufacturing your thing, you're missing a few components!), knocking the air out of the global economy's lungs and sending it to the ground wheezing in asphyxiation (although FT reports that these shockwaves go further back, due to Trump's trade war and tariffs). The air is back on, but we're still coughing and wheezing - supply chain bottlenecks abound, and a big one is the ports, like a throat that is closed up. One way to ease these constraints is to run the ports of Longbeach and Los Angeles for 24/7 (a huge chunk of commodities to the US flow through them), rather than 16 hours a day (although they have recently experimented with 24 hour weekdays), which is more in line with Asian ports (which run 24/7). There are two other logistics problem that comes after this though - private-public coordination, and labor. The private sector handles vast swathes of the internal logistics chain, and thus it is unclear if running the ports 24/7 will simply shift the logistics bottleneck into the private sector, if effective coordination is not made. Regarding labor, the US has a shortage of truck drivers and rail capacity to handle the surge in commodities; there was a shortage of around 60k truck drivers even before the pandemic. Further, this 24/7 move will require hiring more longshoremen and, either way, they will have enormous leverage in labor negotiations (since they would basically hold the economy by the balls) - fantastic I say! This whole ordeal has spurred talk of "onshoring" manufacturing, back to the Americas (although not the US! Mexico and Brazil), and geographically diversifying production sources. The ports also have a $17bn allocation coming through in the bipartisan infrastructure bill (the $1tn bill, not the was-$3.5tn bill).

Tags: logistics-news, labor-news

Vox (13/10/21): Maybe losing the AI race to China isn’t such a bad idea - A top Pentagon software official recently quit his job, claiming that the US is dragging its heels.

Comments: I agree broadly with what Vox is reporting here. One point of caution though - don't mistake cyber-security for "AI" or "surveillance". Cyber-security is also developing systems which are robust to failure (ie taking down one node doesn't knock out the whole system) and which is easy to keep up-to-date and secure. Our capitalist system does quite the opposite of these (vast swathes of the effective internet people use are owned by just a few companies (ie AWS from Amazon, Facebook, Google, etc), vulnerable Microsoft legacy systems inundating critical infrastructure like hospitals). In fact, fixing these problems have almost nothng to do with "AI" or "surveillance". And fixing them can involve developing better "cyber literacy" as well. All of these things are components to cyber-security. The kind of insane focus on "AI" as the end-all-be-all to cyber-security is like saying going to battle in the Hundred Years War with a big old sword, but naked. Good luck!

Tags: big-tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, analysis-news

The Hill (13/10/21): Mississippi auditor wants Favre to repay $800K or face civil lawsuit

Tags: corruption-news

Ars Technica (13/10/21): Google says Fortnite’s in-app purchase swap was a breach of contract, sues Epic - Epic swapped Google Play IAPs in 2020, but the contract says it couldn't do that.

Tags: big-tech-news, court-news

The Guardian (13/10/21): Scientists abused and threatened for discussing Covid, global survey finds - Poll of 321 scientists found 15% received death threats after speaking publicly on the pandemic

Tags: science-news, covid-news

Labor Notes (13/10/21): Interview: A Mexican Auto Worker on the Fight for a Real Union at GM's Silao Plant

Tags: labor-news, international-news, union-news

The Hill (13/10/21): Port of Los Angeles to move to 24/7 service to address supply chain bottlenecks

Vice (13/10/21): John Deere–Backed Lobbying Groups Host Anti-Right to Repair Conference - State legislators and industry lobbyists gathered at a mountain resort to explain to themselves why farmers don’t need right-to-repair laws.

Tags: right-to-repair-news

Raw Story (12/10/21): Georgia school suspends Black students for planned anti-Confederate flag protest: report

Tags: protest-news, far-right-news

The Guardian (13/10/21): More than 1,000 firefighters battle blaze spreading along California coast - Alisal fire has burned more than 15,000 acres in the Santa Ynez mountains and threatened more than 100 ranches and rural homes

Tags: climate-change-news

Common Dreams (13/10/21): After Docs 'Show What We Feared' About Amazon's Monopoly Power, Warren Says 'Break It Up' - Leaked documents reveal the e-commerce company's private-brands team in India "secretly exploited internal data" to copy products from other sellers and rigged search results.

Tags: big-tech-news, antitrust-news

The Majority Report (13/10/21): 'This Is A Dolphin Fetus’ Charlie Kirk Humiliated By Ben Gleib During Abortion Debate

Tags: fun-news, far-right-news, civil-rights-news

Wired (13/10/21): Telegram Is Becoming a Cesspool of Anti-Semitic Content - A new report shows that channels devoted to anti-Jewish conspiracy theories are growing at an alarming rate. Why won’t the platform take action?

Tags: far-right-news, big-tech-news

South China Morning Post (13/10/21): Intel sets up global video unit in China as it eyes huge volume of data and country’s IoT drive - The increasing deployment of cameras, for security and surveillance usage to broader areas like retail and manufacturing, has led to an explosion of video data - The IoT video business unit is the first time Intel has headquartered a business division in China Important Note on SCMP

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news, big-tech-news, international-news

On Labor (13/10/21):

As part of President Biden’s strong effort to boost vaccination rates, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) — the workplace-safety arm of the U.S. Labor Department — submitted for final White House review the initial text of an emergency regulation requiring that private-sector workers be either vaccinated against COVID-19 or regularly tested for it. The mandate, which applies to businesses with more than 100 employees, will take effect once the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) completes its review and upon publication in the Federal Register. Although the regulatory process typically takes months, even years, OSHA’s rule comes only weeks after the President’s September 9 order announcing the regulation, thanks to an expedited rulemaking process for issuing “emergency” regulations.

Tags: biden-policy-news, covid-news

The Majority Report (13/10/21): Covid-19 Has Killed More Police Than Violent Crime This Year

Tags: covid-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news

Just Security (13/10/21): Early Edition:

The E.U. has pledged 1 billion Euros ($1.15 billion) in aid for Afghanistan “to avert a major humanitarian and socioeconomic collapse,” the bloc’s chief Ursula von der Leyen said at a Group of 20 (G-20) summit focused on the humanitarian and security situations in Afghanistan
There is “no way” for the U.S. to reopen a consulate in Jerusalem, the Israeli Justice Minister Gideon Saar has said during a public conference.

Tags: international-news

Democracy Now (14/10/21): Daily Headlines:

Pressure Grows to Waive Patent Rights for COVID Vaccines and for U.S. to Release Moderna Recipe - The lawmakers note that a contract between Moderna and the federal government grants the U.S. unlimited rights to vaccine data, including all key information needed to produce Moderna’s vaccine. The lawmakers add, “Despite receiving huge sums of public funding from American taxpayers, Moderna has refused calls to share its technology, including from the U.S. government.”
Florida Health Department Fines County That Defied Ban on Vaccine Mandates
Biden Admin to Massively Expand Wind Farms Along U.S. Coastlines
Police Arrest Another 90 Activists as Climate Protests Continue in Front of White House
“Striketober”: 10,000 John Deere Workers Go on Strike; Kaiser Permanente & IATSE Workers Could Be Next

Tags: covid-news, vaccine-ip-news, fail-biden-policy-news, gop-shenanigans-news, biden-policy-news, climate-change-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, labor-news]

Posted 13 October 2021

(Click here to start Ctrl+F searches here, rather than in the sidebar. Click arrow on the left to reset page)

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

Common Dreams (13/10/21): FEMA Ignores Puerto Rico's Once-in-a-Lifetime Chance to Build a Clean Energy Grid - FEMA plans to spend $9.4 billion on fossil fuel infrastructure instead.

Tags: energy-news, climate-change-news, big-oil-news, infrastructure-news, fail-biden-policy-news

Common Dreams (12/10/21): 'A Huge Deal': Amazon, Google Workers Demand Companies Sever Ties With Israeli Military - "We cannot look the other way as the products we build are used to deny Palestinians their basic rights, force Palestinians out of their homes, and attack Palestinians in the Gaza Strip."

Tags: big-tech-news, international-news, labor-news

Left Voice (12/10/21): “In Myanmar the Working Class Stood up to the Military Junta and We Are Still Fighting”: Interview with a Burmese Activist - An interview with Thinzar Shunlei Yi, a Burmese grassroots activist, about the situation in Myanmar eight months after the coup.

Tags: labor-news, international-news

Labor Notes (25/9/21): Viewpoint: The Battle Continues to Save the Puerto Rican Teachers' Pension

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, labor-news

Forbes (4/10/21): Exclusive: Government Secretly Orders Google To Identify Anyone Who Searched A Sexual Assault Victim’s Name, Address And Telephone Number

Tags: big-tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

EFF (12/10/21): Why Is PayPal Denying Service to Palestinians?

Tags: big-tech-news, international-news

Vice (12/10/21): Michigan GOP Rep. Wears QAnon Pin at Pro-Trump Protest - “A lot of the people that are here today follow the same channels and they understand,” Michigan GOP Rep. Daire Rendon told VICE News.

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, far-right-news

Liberation News (12/10/21): Atlanta tenants rally against outrageous delays in relief fund disbursal

Tags: social-woes-news

Common Dreams (12/10/21): Doctor Who Revealed Flint Lead Crisis Calls Benton Harbor Emergency More 'Environmental Injustice' - Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha says the Michigan city's water crisis is another example of "how a predominantly poor and minority population disproportionately suffers the burden of environmental contamination."

Tags: industrial-failure-news

On Labor (12/10/21):

Over 24,000 Kaiser Permanente health care workers in California and Oregon have overwhelmingly authorized a strike. The vote, led by the United Nurses Association of California/Union of Health Care Professionals and the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, was approved by 96% of the membership. The vote followed Kaiser’s plan to institute a two-tiered wage and benefits system, which would give newer employees less pay and protections than longer-term workers.
Following a strike, Michigan auto parts supplier ZF Marysville has agreed to recognize its employees’ union formation with UAW. ZF Marysville’s plant was previously jointly operated with Stellantis, and Stellantis workers had a labor contract. However, unionized Stellantis workers were transferred to other Stellantis locations, leaving ZF to operate the plant. When ZF workers attempted to unionize, ZF went back on a previous neutrality agreement. The ZF workers then went on strike for over a week until ZF yielded and agreed to recognize UAW as the exclusive bargaining representative.
A group of electrical workers organized with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers protested their working conditions at a weekend trade show on Sunday in Nashville. The workers were protesting seven-day work weeks, 12-hour days, lack of breaks, and meager pay and conditions

Tags: labor-news, healthcare-news

Payday Report (12/10/21): Daily Highlights:

Today, the Biden Administration announced they were halting the use of worksite ICE raids.

Tags: biden-policy-news, immigrant-news

Just Security (12/10/21): Early Edition:

Suspected Iran-linked hackers have targeted dozens of defense technology and maritime transportation firms, successfully breaching a small number, Microsoft announced yesterday
A Western Balkans group has called on the U.S. to commit to a stronger presence in the region amid “growing militancy of the government of Serbia.”
The Pentagon’s ex-chief of software officer has said he resigned in protest at the slow pace of technological transformation in the U.S. military, compared to the fast pace in China
Jonathan Toebbe, a Navy nuclear submarine engineer, and his wife, Diana Toebbe, have been charged with trying to sell some of the U.S.’s most closely guarded submarine propulsion secrets to a foreign government and are scheduled to appear in a federal court in West Virginia.
President Biden has acquiesced to requests for information on the actions of then-President Trump and his aides from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, denying Trump’s claims that the information is protected by executive privilege.
The New York Times has reported that members of former President Trump’s administration systematically failed to properly disclose dozens or hundreds of gifts given to them by foreign leaders, including apparent furs and ivory from endangered animals
The executive board of the International Monetary Fund has said that it has full confidence in Kristalina Georgieva as its managing director. The announcement puts to an end weeks of uncertainty while the board investigated Georgieva’s role in a data-manipulation scandal at the World Bank, where she had been chief executive, including trying to boost China’s standing in a high-profile World Bank report.

Tags: international-news, cyber-security-news, capitol-storming-news, corruption-news, trump-news

Democracy Now (13/10/21): Daily Headlines:

Southwest, American Airlines Rebuff TX Vaccine Mandate Ban; WI Moms Sue Schools for Endangering Kids
House Votes to Temporarily Raise Debt Ceiling
Progressive Dems Say Reconciliation Package Must Not Sacrifice Urgently Needed Social Programs
Consumer Protections Advocate Rohit Chopra Sworn In to Lead CFPB
Jury Finds Two Parents Guilty in “Varsity Blues” College Admissions Scandal

Tags: covid-news, politics-news, legislation-news, infrastructure-news, biden-policy-news, crime-news

Posted 12 October 2021

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

Jacobin (9/10/21): Why McDonald’s Workers Make $22 an Hour in Denmark — Matt Bruenig

Tags: labor-news, international-news

On Labor (11/10/21): Daily Highlights:

John Deere workers in Iowa, Illinois, and Kansas voted to reject a six-year contract last night, the Des Moines Register reports. 90% of members opposed the contract in the vote. As Labor Notes reported, 99% of voting members voted in favor of authorizing a strike last month but the current contract was extended. Workers expressed frustration that union leaders had not called for a strike after the vote and many heard echoes of the 1997 contract negotiations, where they felt the union had negotiated a contract that undercut future workers.
And, in case you missed it, a piece out last week from the Washington Post Magazine explores the abuse faced by domestic workers who are brought to the United States by foreign diplomatic officials.

Tags: labor-news

Jacobin (11/10/21): The Corporate Health Care Industry Just Detailed Some of Its Biggest Scams - A letter from the hospital lobby to the Biden administration details private insurances’ abusive practices that pass health care costs on to Americans — often in the form of surprise bills.

Tags: healthcare-news, corruption-news, capitalist-farce-news

On Labor (10/10/21):

In California, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law AB 237, the Public Employee Protection Action, which requires California’s public sector employers to maintain workers’ health insurance coverage during a strike.
The New York Times provided a glimpse into the contemporary crisis of child care as seen in Greensboro, North Carolina, where parents spend more for child care than they do on their mortgages, yet child care workers make pennies on the dollar and centers cannot hire enough staff. The Times noted that one family paid almost $2,000 a month for their two boys’ care, roughly a third of their income and far more than their mortgage, and yet one of the teachers at the preschool earns so little—$10 an hour—that she also works part-time at Starbucks where the pay is 50% higher and includes health insurance.

Tags: progressive-dem-news, labor-news, healthcare-news, infrastructure-news, social-woes-news

Financial Times (11/10/21): Three economists share Nobel Prize for pioneering ‘natural experiments’ - Trio challenged ideas, including work to show that raising the minimum wage need not depress jobs

Paywall Summary: Pretty much what the title says. They found interesting ways to test their hypotheses in "natural experiments", finding innovative ways to hone in one the details to more clearly delineate "cause and effect" from "correlation", so to speak. And these hypotheses happen to be important to keep in mind - raising minimum wage doesn't appear to hurt job growth, and immigration doesn't appear to adversely impact native-born workers.

Tags: economic-news

Quanta Magazine (6/10/21): Chemistry Nobel Prize Honors Technique for Building Molecules - Benjamin List and David MacMillan received the 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their development of asymmetrical organocatalysis.

Tags: science-news

Quanta Magazine (5/10/21): Complex Systems Earns Nobel Prize in Physics - Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann have been honored for their work that led to reliable predictions of the effects of climate change. They will share the Nobel with Giorgio Parisi, who has made pioneering studies of chaotic physical systems.

Tags: science-news

Quanta Magazine (4/10/21): Medicine Nobel Prize Goes to Temperature and Touch Discoveries - David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian were awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries of how we detect heat and touch.

Tags: science-news

The Hill (10/10/21): Philippines consulate fumes over nurse's death in Times Square

Tags: international-news

EFF (8/10/21): What the Facebook Whistleblower Tells Us About Big Tech

Tags: big-tech-news, corruption-news, leak-news

The Intercept (11/10/21): Ohio State Board of Education Member Defends White Supremacy - As the board fought over implicit bias training, member Diana Fessler admitted what she fears will be lost.

Tags: far-right-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Just Security (11/10/21): Early Edition:

The Taliban have announced that the U.S. has agreed to provide Afghanistan with humanitarian aid, without recognizing the Taliban as the country’s legitimate government
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) refused to say whether the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
A U.S. Navy nuclear submarine engineer has been indicted on espionage charges. Jonathan Toebbe allegedly attempted to pass design elements about the Virginia-class nuclear submarine to an undercover FBI agent, whom he believed to be a representative of a foreign power.
Facebook has permitted advertisements that question the 2020 election outcome and push false messages that suggest the 2020 election “was potentially the MOST CORRUPT in the history of our country.”

Tags: international-news, gop-shenanigans-news, dark-security-news, big-tech-news

Democracy Now (11/10/21): Daily Headlines:

Merck Seeks FDA Approval for Antiviral COVID-19 Pill
Abortion Ban Reinstated in Texas After Federal Appeals Court Ruling
Justice Department: No Federal Charges in Police Shooting of Jacob Blake
126 People, Mostly Haitians, Found Locked in Shipping Container in Guatemala
Jan. 6 Committee Considers Charges Against Steve Bannon for Defying Subpoena

Tags: pharma-news, civil-rights-news, court-news, gop-shenanigans-news, international-news, immigrant-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, capitol-storming-news, far-right-news

Democracy Now (12/10/21): Daily Headlines:

WHO: Climate Change Is “The Single Biggest Health Threat Facing Humanity”
135 Arrested in Indigenous Peoples’ Day Climate Action Outside White House
Wealthy Nations Denounced for Hoarding COVID-19 Vaccines
Gov. Greg Abbott Bans All Entities in Texas from Enforcing Vaccine Mandates
Raiders Football Coach Resigns over Racist, Sexist and Homophobic Emails
GLAAD Criticizes Dave Chappelle Special on Netflix over Anti-Trans Jokes
Sister Megan Rice, Nun Who Broke into Nuclear Weapons Facility, Dies at 91

Tags: climate-change-news, international-news, indigenous-news, protest-news, covid-news, vaccine-ip-news, gop-shenanigans-news, covid-news, lgbtq-news, obituary-news

Posted 10 October 2021

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

Labor Notes (8/10/21): In a Surprise, John Deere Workers Get to See Contract Before Voting On It

Tags: labor-news, union-news

Left Voice (8/10/21): The Fed, Interest Rates, and Stagflation - Accelerating inflation may be an issue right now in the US and other recovering capitalist economies, but for capitalism, profitability is the real benchmark, and that can be hit by wage rises on the one hand and interest rises on the other.

Tags: economic-news, leftist-news, analysis-news

Labor Notes (8/10/21): Two Thousand Hospital Workers Strike in Buffalo

Tags: labor-news, healthcare-news

The Black Wall Street Times (8/10/21): White supremacist admits to firing AK-47 into Minneapolis police station during George Floyd protests

Tags: militant-far-right-news

On Labor (8/10/21):

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today that U.S. added 194,000 jobs in September—compared to 366,000 in August and over 1 million in July. Wages grew by 0.6% or an average 19 cents per hour, a slowdown from last month. The unemployment rate decreased to 4.8%, though much of this drop is attributable to people leaving the work force entirely. By race, Black unemployment went down from 8.8% to 7.9%, compared to 4.5% to 4.2% for Whites and no substantial difference for Asians and Hispanics whose unemployment rates remained at 4.2% and 6.3% respectively. Although a tightening labor market means some reductions in the Black-White unemployment gap, the gap will continue to persist—especially during periods of recession—so long as the U.S. economy is shaped by structural racism.
An Amazon worker who worked at two warehouses in Colorado Springs filed a proposed class action on Tuesday claiming that Amazon failed to compensate warehouse workers for time spent waiting in line to have their temperatures checked and answer questions for COVID-19 screening before being able to clock-in to work, a process that generally took 20-60 minutes

Tags: labor-news, economic-news, capitalist-farce-news

Common Dreams (8/10/21): Facebook Suppressed Content Highlighting Israeli Abuses of Palestinians: Report - "Instead of respecting people's right to speak out, Facebook is silencing many people arbitrarily and without explanation, replicating online some of the same power imbalances and rights abuses we see on the ground."

Tags: big-tech-news, international-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

NewsClick (9/10/21): RSS-linked Accounts Promote Hate Speech, ‘Anti-Muslim Narrative’ in India: Facebook Whistleblower - One of Frances Haugen’s main claims on Facebook’s work in India is that pages associated with the RSS promoted ‘fear mongering, anti-Muslim narratives.’

Tags: big-tech-news, media-news, far-right-news

Common Dreams (8/10/21): 'Cruel and Unfathomable': Sinema Pushing $100 Billion in Climate Cuts From Reconciliation Bill - A Sunrise Movement leader said the Arizona Democrat's reported proposal for the Build Back Better package is "not surprising since she's been meeting nonstop with corporate executives."

Tags: bad-democrat-news, climate-change-news, infrastructure-news, politics-news, legislation-news

New York Times (8/10/21): Apple Appeals App Store Ruling in Fight With Epic Games - At the heart of the legal battle is the power Apple wields over its lucrative App Store.

Tags: big-tech-news, court-news, antitrust-news

The Intercept (10/10/21): Steven Mnuchin Stepped In to Prevent Ivanka Trump World Bank Appointment - President Donald Trump very much wanted Ivanka at the helm, and it was the Treasury secretary who blocked her ascent.

Tags: trump-news

Common Dreams (10/10/21): The Grotesque Silence of Journalists Who Say Nothing About CIA Plans to Assassinate Julian Assange - A recent bombshell report was met by Western establishment media with ghoulish indifference—a damning indictment of an industry that feverishly condemns attacks on press freedom in Official Enemy states.

I don't appreciate their referencing the Grayzone here (a terrible news source), so keep that in mind

Tags: media-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Al Jazeera (8/10/21): Nearly 140 countries reach deal on 15% corporate minimum tax - The deal is an attempt to address the ways globalisation and digitalisation have changed the world economy

Tags: economic-news, international-news

CounterPunch (8/10/21): Newsom Administration Issued 138 Offshore Well Permits in California Waters Prior to New Oil Spill

Tags: bad-democrat-news, big-oil-news

Just Security (8/10/21): Early Edition:

CIA Director William Burns is establishing a major organization within the CIA focused on China.
Iranian state TV has reported that speedboats belonging to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard intercepted U.S. vessels in the Persian Gulf. Footage was aired by the Iranian report showing at least one vessel with the U.S. flag and several personnel on board as at least two speedboats appear to be chasing it. A U.S. Navy spokesperson said he was not aware of any such encounter at sea over the past days.
A nuclear powered U.S. navy attack submarine has struck an object while submerged in international waters in the South China Sea, officials have said.
Journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov have won the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for their fights to defend freedom of expression in the Philippines and Russia respectively. The Nobel committee called the pair “representatives of all journalists who stand up for this ideal.” Ressa, who co-founded the news site Rappler, was commended for using freedom of expression to “expose abuse of power, use of violence and growing authoritarianism in her native country, the Philippines.” Muratov, the co-founder and editor of independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, has for decades defended freedom of speech in Russia under increasingly challenging conditions, the Nobel committee said.

Tags: dark-security-news, international-news, media-news

Posted 8 October 2021

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

The American Prospect (7/10/21): The Little Union That’s Reviving the Strike

Tags: union-news, labor-news

The Guardian (7/10/21): Trump thwarted by DoJ in bid to install loyalist and overturn election defeat - Senate report details Trump bid to pressure justice department - Jeffrey Clark more open to pursuing baseless claims of fraud

Tags: trump-news, capitol-storming-news

The Guardian (7/10/21): Facebook’s role in Myanmar and Ethiopia under new scrutiny - Whistleblower Frances Haugen adds to long-held concerns that social media site is fuelling violence and instability [big-tech-news]

Tags: big-tech-news

Ars Technica (6/10/21): One America News founder claimed he started network at AT&T’s request - AT&T "told us they wanted a conservative network," OAN founder said in court.

Tags: far-right-news, capitalist-farce-news, media-news

The Hill (6/10/21): Department of Education: Florida missed deadline for $2.3B in federal aid

Tags: politics-news

The Hill (7/10/21): Florida Board of Education approves sanctions on eight school districts over coronavirus mandates

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, covid-news

The Intercept (7/10/21): Video Shows U.S. Marshals Task Force Brutalizing Teenage Boys in Mississippi - The FBI and the Justice Department are investigating the task force after security footage emerged of a violent arrest in September.

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news

U.S. PIRG (7/10/21): STATEMENT: After years of pressure, Microsoft changes course on repair

Tags: right-to-repair-news, big-tech-news

ZDNet (7/10/21): Twitch attributes breach to server configuration error, resets all stream keys - The company said it has learned that the breach originated from a Twitch server configuration change error that left data exposed to the internet.

Tags: cyber-security-news, big-tech-news

Financial Times (7/10/21): The US right’s love affair with Hungary’s Orban - Budapest’s policies offer Republicans a blueprint for illiberal government

Paywall Summary: Orban has shown how to turn a Western democracy into a right-wing illiberalism - no wonder that American conservatives, from CPAC to Tucker Carlson to Trump to Pence, have lauded the reactionary. He has tilted the elections (so he can win a super-majority of 67% of seats with a minority 49% of the vote), he has rode rural resentment against "the Other" (ie LGBTQ+, immigrants, etc) and cosmpolitan centers of power (which often subsidize these heartlands) to electoral success, and he has set up a crony state where state resources are allocated to friends. It's a model of what the right can do in the US, so watch out!

Tags: far-right-news, media-news, analysis-news, trump-news

On Labor (7/10/21): Daily Highlights:

Black Lives Matter protests and demonstrations against crackdowns on immigration are protected by federal labor law, according to National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo.
The NLRB General Counsel earlier this year outlined in a memo that she would aggressively use injunctions to enforce labor laws to protect collective bargaining rights amid employer interference. The legal remedy, known as 10(j) injunctions from the corresponding section of the National Labor Relations Act, empowers the Board to ask courts for temporary restraining orders to stop illegal employer activity. Despite the remedy’s nominal existence, 10(j) injunctions have declined over time from a high of over 50 injunctions in 2012 to a low of fewer than 15 injunctions in 2020. The General Counsel plans to resurrect 10(j)’s use. An upcoming case the General Counsel will face regarding Nexstar Broadcasting Inc in the Ninth Circuit will test its viability.
Thomson Reuters will pay out a $550,000 settlement amid U.S. Department of Labor allegations “that the multinational media conglomerate discriminated against more than 100 female, Black, and Hispanic workers.” Reuters paid “administrative, technical professional, and client specialist employees” less than male, White, or Asian employees in comparable positions.
The Department of Labor has sued a luxury Texas car dealer for unlawfully firing an employee who emailed the entire company about a colleague’s testing positive for COVID-19. The DOL alleges that Hi Tech Motorcars violated the anti-retaliation provisions of the whistleblower section of Occupational Safety and Health Act.

Tags: civil-rights-news, labor-news, biden-policy-news, capitalist-farce-news

Just Security (7/10/21): Early Edition:

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak has said that certification of the Nord Stream 2 undersea gas pipeline, which is awaiting clearance from Germany’s regulator, could reduce the increasing gas prices in Europe
The Supreme Court yesterday asked the Government to consider whether a detainee held without charge in Guantánamo Bay and who was subject to brutal interrogation by the CIA, including at a so-called CIA “black site” in Poland, could provide testimony himself to a Polish criminal investigation
The Supreme Court also considered whether information that is widely known can still be covered by the state secret doctrine
Richard Donoghue, formerly the number two at the Department of Justice, appeared for a closed-door interview on Friday with the select panel investigating the Jan. 6 attack
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is going to impose new cybersecurity mandates on the railroad and airline industries, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced yesterday.
A U.N. rights investigator has called for U.N. sanctions against North Korea for its nuclear and missile programs to be eased, to help address the risk of starvation faced by the most vulnerable in the country.
Wooden barracks at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum were vandalized Tuesday with anti-Semitic inscriptions, the memorial has said.

Tags: international-news, energy-news, big-oil-news, russia-policy-news, dark-security-news, cour-tnews, capitol-storming-news, cyber-security-news, far-right-news

Democracy Now (8/10/21): Daily Headlines:

Pfizer-BioNTech Requests Emergency Use Authorization for Vaccine for Children Aged 5-11
Senate Cmte. Says Trump Repeatedly Asked DOJ for Help Overturning Election Loss
Senate Votes to Lift Debt Ceiling Until Early December
WSJ: U.S. Military Secretly Training Taiwanese Forces for Possible Conflict with China
U.N. Agency to Close Probe into Yemen War After Pressure from Saudis and Allies
Biden Admin to Turn Pennsylvania Prison into For-Profit ICE Jail
Texas to Appeal U.S. Judge Ruling Which Blocked State’s Abortion Ban
Biden Admin Restores Protections for Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments

Tags: covid-news, capitol-storming-news, trump-news, politics-news, international-news, fail-biden-policy-news, privatization-news, immigrant-news, court-news, civil-rights-news, biden-policy-news

Posted 7 October 2021

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

Financial Times (5/10/21): From Panama to the Pandora papers: what’s changed in offshore tax - The rich and powerful continue to evade and avoid tax despite progress in recent years

Tags: tax-news, corruption-news, capitalist-farce-news

Vice (6/10/21) Idaho’s MAGA Lt. Governor Just Tried to Seize Power, Again - While the actual governor was out of town, the lieutenant governor banned mandatory COVID testing.

Tags: politics-news, gop-shenanigans-news, far-right-news

Financial Times (6/10/21): Gas markets whipsaw after Russia offers to stabilise energy prices - UK gas contracts for November delivery soar almost 40 per cent before falling back after Putin’s comments [big-oil-news, russia-policy-news] Paywall Summary: The LNG crisis has been kicking the world's a*s (Europe in particular (see briefing) as we come out of the pandemic and demand returns to normal, gas prices have been surging - but reassuring comments from Putin have stabilized prices. Russia claims (and Germany's Merkel sheepishly corroborates) that they aren't limiting supply - just fulfilling whatever contractual amounts are required. However, it appears that Putin may be leveraging the situation to expedite approval of the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline (Ukraine hates it, bc it bypasses Ukraine, and Ukraine makes a lot of money off of taxing gas transit. Everyone is crying "market manipulation", but uhhh... what are you gonna do about? Keep shutting those nuke plants down, Germany! That'll teach Putin a lesson. Oh yeah, there are concerns it will increase Europe's dependence on Russian energy... which isn't an ideal situation). The UK is also very vulnerable, as they don't have a lot of energy storage capacity - they basically need energy provided "just in time".

Tags: big-oil-news, energy-news, international-news

The Guardian (6/10/21): WHO endorses use of world’s first malaria vaccine in Africa - World Health Organization’s director general hails ‘historic day’ in fight against parasitic disease

Tags: healthcare-news, international-news

The Guardian (6/10/21): Nato expels eight members of Russia’s mission for spying - Russia rejects claim officers were secretly working as intelligence officers and warns of retaliation

Tags: russia-policy-news, international-news

Common Dreams (6/10/21): 'Historic Moment': EU Approves Call for Sweeping Ban on Facial Recognition Surveillance - "This is a huge win for all European citizens."

Tags: big-tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, international-news

The Hill (6/10/21): Suspect killed, ATF agent wounded in Nashville shootout

Tags: crime-news

In These Times (5/10/21): Wisconsin Lawmakers Propose $25 Million Package to Help Farmers - The proposed bills would create stronger connections between farmers and local institutions such as schools, hospitals and food banks; increase access to mental health services.

Tags: food-security-news, legislation-news

On Labor (6/10/21):

According to a new report released Tuesday by AFSCME Cultural Workers United (CWU), which represents 10,000 museum workers and 25,000 librarians at hundreds of cultural institutions and libraries across the country, some of the nation’s largest museums, zoos, and aquariums accepted more than one billion dollars in federal aid to maintain their payrolls during the coronavirus pandemic but continued to discharge thousands of their workers. “Museums with large endowments and multimillion-dollar budgets grabbed more than $1 billion in taxpayer-funded loans and grants to fill their coffers and then tossed their workers to the curb,” the report declares.
On Tuesday, staffers at The Appeal, a digital news outlet dedicated to criminal justice reform, announced that they have officially transitioned into a worker-led nonprofit organization, concluding a strange yet inspiring saga that formally began in May, when workers at the news site announced that they had formed a union and management responded by immediately — within minutes — firing employees. The next month, the owners of the outlet attempted to shut it down entirely, but staffers worked to relaunch the site as a ‘worker-led nonprofit news outlet,’ ousting the old management and taking ownership of The Appeal’s intellectual property rights. According to the yesterday’s announcement, ‘the workers have officially taken over The Appeal.’ A compelling piece published by The Appeal last year arguing that the labor movement should expel police unions can be found here.

Tags: labor-news, capitalist-farce-news

Just Security (6/10/21): Early Edition:

Macron said yesterday that he hoped to close a rift with Biden when the pair meet in Rome during the meeting of the Group of 20 (G20) countries at the end of the month, saying he wanted France and the U.S. to once again work together “in good faith.”
Biden “had not been fully aware” of the negative impact on France of the Aukus pact and submarine deal, even after it was announced, the special presidential envoy for climate John Kerry has said I kinda want to call BS on this... or else our (the US) govt is hilariously incompetent
A cable to all of the CIA’s global station officials from the organization’s counterintelligence mission center has warned that a troubling number of U.S. informants recruited from other countries had been captured or killed in the last few years, sources have said.
The U.S. is offering a $5 million dollar reward for information that leads to the arrest of notorious Guinea Bissauan drug trafficker Antonio Indjai after an attempt to lure the drug trafficker into international waters on his yacht failed
The discovery of two inactive grenades inside a vehicle led to a seven-hour closure of Canada-bound traffic on the Ambassador Bridge border closing with the U.S.
The U.S. Army is investigating the raising of a Confederate flag at a U.S. military base in Germany earlier this week.
Canadian energy company Enbridge reimbursed U.S. police $2.4 million for arresting and surveilling hundreds of protestors who demonstrated against it’s Line 3 pipeline.
Joel Greenberg, who pleaded guilty to six federal crimes and is a former close associate with Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has asked a judge to delay his sentencing, currently scheduled for Nov. 18, until March 2022

Tags: international-news, security-news, dark-security-news, far-right-news, big-oil-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, corruption-news, crime-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Democracy Now (7/10/21): Daily Headlines:

Federal Judge Temporarily Halts Texas’s Near-Total Ban on Abortions
Senate GOP Leader McConnell to Allow Debt Limit Extension into December
U.S. COVID Deaths in 2021 Surpass 2020’s Total
U.N. to Pay Salaries of Aid Workers in Afghanistan
Education Department to Expand Student Loan Forgiveness for Public Workers
Crude Oil Spills from Galveston Bay, TX Refinery
Biden Administration Restores Key Environmental Review Provisions to NEPA
Appeals Court Blocks California Law Banning Private Prisons
Shooter Injures Four at Texas High School; Student Taken into Custody
Colorado Workers Sue Amazon for Refusing to Pay for Time Spent at Mandated COVID Screenings
Bernie Sanders Challenges Joe Manchin to Name Benefits He Wants Stripped from Build Back Better Act

Tags: court-news, civil-rights-news, covid-news, international-news, big-oil-news, industrial-failure-news, biden-policy-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, privatization-news, crime-news, labor-news, capitalist-farce-news, politics-news, progressive-dem-news, bad-democrat-news

Posted 6 October 2021

Corresponding News Stream For the Day

Left Voice (5/10/21): Pandora Papers Show Why “Tax the Rich” Isn’t Enough - Some 2.94 terabytes of data have been leaked through the “Pandora Papers.” Yet again, we see how the rich hide trillions of dollars around the globe. Inequality will not be solved just by raising their taxes.

Tags: leak-news, tax-news, capitalist-farce-news

Financial Times (27/9/21): US LNG exporters plan projects to capitalise on European shortages - Reversal comes as Biden administration pushes to decarbonise the energy system

Paywall Summary: In the wake of a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) shortage (see world news briefing), LNG producers in the US are looking to expand (largely in the Gulf coast region), in stark contrast with Biden's alleged plans to decarbonize, with the potential to be the 2nd largest producer (after Australia). American LNG exports have more-or-less grown linearly from 2016 to now, from around net 0 billion cubic ft/day to around 10 billion cubic ft/day (chart). The article highlights Western concerns over energy security in Europe vis-a-vis Russia, and how US and Australian LNG can relieve this pressure. The article also reflects industry leaders' justification for further LNG projects as a response to market pressure - if there is market demand, then godd*ammit, the market will get it! Yet FT also reports market aversions to LNG investment - these projects represent long-term commitments (ie ~20 years), which is stunning considering the climate change situation.

Tags: big-oil-news, fail-biden-policy-news, energy-news

Ars Technica (5/10/21): Company that routes SMS for all major US carriers was hacked for five years - Syniverse and carriers haven't revealed whether text messages were exposed.

Tags: cyber-security-news

New York Times (5/10/21): Jury orders Tesla to pay $137 million to a former worker over racist treatment.

Tags: civil-rights-news, capitalist-farce-news

Jacobin (5/10/21): Canada’s National Energy Program Showed What a Public Energy Policy Can Achieve - In 1980, Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau introduced the National Energy Program. Though flawed, the policy showed how state intervention in the energy sector could overcome the boom-and-bust of the business cycle.

Tags: leftist-news, energy-news, analysis-news

The Intercept (5/10/21): Merck Sells Federally Financed Covid Pill to U.S. for 40 Times What It Costs to Make - The Covid-19 treatment molnupiravir was developed using funding from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, pharma-news

Financial Times (22/9/21): Netflix snaps up entire works of Roald Dahl [ie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, BFG, Matilda and The Witches] for over £500m - Streaming service bags its largest content deal to date in battle for subscribers

Paywall Summary: Not much to elaborate on, although it is notable that Netflix and the Dahl estate had already struck a deal for an animated Charlie series three years prior.

Tags: antitrust-news, big-tech-news

Mother Jones (5/10/21): The Facebook Whistleblower Doesn’t Have the Solution

Tags: big-tech-news

The Guardian (5/10/21): Facebook outage highlights global over-reliance on its services - Shutdown heavily impacts ability to communicate and do business for many of platform’s 2.8 billion users

Tags: big-tech-news, antitrust-news

Financial Times (21/9/21): BlackRock [around $400m total] and HSBC [around $31m total] funds boosted Evergrande holdings as crisis loomed - Investors added to bond holdings in Chinese property developer while prices began sliding

Paywall Summary: Most of Evergrande's ~$300bn debt was traded domestically, with only limited international market exposure. Other investment specialists had hundreds of millions invested as well (such as Ashmore and UBS). At the time of writing, there was about $20bn in outstandign debt obligations, with analysts predicting a default within a week.

Tags: international-news, economic-news, capitalist-farce-news

Financial Times (23/9/21): US arrests finance chief of Russian natural gas group Novatek - Mark Gyetvay indicted on tax charges connected to $93m in offshore accounts [us-policy-news, big-oil-news]

Paywall Summary: Not too much to summarize here... notably he is a US citizen (and Russian passport carrier), which Russia has stated limits their ability to intervene.

Tags: tax-news, big-oil-news, international-news

The Majority Report (2/5/21): Practical Ways To Demystify Immigration For Voters In The USA

Tags: immigrant-news

The Hill (5/10/21): FBI raids NYPD's sergeant union headquarters; The Hill (5/10/21): NYPD union chief resigns after FBI raid

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news

The Guardian (5/10/21): French Catholic church expresses ‘shame’ after report finds 330,000 children were abused - Church asks for forgiveness as it accepts findings of ‘appalling’ abuse by clergy and lay members over 70 years

Tags: crime-news, international-news

Vice (5/10/21): DC Bulldozed a Homeless Person’s Tent While They Were Still Inside - The person “could be heard screaming,” local news site WTOP reported.

Tags: social-woes-news

Just Security (5/10/21): Early Edition:

In anticiliation of further aggression from China, Taiwan is preparing to repel any strike and has asked Australia to increase intelligence sharing and security cooperation Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu has said
A Chinese ex-detective in exile has exposed the torture methods used by Chinese officials in Xinjiang to force Uyghurs and other minorities to confess
A trust industry in South Dakota and other U.S. states is sheltering assets of millionaires and billionaires by promising high levels of concealment, rivalling or surpassing the services offered in overseas tax havens.
A number of “rogue” Americans stashed assets offshore, eluding victims of compensation and impeding investigations, according to the Pandora Papers investigation
An international coalition undertook a coordinated arrest of two “prolific” hackers involved in ransomware attacks last week.
The Supreme Court has declined to hear a dispute over the fatal police shooting of a schizophrenic man in a case that has raised questions about legal barriers to suing government workers for alleged wrongdoing
The Supreme Court has declined to hear Oracle’s challenge to how the Pentagon awarded its now canceled $10 billion cloud computing contract — the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) contract

Tags: international-news, tax-news, capitalist-farce-news, cyber-security-news, court-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, big-tech-news

Democracy Now (6/10/21): Daily Headlines:

Whistleblower Tells Lawmakers to Regulate Facebook Before It Causes More Harm
Schumer Sets Up Debt Limit Vote Amid Ongoing GOP Obstructionism
Voters Confront AZ Sen. Kyrsten Sinema over Reconciliation Bill as She Heads Back to D.C.
Missouri Executes Man with Intellectual Disability Despite High-Profile Pleas
China-Taiwan Tensions Mount as Biden Reaffirms U.S.-Sino Commitment to Diplomatic Agreement
French Trade Unions Protest Against Low Pay, Pension & Unemployment Reforms [in nationwide strike]
Descendants of Henrietta Lacks Sue Pharmaceutical Co. for Using Her Cells Without Consent

Tags: big-tech-news, politics-news, bad-democrat-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, international-news, labor-news, civil-rights-news, science-news

Posted 5 October 2021

Left Voice (4/10/21): In a Nearly Unanimous Vote, IATSE Members in TV and Film Production Authorize a Strike - International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees union members received strike authorization ballots on Friday. The results are in and the membership has overwhelmingly voted in favor.

Tags: labor-news

Al Jazeera (4/10/21): Canada invokes treaty with US in dispute over Line 5 pipeline - Canada has been pushing the US to intervene in a dispute over a contentious oil pipeline project Michigan ordered shut.

Tags: big-oil-news, capitalist-farce-news, climate-change-news

Ars Technica (4/10/21): Researcher refuses Telegram’s bounty award, discloses auto-delete bug - Telegram took months to fix "self-destruct" message bug. Then requested silence.

Tags: cyber-security-news

The Revolving Door Project (4/10/21): Powell Misled Reporters About His Finances While Admitting To Lax Ethics Practices

Tags: corruption-news, economic-news

Salon (4/10/21): Facebook whistleblower exposes a dark reality: Right wing disinformation is popular — and profitable - Lies are profitable on social media because millions want to be radicalized

Tags: big-tech-news, capitalist-farce-news, right-wing-news, media-news

The Black Wall Street Times (4/10/21): Black family receives land stolen by eminent domain [in California]

Tags: civil-rights-news, progressive-dem-news

The American Prospect (4/10/21): USPS Begins Postal Banking Pilot Program - The test allows customers to cash business or payroll checks at the post office and place them onto a gift card.

Tags: infrastructure-news, labor-news, biden-policy-news

CounterPunch (4/10/21): Why Did a US Envoy Meet With the Head of a Fascist Militia in India?

Tags: far-right-news, fail-biden-policy-news, international-news

New York Times (4/10/21): Gunfire on Amtrak Train: D.E.A. Agent Killed, 2nd Agent Is Critically Wounded - A suspect was dead and a Tucson officer wounded in the shooting, which erupted during a drug sweep of the train at a stop in Arizona, the police said.

Tags: crime-news, rail-news

LaborNotes (4/10/21): Michigan Nurses Defeat AFT-Backed Raid

Tags: labor-news, healthcare-news

Common Dreams (4/10/21): In 'Major Victory' for Abortion Rights, Biden to Reverse Trump-Era Domestic Gag Rule - Sen. Tammy Baldwin called it "a big step in the right direction" but added that "our work to protect reproductive freedom continues."

Tags: civil-rights-news, biden-policy-news

Vice (4/10/21): Anti-Vaxxers Just Destroyed a COVID Testing Unit in New York - During a march against vaccine requirements, some New York City firefighters fist-bumped protesters and at least one law enforcement officer cheered.

Tags: covid-news, anti-vaxx-news

Just Security (4/10/21): Early Edition:

A Canadian man who narrated two propaganda videos that the Islamic State used to recruit Westerners and to encourage terrorism attacks has been flown to the U.S. to face terrorism charges
The U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai is to warn China today that it is not complying with former President Trump’s Phase One trade deal.
Senior leadership at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) attempted to politicize intelligence and pressured subordinates to illegally search phones during the racial justice protests in Portland last summer
A former U.S. soldier has been arrested for breaching the Capitol grounds, wearing full tactical gear, during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Iran has asked for the U.S. to unfreeze $10 billion of its funds as a condition for the resumption of nuclear deal talks, Iran’s foreign minister has said.; Germany has rejected Iran’s demands for the U.S. to unfreeze Iranian assets as a condition for nuclear talks to resume, Germany’s Foreign Ministry has said today.

Tags: international-news, economic-news, trump-news, blm-news

Democracy Now (5/10/21):

Johnson & Johnson Seeks FDA OK for Booster Shot
New York Healthcare Provider Fires 1,400 for Refusing to Get Vaccinated
Activists Confront Sen. Sinema in Arizona Bathroom
State Department Lawyer Blasts Biden for “Inhumane” Expulsions of Haitians
California Declares State of Emergency After Offshore Oil Pipeline Spill
Biden Administration to Open Up 80 Millions of Acres for Drilling in Gulf of Mexico
Report: 14% of World’s Coral Reefs Lost Since 2009 Due to Climate Emergency
Judge Ignores Federal Prosecutors and Sentences Insurrectionist to Jail
Commission Estimates 330,000 Children Sexually Abused in French Catholic Church
National Women’s Soccer League in Crisis Amid Coach Abuse Scandal
CVS, Walgreens and Walmart on Trial for Opioid Epidemic
Missouri Prepares to Execute Ernest Lee Johnson, an Intellectually Disabled Black Man

Tags: covid-news, healthcare-news, labor-news, bad-democrat-news, immigrant-news, fail-biden-policy-news, big-oil-news, industrial-failure-news, climate-change-news, capitol-storming-news, court-news, crime-news, international-news, pharma-news, capitalist-farce-news

Posted 4 October 2021

Mother Jones (3/10/21): Largest-Ever Leak of Offshore Files Reveals the Secret Finances of Hundreds of Billionaires and World Leaders - Based on 11.9 million records, the “Pandora Papers” expose hidden holdings of global elites from Putin to Shakira.

Tags: corruption-news, leak-news, capitalist-farce-news

Jacobin (3/10/21): Amazon Workers in Canada Are Getting Organized - Amazon tripled its profits during the pandemic while its workers experienced sickness and stress. Workers at the company are fighting back by launching a unionization drive that could reshape Canada’s labor movement.

Vox (3/10/21): Why this Facebook scandal is different - Internal evidence that former Facebook product manager Frances Haugen shared shows Facebook has known — but ignored — the harm it causes.

Tags: big-tech-news, capitalist-farce-news

New York Times (3/10/21): Oil Spill Off California Coast Sends 126,000 Gallons Into the Pacific - The spill created a 13-square-mile slick that extended from Huntington Beach to Newport Beach as dead fish and birds began to wash ashore in some areas.

Tags: big-oil-news, industrial-failure-news

Common Dreams (3/10/21): When Will the US Acknowledge its Secret Torture Site in Poland? - Abu Zubaydah has been a prisoner at Guantánamo Bay for 15 years. He's asking the Supreme Court to allow his lawyers to depose the two men who oversaw his torture.

Tags: dark-security-news

Democracy Now (4/10/21): Daily Headlines:

U.S. Tops 700K COVID Deaths; CA Announces Student Vaccine Mandate as NYC Educator Mandate Starts
With Democrats at Impasse, Biden Proposes Scaling Back $3.5T Spending Bill
George Floyd Memorial Statue Defaced in New York City

Tags: covid-news, legislation-news, politics-news, infrastructure-news, civil-rights-news

Posted 3 October 2021

Vice (1/10/21): Alex Jones Lied About Sandy Hook. Now He Has to Pay the Victims’ Parents. - The conspiracy theorist, who claimed the horrifying massacre was a “total hoax,” lost two big court cases this week.

Tags: far-right-news

Breakthrough News (1/10/21): Manchin’s $2 trillion cut: children give up food, billionaires give up nothing

Tags: bad-democrat-news, infrastructure-news, corruption-news

On Labor (1/10/21): Finally, the IATSE (the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) is set to begin its own strike authorization vote today. The union represents 60,000 workers in entertainment, and if a strike authorization vote passes the union’s president could call a strike at any moment, bringing much of the entertainment industry to a halt. The union has never gone on strike in its history (and authorizing a strike does not necessarily mean a strike itself is likely), but workers say that working conditions needs to change.

Tags: labor-news

Mother Jones (2/10/21): Tens of Thousands Rally Across America for Abortion Rights - Texas’s anti-abortion law is “just a few steps away from stoning women in the streets.”

Tags: civil-rights-news, protest-news

Ars Technica (2/10/21): Hundreds of scam apps hit over 10 million Android devices - GriftHorse campaign used clever techniques to avoid detection in Google Play.

Tags: cyber-security-news

Who Gets the Bird (2/10/21):

Two thousand more workers at healthcare giant Kaiser are set to authorize a strike with UNITE HERE Local 5 in Hawaii, as their contract expired Thursday night. As I mentioned last week, they’ll join 24,000 UNAC/UHCP (AFSCME) members, 7,400 Steelworkers Local 7600 members, and 3,400 OFNHP (AFT) members who are taking their own strike votes, or publicly moving in that direction. These unions are all part of the Alliance of Health Care Unions, one of two cross-union bargaining formations at the 200,000+-employee non-profit. The Alliance unions’ national agreement expired on Thursday, but only those whose parallel local agreements also expired on Thursday are considering strikes. Aside from the unions named above, UFCW Local 1996 in Georgia also has a local and national agreement expiring, but I haven’t seen anything about their next moves. 700 members of Operating Engineers Local 39 in Northern California, members of neither of the bargaining formations at Kaiser, have already been on strike since mid-September.Two thousand more workers at healthcare giant Kaiser are set to authorize a strike with UNITE HERE Local 5 in Hawaii, as their contract expired Thursday night. As I mentioned last week, they’ll join 24,000 UNAC/UHCP (AFSCME) members, 7,400 Steelworkers Local 7600 members, and 3,400 OFNHP (AFT) members who are taking their own strike votes, or publicly moving in that direction. These unions are all part of the Alliance of Health Care Unions, one of two cross-union bargaining formations at the 200,000+-employee non-profit. The Alliance unions’ national agreement expired on Thursday, but only those whose parallel local agreements also expired on Thursday are considering strikes. Aside from the unions named above, UFCW Local 1996 in Georgia also has a local and national agreement expiring, but I haven’t seen anything about their next moves. 700 members of Operating Engineers Local 39 in Northern California, members of neither of the bargaining formations at Kaiser, have already been on strike since mid-September.
The unions played their role in this week’s “Dems in disarray” narrative, as right wing austerity Democrats -- er, I mean, “moderates” -- tried to tank Joe Biden’s legislative agenda
In a rare move, a group of unions in Maine, including Teamsters Local 340, the Machinists, and Maine’s IUPAT, are publicly drafting a primary challenger to incumbent Democratic Governor Janet Mills.
Finally, I wrote an overview of the past and present of the corruption scandal, concessionary bargaining, and historic referendum happening in the UAW for Labor Notes. When the Teamsters went through a parallel process in the late 80s, it was national and local news, with magazine features and public scrutiny; I’ve barely seen any coverage of the UAW’s referendum anywhere outside a few left publications, Detroit local news, and automotive industry analysts. This really could be a watershed moment for the US labor movement, as was the switch to direct democracy in the Teamsters (which paved the way for the Sweeney reform leadership slate win at the AFL-CIO in 1995, and obviously the 1997 UPS strike, the largest strike in my lifetime).

Tags: labor-news, union-news, politics-news

Who Gets the Bird (25/9/21):

Another potentially huge labor fight is brewing at Kaiser, the massive “not for profit” healthcare system that spans eight states and DC, and employs 220,000 workers, with at least 150,000 of them union members. Kaiser is one of the better examples of coordinated bargaining across a fractured union landscape at a large employer, but that coordination has serious internal fractures, with two large groupings -- the “Coalition” and the breakaway “Alliance,” plus a few independent unions like NUHW and NNU -- running their own negotiations.
Two big New York state unions, the PEF (AFT/SEIU) and UUP (AFT’s second-largest local) are still fighting with the state over vaccine mandates and the rights of workers who refuse to get vaccinated. Both of these unions include lots of healthcare workers.
In Buffalo, India Walton won the fight over keeping primary sore loser incumbent Democrat Byron Brown off the ballot, but locally, labor is still cozy with the mayor.
An internal probe of UAW Local 412, which represents white collar Stellantis employees (formerly FCA, and before that Chrysler, aka the company that funneled millions to top UAW officials and their own executives, leading to two UAW international presidents landing in jail) apparently revealed a jaw-dropping $2 million embezzlement scheme. Clearly the corruption problem in the UAW is not over and wasn’t a few bad apples. Top officials are apparently patting themselves on the backs for uncovering the scheme, but if you really want to root out corruption in the UAW, you should be supporting the efforts of members organizing to win the upcoming referendum on direct elections for top officers.

Tags: labor-news, union-news, covid-news, leftist-news, electoral-news, corruption-news

The Economist (2/10/21): The jail on Rikers Island is both appalling and generously funded - It costs $438,000 to jail one person for one year there

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news

Mother Jones (2/10/21): These Corporate Giants Claim They Support Climate Action. Their Behavior Suggests Otherwise. - Amazon, Apple, Disney, Microsoft et al, are part of groups aiming to neuter the reconciliation bill.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, climate-change-news

Ars Technica (1/10/21): Neiman Marcus data breach impacts 4.6 million customers - Users were asked to change passwords—but were not offered free credit monitoring.

Tags: cyber-security-news

Law and Crime (1/10/21): Former Wisconsin Juvenile Court Judge Pleads Guilty to Distributing Child Pornography

Tags: crime-news

Just Security (1/10/21): Early Edition:

Suicides among U.S. troops rose by 15% in 2020 compared to 2019, according to an annual report released yesterday by the Pentagon.
“Widespread” failures to follow key rules have been identified in how the FBI handles some of its most sensitive surveillance work, according to a report issued yesterday by the Justice Department inspector general.
A federal court in Washington D.C. has seemed reluctant to find that suspected terrorists who remain prisoners in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba have due process rights under the U.S. Constitution
A lawsuit is alleging that computer outages from a 2019 cyberattack at Springhill Medical Center in Alabama led staff to miss troubling signs, resulting in a baby’s death — allegations that the hospital denies.
The indictment against Michael Sussman, the cybersecurity lawyer indicted on a single count of lying to the FBI, as part of Special Counsel John H. Durham’s probe into the FBI’s Russia investigation, also suggests that researchers who found strange internet links between a Russian bank and the Trump Organization did not really believe their own work.
Hundreds of migrants are being held for weeks without charge in Texas, as the border crackdown by Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott (R) has overwhelmed the justice system.
Myanmar’s military-installed government has defended its 4-month detention of a U.S. journalist.

Tags: dark-security-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, court-news, cyber-security-news, infrastructure-news, immigrant-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Posted 1 October 2021

The Revolving Door Project (30/9/21): Powell And Vice Chairs Transacted Millions In 2020, While Brainard Made No Trades

Tags: corruption-news

The Guardian (30/9/21): China owed $385bn – including ‘hidden debt’ from poorer nations, says report - AidData finds 42 low-to-middle income countries with ‘belt and road’ exposure exceeding 10% of GDP

Tags: international-news, bri-news, china-policy-news

The Economist World This Week (2/10/21): There were 21,570 homicides in America last year, according to the FBI, up by 29% from 2019. The homicide rate rose from 5.1 to 6.5 per 100,000 people. This was still well below its peak of 9.8 in 1991.

Tags: crime-news

The Hill (30/9/21): Democratic Party headquarters in Texas county attacked by man with Molotov cocktail

Tags: militant-far-right-news

Al Jazeera (30/9/21): Prince Andrew can review Epstein estate deal, accuser says - Virginia Giuffre, an American, sued the United Kingdom’s Prince Andrew claiming that Jeffrey Epstein recruited her for sex with the prince when she was a teen. Andrew has denied the allegations. [epstein-news]

Tags: epstein-news

On Labor (30/9/21):

In a report published yesterday, researchers at the UC Berkeley Labor Center found that Massachusetts rideshare drivers could earn well below the federal and state minimum wage under a proposed state ballot initiative pushed by ride-hailing giants Uber and Lyft. The measure, filed with state authorities last month, claims to mandate an hourly pay standard equal to 120% of the state minimum wage, as well limited healthcare and insurance benefits, in exchange for exempting drivers from Bay State employment protections. On its face, the measure’s pay guarantee would appear to set a minimum hourly rate of at least $18. Under both proposed versions of the initiative, however, this rate would only apply while drivers are “engaged” in servicing passengers, excluding wait time, which according to Uber amounts to around 33% of the average driver’s on-the-clock hours. In a report published yesterday, researchers at the UC Berkeley Labor Center found that Massachusetts rideshare drivers could earn well below the federal and state minimum wage under a proposed state ballot initiative pushed by ride-hailing giants Uber and Lyft. The measure, filed with state authorities last month, claims to mandate an hourly pay standard equal to 120% of the state minimum wage, as well limited healthcare and insurance benefits, in exchange for exempting drivers from Bay State employment protections. On its face, the measure’s pay guarantee would appear to set a minimum hourly rate of at least $18. Under both proposed versions of the initiative, however, this rate would only apply while drivers are “engaged” in servicing passengers, excluding wait time, which according to Uber amounts to around 33% of the average driver’s on-the-clock hours.
On Tuesday, members of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) yet again affirmed the lawfulness of Scabby the Rat. In a unanimous opinion, Members McFerran, Ring, and Kaplan held that the Board’s Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) erred in finding that the rat’s deployment against a so-called “neutral” firm violated the National Labor Relations Act’s (NLRA) ban on secondary boycotts, noting that protesting the neutral’s dealings with “unnamed ‘rat contractors’” was distinct from the union’s dispute over recognition with the primary employer.

Tags: labor-news

Just Security (30/9/21): Early Edition:

Both McKenzie and Austin said that the Doha agreement made by former President Trump with the Taliban in February 2020 hastened Afghanistan’s collapse to the Taliban
There is a “real possibility” that al Qaeda or ISIS could reconstitute in Afghanistan as soon as in 6 months, Milley said during his testimony yesterday.
A flight carrying more than 100 U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, who had been evacuated from Afghanistan on a private charter flight, has now departed the United Arab Emirates (UAE) bound for the U.S., the UAE foreign ministry has said
The U.S. is intensifying talks to use Russian bases in neighboring countries to Afghanistan for “over the horizon” counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan
The U.S. government has pulled its defense attaché out of Nicaragua following comments complimentary of Nicaragua’s military that drew the ire of the political opposition
A man shot dead by Belarusian security forces in a raid on an apartment block was an employee of EPAM Systems, a U.S.-based software firm, the company has said.
China has opposed a Philippines-led push for a review of the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) between the Philippines and the U.S., Manila’s Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has said
CNN announced that it will stop publishing content on Facebook in Australia. “The decision comes after the country’s highest court ruled that media companies are liable for comments people post under articles on the platform…CNN asked Facebook to offer a Page-wide setting to turn off comments in Australia, according to a CNN source. Instead, Facebook provided instructions for how the media organization could disable comments post by post.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan praised ties with Russia during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday. Putin and Erdogan discussed weapon deals, trade, and a nuclear reactor Russia is building in Turkey during their meeting, as Erdogan made clear that he had access to Russia as an alternative partner to the U.S. for trade and military deals.
U.N. diplomats have said that Russia is holding up the appointment of independent experts to monitor implementation of sanctions on four African countries

Tags: international-news, security-news, immigrant-news

Democracy Now (1/10/21): Daily Headlines:

Congress Extends Gov’t Funding as Pelosi Delays House Infrastructure Vote Amid Democratic Split
Court Allows Biden to Continue Mass Expulsions Without Due Process Under Title 42
Merck Applies for Emergency Use of Antiviral Drug That Could Halve Number of Severe COVID Cases
Rep. Cori Bush Opens Up About Having an Abortion After Rape as House Members Share Abortion Stories
Over 50% of Police Killings Go Unreported, Police Kill Black People at 3.5x Higher Rate Than Whites
Judge Sentences Steven Donziger, Lawyer Who Sued Chevron for Amazon Oil Spills
Footage from Animal Rights Group Shows Mistreatment of Chickens at Foster Farms
Biden Admin Restores Migratory Bird Protections as Another 23 Plant & Animal Species Go Extinct
NYC Taxi Drivers Hold 24/7 Protest to Demand Debt Relief from Purchase of Medallions
Chicago Tortilla Plant Workers Escalate Protests Against El Milagro

Tags: politics-news, legislation-news, court-news, immigrant-news, fail-biden-policy-news, covid-news, pharma-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, analysis-news, big-oil-news, corruption-news, food-security-news, biden-policy-news, labor-news

Posted 30 September 2021

New York Times (29/9/21): The I.R.S. Can Register Voters Just as Well as the D.M.V. Maybe Better.

Tags: voting-rights-news, policy-news

Democracy Now (29/9/21): Yanis Varoufakis on Angela Merkel’s Legacy, European Politics & the “Sordid Arms Race” on the Seas

Tags: analysis-news, international-news

The Hill (29/9/21): 131 federal judges failed to recuse themselves from cases in which they had financial interest: report

Tags: court-news, corruption-news

Left Voice (28/9/21): Firing Thousands of Health Care Workers Won’t Stop the Pandemic - The state of New York is firing thousands of unvaccinated health care workers and replacing them with members of the National Guard. While we support all workers being vaccinated, this is a clear attack coordinated by the bosses and the State against the working class.

Tags: covid-news, labor-news, healthcare-news

On Labor (29/9/21):

On the heels of signing a slew of worker-protection laws yesterday, California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed two labor bills introduced by Assembly Member Lorena Gonzalez. The first, AB 123, would have bolstered the state’s Paid Family Leave Program by raising the wage replacement rate from sixty percent to ninety percent. And the second, AB 1074, would have boosted the job security of hotel workers by effectively requiring their successor employers to retain them and offer them continued employment if their performance was satisfactory.
Amidst a recent wave of judicial rulings across multiple European countries classifying Uber drivers as employees, the European Commission—the executive arm of the European Union—is set to introduce a legislative initiative in December that will address the challenges created by platform work.

Tags: bad-democrat-news, legislation-news, labor-news

Secular Talk (28/9/21): Noam Chomsky ETHERS 'Classical Liberalism' & Capitalism

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, analysis-news

ZDNet (29/9/21): 96% of third-party container applications deployed in cloud infrastructure contain known vulnerabilities: Unit 42 - Unit 42 found that 63% of third-party code used in building cloud infrastructure contained insecure configurations.

Tags: cyber-security-news

The Guardian (29/9/21): Indigenous children set to receive billions after judge rejects Trudeau challenges - First Nations children entitled to government compensation - Canada ‘wilfully and recklessly’ discriminated against them

Tags: bad-democrat-news, court-news, indigenous-news

I know Trudeau is not a democrat, but more-or-less the Liberals are comparable, so he gets the tag! :P

The Hill (29/9/21): Trump operation replaces Lewandowski after claims of sexual impropriety

Tags: trump-news

The Moscow Times (29/9/21): Russia Threatens YouTube Block Over RT German Spat

Tags: international-news, big-tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Vice (29/9/21): Alabama Wants to Spend $400 Million in COVID Relief Money to Build Prisons - Just last month, Alabama hospitals were on the brink of collapsing under the weight of the Delta variant’s rampage through the South.

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, gop-shenanigans-news

The Guardian (29/9/21): Canada: win for anti-logging protesters as judge denies firm’s injunction bid - Judge blocks Teal Cedar Products’ extension request and says police conduct on Vancouver Island has put court at risk

Tags: climate-change-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, protest-news, court-news

Just Security (29/9/21): Early Edition:

The Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday denied U.S. landing rights for a charter plane carrying more than 100 Americans and U.S. green card holders evacuated from Afghanistan, organizers of the flight have said.
Canada has doubled its Afghan refugee resettlement target to 40,000 people.
The United States has deported a convicted Russian hacker to Russia in a rare extradition
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne raised the case of WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during Payne’s visit to Washington D.C. this month
Two top police organizations have pushed back at Sen. Tim Scott’s (R-SC) attack on how negotiations over a policing overhaul broke down last week.
China is currently building a new 315m aircraft carrier, which will be the same size as the latest U.S. Ford class with a matching electromagnetic catapult for launching jets.

Tags: international-news, immigrant-news, crime-news, cyber-security-news, dark-security-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Democracy Now (30/9/21): Daily Headlines:

As Government Shutdown Looms, Biden’s Legislative Agenda Hangs in the Balance
Second Alaska Hospital to Ration Care Amid Surge in Unvaccinated COVID Patients
YouTube to Ban Anti-Vaccine Misinformation
CDC Urges Pregnant People to Get Vaccinated
Protesters Target Moderna CEO and Top Biden Aide, Demanding Vaccine Equity
Pentagon Knew U.S. Drone Strike in Kabul Missed Target, Hit Civilians Weeks Before Public Admission
House Cmte. Subpoenas Organizers of Jan. 6 Rallies, Incl. Trump Campaign Spokesperson
Baby Food Makers Kept Selling Products with Arsenic Levels Exceeding FDA-Approved Limits
Land Defenders Vow to Continue Struggle as Enbridge Announces Oil Will Start Flowing Through Line 3
Wet’suwet’en Land Protectors Set Up Blockades Against Incursion by Coastal GasLink
Right Livelihood Award Goes to Environmental Activists, Rights Defenders Across the Globe

Tags: legislation-news, politics-news, biden-policy-news, covid-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, big-tech-news, protest-news, vaccine-ip-news, dark-security-news, capitol-storming-news, trump-news, capitalist-farce-news, big-oil-news, indigenous-news

Posted 29 September 2021

In These Times (28/9/21): Hoffa’s House Divided: The 2021 Teamster Election, Explained - A rank-and-file Teamster describes what’s at stake.

Tags: union-news, labor-news

ZDNet (27/9/21): FCC details $1.9 billion program to rip out Huawei and ZTE gear in the US - Carriers with under 10 million customers as well as some schools, libraries, and health care providers can apply for FCC funding to dispose of Chinese-vendor network equipment from October 29.

Tags: infrastructure-news, cyber-security-news

ZDNet (27/9/21): Google commences appeal against European Commission €4.34 billion fine - The search giant is contending it has not abused its dominant market position to coerce smartphone manufacturers into installing Google Search and Chrome.

Tags: big-tech-news, antitrust-news

On Labor (28/9/21):

Activision Blizzard has agreed to pay $18 million in a settlement with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after the agency filed a civil rights complaint against the video game publisher on Monday. The EEOC’s complaint accused the company of pregnancy discrimination, unequal pay for female employees, sexual harassment, and retaliation
Governor Newsom signed a slate of worker protection legislation designed to benefit garment industry workers, domestic workers, workers with disabilities, farmworkers, and workers suffering from wage theft.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Graduate Student Union publicly announced its unionization campaign yesterday

Tags: labor-news, progressive-dem-news, legislation-news

Ars Technica (28/9/21): New Azure Active Directory password brute-forcing flaw has no fix - Microsoft says AD authentication responses are working as intended.

Tags: cyber-security-news, big-tech-news

Just Security (28/9/21): Early Edition:

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has declined to return calls from the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, indicating that the Biden administration’s withholding of support for Georgieva goes beyond its public statements

Tags: international-news, economic-news

Democracy Now (29/9/21): Daily Headlines:

Progressives Hold Firm on Opposing Infrastructure Bill Without Vow to Pass Build Back Better Act
U.S. Military Leaders Acknowledge “Strategic Failure” in Afghanistan During Senate Questioning
Gen. Milley Denies Going Around Chain of Command During Trump Term
Pfizer-BioNTech Submits Vaccine Data on 5-to-11-Year-Olds to FDA; Mask Mandate Bans Halted in SC and AZ

Tags: progressiv-dem-news, infrastructure-news, politics-news, international-news, security-news, trump-news, covid-news, court-news

Posted 28 September 2021

World News: (for more, see World news section) West European Elections Austria, Norway, Germany elections - lessons for the left: electoral victories happen when you campaign on class politics with cohesive LASER focus (such as KPO in Graz, Austria and Red Party in Norway - succeeded), rather than middling "pragmatism" (such as DIE LINKE in Germany - failed). The KPO in Graz provides a "lab notebook" on how to fashion grassroots politics as a powerful weapon, one which was actually capable of stemming tides of neoliberalism. Very impressive. India Last year, the far-right govt of Modi announced measures to privatize agriculture, which would be catastrophic for Indian farmers. In response, hundreds of millions came out in protest/strike. Today, this fight continues in a 'Bharat Bandh', more-or-less a general strike.

Tags: electoral-news, socialist-news, leftist-news

The Guardian (27/9/21): CIA officials under Trump discussed assassinating Julian Assange – report - Mike Pompeo and officials requested ‘options’ for killing Assange following WikiLeaks’ publication of CIA hacking tools, report says

Tags: media-news, trump-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

The Moscow Times (27/9/21): Free Speech a ‘Core Value,’ YouTube CEO Says After Blocking Russian Opposition Videos

Tags: big-tech-news, international-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

ZDNet (27/9/21): Facebook shelving Instagram for kids, expanding parental oversight for teens - The company has faced backlash for hiding internal research showing the platform's negative impact on teen body image issues.

Tags: big-tech-news

On Labor (27/9/21):

The absence of “right to return” laws is harming hotel workers in Columbia, Maryland, the Washington Post reports. Approximately 100 people who worked at Merriweather Lakehouse were laid off in spring of 2020 and have yet to hear from the hotel about their old jobs, despite the fact that the hotel’s parent company received over $2 million in Paycheck Protection Program funds to help offset payroll
Finally, a New York Times investigation into the home care industry underscored the need for greater protections for workers, especially as the pandemic continues. Almost one in five aides—who are overwhelmingly women of color and immigrants—live below the poverty line, with median pay increasing only $1.75 over the last decade

Tags: labor-news, healthcare-news

Common Dreams (27/9/21): Critics Fume as ICC Excludes US From Probe Into Afghan War Crimes - "Allowing powerful states to get away with multi-year, multi-continent torture against so many feeds impunity for all."

Tags: dark-security-news, international-news

The Hill (27/9/21): Sinema to hold fundraiser with groups opposed to social spending package

Tags: bad-democrat-news, corruption-news

The Hill (27/9/21): Noem draws scrutiny for meeting with official as daughter sought state license

Tags: corruption-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Just Security (27/9/21): Early Edition:

A series of killings of religious figures associated with Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) in Afghanistan are highlighting the ongoing power struggle between ISKP and the Taliban
The Taliban government’s Defense Minister Mawlawi Mohammad Yaqoob, has issued a stern warning against Taliban foot soldiers having too much fun in Kabul and has told them to stop taking selfies
Russian fighter jets were scrambled to escort a U.S. Air Force plane that reportedly approached Russian airspace over the Pacific Ocean, Russian state news agency TASS said yesterday
Turkish President Recip Tayyip Erdoğan defended his government’s decision to buy another Russian air defense system despite pressure from the United States and NATO
An FBI informant was among those who entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, and texted his FBI handler a live account of the event

Tags: international-news, security-news, capitol-storming-news

Democracy Now (28/9/21): Daily Headlines:

As Government Shutdown Looms, Senate GOP Blocks Bill to Fund Government and Raise Debt Ceiling
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema Solicits Funds from Lobbyists Opposing Democrats’ $3.5T Spending Bill
R. Kelly Found Guilty on All Counts in Sex Trafficking Trial
Biden Administration Seeks to Protect Young Immigrants After Texas Judge Voids DACA
Myron Dewey, Who Documented Resistance to Dakota Access Pipeline, Killed in Car Accident

Tags: politics-news, gop-shenanigans-news, bad-democrat-news, corruption-news, crime-news, biden-policy-news, protest-news, obituary-news

Posted 27 September 2021

The Hill (24/9/21): Texas limits business with Ben & Jerry's over Israel move

Tags: bds-news, gop-shenanigans-news

The Guardian (24/9/21): Global climate strike: thousands join coordinated action across world

Tags: protest-news, international-news, climate-change-news

New York Times (24/9/21): China frees 2 jailed Canadians after the U.S. agrees to release a Huawei executive.

Tags: international-news

Left Voice (24/9/21): House Votes $1 Billion for Israeli War Machine Without Opposition from AOC - Last night, with the help of DSA-endorsed Representatives Jamaal Bowman and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the House of Representatives approved $1 billion in new funding for Israeli "Iron Dome" missile interceptors.

Tags: security-news, international-news

Law and Crime (24/9/21): Angry Dad Fractures Church Minister’s Skull for Groping 9-Year-Old Son: Police

Tags: crime-news

Payday Report (24/9/21): Earlier this week, California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would make it easier for farmworkers to unionize. - The veto comes after the United Farm Workers union organized heavily on Newsom’s behalf to fight off attempts at a recall election. - The farmworkers had initially planned to march 260 miles this week from Tulare county to Sacramento to draw attention to the conditions of farmworkers. Now, they plan to march to French Laundry, the high-end restaurant where Newsom was caught dining with lobbyists during the height of the pandemic when he had advised Californians to avoid eating out in large groups.

Tags: bad-democrat-news, legislation-news, labor-news

Liberation News (23/9/21): Slumlords evict New Mexicans illegally, organizers plan to fight back

Tags: social-woes-news

Wired (24/9/21): It’s Not Easy to Control Police Use of Tech—Even With a Law - A key backer of a 2018 Oakland law to rein in tools like automated license plate readers says the city is not following the rules.

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news, big-tech-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news

The Hill (25/9/21): Three dead, dozens injured after Amtrak train derailed in Montana

Tags: rail-news, infrastructure-news

The Intercept (25/9/2): $3.5 Trillion for the Build Back Better Agenda Is Much, Much Less Money Than You Think - This big, scary-sounding number represents just 1.2 percent of U.S. GDP over the next 10 years.

Tags: infrastructure-news, legislation-news, politics-news

On Labor (24/9/21):

On Wednesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law A.B. 701, a bill which outlaws employer-mandated production quotas for employees that prevent workers from using the bathroom, taking state-mandated breaks, or staying safe at warehouse distribution centers like Amazon. It also requires companies to be transparent about production quotas with employees, and employees cannot be fired for meeting undisclosed quotas.
In other news, after workers at three Starbucks stores in Buffalo, NY announced that they have formed a union—Starbucks Workers United—Starbucks argued to the NLRB yesterday that the bargaining unit should encompass all 20 of its stores in the Buffalo region. ... For the union, an expansion of the bargaining unit could lead to a defeat, similar to the result at the Bessemer unionizing drive in Bessemer, Alabama earlier this year where Amazon similarly “gerrymandered” the bargaining unit.
In addition to potentially forcing the inclusion of entirely unorganized shops, requesting a hearing on the voting block of the bargaining unit results in a delay in any potential vote, during which Starbucks is able to hold captive audience meetings to pressure workers into voting against the union.

Tags: legislation-news, progressive-dem-news, busting-labor-news

The Rational National (25/9/21): Prof. Eddie Glaude Schools MSNBC's Morning Joe On Budget Bill Fight

Tags: media-news, politics-news

Ars Technica (24/9/21): Three iOS 0-days revealed by researcher frustrated with Apple’s bug bounty - Public disclosure comes in wake of other grumblings about Apple's bug bounty behavior.

Tags: cyber-security-news

Common Dreams (25/9/21): $3.5 Trillion Is Too Expensive, But $10 Trillion for War Is Business as Usual - The massive expenditure for war is not merely a fiscal issue. It reflects a system of governance that values war. That system was produced by a failure of political vision and an electoral process corrupted by corporate money.

Tags: infrastructure-news, politics-news

Al Jazeera (25/9/21): Texas border camp emptied as US continues to deport Haitians - Nearly 30,000 migrants, many of them from Haiti, had been camping underneath Del Rio International Bridge.

Tags: immigrant-news, fail-biden-policy-news

Just Security (24/9/21): Early Edition:

The Port of Houston, a major U.S. port, was targeted in an attempted cyber-attack last month, the Port shared in a statement on Thursday

Tags: infrastructure-news, cyber-security-news

Democracy Now (27/9/21): Daily Headlines:

Social Democrats to Form Coalition Gov’t in Germany After Edging Out Merkel’s Long-Standing Bloc
PG&E Charged with Manslaughter over 2020 Zogg Fire as Wildfires Rage in California
Canada’s Catholic Bishops Apologize for Abuse of Indigenous Children
House Approves Bill to Protect Abortion Rights, But Measure Unlikely to Pass Senate
Judge Blocks NYC Teacher Vaccine Mandate as Hochul Eyes Plans to Replace Unvaccinated Health Workers
Workers at Chicago Tortilla Plant Walk Out to Protest Low Pay and Poor Working Conditions

Tags: mass-grave-news, energy-news, infrastructure-news, international-news, climate-change-news, labor-news, court-news, covid-news, civil-rights-news, politics-news, legislation-news

Posted 24 September 2021

The Guardian (23/9/21): GOP plan to block House measure could trigger an unprecedented $28tn default - Opposition from Mitch McConnell means the spending package is dead and the US faces a shutdown and default

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, politics-news

Law and Crime (23/9/21): ‘The Legal System Also Fails Plaintiffs’: Judge Reluctantly Dismisses Students’ ‘Time-Barred’ Claims Against Ohio State University in Sex Abuse Scandal - OSU’s conduct is despicable and the fact the Big 10, NCAA, et al have done nothing about it speaks volumes,” Estey wrote in an email. “These institutions are more concerned about money than the safety of their student athletes

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, crime-news, court-news, politics-news, corruption-news

Labor Notes (23/9/21): Viewpoint: The AFT Shouldn't Be Negotiating Away Puerto Rican Teachers' Pensions

Tags: union-news, corruption-news, labor-news

The Guardian (23/9/21): US envoy to Haiti resigns over ‘inhumane’ decision to deport migrants - Daniel Foote excoriates Washington in letter addressed to Antony Blinken for deporting hundreds from a border camp

Tags: politics-news, immigrant-news

Ars Technica (23/9/21): Facebook paid FTC $4.9B more than required to shield Zuckerberg, lawsuit alleges - Shareholders say the overpayment was an "express quid pro quo."

Tags: corruption-news, big-tech-news

Common Dreams (23/9/21): As Bids to Slash Pentagon Budget Fail, US Military Spending Slammed as 'Height of Absurdity' - "Spending $780 billion on weapons and war while our communities starve, while the climate crisis worsens, while a pandemic that has killed millions and affected countless more rages on, is a national shame."

Tags: security-news, politics-news

ZDNet (23/9/21): VoIP company battles massive ransom DDoS attack - 'Massive' distributed denial of service attack hits internet telephony company.

Tags: cyber-security-news

Ars Technica (23/9/21): Exchange/Outlook autodiscover bug exposed 100,000+ email passwords - A flaw in the Autodiscover protocol can expose email passwords to third parties.

Tags: cyber-security-news

Secular Talk (23/9/21): Tulsi Gabbard Slams Biden For “Open Borders”; Secular Talk (23/9/21): Tulsi Gabbard Advocates For Drone Strikes On Tucker

Tags: bad-democrat-news, far-right-news, immigrant-news

The Rational National (22/9/21): CNN's WILD Propaganda Blames Progressives For The Damage Conservatives Are Doing

Tags: media-news

United Farm Workers (22/9/21): UFW responds to Newsom veto of farm worker voting choice bill by heading to French Laundry to seek a meeting with him (via u/RedditGreenit on r/labor)

Tags: union-news, labor-news, bad-democrat-news

Ars Technica (23/9/21): Apple turns post-lawsuit tables on Epic, will block Fortnite on iOS - The ban on Epic's games could last years.

Tags: big-tech-news

The Majority Report (23/9/21): Even Jordan Peterson Thinks Crowder Is An Idiot

Crowder being a moron. I laughed, but sharing mostly cause now I want to go to Montreal lol, Jordan Peterson really sells it

Tags: fun-news, far-right-news

On Labor (23/9/21):

The New York City Council today passed sweeping measures to improve conditions for delivery workers, including those at “app-based food delivery services like Grubhub, DoorDash and Uber Eats.” The legislation now “prevents the food delivery apps and courier services from charging workers fees to receive their pay; makes the apps disclose their gratuity policies; prohibits the apps from charging delivery workers for insulated food bags, which can cost up to $50; and requires restaurant owners to make bathrooms available to delivery workers.” The new rules go even further, allowing workers to set parameters on the trips they take without retribution.
The Biden Administration is beginning to create federal rules to address dangerous levels of heat in the workplace. OSHA will be drafting rules that “govern[] heat exposure designed to protect those who work outdoors in agricultural, construction and delivery services as well as workers in warehouses, factories, and kitchens.” This effort comes on the heels of an incredibly hot summer.
Yale University and some of its workers came to a settlement agreement today regarding a lawsuit of ADA and healthcare law violations. The suit, Kwesell et al v. Yale University, alleged in a class action that Yale required many of its older workers to submit to a wellness program called the “Health Expectation Program” or else be fined $1,300. In the complaint, the workers wrote that the policy “places Yale employees who are subject to the [Health Expectation Program] in an untenable position: either divulge protected information (including prior insurance claims data) and submit to invasive medical examinations and testing, or forfeit a substantial portion of their salary to keep their personal medical and genetic information private.”

Tags: legislation-news, progressive-dem-news, labor-news, biden-policy-news, court-news

Law and Crime (23/9/21): Texas Attempt to Protect ‘Conservative Ideas’ Will Actually Force Social Media Sites to ‘Disseminate Pro-Nazi Speech, Terrorist Propaganda, and Medical Misinformation’: Lawsuit

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news, far-right-news, gop-shenanigans-news

The Hill (23/9/21): Boebert used campaign funds for rent, utilities in violation of law

Tags: corruption-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Ars Technica (23/9/21): European Union announces plans to require all mobile devices to use USB-C - Devices using only wireless charging would be exempt from the mandate.

Tags: big-tech-news, legislation-news, international-news

Just Security (23/9/21): Early Edition:

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is aware of reports that personnel at Fort McCoy, a military base in Wisconsin, are struggling to feed and provide clean clothes and heat for Afghan refugees at the base
The deportations of Haitian migrants from Texas are proving to be a stark example of how Biden has deployed aggressive approaches to immigration put in place by former President Trump over the past four years
Facebook has been ordered by a federal judge to hand over information about posts removed by the social media company in 2018 for promoting violence against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar

Tags: immigrant-news, security-news, international-news, fail-biden-policy-news, big-tech-news, court-news

Democracy Now (24/9/21): Daily Headlines:

CDC Dir. Walensky Approves Pfizer Boosters for High-Risk Workers, Overruling Agency Panel
EPA Slashes Use of Industrial Chemicals Widely Used in Air Conditioners, Refrigerators
House Approves Increased $768 Billion Pentagon Budget, Rejecting Bids to Rein In Military Spending
House Approves Amendment Ending U.S. Support for Saudi-Led Bombing of Yemen
Rep. Tlaib Condemns U.S. Support for Israeli War Crimes & Abuses as House Approves Military Funding
House Jan. 6 Committee Subpoenas Four Aides and Allies to Trump
GOP-Ordered Maricopa County Recount Ends with 261 Fewer Votes for Trump, 99 More Votes for Biden
One Killed, 14 Injured After Tennessee Mass Shooting

Tags: covid-news, biden-policy-news, security-news, international-news, capitol-storming-news, electoral-news, gop-shenanigans-news, crime-news

Posted 23 September 2021

Who Gets the Bird (16/9/21):

10,000 workers at John Deere across 9 UAW locals in Iowa, Illinois, and one in Kansas, have overwhelmingly authorized a strike. And when I say overwhelmingly, I mean something like 99%. The company’s first offer was presented at the strike authorization meetings and was totally insulting, ending a plant closure moratorium, introducing paid healthcare premiums, and drastically cutting overtime pay, which is a cynical way to lower workers’ expectations but also pisses people off. My understanding is the earliest they’d go out, if they do, is October 10th.
After Hurricane Ida swept through New Orleans, the Regional Transit Authority was tasked with evacuating people and serving as makeshift cooling centers, which meant ATU Local 1560 members working a lot. The union made a deal with the city that workers would get hazard pay for this extra strenuous and extra hazardous work. Then, last Friday, the pay didn’t materialize, and after pushing for answers, the RTA fired the union president.
Newly-appointed NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo (formerly of CWA) has been issuing some memos which would be a huge deal if implemented to their full effect. I know that sounds dry, but we’re talking massive damages paid to workers who get screwed over during new organizing, orders to bargain with a union, and other administrative changes that would change the terrain of new organizing and strike fear into the hearts of union-busters. You can review them here (click around on this link, you’ll see).

Tags: labor-news, union-news, biden-policy-news

U.S. PIRG (21/9/21): U.S. PIRG sends letter to Congress calling for overdue asbestos ban

Tags: policy-news

KHN (22/9/21): Public Health Experts ‘Flabbergasted’ That Biden Still Hasn’t Picked an FDA Chief

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news

U.S. PIRG (22/9/21): Report: Only one-third of largest phone companies have completely adopted anti-robocall technology

Tags: big-tech-news, capitalist-farce-news, infrastructure-news, cyber-security-news

The Rational National (22/9/21): Progressive Democrats Flex Their Power With Key Win Ahead Of $3.5T Fight

Tags: progressive-dem-news, politics-news

Salon (22/9/21): Florida’s new surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, has ties to fringe group pushing bogus COVID cures - Florida's new surgeon general appeared in a video alongside another doctor who said "demon sperm" caused illness

Tags: healthcare-news, covid-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Vice (22/9/21): Bipartisan Police Reform Bill Is Officially Dead in Congress - Democratic Sen. Cory Booker and his GOP counterpart, Sen. Tim Scott, had been negotiating a bipartisan police reform bill for months. But it just died.

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, legislation-news, politics-news

Mediaite (21/9/22): Bill Gates Gives a Super Cringe Answer When Confronted About His Ties to Jeffrey Epstein - "Well He's Dead So... In General You Always Have To Be Careful"

Tags: epstein-news, capitalist-farce-news

I'm not some big conspiracy nut (actually a big anti-conspiracy nut) but those are some bone chilling words there, Bill

Democracy Now (22/9/21): “Life Has Become Unlivable in Honduras”: How Corruption & Drug Trade Fueled Migration to U.S.

Tags: international-news, immigrant-news, analysis-news

Just Security (22/9/21): Early Edition:

Russia’s chief of general staff, Valery Gerasimov, and his U.S. counterpart, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, met in Helsinki today to discuss risk mitigation in military activities, the RIA news agency has reported
Democratic lawmakers yesterday removed $1 billion in military funding for Israel to replenish its “Iron Dome” missile-defense system from a federal government funding bill after objections from liberals in the House of Representatives
FBI Director Christopher Wray has said that the FBI’s domestic terrorism caseload has “exploded” in size since spring of 2020
Days before lawyers allied with former President Trump promoted conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, his campaign had determined that many were false, court filings have revealed
Former President Trump is suing the New York Times and his niece, Mary Trump, over a 2018 article that alleged that Trump was involved in “dubious tax schemes.”
President Biden’s administration has for the first time blacklisted a cryptocurrency exchange, SUEX OTC, to combat ransomware, heralding a new approach to firms found handling illicit payments. The Russian-owned cryptocurrency exchange was blacklisted for allegedly helping launder ransomware payments.
The FBI held back a ransomware decryption key that would have unlocked the computers of hundreds of businesses and institutions following the major ransomware attack on the IT company Kaseya, so that the FBI could continue its operation to target the hackers
The U.S. is preparing to nearly double the number of Haitians being deported from Texas starting today, raising alarm that the return of thousands of cash-strapped migrants will add a new dimension to the humanitarian crisis in Haiti.

Tags: international-news, legislation-news, progressive-dem-news, security-news, trump-news, biden-policy-news, cyber-security-news, immigrant-news, fail-biden-policy-news

Democracy Now (23/9/21): Daily Headlines:

Biden Pledges More Vaccine Donations as Poorer Nations Demand Patent Waivers for COVID-19 Shots
Alaska Hospitals [third state after Montana and Idaho], Overwhelmed by COVID-19, Begin Rationing Care
DHS Looks to Expand Immigrant Detention at Guantánamo as Humanitarian Crisis at Border Grows
Black Congressmembers Condemn Inhumane, Racist Treatment of Haitian Asylum Seekers
Over 300 Migrant Children Still Separated from Their Families
WHO Slashes Recommended Limits for Air Pollution, Which Kills 7 Million People Per Year
12 Prisoners Have Died in New York City Jails in 2021
NYC Set to Pass New Laws Protecting App-Based Gig Workers After Push by Delivery Workers
California Expands Rights for Amazon Warehouse Workers

Tags: covid-news, fail-biden-policy-news, immigrant-news, climate-change-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, legislation-news, labor-news, progressive-dem-news

Posted 22 September 2021

Jacobin (21/9/21): Illinois Just Won a Big Green Jobs Victory - In Illinois last week, a coalition of unions and environmentalists scored a major victory with a law providing for a miniature Green New Deal: billions invested in clean energy, a commitment to decarbonizing, solid labor standards, and embrace of nuclear power.

Tags: energy-news, labor-news, legislation-news, progressive-dem-news

Left Voice (21/9/21): Detroit Activists Smash Former Police Chief’s Press Conference - Detroit activists shut down the former police chief's press conference. James Craig was slated to launch his campaign for governor, but instead activists spoke out against police violence and for Black lives while Craig was forced to leave.

Tags: protest-news, law-enforcement-news, leftist-news

The Rational National (21/9/21): Canadian Election Breakdown: Here's What Happened | #elxn44

Tags: electoral-news

Behind The Bastards (7/9/21): Part One: The Ivermectin Episode

Tags: podcast-news, covid-news, corruption-news, healthcare-news

Vice (21/9/21): Trump’s Lawyer Gave Pence a 6-Step Memo on How to Overturn the Election - Trump attorney John Eastman sent Pence a guide he hoped the vice president would use to block Congress from certifying President Biden’s victory.

Tags: trump-news, capitol-storming-news

The Majority Report (21/9/21): The Infrastructure Debacle EXPLAINED

Tags: politics-news, infrastructure-news, legislation-news

Ars Technica (21/9/21): China to stop building coal plants in developing nations - President Xi Jinping announces a necessary step to controlling global emissions.

Tags: energy-news, international-news, climate-change-news

Jacobin (17/4/20): Michael Brooks Warns the Left Against Descending Into Escapism and Fantasy

Tags: analysis-news, leftist-news

David Pakman Show (21/9/21): Marjorie Taylor Greene's New Ad is Fascist Propaganda 101

Tags: far-right-news, media-news

Jacobin (19/9/21): "Havana Syndrome" Is Still Melting People’s Brains

Tags: dark-security-news

OpenSecrets (21/9/21): Manchin received large campaign contributions from daughter’s company amid EpiPen scandal

Tags: bad-democrat-news, corruption-news, pharma-news

Popular Front (6/9/21): On the Ground in the Taliban's Afghanistan

Tags: international-news, podcast-news

Ars Technica (21/9/21): Google’s spending $2.1 billion for even more New York City real estate - Google's Hudson Square campus adds St. John’s Terminal at 550 Washington St.

Tags: big-tech-news

The Majority Report (21/9/21): ‘You Lied!’ George W. Bush Rehabilitation Tour DISRUPTED By Iraq War Veteran Mike Prysner

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news

In These Times (16/9/21): A Lead Problem Worse Than Flint's - Hundreds of thousands of lead service lines in Wisconsin are a threat to public health, and communities of color are particularly vulnerable.

Tags: infrastructure-news, industrial-failure-news

Vice (21/9/21): Leaked Apple Training Videos Show How It Undermines Third-Party Repair - Eight leaked training videos show how Apple instructs its repair partners to buy expensive parts when cheap ones will do.

Tags: right-to-repair-news, big-tech-news

On Labor (21/9/21):

The Gig Workers Collective is calling on customers to boycott the grocery delivery app Instacart amid what they say are all-time low levels of pay and working conditions after the installation of a new CEO—Fidji Simo—and ahead of Instacart’s anticipated Initial Public Offering (IPO).
Amazon has installed AI-powered surveillance cameras in their delivery trucks that are apparently incapable of distinguishing between genuine mistakes by drivers and incidents that are completely out of their control. Worse, Amazon is penalizing workers for these incidents outside the drivers’ control, and making it impossible for the workers to appeal
A federal district court judge ruled that Amazon would have to face a class action lawsuit for allegedly illegally monitoring its drivers’ Facebook discussions about workplace conditions and unionization efforts.

Tags: labor-news, big-tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, court-news

Payday Report (21/9/21):

Yesterday, IATSE announced that 13 of its California locals representing 60,000 entertainment industry workers plan to hold a strike authorization vote. - The vote comes after the union said it had reached an impasse with its employer, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
Elsewhere in California, the 24,000 members of the United Nurses of California/Union of Healthcare Professionals (UNAC/UCHP) will take a vote to authorize a strike at Kaiser Permanente after several union leaders moved to authorize a vote. Workers say that Kaiser has failed to protect them during the pandemic.

Tags: labor-news, healthcare-news

Just Security (21/9/21): Early Edition:

Two veteran Republican campaign operatives have been charged in a new federal indictment with funneling $25,000 from a Russian national into former President Trump’s 2016 campaign
Agriculture group New Cooperative group was hit by a ransomware attack from Russia-linked ransomware group BlackMatter over the weekend. The attack potentially endangers the operations of a company key to the agricultural supply chain and appears to test President Biden’s terms that Russia-based hacking groups should steer clear of 16 critical sectors of the U.S. economy, which include “food and agriculture.”
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer who was arrested for carrying a gun at Saturday’s “Justice for J6” rightwing rally at the U.S. Capitol will not be prosecuted.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party has one the most seats of any party in Canada’s parliamentary elections, but Trudeau’s gamble to win a majority of seats failed

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, corruption-news, cyber-security-news, food-security-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, electoral-news

Democracy Now (22/9/21): Daily Headlines:

House Dems Pass Bill to Avert Gov’t Shutdown, Raise the Debt Limit, But Fate in Senate Is Precarious
Cori Bush and Elizabeth Warren Intro Eviction Ban Bill as Housing Activists Rally in D.C.
Immigrant Rights Activists Demand Dems and Biden Establish Pathway to Citizenship
Texas Continues Crackdown on Reproductive Rights, Restricting Use of Abortion-Inducing Meds
Bernie Sanders, Healthcare Activists Slam Big Pharma’s Greed as Many Americans Die or Go Untreated
House Dems Unveil Legislation to Rein In Presidential Powers
Trump Campaign Allowed Lawyers to Spew False Election Fraud Claims

Tags: legislation-news, politics-news, protest-news, social-woes-news, progressive-dem-news, gop-shenanigans-news, civil-rights-news, healthcare-news, pharma-news, trump-news

Posted 21 September 2021

Matt Korostoff: Wealth shown to scale (via u/downwind_giftshop on r/socialistprogrammers)

Tags: analysis-news, capitalist-farce-news

Jacobin (18/9/21): Corporations Control Canada’s Infrastructure — But the Major Parties Won’t Confront Them - Despite their election rhetoric, Canadian politicians have been acting in the interests of corporations for decades. We need to confront corporate interests — and in order to do so, we have to recognize how intertwined they are with the Canadian state.

A good piece with a useful analysis!

Tags: analysis-news, indigenous-news, big-oil-news, politics-news, corruption-news, capitalist-farce-news

Common Dreams (19/9/21): Nabisco Strike Ends After Union Members Approve New Contract - "Congratulations to these brave workers on their wins," said one labor writer. "May their determination and grit be an inspiration for workers everywhere."

Tags: labor-news

On Labor (15/9/21): The Teamsters Local Union 362 has filed an application with the Alberta Labour Relations Board to hold a vote to unionize workers in an Amazon facility located in Nisku, an Edmonton suburb. The facility employs between 600 and 800 workers, who will be the first Canadian Amazon employees to hold a unionization vote.

Tags: labor-news, union-news

New York Times (17/9/21): Why Louisiana’s Electric Grid Failed in Hurricane Ida - Much of the state, including New Orleans, lost power for days because many of Entergy’s electrical poles and towers were not built to withstand a major hurricane, energy experts said.

This is an interesting piece, giving example after example of the failures of Entergy (the main power company in the state) and the failures of the state to regulate it. The solutions that NYT cites are... tax incentives, and subsidies to "keep poewr affordable", pursuing "targeted programs that cost effectively reduce the risks to reliability". While spending wisely should be a goal, hopefully you can see the ridiculous neoliberal theater here. Why are we trying to (1) find market solutions to something like energy supply in an area subject to hurricanes, and (2) why are we so ideologically committed to this that we should federally subsidize it? Markets can be efficient and effective at certain things - even from a crude "cost saving/wise spending" perspective - this is clearly not one of them (another obvious failure is the American healthcare system). This bullheaded commitment to a market solution to everything - and that the government should actually subsidize it - is a crystal clear example of neoliberal ideology, and the NYT utterly shying away from making this criticism is a reflection of its own worldview (but this should surprise no one).

Tags: energy-news, capitalist-farce-news, climate-change-news, social-woes-news, media-news

The Guardian (15/9/21): Google workers demand back pay for temps company underpaid for years - More than 140 workers sign petition decrying ‘massive moral failing’ following Guardian revelations

Tags: international-news, labor-news, big-tech-news, capitalist-farce-news

Liberation News (18/9/21): Albuquerque: Elites want $50m for stadium while 100K households face eviction

Tags: social-woes-news, capitalist-farce-news

Speak Out Now (19/9/21): 2008 Again? Chinese Real Estate Colossus Evergrande on the Verge of Collapse

Tags: economic-news, capitalist-farce-news

The Intercept (19/9/21): Public Pensions Are Financing Refresco’s Anti-Union Campaign in New Jersey - Refresco is a subsidiary of PAI Partners, a private equity firm that counts several public pension funds among its investors.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, busting-labor-news

Mother Jones (18/9/21): Biden Decides Haitian Migrants at US-Mexico Border Will Promptly Be Sent Home - The federal government plans on expelling Haitians on five to eight flights a day.

Context: Haiti, already an extremely poor country, is in the wake of a political crisis as their leader was just assassinated, and his unconstitutional hold on power means there is no constitutionally clear path forward. Gangs control swathes of the country, and the nation has just been rocked by an enormous earthquake, plus hurricanes, plus COVID, etc. So they're in about as spot as you can get right now.

Tags: immigrant-news, fail-biden-policy-news, international-news

Ars Technica (18/9/21): Google is getting caught in the antitrust net - One case in Turkey cuts to the heart of the search giant’s power.

Tags: big-tech-news, antitrust-news, international-news

The Moscow Times (18/9/21): Telegram Messenger Blocks Navalny Bot During Russian Election

Tags: tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Salon (17/9/21): Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp keeps mentioning failed AIDS vaccine mandates. But there is no AIDS vaccine - Kemp, a Republican, has repeatedly referenced an AIDS vaccine over the last year. Unfortunately, it doesn't exist

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news

The Hill (17/9/21): Majority of Kentucky school boards vote in favor of mask mandates

Tags: covid-news

U.S. PIRG (20/9/21): Amazon’s outrageous waste practice — and what you can do to stop it - Every year, Amazon destroys unsold and returned products by the millions. It's the pinnacle of unnecessary waste, and it has to stop.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, industrial-failure-news

Ars Technica (20/9/21): Big tech companies snap up smaller rivals at record pace - "Pac-Man" buying spree comes as US regulators look to clamp down on some acquisitions.

Tags: antitrust-news, capitalist-farce-news, big-tech-news

On Labor (20/9/21):

Turning to the labor market, the Washington Post reported yesterday on the exodus of daycare workers and its “ripple effects” on the broader economy. According to the Post, over 10,000 daycare workers quit this summer as the gap between daycare wages—which average just over $12 per hour—and those of other sectors grew too stark to ignore. As the summer draws to a close, childcare employment is still down over 120,000 jobs from its pre-pandemic peak, and more than a third of child-care providers are considering closing down their businesses in the next year. The recent turmoil illustrates the “broken[ness]” of the American approach to childcare.
Looking beyond the United States, Mother Jones investigated working conditions on sugar plantations in the Dominican Republic, cataloging the “high human cost of America’s sugar habit.” The entire article is worth exploring, not least for its striking photojournalism, but one point in particular stands out. As one local priest and worker advocate noted, in these self-contained plantations “[t]he company is the judiciary. They are the police. They are the ones who rule over everyone’s life.” As American employers begin to show renewed interest in “factory towns”, it is worth examining how workers have experienced those settings—both here and abroad.

Tags: labor-news, economic-news, infrastructure-news, capitalist-farce-news

On Labor (19/9/21):

In other news, more than 1,000 HelloFresh factory workers, frustrated with low wages and unsafe working conditions, are launching union drives with UNITE HERE in California and Colorado, according to Vice, and UNITE HERE has already filed a petition with the NLRB asking to authorize a vote in the Aurora, Colorado factory. If the workers vote to unionize, they will be the first to do so in the rapidly growing home-delivery meal kit industry.
On Friday, NLRB lawyers found merit in a union’s claim that grocery store workers have a right to wear items bearing the Black Lives Matter slogan
Finally, looking beyond U.S. borders, international labor and human rights organizations, including the AFL-CIO and other major unions, are calling for FIFA to prioritize human and worker rights during preparations for the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Preparations for the 2022 World Cup, hosted by Qatar, have been harshly criticized for unaddressed allegations of severe abuse – including thousands of deaths – of migrant workers, and serious criticism has been directed at FIFA and other governing bodies for their failure to take remedial action.

Tags: labor-news, international-news

Ars Technica (20/9/21): Nation-state espionage group breaches Alaska Department of Health - Fallout continues from an advanced persistent threat first detected in May 2021.

Tags: cyber-security-news

Al Jazeera (20/9/21): Suit claims BP trader sacked for raising Nigeria bribe concerns - A former oil trader for British energy giant BP is alleging he was fired for voicing concerns about bribes being paid in Nigeria to secure local contracts.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, big-oil-news, international-news, corruption-news

Just Security (20/9/21): Early Edition:

ISIS-K has claimed responsibility for a series of deadly blasts targeting the Taliban in Jalalabad over the weekend
The CIA warned that children were possibly present in the vehicle seconds before the U.S. missile that killed 10 civilians in Kabul was launched, according to sources familiar with the matter
A report from the New York Times on the Panjshir region of Afghanistan, previously a stronghold of resistance against the Taliban, has revealed claims of massacres, ethnic cleansing and false charges from the Taliban
Fewer than 100 right-wing demonstrators attended the “Justice for J6” rally in Washington D.C. on Saturday and were greatly outnumbered by an overwhelming police presence
Haitian officials have asked the U.S. to stop the deportation flights since Haiti is in crisis and cannot handle thousands of homeless deportees.
The Senate parliamentarian on Sunday rejected the Democratic party’s push to include a pathway to legal immigration status in their social spending plan, a blow to the party’s efforts to enact immigration reform.
Russia’s ruling United Russia party, which supports Russian President Vladimir Putin, will retain its majority in parliament after a three-day election, despite losing around one fifth of its support, partial results from today show

Tags: international-news, dark-security-news, fail-biden-policy-news, right-wing-news, immigrant-news, politics-news, legislation-news, electoral-news

Democracy Now (20/9/21): Daily Headlines

Pentagon Admits Drone Strike Killed Afghan Civilians as Victims’ Families Demand Probe
Women and Girls Increasingly Left Out of Education, Public Life in Afghanistan After Taliban Takeover
FDA Panel Says Booster Shots Should Be Offered to People 65+ and High-Risk Patients
CA Firefighters Protect Trees with Foil Blankets as Wildfire Threatens Sequoia National Park
Activists Demand JPMorgan Chase, Citibank and Bank of America Stop Investing in Fossil Fuels

Tags: dark-security-news, fail-biden-policy-news, international-news, covid-news, climate-change-news, protest-news, big-oil-news

Democracy Now (21/9/21): Daily Headlines:

U.S. Border Patrol Agents on Horseback Whip Haitian Asylum Seekers
Biden to Raise U.S. Cap on Refugee Admissions to 125,000 Per Year
U.S. COVID-19 Deaths Surpass Toll of 1918 Flu Pandemic
Wealthy Nations on Track to Waste 100 Million COVID-19 Vaccine Doses This Year
Justin Trudeau Reelected as Canada’s Prime Minister But Doesn’t Win Majority
Man Jailed for Parole Violation Becomes 11th Prisoner to Die at Rikers Jail This Year

Tags: immigrant-news, fail-biden-policy-news, biden-policy-news, covid-news, capitalist-farce-news, electoral-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news

Posted 18 September 2021

RIP Norm Macdonald. Here's a nice clip!

Tags: funny-news

Vox (17/9/21): Apple shut down a voting app in Russia. That should worry everyone. - Critics say Apple is not keeping its promise to hold fast when faced with government pressure. [Google also took down the app, but Apple has interesting other concerns related]

Tags: big-tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, international-news

The Hill (16/9/21): Advocates 'in utter disbelief' after Biden resumes Haitian repatriations

Tags: international-news, fail-biden-policy-news, immigrant-news

The Majority Report (15/9/21): Republicans Humiliated In Monumental California Recall Election Defeat

Tags: electoral-news, gop-shenanigans-news, analysis-news

Wired (17/9/21): A New App Helps Iranians Hide Messages in Plain Sight - Nahoft uses encryption to turn chats into a random jumble of words, and it works even when the internet doesn’t.

Tags: international-news, open-tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

The Intercept (17/9/21): Oil Company Official Overseeing Crackdown on Pipeline Resistance Cut Teeth at Amazon and Exxon - In the small world of corporate security, officials like Enbridge’s Troy Kirby take counterinsurgency practices from one megacompany to another.

Tags: big-oil-news, privatization-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, capitalist-farce-news

Jacobin (15/9/21): Is Mass Entertainment Brainwashing? — Eileen Jones

Tags: media-news, analysis-news

CounterPunch (17/9/21): Railways and Pipelines are Preferable to Nuclear Submarines

I am NOT an advocate for pipelines, but the bigger idea here [infrastructure over military, and the increasing failures of the US in global geopolitics] is useful

Tags: analysis-news, international-news

The Guardian (17/9/21): 'Tragic mistake': Pentagon admits Kabul strike killed 10 civilians – video

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, international-news, security-news

Jacobin (16/9/21): The Greatest Film About Interracial Labor Organizing? [The 194 film "The Killing Floor"]

Tags: history-news, media-news, analysis-news, labor-news

The Majority Report (13/9/21): ‘I Lie On Television’ Tucker Carlson Admits He’s A Lying Liar On Dave Rubin's Show

Tags: media-news, far-right-news

U.S. PIRG (17/9/21): Victory: EPA bans pesticide linked to brain damage in children

Tags: biden-policy-news

Al Jazeera (17/9/21): France recalls US and Australia envoys over submarine deal - France has recalled its ambassadors to US and Australia for consultations – an unprecedented move taken over a submarine deal.

Tags: international-news, fail-biden-policy-news

The Hill (17/9/21): NY governor orders immediate release of 191 inmates from Rikers Island

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news

Beau of the Fifth Column (15/9/21): Let's talk about General Milley's actions....

Tags: analysis-news, capitol-storming-news

New York Times (15/9/21): Philadelphia to Pay $2 Million to Woman Pulled From S.U.V. During Protest - “It’s life-changing money for Rickia and her family,” a lawyer for Rickia Young said. “But what she went through was equally life-changing.”; NBC News (16/9/21): Black woman sues police union over misleading Facebook photo of toddler son - The National Fraternal Order of Police shared a photo of Rickia Young’s son, claiming he was “lost” after Philadelphia police beat her and took the child.

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news

On Labor (16/9/21):

Also on Wednesday, a split three-judge panel for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) does not preempt states from creating protections for workers who refuse to consent to employment arbitration agreements, allowing much of a new California law to take effect. The law in question, Assembly Bill 51, bans employers from conditioning employment on an arbitration agreement or from retaliating against workers who refuses to consent to one.

Tags: court-news, labor-news, legislation-news

Just Security (16/9/21): Early Edition:

China has condemned the agreement [US, UK, Australia partnership "Aukus"] as “extremely irresponsible” and Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said it “seriously undermines regional peace and stability and intensifies the arms race.” [us-policy-news]
The Aukus pact has angered France, which has now lost a deal with Australia to build 12 submarines
President Biden has voiced his support for the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark, saying that he has “great confidence” in Milley’s leadership after being asked about assertions leveled in a new book about Milley’s actions in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol
The Pentagon is directing military service members, civilian employees and contractors to report when they have symptoms of the so-called “Havana syndrome,” according to a memo sent to all military personnel.
A divided federal appeals court has upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit challenging a portion of the National Security Agency’s warrantless surveillance of Americans’ international email and phone communications
A second member of the Oath Keepers group pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiracy charges stemming from his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol
The Afghan man who was killed in a U.S. drone strike last month in Kabul has been praised by his coworkers in a U.S. humanitarian organization
France has said that a French air strike has killed a top Islamic State militant in the Sahel region. Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, the leader of Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, “was neutralized by French forces,” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on Twitter late yesterday [security-news, terrorism-news]
The U.N. Commissioner for Human Rights has called for a moratorium on artificial intelligence (AI) tools that breach human rights, at least until stronger safeguards are in place internationally

Tags: international-news, security-news, politics-news, court-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, militant-far-right-news, fail-biden-policy-news, tech-news

Just Security (17/9/21): Early Edition:

A grand jury has indicted a high-profile lawyer [who worked for the Clinton campaign] on charges that he lied to investigators during the 2016 presidential campaign.
A federal judge has ordered President Biden’s administration to stop turning back families who enter the U.S. illegally from Mexico seeking asylum, under a public-health policy implemented during former President Trump’s administration
Thousands of migrants [9k+, mostly from Haiti] are living in squalid conditions under a bridge in Texas, with the number of migrants at the temporary camp in Del Rio having significantly grown in recent days during a massive surge in migration that has overwhelmed the authorities.
The House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol confirmed yesterday that it is reviewing the actions of Chair of the Joint Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley and other Pentagon officials, following recent reports examining Milley’s manoeuvring during former President Trump’s final days in office.

Tags: court-news, crime-news, immigrant-news, fail-biden-policy-news, international-news, capitol-storming-news

Democracy Now (17/9/21): Daily Headlines:

U.S. Resumes Deportation Flights to Haiti as 10,000 Haitian Asylum Seekers Cross Rio Grande
U.S. Reports 3,400 COVID Deaths in One Day; One-Quarter of ICU Beds Are At or Near Capacity
Biden Calls for Corporations and Super Wealthy to Pay Fair Share of Taxes
Police Put Fence Around Capitol Ahead of Pro-Insurrection Rally
Ohio GOP Rep. Who Voted to Impeach Trump After Jan. 6 Resigns Amid Threats
U.S. Soccer to Offer Same Contract to Women’s and Men’s Teams After Years of Discriminatory Pay

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, immigrant-news, covid-news, healthcare-news, tax-news, legislation-news, politics-news, militant-far-right-news, civil-rights-news

Posted 16 September 2021

The Hill (15/9/21): North Dakota hospital executive: 'We really are in a crisis'

Tags: healthcare-news, covid-news

EFF (15/9/21): Texas’ Social Media Law is Not the Solution to Censorship

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, big-tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, legislation-news

Ars Technica (15/9/21): Anonymous leaks gigabytes of data from alt-right web host Epik - Clients include 8chan, Parler, and Gab, among others.

Tags: cyber-security-news, far-right-news

New York Times (15/9/21): Republicans seek Pennsylvania voters’ personal information as they try to review the 2020 results.

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, censorship-and-surveillance-news, voting-rights-news

The Guardian (15/9/21): Nearly all Fox staffers vaccinated for Covid even as hosts cast doubt on vaccine - More than 90% of Fox Corporation staff inoculated, according to memo announcing daily testing for unvaccinated employees

Tags: media-news, far-right-news, covid-news

The Guardian (15/9/21): US, UK and Australia forge military alliance to counter China - Aukus partnership will enable Australia to have nuclear-powered submarines for the first time

Tags: international-news, security-news

Common Dreams (15/9/21): Big Pharma Secrets Revealed as Group Uncovers Portion of Pfizer Vaccine Recipe - "This leaked contract teaches the world more about how to make mRNA vaccines than anything done by rich countries so far."

Tags: pharma-news, vaccine-ip-news

Open Secrets (15/9/21): Realtors lobbying group embroiled in DOJ antitrust dispute

Just Security (15/9/21): Early Edition:

The chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, twice called his Chinese counterpart in the final months of former President Trump’s administration to reassure him that Trump had no plans to attack China in an effort to remain in power and that the U.S. was not collapsing.
Milley took further secret action to limit Trump from potentially ordering a military strike or launching nuclear weapons, according to “Peril,” including calling a secret meeting in his Pentagon office on Jan. 8 to review the process
The Justice Department has opened an investigations into allegations of unconstitutional and civil rights abuses of prisoners in Georgia
As part of the moves announced yesterday, the Justice Department has also “limited whether and how federal law enforcement officers can use tactics that have been widely criticized for their role in the deaths of Black people at the hands of the local police, including neck restraints like chokeholds and unannounced searches for evidence,”

Tags: security-news, trump-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, biden-policy-news

Democracy Now (16/9/21): Daily Headlines:

1 in 500 U.S. Residents Have Died of COVID-19; FDA Scientists Skeptical of Vaccine Boosters
USA Gymnasts to Senate: FBI Failed to Investigate Reports of Larry Nassar’s Sexual Abuse
Survivor Recounts Walking in on R. Kelly Sexually Assaulting Aaliyah When She Was Just 13 or 14

Tags: covid-news, crime-news

Posted 15 September 2021

Payday Report (13/9/21): This week, over 10,000 John Deere tractor workers from across the United States are voting on whether to strike at ten different facilities. - The company is demanding that workers, who currently pay no health care premiums, pay 20% of the healthcare premiums. In addition, John Deere is asking for an end to overtime pay if they are asked to work more than eight hours in a day. - Results are still coming in, but the largest UAW local of John Deere workers, UAW Local 838 in Waterloo, Iowa, voted to strike by a margin of 99.37%, according to the union’s Facebook page.

Tags: labor-news, capitalist-farce-news

Liberation News (13/9/21): All charges dropped against Denver anti-racist protest leaders

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, labor-news, civil-rights-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

CounterPunch (14/9/21): Tulsi Gabbard Uses 9/11 Anniversary to Spread Islamophobic Message of Hate

Tags: bad-democrat-news, far-right-news

Ars Technica (14/9/21): Big ISPs fight to save exclusive wiring deals that limit choice in apartments - Exclusive deals boost competition by forcing ISPs to install newer wiring, NCTA claims.

Tags: big-tech-news, infrastructure-news, policy-news

Ars Technica (14/9/21): Security researchers at Wiz discover another major Azure vulnerability - A little-known management service handed unauthenticated attackers root access.

Tags: cyber-security-news, big-tech-news

On Labor (14/9/21):

Missouri public employees’ unions continue to struggle against the governor’s office for collective bargaining. In 2018, former Governor Eric Greitens signed a law that gave meager raises in exchange for changing the states’ merit hiring system, effectively reclassifying state workers into at-will employees. Since then, current Governor Mike Parson, who was Greitens’s lieutenant governor, has allowed every single public sector union contract to expire. Last May, Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem ruled that the merit law was unconstitutional and ordered the state to resume good faith bargaining with state unions and for state agencies to begin processing filed grievances that have not been answered during Governor Parson’s term. Now, Governor Parson’s administration has filed an appeal contesting the decision, further delaying any union negotiations. The state employees are principally represented by AFSCME, CWA Local 6355, and SEIU Local 1. Missouri state employees remain some of the lowest paid state employees in the nation, with noncompetitive pay forcing agencies to shut down facilities and services due to staffing problems.
California’s state investigations into Activision Blizzard Inc. and Riot Games Inc. are being viewed as a referendum on the effectiveness of the state’s laws regarding nondisclosure agreements.

Tags: labor-news, gop-shenanigans-news, capitalist-farce-news, civil-rights-news

Business Insider (13/9/21): Facebook quietly lets 5.8 million politicians and celebrities get special enforcement of its rules, report says

Tags: big-tech-news

The Guardian (14/9/21): US charges American mercenary hackers over their work in UAE - Three former US intelligence operatives accused of helping UAE spy on enemies

Tags: international-news, dark-security-news, cyber-security-news

CPJ (14/9/21): CPJ condemns Biden administration bypassing human rights conditions in military aid to EgyptCPJ condemns Biden administration bypassing human rights conditions in military aid to Egypt

Tags: international-news, fail-biden-policy-news

The Guardian (14/9/21): Facebook aware of Instagram’s harmful effect on teenage girls, leak reveals - Social media firm reportedly kept own research secret that suggests app worsens body image issues

Tags: big-tech-news

US News (14/9/21): Feds: NYC Mobsters Shook Down Union With Threats, Extortion - Members of a New York City crime family threatened violence, pressured workers and pocketed phony “pension” payments in a two-decade plot to seize control of a city construction union and its lucrative employee health insurance program, prosecutors alleged in an indictment unsealed Tuesday. (via u/RedditGreenit on r/labor)

Tags: crime-news, union-news, labor-news

Just Security (14/9/21): Early Edition:

The leader of an Illinois anti-government militia group who authorities say masterminded the 2017 bombing of a Minnesota mosque has been sentenced yesterday to 53 years in prison
Iran has come within roughly a month of having enough material to fuel a single nuclear weapon, experts studying new data contained in reports last week by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have said.

Tags: militant-far-right-news, court-news, international-news

Democracy Now (15/9/21): Daily Headlines:

Gov. Gavin Newsom Claims Victory in Right-Wing Recall Effort
Gov’t Pandemic Assistance Led to Drop in U.S. Poverty Rates in 2020
Biden Warns Extreme Weather Is Killing More Americans, Costing Billions Each Year
South and North Korea Both Fire Ballistic Missiles as Tensions Mount on Peninsula
DOJ Seeks to Block Texas’s Near-Total Abortion Ban
Senate Dems Introduce “Freedom to Vote” Act After Making Concessions on Election Protections
“A Humanitarian Crisis”: New York Officials Call Out Horrific Conditions at Rikers

Tags: electoral-news, social-woes-news, climate-change-news, international-news, biden-policy-news, civil-rights-news, voting-rights-news, legislation-news, politics-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news

Posted 14 September 2021

The Hill (13/9/21): DeSantis: Local governments will face $5K fines for imposing vaccine mandates

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, covid-news

The Hill (13/9/21): Trump endorses backer of election fraud claims for Arizona secretary of state

Tags: trump-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Ars Technica (13/9/21): Biden’s FTC pick is a privacy champion who wants limits on facial recognition - Nominee Alvaro Bedoya is a critic of surveillance who calls privacy a civil right.

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, biden-policy-news, antitrust-news, big-tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

The Hill (13/9/21): Wisconsin governor seeks to intervene in redistricting case

Tags: politics-news, voting-rights-news

Vice (13/9/21): Tesla Wanted $22,500 to Replace a Battery. An Independent Repair Shop Fixed It for $5,000 - A repair bill that costs as much as the car itself is a case study in whey we need national right-to-repair legislation.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, right-to-repair-news, big-tech-news

Vice (13/9/21): Proud Boy Shot While Chasing Anti-Fascists as City Fears More Violence - Police noted the Proud Boys are planning to return to Olympia, Washington, on Sept. 18 as a response to the shooting.

Tags: militant-far-right-news

Law and Crime (13/9/21): U.S. Capitol Police Arrest California Man After Finding Machete and Knives Inside Swastika-Strewn Truck Near DNC Headquarters

Tags: militant-far-right-news

On Labor (13/9/21):

The House Ways and Means Committee circulated a proposal that would raise $2.9 trillion in revenue as congressional Democrats continue to debate the scope of their signature spending package, the Washington Post reports. Much of that would come from tax increases on large corporations and wealthy individuals, though the increases are less than those proposed by the White House earlier this year.
Understaffed nursing homes across the country are fraudulently diagnosing residents with schizophrenia in order to sedate them with antipsychotic drugs, a New York Times investigation found.

Tags: tax-news, legislation-news, politics-news, corruption-news

Democracy Now (14/9/21):

Donors Pledge $1.2B in Aid to Afghanistan as U.N. Warns of Looming Humanitarian Catastrophe
1 Million Public School Students Return to New York City Classrooms Despite COVID-19 Surge
Departing FDA Scientists Blast Biden’s Plan for COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters
Pressure Mounts on Germany to Support COVID-19 Patent Waiver as WTO Panel Meets
Public Citizen: Biden Could Share Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Recipe with the World
Hurricane Nicholas Brings Storm Surge and Heavy Rain to Gulf Coast
“Tax the Rich”: Progressives Say House Democrats’ Tax Plan Falls Short
U.S. to Withhold 10% of $1.3 Billion in Military Aid to Egypt, Citing Human Rights
Apple to Patch Software Flaw That Left 1.65 Billion Devices Vulnerable to “Zero-Click” Spyware
Left-Leaning Coalition Wins Landslide Election in Norway After Climate-Focused Campaign

Tags: international-news, covid-news, vaccine-ip-news, fail-biden-policy-news, climate-change-news, tax-news, politics-news, big-tech-news, cyber-security-news

Posted 13 September 2021

ProPublica (12/9/21): Long-Secret FBI Report Reveals New Connections Between 9/11 Hijackers and Saudi Religious Officials in U.S. - “This validates what we have been saying,” says an attorney for families of 9/11 victims who are suing the Saudi government over alleged support of the 2001 terrorist attacks.

Tags: international-news, analysis-news, dark-security-news

Liberation News (12/9/21): Art Institute of Chicago workers rally in support of forming a union

Tags: labor-news

Vice (8/9/21): 'It's Almost Comical:' Starbucks Is Blatantly Trying to Crush Its Union - Starbucks executives have swarmed Buffalo, New York stores, pulling aside workers to chat one-on-one during their breaks, at peak hours, and at night. (via u/soup2nuts on r/labor)

Tags: busting-labor-news, capitalist-farce-news

On Labor (12/9/21):

Six U.S. senators, including Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), have called on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to investigate allegations that Amazon.com Inc. fails to make adequate provisions for pregnant employees at its warehouses, citing “what appears to be a concerning pattern of mistreatment of pregnant employees at Amazon fulfillment centers.”
In other news, over ten thousand production and warehouse workers across nine UAW locals at John Deere in Kansas in Iowa will vote this week on whether to authorize a strike. As Jonah Furman reported for Labor Notes, workers may have an edge since the company is apparently struggling to find enough workers to hire, and the seasonal timing of a potential strike comes just as farmers look to buy new equipment after harvest.
Lastly, Jonathan R. Harkavy, who has taught labor and employment law at Wake Forest School of Law and corporate finance at Duke Law School and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law and has served as a visiting research fellow in the Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard Law School, has released his annual extended commentary on every labor and employment law decision rendered by the U.S. Supreme Court during its most recent term

Tags: court-news, analysis-news, labor-news, capitalist-farce-news

Common Dreams (12/9/21): Manchin's Obstruction of Build Back Better Act Is 'Absolutely Not Acceptable,' Says Sanders - "Many of us made a major compromise in going from the $6 trillion bill that we wanted" to the proposed $3.5 trillion package, said Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Tags: bad-democrat-news, progressive-dem-news, infrastructure-news, legislation-news, politics-news

Democracy Now (13/9/21): Daily Headlines:

U.S. Marks 20th Anniversary of 9/11 Attacks
Capitol Police Want to Reinstall Fencing Ahead of Far-Right “Justice for J6” Rally
Global Witness: Record Number of Environmental Activists Killed in 2020
Iran and U.N. Atomic Watchdog Reach Deal to Resume Monitoring of Nuclear Sites

Tags: history-news, militant-far-right-news, climate-change-news, indigenous-news, protest-news

Posted 12 September 2021

The Rational National (10/9/21): Unearthed Joe Manchin Clip Proves He's Full Of Crap

Tags: bad-democrat-news, infrastructure-news, legislation-news, politics-news

Law and Crime (11/9/21): Republican Judge Dies by Suicide Before FBI Could Arrest Him for Allegedly Using Hidden Camera to Sexually Exploit Children

Tags: crime-news, gop-shenanigans-news

The Guardian (11/9/21): US drone strike mistakenly targeted Afghan aid worker, investigation finds - Zemari Ahmadi, who died alongside nine others had no connection to terrorism, a New York Times investigation suggested

Tags: international-news, dark-security-news

Law and Crime (11/9/21): Texas Man Attacked Couple, Killed a Lawyer Because Victims Voted for Biden and Mocked Trump: Police

Tags: militant-far-right-news, crime-news

Jacobin (11/9/21): The Bush Administration Turned the War on Terror Into a War for Oil - Respectable pundits and politicians scoffed at the antiwar demonstrators who tried to stop the invasion of Iraq. But the slogan they raised, “No blood for oil,” captured the truth about Bush’s war drive.

Tags: international-news, corruption-news, dark-security-news, big-oil-news

Jacobin (11/9/21): 9/11 Was a Disaster for the People of Iraq - The Bush administration was already planning to invade Iraq before 9/11, but the attacks supplied the necessary pretext. The catastrophic war that followed turned Iraq into an ungovernable wasteland.

Tags: big-oil-news, dark-security-news, international-news

Vox (11/9/21): 20 years, $6 trillion, 900,000 lives - The enormous costs and elusive benefits of the war on terror.

Tags: analysis-news, international-news, security-news

Mother Jones (10/9/21): California to Become First State to Ban Nonconsensual Condom Removal—or “Stealthing - A new law would empower survivors to sue in civil court.

Tags: legislation-news, civil-rights-news

New York Times (10/9/21): U.S. Forces Were Training the Guinean Soldiers Who Took Off to Stage a Coup - American military officials have denounced the ouster of a president in West Africa, and said they had no warning of what their students were planning.

Tags: international-news, dark-security-news

Ars Technica (10/9/21): Report: Google has illegally underpaid thousands of temp workers since 2019 - The Guardian says Google knew about wage theft in 2019 and opted for a cover-up.

Tags: big-tech-news, labor-news, capitalist-farce-news

The Intercept (11/9/21): 9/11 and the Saudi Connection - Mounting evidence supports allegations that Saudi Arabia helped fund the 9/11 attacks.

Related: Al Jazeera (11/9/21): FBI releases newly declassified record on September 11 attacks - Document describes contacts the hijackers had with Saudi associates in the US but offers no evidence the Saudi government was complicit in the plot.

Tags: international-news, dark-security-news

Posted 11 September 2021

On Labor (10/9/21):

Unions have expressed mixed opinions about the vaccine mandate. As the new AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler put it, “I’ll be honest with you, our unions are in different places.”
On Wednesday, a draft portion of the Democrats’ budget bill was released that would impose new civil penalties or raise existing penalties for violations of labor and employment laws. For example, the proposal would increase penalties for OSHA violations ten-fold, and augment FLSA penalties by even more
On Wednesday, the California State Senate passed a bill that will outlaw employer-mandated production quotas for employees that prevent workers from using the bathroom or taking state-mandated breaks. The bill, supported by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, was drafted to combat the high levels of injuries at Amazon warehouses.
On Tuesday, OSHA received a complaint from the Sacramento City Teachers Association accusing the district of mishandling a COVID-19 outbreak by prompting employees, including an unvaccinated teacher, to show up to work even when they had symptoms associated with COVID-19 or had been exposed to COVID-19 at work. Additionally, the complaint alleges that after a number of custodians tested positive, the school operated with less janitorial staff and thus was unable to adequately keep classrooms sanitized. The union further stated that the district failed to properly implement contract tracing measures, such as when a teacher tested positive but was not contacted by the district about contact tracing whatsoever.

Tags: union-news, covid-news, biden-policy-news, legislation-news

The Guardian (10/9/21): Declassified documents show Australia assisted CIA in coup against Chile’s Salvador Allende - Former Liberal PM Billy McMahon approved spy agency request to conduct covert operations in Chile, a move later overturned by Gough Whitlam

history-news

Tags: international-news, history-news, dark-security-news

ZDNet (10/9/21): Healthcare orgs in California, Arizona send out breach letters for nearly 150,000 after SSNs accessed during ransomware attacks - LifeLong Medical Care and Queen Creek Medical Center were both hit with ransomware attacks over the past year

Tags: cyber-security-news, healthcare-news

New York Times (10/9/21): Facebook sent flawed data to misinformation researchers.

Tags: big-tech-news, science-news

The Guardian (10/9/21): Prince Andrew served with lawsuit from Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre - A US court document showed paperwork was filed at Royal Lodge and a response is due by 17 September

Tags: epstein-news, crime-news

The American Prospect (10/9/21): Voting Rights and Labor Rights: The Two Sleepers in Budget Reconciliation

Tags: voting-rights-news, legislation-news, labor-news

Vox (10/9/21): Epic’s win over Apple is actually an Apple victory - Epic Games may have won a small battle in the Epic-Apple trial, but Apple won the war

Tags: big-tech-news, antitrust-news

The Hill (10/9/21): Oklahoma Gov. Stitt holds ceremonial signing for 9 abortion bills

Tags: civil-rights-news, gop-shenanigans-news

EFF (10/9/21): Geofence Warrants Threaten Civil Liberties and Free Speech Rights in Kenosha and Nationwide

Tags: big-tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

New York Times (10/9/21): Washington allocated $46 billion to help prevent an eviction crisis. What went wrong?

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, fail-trump-news, social-woes-news

The Moscow Times (10/9/21): Russia Says Divisive Nord Stream 2 Pipeline Complete [russia-policy-news]

Tags: international-news

Just Security (10/9/21): Early Edition:

A federal judge in Tennessee has acquitted a professor who had been accused of hiding his China ties when applying for research grants to work on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) project, saying the U.S. government hadn’t proven its case
Women and non-white Air Force and Space Force members face different treatment than their white, male counterparts in receiving promotions, educational and leadership opportunities and disciplinary action ... as well as finding that one out of every three women in the services reported experiencing sexual harassment while in the military.
An audio of a conservation obtained by Reuters shows the chair of the Proud Boys telling members of the group in a private audio message that they should avoid turning on one another
The U.N. has confirmed that unidentified hackers breached its computer systems in April and that the U.N. has had off fend off related hacks in months since.

Tags: international-news, court-news, civil-rights-news, militant-far-right-news, cyber-security-news

Posted 10 September 2021

New York Times (9/9/21): F.D.A. Delays Decision on Juul’s E-Cigarettes but Orders Others Off the Market - The agency had faced a Sept. 9 deadline to decide whether the products could stay on the market but said it needed more time to review evidence.

Tags: biden-policy-news

Law and Crime (9/9/21): Federal Judge in Florida Blocks ‘Riot’ Definition in Law Backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, Likens Measure to Backlash Against ‘Freedom Rides’ in Segregated South

Tags: court-news, gop-shenanigans-news, protest-news

Ars Technica (9/9/21): With COVID out of control, Biden unveils hefty vaccine mandates - Mandates will cover millions of federal workers, health workers, private employees.

The administration is also working on a rule—to be implemented through the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration—that will require employers with 100 or more workers to ensure that their workforce is fully vaccinated or submits to regular COVID-19 testing. The rule is expected to apply to over 80 million employees nationwide. OSHA is also working on a separate rule that will require those employers to provide paid time off to get vaccinated.

Tags: biden-policy-news, covid-news

The Guardian (9/9/21): Biden administration sues Texas for 'unconstitutional' abortion law – video

Tags: biden-policy-news, gop-shenanigans-news, civil-rights-news

Law and Crime (9/9/21): Florida Man Told Victims He Was ‘the Cops for God’ Hours Before He Massacred Family, ‘Tortured’ 11-Year-Old Over Sex Trafficking Delusion: Sheriff

Tags: crime-news

The Revolving Door Project (9/9/21): Northwestern University Must Change Ethics Regime To Disclose Professors' Big Tech Ties, Letter Argues

Tags: corruption-news

The Revolving Door Project (9/9/21): Nominating Utility And Oil Crony Brings Frustrating End To #HotFERCSummer

Tags: big-oil-news, corruption-news, fail-biden-policy-news

ZDNet (9/9/21): Virginia National Guard confirms cyberattack hit Virginia Defense Force email accounts - A spokesperson said there was no impact on the Virginia Army National Guard or Virginia Air National Guard IT infrastructure.

Tags: cyber-security-news

Ars Technica (8/9/21): WhatsApp “end-to-end encrypted” messages aren’t that private after all - Millions of WhatsApp messages are reviewed by both AI and human moderators.

A nice summary/commentary on the recently published ProPublica report on the issue (see yesterday's coverage)

Although nothing indicates that Facebook currently collects user messages without manual intervention by the recipient, it's worth pointing out that there is no technical reason it could not do so. The security of "end-to-end" encryption depends on the endpoints themselves—and in the case of a mobile messaging application, that includes the application and its users.
Although WhatsApp's "end-to-end" encryption of message contents can only be subverted by the sender or recipient devices themselves, a wealth of metadata associated with those messages is visible to Facebook—and to law enforcement authorities or others that Facebook decides to share it with—with no such caveat.

Tags: big-tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

The Hill (8/9/21): LAPD directed to monitor social media information of every civilian they interview

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

The Hill (8/9/21): Over 100,000 without power in Michigan after storm

Tags: energy-news

On Labor (9/9/21):

Uber and Lyft have continued their national push to cement the status of their drivers as independent contractors rather than employees. In conjunction with Postmates and Instacart, the companies previously spent $205 million in California to successfully support an initiative to make those gig workers into contractors with some benefits. Now, they have moved their ambitions to the State of Massachusetts in an attempt to place a similar initiative on the ballot for voters
Google has settled with an employee on whose behalf the NLRB accused the company of firing him over his activism last year. The NLRB approved the settlement earlier this July, but its finality was only revealed yesterday by a Freedom of Information Act request.
AT&T and the Communications Workers of America agreed yesterday to settle a lawsuit between them, resulting in the preservation of 29,000 landline technical jobs until the end of 2023. Not only did the settlement result in job preservation, it also included a commitment by AT&T to hire 6,000 more customer service workers and make Martin Luther King Jr. Day a holiday for all union members.

Tags: labor-news, legislation-news, capitalist-farce-news

EFF (8/9/21): EFF to Court: FOIA Requires ICE to Release Arrest and Deportation Database Records With Privacy Protections

Tags: court-news, censorship-and-surveillance-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news

Vice (9/9/21): Cop Was Instructed to Use Music to Disrupt Filming - Police are playing copyrighted music while being filmed to prevent activists from uploading the video; one in Illinois says he was "advised" to do so.

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, big-tech-news

Just Security (9/9/21): Early Edition:

President Biden’s administration has told 11 officials appointed to military service academy advisory boards by former President Trump to resign or be dismissed. “The officials asked to resign include prominent former Trump officials like former White House press secretary Sean Spicer, former senior counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway and former national security adviser H.R. McMaster
Khalifa Haftar, a Russian-backed warlord vying for power in Libya, has hired Lanny Davis, an ex-senior aide to former President Clinton, and former Republican lawmaker Robert Livingston to lead a $1 million effort to lobby President Biden’s administration for support, documents show
Former President Trump’s White House asked the Pentagon to play down and delay reports of brain injuries suffered by U.S. troops from an Iranian missile attack on Iraq last year, according to Alyssa Farah , a former defense spokesperson.
A U.N. panel has said that at least 18,000 Yemeni civilians have been killed or wounded by airstrikes since the country’s war escalated in 2015

Tags: trump-news, biden-policy-news, corruption-news, international-news, dark-security-news

Democracy Now (10/9/21): Daily Headlines:

Biden Admin Extends TPS for 400,000 People Through 2022
Whistleblower Details Abuse of Migrant Children at Fort Bliss Base in Texas
Biden Withdraws Gun Control Advocate as ATF Nominee, Names Ally to Big Polluters for Key Energy Post (more on the Energy Post above from Revolving Door Project)
EPA Seeks Permanent Block on Pebble Mine Project in Alaska’s Bristol Bay
Harvard Divests from Fossil Fuels After Years-Long Student Campaign

Tags: biden-policy-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, immigrant-news, fail-biden-policy-news, climate-change-news, big-oil-news, protest-news

Posted 9 September 2021

The Intercept (7/9/21): Heather Bresch, Joe Manchin’s Daughter, Played Direct Part in EpiPen Price Inflation Scandal - A new email shows the former Mylan CEO worked with her counterpart at Pfizer to corner the market and keep costs up.

Tags: corruption-news, capitalist-farce-news, antitrust-news, pharma-news, healthcare-news, bad-democrat-news

Vice News (8/9/21): The ‘Pirate Bay of Science’ Adds 2 Million New Journal Articles - Sci-Hub, a website dedicated to free access of scientific articles, has updated for the first time in a year.

Tags: open-tech-news, science-news

On Labor (8/9/21):

As the corporate-funded effort to recall California Governor Gavin Newsom heads into its final stretch (the election date, September 14, is now less than one week away), CNN reports that Newsom has increasingly relied on labor unions and union workers to propel his campaign in its waning days.
In 2018, Newsom rode a wave of support from organized labor into the governorship, but he took some blistering heat from major unions early in his tenure
Speaking of Congressional Democrats and their ‘big, bold’ budget blueprint, which would radically expand the nation’s social safety net and reduce economic inequality, conservative Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced last Thursday in a Wall-Street Journal opinion piece that he “won’t support a $3.5 trillion bill, or anywhere near that level of additional spending, without greater clarity about why Congress chooses to ignore the serious effects inflation and debt have on existing government programs,” calling for his fellow Democratic lawmakers to “hit a strategic pause” on the legislation.
Even if one were to accept the premise that trillions of dollars in additional federal spending might trigger an inflationary spiral, a proposition that many smart people reject, Manchin seems to ignore the fact that the budget plan, as written, will not add $3.5 trillion to the national debt. In fact, Democratic lawmakers have repeatedly affirmed that they will pay for the entire bill through tax hikes on the rich, and, in any event, the blueprint that the Senate already passed would only allow them to add about half of the overall cost of the budget package to the national debt.
As Alabama suffers another deadly surge of the coronavirus and the state’s ICUs are experiencing a shortage of beds, nearly two dozen emergency room night-shift nurses at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital refused to work on Labor Day, protesting low wages and difficult working conditions.
In birthday news, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) turns 80 today. Senator Sanders, an Independent from Vermont, is, as noted above, the current chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, and a former Mayor of Burlington.
Finally, we end the day with a dash of optimism. Axios reported on Monday that labor unions currently represent a larger percentage of U.S. based workers that at any time in the past five years, likely explained by the tsunami of pandemic-induced furloughs and discharges, which disproportionately impacted nonunion workers more than union workers, showcasing the power of labor unions to protect their members even amidst a lethal pandemic.

Tags: electoral-news, union-news, labor-news, legislation-news, bad-democrat-news, progressive-dem-news, economic-news, tax-news

The Hill (7/9/21): South Dakota governor issues executive order restricting access to abortion medicine

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, civil-rights-news

The Intercept (8/9/21): Press Freedom Bill Would Protect Journalists Facing Persecution — but Not Julian Assange - Senators say they want to protect foreign journalists from government aggression. But what happens when the U.S. is the aggressor?

Tags: media-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Law and Crime (8/9/21): W. Va. Mayor Faces Felony and Misdemeanor Charges After He and Accomplice Allegedly Stole Weapons from a Home Where a Bed Was Found Soaked in Urine

Tags: crime-news

Just Security (8/9/21): Early Edition:

Lawmakers and law enforcement agencies are bracing for potential security threats on Sept. 18 at the “Justice for J6” rally in support of the more than 570 people charged with crimes related to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
The House Ethics Committee confirmed yesterday that it is reviewing whether Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) violated ethics rules and federal law after two ethics complaints were filed against the lawmaker earlier this year following a report by Business Insider that he failed to disclose stock transactions worth at least $671,000 in violation of a federal law designed to prevent insider trading by members of Congress, and an Associated Press report that Malinowski bought or sold as much as $1 million of stock in medical and tech companies with a stake in the handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
U.S. authorities are investigating whether payments by Raytheon Technologies Corp. to a Qatar Armed Forces contractor may have been bribes intended for a member of the country’s ruling royal family,

Tags: dark-security-news, corruption-news, capitalist-farce-news, capitol-storming-news, far-right-news, bad-democrat-news

Democracy Now (9/9/21): Daily Headlines:

WHO Calls for Halt to COVID Booster Shots in 2021, Says Vaccines Should Go to Poorer Countries
COVAX Cuts 2021 Vaccine Forecast; Australia Joins Call for Waiver on Vaccine Patents
Los Angeles Schools Poised to Require Vaccinations for Students 12 and Older
Human Rights Campaign President Fired in Latest Fallout from Cuomo Sexual Harassment Probe
Virginia Removes Statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee
Ida’s Death Toll Hits 82 as Hundreds of Thousands Remain Without Power in South
Biden Admin Aims to Boost U.S. Solar Output to 45% of All Energy Use by 2050
Indigenous Activists Lead Months-Long Campaign to Protect Vancouver Island’s Ancient Forests

Tags: covid-news, vaccine-ip-news, cuomo-news, bad-democrat-news, climate-change-news, biden-policy-news, energy-news, indigenous-news, protest-news

Posted 8 September 2021

Al Jazeera (7/9/21): US academic conference on ‘Hindutva’ targeted by Hindu groups - ‘Dismantling Global Hindutva’ organisers and speakers face harassment and intimidation by Hindu right-wing groups in the US and India.

Tags: far-right-news

ProPublica (7/9/21): How Facebook Undermines Privacy Protections for Its 2 Billion WhatsApp Users - WhatsApp assures users that no one can see their messages — but the company has an extensive monitoring operation and regularly shares personal information with prosecutors.

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news, big-tech-news

ZDNet (7/9/21): ProtonMail CEO says services must comply with laws unless based 15 miles offshore - After ProtoMail gave a climate activist's IP address to French authorities under court order, the individual was identified and arrested shortly after.

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news, tech-news

The Guardian (7/9/21): The Taliban are showing us the dangers of personal data falling into the wrong hands - Digital ID systems are a powerful development tool, providing a legal identity to millions, but their misuse can be deadly

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news, tech-news, international-news

Democracy Now (3/9/21): “On the Kill Floors”: Essential Workers in Meatpacking Plants Still Lack Safety & COVID Protections

Tags: labor-news, covid-news

The Hill (7/9/21): Ford halts Mustang production in Michigan after gas leaks into sewer system

Tags: industrial-failure-news

Law and Crime (7/9/21): ‘Predatory Enterprise of Perversion’: Lawsuit Claims Prominent GOP Donor Was ‘Sexual Ringmaster’ of Child Sex Trafficking Ring

Tags: crime-news, gop-shenanigans-news

ZDNet (7/9/21): Howard University announces ransomware attack, shuts down classes on Tuesday - The prominent HBCU was forced to cancel classes on Tuesday after a ransomware attack on September 3.

Tags: cyber-security-news

Democracy Now (8/9/21): Daily Headlines:

75% of U.S. Adults Partially Vaccinated; Quarter of New Cases Are Children Amid Delta Surge
9/11 Suspects Return to Court After Pandemic Delay, But Trial Won’t Start Until at Least 2022

Tags: covid-news, crime-news

Posted 7 September 2021

The Hill (6/9/21): Fewer than 50 percent of West Virginians think 2020 election was legitimate: poll

Tags: electoral-news

The Black Wall Street Times (6/9/21): Minnesota State Patrol purged messages after Floyd protests

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news

The Guardian (6/9/21): Hurricane Ida: nearly 350 reported oil spills investigated in Gulf – Coast Guard - Storm wreaked havoc on offshore oil production platforms and onshore oil and gas processing plants

Tags: climate-change-news, industrial-failure-news, big-oil-news

The Hill (6/9/21): Three new wild fires ignite in California as Caldor fire slows

Tags: climate-change-news

The American Prospect (6/9/21): Timeline: How Corporate America Has Helped Decimate Unions - The declining bargaining power of unions contributes to the crisis of extreme income inequality in the United States.

Tags: busting-labor-news, history-news

On Labor (6/9/21): Today is Labor Day in the United States. And, as on every Labor Day, it is worth pausing to note the oddity—and the irony—of the United States celebrating the holiday on the first Monday in September, rather than the first day of May.

Tags: labor-news, history-news

Democracy Now (7/9/21): Daily Headlines:

Jobless Benefits for Millions Expire on Labor Day After Congress and White House Fail to Act
Over 1,000 U.S. Schools Cancel In-Person Classes Due to COVID-19
Hundreds of Thousands Lack Electricity More Than a Week After Hurricane Ida
Weather Disasters Struck Counties Home to One in Three U.S. Residents This Summer
Rep. Ilhan Omar Leads “The Squad” in Protests Against Enbridge Line 3 Pipeline
Hundreds of Detroit-Area Families Urged to Evacuate Homes Near Gasoline Spill [more to be posted tomorrow]
Ex-Marine Sniper Who Fought in Iraq and Afghanistan Kills Four in Their Florida Home

Tags: social-woes-news, labor-news, covid-news, energy-news, climate-change-news, protest-news, big-oil-news, industrial-failure-news, crime-news, progressive-dem-news

Posted 6 September 2021

Who Gets the Bird (3/9/21):

A federal judge in Boston has ruled against the Department of Labor, which attempted to bar a man convicted in 2009 of a drug trafficking felony from serving as a shop steward. People convicted of certain crimes are barred from holding union office for 13 years as a holdover from the 1959 LMRDA, which was obviously intended to root out corrupt officials, not block people with unrelated felonies from serving in their union, especially as shop stewards.
A Spokane (WA) County judge has ruled that a law passed by referendum mandating open bargaining with public employees unions is unconstitutional.
AFSCME is gathering testimony from members for a class-action suit against Oregon Health & Science University in Portland for racist treatment of minority and non-native-born workers.
The Texas legislature has advanced a bill to give a one-time $2400 check to the state’s K-12 retirees. Which sounds nice but actually isn’t, considering the alternative proposal was a cost-of-living increase across the board, and retirees haven’t seen a bump in 8 years, as cost of living continues to rise.

Tags: court-news, labor-news, gop-shenanigans-news

The Guardian (4/9/21): Louisiana Shell refinery left spewing chemicals after Hurricane Ida - Power outages from the storm have left air quality tracking systems out of commission, making public health concern hard to gauge

Tags: industrial-failure-news, climate-change-news

Liberation News (3/9/21): “Nabisco wants to take everything away from us”: Striking workers hold strong in Virginia

Tags: labor-news

The Hill (3/9/21): Elder pledges to replace Feinstein with Republican if he wins California recall election

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news

The Hill (5/9/21): Kentucky governor says COVID-19 situation is 'dire'

Tags: covid-news

The Majority Report (4/9/21): How The Bush Administration Turned Afghanistan Into A Slush Fund

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, international-news, corruption-news

The Majority Report (4/9/21): An Unemployment Benefits Disaster Is Coming

Tags: social-woes-news, economic-news

On Labor (5/9/21): Weekend Edition (my emphasis):

This weekend, an estimated 8.9 million workers and their families will lose federal unemployment benefits entirely, and more than 2 million more will have their weekly checks reduced by $300 per week, as two key federal unemployment programs expire.
While the decision to discontinue the enhanced benefits in September may have been somewhat sensical, at least theoretically, when made in March – an optimistic point at which the three FDA-approved vaccines were being introduced to the general public, cases were falling, and unemployment numbers were improving – it makes little sense now that the Delta variant has substantially disrupted both our economic and social recovery
Moreover, after last week’s Supreme Court ruling overturning the C.D.C.’s extension, the federal eviction moratorium has also expired, putting 11 million renters at risk of eviction nationwide. Allowing the enhanced benefits to expire now, amid an ongoing (and resurging) public health and economic crisis, does not make sense on an ethical, practical, or even political level.
Moreover, there is little evidence that the cessation of the enhanced benefits will provoke job growth or improve economic recovery by ending the labor shortage.

Tags: labor-news, social-woes-news, economic-news, covid-news

The Economist World This Week (4/9/21):

Scientists in South Africa identified a new variant of covid-19 that seems to have mutated more rapidly than existing variants and spread to seven other countries in Africa, Europe and Asia. The variant appears to have changes associated with increased transmission and greater resistance to antibodies, but it is not clear whether it spreads more rapidly or evades the immune response generated by vaccines.

Tags: covid-news, international-news

Posted 4 September 2021

Labor Notes (3/9/21): While Many in New York Stayed Dry and Safe, Immigrant Gig Workers Braved a Deluge

Tags: immigrant-news, labor-news, climate-change-news

EFF (3/9/21): Without Changes, Council of Europe’s Draft Police Surveillance Treaty is a Pernicious Influence on Latam Legal Privacy Frameworks

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news, policy-news

Vice (3/9/21): An Anti-Masker Just Tried to Zip-Tie a School Principal Over COVID Rules - His kids don't even go to her school.

Tags: covid-news, crime-news

The Nation (3/9/21): The Staggering Costs of Sexual Harassment - Settlements offer a semblance of justice, but they don’t make victims of sexual harassment whole.

Tags: labor-news, civil-rights-news

EFF (3/9/21): Delays Aren't Good Enough—Apple Must Abandon Its Surveillance Plans

Tags: big-tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

The Nation (3/9/21): There Is No Greater Threat to Worker Rights Than This Republican Party - Despite what it says, the GOP is the party of capital, not labor.

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, labor-news

On Labor (3/9/21):

Tags: union-news

A new piece by Vice details how the Teamsters Union has thwarted Amazon’s expansion efforts nationwide despite recent failures by the movement to unionize the Bessemer, Alabama Amazon warehouse earlier this year.

Al Jazeera (3/9/21): Former US Cardinal McCarrick pleads not guilty to sexual abuse - Theordore McCarrick, once an influential Roman Catholic cardinal, is the only US cardinal to be charged with child sex crimes.

Tags: crime-news

The Hill (3/9/21): Charlotte Observer calls for GOP to censure Cawthorn over 'bloodshed' remark

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news

Jacobin (2/9/21): Canadian Postal Workers Are Showing Us What Class-Struggle Unionism Looks Like - From fighting contract concessions to making common-good demands like postal banking and public broadband, Canadian postal workers’ fighting unionism should be an inspiration to USPS workers.

Tags: union-news, labor-news

Just Security (3/9/21): Early Edition:

A family member of the Afghan civilians killed during U.S. drone strikes on Sunday has insisted that despite U.S. claims to the contrary, there were no explosives in the car targeted by the drone but that there were children in it, contending that if there was explosive the damage caused to the car’s surroundings would have been much worse.
Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines made the “very rare” decision to intervene in a civil case last week brought by a state-owned Saudi holding company Sakab against former Saudi counterterrorism official Saad Aljabri, invoking the well-established but rarely used state secrets privilege to halt classified information from coming out that could cause “exceptionally grave” harm to U.S. national security, with Attorney General Merrick Garland signing off on the privilege
British born former Islamic State (IS) member Alexanda Kotey, accused of belonging to an IS cell called “The Beatles,” has pleaded guilty in a U.S. court to charges of kidnap and murder of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and American aid worker Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller
National Public Radio on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against two Maryland judges, claiming a state ban on the broadcasting of “lawfully-obtained official court recordings” is unconstitutional under the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

Tags: international-news, dark-security-news, crime-news, court-news, civil-rights-news

Posted 3 September 2021

Vox (2/9/21): The staggering implications of the Supreme Court’s Texas anti-abortion ruling - The Supreme Court just dealt a crippling blow to Roe v. Wade — and to the rule of law.

Tags: court-news, civil-rights-news

EFF (1/9/21): Victory! Federal Trade Commission Bans Stalkerware Company from Conducting Business

Tags: biden-policy-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Jacobin (2/9/21): America’s Housing Crisis Is About to Get Much, Much Worse - The Supreme Court has chosen to side with landlords over the millions of renters on the edge of eviction. The tidal wave of pain that will soon descend on the nation is hard to comprehend.

Tags: social-woes-news, court-news

The American Prospect (2/9/21): How Ron Wyden Wants to Weaken Taxes on Multinationals - His proposal keeps Trump loopholes and bears the fingerprints of corporate lobbyists.

Tags: bad-democrat-news, tax-news

The American Prospect (2/9/21): When a Financial Regulator Acts Like a Concierge - The Commodity Futures Trading Commission honored a banking industry request in a matter of days.

Tags: bad-democrat-news, fail-biden-policy-news, corruption-news

The Majority Report (2/9/21): Don’t Believe ‘Social Security Is Running Out’ Scare Tactics

Tags: economic-news, politics-news

The American Prospect (2/9/21): Why Pfizer’s Friends Want Biden to Intervene in Brazil - The pharma giant is trying to squash a bill that would expand vaccine access.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, vaccine-ip-news, international-news

Jacobin (2/9/21): Chicago Is Being Amazonified - Chicago recently made headlines for turning public parks space over to Amazon package lockers. But those lockers are only one example of Amazon and public officials using public-private “partnerships” to give away public resources and harm communities.

Tags: privatization-news

Ars Technica (2/9/21): WhatsApp fined $267M for not telling users how it shared data with Facebook - Ireland levies fine for GDPR abuses after pressure from other European countries.

Tags: cyber-security-news, big-tech-news, international-news

The Intercept (2/9/21): Hurricane Ida Makes a Mockery of Big Oil’s Philanthropy - During Hurricane Ida, energy companies briefly paused efforts to claim credit for combating the problems they’ve caused.

Tags: big-oil-news, capitalist-farce-news, climate-change-news

On Labor (2/9/21):

Bad news: Yesterday, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healy announced that rideshare companies could move forward with their proposed state ballot measure to exempt their drivers from employment law protections.
Two major pieces of workers’ rights legislation stand on the cusp of passage in California in the coming days. On Tuesday, State Senator Connie Leyva’s S.B. 331, which would ban the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to prohibit ex-employees’ discussion of discrimination and harassment in the workplace, cleared the upper chamber for the second time after accepting amendments from the Assembly. ... At the same time, legislation designed to crack down on unsafe working conditions at Amazon warehouses is expected to come before the State Senate within the next week.

Tags: legislation-news, busting-labor-news

Just Security (2/9/21): Early Edition:

Thousands of Afghan evacuees being brought to the U.S. will arrive without visas as “humanitarian parolees,” lacking a path to legal U.S. residency as well as the benefits and services offered to traditional refugees
The head of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis, John Cohen, warned during a call with local and state law enforcement officials that White supremacist and other violent extremist groups have been “framing the activities of the Taliban as a success,”
In responding to the 9/11 attack, the U.S. will have spent $5.8tn waging war in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and Syria by the end of next year, according to updated figures from the Costs of War Project at Brown University.
The U.S. will help build a new facility for border guards in Tajikistan along the frontier with Afghanistan and Uzbekistan to better respond to security threats,
Far-right extremist groups, including members of Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, are planning to attend a rally at the Capitol on Sep. 18 to demand “justice” for the hundreds of people charged, and sometimes detained, for their involvement in Jan. 6
The committee also voted 35-24 to adopt an amendment from Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) to expand registration for the Selective Service System to include women,
The panel introduced an amendment to the NDAA that would prohibit National Guard deployments between states from being financed by private or nongovernmental grant donations unless it was used for emergency or disaster relief.
Israeli foreign minister Yair Lapid on Wednesday said Biden’s plan to reopen a consulate in Jerusalem is a “bad idea,” arguing that such a move could destabilize Israel’s new government under Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.

Tags: international-news, immigrant-news, security-news, militant-far-right-news, privatization-news

Democracy Now (3/9/21): Daily Headlines:

Ida’s Death Toll Soars After Record Rains Flood Northeastern States [to 46, and 16 in the Gulf Coast]
Aerial Photos Show Oil and Chemical Spills Spawned by Hurricane Ida
Over 15 Million COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Have Gone to Waste in the United States
Democrats Ready Reproductive Rights Bill After SCOTUS Refuses to Halt Texas Ban on Most Abortions
7.5 Million U.S. Residents to Lose Jobless Benefits, with Millions Bracing for Cuts in Aid
Sen. Joe Manchin Demands “Pause” on $3.5 Trillion Spending Bill, Enraging Fellow Democrats
EPA Study Finds Climate Crisis Will Impact Communities of Color the Hardest
Court Orders Biden Administration to Stop Turning Asylum Seekers Around at Border
Georgia Ex-Prosecutor Indicted for Allegedly Protecting Ahmaud Arbery’s Killers

Tags: climate-change-news, big-oil-news, industrial-failure-news, covid-news, legislation-news, civil-rights-news, social-woes-news, economic-news, bad-democrat-news, court-news, immigrant-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news

Posted 2 September 2021

Common Dreams (31/8/21): AFL-CIO Chief Warns Rejection of PRO Act Could Cost Kyrsten Sinema - "Elected officials, if they're not listening, that's when elections end up having consequences," said the newly elected labor leader.

Tags: union-news, bad-democrat-news, electoral-news

The Hill (1/9/21): Conditions at central California jail violate Constitution, DOJ finds

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news

The American Prospect (1/9/21): America’s Acute Governance Problem - We have difficulty handing out money intended for people who need it. And that’s just the beginning.

Provides a nice review of the rent relief failure

Tags: social-woes-news

The Guardian (1/9/21): ‘Open season on media’: journalists increasingly targeted at Los Angeles protests - Reporters covering rightwing protests have been assaulted, robbed and sprayed with mace as victims say police fail to enforce the law

Tags: media-news, crime-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news

The Economist (25/8/21): Democracy is quickly eroding in Central America - Things are looking grim in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua

A bit of neoliberal propaganda, of course, but a nice review

Tags: international-news, immigrant-news

Behind the Insurrections (Behind the Bastards) (Podcast) (26/1/21): The Birth of Spanish Fascism, Part 1

This podcast (and its part 2) provide a nice overview of Spanish history leading to Franco's Fascist rule. Included is a nice review of the anarchist tradition in Spain (anarchism probably isn't what you think it is), among other things. Highly recommend!

Tags: international-news, history-news

The Guardian (1/9/21): Air pollution is slashing years off the lives of billions, report finds - Dirty air is a far greater killer than smoking, car crashes or HIV/Aids, with coal burning the leading cause

Tags: climate-change-news, healthcare-news

On Labor (1/9/21):

In Local 23, American Federation of Musicians v. NLRB, a D.C. Circuit panel overturned the National Labor Relations Board’s Trump-era legal rule for deciding when property owners can lawfully exclude employees of contractors.
The Southern District of New York this Monday held that the United States Security Officers Union, which represents security officers at federal courthouses, lacks standing to sue their contractor-employer and the U.S. Marshals Service for insufficient Covid-19 workplace safety measures.
The California Court of Appeal has revived a wrongful termination and retaliation claim by a former Nestlé employee.

Tags: labor-news, court-news

The Hill (31/8/21): Idaho governor activates National Guard to combat surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations

Tags: covid-news

New York Times (1/9/21): Three Officers and Two Paramedics Are Charged in Elijah McClain’s Death - A grand jury has issued charges in the 2019 death of Mr. McClain, a young Black man who was put in a chokehold while walking home from a convenience store.

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, crime-news

Common Dreams (1/9/21): Taxing Just 7 Billionaires Could Pay for Third of $3.5 Trillion Spending Package - Democrats want to spend $3.5 trillion on jobs and infrastructure. A third of that could be covered by just seven billionaires.

Tags: policy-news, tax-news

EFF (1/9/21): Court Ruling Against Locast Gets the Law Wrong; Lets Giant Broadcast Networks Control Where and How People Watch Free TV

Tags: antitrust-news, court-news, big-tech-news

Mother Jones (1/9/21): $7.5 Million in Stolen Wages Is Ordered Back to Hundreds of Ripped-Off Construction Workers

Tags: labor-news, capitalist-farce-news

Ars Technica (1/9/21): Amazon asked FCC to reject Starlink plan because it can’t compete, SpaceX says - SpaceX: Amazon should fix Kuiper satellite plan instead of trying to delay Starlink.

Tags: antitrust-news, big-tech-news

Just Security (1/9/21): Early Edition:

Taliban fighters escorted clusters of Americans to the gates at Kabul airport in a secret negotiated arrangement with the U.S. military
A group of over 70 State Department officials sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling for the removal “openly antisemitic” Fritz Berggren, a U.S. foreign service officer, who maintains a website, bloodandfaith.com, where he writes online posts and publishes video and audio files assailing Jews, the LGBTQ community, and called for the creation of Christian nation-states
John Pierce, the go-to attorney for Jan.6 Capitol riot defendants, seems to have disappeared, missing several court appearances over the past week, with the reasons given for his absence changing.
Reps. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) will offer amendment aimed at restricting the transfer of military-grade weapons to local police departments when the House Armed Services Committee meets to consider its version of the annual defense policy bill

Tags: international-news, security-news, capitol-storming-news

Democracy Now (2/9/21): Daily Headlines:

Supreme Court Refuses to Halt Texas Anti-Abortion Law While Legal Challenges Proceed
Hurricane Ida’s Remnants Bring Tornadoes, Flooding and Record Rainfall to Northeast
Gulf Coast Faces Shortages of Food, Water and Energy Days After Hurricane Ida’s Landfall
New York Extends Eviction Moratorium Halted by U.S. Supreme Court
Texas School District Cancels Classes After 2 Teachers Die of COVID-19
Judge Approves $4.5 Billion Settlement, Shielding Sackler Family from Future Opioid Lawsuits
GOP Leader McCarthy Threatens Companies That Cooperate with House Insurrection Probe

Tags: civil-rights-news, climate-change-news, social-woes-news, covid-news, gop-shenanigans-news, court-news, corruption-news, capitalist-farce-news

Posted 1 September 2021

Revolving Door Project (31/8/21): Biden Must Prioritize Rural Development To Help Rebuild The Heartland

Tags: policy-news, infrastructure-news

Ars Technica (31/8/21): South Korea law forces Google and Apple to open up app store payments - App store owners won't be able to lock developers into their 30 percent fees.

Tags: big-tech-news, international-news

In These Times (31/8/21): Buffalo Starbucks Workers Say They Will Unionize One Store At a Time - Union elections at individual stores would be a significant labor breakthrough in the fast food industry.

Tags: labor-news

EFF (31/8/21): Victory! Lawsuit Proceeds Against Clearview’s Face Surveillance

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news, court-news

EFF (31/8/21): Starve the Beast: Monopoly Power and Political Corruption

Tags: big-tech-news, corruption-news, analysis-news, antitrust-news

Jacobin (31/8/21): In Graz, Austria, Communists Have Built a Red Fortress - In Graz, Austria’s second-largest city, Communists have ridden a wave of working-class discontent to become the main challenger to the ruling conservatives.

Tags: socialist-news, international-news

The Guardian (31/8/21): Hate crimes in US rise to highest level in 12 years, says FBI report - 2020 data identified 7,759 hate crimes, a 6% increase on 2019, with a surge in assaults on Black and Asian Americans

Tags: crime-news

The Hill (31/8/21): Doctor allegedly tried to hire Hells Angel to silence witness in opioid case

Tags: corruption-news, healthcare-news

Just Security (31/8/21): Early Edition:

Taliban forces clashed with anti-Taliban militia fighters in the Panjshir on Monday night, with eight Taliban fighters killed
Uzbekistan is warning the United States that U.S.-trained Afghan pilots who fled to the Central Asian country may face expulsion and is urging the U.S. to extract those Afghan pilots to a different country to avoid clashes between Uzbekistan and the Taliban,
An Afghan refugee backlash is looming in the U.S., particularly among Republicans who intend to discredit the Biden administration’s withdrawal and make it an issue in the 2022 midterm elections
Less than 200, closer to 100, Americans who want to leave remain in Afghanistan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. This goes against previous reassurances by President Biden that the U.S. will maintain a military presence in Kabul until the last remaining American who wants to leave Afghanistan has been evacuated

Tags: international-news, security-news

Democracy Now (1/9/21): Daily Headlines:

Louisiana Gov. Tells Hurricane Ida Evacuees “Do Not Return” Amid Power Outages, Lack of Services
Texas Enacts Near Total Ban on Abortions, the Most Draconian Anti-Choice Law in the Country
Pennsylvania, New York Announce New Measures to Curb COVID Transmission in Schools
Virginia Gov. Grants Posthumous Pardons to 7 Black Men Executed in 1951
R. Kelly Survivors Recount Assault, Patterns of Abuse and Control During Federal Trial
HHS Opens New Office to Address Health Impacts of Climate Crisis

Tags: climate-change-news, civil-rights-news, covid-news, crime-news

Posted 31 August 2021

Revolving Door Project (30/8/21): Merrick Garland Is Failing His Biggest Test

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news

Ars Technica (30/8/21): Microsoft may withhold security updates from unsupported Windows 11 PCs - MS would really, really like you to use an officially supported PC.

Tags: big-tech-news

Left Voice (30/8/21): New York Times Tech Guild Walks Out, Into an Historic Fight - The workers of the New York Times Tech Guild are fighting their bosses’ attempts to divide their bargaining unit. The future of organizing in the tech industry is dependent on what happens here in the next few months.

Tags: labor-news, busting-labor-news, media-news, big-tech-news

Vox (30/8/21): Is it really the right time to end pandemic unemployment insurance? - The dangerous delta variant is spreading. The future of schools is unclear. And millions of workers are about to be kicked off unemployment.

Tags: economic-news, social-woes-news, fail-biden-policy-news

Jacobin (30/8/21): Socialists Are Winning in Astoria, Queens - Since Bernie Sanders’s 2016 campaign, the diverse working-class neighborhood of Astoria in Queens, New York has been the epicenter of the US revival of socialist electoral politics.

Tags: socialist-news, electoral-news

Mother Jones (30/8/21): Why Facebook Won’t Stop Pushing Propaganda - Vaccine disinformation. The Big Lie. The hate poisoning your community. It all goes back to Mark Zuckerberg’s business model.

Tags: big-tech-news, media-news

The Hill (30/8/21): Texas law banning most abortions set to go into effect after court cancels hearing

Tags: court-news, civil-rights-news

Just Security (30/8/21):Early Edition:

President Biden has given the Pentagon the “green light” to strike any targets affiliated with ISIS-K, without first seeking White House approval
The U.S. also retaliated Saturday with an “over-the-horizon” strike that killed what Pentagon officials are calling two “ISIS-K planners and facilitators” in Jalalabad, the eastern Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan, though they refused to confirm whether those individuals had any role in orchestrating the Kabul airport attack
Several rockets were fired at Kabul airport on Monday, with at least one intercepted by the airport’s missile defense system
Dozens of Afghan interpreters who worked for the British Army have been told by the Home Office that they will not be allowed into the U.K. because they are a “danger to [national] security,”
Hundreds of students and alumni of the American University of Afghanistan were sent home as they tried to flee the country Sunday amid evacuations
The Taliban have directed farmers to stop cultivating opium poppies, causing prices of raw opium, which is processed into heroin, to soar across the country
Five Taliban fighters killed a popular folk singer on Thursday, one of his sons said
Taliban forces raided the Afghan National Security Directorate and the Ministry of Communications when they first stormed Kabul – their aim was to secure the files of Afghan intelligence officers and their informers, and to obtain the means of tracking the telephone numbers of Afghan citizens
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told President Biden during their White House meeting Friday that he won’t publicly campaign against a U.S. return to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal,
China’s defense ministry on Sunday protested the passage of USS Kidd guided-missile destroyer and coastguard cutter Munro through the Taiwan strait on Friday
North Korea appears to have resumed operation of its plutonium-producing reactor at Yongbyon

Tags: international-news, security-news

Democracy Now (31/8/21): Daily Headlines:

Taliban Celebrate as Last U.S. Troops Leave Afghanistan
Over 1 Million in Path of Hurricane Ida Could Remain Without Power for Weeks
Florida Withholds Funds to Schools Defying Gov. DeSantis’s Ban on Mask Mandates
U.N. Hails End to Worldwide Use of Toxic Leaded Gasoline
Mass Evacuations [for around 50,000 people] Ordered for Lake Tahoe Region as Caldor Wildfire Spreads
Federal Court Strikes Down Trump-Era Rule Gutting Clean Water Act
Lawmakers Order Telecom Companies to Preserve Records of January 6 Insurrection

Tags: international-news, climate-change-news, energy-news, covid-news, gop-shenanigans-news, court-news, capitol-storming-news

Posted 30 August 2021

The Guardian (28/8/21): Republican election audits have led to voting system breaches, experts say - MyPillow chief gave out election software at South Dakota event derived from Republican challenges in Colorado and Michigan

The Intercept (28/8/21): Brazil’s Indigenous Groups Mount Unprecedented Protest Against Destruction of the Amazon - Brazil’s largest-ever Indigenous protest came amid efforts by Jair Bolsonaro and his allies to pave the way for industry in the Amazon.

Tags: indigenous-news, international-news, capitalist-farce-news, media-news

The Intercept (29/8/21): The Great American Science Heist - How the Bayh-Dole Act Wrested Public Science From the People’s Hands

My Comments: Notice that we had strong public control over publically-funded science, from the New Deal up until 190. The point is, privatization does NOT promote "innovation" or whatever, and promotes dangerous concentrations of economic power. In fact, it does the opposite. Notably, back in the 70s when this "invention gap" was being used to scare people into privatization, their main concern - Japan - had relatively weaker IP laws. Today, the US's main rival - China - also has fairly loose IP laws. This is a large contributing factor to the booming hardware cluster in Shenzhen - it's not even labor cost anymore, it's a less Capitalist-friendly IP ecosystem that makes invention and innovation much easier, and less legally terrifying. Keep in mind who benefits from Capitalistic-IP laws: not innovation, but non-innovating Capitalists who get rich off of the work of other people.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, history-news, science-news, ip-news

Democracy Now (27/8/21): California Recall: Right-Wing Radio Host Who Once Mentored Stephen Miller Could Replace Gov. Newsom

Tags: electoral-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Democracy Now (30/8/21): Daily Headlines:

Up to 10 People Killed in U.S. Strike in Kabul, Rockets Fired at Airport as Withdrawal Deadline Nears
Hurricane Ida Slams into Louisiana, Killing One Person, Cutting Power to Entire City of New Orleans
Rev. Jesse Jackson Transfers to Rehab as Wife Moves to ICU; Conservative Radio Hosts Die of COVID-19
Evacuations Ordered as Caldor Fire Threatens Lake Tahoe Basin

Tags: international-news, security-news, climate-change-news, covid-news

Posted 29 August 2021

The Hill (27/8/21): Multi-state operation rescues 47 victims of human trafficking

Tags: crime-news

EFF (27/8/21): Facebook’s Secret War on Switching Costs

Tags: antitrust-news, big-tech-news

The Majoirty Report (29/8/21): How To Be An Effective Activist Organizer In 21st Century America w/ Hahrie Han

Tags: analysis-news

On Labor (27/8/21):

The NLRB issued an opinion on Wednesday charging an aluminum manufacturing company with Section 7 violations after firing an employee who wrote “whore board” at the top of an overtime sign-up sheet.
In a separate ruling yesterday, the NLRB held that a nursing home in New Jersey violated federal labor law by unilaterally modifying employees’ health insurance plans. First, the nursing home clearly violated its duty to bargain by terminating the health insurance plan of its 150 employees without even informing the employees or the union that they were doing so.
In other news, federal unemployment aid is set to expire in 10 days for the roughly half of states that have not cut off benefits already. This means that workers will not be able to claim federal unemployment benefits for the week starting September 6th and onward ... Nevertheless, more than 11 million people are expected to lose their unemployment benefits on September 6.

Tags: labor-news, capitalist-farce-news, social-woes-news

Ars Technica (27/8/21): EU set to launch formal probe into Nvidia’s $54 billion takeover of Arm - Brussels expected to open investigation in early September over competition concerns.

Tags: big-tech-news, antitrust-news

The Guardian (27/8/21): EPA is falsifying risk assessments for dangerous chemicals, say whistleblowers - Agency scientists say management silences and harasses them to appease chemical industry

Tags: corruption-news, industrial-failure-news

New York Times (27/8/21): Why Apple Won Its Legal Settlement With Developers - Apple said it had made major concessions, but a closer examination suggests that the tech giant and the app makers’ lawyers were big winners.

Tags: big-tech-news, antitrust-news

Ars Technica (27/8/21): “Worst cloud vulnerability you can imagine” discovered in Microsoft Azure - 30% of Cosmos DB customers were notified—more are likely impacted.

Tags: cyber-security-news, big-tech-news

Wired (27/8/21): An Explosion in Geofence Warrants Threatens Privacy Across the US - New figures from Google show a tenfold increase in the requests from law enforcement, which target anyone who happened to be in a given location at a specified time.

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, big-tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Posted 27 August 2021

New York Times (26/8/21): Supreme Court Ends Biden’s Eviction Moratorium - The ruling followed political and legal maneuvering by the administration to retain protections for tenants. It puts hundreds of thousands at risk of being put out of their homes.

Tags: court-news, social-woes-news

Jacobin (26/8/21): Joe Biden’s Labor Board Picks Have Been Surprisingly Encouraging - Biden's political history is anything but pro-labor. But his moves thus far to strengthen workers' rights through the National Labor Relations Board have actually been very promising.

Tags: biden-policy-news, labor-news

The Guardian (26/8/21): Islamic State affiliate is prime suspect for Kabul airport suicide bombing - Analysis: Group known as Islamic State Khorasan Province, or Isis-K, poses ‘acute’ and ‘persistent’ threat, says US

Tags: international-news, security-news

The Guardian (26/8/21): Texas house passes sweeping voting restrictions bill - Bill comes amid nationwide Republican effort to restrict voting - Democrats attempted to block bill by walking out last month

Tags: voting-rights-news, gop-shenanigans-news

The American Prospect (26/8/21): America Lacks Workplace Protections Against Excessive Heat - The Biden administration could issue an emergency order amid soaring temperatures this summer. It has yet to do so.

Tags: labor-news, policy-news, climate-change-news

ZDNet (26/8/21): Cybersecurity warning: Realtek flaw exposes dozens of brands to supply chain attacks - New attacks on IoT devices highlight weakness in the software supply chain.

Tags: cyber-security-news

Common Dreams (26/8/21): Planned Expansion of Facial Recognition by US Agencies Called 'Disturbing' - "Face surveillance is so invasive of privacy, so discriminatory against people of color, and so likely to trigger false arrests, that the government should not be using face surveillance at all," said one privacy advocate.

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news

ZDNet (26/8/21): FBI releases alert about Hive ransomware after attack on hospital system in Ohio and West Virginia - Hive has so far attacked at least 28 organizations, including Memorial Health System on August 15.

Tags: cyber-security-news, healthcare-news

EFF (26/8/21): When It Comes to Antitrust, It’s All Connected

Tags: antitrust-news, capitalist-farce-news

Common Dreams (26/8/21): Why We Urgently Need a Civilian Climate Corps - Like the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps, a 21st century CCC could create millions of jobs while repairing our environment.

Tags: policy-news, climate-change-news

Secular Talk (26/8/21): REVEALED: Hospitals Don't Want You To See These Prices (Bc They're Scamming You)

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, healthcare-news

On Labor (26/8/21):

California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing, in addition to its battle with billionaire game developer Activision Blizzard, has now accused Riot Games, another billionaire game developer, of trying to silence ex-employees

Tags: capitalist-farce-news

Just Security (26/8/21):

A White House summit between President Biden and tech leaders yesterday, including top tech CEOs, concluded with a array of commitments on new cybersecurity projects and spending plans from major tech groups, including from Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft and IBM.
Just a day before the Jan. 6 attack, the Secret Service warned the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) that their officers could face violence at the hands of Trump supporters, according to new documents

Tags: cyber-security-news, capitol-storming-news

Democracy Now (27/8/21): Daily Headlines:

At Least 110 Killed as Suicide Bombers Strike Crowds Outside Kabul Airport - Thirteen U.S. troops were among the dead. The Taliban reports 28 of its members were killed. Scores of people were wounded. The militant group ISIS-K — which is an archrival of the Taliban — claimed responsibility.
Illinois Reinstates Mask Mandate While Texas Bans Vaccine Mandates
Caldor Fire Approaches Lake Tahoe, Prompting Evacuation Warnings
Capitol Police Officers Sue Trump over Jan. 6 Insurrection
Watchdog Warns of “High Level of Disorder and Chaos” at Rikers Island

Tags: international-news, security-news, covid-news, climate-change-news, trump-news, capitol-storming-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news

Posted 26 August 2021

The Nation (25/8/21): Tax Billionaires’ Pandemic Profits - In one proposal, Democrats can fund the Biden agenda and fight back against widening inequality.

Tags: economic-news, policy-news

Common Dreams (25/8/21): After Backlash, OnlyFans Suspends Plan to Ban Sexually Explicit Content - "This is welcome news, but sex workers' livelihoods shouldn't depend on the whims of individual platforms," said the ACLU as others warned the company could still reverse course.

Tags: big-tech-news

The American Prospect (25/8/21): Building Trades Union Imposes Vaccine Mandate on Itself - The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades has gone further than other unions, which are negotiating vaccine requirements with employers.

Tags: union-news

Democracy Now (19/8/21): “The Afghanistan Papers”: Docs Show How Bush, Obama, Trump Lied About Brutality & Corruption of War

Tags: international-news

Common Dreams (25/8/21): 'Unacceptable': US Treasury Says 89% of Rental Aid Still Not Disbursed - "We fought to extend the eviction moratorium to give states a chance to distribute these funds, but time is of the essence," said Rep. Mondaire Jones.

Tags: social-woes-news, fail-biden-policy-news

Jacobin (24/8/21): Amazon Is Beefing Up Its Already Dystopian Worker Surveillance Machine - Amazon is installing high-tech cameras inside supplier-owned delivery vehicles. Workers say the cameras are a shocking invasion of privacy as well as a safety hazard.

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news, capitalist-farce-news

The Intercept (24/8/21): The EPA’s Rationale for Banning Chlorpyrifos May Make it Harder to Eliminate Other Brain-Harming Pesticides - The lawyer who helped ban chlorpyrifos on food crops warns that the EPA decision creates obstacles to banning other dangerous pesticides.

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news

On Labor (25/8/21): In Case You Forgot How Anti-Union Trump’s Judges Are

Tags: trump-news, busting-labor-news

Salon (25/8/21): New York's new governor reveals 12,000 nursing home coronavirus deaths were hidden by Cuomo - "There's a lot of things that weren't happening and I'm going to make them happen," Kathy Hochul said on Wednesday

Tags: cuomo-news, bad-democrat-news, covid-news

ZDNet (25/8/21): Microsoft will no longer allow Chromebook users to install native Android Office apps - Starting in mid-September, Microsoft will be advising Chromebook users who want to run Office to use the web-based Office apps and will no longer enable them to run the native Office Android apps.

While I have no tears for Google, the point is closed and proprietary software being with-held arbitrarily to knee-cap another software experience. I do not regularly use Microsoft Office products (you could guess why probably), but still I have used them in the past couple of years (I don't live under a rock). It's pretty clear that Microsoft Office web-apps have less features and usability than the desktop applications. This is an obvious example of Microsoft being evil.

Tags: antitrust-news, big-tech-news

Just Security (25/8/21): Early Edition:

Reps. Seth Moulton, (D-MA) and Peter Meijer (R-MI) traveled to Kabul “in secret” yesterday on an unauthorized oversight mission of the evacuation efforts, drawing criticism from officials in President Biden’s administration.
An Oklahoma man, Benjamen Scott Burlew, on Friday was arrested and charged with assault and act of physical violence in connection to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Tags: international-news, politics-news, capitol-storming-news

Democracy Now (26/8/21): Daily Headlines:

U.S. Begins Final Phase of Kabul Evacuations as Withdrawal Deadline Looms
U.S. Embassy Warns of ISIS Plot to Attack Kabul Airport
U.S. COVID-19 Hospitalizations Top 100,000 for First Time Since January
House Probe Seeks Documents from Trump’s Inner Circle Regarding January 6 Attack
Michigan Man Gets 6-Year Sentence for Plot to Kidnap Gov. Whitmer
Court Upholds Death Sentence for White Supremacist Who Killed 9 at Emanuel AME Church
Carbon Dioxide Levels Soared Above 412 Parts Per Million in 2020, Highest in Human History
Madagascar on Brink of World’s First “Climate Change Famine”
San Bernardino Brush Fire Forces Evacuations as California Fires Rage at Record Pace

Tags: international-news, covid-news, capitol-storming-news, trump-news, militant-far-right-news, climate-change-news

Posted 25 August 2021

New York Times (24/8/21): House narrowly passes $3.5 trillion budget blueprint, paving the way to enact Biden’s expansive agenda.

Tags: legislation-news, politics-news

The Guardian (24/8/21): Supreme court orders Biden to revive Trump’s ‘remain in Mexico’ policy - Justices deny president’s effort to rescind Trump program - Blow to Biden as trio of liberal justices dissent in 6-3 ruling

Tags: court-news, international-news, immigrant-news

Vox (24/8/21): The Supreme Court’s stunning, radical immigration decision, explained - The Court’s decision on Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy upends decades of precedent warning that judges shouldn’t mess with foreign affairs.

Tags: court-news, international-news, immigrant-news

Writers Guild of America East (24/8/21): MSNBC Staff Employees Wins NLRB Election to Unionize with Writers Guild of America, East (via u/RedditGreenit on r/labor)

Tags: labor-news, media-news

South China Morning Post (25/8/21): China has failed to cut its fentanyl trafficking, US congressional panel finds - ‘China remains the primary country of origin for illicit fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances,’ US-China Economic and Security Review Commission says - Rather than ship directly into US, Chinese manufacturers now send raw materials to Mexico, where cartels make the drug then deliver it across the border Important Note on SCMP

Tags: drug-news, international-news

Popular Front (2/8/21): A Violent Power Struggle in South Africa

Tags: international-news, podcast-news

Law and Crime (24/8/21): Oklahoma Man Arrested for Allegedly Pushing Associated Press Photographer Over a Wall on Jan. 6

Tags: capitol-storming-news, militant-far-right-news

On Labor (24/8/21):

Workers at Colectivo Coffee have officially voted to unionize with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), the NLRB ruled yesterday. The bargaining unit—now the largest coffee shop union in the country—will encompass 16 stores across two states, Illinois and Wisconsin (Colectivo has stores in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Madison), as well as warehouse workers and delivery drivers
As if on cue, a group of workers at various Starbucks locations in the Buffalo region announced yesterday that they have formed an organizing committee. The committee, Starbucks Workers United, appealed to Starbucks’s progressive branding, writing that “respecting [workers’] right to organize will help us help the company achieve” their mission of “improving communities one coffee at a time.”
Finally, in the uncaffeinated world, Dave Jamieson highlighted Amazon employees in New York who are publicly calling on the NLRB to extend Weingarten rights—which guarantees unionized workers representation in disciplinary meetings—to non-union workers.

Tags: labor-news

Louis Rossmann (24/8/21): Samsung DISABLES camera if you unlock bootloader!

Tags: tech-news

Just Security (24/8/21): Early Edition:

CIA Director William J. Burns held a secret meeting in Kabul yesterday with the Taliban’s de facto leader Abdul Ghani Baradar in the highest-level face-to-face encounter between the Taliban and President Biden’s administration since the militants seized Kabul, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter.
The Taliban have issued a death sentence for the brother of an Afghan translator who helped U.S. troops, accusing him of helping the U.S. and providing security to his brother, according to letters obtained by CNN.
The WHO has warned of food shortages in Afghanistan as early as September without urgent aid funding, as key deliveries have been held up due to restrictions at Kabul airport
The leader of the Proud Boys extremist group has been sentenced to more than five months in jail for burning a Black Lives Matter banner that was torn down from a historic Black church in downtown Washington and bringing two high-capacity firearm magazines into the nation’s capital days shortly before the Jan. 6 attack.
The host of a program for the right-wing website Infowars, Owen Shroyer, is in custody after being charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack at the Capitol, officials have said yesterday.

Tags: international-news, militant-far-right-news, capitol-storming-news

Democracy Now (25/8/21): Daily Headlines:

Taliban Blocks Afghans from Accessing Kabul Airport
House Passes John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act
U.S. Records 1,400 New COVID Deaths as AMA Calls for Broad Vaccine Mandates
U.S. & Cuba Pledge Vaccines for Vietnam, But Only Cuba Offers to Share Vaccine Technology
Wildfires: Biden Approves Major Disaster Declaration for Northern California
Black Police Groups Back Release of Ex-Black Panther Sundiata Acoli, Jailed Since 1973
Former U.S.-Backed Dictator of Chad, Hissène Habré, Dies
Lucille Times Dies at 100, Inspired Montgomery Bus Boycott
“Lies My Teacher Told Me” Author James Loewen Dies at 79

Tags: international-news, legislation-news, voting-rights-news, covid-news, vaccine-ip-news, climate-change-news, biden-policy-news, civil-rights-news, obituary-news

Posted 24 August 2021

Salon (23/8/21): Buffalo Democrats are trying to stop socialist nominee India Walton by any means necessary - Democrats now consider dumping mayor's position, while incumbent stages write-in campaign against Black socialist

Tags: socialist-news, bad-democrat-news, electoral-news

Ars Technica (23/8/21): GM recalls every Chevy Bolt ever made, blames LG for faulty batteries - Two simultaneously occurring defects will cost $1.8 billion to fix.

Tags: industrial-failure-news

On Labor (23/8/21):

On Monday morning, The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted full approval to the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, which has already been administered to more than 100 million people in the country.
As hundreds of Nabisco factory workers across the country continue their ongoing strike against Mondelez International, the snack-producer’s parent company, which Maxwell described last week, a new article published in The Guardian this morning uncovers that Mondelēz, which has shuttered numerous Nabisco plants in recent years to offshore the work to cheaper labor markets abroad, reported nearly $6bn in profits in the second quarter of 2021 and, though, as Maxwell explained, the multinational confectionary conglomerate has been slashing overtime pay and health benefits for hundreds of its workers, spent $1.5bn on stock buybacks in the first half of this year and paid its CEO, Dirk Van de Put, nearly $20m in total compensation in 2020 — 544 times more than the annual compensation of the company’s median employee.

Tags: covid-news, labor-news, capitalist-farce-news

labor scholar and activist Stanley Aronowitz died on August 16. Here is a nice interview with him (not really an obituary I guess, idk); In These Times (15/10/14): A ‘Post-Political’ Labor Movement - Stanley Aronowitz on how the labor movement falters and how it might recover.

Tags: analysis-news, labor-news, obituary-news

The American Prospect (23/8/21): Hot Union Summer Comes to the Porn Industry - As OnlyFans threatens to upend sex work, the industry’s new union takes center stage.

Tags: labor-news

The Majority Report (23/8/21): Fox News Platforms Kill-Crazy Lunatic Who Fantasizes About Doing War Crimes In Afghanistan

Tags: militant-far-right-news

Vice (23/8/21): Proud Boys’ ‘Summer of Love’ Rally Ended in Blood, Beatings, and Gunfire - For years, Portland has been a hotbed for political violence. Sunday's clashes mark some of the worst yet.

Tags: militant-far-right-news

The Hill (23/8/21): Gunfire erupts amid clashing protesters in Portland

Tags: militant-far-right-news

The Rational National (21/8/21): Doug Ford's Conservatives Caught Using Disgusting Fundraising Scheme

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news (I know they aren't the GOP, but they're somewhat analogous), corruption-news

The Intercept (23/8/21): Portland’s Bizarre Experiment With Not Policing Proud Boys Rampage Ends in Gunfire - Portland’s police force chose to stand back and stand by as Proud Boys who came to the city to fight with anti-fascists assaulted protesters and a right-wing gunman opened fire.

Tags: right-wing-news-media-news, militant-far-right-news

The Hill (23/8/21): Arizona elections officials launch bipartisan assault on GOP audit

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news

Just Security (23/8/21): Early Edition:

Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan has warned that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) poses a threat to the U.S. evacuations efforts in Kabul
A firefight at the gates of Kabul’s international airport killed at least one Afghan soldier earlier today, German military officials have said.
A firefight at Kabul airport involving German and U.S. troops has erupted today, when Afghan guards who exchanged fire with an unidentified gunman
The State department was reportedly hit by a cyberattack in recent weeks.
A fighter jet with the U.S.-led coalition shot down a drone in eastern Syria on Saturday after the unmanned aircraft was deemed a threat, U.S. military officials have said

Tags: international-news, security-news, cyber-security-news

Democracy Now (24/8/21): Daily Headlines:

WHO Calls for Two-Month Pause on Booster Shots Amid Stark Vaccine Inequity
Florida Doctors Hold Protest as Students Return to Classes Amid Massive COVID-19 Surge
Kathy Hochul Sworn In as New York Governor as Andrew Cuomo Resigns
Weather Underground Radical David Gilbert Granted Clemency [by outgoing-Cuomo]
Proud Boys Leader Enrique Tarrio Sentenced on Weapons and Vandalism Charges
Legendary Black Performer Joséphine Baker to Be Buried in Paris’s Panthéon

Tags: covid-news, healthcare-news, cuomo-news, bad-democrat-news, militant-far-right-news, obituary-news

Posted 23 August 2021

The Majority Report (22/8/21): Progressive Vegan Company Caught Using Union Busting Tactics w/ David Dayen

Tags: busting-labor-news

New York Times (21/8/21): At Least 22 Dead and 50 Missing in Tennessee Floods, Officials Say

Tags: climate-change-news

New York Times (22/8/21): 4 Dead and 4 Missing in North Carolina Flooding - The remnants of Tropical Storm Fred dropped more than 10 inches of rain on Tuesday in Haywood County, N.C., causing the Pigeon River to overflow.

Tags: climate-change-news

New York Times (21/8/21): Jesse Jackson and his wife, Jacqueline, are hospitalized with Covid-19.

Tags: covid-news

Speak Out Now (21/8/21): Nabisco Workers Draw The Line In The Sand

Tags: labor-news

The Rational National (22/8/21): Trump Gets Booed By His Own Fans During Alabama Rally [for advising vaccines]

Tags: trump-news, covid-news, far-right-news

Jacobin (YT) (21/8/21): Capitalism: Still the Only Game in Town? — Branko Milanovic

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, analysis-news

Democracy Now (23/8/21): Daily Headlines:

Chaos and Desperation Reign at Kabul Airport as Afghans Try to Evacuate Taliban Takeover
U.S. Tops 1,000 Daily COVID-19 Deaths for First Time Since March

Tags: international-news, covid-news

Posted 21 August 2021

Jacobin (21/8/21): The Contemporary US Right’s Roots in 1930s Union-Busting - The roots of the modern US right lie in the California fields of the 1930s, where large growers ferociously resisted farmworker organizing. It’s a reminder that opposing working-class power has been central to the US right from the very beginning.

Tags: book-review-news, economic-news, politics-news, far-right-news, busting-labor-news, history-news

New York Times (20/8/21): Liz Shuler Is Named President of the A.F.L.-C.I.O. - Ms. Shuler was the No. 2 official before Richard Trumka’s death. A vote to fill the top post for a full term will be held in June.

Tags: union-news

The Revolving Door Project (20/8/21): Biden’s Food Stamp Expansion Will Help Millions Of Struggling Americans

Tags: biden-policy-news, social-woes-news

Mother Jones (20/8/21): Biden’s Team Erases $5.8 Billion in Student Debt for Borrowers With Severe Disabilities

Tags: biden-policy-news, social-woes-news

On Labor (20/8/21):

News has come out that Current Affairs, a socialist magazine, fired all but one of its employees after it became clear the workers were moving towards transitioning the structure of the magazine to a worker co-op
A new study analyzed the effects that 21 states ending pandemic unemployment assistance early had on the people who had been receiving the additional benefits by studying their banking data. The move wholly eliminated benefits for over 2 million workers and reduced benefits for another 1 million workers by $300 a week, according to the study. The study found that for every eight workers who lost their benefits, just one worker has found a new job since. The study also found that for every $1 of reduced benefits, spending fell by 52 cents whereas only 7 cents of new income was found. Overall, the authors of the study used this data to find that in the early-withdrawal states, spending fell by approximately $2 billion while earnings because of returning to work rose by just $270 million.
Finally, a new article analyzing how Michigan’s workers turned to unions during the pandemic revealed an increase in unionized workers, even despite the overall loss in jobs.

Tags: busting-labor-news, media-news, analysis-news, economic-news

New York Times (21/8/21): Court Allows Biden’s Replacement Evictions Ban to Remain in Place for Now - The policy is now headed to the Supreme Court, where it is expected to face a tough reception.

Tags: court-news, social-woes-news

New York Times (20/8/21): Cutting off jobless benefits early may have hurt state economies.

Tags: economic-news, analysis-news

Common Dreams (21/8/21): Judge Says California's Prop 22 Unconstitutional in 'Major' Win for Gig Workers - “It appears only to protect the economic interest of the network companies in having a divided, ununionized workforce," the judge declared.

Tags: court-news, busting-labor-news

New York Times (20/8/21): Supreme Court Grants Temporary Reprieve to Biden Immigration Policy - Justice Samuel Alito briefly stayed a ruling from a federal judge that would have forced some asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while U.S. officials considered their cases.

Tags: court-news, immigrant-news

The Guardian (21/8/21): ‘Racist and flat out wrong’: Texas Republican blames Black Americans for Covid surge - Dan Patrick refuses to apologise for false claim while Texas experiences highest hospitalisation rates since January

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, covid-news

Just Security (20/8/21): Early Edition:

The Taliban are hunting for people they believe worked with and fought alongside U.S. and NATO forces – raiding houses, setting up checkpoints and threatening to kill relatives of “collaborators” – the consequences when found have at times been fatal so far
A bipartisan group of 55 senators – led by Sens. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) – sent a letter to Biden Wednesday calling for him to “immediately evacuate” Afghans who are eligible for Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) from the country, along with their families.
“The Biden administration is so concerned about the weapons that launching airstrikes against the larger equipment, such as helicopters, hasn’t been ruled out, officials told Reuters.

Tags: international-news, politics-news, security-news

Posted 20 August 2021

The Intercept (19/8/21): Formaldehyde Causes Leukemia, According to EPA Assessment Suppressed by Trump Officials - Although the formaldehyde assessment has grave implications for public health, Trump administration officials refused to allow the EPA to release it.

Tags: trump-news, healthcare-news, industrial-failure-news

The Intercept (19/8/21): Cable News Military Experts Are on the Defense Industry Dole - Many former military and public officials appearing in the news have more than a patriotic interest in a continued occupation.

Tags: media-news, corruption-news, dark-security-news

The Guardian (19/8/21): US renews fight with Facebook, arguing company holds monopoly - The agency also dismissed a request by the tech giant that chair Lina Khan recuse herself from the case

Tags: antitrust-news, big-tech-news, biden-policy-news

New York Times (19/8/21): Apple’s Illusion of Privacy Is Getting Harder to Sell

Tags: big-tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Law and Crime (19/8/21): Immigration Lawyers Say Trump-Appointed Judge in Texas Just Decided He’s in Control of ICE and ‘Emperor of U.S. Immigration Policy’ in ‘Unprecedented and Outrageous’ Ruling

Tags: court-news, immigrant-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news

The Guardian (19/8/21): Man who claimed to have bomb near US Capitol surrenders after long standoff - Floyd Roseberry drove on to sidewalk by Library of Congress - Standoff prompted huge police response and evacuations

Tags: far-right-news

The Economist World This Week (21/8/21): Canada’s politicians hit the campaign trail after Justin Trudeau announced that the country will hold an early election on September 20th. The prime minister is cutting short his minority government, which has been in office for just two years, as he hopes that the electorate will reward his administration’s handling of the covid-19 pandemic. His Liberal Party hopes to win more than the 170 seats necessary for an outright majority in the country’s Parliament.

Tags: electoral-news

In These Times (19/8/21): Debt Is Usually Treated As A Personal Failure. Debtors' Unions Are Changing That. - With nearly three out of four households carrying some kind of debt, debtors’ unions are reframing indebtedness as a shared problem and a source of collective power.

Tags: economic-news, social-woes-news

Just Security (19/8/21): Early Edition:

Witnesses are reporting that Taliban guards are beating Afghans who make their way to Kabul's airport, including Afghans who have been approved to be evacuated with the U.S
A total of twelve people have been killed in and around Kabul airport since the Taliban took control of Kabul on Sunday, Taliban and NATO officials have said
Biden insisted during the interview with ABC News that the chaos and turmoil in Kabul was unavoidable and refused to acknowledge any mistakes in the withdrawal
The Taliban have imposed a curfew in the eastern Afghan city of Khost, following protests there and in two other cities in which demonstrators carried the flag of the fallen republic.
The Taliban is ramping up its social media presence, denying longtime bans by the platform

Tags: international-news

Democracy Now (20/8/21): Daily Headlines:

Pentagon Boosts U.S. Troop Levels in Kabul as Chaotic Evacuations Follow Taliban Takeover
WHO Slams Rich Nations for Offering Booster Shots While Just 2% of Africa’s Population Is Vaccinated
Texas Supreme Court to Allow Schools to Defy Gov. Abbott’s Ban on Mask Mandates
Rep. Mo Brooks Voices Sympathy for Man Behind Capitol Hill Bomb Threat
Biden Admin Cancels Federal Student Loan Debt for Over 300,000 People with Disabilities
Rain Falls on Greenland’s Highest Peak for First Time on Record Amid Record Temperatures

Tags: international-news, covid-news, court-news, far-right-news, gop-shenanigans-news, biden-policy-news, climate-change-news

Posted 19 August 2021

Workers World (17/8/21): Workers organize a historic battle with Amazon in New York City

Tags: labor-news

The Hill (17/8/21): Utah 'eager' to assist with resettling Afghan refugees: governor

Tags: immigrant-news

On Labor (18/8/21):

Governments and businesses are scrambling to attract workers. New Mexico has pledged $5 million in federal pandemic relief to subsidize wages for pickers and workers at chile processing plants, raising the wages as high as $19.50 per hour. Werner Enterprises has asked the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for an exemption from Commercial Learner’s Permit requirements in order to hasten the process of getting new drivers behind the wheel. CVS Health dropped its requirement that entry-level job candidates have a high school diploma, and raised its starting wage from $11 to $15 an hour by next summer. Walmart has promised bonuses to warehouse workers for staying on the job this summer and fall. Chipotle has raised hourly wages and implemented referral bonuses, while McDonald’s is funneling millions of dollars to its franchisees to raise wages and has piloted an emergency child care program. Target promises a to pay the costs of college education for part-time and full-time workers (if the students attend a qualifying institution). And the average wage of restaurant and supermarket workers rose above $15 an hour for the first time ever.

Tags: economic-news, labor-news

AP News (17/8/21): Georgia board to tap election review panel for Fulton County

Tags: voting-rights-news

The Majority Report (18/8/21): Trump INCOHERENTLY Denies Empowering The Taliban In Afghanistan

Tags: international-news, trump-news

The Hill (17/8/21): California utility shutting off power to 51K customers to prevent wildfires

Tags: climate-change-news, energy-news

The Black Wall Street Times (17/8/21): Suicide rates increase in Black communities despite nationwide decrease

Tags: social-woes-news

US News (17/8/21): Automaker FCA US Admits Paying off Union Leaders; Fined $30M - Automaker FCA US has been fined $30 million after admitting that it paid off leaders of the United Auto Workers to try to win concessions in negotiations covering thousands of factory workers. (via u/BBQCopter on r/labor)

Tags: union-news, capitalist-farce-news, corruption-news

Law and Crime (18/8/21): Prosecutor Seeks Death Penalty for Alleged Cop Killer Who Ran to ‘Black Nationalist Paramilitary Organization’ Property After Shooting

Tags: crime-news

Wired (18/8/21): The T-Mobile Breach Is Much Worse Than It Had to Be - The vast majority of victims weren’t even T-Mobile customers. Now their information is for sale on the dark web.

Tags: cyber-security-news

In These Times (18/8/21): Workers of Color at Major Electric Bus Company Allege Widespread Racism on the Job - Employees of New Flyer in California and Alabama say they have faced years of discrimination.

Tags: civil-rights-news, labor-news, capitalist-farce-news

The Hill (18/8/21): Northern Calif. fire jumps from 6K to 54K acres in less than a day

Tags: climate-change-news

U.S. PIRG (18/8/21): EPA’s ban of toxic pesticide will protect children, public health

Tags: biden-policy-news

New York Times (18/8/21): Court Blocks a Vast Alaskan Drilling Project, Citing Climate Dangers - The multibillion-dollar ConocoPhillips plan, known as Willow, was approved under the Trump administration and then legally supported by the Biden administration.

Tags: big-oil-news, court-news, climate-change-news

Law and Crime (18/8/21): Federal Judge Orders USPS to Produce Previously Withheld Records on Louis DeJoy’s Potential Financial Conflicts of Interest

Tags: corruption-news, court-news

In These Times (18/8/21): How Domestic Elites and Foreign Meddling Undermine Haitian Democracy - To understand the rise and fall of Jovenel Moïse, we must understand the forces that propped him up.

Tags: international-news, analysis-news

Al-Monitor (18/8/21): Iran ramps up uranium enrichment as nuclear talks stall - The UN International Atomic Energy Agency also has concluded that Iran is continuing to produce uranium metal in violation of the 2015 nuclear deal.

Tags: international-news

The Hill (18/8/21): 1K beds in Mississippi empty due to staff shortage as state sees record hospitalizations - The AP notes that Mississippi is among the lowest-paying states for healthcare workers, which state health officials acknowledged may be one factor contributing to the labor shortage.

Tags: covid-news, healthcare-news, labor-news

The Hill (18/8/21): Tampa-area school district imposes mask mandate after 10K students forced to isolate

Tags: covid-news, politics-news

The Guardian (18/8/21): Multibillion-dollar Louisiana plastics plant put on pause in a win for activists - According to environmentalists, the $9.4bn facility could release up to 13m tonnes of greenhouse gases a year

Tags: civil-rights-news, climate-change-news, big-oil-news

The Hill (18/8/21): Feds deliberately targeted Black Lives Matter protesters

Tags: civil-rights-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, trump-news

Just Security (18/8/21): Early Edition (International):

Taliban fighters in Jalalabad have fired into a crowd and beat protesters during an outpouring of public anger at their rule, resulting in at least three people being killed and more than a dozen injured
The Taliban have responded to public protests in Kabul against their rule with force
Classified intelligence assessments over the summer painted an increasingly grim picture of a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and warned of a rapid collapse of the Afghan military, even as President Biden and his advisers continued to publicly say that a collapse was unlikely to happen quickly
The Taliban are strengthening their control over Kabul with access to Kabul airport remaining near-impossible for the thousands of Afghans seeking to leave the country
Reports are emerging of the Taliban beating and whipping Afghans, especially women and children, seeking to flee Kabul.
Up to 15,000 Americans remain in Afghanistan after Taliban takeover, officials from President Biden’s administration have told Senate staffers, two aides have said.
Thousands of Afghan civilians who risked their lives to assist the U.S. military in Afghanistan, many of them working as interpreters alongside American soldiers in combat, are trapped in Afghanistan
Uganda has said that it has agreed to a request from the U.S. to take in temporarily 2,000 refugees from Afghanistan
Multiple U.S. federal agencies that operated in Afghanistan and worked with Afghan citizens have been hastily purging their websites, removing articles and photos that could endanger the Afghan civilians who interacted with them and now fear retribution from the Taliban

Tags: international-news, dark-security-news, fail-biden-policy-news, immigrant-news

Democracy Now (19/8/21): Daily Headlines:

Biden: U.S. May Stay in Afghanistan Beyond Aug. 31 - President Biden says U.S. troops will stay in Afghanistan until every American is evacuated, even if that means staying beyond his August 31 deadline.
Biden Moves to Mandate Vaccines at Nursing Homes & Fight Mask Mandate Bans
Texas Supreme Court Rules Absent Democratic Lawmakers Can Be Arrested

Tags: international-news, biden-policy-news, voting-rights-news, court-news

Posted 18 August 2021

On Labor (17/8/21):

Home Depot violated the NLRA when it threatened and punished workers who engaged in activism against racial discrimination, a complaint filed by the NLRB Region 18 Regional Director, Jennifer Hadsall, alleges.
Lack of paid sick leave is preventing low-wage workers from getting vaccinated against COVID-19, according to surveys and experts, the Washington Post reports. A Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that two out of ten unvaccinated workers said that they would be more likely to get vaccinated if their employer gave them paid time off to do so.

Tags: labor-news, capitalist-farce-news, covid-news

Common Dreams (17/8/21): 'Hard to Imagine Worse Idea': Biden to Resume Fossil Fuel Leases on Public Lands and Waters - "The president made a promise to ban all new oil and gas leasing on public lands and waters," said Greenpeace, "and the American people expect him to keep it."

Tags: big-oil-news, climate-change-news, fail-biden-policy-news

ZDNet (17/8/21): Critical IoT security camera vulnerability allows attackers to remotely watch live video - and gain access to networks - Mandiant, CISA and ThroughTek disclose a vulnerability in millions of devices [estimated around 83 million] that could let attackers watch live camera feeds, create botnets or use hacked devices as a stepping stone to further attacks.

Tags: cyber-security-news

The Guardian (17/8/21): Exxon’s oil drilling gamble off Guyana coast ‘poses major environmental risk’ - Experts warn of potential for disaster as Exxon pursues 9bn barrels in sensitive marine ecosystem

Tags: big-oil-news, climate-change-news, international-news

Timbah.On.Toast (9/8/21): Tim Pool: Chaotic News Analyst

Tags: media-news, analysis-news, far-right-news

The Guardian (17/8/21): Let’s heed the UN’s dire warning and stop the east African oil pipeline now - The fate of a planned line from Uganda to Tanzania will be the first test of whether anyone was listening to António Guterres’ call to end fossil fuels

Tags: big-oil-news, climate-change-news, international-news

The Guardian (17/8/21): Texas officials ask US government for mortuary trucks as Covid cases rise - Officials requested trucks from Fema as a ‘precaution’ while coronavirus deaths in the state have tripled in the last two weeks

Tags: covid-news

Vox (17/8/21): How the US made affordable homes illegal - The rules that keep American housing expensive.

Tags: social-woes-news, economic-news, analysis-news

Common Dreams (17/8/21): Investors in US Weapon-Makers Only Clear Winners of Afghan War - "The military-industrial complex got exactly what it wanted out of this war."

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, dark-security-news, international-news

The Guardian (17/8/21): ‘We work non-stop’: LA garment workers toil for top brands and earn paltry rate - Thousands of workers who make clothes for top fashion brands earn below minimum wage for 60-hour week in unsafe conditions

Tags: labor-news, capitalist-farce-news

The Hill (17/8/21): Florida officials vote to penalize 2 school districts over mask mandates

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, covid-news

Left Voice (17/8/21): U.S. Military Left behind Biometric Tracking Technology. The Taliban Is Already Using It to Track Afghans - The U.S. military helped design and build technology to identify Afghan civilians and collaborators who worked with the fallen government, U.S. forces, or NGOs. With the U.S. withdrawal and fall of the government, the Taliban has these data now.

Tags: international-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Just Security (17/8/21): Early Edition:

An estimated 10,000 American citizens remain trapped in and around Kabul with no ability to safely get to the airport, and although congressional offices in Washington are scrambling to help, the Biden administration is dropping the ball.
Afghans who helped the U.S. and its allies remain in limbo as evacuation plans are upended amid nations’ shock at the Taliban’s unprecedented gains.
The U.S. military will provide two additional facilities in the United States to house Afghan SIV applicants, their families and other individuals at risk, following approval by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to a request made by the State Department
Democratic congressional staffers on a call yesterday with the White House shortly after President Biden’s speech on Afghanistan said they were disappointed by the administration few new details on its plans for evacuating Afghans.
President Biden yesterday made clear that he stands “squarely behind” his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan, although conceded that the Taliban takeover unfolded quicker than had been anticipated and that the U.S. exit has been “far from perfect.”
A member of the Proud Boys pleaded guilty yesterday to making social media threats connected to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, including one against Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA)

Tags: international-news, security-news, politics-news, immigrant-news, militant-far-right-news, capitol-storming-news

Democracy Now (18/8/21): Daily Headlines:

U.S. Continues Evacuations as Top Dems Pledge to Investigate Biden’s Afghanistan Exit
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Tests Positive for Coronavirus
Alabama Runs Out of ICU Beds; 3,000 NOLA Students and Staff in Quarantine
Caldor and Dixie Fires Rage in Northern California; French Wildfire Displaces Thousands
Sacklers Say They Won’t Pay $4.5 Billion Opioids Settlement Unless Shielded from Future Lawsuits

Tags: covid-news, politics-news, international-news, covid-news, climate-change-news, capitalist-farce-news, pharma-news

Posted 17 August 2021

The American Prospect (16/8/21): No, Unemployment Benefits Are Not Discouraging Work

Tags: economic-news

Salon (16/8/21): RNC quietly deletes webpage touting Trump's call for U.S. troops to withdraw from Afghanistan - The Republican National Committee was caught attempting to quietly erase history on Sunday

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, international-news

The Majority Report (16/8/21): Republicans DESPERATE To Forget Trump Bragging About Starting Afghanistan Withdrawal

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news

On Labor (16/8/21):

The November deadline for the UAW’s referendum regarding leadership election protocols may get pushed back depending on the resolution of an impasse between the UAW and the Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards. The November deadline for the UAW’s referendum regarding leadership election protocols may get pushed back depending on the resolution of an impasse between the UAW and the Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.
An Illinois state appellate court has ruled that Hobby Lobby violated Illinois’s anti-bias law by denying a transgender woman employee access to the women’s bathroom.

Tags: union-news, court-news, lgbtq-news

New York Times (16/8/21): The Texas State Supreme Court upholds the governor’s mask-mandate ban, for now.

Tags: court-news, covid-news

The Guardian (16/8/21): Biggest US reservoir declares historic shortage, forcing water cuts across west - Officials issue first-ever declaration of tier 1 shortage at Lake Mead as it falls to lowest level since its creation

Tags: infrastructure-news, food-security-news, climate-change-news

Revolving Door Project (16/8/21): Pharma’s Revolving Door Jeopardizes Biden’s Promise To Lower Drug Costs

Tags: pharma-news, corruption-news, antitrust-news, fail-biden-policy-news

Ars Technica (16/8/21): T-Mobile apparently lied to government to get Sprint merger approval, ruling says - T-Mobile ordered to prove it didn't lie to Calif. agency about network-shutdown plan.

Tags: antitrust-news, infrastructure-news, corruption-news, capitalist-farce-news

ZDNet (16/8/21): T-Mobile says hackers accessed user data but won't confirm SSN breach of 100 million customers - The hacker selling the data had social security numbers, drivers licenses info, phone numbers, names, addresses and IMEI numbers.

Tags: cyber-security-news

Ars Technica (16/8/21): Hospitals hamstrung by ransomware are turning away patients - The ransomware epidemic continues to grow.

Tags: healthcare-news, cyber-security-news

ZDNet (16/8/21): Linux glibc security fix created a nastier Linux bug - Sometimes a programming cure is worse than the disease. That's the case with this Linux glibc security bug.

Tags: cyber-security-news, open-tech-news

The Hill (16/8/21): Nearly 5,600 Tampa-area school children isolated or in quarantine

Tags: covid-news

Democracy Now (17/8/21): Daily Headlines:

Biden Defends U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan After Taliban Capture Kabul
Advocates Demand U.S. and Other Nations Open Doors to Afghan Refugees
Immigrant Advocates Denounce Biden Administration for Deporting Haitian Refugees
U.S. Will Recommend COVID Booster Shots After 8 Months, Despite Global Vaccine Inequity
Johnson & Johnson Ships Millions of Vaccine Doses from South Africa to Europe
U.S. Coronavirus Hospitalizations Soar, with Record Infection Levels in Five States
Republican Governors Erect New Barriers to COVID-19 Public Health Measures
Trump-Appointed Judge Orders Restoration of “Remain in Mexico” Policy Rejected by Biden
Water Protectors Take Direct Action to Halt Construction of Enbridge Line 3 Pipeline

Tags: vaccine-ip-news, covid-news, fail-biden-policy-news, international-news, immigrant-news, big-oil-news, court-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Posted 16 August 2021

Lots of Majority Report!

On Labor (15/8/21): In the midst of The New York Times’ efforts to beat back a union drive among hundreds of its technology and product staffers, management-side lawyers representing the company accidentally leaked a private strategy memo to the union seeking to represent its employees. ... Tensions rose further on Wednesday when hundreds of Times tech workers held a half-day work stoppage in protest of the company’s refusal to voluntarily recognize the union as well as to raise awareness about pending NLRB complaints regarding the company’s alleged unlawful polling of employees’ union support during the run-up to the election.

Tags: busting-labor-news, media-news

The Majority Report (14/8/21): How Q Invaded The Wellness Influencer Community

Tags: far-right-news

Who Gets the Bird (12/8/21): The state of Virginia is trying to claw back millions paid out in unemployment benefits to thousands of school bus drivers across the state, due to a loophole in state law about 10-month employees getting these sorts of benefits. The Virginia Education Association is representing the drivers in the dispute, a smart move as these drivers may soon have collective bargaining rights for the first time under the new state labor law reform.

Tags: economic-news, labor-news, social-woes-news

Democracy Now (16/8/21): Daily Headlines:

Taliban Takes Control of Afghanistan After 2 Decades of U.S. Occupation
U.S. Hospitalizations Are Younger Than Ever; Dallas Schools Defy High Court Ruling on Mask Mandate
Canada’s Trudeau Calls Snap Election, Seeking Mandate and Legislative Majority
Record Heat Drives Unrelenting Wildfires in Western United States - In Northern California, the Dixie Fire grew to more than 550,000 acres. It’s now the largest single fire ever observed in U.S. history, surpassing the Bootleg Fire in Oregon, which has burned over 410,000 acres since it began in July.
Biden Administration to Boost SNAP Food Benefits by 25%
NY Assembly Suspends Impeachment Investigation into Disgraced Gov. Andrew Cuomo - Meanwhile, The New York Times reported that Cuomo confided to a labor lobbyist in 2018 that his reason for supporting Republican control of the New York Senate was because African American Democratic Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins would “give free breakfast to all Black people.”

Tags: international-news,covid-news, electoral-news, climate-change-news, biden-policy-news, cuomo-news, bad-democrat-news

The Majority Report (14/8/21): The Struggle For Black Gun Ownership In The USA

Tags: civil-rights-news, racist-history-news, analysis-news

The Majority Report (14/8/21): How The USA's Racist Tax Code Impoverishes Black Americans

Tags: civil-rights-news, racist-history-news, analysis-news, book-review-news, tax-news

The Majority Report (25/4/21): Historian Explains How Slave Trade Shaped America

Tags: racist-history-news, analysis-news, book-review-news

The Majority Report (13/4/21): Bar Rescue Guy’s DEMENTED Plan To Keep Workers Obedient By Starving Them Like 'Hungry Dogs'

Tags: economic-news, labor-news

Al Jazeera (15/8/21): Man stabbed, reporter attacked at US anti-vaccination protest - A rally against vaccine mandates near Los Angeles’ City Hall led to a fight between anti-vaxxers and counter-protesters.

Tags: far-right-news, crime-news

Law and Crime (15/8/21): County Employee Allegedly Spray-Painted Swastika on Memorial for Black Man Who Died by Suicide

Tags: far-right-news, crime-news

Al Jazeera (14/8/21): US sending more troops to Afghanistan for personnel drawdown - US President Joe Biden says his administration warned Taliban against any action putting US personnel at risk.

Tags: international-news

>The Majority Report (28/4/19): How Slavery Laid The Foundation For American Capitalism

Tags: racist-history-news, analysis-news, book-review-news

The Majority Report (18/12/14): An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States (w/ Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz)

Tags: racist-history-news, analysis-news, book-review-news

The Majority Report (16/8/21): What's Happening With Line 3 Pipeline Protests?

Tags: big-oil-news, indigenous-news

The Majority Report (15/8/21): Who Is To Blame For Florida's Red Tide Disaster?

Tags: industrial-failure-news

Posted 14 August 2021

Jacobin (YT) (21/4/20): What's Unique About the American Party System and How Socialists Can Beat It (Stay At Home #24)

Notes:

"I want to convince you all that certain party strategies, in particular the third party strategy, is a dead end for the left, and that instead we have to re-frame the way we think about party politics in terms of the long slow slog of building a mass constituency"
American system uniquely undemocratic; Madison wanted to avoid a party system and created a variety of mechanisms to frustrate party politics - but under the aegis of Jefferson, parties emerged around two tendencies - Federalists (aristocrats, Tories) and "dis-organizers" (anarchists, republicans, Whigs, Jacobins) - these are both congressional phenomena - Jefferson transformed this into an electoral strategy, "vote for a party"
Third parties had a decent shot before 1842, due to "at large districts" (if you got 25% vote, you would get ~25% representation); but the Whigs then instituted "winner-takes-all" in 1842 - you can win 49% of the vote in 100% of districts, and send 0 representatives to the legislature! Very undemocratic; Now third parties are dead
In post Civil-War era, Dems and GOP institute ballot access laws that make it harder for small parties to get on the ballot on every Congressional district; 19th century labor movement goes to a different style of politics - organize a mass constituency outside of Congress, and bludgeon their way in (ie Populist Party, Socialist Party) - this strategy has some steam initially but collapses in the 20th century, but partly because the Democratic party swings left (New Deal Era); this tracks a decline in workers/farmers voting in elections - voter participation declines from around 80% in the 19th century to around 40% by the early 20th century
Demobilized voter base, no longer have local organizations (unions, urban machines) (the latter due to FDR) results in need to replace that edge. Democrats are the first to turn to money. Congressional re-allocation of funds to get people elected - start to see as centralization of party voting, or party polarization effect, voting on behalf of their donor class, and largely middle class dominate the voting base, and the spending on elections is enormous, which gives the moneyed interests HUGE power over candidates
To defeat this, the only way is a mass constituency - millions and millions of organized voters. The breakdown of the Whigs (and formation of Republicans) and the political realignment of the Democrats during the New Deal are results of this mobilization, they are not direct strategies in and of themselves; either breakdown or realignment
Need a party surrogate with an organized voter base that can provide significant pressure as a counterbalance to the moneyed-interest pressure, create the constituency - a "party" that competes on the Democratic Party ballot; "the parties jealously guard their ballot lines, but in effect they leave a backdoor open, and that backdoor is that anybody can run on these party ballots"

Tags: socialist-news, analysis-news, electoral-news, history-news

Law and Crime (13/8/21): Top Lawyer for Texas’s Largest County Sues Gov. Greg Abbott, Claiming He’s Using COVID-19 Pandemic to Treat the Lone Star State Like a ‘Dictatorship’

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news

ZDNet (13/8/21): Philips study finds hospitals struggling to manage thousands of IoT devices - More than 13% of hospitals had no inventory and no way of knowing how many medical devices were deployed.

Tags: cyber-security-news, healthcare-news

Al Jazeera / Bloomberg (13/8/21): Three US unions pull out of consumer group over Amazon funding - The United Food & Commercial Workers, the Communications Workers of America and the United Auto Workers resigned from the National Consumers League, citing Amazon’s involvement with the group.

Tags: union-news

The Economist (11/8/21): America’s inflation scare becomes less menacing - Decelerating used-car prices suggest that the surge may be transitory

Tags: economic-news

Detroit Free Press (13/8/21): Historic power outage sparks both chaos and camaraderie for 700,000 left in the dark

Tags: energy-news, infrastructure-news

Posted 13 August 2021

New York Times (6/8/21): No, the Unvaccinated Aren’t All Just Being Difficult

Tags: social-woes-news, covid-news

Just Security (12/8/21): Early Edition:

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) has raised concerns over a U.S. policy, under a Covid-19 expulsion order known as Title 42, to expel some asylum-seekers and migrants by flying them to southern Mexico.; The migrants and asylum-seekers being flown to southern Mexico by the U.S. are then being deported to their homelands by Mexican authorities, raising serious concerns about the treatment of vulnerable migrants needing humanitarian protection
Parents of 337 migrant children separated at border under former President Trump’s policies have still not been found, according to a federal court filing.
A second staff member on the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol has been accused of retaliation against a whistle-blower
The National Security Agency (NSA) has quietly awarded a cloud contract worth up to $10 billion to Amazon Web Services, setting off another high stakes fight between Amazon and Microsoft over NSA contracts.
Poly Network, a decentralized cryptocurrency platform, has lost about $600m in digital tokens in a hacking attack believed to be one the largest ever thefts in the cryptocurrency market.; The hackers behind the cryptocurrency heist from Poly Network have returned $260m of the stolen assets.
The global consulting firm Accenture has been hit by a cyberattack from the LockBit ransomware gang, according to the cybercriminal group’s website.

Tags: international-news, covid-news, immigrant-news, capitol-storming-news, big-tech-news, cyber-security-news, cryptocurrency-news

AP News (11/8/21): Nationwide Train Strike Disrupts Travel Across Germany

Tags: labor-news, international-news

New York Times (12/8/21): The largest U.S. teachers’ union announces support for vaccination or testing for educators.

Tags: union-news, covid-news

New York Times (12/8/21): Surf Instructor Killed His Children and Claimed QAnon Made Him Do It, F.B.I. Says - Matthew Taylor Coleman, 40, of Santa Barbara, Calif., abducted his 2-year-old son and 10-month-old daughter and took them to Mexico, the authorities said.

Tags: militant-far-right-news

On Labor (12/8/21):

Record temperatures are sweeping across the U.S., and agricultural workers are paying the price. The United Farm Workers has tracked at least three heat-related deaths this season. ... There are currently no OSHA rules covering heat stress, and lacking many traditional labor protections, agricultural workers face steep challenges improving their working conditions.
The labor backlash continues to grow at Activision Blizzard, the billion-dollar game developer being sued by the State of California alleging a culture of sexual harassment and abuse of its employees. Workers at the company recently formed a working group called the ABK Workers Alliance to help coordinate demands. They have said Blizzard is not listening to their concerns, especially since hiring a law firm known for its history of helping companies combat union movements. ... Jeff Strain, a former senior Blizzard employee and now owner of his own development company, has called for wholesale unionization of the industry.
The U.S. government and Tridonex, a Mexican auto parts maker, came to an agreement today to improve working conditions at its plant. This enforcement comes as an early test of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The company will now provide severance and backpay to at least 154 workers who were fired and “will support employees’ rights to determine union representation without coercion.”
FedEx is currently embroiled in “one of the largest Fair Labor Standards Act overtime collectives in history,” a suit representing 30,000 people. Today, that collective added 14 more state claims to their complaint for overtime against the company. The claims span Arkansas, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin law. The suit’s primary contention is that FedEx “is liable as a joint employer for overtime owed to drivers who, ‘on paper,’ work for independent contracted service providers so the company can avoid certain employment obligations.”

Tags: labor-news, food-security-news, capitalist-farce-news, international-news, union-news, court-news

Salon (12/8/21): Anti-mask mob swarm school board meeting - Tennessee parents surround health workers advocating for school mask mandates: "We know who you are"

Tags: far-right-news, covid-news

The Guardian (12/8/21): ‘We’re going to see a lot of deaths’: Covid leaves Mississippi hospitals at brink of failure - Only 35.6% of residents are fully vaccinated in the state, which is opening a field hospital as officials brace for climbing death toll

Tags: covid-news, healthcare-news

The Economist World This Week (12/8/21): The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released the first part of its latest assessment report. The Earth is warming. Even with a drastic reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions temperatures will probably be 1.5oC above their late-19th century levels by 2050. Climate change is under way, the report laments, with all the environmental consequences that brings. The extent of the damage depends on the cumulative build-up of emissions and can be limited if the world strives for net-zero carbon emissions.

Tags: climate-change-news

ZDNet (12/8/21): Windows 10: Microsoft just revealed another Print Spooler bug - Microsoft discloses a new PrintNightmare bug and advises admins to disable the Print Spooler service to mitigate the issue.

Tags: cyber-security-news, big-tech-news

The American Prospect (12/8/21): Biden’s Oil-Friendly Appointees - The newly installed State Department energy adviser joins a group of administration officials who appear wedded to fossil fuels.

Tags: big-oil-news, fail-biden-policy-news

The Hill (12/8/21): Minneapolis GOP campaign manager, PAC founder allegedly sex trafficked minors

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, crime-news

Common Dreams (12/8/21): ACLU Sues DC, Cops Over Attacks on Journalists at 2020 Racial Justice Protests - "The fact that MPD attacked, arrested me, and then held my camera for nearly a year for no reason sends a chilling message to everyone of what is at risk," one of the plaintiffs in the suit warned.

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news

In These Times (12/8/21): Tribal Court Case Against Line 3 Pipeline Is First to Invoke “Rights of Nature” - The suit by the White Earth Band of Ojibwe says Enbridge’s pipeline would violate the rights of wild rice, which the tribe enshrined in law in 2018.

Tags: indigenous-news, big-oil-news

Tags: court-news

Democracy Now (13/8/21): Daily Headlines:

U.S. Begins Evacuating Afghanistan Embassy Staff as Taliban Seize Kandahar and Herat - In Afghanistan, the Taliban has seized control of Kandahar and Herat, the country’s second- and third-largest cities. Taliban forces have also overrun Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital of Helmand province in the south. It’s one of 17 provincial capitals now under Taliban control
FDA Approves Third COVID-19 Vaccine Dose for Immunocompromised People
Four Teachers in Florida’s Broward County Die of COVID-19 in One Day
Supreme Court Blocks Part of New York Eviction Moratorium Despite Worsening Pandemic
Jewish American Leaders Demand AIPAC Apologize over Islamophobic Ads Attacking “The Squad”
U.S.-Mexico Border Apprehensions Hit 212,000+ in July, Highest Rate in 20+ Years
Texas Senate Passes Voter Suppression Bill After 15-Hour Filibuster by Democratic Lawmaker
Sen. Rand Paul Failed to Disclose His Wife Bought Stock in Company That Makes COVID Drug
9,000+ Anti-Asian Incidents Reported in U.S. Since Start of Pandemic
Water Protector Begins 8-Year Sentence for DAPL Eco-Sabotage

Tags: international-news, covid-news, court-news, social-woes-news, immigrant-news, voting-rights-news, corruption-news, gop-shenanigans-news, crime-news, big-oil-news

Posted 12 August 2021

Ars Technica (11/8/21): Most of the power sector’s emissions come from a small minority of plants - Shutting down the worst 5% would cut electricity's carbon emissions by 75%.

Tags: energy-news, climate-change-news, analysis-news

New York Times (11/8/21): As Congress Recesses, Democratic Successes Do Not Include Voting Rights - Democratic leaders vow to make voting legislation the “first matter of legislative business” in September. But their path remains cluttered with obstacles.

Tags: voting-rights-news, bad-democrat-news, legislation-news, politics-news

ProPublica (11/8/21): Secret IRS Files Reveal How Much the Ultrawealthy Gained by Shaping Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Tax Cut”

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, tax-news, corruption-news

The Majority Report (11/8/21): What's In The Reconciliation Package?

How are they paying for it? Increasing funding for the IRS so it can enforce tax policy, increasing income tax of those making more than $400k/year, taxing pollutors, and saving money by negotiating down drug prices for Medicaire

Tags: infrastructure-news, legislation-news

Ars Technica (11/8/21): Leaked voting machine BIOS passwords may implicate Q-friendly county clerk - Leaked BIOS passwords led investigators to Tina Peters' office in Mesa County, Colo.

Tags: far-right-news

Law and Crime (11/8/21): White Man Attacked Black Driver in Road Rage Incident, Performed Nazi Salute, and Threatened Mass Shooting: Deputies

Tags: far-right-news

Just Security (11/8/21): Early Edition

The Taliban overtook three further Afghan provincial capitals yesterday, effectively cutting off the main highway connecting the country’s capital with northern Afghan provinces.
The Biden administration is preparing for Kabul to fall within 90 days based on U.S. military assessments, far sooner than feared only weeks ago, according to current and former U.S. officials familiar with the matter
Top officials from the Department of Defense and State Department have voiced support for continuing the U.S. and Egyptian security relationship, as Congress debates restricting funds over concerns about human rights abuses and the Egyptian government’s crackdown on civil society.
Dade Phelan (R-TX), speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, has signed off on dozens of civil arrest warrants for Democrats, after a majority of the remaining representatives in the chamber voted to authorize the step

Tags: international-news, voting-rights-news, politics-news

Common Dreams (11/8/21): Tennessee Compiled Secret Dossiers on Civil Rights Protesters - "You can't even keep these files because there's potential for abuse," said the ACLU of Tennessee.

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news

Al Jazeera (11/8/21): Canada violating int’l law by selling arms to Saudis: Report - Weapons could be used in the conflict in Yemen, say rights groups, which are urging Ottawa to cancel exports to the Gulf kingdom.

Tags: international-news, corruption-news

On Labor (11/8/21): A new report released on Tuesday by the Economic Policy Institute reveals that CEO compensation has grown by more than 1,300 percent since 1978, shattering the dismal 18 percent growth in a typical worker’s annual compensation during the same time period.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news

ZDNet (11/8/21): Microsoft fixes Windows 10 PrintNightmare flaw with this update - But the update might change how you install new printers.

Tags: cyber-security-news

Ars Technica (11/8/21): Valve’s upcoming Steam Deck will be based on Arch Linux—not Debian - The best Linux gaming happens on the bleeding edge—just where Arch Linux shines.

Tags: semi-open-tech-news

South China Morning Post (11/8/21): Human rights abuses claimed in hundreds of China belt and road projects - A report has identified rights allegations involving Chinese companies in the Asia-Pacific region, Latin America and Africa - Myanmar had the highest number of recorded cases, followed by Peru, Ecuador and Laos Important Note on SCMP

Tags: international-news

Common Dreams (11/8/21): Koch Network Infiltration of Public Schools 'Harms Students, Teachers, and Our Democracy': Report - "In their assault on public education, the network has taken actions to increasingly privatize and corporatize K-12 institutions."

Tags: money-news, corruption-news, privatization-news, far-right-news

Jacobin (8/8/21): The Remaking of the Arab Working Class - Once powerful Arab left-wing movements took a battering in recent decades, but they’ve reemerged since 2011 to play a vital role in struggles for freedom and social justice. Rebuilding strong labor organizations is crucial for democracy in the Middle East.

Tags: labor-news, international-news

Democracy Now (12/8/21): Daily Headlines:

WHO Warns World Could Log 100 Million More COVID-19 Cases by 2022
200+ Scientists Ask Biden to Adopt “Wartime Footing” to Scale Up Vaccine Production
CDC Urges Pregnant People to Get Vaccinated; FDA to Approve Third Dose for Immunocompromised
Sen. Ted Cruz Filibusters Senate Bills on Gerrymandering, Campaign Finance & Voting
Pacific Northwest Faces Another Heat Wave with Triple-Digit Temperatures
White House Asks OPEC to Pump More Oil
U.K. Judge Says U.S. Can Expand Scope of Appeal Arguments Against Julian Assange
U.N. Condemns U.S. Expulsion of Central American Asylum Seekers to Mexico

Tags: covid-news, voting-rights-news, gop-shenanigans-news, climate-change-news, big-oil-news, fail-biden-policy-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, immigrant-news

Posted 11 August 2021

The American Prospect (9/8/21): The Warehouse Archipelago - As many as four million workers labor in clusters of warehouses scattered across the United States. Many are mislabeled as ‘temps’; all are poorly paid, and on-the-job injuries are high.

Tags: labor-news, logistics-news, capitalist-farce-news, analysis-news

The Hill (9/8/21): Analysis: 15 percent of US coronavirus cases are now children

Tags: covid-news

Vice (10/8/21): Yet Another Black Man Has Been Killed Over Loud Music - The suspected shooter had a “verbal altercation” with the victim about “the volume of music” coming from his car.

Tags: civil-rights-news, crime-news

The Black Wall Street Times (10/8/21): New York Governor Cuomo resigns, will be replaced by first female governor in state’s history

Tags: cuomo-news, bad-democrat-news

The Guardian (10/8/21): US Senate passes giant $1tn bipartisan infrastructure bill - 19 Republicans join Democrats in helping get plan over the finish line as Biden hails key step in progress of bill

Tags: infrastructure-news, legislation-news

The Revolving Door Project (6/8/21): The Key Climate Appointment Biden Hasn’t Announced

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, climate-change-news

The Hill (10/8/21): Florida requesting hundreds of ventilators from federal government: report

Tags: covid-news

Jacobin (8/8/21): The Market Is Incapable of Creating Affordable Housing - There isn’t a single place in the United States where minimum-wage workers can afford to live near their jobs. Addressing the affordability crisis will require a major rollback of market influence over the housing sector.

Tags: social-woes-news, capitalist-farce-news

Common Dreams (10/8/21): 75 Groups Ask DOJ to Oppose 'Racist' Anti-Protest Laws - "We have seen time and time again that where racial justice protests flourish, anti-protest laws follow. And we know that police and prosecutors don't need more tools or power to abuse our constitutional rights."

Tags: civil-rights-news, gop-shenanigans-news, policy-news

Jacobin (9/8/21) (YT): Why Doesn't Capitalism Collapse? — Vivek Chibber

Tags: labor-news, analysis-news

Just Security (10/8/21): Early Edition:

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is under pressure from lawmakers for withholding information about an attack last year in Kenya that killed three Americans
South Korea and the U.S. will begin preliminary military drills today, despite warnings from North Korea that the military exercises would negatively impact any thawing of relations between North and South Korea, the Yonhap news agency reported yesterday.; Kim Yo-jong, a key adviser and sister to the North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un, has called Seoul’s authorities “treacherous” over South Korea’s “dangerous” joint military exercises with the U.S., warning that the U.S. and South Korea would “face greater security threats” as a result

Tags: international-news, defense-news, security-news

The Intercept (10/8/21): DEA and ICE Award Mexican Police Commander Whose Unit Is Accused of Grisly Massacre - The commander was honored at a U.S. consulate for his “exceptional,” “outstanding,” and “continuous contributions” to law enforcement agencies.

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, international-news

Wired (10/8/21): The NYPD Had a Secret Fund for Surveillance Tools - Documents reveal that police bought facial-recognition software, vans equipped with x-ray machines, and “stingray” cell site simulators—with no public oversight.

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Democracy Now (11/8/21): Daily Headlines

Senate Dems Approve $3.5 Trillion Budget Hours After Passage of Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan
Cases Spike in Tacoma ICE Jail; TX Counties Can Bypass Mask Mandate Ban as Delta COVID Cases Surge
Lawsuit Against Biden Admin Details Abuse, Neglect of Migrant Children at Texas Facilities
Texas Law Enforcement Could Start Arresting Dems Who Fled the State to Block Voter Suppression Bill
USPS to Start Slowing Down Deliveries, Grants Major Contract to Co. Tied to Postmaster General DeJoy

Tags: legislation-news, infrastructure-news, covid-news, immigrant-news, fail-biden-policy-news, voting-rights-news, gop-shenanigans-news, corruption-news

Posted 10 August 2021

The American Prospect (9/8/21): Infrastructure Summer: Amtrak Victorious - The much-maligned rail operator gets some respect and more than a few billion in banknotes out of the bruising infrastructure battle.

Tags: infrastructure-news, rail-news

Law and Crime (9/8/21): One of Jeffrey Epstein’s Most Prominent Alleged Victims Just Filed a Lawsuit Accusing Prince Andrew of Sexual Assault

Tags: crime-news, epstein-news

Law and Crime (9/8/21): Two More Accused Militia Members Added to Growing Oath Keepers Indictment. One of Them Was in a ‘Leadership Only’ Chat.

Tags: capitol-storming-news, militant-far-right-news

The American Prospect (9/8/21): The Truth About Intervening Powers in the Middle East - And the title ‘biggest meddler’ goes to … the UAE, not Iran.

Tags: international-news, policy-news

Democracy Now (10/8/21):

Pentagon Will Require All Military Personnel to Get Vaccinated Against COVID-19
Florida Reopens Schools, with Masks Optional, as State Becomes Coronavirus Epicenter
California Officials Warn Record-Shattering Wildfire Could Burn for Weeks
New York Lawmakers Pledge Swift Impeachment Probe of Gov. Andrew Cuomo
R. Kelly Sex Trafficking Trial Opens in New York

Tags: covid-news, defense-news, gop-shenanigans-news, climate-change-news, cuomo-news, bad-democrat-news, crime-news

Just Security (9/8/21): Early Edition:

Jeffrey A. Rosen, who was acting attorney general during Trump’s administration, has told the Justice Department watchdog and congressional investigators that one of his deputies, the acting head of the Justice Department’s civil division Jeffrey Clark, tried to help Trump subvert the results of the 2020 election, according to a person familiar with the interviews
Families of victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, along with survivors and first responders, have released a statement telling Biden not to attend any further memorial events unless his administration declassifies documents regarding Saudi Arabia’s role in the attacks
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has admitted that the U.S. government has few answers surrounding the so-called Havana syndrome, the unexplained health incidents that have impacted diplomats at home and abroad
A Moscow court on Friday sentenced one of the most prominent U.S. investors based in Russia to a five-year, six-month suspended term after an embezzlement conviction
Paul Whelan, a U.S. citizen detained in Russia, has been released from solitary confinement and was able to speak with his parents, his brother David Whelan has told CNN
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a U.N. panel, has released its much-anticipated report on climate change today, issuing a stark warning that climate change is widespread, rapid and intensifying, with some trends now irreversible.

Tags: trump-news, security-news, policy-news, international-news

Posted 9 August 2021

Common Dreams (8/8/21): What Nina Turner's Loss Can Teach Future Progressive Candidates - A flood of dark money and establishment opposition helped sink Turner's campaign—but progressive challengers can still win if they learn from the defeat while running on a redistributive platform.

Tags: electoral-news, progressive-dem-news, analysis-news

The Majority Report (8/8/21): Eviction Debacle Is Lowest Point Of Biden's Presidency w/ David Dayen - David Dayen points out a mass eviction would, beyond the total moral failure of it, an electoral disaster for Biden. Especially considering how the milquetoast response to GOP voter suppression/gerrymandering/etc is that we will "out-organize them". You will organize millions of people that got evicted on your watch?

Tags: social-woes-news, electoral-news, fail-biden-policy-news, analysis-news

Who Gets the Bird (8/8/21):

The mainstream media broke its months-long silence on the coal miners strike at Warrior Met in Brookwood, AL with ABC airing a segment on the fight. Jacobin also published an overview of the strike, as a thousand miners and supporters rallied in Brookwood.
The Morgantown, WV Mylan pharmaceutical plant [the one which Senator Manchin apparently failed to do anything to defend, in spite of all of his bluster, although there is still a shred of uncertainty] has officially closed as of July 31st, turning 1400 jobs (800 of which were Steelworkers Local 8-957 union jobs) into just 70, as workers decommission the plant. The opioid manufacturing deindustrialization death spiral is almost too on the nose.
The Texas AFL-CIO is endorsing a series of recommendations to transition to a clean energy economy. We aren’t quite there yet, but this is yet another serious crack in the idea that fossil fuel workers organizations will never support a Green New Deal or similar.
New York’s top labor leaders have finally broken with Governor Andrew Cuomo, after an Attorney General report detailing his extensive record of sexual harassment came out. In no uncertain terms, everyone from the New YorkAFL-CIO to NYSUT to 32BJ to DC37 to the Hotel Trades Council and plenty others called Cuomo to resign or be impeached. This is a labor movement that has largely stood by him, despite his vow to “mount a presidential-style permanent political campaign to counter the well-financed labor unions” before he even took office, and other indignities.

Tags: media-news, labor-news, bad-democrat-news, pharma-news, cuomo-news, union-news

On Labor (8/8/21): Snippets Below, Read Article for Details

Despite Trumka’s impassioned and experienced leadership, his 12-year tenure at the head of the A.F.L.-C.I.O. coincided with the decline of organized labor in both union membership rates and the influence of labor unions on the political process. Under Trumka’s leadership, the federation prioritized political outcomes – rather than focusing on basic organizing and expanding union membership, a position for which many key figures in the labor movement passionately advocate – and, following his sudden unanticipated departure, these fundamental strategical decisions are being reconsidered ...
... Taking a broader view, however, the evidence is unmistakable and overwhelming: The labor movement is in a protracted period of crisis, and, in 2021, less than seven percent of private-sector workers belong to a labor union – a number that, with some exceptions, has been declining for nearly 50 consecutive years. ...
...Many of Trumka’s closest associates are backing Elizabeth Shuler, current Secretary-Treasurer of the federation, whom many “reformers” – those hoping to see the next president lead the federation into a new direction – regard with suspicion. Many reformers are instead backing Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants and one of the most popular and charismatic figures in the labor movement.
Union resistance to a vaccine mandate has little to do with vaccine hesitancy or misinformation and much to do with broader questions of relative workplace power and labor relations. Many view the former issue – whether employees should receive the vaccine, with which they almost all earnestly agree – as distinct from the latter, which is whether employers should be able to unilaterally mandate that employees receive the vaccine. Nonetheless, this issue is far from resolved, and it is one to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.

Tags: analysis-news, union-news, covid-news, labor-news

The Guardian (8/8/21): Fears as more children falling ill in latest US Covid surge and school approaches - National Institutes of Health director says 1,450 kids in hospital - Teachers union shifts, calls for vaccine mandates for teachers

Tags: covid-news, union-news

Jacobin (YT) (7/8/21): The Fall and Rise of the American Left — Vivek Chibber

Tags: labor-news, history-news

The Economist (7/8/21): Chief executives are the new monarchs - The habits and flaws tycoons share with dynastic rulers

Sharing here less for the content (although still fine), but also because it is quite funny seeing this criticism coming from The Economist

Tags: capitalist-farce-news

Business Insider (6/8/21): A Texas school district asked a Black principal to remove a photo of him kissing his white wife. Then the community branded him a critical race theory 'boogeyman.' (via u/L86C on r/Libertarian)

Tags: civil-rights-news, far-right-news

Democracy Now (9/8/21): Daily Headlines:

Irreversible Climate Devastation Unavoidable, World Has Little Time to Make Drastic Change
Dixie Fire Explodes to Largest Single Fire in CA History; Wildfires Continue to Ravage Greece
Cases Surge in TX, FL as GOP Govs Fight Health Measures; Teachers Union Considers Vaccine Mandate
Biden Admin Extends Pause on Federal Student Loan Repayment
Texas Facilities for Immigrant Children Could Soon Operate Without Official Oversight
Former Acting AG Jeffrey Rosen Says Deputy Tried to Subvert 2020 Election Results
Aide Accuses Gov. Andrew Cuomo of Groping: “What He Did to Me Was a Crime”
Nagasaki Marks 76th Anniversary of U.S. Nuclear Attack

Tags: climate-change-news, covid-news, gop-shenanigans-news, biden-policy-news, immigrant-news, trump-news, cuomo-news, bad-democrat-news, crime-news, history-news

Posted 8 August 2021

The Intercept (7/8/21): Minnesota Law Enforcement Agency Blocks Release of Public Records About Surveilling Pipeline Opponents - The state’s fusion center, which coordinates police intelligence-sharing, enacted the policy after critical stories in the news media.

The Majority Report (7/8/21): Why Performative Normie Progressive Politics Works In Democratic Primaries

Tags: electoral-news, analysis-news

The Rational National (7/8/21): Anti-Union Elon Musk Gets Snubbed By Biden

Tags: busting-labor-news, union-news, biden-policy-news, capitalist-farce-news

Jacobin (7/8/21): How Australia Won Universal Health Care — And How Workers Saved It With a General Strike - In 1974, the Whitlam Labor government introduced Australia’s first universal health care system. Despite its flaws, Medibank was a huge step forward — and Australia’s unions organized a general strike to defend it against conservative attacks.

Jacobin (7/8/21): The Opioid Settlement Is Good for Big Pharma. It May Not Be Good for Us. - The pharmaceutical companies that fueled the opioid crisis must be held legally accountable. But to confront the social problems at the root of the addiction crisis, we’ll need political victories, not just courtroom ones.

Tags: pharma-news, healthcare-news, capitalist-farce-news, social-woes-news, court-news

Salon (7/8/21): "Masterclass in cronyism": Louis DeJoy has ties to company just awarded $120M USPS contract - "The amount of suspicion I had about him ... could fill the Grand Canyon"

Tags: corruption-news

EFF (6/8/21): Why Companies Keep Folding to Copyright Pressure, Even If They Shouldn’t

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news

Jacobin (29/7/21): When Communists Organized a New Jersey Textile Strike - In 1926, New Jersey textile workers went on a massive strike, organized and supported by the Communist Party. The strike ultimately failed, but it showed the central role Communists could play in American class struggle.

Tags: history-news, book-review-news, labor-news, socialist-news

The Economist (7/8/21): Taking aim at ghost guns - Can American politicians hit a spectral target?

Tags: policy-news

Wired (7/8/21): All the Ways Spotify Tracks You—and How to Stop It - Whether you're listening to workout music or a "cooking dinner" playlist, the app can show you ads based on your mood and what you're doing right now.

Tags: big-tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

EFF (6/8/21): Tech Rights Are Workers' Rights: Doordash Edition

Tags: big-tech-news, labor-news, capitalist-farce-news

Jacobin (8/8/21): Benoît Hamon to Jacobin: “French Democracy Is Unquestionably in Crisis” - Next year’s French election looks like it’ll be dominated by right-wing discourses around identity and immigration. Former Socialist candidate Benoît Hamon tells Jacobin how the Left can put inequality back on the agenda and win.

Tags: international-news, socialist-news, politics-news, far-right-news, labor-news

Posted 7 August 2021

New York Times (6/8/21): An Obstacle to Amtrak Expansion That Money Won’t Solve - Amtrak and freight rail companies have long clashed over the use of railroad tracks, a dispute that is now playing out along the Gulf Coast, where the agency is seeking to restore service.

Tags: rail-news, infrastructure-news

Jacobin (YT) (6/8/21): When Nuclear Power Plants Shut Down, Fossil Fuel Wins — Madison Czerwinski

Byron Nuclear plants in Illinois (four of them) being forced off the grid by cheap natural gas, unless legislation is passed to aid them. Negotiations ongoing for energy in Illinois due to disputes between environment and labor lobby, but an impasse announced means conversations about these plants have ended, and these plants are on the road to being shut down. In their wake, fossil fuels will take their place, leading to a larger carbon footprint for Illinois.

Tags: energy-news, infrastructure-news, big-oil-news, climate-change-news

The Nation (6/8/21): Unions Are the Heart of Arizona’s Political Change - The historically red state’s GOP is attacking organized labor, but labor is fighting back and turning Arizona blue.

Tags: union-news, labor-news, gop-shenanigans-news, politics-news, electoral-news

The Hill (6/8/21): Former Cuomo assistant filed criminal complaint with Albany sheriff: report

Tags: cuomo-news, bad-democrat-news, crime-news

Jacobin (6/8/21): Amazon’s Power Will Only Keep Expanding in the Near Future - Amazon was already gargantuan before the pandemic. Its rapid growth since then has made it one of the most powerful institutions in the country’s history — shaping our physical as much as mental landscapes, and putting more and more of our daily lives under its control.

Tags: big-tech-news, capitalist-farce-news, labor-news, antitrust-news, analysis-news, history-news

Common Dreams (6/8/21): As Fascist GOP Threat Grows, Dems Verge on Historic Failure to Secure Voting Rights - "Mark my words," warned former Labor Secretary Robert Reich. "If we don't pass the For the People Act, the GOP is going to gerrymander their way to a House majority—and they may never give it up."

Tags: electoral-news, gop-shenanigans-news, bad-democrat-news, politics-news

New York Times (6/8/21): Myanmar Ambassador, Who Opposed Coup, Is Target of Assassination Plot - Federal prosecutors in Manhattan said two Myanmar citizens living in New York plotted over the past month to attack and potentially kill the country’s ambassador to the United Nations.

Tags: international-news

OnLabor (6/8/21):

A new report from The Century Foundation estimates that 7.5 million workers in the U.S. will lose all unemployment benefits once federal pandemic unemployment assistance ends on September 6.
The NewsGuild, which represents journalists and other non-media workers, like the ACLU of Missouri, reported that it broke all its past organizing records in 2021, five months before the year has even ended. NewsGuild has organized a record-setting 1,500 workers across 29 different organizations in 2021, compared to an average of more than 1,400 a year in the past three years.

Tags: labor-news, social-woes-news, economic-news, union-news, media-news

Common Dreams (6/8/21): Climate-Linked Drought Leads to First Ever Shutdown of California Hydropower Plant - "Climate change is worsening California's water crisis."

Tags: climate-change-news, energy-news

Mother Jones (6/8/21): Team Biden Quietly Approved a Fat Subsidy for One of America’s Top Coal Suppliers - “Somebody’s asleep at the switch here.”

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, corruption-news, big-oil-news

CounterPunch (6/8/21): Remembering the Battle of Blair Mountain

Tags: history-news, labor-news, union-news, analysis-news

Mother Jones (6/8/21): Happy Friday: Biden Extended Student Debt Relief Through January

Tags: social-woes-news, economic-news

Vox (5/8/21): The chip shortage is getting worse - The semiconductor supply crunch came for cars and phones. Now consumers are facing higher prices.

Tags: logistics-news, tech-news

Common Dreams (6/8/21): 'This Ain't Right!': Top US Insurers Made $11 Billion in 2nd Quarter - "It's time to break up Big Pharma," said Our Revolution. "It's time for Medicare for All."

Tags: healthcare-news, capitalist-farce-news

Posted 6 August 2021

The Nation (5/8/21): Richard Trumka, 1949–2021 - The labor leader practiced “true solidarity”—from his days as an anti-apartheid activist to his bold embrace of immigrant rights and Black Lives Matter.

“True labor solidarity cannot be limited by national boundaries or the color of a person’s skin. My opposition to apartheid comes not only from my personal beliefs and values, but is also deeply rooted in the history of my union,” he declared at a historic rally in Chicago in 1988.

Tags: labor-news, union-news, obituary-news

ZDNet (5/8/21): Facebook shuts down NYU misinformation study, sparking outrage - Professors and lawyers condemned Facebook's decision to end a university investigation into political ads and misinformation.

Tags:big-tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

In These Times (5/8/21): At a Massive Union Rally, the Promise of a Better South - Striking mine workers in Alabama bring together the whole wide world.

Tags: labor-news

ProPublica (5/8/21): We Are Releasing the Full Video of Richard Sackler’s Testimony About Purdue Pharma and the Opioid Crisis - A settlement is about to shield members of the Sackler family from civil litigation regarding their alleged roles in the opioid crisis. So it’s a good time to release the full video of Richard Sackler’s 2015 deposition.

Tags: pharma-news, corruption-news

KHN (5/8/21): 2+2=? Senate Uses Murky Math as It Shelves Drug Pricing Rule to Fund Infrastructure

Tags: infrastructure-news, healthcare-news, politics-news

The Hill (5/8/21): Arkansas hospital exec says health care workers are walking off the job amid spike in COVID-19 cases - Health care workers in Arkansas are starting to walk off the job as instances of short staffing and burnout continue to increase in the state.

Tags: labor-news, covid-news, healthcare-news

EFF (5/8/21): Apple's Plan to "Think Different" About Encryption Opens a Backdoor to Your Private Life

There are two main features that the company is planning to install in every Apple device. One is a scanning feature that will scan all photos as they get uploaded into iCloud Photos to see if they match a photo in the database of known child sexual abuse material (CSAM) maintained by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). The other feature scans all iMessage images sent or received by child accounts—that is, accounts designated as owned by a minor—for sexually explicit material, and if the child is young enough, notifies the parent when these images are sent or received. This feature can be turned on or off by parents.

Tags: big-tech-news, cyber-security-news

Jacobin (5/8/21): Nina Turner Showed That a Left Candidate Can Win Black Workers - Nina Turner’s primary loss this week stings, but a close look at the numbers makes clear her loss wasn’t the result of a bold left-wing candidate being unable to win over black workers. On the contrary: in black working-class districts, Turner performed well.

Tags: electoral-news, analysis-news, progressive-dem-news

On Labor (5/8/21):

Ongoing revelations surrounding New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s serial sexual misconduct while in office have lost the governor the support of organized labor.
Members of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee deadlocked on Tuesday on whether to advance Brandeis University Professor David Weil’s nomination to lead the Department of Labor’s Wage & Hour Division (WHD).
Yesterday, Axios reported that reporters at POLITICO are actively mounting a campaign to unionize the company’s newsroomYesterday, Axios reported that reporters at POLITICO are actively mounting a campaign to unionize the company’s newsroom
Finally, rideshare companies Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and Instacart moved forward this week with plans to place a proposal on the Massachusetts ballot that would allow them to deny their drivers rights as employees.

Tags: cuomo-news, bad-democrat-news, union-news, politics-news, capitalist-farce-news, legislation-news

Jacobin (5/8/21): Another Socialist Will Be Taking a Seat in the New York City Council - Socialist City Council candidate Kristin Richardson Jordan scored a remarkable upset victory in Harlem, with a campaign combining unabashed radicalism with a commitment to the unglamorous work of constituent services.

Tags: electoral-news, socialist-news

ZDNet (5/8/21): CISA to partner with Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Verizon, AT&T and more for cyberdefense initiative - CISA director Jen Easterly said the initiative was being created now so they can "plan for how we're going to respond in wartime."

Tags: cyber-security-news, big-tech-news

Common Dreams (5/8/21): 'Unimaginably Catastrophic': Researchers Fear Gulf Stream System Could Collapse - "Scientists say we cannot allow this to happen. People in power stand in our way."

Tags: climate-change-news

The Majority Report (5/8/21): How Does ANYONE Survive On $700 A Month From SSI?

Tags: social-woes-news, economic-news

David Pakman Show (4/8/21): Marjorie Taylor Greene Suggests Shooting Vaccinators

Tags: far-right-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Democracy Now (6/8/21): Daily Headlines:

Dixie Fire Grows to Become Sixth Largest in California History - Six of the largest 10 wildfires in California’s history have happened since 2020. Elsewhere in Northern California, officials shut down a hydroelectric power plant at Lake Oroville after the reservoir reached a record low level amid a searing drought.
Study Warns Atlantic Ocean Current Could Collapse, with Devastating Impact on Climate
Biden Restores Tailpipe Emissions Standards, Promotes Switch to Electric Vehicles
Democratic Bill Would Tax Big Polluters $500 Billion to Pay for Climate Damage
U.S. Coronavirus Cases Hit Six-Month High with Over 100,000 Daily Infections
Texas Governor Orders Special Legislative Session in Latest Attempt to Pass Voter Suppression Bills
ACLU Sues to Overturn Texas Order Restricting Travel by Asylum Seekers
Biden Administration Will Outfit Thousands of Border Agents with Body Cameras
Hiroshima Marks 76th Anniversary of U.S. Nuclear Attack

Tags: climate-change-news, infrastructure-news, biden-policy-news, tax-news, legislation-news, gop-shenanigans-news, voting-rights-news, covid-news, immigrant-news, history-news

Posted 5 August 2021

OpenSecrets (4/8/21): Real estate industry groups spent millions to halt the national eviction moratorium

Tags: corruption-news, capitalist-farce-news, social-woes-news, money-news

Louis Rossmann (with the Majority Report) (4/8/21): An honest discussion about Right to Repair with Sam Seder

Tags: right-to-repair-news

The Intercept (4/8/21): EPA Whistleblowers Say Managers Bullied Them to Approve Dangerous Chemicals - Corporations are pressuring the EPA to approve dozens of chemicals despite internal warnings of their danger.

Tags: corruption-news, capitalist-farce-news

Al Jazeera (4/8/21): US blocks seafood from Fiji ship accused of enslaving crew - US customs and border officials determined there was credible evidence that the fishing vessel operated by a Chinese national was subjecting crew members to conditions defined as forced labour by international standards.

Tags: labor-news, international-news, logistics-news, biden-policy-news

The Moscow Times (4/8/21): Space Station Docking Mishap Could Have Knock-On Effects – AP

Tags: international-news

The Seattle Times (4/8/21): Hundreds rally for striking coal miners in Alabama

Tags: labor-news

Jacobin (8/4/21): Nina Turner’s Defeat Shows That Big Money Still Rules in US Politics - If there’s a lesson in the Ohio 11th race, it’s about the lengths to which the Democratic machine is willing to go to defeat its leading critics — and the lows to which it’s ultimately willing to stoop.

Tags: money-news, bad-democrat-news, progressive-dem-news

The Intercept (4/8/21): Wall Street Investors Press Corporate Landlords on Eviction Plan - In multiple investor calls, financial analysts have pressured corporate owners to move quickly to get tenants out of homes.

Tags: corruption-news, social-woes-news

The Intercept (4/8/21): Mass Resignations at Scientific Journal Over Ethically Fraught China Genetics Papers - “This situation is creating a shameful embarrassment that reflects poorly on all medical genetics journals and on the entire medical genetics community,” a critic of the studies wrote.

Tags: science-news, corruption-news

The Majority Report (4/8/21): Did Progressive Media Fail Nina Turner? - Sam Seder gives a good boomer rant on how to do politics, and the goal - to win

Tags: analysis-news, electoral-news

The Majority Report (4/8/21): GOP Gov. Regrets Banning Mask Mandates As Covid Crushes Arkansas [see also here]

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, covid-news

Democracy Now (5/8/21): Daily Headlines

WHO Calls for Moratorium on Third Doses Amid Stark Global Vaccine Inequity
Amid Soaring Profits, Moderna and Pfizer to Raise COVID-19 Vaccine Prices
Over Half of China’s Provinces Log New COVID Cases; Tokyo Olympics Registers Worst Daily Toll
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Bans Mask Mandates, Blames Immigrants & Biden for Record COVID Surge
U.S. Ranks Dead Last for Healthcare Among 11 Wealthy Countries
Report on NCAA Finds Stark Gap in Resources for Men’s and Women’s Athletics
New York Gov. Cuomo Faces Multiple Criminal Probes over Sexual Harassment Claims

Tags: covid-news, vaccine-ip-news, international-news, gop-shenanigans-news, civil-rights-news, cuomo-news, bad-democrat-news

Posted 4 August 2021

Jacobin (3/8/21): The Legacy of the Crushed 1981 PATCO Strike - Forty years ago today, 13,000 air traffic controllers went on strike. President Ronald Reagan would soon crush that strike — leading to devastating consequences for organized labor and all workers that we’re still dealing with today.

Tags: history-news, labor-news

The Majority Report (21/7/21): Delta Covid-19 Surge: What You Need To Know

Tags: covid-news, analysis-news

KHN (3/8/21): A Health Care Giant Sold Off Dozens of Hospitals — But Continued Suing Patients

Tags: social-woes-news, healthcare-news, capitalist-farce-news

OpenSecrets (3/8/21): Secret donors are already pouring ‘dark money’ into 2022 elections

Tags: dark-money-news, electoral-news

The Rational National (3/8/21): New Ruling Revives Amazon Union Effort

Tags: labor-news

The American Prospect (3/8/21): Holding Electricity for Ransom - The electric grid is a prime target for hackers, but the private companies that dominate the sector often put dollar signs before cyber sense.

Tags: infrastructure-news, capitalist-farce-news, cyber-security-news

LaborNotes (27/7/21): Union Hopes High as Chileans Rewrite Anti-Labor Constitution

Tags: international-news, labor-news

Revolving Door Project (29/7/21): Who Would Be A Better Fed Chair Than Powell?

Tags: policy-news, economic-news

The Guardian (3/8/21): US announces new 60-day eviction ban that would protect millions of Americans - CDC has found legal authority for a moratorium that would shield areas with substantial Covid transmission

Tags: social-woes-news, progressive-dem-news

The Guardian (3/8/21): Biden calls on Andrew Cuomo to resign after sexual harassment report – video

Tags: cuomo-news, bad-democrat-news, biden-policy-news

Al-Monitor (4/8/21): US state of Florida blacklists Ben & Jerry's - The popular ice cream maker decided in July to stop selling its products in the Palestinian territories in opposition to the Israeli occupation, which prompted criticism from Israeli and American politicians.

Tags: bds-news, gop-shenanigans-news

The Majority Report (3/8/21): AOC Outmaneuvering Kyrsten Sinema And Senate GOP On Infrastructure

Tags: progressive-dem-news, politics-news, infrastructure-news

Democracy Now (4/8/21): Daily Headlines:

Rep. Tlaib Calls for House Democrats to Return Donations from Real Estate Tycoon
Hospitals Fill Up in Florida & Louisiana with Unvaccinated Patients
Report: 72K Children Tested Positive for COVID Last Week in 85% Jump
New York City to Require Proof of Vaccine for Indoor Dining & Events
NY Gov. Cuomo Faces Call to Resign over Probe Finds He Sexually Harassed 11 Women
Ohio House Primary: Shontel Brown Defeats Nina Turner; In Ohio’s 15th Congressional District, the Trump-backed coal lobbyist Mike Carey won the Republican primary, defeating 10 other candidates.
Missouri Governor Pardons White Couple Who Aimed Guns at Black Lives Matter Protesters

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, bad-democrat-news, corruption-news, electoral-news, covid-news, cuomo-news

Ars Technica (3/8/21): The State Department and 3 other US agencies earn a D for cybersecurity - Two years after a damning cybersecurity report, auditors find little has improved.

Tags: cyber-security-news

Posted 3 August 2021

On Labor (3/8/21)::

A National Labor Relations Board hearing officer has recommended that a new union election be granted at the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama. The recommendation was issued due to alleged voter intimidation tactics used by Amazon, particularly its installation of a U.S. Postal Service mailbox in front of the warehouse that could have given the appearance that Amazon was involved in vote collection and counting.
The Seattle Times has profiled the success of labor unions’ political efforts in Washington state. Over the past few years, unions have successfully backed more than twenty laws relating to strengthening workplace protections, collective bargaining rights, dues collection, and membership.
After ratification of the Child Care Providers United union’s first contract with the state of California, over 40,000 child care providers in the state will receive raises next year

Tags: union-news, busting-labor-news

The Guardian (2/8/21): Amnesty condemns Colombia police brutality after scores [at least 44] of protesters killed - ‘He died as he lived, resisting’, says mother of young artist killed in Cali, as report claims authorities used systematic ‘pattern of violence’ in city

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, international-news

Common Dreams (2/8/21): Hundreds Arrested in DC Demanding Voting Rights, End to Poverty, and Death of Filibuster - Clergy and low-wage workers with the Poor People's Campaign are also calling on Congress to treat the nation's immigrants with respect.

Tags: voting-rights-news, protest-news

The Michael Brooks Show (27/8/19): An Illicit History Of Modern Brazil & Lula

Tags: history-news, analysis-news, international-news, labor-news

Revolving Door Project (2/8/21): Biden Can't Make His Mark On The Fed Board So Long As Powell Is Chair Biden Can't Make His Mark On The Fed Board So Long As Powell Is Chair

Tags: policy-news, economic-news

Revolving Door Project (2/8/21): Good News for the IRS: The Economic Substance Doctrine Already Prevents Crypto Tax Avoidance

Tags: economic-news, cryptocurrency-news, policy-news, tax-news

World Socialist Web Site (2/8/21): Lollapalooza 2021: A superspreader event, thanks to Illinois Democrats

Tags: bad-democrat-news, covid-news

The Hill (2/8/21): Fourth police officer who responded to Jan. 6 attack dies by suicide

Tags: capitol-storming-news

Axios (3/8/21): Axios-Ipsos poll: The blame game - Who is to blame for rising COVID-19 cases, by vaccination status

Tags: covid-news

The Hill (3/8/21): Entire NY Democratic congressional delegation now calling for Cuomo's resignation

Tags: bad-democrat-news, cuomo-news

Mother Jones (3/8/21): Explosive Report Finds Cuomo Sexually Harassed Multiple Women and Retaliated Against at Least One Victim - The behavior included unwelcome and nonconsensual touching of “intimate body parts,” as well as repeated sexualized comments.

Tags: bad-democrat-news, cuomo-news

Democracy Now (3/8/21): Daily Headlines:

Louisiana Orders Mask Mandate as U.S. Logs Highest Coronavirus Toll Since February
Federal Employees Must Show Proof of Vaccination or Face Regular Tests
Refugee Advocates Sue as Biden Admin Continues Trump-Era Border Policy
HHS Watchdog to Probe Reports of Dire Conditions at Migrant Youth Detention Camp
Progressives Blast White House for Allowing Eviction Moratorium to Expire
200+ Arrested at D.C. Protest Demanding End to Filibuster, Voting Rights
NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo Questioned for 11 Hours on Sexual Harassment Allegations
Brutal Heat Wave Threatens to Topple Europe’s All-Time Temperature Record
Water Protectors Shot with “Less Lethal” Police Munitions at Line 3 Pipeline Protests

Tags: covid-news, fail-biden-policy-news, immigrant-news, social-woes-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, voting-rights-news, protest-news, cuomo-news, bad-democrat-news, climate-change-news, indigenous-news, big-oil-news

New York Times (3/8/21): D.N.C. Staff to Join Union, in a Milestone for Labor - The effort follows the unionization of several 2020 Democratic presidential campaigns, and will make the D.N.C. the first national party group to have an organized work force.

Tags: labor-news

Democracy Now (2/8/21): Daily Headlines:

Millions Could Face Eviction as Congress Fails to Extend Moratorium
“Things Are Going to Get Worse”: Fauci Warns Nation as COVID Cases Surge
U.S.: 91 Large Wildfires Burn in Western States
Mexico, Russia & Bolivia Send Aid to Cuba as U.S. Announces New Sanctions
Taliban Launches Attacks on Three Afghan Provincial Capitals
Washington Post: Police Fatally Shot 1,021 People In 2020, Highest in Years
U.S. Olympic Medalist Probed For Displaying “X” Gesture to Protest Oppression

Tags: covid-news, social-woes-news, climate-change-news, international-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Posted 2 August 2021

ZDNet (29/7/21): Hackers used never-before-seen wiper in recent attack on Iranian train system - SentinelOne analysts were able to recreate the July 9 attack and identify the threat actor behind it.

Tags: cyber-security-news, international-news

Left Voice (1/8/21): Pandemic Profiteers: Pfizer Profits Exceed $10 Billion in Six Months - Pfizer has announced record profits as a result of vaccine sales. While the world is in crisis, pharmaceutical companies are raking in billions of dollars from advance contracts and by preventing the release of patents.

Tags: pharma-news, vaccine-ip-news, capitalist-farce-news

The Guardian (1/8/21): Evictions crisis: Ocasio-Cortez says Democrats cannot blame Republicans - Progressive is angry her party allowed the clock to run out on renewing measure that lapsed Saturday night

Tags: progressive-dem-news, politics-news, bad-democrat-news, social-woes-news

The Majority Report (1/8/21): Media Has HUGE Geographic Blind Spot On Climate Change w/Mark Hertsgaard

Tags: climate-change-news, international-news, media-news, analysis-news

Media Matters (14/7/21): Fox News’ obvious double standard for protesters blocking traffic

Tags: far-right-news, media-news

The Economist (31/7/21): Who’s against the jab - Our statistical model throws light on America’s vaccine hesitancy

Tags: covid-news

Media Matters (30/7/21): If you watch Fox News, you’d think crime is skyrocketing. But reality is much more complicated.

Tags: crime-news, far-right-news, media-news

On Labor (1/8/21): Weekend News and Commentary:

On Thursday, the White House abruptly announced that it would not extend the moratorium in light of mounting legal challenges, citing a Supreme Court order last month that permitted the federal moratorium to remain in place through July but expressed doubts about the CDC’s legal authority and suggested that any extension might need to pass through Congress
Meanwhile, earlier this week the Senate confirmed Gwynne Wilcox and David Prouty as the two newest members of the National Labor Relations Board, setting up a Democratic majority at the agency that, as Bloomberg noted, “is likely to result in a series of pro-labor actions” and possible reversals of many Trump-era Board decisions
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice filed suit against Texas this week, urging the court to declare invalid and immediately enjoin the enforcement of Governor Greg Abbott’s executive order, which allows state troopers to stop vehicles suspected of transporting migrants and order them to the U.S.-Mexico border or to federal immigration processing stations.

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, biden-policy-news, labor-news, social-woes-news, court-news, immigrant-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Jacobin (YT) (20/7/21): Michael Brooks’ Lasting Lessons for the Left

Tags: analysis-news, socialist-news

Media Matters (21/7/21): Fox News has undermined vaccination efforts and threatened public health. Now it’s trying to scapegoat undocumented immigrants for COVID-19.

Tags: far-right-news, immigrant-news, covid-news, media-news

The Majority Report (25/7/21): EXPOSED: Right-Wingers Doctored Footage To Make BLM Protests Appear Violent w/ Robert Mackey

Tags: far-right-news, gop-shenanigans-news, media-news

The Michael Brooks Show (22/1/20): The Lula Interview - Part 1 w/ Michael Brooks & Brasil Wire

Tags: historic-reporting, analysis-news

Posted 1 August 2021

Jacobin (31/7/21): Colombia’s Mercenary Industry is Behind the Haitian Coup - Almost every assassin involved in the murder of Haitian president Jovenel Moïse was Colombian. That’s no coincidence: if you want mercenaries for hire on the cheap, often trained by the US military, you can find them in spades in Colombia.

Tags: militant-far-right-news, corruption-news, dark-security-news, international-news

The American Prospect (30/7/21): With the Iraq Withdrawal, U.S. Wars Expand - All the ways Biden isn’t ending the forever wars

Tags: dark-security-news, international-news

World Socialist Web Site (31/7/21): SEIU calls off strike by 1,500 Pennsylvania nursing home workers at last minute

Tags: labor-news

The Guardian (31/7/21): Eviction crisis looms after Biden and Congress fail to extend Covid ban - More than 3.6 million at risk of eviction after Covid relief ends - Last-minute lawmakers’ scramble fails to find solution

Tags: social-woes-news, covid-news

On Labor (29/7/21): Just this morning, the Biden administration’s Department of Labor reversed a Trump-era rule that limited circumstances where multiple businesses could share liability for wage violations. The previous provision was a high priority for business lobbies, especially for franchising brands.

Tags: labor-news, biden-policy-news

Vox (29/7/21): Medical debt was cut nearly in half in states that expanded Medicaid - Non-expansion states saw a much smaller drop in new medical debt over the same period.

Tags: healthcare-news, social-woes-news, economic-news

OpenSecrets (30/7/21): Lobbying spending skyrockets as billionaire space race takes off

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, corruption-news, money-news

The Majority Report (31/7/21): Biden Is Making Anti-Trust A National Security Issue

Tags: security-news, policy-news, economic-news, analysis-news

The American Prospect (30/7/21): America’s Lack of Paid Time Off Hurting Vaccine Rollout - As vaccines lag nationwide, employers and local governments are offering paid time off to boost jabs. But some workers are still slipping through the cracks.

Tags: covid-news, economic-news, labor-news

The Guardian (31/7/21): Out of control and rising: why bitcoin has Nigeria’s government in a panic - As leaders around the world grapple with cryptocurrencies, what happened when the African country tried to ban them?

Tags: cryptocurrency-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, international-news

The Hill (31/7/21): Florida reports record 21,000 COVID-19 cases in single day, highest since start of pandemic

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, covid-news

The Hill (31/7/21): Louisiana hospitals reach capacity as COVID-19 cases surge

Tags: covid-news

The Majority Report (1/8/21): Redlining's Legacy Still Segregating Cities w/Dash Nelson

Tags: analysis-news, civil-rights-news, history-news, intersectionalism-news, economic-news

The Hill (1/8/21): Oklahoma GOP fundraising off vaccinations, yellow stars

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, far-right-news, covid-news

The Hill (1/8/21): Ocasio-Cortez: 'More than enough' votes to prevent infrastructure from passing without reconciliation bill

Tags: infrastructure-news, politics-news, legislation-news, progressive-dem-news

Posted 31 July 2021

EFF (29/7/21): The Bipartisan Broadband Bill: Good, But It Won’t End the Digital Divide

Tags: legislation-news, infrastructure-news

The Economist (29/7/21): As food prices soar, big agriculture is having a field day - How long will it last?

Tags: food-security-news, economic-news, capitalist-farce-news, logistics-news

Mother Jones (29/7/21): GOP Could Retake the House in 2022 Just by Gerrymandering Four Southern States - A new study finds that Republicans could gain up to 13 seats in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas.

Tags: electoral-news, gop-shenanigans-news, voting-rights-news, analysis-news

World Socialist Web Site (28/7/21): Glenn Greenwald downplays fascist plot to kill Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer

Tags: nazbol-vortex-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, militant-far-right-news

The Guardian (30/7/21): Drug firm that hiked prices by 6,000% paid shareholders £400m - Advanz Pharma and former private equity owners were fined £100m by markets watchdog

Tags: pharma-news, capitalist-farce-news

CounterPunch (30/7/21): Rise of the Right: How the Vaudeville Left Fuels White Supremacy

Tags: nazbol-vortex-news, analysis-news, far-right-news

Revolving Door Project (28/7/21): Revolver Spotlight: Elizabeth Fowler

Tags: corruption-news, fail-biden-policy-news

CounterPunch (30/7/21): The Global Right Wing’s Bizarre Obsession With Pedophilia

Tags: analysis-news, far-right-news

Democracy Now (28/7/21) “To Hell and Back”: At Jan. 6 Hearing, Officers Describe Facing Brutal Attacks & Racial Slurs

Tags: capitol-storming-news

The Guardian (30/7/21): ‘Just say the election was corrupt,’ Trump urged DoJ after loss to Biden - Notes obtained by House oversight committee show Trump pressured officials to falsely claim the election was not legitimate

Tags: trump-news, corruption-news, electoral-news

Read 30 July 2021

Just Security (30/7/21): Early Edition:

The Philippines is restoring a key military agreement with the U.S. that makes it easier for U.S. forces to move in and out of the country, signaling to China a renewed commitment to the 70-year-old U.S.-Philippine alliance
U.S. lawmakers have put on hold a proposal to sell almost $1 billion worth of weapons to Nigeria over concerns about possible human rights abuses by the Nigerian government, sources familiar with the matter have said.
Officials in former President Trump’s administration struggled to understand Trump’s freeze in 2019 on security assistance to Ukraine
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has stopped processing registrations of U.S. initial public offerings and other sales of securities by Chinese companies while it designs new guidance for disclosing to investors the risk of a new regulatory crackdown by Beijing
Attorney General Merrick Garland has threatened to sue Texas over an order from Texas Governor Gregg Abbott which bans the transportation of migrants within the state by anyone other than law enforcement, saying the move impinges on the federal government’s exclusive control over immigration matters
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) has become the third member of Congress to be arrested during nonviolent protests aimed at rallying support for federal voting legislation which push back against new restrictive state laws

Tags: international-news, economic-news, immigrant-news, protest-news, voting-rights-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news

Democracy Now (30/7/21): Daily Headlines:

Biden Announces New Federal COVID Mandates
CDC Finds Delta Variant Just as Transmissible in Breakthrough Infections, More Contagious Than Flu
Half of Burma Could Contract COVID, Pakistan Enacts New Restrictions, Haiti Hospitals Overwhelmed
U.S. Will Return 17,000 Looted Archaeological Treasures to Iraq
U.S. Weighing New Sanctions on Iran as Nuclear Deal Hangs in Balance
Israeli Soldiers Kill 20-Year-Old Palestinian at Funeral for Slain 12-Year-Old
Greenland Lost Enough Ice in One Day to Cover Florida in Two Inches of Water
Ex-Archbishop of D.C. Theodore McCarrick Charged With Sexual Assault of a Minor
Brooklyn Mutual Aid Group Attacked by NYPD While Serving the Community
NYPD Arrest 11 People Protesting City’s Plan to Evict Unhoused People From Hotels
Alabama Coal Miners Bring Strike to BlackRock Offices in NYC
Carl Levin, Michigan Democratic Senator Who Fought Against Wall Street Criminality, Dies at 87
Lummi Nation Totem Pole Arrives in Capital After Lengthy Cross-Country Journey

Tags: covid-news, biden-policy-news, international-news, climate-change-news, crime-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, social-woes-news, labor-news, indigenous-news

Democracy Now (29/7/21): Daily Headlines:

Senate Votes to Open Debate on $1.2T Infrastructure Bill
WTO Fails to Agree on Waiving IP Rights for COVID Vaccines
Vaccination Mandates Expand Across the Nation
Pelosi Argues Against Broad-Based Student Debt Cancellation
Israel Launches Campaign Against Ben & Jerry’s, But Some U.S. Jewish Groups Back Ice Cream Maker
U.S. and Russia Hold Nuclear Talks in Geneva
Virginia Cop Sent Back to Jail on Jan. 6 Charges After Ordering 37 Guns

Tags: legislation-news, vaccine-ip-news, covid-news, bad-democrat-news, bds-news, international-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, capitol-storming-news

Just Security (29/7/21): Early Edition:

President Biden’s administration has announced its first sanctions on Syria, targeting prison facilities and officials who run them, as well as armed groups, focusing on human rights abuses

Tags: international-news

Read 28 July 2021

Democracy Now (28/7/21): Daily Headlines:

U.S. House Cmte. Hears Harrowing Testimony from Officers Who Responded to Capitol Insurrection
CDC Says Vaccinated People Should Wear Masks Indoors in High-Risk Areas Amid Delta Spread
Whistleblower Daniel Hale Sentenced to 45 Months for Exposing U.S. Drone Program
North and South Korea Restore Communications Hotline
Simone Biles Withdraws from Olympic Competition, Citing Mental Health
Atlanta-Area Mass Murderer Sentenced to Life in Prison, Still Faces Death Penalty
Democratic Donor Ed Buck Found Guilty in Death of Two Men He Injected with Drugs
AP: KKK Member Who Worked in Florida Jail Plotted to Kill a Black Former PrisonerAP: KKK Member Who Worked in Florida Jail Plotted to Kill a Black Former Prisoner
Immigration Prosecutors Continue to Deport Immigrants Who Gov’t Memo Says Should Not Be Expelled
Nina Turner Racks Up Endorsements Ahead of Ohio Special Election
Texas GOP Voters Reject Trump Candidate in Special U.S. Congressional Election

Tags: capitol-storming-news, covid-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, international-news, crime-news, corruption-news, bad-democrat-news, militant-far-right-news, immigrant-news, electoral-news

Jacobin (28/7/21): The FBI’s Domestic “War on Terror” Is an Authoritarian Power Grab - Buzzfeed has revealed the FBI played a leading role in orchestrating last year’s far-right terrorist plot against Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer — which the bureau then foiled, to great fanfare. The incident has since been used to hand the FBI even more power.

Tags: militant-far-right-news, analysis-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Al Jazeera (28/7/21): US: 2 dead, dozens injured in Texas chemical plant leak - The incident involved an acetic acid leak at a LyondellBasell complex near Houston.

Tags: industrial-failure-news

The American Prospect (28/7/21): Bipartisan Group Converges on Ag Concentration - Farms seem to be the only thing that doesn’t count as ‘infrastructure.’ But an emerging consensus agrees that anti-competitive practices have made food supply a national-security risk.

Tags: infrastructure-news, politics-news, food-security-news

On Labor (28/7/21): Internal documents newly uncovered by The Daily Poster, a grassroots-funded progressive news organization, reveal that Governor Burgum’s decision was, according to The Daily Poster, a “crass political calculus used by officials to justify terminating unemployment benefits that have kept millions of Americans afloat during a historic deadly pandemic”; a decision made by politicians who were, according to the exposed documents, well-aware that it would “punish people devastated by the pandemic and take money out of the economy.”

Tags: corruption-news, gop-shenanigans-news, social-woes-news, labor-news, economic-news

The Hill (28/7/21): The 17 Republicans who voted to advance the Senate infrastructure bill

Tags: legislation-news, infrastructure-news

ZDNet (28/7/21): Hackers breach UC San Diego hospital, gaining access to SSNs and medical info of patients, employees, and students - The attackers gained access to personal data ranging from claims information to laboratory results, prescriptions, treatments, SSNs, payment card numbers or financial account information.

Tags: healthcare-news, cyber-security-news

Just Security (28/7/21): Early Edition:

Republicans have started to blame House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) for the violence during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol
An Ecuadorian court has ruled in favor of revoking the citizenship of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, according to a judgment published by the Judicial Branch of Ecuador

Tags: capitol-storming-news, gop-shenanigans-news, international-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Read 27 July 2021

Just Security (27/7/21): Software company Kaseya has strongly denied paying hackers for a decryption key following the ransomware attack on the company that impacted up to 1,500 organizations earlier this month.

Tags: cyber-security-news

Democracy Now (27/7/21): Daily Headlines:

California & New York City to Require Workers to Get Vaccine or Weekly Tests
CDC: Florida Accounts for One in Five of All U.S. COVID Cases
Study: Lifting of Eviction Moratoriums Resulted in Over 10,000 COVID Deaths
U.S. Troops to Remain in Iraq, But Biden Says “Combat Mission” Is Ending
U.S. Sends Over 2 Dozen F-22 Fighter Jets to Guam as Tensions Rise with China
Filipino Police Shot Dead Activists Who Spray-Painted “Oust Duterte” Sign
85 Wildfires in U.S. Burn Over 1.5 Million Acres of Land as Drought Spreads
Biden Administration to Expedite Removal Proceedings of Migrant Families, House Select Committee Begins Probe of January 6 Insurrection at the Capitol
Tom Barrack Pleads Not Guilty for Secretly Lobbying for UAE
Mary Simon Becomes Canada’s First Indigenous Governor General, Revs. Jesse Jackson & William Barber Arrested at Sit-In at Sen. Sinema’s Office
Frito-Lay Workers Win a Day Off After 19-Day Strike
Steven Donziger, Who Sued Chevron over Amazon Oil Spills, Blasts Contempt of Court Conviction

Tags: climate-change-news, covid-news, social-woes-news, fail-biden-policy-news, international-news, immigrant-news, capitol-storming-news, trump-news, corruption-news, indigenous-news, protest-news, politics-news, voting-rights-news, labor-news

Read 26 July 2021

Democracy Now (26/7/21): take action after it upheld a Trump memo which would send some 4,000 prisoner; U.S. Launches Second Drone Strike in Somalia in Under a Week; Dixie and Bootleg Wildfires Rage in West as Another Heat Wave Settles Across Much of U.S.; Pelosi Adds Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a Trump Critic, to House Insurrection Committee; Mississippi Urges Supreme Court to Overturn Roe v. Wade; Immigrant Communities Rally in NYC to Demand Pathway to Citizenship; Bob Moses, Civil Rights Leader and Educational Pioneer, Dies at the Age of 86

Tags: capitol-storming-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, trump-news, international-news, climate-change-news, civil-rights-news, protest-news

Law and Crime (26/7/21): Judge Finds Disbarred Environmental Lawyer Who Took on Chevron in Ecuador Guilty of Contempt of Court

Tags: big-oil-news, corruption-news, court-news

On Labor (26/7/21): Federal Judge Recognizes President’s Ability to Remove NLRB GC At Will

Tags: labor-news, court-news, biden-policy-news

Just Security (26/7/21):

Venezuela has said that a U.S. military plane violated its airspace along its border with Colombia in what it called a “flagrant provocation.”
At least four air strikes were carried out Wednesday and Thursday, including some in Kandahar, one U.S. official has said
The National Guard is cancelling trainings after Congress failed to reimburse the force for its months-long deployment at the U.S. Capitol following the Jan. 6 attack
WhatsApp head Will Cathcart has said that ranking government officials around the world, including individuals in high national security positions who are “allies of the U.S.,” were targeted by governments using spyware from NSO Group

Tags: capitol-storming-news, international-news, cyber-security-news, surveillance-news

FiveThirtyEight (26/7/21): Police Arresting Fewer People For Minor Offenses Can Help Reduce Police Shootings

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, policy-news

Mother Jones (26/7/21): Small Farms Vanish Every Day in America’s Dairyland: “There Ain’t No Future In Dairy” - Farming families are facing a choice: compete with high-production outfits, if they can, or abandon generations of dairy farming

Tags: food-security-news, capitalist-farce-news

Posted 25 July 2021

On Labor (25/7/21): In Washington, the Biden administration seems to be ramping up its antitrust efforts by assembling an aggressive antitrust team, consisting of three leading legal scholars – Jonathan Kanter, Lina Khan, and Tim Wu – all of whom have argued that Amazon, Google, Facebook, and other tech giants have used their dominant market positions to crush competition, and will, apparently, aim to address corporate consolidation and market power, which could include breaking up large corporations

Tags: antitrust-news, biden-policy-news

Posted 24 July 2021

Revolving Door Project (22/7/21): The Industry Agenda: Big Pharma

Tags: pharma-news, corruption-news, fail-biden-policy-news, healthcare-news

Ars Technica (24/7/21): Nuclear power’s reliability is dropping as extreme weather increases - A comprehensive analysis shows that warmer temperatures aren't the only threat.

Tags: infrastructure-news, nuclear-energy-news, climate-change-news

EFF (23/7/21): Data Brokers are the Problem

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news, big-tech-news

The Majority Report (24/7/21): Government And Corporate Surveillance Are Equally Dangerous w/ Heidi Boghosian

Tags: big-tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

The Hill (24/7/21): Poultry plant fined $1M over 'entirely avoidable' deaths of six workers

Tags: labor-news, food-security-news, biden-policy-news

The Intercept (24/7/21): Facing Years in Prison for Drone Leak, Daniel Hale Makes His Case Against U.S. Assassination Program - With prosecutors seeking a maximum sentence, Hale delivered a powerful hand-written letter describing his motivations to the court.

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news, dark-security-news

Mother Jones (24/7/21): The Justice Department Won’t Investigate COVID Deaths in New York Nursing Homes - Months of revelations pointed to the state’s efforts to obscure the true death toll.

Tags: covid-news, cuomo-news, bad-democrat-news, fail-biden-policy-news

Posted 23 July 2021

The Intercept (21/7/21): The Flint Cover-Up - Wiped Phones and the Battle for Evidence in Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder's Prosecution

Tags: crime-news, flint-news, gop-shenanigans-news, corruption-news

On Labor (23/7/21): In Kansas, Frito-Lay workers are continuing to strike as their efforts are picking up national attention. Unionized with the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Union, the workers are protesting what they view as unsustainable working conditions: forced overtime, so-called “suicide shifts” where you only have eight hours off in between 12-hour shifts, extreme heat, and more

Tags: labor-news, fail-biden-policy-news

Bloomberg Law recently found that OSHA’s emergency standard protecting health care workers from COVID-19 dangers originally was going to protect all workers, but was whittled down to just covering health care workers during the implementation process.

The American Prospect (23/7/21): The Poor Aren’t Getting the Help Democrats Want to Give Them - Pandemic relief measures are hobbled by serious failures of program design and implementation.

Tags: social-woes-news, fail-biden-policy-news, economic-news

Left Voice (22/7/21): Private Cops in Uptown Minneapolis — Another Tool to Maintain the Racist-Capitalist System - Citizen’s arrest laws—a relic of colonial times—exist in all 50 states and were created to help catch slaves when Black people were considered property. Recently, private cops hired by the Seven Points Uptown shopping mall arrested activists in Uptown, Minneapolis. Laws and legality in bourgeois society function to maintain the racist-capitalist status quo. We must kick all cops, private or not, out of our communities and unions.

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, privatization-news, civil-rights-news, capitalist-farce-news

Vanity Fair (23/7/21): “We Can’t Reach Him”: Joe Manchin Is Ghosting the West Virginia Union Workers Whose Jobs His Daughter Helped Outsource - She got a $30.8 million golden parachute in a corporate merger. Now, they're being laid off and the medicines they produced are set to be manufactured overseas. Will anyone step up to save their jobs, and protect America's drug supply? (via u/alllie on r/labor)

Tags: bad-democrat-news, capitalist-farce-news, labor-news, healthcare-news, infrastructure-news, logistics-news, fail-biden-policy-news, corruption-news, pharma-news

Al Jazeera (23/7/21): Can Israel criminalise Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in the US? - Israel threatens legal attack using anti-BDS laws passed by many US states, Palestinian advocates see pivotal moment.

Tags: bds-news, international-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

CounterPunch (23/7/21): Who's Afraid of Nina Turner?

Tags: bad-democrat-news, progressive-dem-news, big-oil-news, corruption-news, electoral-news

Democracy Now (23/7/21): Daily Headlines:

Missouri Hospital Worker Warns COVID Surge Will Get Worse
20% of L.A.’s Cases Are Vaccinated People
Rep. Hank Johnson, Prominent Black Voting Rights Advocates Arrested at Pro-Democracy Demonstration
Protesters Condemn UAE Plan to Extradite Ex-Guantánamo Prisoner, Demand Justice for All Detainees
Labor and Healthcare Advocates Call on Biden to Stop Closure of Largest U.S. Generic Drugs Plant
House Cmte. Considers AOC’s Public Banking Proposal to Democratize Financial Services
UNESCO Refrains from Listing Great Barrier Reef as “In Danger” Despite Major Climate-Induced Damage

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, voting-rights-news, covid-news, international-news, labor-news, healthcare-news, corruption-news, climate-change-news, progressive-dem-news

The Revolving Door Project (23/7/21): It's Big Business As Usual For Biden's Ambassadorship Picks

Tags: corruption-news, fail-biden-policy-news

KHN (22/7/21): After 18 Months, Sutter Antitrust Settlement Finally Poised for Formal Approval

Tags: healthcare-news, antitrust-news

The Hill (23/7/21): Tennessee resuming nearly all adolescent vaccine advocacy - Tennessee is resuming almost all of its adolescent vaccine advocacy efforts, a top health official announced on Friday, following backlash for the state's reported plans to suspend outreach.

Tags: covid-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Just Security (23/7/21): Early Edition:

Tags: international-news, defense-news, security-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, politics-news

A Chinese prosecutor has been indicted in a federal U.S. case charging nine people with illegally acting as foreign agents in an effort to force immigrants from China to return there to be punished
A former Air Force intelligence analyst has said his guilt over participating in lethal drone strikes in Afghanistan led him to leak government secrets about the drone program to a reporter; The U.S. military carried out two strikes against the Taliban in support of Afghan forces in the Kandahar province which were targeted at capturing equipment, defense officials have said
A Taliban spokesperson has said that strikes were carried out by the U.S. on Wednesday night on the outskirts of the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, killing three Taliban fighters and destroying two vehicles
Recently disclosed additional details of the FBI’s review of Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh’s background have led a group of Senate Democratic party members to question the thoroughness of the vetting and conclude that it was largely shaped by former President Trump’s White House

The Moscow Times (19/7/21): Kenya’s Failed Sputnik V Deal Used Emirati Resale Scheme - Documents obtained by The Moscow Times show a failed agreement used the same controversial resale deal linked to a royal middleman in the United Arab Emirates.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, corruption-news, covid-news, healthcare-news, international-news

The Majority Report (27/6/19): Talk To Your Centrist Democrat Friends About Joe Biden

Tags: fun-news

Posted 22 July 2021

Media Matters (16/7/21): Coal miners are on strike in Alabama for the first time in four decades, but cable news is silent (via Secular Talk)

Tags: labor-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, media-news

Jacobin (22/7/21): McDonald’s and the Failed Promise of Black Capitalism - McDonald’s has long portrayed itself as a champion of black uplift through black ownership of its franchises. But McDonald’s version of black capitalism, like the idea of black capitalism as a whole, has only ever benefited the few, not the many.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, economic-news, labor-news

In These Times (22/7/21): Biden's Invisible Border Wall - The Biden administration is expanding surveillance along the Southern border, pushing migrants into harm’s way.

Tags:dark-money-news, corruption-news, fail-biden-policy-news, immigrant-news

The Economist World This Week (24/7/21): June saw another influx of migrants trying to cross the Mexican border into the United States. There were almost 189,000 encounters between migrants and the border patrol, up by 80% from June 2019, before the pandemic. It was a record for June, when border crossings normally start to ease off because of the desert heat.

Tags: immigrant-news, international-news

Jacobin (22/7/21): Workers Are Being Crushed by Governors’ Unemployment Benefit Shutoffs - Republicans are cutting off unemployment benefits at a time when huge numbers of workers still desperately need them — and the Democrats aren’t putting up a fight over it.

Tags: economic-news, labor-news, gop-shenanigans-news

The Economist (24/7/21): Fund the IRS properly. But also make taxes simpler - The plan to raise revenue without raising taxes sounds too good to be true. Is it?

Tags: tax-news, economic-news

The American Prospect (20/7/21): How Biden Can Reinvent Big Pharma - So it can’t buy off competitors to keep prices high

Tags: pharma-news, antitrust-news, policy-news, capitalist-farce-news, healthcare-news

CNBC (11/2/19): This is the real reason most Americans file for bankruptcy - Two-thirds of people who file for bankruptcy cite medical issues as a key contributor to their financial downfall.

Tags: healthcare-news, social-woes-news, economic-news

If you have trouble opening the above article, open it in a new tab. Not sure what the issue is.

The American Prospect (20/7/21): When the Chips Are Down, We Need an Industrial Policy - The semiconductor shortage and its impact reveals the need for much better coordination of trade, industrial, national-security, and supply chain policy.

Tags: international-news, economic-news, infrastructure-news, policy-news, logistics-news, legislation-news

In These Times (22/7/21): As Devastating Plant Shutdown Looms in West Virginia, National Outrage Is Hard to Find - A union set to be wiped out by layoffs says politicians are missing in action.

Tags: labor-news, economic-news, bad-democrat-news, pharma-news, fail-biden-policy-news

The Hill (22/7/21): PG&E burying 10,000 miles of power lines to lessen wildfire risk

Tags: infrastructure-news

Wired (22/7/21): An Explosive Spyware Report Shows the Limits of iOS Security - Amnesty International sheds alarming light on an NSO Group surveillance tool—and the gaps in Apple and Google's defenses.

Tags: cyber-security-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, big-tech-news

Just Security (22/7/21): Early Edition:

Biden is facing a bipartisan backlash over the deal with Germany on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline
The foreign ministries of Ukraine and Poland have reacted bitterly to the U.S.- Germany deal, saying in a joint statement that the “resignation from attempts to stop the launch” of the pipeline creates a “political, military and energy threat for Ukraine and Central Europe, while increasing Russia’s potential to destabilize the security situation in Europe.”
Independent U.N. rights experts have warned that hundreds of Venezuelan cancer patients could die because they have been caught up in the excessively strict application of U.S. sanctions aimed at Venezuela and the state-owned oil company, Petroleum of Venezuela
The efforts to reforming the military justice system have stalled as lawmakers are split over the best way to address serious crimes within the military and tackle racial disparities in military courts
Lawmakers and experts yesterday warned of significant cybersecurity vulnerabilities in the U.S.’s critical water sector

Tags: defense-news, cyber-security-news, infrastructure-news, international-news, fail-biden-policy-news, climate-change-news

Vaush (20/7/21): Ben Shapiro Gets SCHOOLED By Neil Degrasse Tyson on Trans Issues

Tags: lgbtq-news, far-right-news

ZDNet (22/7/21): 1,000 GB of local government data exposed by Massachusetts software company - A group of ethical researchers found over 80 misconfigured Amazon S3 buckets holding data related to about 100 municipalities across the Northeast.

Tags: cyber-security-news

Democracy Now (22/7/21):

WHO: Global COVID Cases Jumped 12% Over Past Week
Pelosi Rejects GOP Reps. Jordan & Banks for Jan. 6 Select Committee
Republicans Block $1 Trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill
Four Colombian Mercenaries Tied to Moïse Assassination Were Trained at Fort Benning in U.S.
Biden Administration Seeks 9-Year Sentence for Drone Whistleblower Daniel Hale
Federal Courts Block Anti-Trans Laws in Arkansas and West Virginia
Israel Asks U.S. States to Probe Ben & Jerry’s for Violating Anti-BDS Laws
Texas Starts Jailing Immigrants on State Charges After Crossing U.S. Border
Toronto Police Arrest 26 While Evicting Unhoused Residents at Encampment
Report: Government Informants Played Key Roles in Plot to Kidnap Michigan Governor

Tags: dark-security-news, militant-far-right-news, international-news, covid-news, politics-news, capitol-storming-news, infrastructure-news, gop-shenanigans-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, court-news, lgbtq-news, immigrant-news, social-woes-news

Posted 21 July 2021

The Hill (21/7/21): Louisiana lawmakers fail to override veto on transgender sports ban

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, lgbtq-news, legislation-news, politics-news

Jacobin (21/7/21): Slavoj Žižek: Last Exit to Socialism - Slavoj Žižek writes in Jacobin that today's exploding ecological crises open up a realistic prospect of the final exit of humanity itself. Might socialism be our off-ramp, or is it already too late?

Tags: zizek-news, socialist-news, climate-change-news, analysis-news, international-news

U.S. PIRG (21/7/21): RELEASE: FTC to crack down on companies' anti-repair restrictions

Tags: antitrust-news, right-to-repair-news, biden-policy-news

U.S. PIRG (21/7/21): House votes to empower EPA to clean up PFAS “forever chemicals”

Tags: climate-change-news, legislation-news

Law and Crime (21/7/21): Assistant Attorney General in Alaska Was Behind Antisemitic, Racist Right-Wing Twitter Account: Report

Tags: far-right-news, gop-shenanigans-news, politics-news

Payday Report (21/7/21): Nationwide, the group Rideshares Drivers United has urged consumers to steer clear of rideshare services like Lyft and Uber as many drivers nationwide have organized protest actions.

Tags: labor-news, economic-news, capitalist-farce-news

Jacobin (21/7/21): Americans Owe $140 Billion to Collections Agencies Because of Medical Debt - A newly published study finds that the amount of medical debt owed by Americans is even larger than previously thought. It’s just further proof of the moral abomination that is for-profit health care.

Tags: economic-news, healthcare-news, social-woes-news, capitalist-farce-news

Just Security Early Edition (21/7/21):

The Pentagon yesterday confirmed U.S. forces were behind the single air strike on the al-Shabaab militant group near Galkayo in Somalia, the first such strike in the country since President Biden took office
Officials from Biden’s administration have quietly urged their Ukrainian counterparts to withhold criticism of a forthcoming agreement between the U.S. and Germany involving the Nord Stream 2 pipeline
Biden’s administration appears to be quietly giving up on the establishment of a war crimes court for South Sudan which would hold criminals accountable for atrocities committed against civilians during the country’s devastating 2013 civil war
Hackers working for the Chinese government compromised more than a dozen U.S. pipeline operators nearly a decade ago in 2011, President Biden’s administration revealed yesterday
The Transportation Security Administration yesterday issued a second security directive meant to strengthen critical pipelines against cyberattacks
U.S. and E.U. security officials are wary of NSO Group’s links to Israeli intelligence, despite the ability of its spyware technology to help combat terrorists and violent criminals

Tags: international-news, infrastructure-news, defense-news, cyber-security-news

Democracy Now (21/7/21):

Record-Breaking Wildfires Continue to Rage in Siberia, Western U.S., Releasing Toxic Fumes
Delta Variant Accounts for 83% of New U.S. Cases
Millions of Surplus Vaccines Could Go to Waste
Immigrant Justice Activists Block New Jersey ICE “Black Site”
State Department Bans Former Honduran President Lobo from Entering U.S.
Harvey Weinstein Extradited to Los Angeles to Face More Rape Charges
South Carolina State University Forgives $10 Million of Student Debt Using Stimulus Funds

Tags: politics-news, economic-news, social-woes-news, covid-news, climate-change-news, international-news

The Nation (21/7/21): This New Law Would Be Good for Growers, Bad for Farmworkers - The bill cements in place the existing deep poverty in farmworker communities, and makes it much more difficult for farmworkers to organize.

Tags: bad-democrat-news, legislation-news, labor-news, immigrant-news, food-security-news

World Socialist Web Site (21/7/21): US cables show reliance on trade unions to suppress working-class unrest in Australia

Tags: history-news, union-news, international-news, dark-security-news

Posted 20 July 2021

Ars Technica (20/7/21): ISPs spent $235 million on lobbying and donations, “more than $320,000 a day” - Common Cause report says industry lobbying of Congress worsens the digital divide.

Tags: dark-money-news, corruption-news, big-tech-news, infrastructure-news, labor-news

EFF (20/7/21): Victory! Californians Can Now Choose Their Broadband Destiny

Tags: infrastructure-news, legislation-news, progressive-dem-news, tech-news

Salon (20/7/21): Texas Republicans are ramming through legislation to ban teaching about MLK Jr. in public schools - Martin Luther King Jr., the Klu Klax Klan and women's suffrage are stripped from curriculum under GOP-backed bill

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, civil-rights-news, far-right-news, legislation-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Ars Technica (20/7/21): Biden picks Google foe to lead DOJ antitrust as it mulls plan to break up Big Tech - Biden nominee Jonathan Kanter criticized US for not breaking up monopolies.

Tags: big-tech-news, antitrust-news, biden-policy-news

EFF (20/7/21): India’s Draconian Rules for Internet Platforms Threaten User Privacy and Undermine Encryption

Tags: cyber-security-news, tech-news, international-news, far-right-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Ars Technica (20/7/21): Two-for-Tuesday vulnerabilities send Windows and Linux users scrambling - Both OSes have flaws that allow attackers with a toehold to elevate access.

Tags: cyber-security-news, tech-news

Mother Jones (20/7/21): Top Trump Adviser Arrested and Charged With Secretly Lobbying for the UAE - Tom Barrack, head of Trump’s inaugural committee, is accused of obstructing justice and lying to the feds.

Tags: trump-news, corruption-news, international-news

Law and Crime (20/7/21): DEA Agent Flashed Service Weapon and Badge While Raiding the U.S. Capitol, Sharing Video of Ashli Babbitt with Other Officers: Feds

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, capitol-storming-news

Jacobin (20/7/21): BC Premier Dave Barrett Showed the Canadian Left How to Make Change Happen - Dave Barrett won a reputation as “Canada’s Allende” by carrying out radical reforms in 1970s British Columbia. Lifelong Canadian labor economist Andrew Jackson, who was part of Barrett’s project, recalls a turbulent and instructive time for the Canadian left.

Tags: socialist-news, analysis-news, electoral-news, history-news, labor-news

Law and Crime (20/7/21): ‘A Win for Democracy and Racial Justice’: Federal Appeals Court Upholds Ruling Blocking Voter Purges in Indiana

Tags: voting-rights-news, court-news

The Intercept (20/7/21): U.S. Military Bought Cameras in Violation of America’s Own China Sanctions - Purchased camera systems were supposedly made in the U.S. but actually originated from Chinese companies blacklisted for security reasons.

Tags: dark-security-news, corruption-news, international-news, defense-news, cyber-security-news, capitalist-farce-news, logistics-news

The American Prospect (20/7/21): Right-Wing Group Exposes Colleagues Funded by Big Tech - A family-values organization has put together a browser extension that identifies Twitter users who have taken tech money.

Tags: big-tech-news, corruption-news

Salon (20/7/21): Shades of Big Tobacco: How (and why) Juul bought an entire issue of a scientific journal - Breaking news: Vaping is good for you! At least according to a health journal entirely paid for by Juul

Tags: science-news, corruption-news, capitalist-farce-news, healthcare-news

Jacobin (20/7/21): The Clock Is Ticking on Preventing an Undemocratic GOP Power Grab in the House - Democrats must quickly pass their landmark voting rights legislation if they want to prevent Republicans from gerrymandering their way to a hold on power for the next decade.

Tags: voting-rights-news, legislation-news, policy-news, gop-shenanigans-news, bad-democrat-news, fail-biden-policy-news

Just Security Early Edition (20/7/21):

President Biden’s administration plans to evacuate [~2,500] Afghans who helped the U.S. military in Afghanistan and who now face reprisal from the Taliban to Fort Lee, Va., a military base in Virginia, as their visa applications are processed
Russia and Uzbekistan are to hold joint military drills near the Afghan border in Uzbekistan from July 30 to Aug. 10, the Interfax news agency has said, citing Russia’s armed forces
The U.S., E.U., NATO, U.K. and other world powers yesterday accused the Chinese government of a broad array of malicious cyber activities, including the attack on Microsoft’s email server software earlier this year and condoning other attacks.
Chinese authorities have criticized the “groundless” claims that it carried out a major cyber attack against Microsoft.
The Justice Department has accused three Chinese state security officials of coordinating a vast hacking campaign to steal sensitive and secret information from government entities, universities and corporations around the world.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is declining to prosecute officials from former President Trump’s administration, including former Commerce Department Secretary Wilbur Ross for misrepresentations he made to Congress about the origins of the Trump administration’s failed push to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census
An influential network of Washington consultants, lawyers, lobbyists and other prominent personalities have earned money from the Israeli surveillance giant NSO Group and companies linked to it
Florida’s Agriculture Commissioner has opened an investigation into Antonio Emmanuel Intriago Valera, the owner of a Miami-based security firm linked to the assassination of Haiti’s President Jovenel Moïse

Tags: international-news, biden-policy-news, cyber-security-news, fail-biden-policy-news, corruption-news

Democracy Now (20/7/21):

Trump Supporter Sentenced to Eight Months in Prison for Capitol Insurrection
McCarthy Names 5 to Select Committee Probing Jan. 6 Insurrection
Bootleg Fire Becomes Third-Largest Fire Ever in Oregon [and largest in the US this year]
Winona LaDuke & Water Protectors Arrested in Enbridge Pipeline Protest
Trans Model Leyna Bloom Appears on Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover; NHL Prospect Luke Prokop Comes Out as Gay in First for League

Tags: capitol-storming-news, militant-far-right-news, politics-news, climate-change-news, lgbtq-news, protest-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news

U.S. PIRG (20/7/21): House to take key vote to protect consumers today - Today, the U.S. House takes a key vote. HR2668, the Consumer Protection and Recovery Act, would restore the FTC's Section 13(b) authority to hold wrongdoers accountable and compensate consumer-victims harmed by their actions. The Supreme Court had recently ruled that the power, used for over 40 years to recover billions, was not clearly articulated in law.

Tags: legislation-news, court-news, big-tech-news, policy-news

Al Jazeera (20/7/21): The insurrection in South Africa is about more than freeing Zuma - The unrest was not a bread riot or a spontaneous uprising of the poor. It was a targeted violent campaign to undermine the president and extract political concessions from the government – and it may have already backfired.

Tags: international-news, corruption-news

Jacobin (19/7/21): Frito-Lay Workers Are on Strike for Their Lives - Hundreds of workers are on strike at the Frito-Lay plant in Topeka, Kansas. Many of them are working 12-hour days, seven days a week, and some haven’t had a day off in five months — conditions that are literally killing them.

Tags:: labor-news

U.S. PIRG (20/7/21): An easier, wiser way to pay for infrastructure - Congress is working to finalize a new infrastructure spending package. But why are they ignoring an easy way to pay for it?

Tags: infrastructure-news, policy-news, corruption-news, tax-news

'There’s plenty to cut. An easy place to start is with one of President Biden’s original proposals: eliminating fossil fuel subsidies. Every year, the United States government gives the fossil fuel industry $20 billion in tax breaks, incentives and other subsidies. This massive giveaway goes to an industry that made $28 billion in profits in 2018 alone. Not only is this a colossal waste of taxpayer money, but it also fuels the climate crisis. If we end fossil fuel subsidies, we could move toward meeting our climate goals while freeing up $100 billion over five years for needed infrastructure spending.'
'That’s just the tip of the (melting) iceberg. Last week, U.S. PIRG, Environment America, R Street Institute, Taxpayers for Common Sense and Friends of the Earth unveiled a new “Green Scissors” database of nearly $300 billion of wasteful and environmentally harmful government spending planned for the next ten years. It’s time to shear that from the budget.'
'But wait, there’s more. Last fall, U.S. PIRG Education Fund and the National Taxpayers Union Foundation identified more than 50 cuts and reforms that would save taxpayers $790 billion over the next decade. Our organizations diverge on what constitutes a proper regulatory and tax system, but we are united in the belief that the federal government spends in ways that are neither fiscally sustainable nor in the interest of the American people. The wasteful spending we identified shows many areas of potential bipartisan agreement.'

Al Jazeera (20/7/21): Opioid maker J&J, distributors near $26B deal with US states - Along with Johnson & Johnson, the proposed settlement includes distributors McKesson Corp, Cardinal Health Inc and AmerisourceBergen Corp.

Tags: pharma-news, healthcare-news, politics-news, corruption-news, capitalist-farce-news, court-news

Politico (20/7/21): Unlikely Senate alliance aims to claw back Congress’ foreign policy powers ‘before it’s too late’ - Sens. Chris Murphy, Mike Lee and Bernie Sanders introduced legislation to give Congress a larger role in U.S. foreign policy.

Tags: legislation-news, politics-news

Louis Rossmann (13/7/21): (video) Tesla's $16,000 bill to fix a nozzle demonstrates EVERYTHING wrong with modern repair

Tags: right-to-repair-news

Posted 19 July 2021

Wired (11/7/21): Biden Wants the FCC to Fix Net Neutrality—but It Can't Yet - The FCC won't be able to do most of the things the president encouraged in his executive order until he nominates a fifth commissioner.

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, tech-news, infrastructure-news

Ars Technica (19/7/21): “Clickless” exploits from Israeli firm hacked activists’ fully updated iPhones - NSO Group says its spyware targets only criminals and terrorists. Critics disagree.

Tags: cyber-security-news, tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Revolving Door Project (19/7/21): Treasury Nominee Graham Steele Represents Exactly Who Should Staff The Executive Branch

Tags: biden-policy-news

Al Jazeera (19/7/21): California utility says its equipment may be linked to wildfire - Pacific Gas & Electric says a blown conductor may have caused the currently burning Dixie Fire.

Tags: infrastructure-news, corruption-news, climate-change-news

Al Jazeera (19/7/21): US issues ban on federal prosecutors seizing journalist records - Attorney General Merrick Garland’s move comes following an outcry over the Trump administration’s investigations of members of the news media.

Tags: biden-policy-news, trump-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

The American Prospect (19/7/21): Biden Executive Order Could Finally Lower Drug Prices - Several tools could lower prices directly—and serve as an indirect incentive to get Congress to act.

Tags: biden-policy-news, healthcare-news, pharma-news, politics-news, ip-news

Jacobin (19/7/21): Biden Just Turned Down a Golden Opportunity to End Vaccine Apartheid - Joe Biden publicly supports proposals to waive vaccine patents to help end the COVID-19 pandemic. But so far he appears to have no intention of spending political capital to make those proposals a reality.

Tags: international-news, fail-biden-policy-news, vaccine-ip-news, covid-news

Just Security Early Edition (19/7/21):

President Biden’s administration has today transferred its first detainee out of Guantánamo Bay.
National Guard troops’ training and maintenance operations continue to be in danger other a continuing stalemate in Congress on Capitol security funding legislation
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has affirmed President Biden’s administration’s policy of letting unaccompanied children enter the U.S
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin offered President Biden the use of Russian military bases in Central Asia for information gathering from Afghanistan
The U.S. imposed sanctions on Friday against seven Chinese officials in relation to Beijing’s crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong

Tags: international-news, defense-news, security-news, economic-news, law-news, immigrant-news, biden-policy-news

Just Security (19/7/21): Biden’s Egypt Problem

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, international-news

On Labor (19/7/21): A jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin returned a verdict of over $125 million against Walmart in the case of a woman with Down syndrome who the retailer failed to accommodate and then fired, the New York Times reports.

Tags: court-news, labor-news, capitalist-farce-news

A Wisconsin community is reeling after a private equity firm acquired a local manufacturing company, The Guardian reports. OpenGate Capital acquired Hufcor, a 120-year-old family-owned company in Janesville, four years ago and announced this spring that it would close the plant where 166 workers made accordion-style room dividers, moving operations to Mexico.

ZDNet (19/7/21): Law firm for Ford, Boeing, Exxon, Marriott, Walgreens and more hacked in ransomware attack - The law firm said attackers may have accessed Social Security numbers, passport numbers, payment card information, medical information and biometric data.

Tags: cyber-security-news

Posted 18 July 2021

The Hill (14/7/21): Discrepancy between New York's COVID-19 death count and federal numbers widens: AP analysis

Tags: cuomo-news, covid-news, corruption-news, bad-democrat-news

Jacobin (16/7/21): What Biden’s Child Tax Credit Is Getting Wrong - Joe Biden’s Child Tax Credit is an important lifeline for poor and working-class families. But his administration has bungled the rollout: 90 percent of eligible children still haven’t been reached, consigning them to brutal poverty.

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, socialwoes-news, economic-news

Jacobin (26/2/19): A Plan to Win Socialism In America - The welfare state isn’t enough. A future Bernie Sanders government needs to pursue policies that diminish the power of capital and radically democratize the economy.

Tags: socialist-news, electoral-news, policy-news, labor-news

OpenSecrets (14/7/21): Senate Democrats unveil $3.5 trillion infrastructure reconciliation plan, while progressive groups take aim at moderates

Tags: biden-policy-news, infrastructure-news, politics-news, legislation-news

Al Jazeera (18/7/21): Israeli spyware used to target journalists, activists: Report - The reports say ‘authoritarian governments’ abused software sold by private Israeli firm to hack cellphones worldwide.

Tags: international-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, tech-news

Related: The Guardian (19/7/21): Spyware can make your phone your enemy. Journalism is your defence - The Pegasus project poses urgent questions about the privatisation of the surveillance industry and the lack of safeguards for citizens

In These Times (15/7/21): "How Many More Have to Die?" Protesters March Against Vaccine Apartheid - Campaigners are targeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel—and the pharmaceutical companies she is protecting.

Tags: vaccine-ip-news, pharma-news, international-news

The Intercept (18/7/21): What Amazon and Facebook Get Wrong About FTC Chair Lina Khan - The tech giants have accused her of bias against them, but that misunderstands her antitrust analysis.

Tags: antitrust-news, big-tech-news, biden-policy-news

The Economist (17/7/21): Will cutting unemployment benefits in America ease labour shortages? - The evidence so far is muddy, and points to at most a small effect

Tags: labor-news, economic-news

The Economist (7/7/21): Labour markets in the rich world are recovering from covid-19 - But the low-paid and the young may continue to struggle

Tags: labor-news, economic-news

The Guardian (17/7/21): Dozens arrested [largely targetting pro-LGBTQ+ activists] in Los Angeles as anti-trans protest outside spa turns violent - Wi Spa, a Koreatown business with a trans-inclusive policy, has become the target of a rightwing media storm

Tags: lgbtq-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news

The Economist (15/7/21): Can the federal bureaucracy resuscitate market dynamism in America? - The Biden administration has plans for everything from non-compete clauses at McDonald’s to big-tech monopsonists

Tags: economic-news, biden-policy-news

The Economist (17/7/21): The Republican anti-vax delusion - America’s vaccination programme is stalling. Populist conservatives are to blame

Tags: anti-vaxx-news, far-right-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Just Security Early Edition (15/7/21): Russian President Vladimir Putin personally authorized a secret spy agency operation to support a “mentally unstable” former President Trump in the 2016 U.S. presidential election during a closed session of Russia’s national security council, according to what appear to be leaked Kremlin documents

Tags: international-news, security-news, trump-news, politics-news

Michael Brown, President Biden’s nominee to be the Pentagon’s top weapons buyer, the Undersecretary of Defense for acquisitions and sustainment, has withdrawn from consideration amid an investigation by the inspector general (IG) into his tenure as the head of the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) which serves as an emerging technologies incubator.

Newly unsealed court records reveal that the Trump-era Department of Justice fought to secretly obtain the records of three Washington Post journalists up until former Attorney General William Barr’s last days in office

Posted 16 July 2021

ZDNet (16/7/21): Banks now rely on a few cloud computing giants. That's creating some unexpected new risks - The Bank of England has urged financial institutions to remain cautious when switching to the cloud. Here's why.

Tags: cyber-security-news, tech-news

Mother Jones (16/7/21): For Minimum Wage Workers, Rent Is Now Unaffordable in Every County in America - Meanwhile, at least 7.5 million people are at risk of eviction at month’s end.

Tags: social-woes-news, economic-news

EFF (16/7/21): Right or Left, You Should Be Worried About Big Tech Censorship

Tags: big-tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

EFF (15/7/21): The Tower of Babel: How Public Interest Internet is Trying to Save Messaging and Banish Big Social Media

Tags: big-tech-news, open-tech-news, infrastructure-news

CounterPunch (16/7/21): The Bureau of Labor Statistics Counted Only Eight Strikes in 2020, Payday Report Counted 1,200

Tags: labor-news, analysis-news, tracker-news

Jacobin (16/7/21): Joe Biden’s Stimulus Is Financing Republican-Backed Tax Cuts for the Rich

Tags: corruption-news, gop-shenanigans-news, fail-biden-policy-news

Democracy Now (16/7/21):

COVID-19 Cases Rise in Nearly Every U.S. State as Delta Variant Becomes Dominant
Smoke Blankets Much of North America as Western Wildfires Grow in Size
Research Shows Parts of Amazon Rainforest Now Emit More Greenhouse Gas Than They Absorb
IRS Begins Child Tax Credit Rollout to 60 Million Families
FBI Failed to Intervene in Abuse Claims Against Larry Nassar, Leading to 100+ More Sex Crimes

Tags: covid-news, economic-news, climate-change-news, crime-news

The Intercept (16/7/21): Oil and Gas Heir Funding Super PAC Attacking Nina Turner - Samson Energy’s chair has donated $1.25 million to the Democratic Majority for Israel super PAC, which endorsed Turner’s opponent Shontel Brown.

Tags: dark-money-news, big-oil-news

The Hill (16/7/21): Two men charged over plot to blow up Sacramento Democratic headquarters

Tags: militant-far-right-news

The Hill (16/7/21): Man arrested with arsenal of weapons wanted to wipe out Black, Hispanic, Jewish communities

Tags: militant-far-right-news

On Labor (16/7/21): On Thursday, Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer filed for cloture on the Senate’s confirmation of NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo. The Senate could vote on her nomination in the coming week. Abruzzo’s nomination is supported by the AFL-CIO. Abruzzo would also be the first woman to serve as the Board’s top lawyer.

The House’s Appropriations Bill for 2022 calls for the phasing out of unpaid internships within the State Department over the next three years, and includes $10 million for the State Department to compensate interns.

Tags: labor-news, union-news, biden-policy-news

The Guardian (16/7/21): Flagstaff declares state of emergency as Arizona hit by devastating floods - Debris from areas burned by wildfires courses through city streets as one woman dies in flash flood on Colorado River

Tags: climate-change-news

Posted 15 July 2021

LA Times (7/5/21): Column: Employers, governors push myth that unemployment checks keep lazy workers home (via u/alllie on r/labor)

Tags: labor-news, economic-news, capitalist-farce-news

The Guardian (15/7/21): Democratic congresswoman arrested during voting rights protest at Capitol - Joyce Beatty, chair of Congressional Black Caucus, was calling on the Senate to pass a key election reform bill

Tags: voting-rights-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news

The American Prospect (15/7/21): To Build Back Better, Biden Needs to Promptly Staff the Department of Justice - Numerous positions are vacant, threatening progress in a host of areas.

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, infrastructure-news

Salon (15/7/21): Michigan GOP plans “shocking” scheme to ram through voting restrictions over Whitmer’s veto - Whitmer won't sign Republican voter-suppression bills, but GOP has found one weird trick to enact them anyway

Tags: voting-rights-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Democracy Now (15/7/21):

1 Million Acres Burn in Western U.S. and Canada as Another Heat Wave Builds
Russia Deploys Military to Battle Siberian Wildfires Amid Record Heat
U.S. Drug Overdose Deaths Rose by 30% in 2020 to Record High
Biden Selects Dr. Rahul Gupta, Who Oversaw West Virginia Response to Opioid Crisis, as “Drug Czar”
General Mark Milley Says Trump’s Election Fraud Claims Felt Like “Reichstag Moment”
Johnson & Johnson Recalls Sunscreens Containing Carcinogen

Tags: drug-news, pharma-news, climate-change-news, capitol-storming-news, social-woes-news, biden-policy-news, far-right-news

On Labor (15/7/21): The Senate Democrats’ new budget reconciliation bill plans to financially penalize companies that violate workers’ rights.

Tags: busting-labor-news, legislation-news, economic-news, socialist-news

'Employee-ownership think tank Fifty by Fifty recently released its opinion on the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) component of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The SSBCI would include provisions to expand employee ownership of businesses. The organization applauded the initiative but urged Congress to lift its sights higher beyond small businesses and towards larger concentrations of corporate wealth in bigger corporations.'

In These Times (15/7/21): Striking Frito Lay Workers Say They Deserve More Than Crumbs - Worker Cheri Renfro speaks out from Topeka, Kansas, where Frito Lay workers have been on strike since July 5.

Tags: labor-news, capitalist-farce-news

Revolving Door Project (15/7/21): Want Postal Banking? Fire Louis DeJoy.

Tags: infrastructure-news, economic-news, policy-news

The Hill (15/7/21): 16 members of Florida white supremacist group indicted on kidnapping, assault charges

Tags: militant-far-right-news

Posted 14 July 2021

Labor Notes (14/7/21): At a Convention Like No Other, Teamster Challengers Turn a Corner

Tags: labor-news, union-news

Ars Technica (14/7/21): Facebook tries to beat FTC lawsuit by pushing Chair Lina Khan off the case - Facebook petitions for Khan's recusal as FTC decides whether to continue lawsuit.

Tags: antitrust-news, biden-policy-news, big-tech-news

Revolving Door Project (14/7/21): GOP Cries Foul As Biden Seizes on the Supreme Court’s New Precedent

Tags: court-news, biden-policy-news, gop-shenanigans-news, politics-news

Revolving Door Project (14/7/21): Recent Leaks And Ongoing Litigation At The EPA Highlight The Importance Of Government Transparency

Tags: biden-policy-news, politics-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

The Hill (14/7/21): Teen who allegedly crumpled up 'back the blue' sign charged with hate crime

Tags: civil-rights-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

OnLabor (14/7/21): The Senate voted on Tuesday to approve Julie Su as the United States Deputy Labor Secretary, the second highest ranking position in the Department of Labor.

Tags: biden-policy-news, labor-news

U.S. PIRG (14/7/21): Report: Most restaurants fail to stop antibiotic overuse in their beef supplies

Tags: food-security-news

Mother Jones (14/7/21): It’s Wild That the Attorney General Leading the War on Voter Fraud Has Been Under Indictment for Six Years - Ken Paxton blames voter fraud for the 2020 election result. His own investigations are a bunch of duds.

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, corruption-news, voting-rights-news

Democracy Now (14/7/21):

Reproductive Rights Groups Sue Texas over 6-Week Abortion Ban
Fracking Companies Pumped Toxic PFAS into the Ground After Obama’s EPA Approved Its Use
Care Workers Demand Proper Compensation and Benefits in Infrastructure Legislation
Sunrise Mvt Activists Camp Out at Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s Offices to Demand Climate Action

Tags: civil-rights-news, civil-rights-news, big-oil-news, infrastructure-news, climate-change-news

Posted 13 July 2021

The Majority Report (2/7/21): (VIDEO) Progressives NOT Ready For The Horrors Of A 6-3 Conservative Supreme Court

Tags: politics-news, court-news

The Guardian (13/7/21): More than 60 wildfires rage across US west – including blaze bigger than Portland - Thousands have been forced to evacuate from Alaska to Wyoming amid soaring temperatures and a drought

Tags: climate-change-news

The American Prospect (13/7/21): There’s Just One Problem With Biden’s Executive Order Spree - The administration’s staffing deficiencies could imperil the entire agenda.

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news

Al Jazeera (13/7/21): More unmarked residential school graves discovered in Canada - Penelakut Tribe in British Columbia says it found more than 160 unmarked graves in latest such discovery since May.

Tags: mass-grave-news

EFF (13/7/21): DNS Provider Hit With Outrageous Blocking Order – Is Your Provider Next?

Tags: big-tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Posted 12 July 2021

Ars Technica (12/7/21): Microsoft discovers critical SolarWinds zero-day under active attack - Flaws allow attackers to run malicious code on machines hosting Serv-U products.

Tags: big-tech-news, cyber-security-news

ZDNet (12/7/21): Microsoft acquires cybersecurity company RiskIQ - Microsoft spent a reported $500 million to buy the popular cloud security company.

Tags: big-tech-news

LaborNotes (12/7/21): Volvo Workers Forced to Vote Again on Contract They Just Rejected

Tags: union-news, labor-news

The Guardian (12/7/21): Forty-three bodies found in Arizona borderland amid brutal heat - Non-profit group sees apparent surge in number of migrant deaths this year

Tags: climate-change-news, immigrant-news

Democracy Now (12/7/21):

COVID Cases on the Rise in 42 U.S. States
CDC Urges Schools to Reopen in Fall
Top U.S. Military General Leaves Post in Afghanistan as Withdrawal Nears End
Biden Fires Trump-Era Social Security Head with Anti-Union, Anti-Benefits Agenda
ACLU Says Trump Admin Began Family Separations in 2017, Months Before “Zero Tolerance” Policy
62-Year-Old Hervis Earl Rogers Faces 40 Years in Prison for “Illegal Voting” in Texas
Charlottesville, Virginia, Removes Racist Statues After Protracted Legal Battle
Surfside Condo Collapse Death Toll Rises to 90
California on Pace for Worst-Ever Wildfire Season as 300,000 Acres Burn in Western U.S.

Tags: covid-news, international-news, labor-news, civil-rights-news, voting-rights-news, politics-news, climate-change-news

Posted 11 July 2021

The Guardian (11/7/21): Firefighters struggle to contain exploding northern California wildfire - Blaze rushes north-east from the Sierra Nevada forest region after doubling in size as heatwave blankets US west

Tags: climate-change-news

Jacobin (9/7/21): Miners in Ontario Are Mobilizing Against Another Corporate Rip-Off - Mining multinational Vale is trying to strip its workers in Sudbury of vital benefits using the pandemic as cover. They’ve responded with strike action, building on a long tradition of militant trade unionism in the region.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, labor-news

Jacobin (8/7/21): Socialists Actually Did Very Well Among Black Brooklyn Voters - Democratic Party hacks love to accuse socialists of lacking support from black and brown New Yorkers. But a look at the numbers in Brooklyn reveals the opposite: socialism won among black working-class voters. Support from white liberals, on the other hand, was missing.

Tags: analysis-news, electoral-news, socialist-news

The Guardian (11/7/21): How big oil keeps a grip on New Mexico – with the help of a major lobbyist - Records show the firm FTI and its fossil fuel clients benefit from local government ties

Tags: big-oil-news, dark-money-news, corruption-news

Read 10 July 2021

Democracy Now (9/7/21):

“I Will Not Send Another Generation of Americans to War”: Biden Steps Up Afghanistan Pullout
White House Coronavirus Task Force Warns of Surging Cases in Low-Vaccination Areas
15 States Drop Case Against Purdue Pharma’s Bankruptcy Plan in Landmark Opioids Case

Tags: international-news, covid-news, pharma-news

Read 9 July 2021

U.S. PIRG (9/7/21): Right to Repair advocates praise Biden’s executive order supporting repair competition

Tags: right-to-repair-news, biden-policy-news

Louis Rossmann (9/7/21): BIDEN SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER ON RIGHT TO REPAIR!

Tags: right-to-repair-news, biden-policy-news

Left Voice (9/7/21): Inflation, Interest Rates, and Debt - Accelerating inflation may be an issue right now in the U.S. and other recovering capitalist economies. But for capitalism, profitability is the real benchmark and that can be hit by wage rises on the one hand and interest rises on the other.

Tags: economic-news

KHN (9/7/21): Drugmakers’ Spending on Stock, Dividends and Executive Pay Exceeds Research, Democrats Say

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, pharma-news

Al Jazeera (9/7/21): US set to add more Chinese companies to blacklist over Xinjiang - At least 14 Chinese companies are set to be added as early as Friday to the Entity List over reported abuses of Muslim Uighurs.

Tags: international-news, politics-news

The American Prospect (9/7/21): How Amazon Controls Virtually Everything You Watch - Amazon Web Services delivers almost all filmed media in the United States to your screen of choice. How are they leveraging that power?

Tags: big-tech-news, antitrust-news

Read 8 July 2021

U.S. PIRG (8/7/21): The latest Right to Repair advocate? President Joe Biden. - From Main Street to Pennsylvania Avenue, people just want to fix their stuff.

Tags: right-to-repair-news, biden-policy-news

Louis Rossmann (8/7/21): Ford outdoes Tesla in being a shitty unrepairable brand

Tags: right-to-repair-news, capitalist-farce-news

The Economist (10/7/21): America’s history wars - The fight over critical race theory in schools is part of a century-long battle over whose version of America is taught

Tags: politics-news, gop-shenanigans-news

New York Times (5/7/21): Amazon Transformed Seattle. Now, Its Workers Are Poised to Take It Back.

Tags: big-tech-news, labor-news

The Nation (8/7/21): How Labor Can Win at the Bargaining Table - A new report from Berkeley is a rare piece of good news for American labor—and a bracing reminder of what real organizing looks like.

Tags: analysis-news, labor-news

Democracy Now (8/7/21):

North America Recorded Hottest June on Record Amid Worsening Climate Crisis
Line 3 Pipeline Foes Say Enbridge Spilled Drilling Chemicals in Minnesota River
Dozens of States Sue Google for Creating App Store Monopoly
Darnella Frazier’s Uncle Killed by Officer Pursuing Suspect in High-Speed Chase

Tags: climate-change-news, big-oil-news, big-tech-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news

Ars Technica (8/7/21): Morgan Stanley discloses data breach that resulted from Accellion FTA hacks - Financial services firm says data was stolen by exploiting flaws discovered in December.

Tags: cyber-security-news, tech-news

Revolving Door Project (8/7/21): Biden Hires Top Officials From Big Tech-Aligned Law Firm, New Report Finds

Tags: big-tech-news, corruption-news, fail-biden-policy-news

On Labor (8/7/21): Yesterday, the White House announced that President Biden plans to issue an executive order encouraging the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to restrict businesses’ use of employee non-compete agreements.; Finally, in New York City, outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio’s long-expected “Hometown Heroes” Parade became marred in controversy yesterday, as multiple unions and worker organizations boycotted the event in response to ongoing labor disputes with the city

Tags: labor-news, biden-policy-news, economic-news

Salon (8/7/21): Amy Coney Barrett ruled in favor of major backer without explaining ties - The Koch-funded advocacy group in question publicly committed more than $1 million to promote her confirmation

Tags: court-news, corruption-news, dark-money-news

The American Prospect (8/7/21): One Weird Trick to Force Billionaires to Pay Taxes - The ‘economic substance doctrine’ could be employed by the IRS to crack down on tax avoidance.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, economic-news, policy-news, tax-news

KHN (8/7/21): Most Inmates Have Had Their Covid Shots — But Their Guards Likely Haven’t

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, covid-news

Ars Technica (7/7/21): Microsoft’s emergency patch fails to fix critical “PrintNightmare” vulnerability - Game-over code-execution attacks are still possible even after fix is installed.

Tags: big-tech-news, cyber-security-news

EFF (7/7/21): Improving Enforcement in State Consumer Privacy Laws

Tags: tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Read 7 July 2021

FiveThirtyEight (7/7/21): New Laws Let Americans With Disabilities Vote Online. They’ve Also Resurrected The Debate About Voting Access vs. Election Security.

Tags: voting-rights-news, legislation-news, policy-news

Vox (7/7/21): Google is facing yet another major antitrust lawsuit - Dozens of attorneys general filed a suit accusing Google Play of anti-competitive practices.

Tags: antitrust-news, politics-news, big-tech-news

OpenSecrets (7/7/21): Rudy Giuliani is being scrutinized for foreign lobbying. He may have been one of many in the Trump White House.

Tags: international-news, trump-news, corruption-news

Democracy Now (7/7/21):

Eric Adams Set to Become New York City’s Next Mayor After Clinching Primary
Biden Admin Extends Temporary Protected Status for Yemenis
White House Quietly Hosts Brother of Mohammed bin Salman
Heat Wave May Have Killed 1 Billion Shellfish, Other Sea Creatures on Canadian Coast

Tags: electoral-news, biden-policy-news, international-news, climate-change-news

Revolving Door Project (7/6/21): Biden Labeled the Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Decision a “Disappointment.” His Justice Department Failed to Oppose It.

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, court-news, voting-rights-news

OnLabor (7/7/21): The Ninth Circuit has permitted a proposed class action Title VII suit to proceed against Nevada’s Chicken Ranch brothel, lifting a temporary stay on the proceedings while the brothel applied to have the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals determine whether the brothel was an “employer” under the Civil Rights Act.

Tags: court-news, labor-news

Read 6 July 2021

Revolving Door Project (6/7/21): He Repped Exxon Against the U.S. What’s He Doing on Team Biden?

Tags: big-oil-news, corruption-news, fail-biden-policy-news

New York Times (6/7/21): States and Cities Scramble to Spend $350 Billion Windfall - The Biden administration is betting on the funds to keep the recovery humming, but Republicans say the money is being wasted.

Tags: economic-news, biden-policy-news

New York Times (6/7/21): Pentagon Cancels a Disputed $10 Billion Technology Contract - The decision puts an end to years of legal wrangling over the contract, for 10 years of cloud-computing services.

Tags: defense-news, cyber-security-news, corruption-news, big-tech-news

New York Times (6/7/21): Attempted Hack of R.N.C. and Russian Ransomware Attack Test Biden - The breach of a Republican National Committee contractor, also linked to Russia, and the global ransomware attack occurred weeks after a U.S.-Russian summit.

Tags: cyber-security-news

Jacobin (6/7/21): How DSA Won — and Lost — in New York City Elections - In this year’s New York City Council elections, the Democratic Socialists of America chapter elected two of its six candidates after the Democratic establishment entered the elections fully prepared to fight the Left. It’s a stark reminder of how hard it will be to take on elite interests and win.

Tags: socialist-news, electoral-news

Chicago Sun Times (4/7/21): Industrial Workers of the World still unite - Founded in Chicago in 1905, the I.W.W., known as the Wobblies for reasons mysterious, helps employees enjoy the fruits of their labor. (via OnLabor)

Tags: labor-news, union-news

Yahoo! Finance (5/7/21): Teens Are Taking High Paying Jobs, Filling Employment Gaps Left by Adults During COVID (via OnLabor)

Tags: labor-news, economic-news

World Socialist Web Site (5/7/21): Fascist group stages midnight march in Philadelphia as police look on

Tags: far-right-news

World Socialist Web Site (5/7/21): Great jazz vocalist dishonored by The United States vs. Billie Holiday—Can’t we do better?

Tags: culture-news

Al Jazeera (6/7/21): Abandoned: The seafarers stuck at sea for two years - As many as 200,000 seafarers have been left stranded at sea during the pandemic as shipping companies turn a blind eye

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, international-news

Democracy Now (6/7/21):

Black Community in Memphis Defeats Oil Pipeline That Threatened Water Supply
Jessica Reznicek Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison for Eco-Sabotage on Dakota Access Pipeline
Track Star Sha’Carri Richardson Suspended Ahead of Olympics over Positive Marijuana Test

Tags: big-oil-news, politics-news, international-news

In These Times (6/7/21): Joe Biden Says He Stands With Unions. This Is His Moment to Prove It. - The longest national nurses strike in over a decade could also be a “watershed moment” for Medicare for All.

Tags: union-news, labor-news, fail-biden-policy-news

Ars Technica (6/7/21): Up to 1,500 businesses infected in one of the worst ransomware attacks ever - Mass compromise is having cascading effects around the world.

Tags: tech-news, cyber-security-news

Read 5 July 2021

New York Times (5/7/21): Far-Right Extremist Finds an Ally in an Arizona Congressman - Representative Paul Gosar’s association with the white nationalist Nick Fuentes is the most vivid example of the Republican Party’s growing acceptance of extremism.

Tags: far-right-news, politics-news, electoral-news

New York Times (4/7/21): The Tech Cold War’s ‘Most Complicated Machine’ That’s Out of China’s Reach - A $150 million chip-making tool from a Dutch company has become a lever in the U.S.-Chinese struggle. It also shows how entrenched the global supply chain is.

Tags: international-news, logistics-news, big-tech-news

The Guardian (5/7/21): Chinese-owned firm acquires UK’s largest semiconductor manufacturer - Tory MP Tom Tugendhat raises concerns about deal in light of global computer chip shortage

Tags: tech-news, logistics-news

Ars Technica (29/6/21): Microsoft digitally signs malicious rootkit driver - Company still hasn't revealed the cause of this serious security lapse.

Tags: cyber-security-news, tech-news

Al Jazeera (4/7/21): Canadian military to provide air support as BC battles wildfires - Authorities in western province of British Columbia are fighting large blazes that broke out after an historic heatwave.

Tags: climate-change-news

Posted 3 July 2021

EFF (2/7/21): Victory! Fourth Circuit Rules Baltimore’s Warrantless Aerial Surveillance Program Unconstitutional

Tags: court-news, tech-news, civil-rights-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

The Guardian (2/7/21): Record heatwave may have killed 500 people in western Canada - British Columbia reports jump in number of ‘sudden and unexpected deaths’ and links them to extreme weather

Tags: climate-change-news

EFF (2/7/21): The Future Is in Symmetrical, High-Speed Internet Speeds

Tags: tech-news, infrastructure-news

'It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the granularity of this debate, but ultimately it boils down to this: cable companies want a definition that requires them to do and give less. One that will not meet our needs in the future. And if Congress goes ahead with their definition—100 Mbps of download and 20 of upload (100/20 Mbps)—instead of what we need—100 Mbps of download and 100 Mbps of upload (100/100 Mbps)—we will be left behind.'
'Furthermore, once on fiber, increasing your speed comes much more cheaply, since the hardware at the ends of the fiber connections can be upgraded without digging and laying new cables. You can see this with the financial data from Chattanooga’s municipal fiber entity in 2015 when they upgraded from 1 gigabit to 10 gigabits. They did not experience a substantial increase in costs to upgrade at all.'
'For the same reason 100/20 cable and wireless systems can’t easily improve their upload speed, they can’t also turn around and deliver gigabit speeds. Meanwhile, the same fiber network able to deliver 100/100 Mbps is actually also capable of also delivering 1000/1000 Mbps and 10,000/10,000 Mbps with affordable upgrades to its hardware. 80,000/80,000 Mbps is already possible now over the same fiber wire, though the price of the hardware remains high. As the price comes down, 80 gigabit symmetrical could become the next standard for fiber networks. Wireless connected with fiber benefits from these gains with the only limitation being the amount of available spectrum they have for wireless transmission.'
'...But a fiber network can share the gains it makes from advancements in hardware because it does not experience a new cost burden to deliver a scalable solution. This is why Chattanooga was able to give its low-income students free 100/100 Mbps internet access during the pandemic at very little cost to the network.'

The Guardian (3/7/21): ‘Eye of fire’: Gas leak sparks huge blaze on ocean surface off Mexico - Flames that raged near a Pemex oil platform took more than five hours to extinguish

Tags: big-oil-news, international-news, climate-change-news, industrial-failure-news

The Guardian (3/7/21): Massachusetts standoff that partially closed I-95 ends with 11 in custody - Men armed with rifles and handguns claimed to be from group ‘that does not recognize our laws’, police say

Tags: politics-news, crime-news

Posted 2 July 2021

The Economist (3/7/21): The real risk to America’s democracy - Partisan election administration is a greater worry than voter suppression

Tags: electoral-news, voting-rights-news, politics-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Salon (2/7/21): 'Bombshell' lobbyist video reveals Exxon's secret campaign to water down U.S. climate legislation - Climate experts pointed to the footage as confirmation of findings from previous investigations into the company

Tags: big-oil-news, corruption-news, climate-change-news, bad-democrat-news

KHN (30/6/21): States Step Up Push to Regulate Pharmacy Drug Brokers - 'More than 100 separate bills regulating those companies, known as pharmacy benefit managers, have been introduced in 42 states this year, according to the National Academy for State Health Policy, which crafts model legislation on the topic. The flood of bills comes after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling late last year backed Arkansas’ right to enforce rules on the companies. At least 12 of the states have adopted new oversight laws. But it’s not yet clear how much money consumers will save immediately, if at all.'

Tags: pharma-news, legislation-news

The American Prospect (2/7/21): Manchin Profits From Coal Sales to Utility Lobbying Group Members - Here’s what we found about the Manchin family coal brokerage and its business with members of the powerful Edison Electric Institute.

Tags: corruption-news, politics-news, bad-democrat-news

'Also in 2017, an Energy and Policy Institute report found that utility companies funded by ratepayers sent $760 million from 2004 through 2015 to EEI in member dues, which then spent a total of $130.6 million on lobbying and political expenditures, 14 percent of its total expenses.'
'As the effects of climate degradation continue to mount, and as deadlines approach to cut polluting emissions, Sludge found that members of Congress had $93 million invested in fossil fuel industry stocks as of December 2019.'

The American Prospect (2/7/21): Passenger Rail Is Not Dead Yet - Capitol Hill grudgingly funds Amtrak, and now the rail operator may have to compete with private-sector companies for federal dollars.

Tags: infrastructure-news, rail-news, biden-policy-news

EFF (1/7/21): Victory! Federal Court Halts Florida’s Censorious Social Media Law Privileging Politicians’ Speech Over Everyday Users

Tags: court-news, civil-rights-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

The Guardian (2/7/21): France investigates fashion brands over forced Uyghur labour claims - Uniqlo France among four firms suspected of profiting from crimes against humanity in Xinjiang

Tags: international-news, capitalist-farce-news, labor-news

Democracy Now (2/7/21):

Extreme Heat Wave Scorches Canada, Nearly Wiping Out Canadian Town of Lytton
Attorney General Merrick Garland Halts Federal Executions
NFL Slaps Washington Football Team with $10 Million Fine for Systemic Sexual Harassment
Boy Scouts of America Reach $850 Million Settlement with Survivors of Sexual Abuse
“No Pride in Genocide”: Protests and Vigils Eschew Canada Day Celebrations

Tags: climate-change-news, politics-news, civil-rights-news

Posted 1 July 2021

The Nation (1/7/21): There’s a Way to Get More People Vaccinated—and It Doesn’t Involve the Lottery - As the Delta variant spreads, it’s essential to make it easier for essential workers to get vaccinated—and that begins by giving paid sick leave for the shot.; 'and second, turn to unions, worker organizations, and others that are already known to and trusted by workers and their communities.' [my emphasis]

Tags: labor-news, covid-news

'To increase vaccination rates among essential workers, we need better laws concerning paid sick leave. Nearly half of adults in the United States who have not received a coronavirus vaccine are concerned about missing work as a result of side effects from the shot; this concern is even greater among Black and Latinx adults. Last year, around 25 percent of all private-sector workers (and a much greater number of the lowest-wage earners) had no paid sick leave.'

In These Times (1/7/21): What Can the Biden Admin Do to Make Our Food System More Resilient? Make it More Local. - Our food supply chains are vulnerable because they’re highly concentrated, corporatized and unaccountable to the public.

Tags: policy-news, infrastructure-news, food-security-news

Mother Jones (1/7/21): Dark Money Is About to Get Much Darker - The Supreme Court’s conservative majority just gutted donor disclosure rules.

Tags: dark-money-news, court-news

The Economist World This Week (1/7/21): 'President Joe Biden backed down over his claim that he would not sign a bipartisan infrastructure bill worth roughly $1trn unless it was accompanied by more expansive provisions off the Democratic party’s wishlist, such as tax increases. Mr Biden had tied the two together after striking a deal with a group of senators from both sides last week, riling Republicans.'

Tags: infrastructure-news, politics-news, biden-policy-news

The American Prospect (1/7/21): A U.S.-Led Challenge to China’s Global Infrastructure Strategy - Biden’s Build Back Better World partnership aims to offer developing nations an alternative to Chinese financing.

Tags: biden-policy-news, international-news

OpenSecrets (30/6/21): Education lobbying groups boost spending as Biden administration sets to reverse DeVos-era policies

Tags: dark-money-news, biden-policy-news

New York Times (1/7/21): Supreme Court Upholds Arizona Voting Restrictions - The decision, a test of what remains of the Voting Rights Act, suggested that challenges to many new measures making it harder to vote may not be successful.

Tags: court-news, voting-rights-news

New York Times (1/7/21): Trump Organization Is Charged in 15-Year Tax Scheme - A prosecutor accused the company of a “sweeping and audacious illegal payments scheme” in compensating a top executive, Allen H. Weisselberg.

Tags: tax-news, capitalist-farce-news, trump-news, politics-news

Democracy Now (1/7/21):

Trump Organization CFO Surrenders After Grand Jury Indictment
Hundreds Feared Dead in Pacific Northwest [Oregon to British Columbia] in Unprecedented Heat Wave
ExxonMobil Lobbyist Tricked into Disclosing How Firm Fights Climate Initiatives
Death Toll in Miami Beach Building Collapse Reaches 18; 145 Still Missing
Iraq War & Torture Architect Donald Rumsfeld, 88, Dies
Billionaire Funds Deployment of South Dakota National Guard to U.S.-Mexico Border [deployed by ND GOP gov. Kristi Noem]
Amazon Seeks to Force New FTC Chair to Recuse Herself over Past Amazon Criticism
U.S. & Japan Held Secret War Games & Military Exercises Targeting China
U.N. Sec.-Gen. Guterres Urges U.S. to Lift Sanctions on Iran; State Department to Allow “X” Gender Marker on Passports

Tags: trump-news, politics-news, climate-change-news, big-oil-news, corruption-news, gop-shenanigans-news, international-news, antitrust-news, lgbtq-news

See also: Salon (30/6/21): Kristi Noem raises ethical concerns with privately bankrolled National Guard border deployment - The mission, funded by a billionaire GOP megadonor, appears to be the first of its kind in American history

Tags: corruption-news, gop-shenanigans-news

On Labor (30/6/21): This morning, President Biden announced eight new candidates for the federal bench, including Jennifer Sung, a labor lawyer and former union organizer.

Tags: biden-policy-news, labor-news

Revolving Door Projejct (30/6/21): Amid Climate Crisis, Biden Stacks Administration With Fossil Fuel Industry Allies

Tags: climate-change-news, corruption-news, big-oil-news, fail-biden-policy-news

OpenSecrets (30/6/21): Secretive ‘dark money’ network launches anti-critical race theory campaign

Tags: dark-money-news, politics-news, gop-shenanigans-news

New York Times (29/6/21): No. 3 House Democrat Steps Into Ohio Race to Head Off a Sanders Acolyte - The decision by Representative James Clyburn to oppose an outspoken ally of Senator Bernie Sanders in a special election in Cleveland highlights the generational and ideological gulf in the Democratic Party.

Tags: bad-democrat-news, politics-news

The Guardian (30/6/21): Latest First Nations discovery reveals 182 unmarked graves at Canada school - Lower Kootenay Band finds human remains at former residential school in British Columbia – the third such discovery in weeks

Tags: mass-grave-news

The Guardian (30/6/21): Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction overturned by Pennsylvania court

Tags: crime-news, court-news

Democracy Now (30/6/21):

NYC Board of Elections Posts, Then Retracts, Updated Tally in Mayor’s Race After Counting Error
SCOTUS Rules Asylum Seekers Who Were Once Deported Can Be Denied Bond, Locked Up Indefinitely
Dozens of Deaths in Canada Linked to Searing Heat Wave

Tags: electoral-news, court-news, immigrant-news, climate-change-news

Posted 30 June 2021

Vox (29/6/21): Biden’s infrastructure deal proves bipartisanship can’t deliver - The deal shows the limits of bipartisanship in Congress.

Tags: legislation-news, politics-news, biden-policy-news, infrastructure-news

On Labor (29/6/21): President Biden—who promised to be the most pro-union president in history—is coming under fire for nominating a management-side labor and employment lawyer to the Federal Bench.

Tags: labor-news, fail-biden-policy-news

Revolving Door Project (29/6/21): ExxonMobil Ally Elizabeth Rosenberg In Line For Top Job In Biden’s Treasury

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, big-oil-news, corruption-news

Payday Report (28/6/21): Colorado Farmworkers Win Right to Unionize

Tags: union-news, labor-news, food-security-news

Salon (29/6/21): In an "incredible victory" for trans rights, Supreme Court rejects school bathroom case - "Our work is not yet done," said one ACLU attorney

Tags: lgbtq-news, civil-rights-news, court-news

Al Jazeera (29/6/21): Nearly 800 Line 3 pipeline workers tested positive for COVID-19 - Healthcare workers say cases ‘could have been avoided’ if governor had paused construction.

Tags: covid-news, big-oil-news

New York Times (29/6/21): House Passes Bills to Bolster Scientific Research, Breaking With Senate - The legislation would invest in traditional research and development, clashing with a broad Senate measure that focuses on cutting-edge technology to compete with China.

Tags: legislation-news, science-news, politics-news

Posted 29 June 2021

EFF (9/6/21): EFF Files Amicus Brief Defending the Right to Repair in Massachusetts

Tags: right-to-repair-news

Democracy Now (29/6/21):

Pacific Northwest’s Stifling Heat Breaks All-Time Records for Second Straight Day
Moscow Storms Break Russia’s Record-Setting June Heat Wave
Iranian-Backed Militia Strikes Back After Biden Orders Bombings in Iraq and Syria
Death Toll Reaches 11 in Florida Condo Collapse, with 150 Still Missing
California Bans State-Funded Travel to 17 States with Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws
Olympian Gwen Berry Turns Back on U.S. Flag in Protest Against Systemic Racism

Tags: climate-change-news, international-news, lgbtq-news, politics-news

Jacobin (29/6/21): India Walton Is Reviving the American Tradition of Municipal Socialism - With her win last week, Buffalo’s India Walton will almost certainly become the first socialist mayor of a major US city in years. She’s reviving a robust American tradition: municipal socialism.

Tags: socialist-news, electoral-news, politics-news

Posted 28 June 2021

FiveThirtyEight (28/6/21): How The Delayed Census Has Affected Redistricting

Tags: electoral-news, voting-rights-news, analysis-news, policy-news

The Revolving Door Project (28/6/21): Biden Can't Pick A PTO Director Because Democrats Can't Decide If They Like Big Pharma

Tags: pharma-news, corruption-news, fail-biden-policy-news, politics-news, bad-democrat-news

Al Jazeera (28/6/21): Ukraine, US launch Black Sea drills despite Russian protest - Major exercise involving thousands of troops, dozens of ships comes days after Russian incident with a British destroyer off Crimea.

Tags: defense-news, international-news, security-news

KHN (28/6/21): Doctors’ Lobby Scores ‘Major Victory’ on Bill to Hold Physicians Accountable

Tags: politics-news, healthcare-news, legislation-news

New York Times (28/6/21): Judge Throws Out State and Federal Cases Against Facebook - The judge, James E. Boasberg, said that the Federal Trade Commission’s complaint lacked facts, and that the agency needed to refile it within 30 days.

Tags: court-news, big-tech-news, antitrust-news

Liberation News (27/6/21): Oregon landlords’ interests upheld vs. tenants as evictions loom

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, social-woes-news, politics-news, civil-rights-news

Democracy Now (28/6/21):

Iraq Condemns Violation of Sovereignty After U.S. Launches Airstrikes in Iraq and Syria
Judge Sentences Ex-Cop Derek Chauvin to 22.5 Years in Prison for Murdering George Floyd
9 Dead, 150+ Missing in Miami Condo Collapse as 2018 Report Shows Building Was Vulnerable
Manhattan District Attorney Set to File Criminal Charges Against Trump Organization
Trump Sought to Use Insurrection Act to Crush Black Lives Matter Protests in 2020
Johnson & Johnson Reaches $230 Million Settlement with New York over Role in Opioid Epidemic
Former Alaska Senator Mike Gravel, Who Read Pentagon Papers into Congressional Record, Dies at 91

Tags: international-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, defense-news, court-news, politics-news, trump-news, pharma-news

Who Gets the Bird (26/6/21): The Teamsters convention was this week, and a lot happened.

Tags: union-news, labor-news

The national press mostly picked up the resolution to organize Amazon, which I’ll just say is a great development if and when it leads to actual organizing work but it’s also a Teamsters election year, with both slates hoping to look tough on new organizing, so of course it passed overwhelmingly. More interesting to me are the long-fought-for reforms that Teamsters for a Democratic Union and their allies were able to win, like eliminating the 2/3rds rule that allowed the national union to impose a concessionary UPS contract in 2018 over the majority no vote of those who voted, and the requirement that strike funds be paid out on day one, and that national bargaining committees must now include rank-and-file members. Salary caps for officials making more than the IBT General President through the collection of multiple salaries (we’re talking in the $350,000+ range or so) failed. Of particular interest is the fact that the challenger slate is no longer the scrappy underdog, receiving a majority of delegate votes for the top slot, compared to 8% of delegates support in 2016. You can read all about it in TDU’s roundup of the convention, but clearly something is changing in the Teamsters union, and I’d expect the election this fall to see at least some reform-minded leaders win office.

The Guardian (27/6/21): US journalist says he was tortured during detention in Myanmar - Nathan Maung says security forces punched, slapped and beat him, and kept him blindfolded for over a week

Tags: international-news

The Guardian (27/6/21): Pacific north-west heatwave continues with Idaho and Montana in line of fire

Tags: climate-change-news

The Guardian (27/6/21): Massachusetts gunman who killed two left ‘white supremacist rhetoric’

Tags: militant-far-right-news

The Guardian (27/6/21): US strikes hit Iran-backed militia facilities in Iraq and Syria - Pentagon says air strikes were in response to drone attacks against US personnel in Iraq

Tags: international-news, defense-news

Ars Technica (26/6/21): SolarWinds hackers breach new victims, including a Microsoft support agent - Discovery came as Microsoft was investigating new breaches by the same hacker group.

Tags: big-tech-news, cyber-security-news

Salon (26/6/21): GOP using new laws to drive out local Democratic election officials — and not just in Georgia - Republican “election subversion” plan kicks into high gear with ouster or replacement of many local officials

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, politics-news, voting-rights-news

In These Times (26/6/21): For Farmworkers, the Fight for the 8-Hour Day Isn’t Over - Federal labor laws exclude farmworkers from overtime pay and other protections. After years of advocacy by farm labor groups, lawmakers in Oregon, Washington and Colorado are working to change that.

Tags: labor-news, food-security-news

Al Jazeera (26/6/21): YouTube shuts Xinjiang videos pushing rights group to seek backup - A Kazakh activist says YouTube took down videos from his channel forcing him to move its videos to little-known service Odysee.

Tags: big-tech-news, international-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

New York Times (26/5/21): Detroit Flooding: 50 Drivers Rescued and 350 Vehicles Damaged - Parts of Detroit got up to seven inches of rain. “This isn’t normal here,” an official said.

Tags: climate-change-news

Posted 26 June 2021

On Labor (25/6/21): A new study out of the Peterson Institute for International Economics found that the existing penalties and likelihood of penalties levied against U.S. companies that violate the FLSA or the NLRA are not strong enough to incentive companies to follow the laws.

Tags: busting-labor-news, policy-news, economic-news

Salon (25/6/21): Erik Prince linked to long-running undercover scheme to infiltrate Democratic party organizations - The group, funded by a Gore-Tex heiress, also targeted moderate Republican officials like Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon

Tags: dark-money-news, gop-shenanigans-news, corruption-news

New York Times (25/6/21): In Arizona, G.O.P. Lawmakers Strip Power From a Democrat - The State Legislature shifted legal authority from the secretary of state to a Republican attorney general, and enacted election measures it said would stop fraud.

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, voting-rights-news

Democracy Now (25/6/21):

Climate Crisis Driving Record-High Temperatures in Pacific Northwest
Federal Fire Agency Warns Historic Drought Is Increasing Demand for Firefighters
751 Unmarked Graves Found at Former Residential School for Indigenous Children in Saskatchewan
U.S. Bans Solar Panel Parts Produced in Xinjiang by Forced Labor
At Least Four Dead, Dozens Missing After Miami-Area Apartment Building Collapses
Pelosi Announces Select Committee to Investigate U.S. Capitol Insurrection

Tags: capitol-storming-news, climate-change-news, politics-news, mass-grave-news, international-news, militant-far-right-news

On Labor (24/6/21): Earlier this week, the White House on Tuesday announced President Joe Biden’s intention to nominate David Prouty, a prominent union-side labor attorney, to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) following the departure of Republican appointee William Emanuel on August 27.

Tags: labor-news, biden-policy-news

Salon (24/6/21): Corporations like Amazon pay big bucks for "union avoidance" — and it all happens in the dark - Amazon's union-busting plan was almost certainly crafted by legal experts. But everything about that is a secret

Tags: big-tech-news, union-news, busting-labor-news

Al Jazeera (24/6/21): Rent due: Biden extends US eviction moratorium until end of July - The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended the evictions moratorium from June 30 until July 31, but warned it would be the final extension.

Tags: economic-news, social-woes-news, biden-policy-news

The American Prospect (24/6/21): The Co-op Movement Is Taking On Big Tech - Gross economic inequality and poor working conditions are fomenting a nationwide co-op movement. Its next target is Big Tech.

Tags: labor-news, socialist-news, big-tech-news, economic-news

The American Prospect (24/6/21): On Infrastructure, a Bad Deal Is Worse Than No Deal at All - A second climate bill would have to reverse the commitments of this bipartisan one for the two-track approach to make any sense.

Tags: bad-biden-policy-news, bad-democrat-news, infrastructure-news, privatization-news, climate-change-news

EFF (24/6/21): [VISUAL] The Overlapping Infrastructure of Urban Surveillance, and How to Fix It

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news, big-tech-news

New York Times (24/6/21): Biden Administration Backs Oil Sands Pipeline Project - The administration urged a court to throw out a challenge brought by tribal and environmental groups, backing a pipeline that would carry Canadian oil across Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Tags: big-oil-news, fail-biden-policy-news, indigenous-land-news

New York Times (24/6/21): Antitrust Overhaul Passes Its First Tests. Now, the Hard Parts. - When the Judiciary Committee began approving a suite of bills on Wednesday, fault lines were exposed that could make final passage difficult.

Tags: antitrust-news, legislation-news

Posted 25 June 2021

Vice (Motherboard) (25/6/21): Microsoft’s Shareholders Demand Right-to-Repair - The computer giant’s shareholders are demanding it investigate how right-to-repair can build a more sustainable world.

Tags: economic-news, right-to-repair-news, big-tech-news

Democracy Now (24/6/21):

Revs. Jesse Jackson and William Barber Arrested at Nonviolent Protest Against Senate Filibuster
Supreme Court Rules Cheerleader’s Profane Social Media Post Was Protected Speech
U.N. General Assembly Votes Overwhelmingly to Condemn U.S. Embargo on Cuba for 29th Time
First Capitol Rioter Sentenced as Nancy Pelosi Set to Announce Cmte to Probe Jan. 6 Insurrection
NY Judge Dismisses New York City Law Banning Chokeholds

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, politics-news, court-news, international-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, militant-far-right-news, capitol-storming-news

Vox (23/6/21): Peloton’s mandatory treadmill memberships show how you never fully own your connected devices - Tread+ owners must pay $39 a month to use their treadmills.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, big-tech-news

Salon (23/6/21): DeSantis signs bill requiring Florida students, professors to register political views with state - Universities may lose funding if staff and students' beliefs do not satisfy Florida's GOP-run legislature

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news, gop-shenanigans-news, politics-news

Posted 24 June 2021

EFF (23/6/21): How Big ISPs Are Trying to Burn California’s $7 Billion Broadband Fund

Tags: big-tech-news, infrastructure-news

New York Times (23/6/21): Supreme Court Rules Against Union Recruiting on California Farms - The case concerned a unique state regulation allowing labor representatives to meet with farm workers at their workplaces for up to three hours a day for as many as 120 days a year.

Tags: food-security-news, union-news, labor-news, court-news

The Guardian (23/6/21): Canada: hundreds more unmarked graves found at former Indigenous school - First Nation in southern Saskatchewan says discovery is ‘most significantly substantial’ find yet in Canada

Tags: indigenous-news, mass-grave-news

Democracy Now (23/6/21):

U.S. Gov’t Seizes PressTV.com and Other Websites Linked to Iran
NYT: Saudi Men Involved in Jamal Khashoggi’s Murder Were Trained by U.S. Group
Biden Admin to Reconsider Cases of Rejected Asylum Seekers Subjected to “Remain in Mexico” Plan
Interior Dept. to Probe Impact of Historic Boarding Schools for Native American Children

Tags: international-news, immigrant-news, mass-grave-news, indigenous-news

Salon (22/6/21): Trump tried to get Justice Department to stop "SNL" and "Jimmy Kimmel Live" from mocking him: rpt - So much for gross government overreach

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news, trump-news

The American Prospect (22/6/21): The Supreme Court Is Closer to a 9-0 Corporatist Supermajority Than a 3-3-3 Split - No amount of regrouping can obviate the need for Supreme Court reform.

Tags: court-news, gop-shenanigans-news, capitalist-farce-news

OpenSecrets (22/6/21): Dark money groups battle bipartisan efforts to limit big-tech

Tags: dark-money-news, corruption-news, big-tech-news

Democracy Now (22/6/21):

Deaths Soared by 32% in U.S. Nursing Homes, Where 4 in 10 Had COVID-19 in 2020
U.S. Bishops Seek to Deny Communion to Joe Biden over His Support for Reproductive Rights
California to Pay Off All Past-Due Rent Accumulated During the Pandemic
Dozens of Incarcerated Texans Died in Prison After They Were Cleared for Parole
Carl Nassib Becomes First Active NFL Player to Come Out as Gay

Tags: covid-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, politics-news, law-news, social-woes-news, civil-rights-news, lgbtq-news

EFF (22/6/21): Understanding Amazon Sidewalk

Tags: big-tech-news

The Intercept (22/6/21): Sen. Joe Manchin Bucks GOP, Votes to Break Voting Rights Filibuster - Though Democrats failed to advance debate on the “For the People Act,” the West Virginia senator is ready to introduce an alternative.

Tags: legislation-news, voting-rights-news

The Intercept (22/6/21): U.S. Military Training Document Says Socialists Represent “Terrorist” Ideology - A Navy training document asks, “Anarchists, socialists and neo-nazis represent which terrorist ideological category?”

Tags: socialist-news, dark-security-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Posted 21 June 2021

Politico (21/6/21): How Democrats are ‘unilaterally disarming’ in the redistricting wars - Democrats have greater control of state legislatures than in the last round of redistricting but have turned over map-making powers in some states to independent commissions.

Tags: bad-democrat-news, voting-rights-news, electoral-news

On Labor (21/6/21): A brutal heat wave is endangering farmworkers and construction workers, as well as people living in poverty and confronting housing insecurity, ABC News and the New York Times report. Many workers in these sectors are undocumented, which makes them especially vulnerable to abusive labor practices.

Tags: food-security-news, labor-news, climate-change-news

Payday Report (21/6/21): 649,000 Retail Workers Quit in April Setting a Record

Tags: labor-news, economic-news

The American Prospect (21/6/21): Bipartisan Senate Infrastructure Plan Is a Stalking Horse for Privatization - The scheme would fund new infrastructure by selling off old infrastructure. Trump proposed the same thing.

Tags: infrastructure-news, privatization-news, bad-democrat-news

Jacobin (20/6/21): It Took a Police Crackdown to Get Israeli-Operated Cargo Unloaded in Seattle - For weeks, pro-Palestine protesters physically prevented the unloading of Israeli-operated cargo that had entered the Port of Seattle. It finally took a violent crackdown by Seattle police to get the ship unloaded.

Tags: labor-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, international-news

Posted 20 June 2021

New York Times (19/6/21): Video of Montreal Police Kneeling on Black Teenager Spurs Outcry - Outrage over the video comes as Canada undergoes a national awakening about institutional racism, including among police forces.

Tags: civil-rights-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news

Workers World (18/6/21): 140 protests against racism, cops, far right sweep France

Tags: international-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news

Posted 19 June 2021

On Labor (18/6/21): The UNICEF and ILO report that child labor has risen globally to 160 million, and warns that numbers will continue to rise as global progress against child labor has stagnated for the last 5 years.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, labor-news, international-news

Democracy Now (18/6/21):

Biden Signs Bill Making Juneteenth a Federal Holiday Commemorating End of Slavery
Senate GOP to Filibuster Voting Rights Legislation, Reject Sen. Manchin Compromise Bill
SCOTUS Rules in Favor of Nestlé & Cargill in Child Slave Labor Case [' Neal Katyal, former acting solicitor general under President Obama, who represented Nestlé and Cargill, argued they should not be held responsible because they are corporations, not individuals.']
Supreme Court Sides with Anti-LGBTQ Foster Agency in “Religious Freedom” Case
Arizona to Pay Prisoners $1.50/Hour to Fight Wildfires as Record Heat Scorches Western U.S.

Tags: politics-news, gop-shenanigans-news, capitalist-farce-news, labor-news, voting-rights-news, court-news, lgbtq-news

Posted 17 June 2021

U.S. PIRG (17/6/21): Broad Right to Repair bill introduced in Congress

Tags: legislation-news, right-to-repair-news

Jacobin (16/6/21): America’s Dynastic Superrich Are Rigging the Rules to Protect Their Power -A new report on the state of dynastic wealth in America explodes the myth of the hardworking, meritorious rich. If America ever was a meritocracy, it certainly isn’t now.

Tags: corruption-news, capitalist-farce-news, analysis-news

The American Prospect (17/6/21): The Infrastructure Success Story in Chattanooga - Some of the fastest broadband speeds in the world come from this Tennessee city’s public network. It could be replicated across the country.

Tags: infrastructure-news

OpenSecrets (17/6/21): K Street sets sights on new semiconductor policy amid global shortage

Tags: tech-news, logistics-news, international-news

KHN (17/6/21): Device Makers Have Funneled Billions to Orthopedic Surgeons Who Use Their Products

Tags: corruption-news, healthcare-news

The Intercept (16/6/21): Leaked Audio of Sen. Joe Manchin Call With Billionaire Donors Provides Rare Glimpse of Dealmaking on Filibuster and January 6 Commission - Manchin urged big-money donors with No Labels to talk to Sen. Roy Blunt about flipping his vote on the commission in order to save the filibuster.

Tags: bad-democrat-news, corruption-news, dark-money-news

Democracy Now (17/6/21):

DOJ Ends Trump-Era Rules Blocking Survivors of Domestic and Gang Violence from Receiving Asylum
Department of Education Will Restore Title IX Protections to LGBTQ+ Students
Rep. Jim McGovern Calls on Biden to End U.S. Sanctions on Venezuela over “Needless Death”
Chinese Military Sends Record 28 Warplanes into Airspace Controlled by Taiwan
Another Power Outage Hits Puerto Rico After Takeover of Grid by LUMA Energy

Tags: immigrant-news, lgbtq-news, international-news, infrastructure-news, energy-news, politics-news

Democracy Now (16/6/21):

Arctic Scientists Say We May Have Already Passed Climate Tipping Point
Trump and Aides Pressured DOJ to Back Fabricated Voter Fraud Claims

Tags: voting-rights-news, trump-news, climate-change-news

Jacobin (15/6/21): The Political Establishment Doesn’t Want You to Know the Economy Is Rigged - ProPublica’s bombshell story about the financial malfeasance of the richest Americans has stirred bipartisan outrage in Washington. Unfortunately, it's mainly outraged against the whistleblower who exposed the story.

Tags: economic-news, corruption-news, tax-news, analysis-news

Jacobin (17/6/21): Incredibly, Joe Biden’s Russia Policy Is Reasonable

Tags: international-news, biden-policy-news

Revolving Door Project (15/6/21): Other Bold Nominees Must Follow Khan To DOJ And FTC

Tags: biden-policy-news, antitrust-news, politics-news

Democracy Now (15/6/21):

NSA Whistleblower Reality Winner Released from Prison
Marjorie Taylor Greene Won’t Apologize for Calling Democrats “Nazis” After Comparing Masks to Holocaust
Massive Fire Erupts at Illinois Chemical Plant

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news, far-right-news, gop-shenanigans-news, politics-news, industrial-failure-news

See Also: Al Jazeera (15/6/21): In Pictures: Illinois chemical plant explosion - Firefighters respond to a large fire at a Chemtool plant, and local officials call for evacuations in the area.

Posted 15 June 2021

Jacobin (15/6/21): Apple Is Not Your Friend - Major corporations like Apple want us to believe they care about the planet and are addressing their unsustainable practices. Surprise, surprise — they don’t and they aren’t.

Tags: big-tech-news, capitalist-farce-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Revolving Door Project (14/6/21): BlackRock’s New Hire Embodies The Polluting Giant’s Revolving Door Regime

Tags: big-oil-news, corruption-news, dark-money-news

Al Jazeera / Bloomberg (14/6/21): Boeing resumes donations to Republicans who contested US election - Beginning on May 3, Boeing gave out nearly $900,000 to political committees and candidates, including four of the 147 Republicans who voted against certifying United States President Joe Biden’s win.

Tags: politics-news, gop-shenanigans-news, corruption-news

The American Prospect (14/6/21): Everything You Need to Know About the Infrastructure Bills Traveling Through Congress - There are eight of them.

Tags: legislation-news, infrastructure-news

Liberation News (14/6/21): Driver accelerates into crowd of protesters in Minneapolis killing one, injuring others

Tags:militant-far-right-news

Democracy Now (14/6/21):

Novavax Vaccine 90% Effective; U.S. COVID Cases Continue to Fall as California Readies for Reopening
Record Temperatures Hit Southwest as Drought Conditions Worsen Across Western U.S.

Tags: covid-news, climate-change-news

See also: The Guardian (14/6/21): Dangerous heatwave grips US south-west as temperatures hit 120F in some areas - California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah face extreme heat, worsening drought and raising risk of wildfires

Posted 13 June 2021

Jacobin (13/6/21): Corporate Welfare Props Up the Billionaire Class - The last year has seen the largest increase in billionaire wealth in history, but it has little to do with innovation — states across the world are pursuing policies which guarantee that the rich get richer.

Tags: corruption-news, capitalist-farce-news

New York Times (12/6/21): F.D.A. details failures at a Baltimore plant that led to unusable vaccine doses. - A Baltimore factory that rendered useless 75 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson failed for weeks to seal off a preparation area for vaccine ingredients and allowed production waste to be hauled through the area, the Food and Drug Administration said in a memorandum analyzing the plant’s operations.

Tags: industrial-failure-news, covid-news

On Labor (11/6/21): In New York, Dianne Morales’ campaign to win the Democratic nomination for the New York City mayoral race has doubled down on its union-busting tactics by firing 40 additional staff members.

Tags: union-news, busting-labor-news, electoral-news

Al Jazeera (11/6/21): McDonald’s latest company to suffer data breach - The fast-food chain said its investigation determined that only South Korea and Taiwan branches had customers’ personal data accessed.

Tags: cyber-security-news, tech-news, international-news

Posted 12 June 2021

Democracy Now (11/6/21):

Biden Says “No Strings Attached” to Vaccine Donations, But Venezuela Is Blocked from Getting Any
Trump Administration Secretly Seized Private Data from Two Democratic Lawmakers
Amnesty International Accuses China of Crimes Against Humanity in Xinjiang
Republican Lawmaker in Oregon Expelled for Helping Armed Protesters Enter State Capitol
Puerto Rico Faces Massive Blackout Days After Privatization of Electrical Grid

Tags: international-news, covid-news, trump-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, gop-shenanigans-news, infrastructure-news

See also: The Guardian (11/6/21): Justice department watchdog launches inquiry into seizure of Democrats’ data – as it happened
See also: Salon (11/6/21): Oregon House expels Republican Rep. Mike Nearman for assisting rioters who breached state Capitol - Nearman was also charged with official misconduct and criminal trespass for his actions

Posted 11 June 2021

Mother Jones (10/6/21): Biden Just Decided Not to Protect Meatpacking Workers from COVID - He vowed to create a temporary rule protecting frontline workers. What happened?

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, covid-news, food-security-news

On Labor (10/6/21): In the second request of its kind, the Office of United States Trade Representative (USTR) has asked that Mexico investigate alleged labor rights abuses in violation the newly signed USCMA agreement. Workers at a Tridonex auto-parts factory in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas were allegedly harassed and fired by management for organizing with an independent union, SNITIS, rather than the company-sponsored charro union aligned with their employer.

Tags: labor-news, international-news

U.S. PIRG (10/6/21): STATEMENT: Right to Repair passes New York Senate on 51-12 vote - This is the first time a broad Right to Repair measure has seen a full chamber vote

Tags: right-to-repair-news, politics-news, legislation-news

CNBC (10/6/21): Second UAW president sentenced to 28 months in prison in union corruption probe (via u/No_Cause2857 on r/labor)

Tags: union-news, labor-news, corruption-news

Al Jazeera (10/6/21): Meat company JBS paid $11M to hackers in ransomware attack - JBS CEO said the decision to pay the ransom was difficult but necessary to prevent potential risk to customers.

Tags: cyber-security-news, food-security-news, tech-news

Payday Report (9/6/21): New York Lawmakers Drop Company Union Bill for Uber

Tags: labor-news, legislation-news, corruption-news

Law and Crime (9/6/21): ‘Contract Killing’ of Black Businessman from 1979 Linked to Administration of Former Democratic Governor in Tennessee

Tags: history-news, crime-news

Democracy Now (10/6/21):

Biden Set to Announce U.S. Donation of 500 Million COVID-19 Vaccine Doses to Poorer Nations
U.S. to Keep Trump-Era Sanctions on Iran Even If Nuclear Deal Is Restored
Massive Wildfires Rage in Arizona as Drought Worsens Across Western United States
55 Corporations That Paid No Taxes in 2020 Spent $450 Million on Lobbying and Campaigns Since 2016

Tags: covid-news, international-news, climate-change-news, corruption-news

The American Prospect (9/6/21): ‘Big Four’ Meatpackers Are Crushing Small Ranchers - The JBS cyber attack caused only a hiccup in meatpacking operations. But for legislators, the security scare was a sign that it might be time to break up the industry.

Tags: antitrust-news, food-security-news

New York Times (9/6/21): CNN Lawyers Gagged in Fight With Justice Dept. Over Reporter’s Email Data - The disclosure of the aggressive leak investigation tactic followed a similar revelation involving The New York Times.

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news, trump-news

The Guardian (8/6/21): Major internet outage ‘shows infrastructure needs urgent fixing’ - Experts say outage shows internet services too centralised and lack resilience

Tags: infrastructure-news, cyber-security-news

Democracy Now (8/6/21): Biden Administration Defends Trump Against Defamation Suit Brought by Rape Accuser E. Jean Carroll

Tags: trump-news, fail-biden-policy-news

KHN (8/6/21): Unused Johnson & Johnson Covid Doses Are Piling Up as FDA Waits to See if Shelf Life Can Be Extended

Tags: covid-news

The Intercept (8/6/21): $800,000 of Mystery Money Shaped the Virginia AG Race in the Final Weeks - Progressive challenger Jay Jones is crying foul.

Tags: dark-money-news, electoral-news

Posted 8 June 2021

ProPublica (8/6/21): The Secret IRS Files: Trove of Never-Before-Seen Records Reveal How the Wealthiest Avoid Income Tax

Tags: tax-news, historic-reporting, corruption-news, capitalist-farce-news

On Labor (7/6/21): In a New York Times op-ed, the Economic Policy Institute’s Heidi Shierholz urged policymakers to dig into the numbers behind the latest jobs report. She argued that, as happened with the Great Recession, we are missing the fact that insufficient demand for goods and services in many sectors has actually created a labor demand problem, not a labor supply problem. Shierholz explained that the 25 states that are cutting their unemployment insurance aren’t solving a problem but creating one by “foregoing an enormous amount of economic activity” as economies struggle to recover from the pandemic.

Tags: labor-news, analysis-news, economic-news

Law and Crime (7/6/21): Supreme Court Refuses to Weigh in on Male-Only U.S. Military Draft Registration Controversy

Tags: court-news, defense-news

The American Prospect (7/6/21): House Democrat Leading Effort Against Key Consumer Protection - Rep. Josh Gottheimer is lobbying against a resolution that would end the practice of predatory lenders charging astronomical interest rates on consumer loans.

Tags: bad-democrat-news, politics-news

Mother Jones (7/6/21): The Supreme Court Just Made It Much Harder for Certain Immigrants to Get Green Cards

Tags: court-news, immigrant-news

New York Times (7/6/21): Truck Attack That Killed a Muslim Family in Canada Was Planned - The police in London, Ontario, say that a 20-year-old driver planned the killings and picked the family because of its faith.

Tags: militant-far-right-news

The Guardian (7/6/21): Idaho's Republicans in political civil war as state lurches further right - Last month, the Republican governor revoked his lieutenant governor’s ban on mask mandates – and observers say the fight is symptomatic of a larger problem

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, far-right-news, covid-news

The Guardian (7/6/21): DoJ reclaims millions paid to hackers after attack that hobbled US pipeline - Operation to recover cryptocurrency from Russia-based hacking group is first undertaken by new ransomware taskforce

Tags: big-oil-news, cyber-security-news

The Intercept (7/6/21): Biden’s Border Agenda Collides With the Realities of Mexico’s Violence - In regions wracked by the drug war, the U.S. and Mexico remain hooked on militarization.

Tags: international-news, immigrant-news, security-news

Democracy Now (7/6/21):

VP Harris Visits Guatemala, Urging President Giammattei to Crack Down on Migration
Pope Stops Short of Apology for Church’s Role in Deaths of Indigenous Children in Canada
North Carolina Teen Denied Diploma for Wearing Mexican Flag Over Graduation Gown

Tags: international-news, indigenous-news, mass-grave-news, politics-news, immigrant-news

Mother Jones (6/6/21): Joe Manchin May Have Just Made Democrats’ Democracy Reform Efforts Impossible - “I don’t think I’ll ever change. I’m not separating our country, OK?”

Tags: bad-democrat-news, voting-rights-news

Salon (6/6/21): Brother of QAnon conspiracy theorist Michael Flynn assumes command of US Army Pacific - Unlike his brother, Gen. Charles Flynn has not publicly embraced conspiracies or called for a military coup

Tags: far-right-news

Posted 7 June 2021

The Guardian (7/6/21): Apple paid woman millions after technicians used her iPhone to post explicit videos - Videos uploaded by Apple-approved team falsely appeared to have been shared by Oregon woman herself, filing says

Tags: big-tech-news, right-to-repair-news

Posted 6 June 2021

Democracy Now (4/6/21):

Watchdog Says Pentagon Grossly Misrepresented Civilian Casualties from U.S. Military
U.N. Says 200,000 Gazans Need Aid as U.S. Affirms “Ironclad” Support for Israel After Deadly Assault

Tags: defense-news, security-news

Posted 4 June 2021

Revolving Door Project (3/6/21): Top Treasury Nominee Caught In A Cesspool Of Conflicts Of Interest

Tags: corruption-news, fail-biden-policy-news

Law and Crime (3/6/21): FBI Investigating Postmaster General Louis DeJoy Over Alleged Straw Donor GOP-Fundraising Scheme: Report

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, trump-news, corruption-news

Al Jazeera (3/6/21): Biden blocks 59 Chinese companies in amended Trump order - United States President Joe Biden’s position on Trump’s order has been closely watched by Wall Street and Capitol Hill, where legislators from both parties have called for a strong stance against China about issues ranging from trade to human rights.

Tags: international-news, biden-policy-news, trump-news

EFF (3/6/21): If Not Overturned, a Bad Copyright Decision Will Lead Many Americans to Lose Internet Access

Tags: ip-news, big-tech-news, infrastructure-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Democracy Now (3/6/21): Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Moves to Shut Down Shelters for Unaccompanied Migrant Children

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, immigrant-news

Posted 2 June 2021

EFF (2/6/21): PayPal Shuts Down Long-Time Tor Supporter with No Recourse

Tags: big-tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Salon (2/6/21): REVEALED: Leaked messages implicate Rep. Paul Gosar in Proud Boys plot to block Biden's Arizona win - Gosar wanted to use the far-right Proud Boys group to disrupt the certification of the 2020 election in Arizona

Tags: militant-far-right-news, gop-shenanigans-news, electoral-news, voting-rights-news

Democracy Now (2/6/21): Biden Administration Suspends Oil & Gas Leases in ANWR But Defends Massive “Willow” Project

Tags: big-oil-news, fail-biden-policy-news

Posted 1 June 2021

Jacobin (1/6/21): Social Media Companies Like Instagram Are Censoring Dissent - In recent weeks, Instagram and Facebook have censored posts focused on COVID-19 in India and protests in Colombia and Palestine — with little explanation as to why.

Tags: covid-news, big-tech-news, international-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Ars Technica (1/6/21): Shortages loom as ransomware hamstrings the world’s biggest meat producer - Add meat to the list of critical supply chains disrupted by the malware scourge.

Tags: cyber-security-news, tech-news, food-security-news

New York Times (1/6/21): Ransomware Disrupts Meat Plants in Latest Attack on Critical U.S. Business - All of JBS’s beef plants in the U.S. were shuttered on Tuesday, and many of its pork and poultry plants were affected, according to a union and Facebook posts meant for employees.
New York Times (2/6/21): Production Resumes at Meat Plants After a Cyberattack - Some JBS beef processing plants were operational, but not at full capacity, union officials said, after a ransomware attack shut nine plants, affecting thousands of workers.

Democracy Now (1/6/21):

Bodies of 215 Indigenous Children Discovered at Canadian Boarding School
Two Killed and Over 20 Injured in Florida Mass Shooting; Suspects Remain at Large
Pressure Grows for Democrats to End Filibuster as GOP Stonewalls January 6 Commission
At Pro-Trump Conference, Michael Flynn Calls for Military Coup Against U.S. Government
Arizona Plans Executions Using Same Poison Gas Used in Nazi Death Camps
Eric Riddick Released from Prison After Serving 29 Years for Crime He Says He Didn’t Commit

Tags: indigenous-news, mass-grave-news, politics-news, trump-news, militant-far-right-news

Al Jazeera (1/6/21): US formally ends Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ asylum policy - According to a memo, more than 11,000 migrants have been allowed to enter the US to pursue their asylum claims.

Tags: biden-policy-news, trump-news, immigrant-news

Al Jazeera (1/6/21): Biden to suspend Trump-era oil drilling leases in Arctic refuge - United States President Joe Biden’s January 20 executive order stated a new environmental review was needed to address possible legal flaws in a drilling programme approved by the Trump administration.

Tags: big-oil-news, biden-policy-news, trump-news

Posted 31 May 2021

Al Jazeera (31/5/21): ‘Call it an insurrection’: Oath Keepers charged for Capitol riot - Four members of the militia group face charges as federal authorities continue the probe into January 6 insurrection. + fmr. General Flynn argued that a coup like in Myanmar should have occurred here!

Tags: capitol-storming-news, militant-far-right-news

Al Jazeera (31/5/21): Macron, Merkel demand answers from US, Denmark on spying report - The French and German leaders say spying on allies is not acceptable after a Danish broadcaster alleged the US and Denmark eavesdropped on countries, including France, Germany and Norway.

Tags: dark-security-news, international-news

Posted 30 May 2021

Left Voice (30/5/21): “Workers’ Rights and Democracy is Not Something to be Taken for Granted”: An Interview With Myanmar Activist in Korea, Yan Kyaw Moe. - Left Voice interviewed activist Yan Kyaw Moe about the political situation in Myanmar, uprisings by students and workers against the military coup, and how migrant workers abroad are supporting the movement at home.

Tags: labor-news, international-news

Posted 29 May 2021

Law and Crime (27/5/21): Shouting ‘No Vaccine,’ Tennessee Woman Nearly Ran Over Seven People at COVID-19 Vaccination Site: Sheriff

Tags: crime-news, anti-vaxx-news, covid-news

Al Jazeera (28/5/21): US bans imports from Chinese fishing fleet over labour practices - Officials say this is the first US ban on imports from an entire fishing fleet, as opposed to individual vessels.

Tags: international-news, labor-news

The Intercept (28/5/21): Joe Biden Is Filling Top Pentagon Positions With Defense Contractors - Some of the top Defense Department officials — including Defense Secretary nominee Lloyd Austin — have deep ties to the private sector.

Tags: defense-news, corruption-news, security-news, fail-biden-policy-news

Democracy Now (28/5/21):

Senate GOP Ready to Filibuster Commission on January 6 Insurrection
Biden Reportedly Offered Japan Ambassadorship to Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel
Amazon Announces Deal to Acquire MGM Studios; WarnerMedia to Merge with Discovery
San Jose Gunman Expressed Hate for Co-Workers for Years, Had History of Sexual Violence

Tags: capitol-storming-news, gop-shenanigans-news, politics-news, legislation-news, international-news, big-tech-news

Jacobin (28/5/21): Congress Is Debating Another Massive Corporate Giveaway Disguised as a “Bailout” - Bernie Sanders is trying to restrict a proposed $52 billion subsidy for already wildly profitable microchip companies.

Tags: corruption-news, capitalist-farce-news, legislation-news

Jacobin (27/5/21): The Family That Created the Opioid Epidemic Wants Legal Immunity - The Sackler family behind Purdue Pharma became incredibly rich off of America’s opioid crisis. Now, they are trying to shield themselves from the punishment for creating that crisis.

Tags: drug-news, capitalist-farce-news, pharma-news, corruption-news

Jacobin (28/5/21): Obama Labor Secretary Tom Perez Just Joined an Anti-Union Law Firm - Former DNC chair and Obama labor secretary Tom Perez just joined a law firm that brags about its lawyers who “regularly counsel and train clients on union avoidance” — another member of an administration that posed as “progressive” yet was anything but.

Tags: labor-news, bad-democrat-news, corruption-news

The Economist World this Week (29/5/21): China responded angrily to an American call for more investigations into the origin of the coronavirus. A foreign ministry spokesman accused America of smearing China and of ignoring the possibility that the virus originated in the United States.; A soldier in Canada was charged with mutiny for the first time in decades. The reservist is accused of trying to persuade other soldiers to join him to disrupt the distribution of covid-19 vaccines.

Tags: international-news, covid-news

On Labor (27/5/21): 'President Joe Biden intends to nominate Gwynne Wilcox, a union-side labor lawyer, to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the White House announced yesterday. As a senior partner at Levy Ratner and associate general counsel for SEIU 1199 United Healthcare Workers West in New York, Wilcox made waves through a landmark unfair labor practice case filed against MacDonald’s on behalf of the Fight for $15, litigation which tested the bounds of franchisors’ legal liability for third-party employers and resulted in an $170,000 settlement for the organization. If confirmed, Wilcox would be Biden’s first appointee to the five-member NLRB, as well as the Board’s first African-American woman member. Her appointment would reduce the GOP’s membership edge on the Board from 3-1 to 3-2, setting the majority up to flip once Republican Member William Emanuel’s term expires in late August.' + More rollback of Trump anti-labor policies

Tags: biden-policy-news, labor-news

The Texas Tribune (25/5/21): Multiple Senate GOP priorities fail in Texas House after last-ditch effort by Democrats to run out the clock - The Democrats delayed and deflected as they tried to run out the clock on bills they oppose. Republicans strategized to push through bills they’d worked on all session. (via Salon (26/5/21))

Tags: voting-rights-news, legislation-news

Salon (27/5/21): Trump regime’s amazing list of crimes keeps getting longer — but we can't afford to look away - Spying on journalists, stealing children, abducting activists from the streets — it could happen again, and worse

Tags: trump-news

In These Times (27/5/21): When These Workers Unionized, Their Cafe Was Put Up for Sale—So They Bought It - In 10 months, baristas at White Electric, a coffee shop in Providence, went from unionizing their workplace to starting one of only a few dozen worker-owned cafes in the country.

Tags: labor-news, socialist-news

The American Prospect (27/5/21): Justice Department Shot Through With Corporate Influence - New disclosures from acting officials Brian Boynton and Elizabeth Prelogar show a mountain of big-business clients.

Tags: corruption-news, fail-biden-policy-news

Jacobin (27/5/21): Corporations Are Still Funding the GOP Campaign to Roll Back Voting Rights - Many corporations made a big show of rejecting the GOP’s most reactionary leaders after the January 6 capitol riot. But records show that, post-riot, big business kept funneling millions to GOP groups to roll back voting rights.

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, capitalist-farce-news, corruption-news

Salon (27/5/21): New power grab: Arizona Republicans move to strip powers from Democratic secretary of state - Now Arizona GOP wants to hand secretary of state's powers over to the attorney general — a Republican, obviously

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, voting-rights-news

Posted 27 May 2021

FiveThirtyEight (27/5/21): How Red Or Blue Is Your State? Your Congressional District? - We’ve updated our partisan lean scores.

Tags: electoral-news, tracker-news

Reuters (27/5/21): Reuters first to report Biden looking abroad for electric vehicle metals, in blow to U.S. miners

Tags: international-news, logistics-news, economic-news, biden-policy-news

Democracy Now (27/5/21):

Transit Worker Fatally Shoots 9, Then Himself, at San Jose Rail Yard
Iran Nuclear Deal Talks Offer Hope as IAEA Head Expresses Concern over Uranium Enrichment
Tamir Rice’s Mother, Samaria Rice, Asks Ohio Court to Block Reinstatement of Cop Who Killed Her Son

Tags: politics-news, crime-news, law-news, international-news

Posted 26 May 2021

Payday Report (25/5/21): Striking Farmworkers Workers Help Win Longterm Gains in Washington State

Tags: labor-news, food-security-news

Salon (26/5/21): Pharma giant AbbVie funds ads attacking prescription drug bill — after hiking prices up to 470% - New congressional report shows that AbbVie inflated drug prices — then poured cash into dark-money ads on Rx bill

Tags: pharma-news, capitalist-farce-news, corruption-news

The Guardian (25/5/21): Can direct elections restore UAW as America’s most powerful labor union? - After a corruption scandal saw 12 union officials convicted of crimes, United Auto Workers members hope direct elections will bring inspiring leaders (via u/psychothumbs on r/labor)

Tags: union-news, labor-news

See also: OnLabor (26/5/21): 'In the wake of a corruption scandal involving the embezzlement of over $1.5 million in union money by officials, hundreds of UAW members support a campaign to have the UAW hold direct elections for union president.'

The Intercept (26/5/21): Israeli Police Target Palestinian Journalists at Al Aqsa Mosque - Journalists at the Jerusalem holy site documented police arbitrarily denying access, delivering beatings, and firing on reporters with rubber-coated bullets.

Tags: international-news

The Intercept (25/5/21): Oracle Boasted That Its Software Was Used Against U.S. Protesters. Then It Took the Tech to China. - To sell the CIA-backed Endeca software for use by Chinese authorities, Oracle touted its use in Chicago for predictive policing.

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news, big-tech-news, international-news

The Intercept (25/5/21): Senate Preparing $10 Billion Bailout Fund for Jeff Bezos Space Firm - Bezos’s Blue Origin lost its bid for a major NASA contract to Elon Musk, but the Senate is ordering the agency to give a second one now.

Tags: corruption-news, capitalist-farce-news, big-tech-news, legislation-news

Democracy Now (26/5/21):

Blinken Says U.S. Will Reopen Jerusalem Consulate, Pledges Aid for Gaza as U.S. OKs New Arms Sales to Israel
U.S. Joins Calls to Further Probe Origins of COVID-19
50% of U.S. Adults Fully Vaccinated; Moderna’s Vaccine Is 100% Effective in 12- to 17-Year-Olds
Manhattan DA Convenes Grand Jury to Consider Possible Indictments in Trump Org. Investigation
Kevin McCarthy Condemns Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene After She Compared Mask Mandates to Holocaust
Jewish Groups Call for Federal Action Amid Rise in Antisemitic Attacks
Washington, D.C’s Attorney General Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Amazon
Josep Almudéver Mateu, Last Surviving Member of the International Brigades, Dies at 101

Tags: international-news, defense-news, far-right-news, gop-shenanigans-news, racist-attacks, covid-news, trump-news, politics-news, antitrust-news

World Socialist Web Site (25/5/21): Fascist Proud Boys threaten incumbents in bid to take over Nevada Republican Party

Tags: far-right-news

Posted 25 May 2021

Al Jazeera (25/5/21): Gaza-based journalists say their accounts blocked by WhatsApp - The latest move by Facebook left Palestinian users and their allies wondering if they had been singled out for censorship.

Tags: big-tech-news, international-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

'Facebook and its photo- and video-sharing platform Instagram were criticised this month for removing posts and deleting accounts of users posting about protests against efforts to forcibly evict Palestinians from their homes in occupied East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood. It prompted an open letter signed by 30 organisations demanding to know why the posts had been removed.
The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media, or 7amleh, said in a report published this month that Facebook accepted 81 percent of requests made by Israel’s Cyber Unit to remove Palestinian content last year. It found that in 2020, Twitter suspended dozens of accounts of Palestinian users based on information from the Israeli ministry of strategic affairs.'
...
'It is not the first time journalists have been suddenly barred from WhatsApp. In 2019, a number of journalists in Gaza had their accounts blocked without explanation. The accounts of those working with international media organisations were restored after contacting the company.'

On Labor (25/5/21): A labor dispute has been brewing between a group of musicians and HBO. Musicians hired for HBO’s series “The Gilded Age” unionized in response to poor working conditions and wages. The musicians were being paid below union standards for filming days that would reach up to 14 hours. After the musicians unionized, HBO told the musicians it would recast them. This prompted the American Federation of Musicians to file an unfair labor practice charge. Since the ULP filing, HBO has stated that it would rehire the musicians under union status, but the agreement is only tentative so far.

Tags: labor-news

Salon (25/5/21): How so-called libertarian Charles Koch drove a national wave of anti-protest laws - Right-wing billionaire is a big booster of criminal justice reform — except when it comes to anti-corporate protest

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, dark-money-news, corruption-news, legislation-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Al Jazeera (25/5/21): Unruly skies: Union chief highlights airline passenger misconduct - There have been 2,500 incidents involving unruly airline passengers this year, says the US Federal Aviation Administration, including 1,900 cases in which passengers refused to wear face masks.

Tags: labor-news

The American Prospect (25/5/21): Two Red Herrings - Is inflation breaking out? Are workers spoiled by relief payments? No, and no.

Tags: economic-news

'It’s important to unpack what’s at work here. To the extent that increased social benefits and tightening labor markets are compelling employers to pay at least $15 an hour to find willing workers, that’s exactly the objective. We are still nowhere near the point where decent wages for workers will trigger accelerating inflation.
And to the extent that better-paying jobs can’t find workers, that challenge makes the case for targeted training programs (and not for outsourcing or special visas for indentured foreign workers).'

KHN (25/5/21): Colorado Lawmakers Wage Multifront Assault on High Drug Costs

Tags: pharma-news, legislation-news, politics-news

The Intercept (24/5/21): Israeli Police Round Up Palestinian Protesters Out of Global Spotlight - “This is what we warned about. Israel will target us all when you stop looking.”

Tags: international-news

'At least 74 Palestinians were detained by Monday afternoon, in the first hours of what Israel’s police force is calling “Operation Law and Order.” Palestinian rights groups called the planned arrest of up to 500 protesters — on charges ranging from attacks on the police to vandalism to online incitement — a blatant crackdown on dissent, timed to coincide with the dimming of the global spotlight on the conflict.'
'“The world tends to look away as soon as Israeli lives are no longer threatened by rockets but it is stuff like this, that Israel does to Palestinians every day, that guarantees future rounds,” the writer and political analyst Yousef Munayyer commented on the same images.'

Democracy Now (25/5/21):

Daniel Ellsberg Leaks Documents Showing U.S. Military Sought Nuclear Strike on China in 1958
U.S. Journalist Jailed in Burma After Reporting on Military Coup

Tags: history-news, international-news

EFF (24/5/21): Activists Mobilize to Fight Censorship and Save Open Science

Tags: open-tech-news, science-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

'With these challenges ongoing, SciHub’s Twitter account was permanently suspended under the site’s “counterfeit policy.” Given the timing of this suspension, Elbakyan and other academic activists believe it was directly related to the legal action in India. A few months later, Elbakyan shared on her personal twitter that Apple had granted the FBI access to her account data after a request in early 2019.'
...
'This project [a fully decentralized and uncensorable iteration of Sci-Hub] should ring utopian to anyone who values access to scientific knowledge, a goal publishers and the DOJ have taken great pains to block with legal obstacles. A fully decentralized, uncensorable, and globally accessible database for scientific work is a potential engine for greater research equity. The only potential losers with such a resource might be the old gatekeepers who rely on an artificial scarcity of scientific knowledge, and increasingly tools of surveillance, to extract exorbitant profit margins off the labor of scientists.'

The American Prospect (24/5/21): Chris Coons Working to Install Business-Friendly Candidate for Key Patent Position - The Delaware senator wants a say in the next director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and claims to have a deal with the White House.

Tags: bad-democrat-news, ip-news, corruption-news, fail-biden-policy-news

'In the wrong hands, patents can be weaponized to stifle competition and block the benefits of innovation for consumers and startup businesses. For example, Alcon, the largest global manufacturer of contact lenses, sued over trademark infringement to block a discount retailer, Allied Vision Group, from selling what Alcon claims are discontinued versions of its products in different packaging. The trademark is not about the lenses, which are FDA-approved, but the packaging; Allied Vision calls it a transparent attempt to force a discount retailer off the market so the 45 million contact lens users in the U.S. must go to Alcon for their needs.'
'In an even more insane recent example, disgraced diagnostic company Theranos continued to obtain patents years after it was clear that its testing machine did not work. Private equity firm Fortress Investment Group, which managed to grab some of Theranos’s patents, used them to sue a COVID-19 diagnostic company for patent infringement. Fortress has long been accused of buying up companies and their IP solely to use the patents in lawsuits. Other “patent trolls” engage in this tactic habitually, sitting on unused patents to cash in and preventing competition in the process.'
'As many patents were approved between 1991 and 2018 as there were in the previous 155 years. While medical devices and technology products are responsible for much of this proliferation, pharmaceutical patents have been singled out as uniquely pernicious. Drug companies file multiple patents on the same product, known as “patent thickets,” to extend exclusivity rights and enjoy monopoly profits, leading to overcharging consumers on the order of $315 billion in the U.S. in 2018, according to a study from economist Dean Baker. Profits from the COVID vaccines alone have created nine new billionaires, which is fine considering the importance of the product—but not if it comes at the expense of global access.'
'None of this has fazed USPTO in promoting patents as the key to innovation. Some of that is almost by design; USPTO funds itself through patent award fees, so the more patents it cranks out, the more money it makes for the government. The public advisory boards to USPTO are stacked with industry supporters—“It understands the public to be the inventors,” Parthasarathy said—and historically its top officials have come from either industry or law firms representing industry.'

Posted 24 May 2021

Bloomberg (20/5/21): Microsoft and Apple Wage War on Gadget Right-to-Repair Laws - Dozens of states have raised proposals to make it easier to fix devices for consumers and schools, but tech companies have worked to quash them. (via u/InternationalSilver1 on r/Libertarian)

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, right-to-repair-news, big-tech-news, legislation-news

Posted 22 May 2021

New York Times (22/5/21): Republicans Move to Limit a Grass-Roots Tradition of Direct Democracy - Through ballot initiatives, voters in red states have defied legislators’ wishes and produced liberal outcomes in recent years. Republicans want to make the practice harder, or even eliminate it.

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, voting-rights-news

'So far in 2021, Republicans have introduced 144 bills to restrict the ballot initiative processes in 32 states, according to the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, a liberal group that tracks and assists citizen-driven referendums. Of those bills, 19 have been signed into law by nine Republican governors. In three states, Republican lawmakers have asked voters to approve ballot initiatives that in fact limit their own right to bring and pass future ballot initiatives.'
'In recent years, Democrats have leveraged ballot initiatives to bypass Republican-controlled legislatures, enacting laws in red states that raised the minimum wage, legalized marijuana, expanded Medicaid, introduced nonpartisan redistricting and no-excuse absentee voting, and restored voting rights to people with felony convictions.

Jacobin (22/5/21): “Unions Are a Pain in the Ass. Yet We Have No Choice but to Build Good Unions” - Union organizer Jane McAlevey on labor’s loss at Amazon in Alabama, what the future of labor organizing success depends on, and how organizers can win.

Tags: labor-news, union-news, analysis-news

Mother Jones (22/5/21): Discovery of a Seventh Noose Halts Amazon Warehouse Construction - Greater Hartford NAACP wants the FBI to get to the bottom of it.

Tags: labor-news, racist-attacks-news, civil-rights-news

Salon (22/5/21): Jeffrey Epstein's prison guards admit to falsifying records about his suicide: report - The guards were accused of sleeping and surfing the internet instead of making their rounds

Tags: epstein-news

Jacobin (21/5/21): Charles Koch Funded the Push to Lift the Eviction Ban — While Expanding His Real Estate Holdings - Billionaire Charles Koch has bankrolled the campaign to end eviction bans during the pandemic. At the same time, his company has been buying up real estate, giving him a strong financial incentive to kick tenants out.

Tags: corruption-news, social-woes-news, capitalist-farce-news, dark-money-news

LaborNotes (21/5/21): BREAKING: Draft Legislation in New York Would Put Gig Workers into Toothless 'Unions'

Tags: legislation-news, labor-news

Newsweek (17/5/21): Exclusive: Inside the Military's Secret Undercover Army

Tags: dark-security-news

On Labor (21/5/21): The Biden administration has apparently determined that it is helpless to stop the rollbacks of pandemic unemployment assistance in red states.

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, economic-news, labor-news

New York Times (21/5/21): Dozens Arrested After Conflict in Gaza Leads to Clashes in Times Square - At least 27 people were arrested after demonstrations in Times Square and the Diamond District in Midtown Manhattan. Several lawmakers have denounced the clashes.

Tags: international-news, protest-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news

New York Times (21/5/21): New Owner Set for Chicago Tribune, Daily News and Baltimore Sun - The bid by Alden Global Capital, which already owns about 200 local newspapers, had faced resistance from Tribune staff and last-ditch competition.

Tags: antitrust-news

See earlier related report

Democracy Now (21/5/21):

AZ Secretary of State Says Voting Machines May Have Been Compromised by GOP-Backed Auditors
AP Fires Journalist over Social Media Posts Defending Palestinian Rights

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news, voting-rights-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Posted 21 May 2021

U.S. PIRG (21/5/21): FTC report finds 'scant evidence' to justify repair restrictions - The FTC's "Nixing the Fix" report asserts that manufacturer justifications for consumer repair restrictions have "scant evidence" to support them.

Tags: right-to-repair-news, biden-policy-news

Ars Technica (18/5/21): Florida water plant compromise came hours after worker visited malicious site - Researchers find watering-hole attack targeting water utilities.

Tags: cyber-security-news, infrastructure-news, tech-news

'The website, which belonged to a Florida water utility contractor, had been compromised in late December by hackers who then hosted malicious code that seemed to target water utilities, particularly those in Florida, Dragos researcher Kent Backman wrote in a blog post. More than 1,000 end-user computers visited the site during the 58-day window that the site was infected.'
'So-called watering-hole attacks have become frequent in computer hacking crimes that target specific industries or groups of users. Just as predators in nature lie in wait near watering holes used by their prey, hackers often compromise one or more websites frequented by the target group and plant malicious code tailored to those who visit them. Dragos said the site it found appeared to target water utilities, especially those in Florida.
“Those who interacted with the malicious code included computers from municipal water utility customers, state and local government agencies, various water industry-related private companies, and normal internet bot and website crawler traffic,” Backman wrote. “Over 1,000 end-user computers were profiled by the malicious code during that time, mostly from within the United States and the State of Florida.”'

Law and Crime (20/5/21): Two ICE Facilities Dogged by Claims of ‘Nightmarish’ Abuses Will No Longer Be Used by Biden Administration

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, immigrant-news

Salon (20/5/21): Trump DOJ secretly collected CNN reporter's email, phone records: report - The DOJ covertly obtained CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr's records over a two-month period in 2017

Tags: trump-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

The American Prospect (20/5/21): Trump Set in Motion a Plan to Privatize the VA. Will Biden Enable It? - The president’s choices for a commission that could close many veterans’ health facilities across the country could tell the tale.

Tags: trump-news, privatization-news, veterans-news

OpenSecrets (20/5/21): How ‘dark money’ is shaping redistricting in 2021

Tags: voting-rights-news, dark-money-news

'No matter the reasoning, the result is that it is nearly impossible to understand how much money groups are spending to sway redistricting in their favor. Still, Mitchell noted that redistricting costs less than campaigning.'

'“Redistricting can cost a lot because there are only so many real experts in the field (and a handful of charlatans) and the data building, software, technical work is expensive,” he said. “But, of course, these hundreds of thousands of dollars can save them a million dollars in the 2022 election, and given the 10-year nature of the work, it could save them $1 million per election cycle … so even if it costs $500,000 to save $5 million, that’s a smart investment.”'

Democracy Now (20/5/21):

U.S. Blocks Gaza Ceasefire Resolutions at U.N. as Some Democrats Urge Halt to Israel Arms Sales
107-Year-Old Viola Fletcher Recounts Horror of Tulsa Race Massacre in Congressional Hearing
Massive Ice Sheet Breaks Off Antarctica, Becomes World’s Largest Iceberg

Tags: international-news, history-news, climate-change-news

Ars Technica (19/5/21): 4 vulnerabilities under attack give hackers full control of Android devices - Google updates a 2-week-old security bulletin to say some vulnerabilities were 0-days.

Tags: cyber-security-news

Posted 20 May 2021

Left Voice (18/5/21): Millions of Palestinians Join General Strike and Mobilizations to Free Palestine - In defiance of Israel’s most recent onslaught on Palestine, workers and activists across Palestine and even in cities in Israel joined in a general strike and day of action to protest Israel’s occupation.

Tags: labor-news, international-news

The Intercept (19/5/21): PRO Act Holdout Mark Kelly Served on Gig and Restaurant Company Boards - Kelly is in the minority of Senate Democrats who have sponsored neither the sweeping labor reform legislation nor a crackdown on forced arbitration.

Tags: legislation-news, bad-democrat-news, labor-news, corruption-news

'Before its acquisition by Landcadia, Waitr treated many of its drivers as hourly employees. But since forming the combined company, it has laid off employee drivers or converted them to independent contractors, an approach that illustrates the fight over classification at the heart of the PRO Act. Gig companies have been the most aggressively hostile to the legislation, spending more than $1 million lobbying just in the first three months of this year.'

The Intercept (19/5/21): Chuck Schumer Rejects Joe Manchin’s Voting Rights Strategy - The Senate majority leader continues to push the all-encompassing For the People Act, while the West Virginia senator is narrowly focused on reauthorizing the Voting Rights Act.

Tags: voting-rights-news, legislation-news, bad-democrat-news

'Worse yet, said Lawrence Lessig, a professor at Harvard Law School, a dangerous possibility could be that Manchin actually does manage to get Republicans to cynically co-sponsor his approach. “The reason you see Republicans supporting HR4 is that they believe that this bill will be passed by Congress and kill HR1 but then be struck down by the Supreme Court and lead us back to where we are right now,” said Lessig, author of “They Don’t Represent Us: Reclaiming Our Democracy.” “The reality is, bipartisanship is not possible with the Republican leadership on voting rights reform because they are convinced the only way they maintain power is by preserving the ability of the states to make it harder for Democrats to vote.”'

Democracy Now (19/5/21):

Larry Krasner Wins Dem Primary for Philly DA; Ed Gainey Set to Become Pittsburgh’s 1st Black Mayor
GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy Opposes Bipartisan Insurrection Inquiry as House Votes on Commission

Tags: capitol-storming-news, electoral-news, legislation-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Jacobin (19/5/21): Health Care Lobbyists Are Trying to Block the Public Option at the State Level - Joe Biden said on the campaign trail he would fight for a public option for health care. He hasn't — leaving health insurance companies, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies to work overtime to block states from passing their own public options.

Tags: corruption-news, healthcare-news, fail-biden-policy-news, pharma-news, legislation-news

Posted 19 May 2021

On Labor (18/5/21): New York’s gig workers may soon have sectoral bargaining rights, but they may pay a major price for those rights – the permanent codification of their misclassification as independent contractors.

Tags: labor-news, bad-democrat-news, legislation-news

Democracy Now (18/5/21): Palestinians Stage Historic General Strike from “the River to the Sea” for the First Time Since 1936

Tags: labor-news, international-news

Democracy Now (18/5/21):

In Phone Call with Israeli PM, Biden Urges Ceasefire But Won’t Demand One
U.S. Coronavirus Deaths Hit 14-Month Low as Biden Pledges to Ship 20M Vaccine Doses Abroad
Steven Donziger, Who Sued Chevron over Amazon Oil Spills, Blasts Contempt Trial as “Charade”

Tags: international-news, covid-news, big-oil-news, corruption-news, court-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Posted 17 May 2021

The New York Times (15/5/21): 723 Epidemiologists on When and How the U.S. Can Fully Return to Normal - Government mandates are lifting, but these experts say the pandemic won’t really end nationally until more people, including children, are vaccinated.

Tags: covid-news

Notice: oil sanctions are not part of these sanctions (see here for more)Global Witness (17/5/21): Global Witness welcomes new sanctions by US, UK and Canada on Myanmar military

Tags: corruption-news, international-news, big-oil-news

Democracy Now (17/5/21):

Nurses’ Union Challenges New CDC Mask Guidelines
Judge Keeps Eviction Ban in Place for Now
Columbus, Ohio, to Pay $10 Million Settlement to Family of Andre Hill, Black Man Killed by Police

Tags: union-news, labor-news, covid-news, court-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news

Posted 16 May 2021

Majority Report (12/5/21): (video) Mohammed El Kurd [Palestinian Activist] Removed From Home Within 24 Hours of Speaking Out

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news, international-news

Ars Technica (14/5/21): ISPs claim broadband prices aren’t too high—Biden admin isn’t buying it - Biden still plans "bold action" to lower Internet prices despite heavy lobbying.

Tags: big-tech-news, infrastructure-news, biden-policy-news

'The actual prices consumers pay—which ISPs inflate with hidden fees, equipment rental charges, and data-cap charges—rose four times faster than inflation between 2016 and 2019, as we reported last week. Specifically, Bureau of Labor Statistics survey data cited by advocacy group Free Press shows that average annual household expenditures for home-Internet service rose from $437.71 in 2016 to $556.50 in 2019. That's a 27 percent increase. When adjusted for inflation to match the value of 2020 dollars, the average annual cost rose from $472.25 in 2016 to $564.07 in 2019, a 19 percent increase.; Prices also increased by similar amounts during the last three years of the Obama administration. Trump's Federal Communications Commission Chairman, Ajit Pai, claimed his deregulation of the broadband industry would reverse that trend and bring "cheaper Internet access to all Americans." Instead, prices continued rising at about the same rates seen between 2013 and 2016.'

Salon (15/5/21): Israeli airstrike levels AP, Al Jazeera office building on live TV - "The world will know less about what is happening in Gaza because of what happened today"

Tags: international-news

Salon (15/5/21): Marjorie Taylor Greene caught illegally claiming "big tax break" in Georgia - A local news investigation found Greene claimed two permanent residences on her state taxes

Tags: corruption-news, far-right-news, gop-shenanigans-news, tax-news

Posted 15 May 2021

Law and Crime (14/5/21): Former Gaetz Associate Joel Greenberg Decides to Plead Guilty to Sex Trafficking a Child, Agrees to Cooperate With Investigators

Tags: corruption-news, gop-shenanigans-news, crime-news

The Intercept (14/5/21): Documents Reveal Pharma Plot to Stop Generic Covid-19 Vaccine Waiver - Urging Biden’s reversal, industry lobbyists instruct Congress to talk up loss of jobs and fear of China.

Tags: pharma-news, corruption-news, vaccine-ip-news

Democracy Now (14/5/21): President Biden Says Israel’s Bombing and Shelling of Gaza Not a “Significant Overreaction”

Tags: international-news, fail-biden-policy-news

Jacobin (14/5/21): Former Obama Staffer Jay Carney Is Amazon’s Top Flack - Jay Carney went from being Barack Obama’s press secretary to being Amazon’s top flack. But PR is only part of his job — his larger mission is to help Amazon ruthlessly exploit its workforce so it can expand endlessly.

Tags: bad-democrat-news, corruption-news, big-tech-news

Jacobin (14/5/21): In Washington State, the Left Won a Major Victory for Taxing the Rich - For a century, reformers have tried to change Washington's regressive tax system. Last month, a landmark capital gains tax became law. The story of how they got there shows how the Left can win against Democrats defending the status quo.

Tags: legislation-news, economic-news, tax-news

Posted 13 May 2021

Mother Jones (13/5/21): Leaked Video: Dark Money Group Brags About Writing GOP Voter Suppression Bills Across the Country - “We did it quickly and we did it quietly,” said the executive director of Heritage Action [the speakers - a former Trump official at the Office of Management and Budget, and a former Bush administration official, the latter laying down the groundwork for the voter fraud myth over the past two decades].

Tags: dark-money-news, corruption-news, voting-rights-news, gop-shenanigans-news

'“We’ve made sure that every single member of Congress knows just how bad the bill is,” Anderson added. “Then we’ve made sure there’s an echo chamber of support around these senators driven by your Heritage Action activists and sentinels across the country where we’ve driven hundreds of thousands of calls, emails, place letters to the editor, hosted events, and run television and digital ads.”'
'To Elias, the video from the Heritage summit is proof that Republican state lawmakers are pursuing voting restrictions not in response to real local problems, but at the behest of well-funded Washington insiders. “It’s not being run by a coalition of state legislators,” he says. “It’s not being run by election administrators. It’s being run out of an office in Washington, DC, by people whose sole agenda is to make it harder for Black, Brown, and young voters to participate in the electoral process. Republicans who adopt these model laws should be ashamed of themselves.”'

Open Secrets (13/5/21): Pharma-backed ‘dark money’ group hits House Dems on drug pricing plan (cr: Center for Responsive Politics)

Tags: dark-money-news, pharma-news, legislation-news

Salon (13/5/21): Over a dozen GOP governors plan to snatch back unemployment insurance early - Nearly one million Americans in Republican-led states will lose assistance they've relied on during the pandemic

Tags: economic-news, labor-news, gop-shenanigans-news

On Labor (13/5/21): Thankfully, as the National Employment Law Project recently noted, language in the CARES Act authorizing PUA arguably allowed the DoL to keep aid flowing independently for those who qualify.

World Socialist Web Site (13/5/21): School districts across Texas implement massive austerity and cuts to staff

Tags: labor-news

'Across the state, huge numbers of these teaching positions are being left as unfilled vacancies, encompassing nearly all the major school districts. This mass attrition follows the expiration of the state’s hold on cutting school funding that was extended through 2020, following declines in attendance due to the pandemic.'

Democracy Now (13/5/21):

U.S. Blocks U.N. Resolution on Israel-Palestine as Biden Asserts Israel’s “Right to Defend Itself”
Delayed EPA Report Paints Dire Picture of Human-Caused Climate Crisis
Colonial Pipeline Resumes Operations Amid Fuel Shortages and Price Hikes (more on Colonial Pipeline here)

Tags: international-news, climate-change-news, big-oil-news, cyber-security-news

Posted 12 May 2021

On Labor (12/5/21): Democracy in the Union Movement

Tags: analysis-news, union-news, labor-news

Left Voice (12/5/21): Connecticut Governor Calls National Guard in Advance of Health Care Workers Strike - Health care workers across Connecticut state are threatening to walk out this Friday unless the governor agrees to increase state funding to the nursing homes where they work. In response Democratic Governor Ned Lamont is requesting the National Guard.

Tags: busting-labor-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, security-news

See also: Salon (12/5/21): Union leaders blast CT governor's plan to call in National Guard over nursing home worker strike - Gov. Ned Lamont insists the measure is only in case of an emergency. Critics see a strike-breaking tactic.

Jacobin (11/5/21): Union Nurses in Massachusetts Are Waging the Longest Current Strike in the US - The longest active picket line in the US is in Worcester, Massachusetts, where over 700 union nurses are entering their third month on strike. Their chief demand: safe staffing for patients (via u/Cyclone_1 on r/labor).

Tags: labor-news

Democracy Now (12/5/21):

Liz Cheney Delivers Scathing Rebuke as GOP Prepares to Vote on Her Ouster from House Leadership
Judge Dismisses NRA Bankruptcy Bid

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, court-news

Ars Technica (11/5/21):Ransomware crooks post cops’ psych evaluations after talks with DC police stall - Babuk demands $4 million, Metropolitan Police Department offers $100,000.

Tags: cyber-security-news, law-news

On top of use of taxpayer money to fund private profit, senator proposes to do it some more Al Jazeera (12/5/21): US senator [Democrat who represents Amazon's home state of Washington] proposes $10BN for NASA to include Bezos’s Blue Origin - United States Senator Maria Cantwell is seeking to nudge NASA to rethink its decision to choose only Elon Musk’s SpaceX to build the lunar lander for its Artemis moon programme.

Tags: big-tech-news, corruption-news, bad-democrat-news, capitalist-farce-news

Posted 11 May 2021

Mother Jones (11/5/21): FEMA Offers Cash to House Local Homeless, But Cities Aren’t Claiming It - Well-intended COVID relief provision has been “a failure” on many levels.

Tags: social-woes-news, economic-news

Intercept (11/5/21): Divide Over Controversial UPS Contract Defines Teamsters Presidential Election - Reformers say stronger contracts will help with organizing Amazon in the future.

Tags: union-news, labor-news

'Paff harkened back to the victorious 1997 strike at UPS, where 185,000 Teamsters nationwide walked off the job to the slogan “A Part Time America Won’t Work.” “It was a signal victory in the labor movement,” Paff argued. “It was a decisive victory converting many thousands of low-paid, part-time jobs to union wage full-time jobs. At the time [AFL-CIO President] John Sweeney said that the strike has done more for organizing than any millions of dollars” spent by unions seeking to grow their memberships. Paff argued that a contract campaign and potential strike at UPS in the next two years could provide a similar shot in the arm to the Teamsters’ capacity to organize Amazon.'

Democracy Now (11/5/21):

Washington Post: Trump Justice Department Spied on Journalists Covering 2016 Election
Biden Admin Reinstates Protections for Trans People Seeking Healthcare
Governor Expands Drought Emergency Declaration in California
Contempt-of-Court Trial Opens for Steven Donziger, Lawyer Who Sued Chevron for Amazon Oil Spills (see also article linked here)

Tags: trump-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, politics-news, court-news, lgbtq-news, biden-policy-news, big-oil-news, corruption-news

Posted 10 May 2021

Jacobin: (video) Everything You Know About Mass Incarceration Is Wrong — Adaner Usmani

Tags: economic-news, civil-rights-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news

See also: Catalyst (Fall 2019): The Economic Origins of Mass Incarceration

Revolving Door Project (10/5/21): Can An Appointee Loyal To BigLaw Be Trusted To Oversee The Army Corps Of Engineers?

Tags: corruption-news, fail-biden-policy-news

Al Jazeera (10/5/21): Melinda Gates met divorce lawyers when Epstein ties revealed: WSJ - Melinda Gates was concerned about her billionaire husband’s dealings with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2019, people familiar with the matter and a former employee of their philanthropic organisation told The Wall Street Journal.

Tags: corruption-news, epstein-news

Democracy Now (10/5/21):

Colorado Springs Shooting Claims 7 Lives During Weekend Marked by Rash of Mass Shootings
DOJ Proposes Rule to Reign in “Ghost Guns” and Other Unregulated Firearms

Tags: crime-news

The Intercept (9/5/21): Law Enforcement Groups Drive Anti-Protest Laws, New Analysis Shows - A separate Greenpeace report looked at corporate support for politicians who pushed anti-protest and voter suppression laws.

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, legislation-news, gop-shenanigans-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

CounterPunch (7/5/21): The Global Spread of Fascism is as Real as the Spread of COVID-19

Tags: covid-news, far-right-news

Ars Technica (3/5/21): Apple reports 2 iOS 0-days that let hackers compromise fully patched devices - Webkit flaws in just-released iOS 14.5 lets attackers execute malicious code.

Tags: tech-news, cyber-security-news

Ars Technica (5/5/21): Data leak makes Peloton’s Horrible, No-Good, Really Bad Day even worse - Faulty API let anyone grab users’ private data, including weight and gender.

Tags: tech-news, cyber-security-news

Salon (9/5/21): Salesforce, Google, Facebook. How Big Tech undermines California’s public health system - Gov. Gavin Newsom has routinely outsourced life-or-death public health duties to his allies in the private sector

Tags: big-tech-news, healthcare-news, corruption-news, bad-democrat-news

Posted 9 May 2021

Bloomberg (7/5/21): Amazon Warehouse Worker Dies in Bessemer, Alabama - An Amazon.com Inc. warehouse worker died Thursday after collapsing at a company facility in Bessemer, Alabama, that was the site of an effort earlier this year to unionize the workforce. (via u/DoremusJessup on r/labor)

Tags: labor-news, big-tech-news, industrial-failure-news

New York Times (8/5/21): Cyberattack Forces a Shutdown of a Top U.S. Pipeline - The operator, Colonial Pipeline, said it had halted systems for its 5,500 miles of pipeline after being hit by a ransomware attack. ([2] 10/5/21)

Tags: cyber-security-news, big-oil-news

Update: Al Jazeera (13/5/21): Colonial Pipeline paid hackers $5M to get fuel flowing: Sources - After the company paid the hefty ransom in untraceable cryptocurrency, the hackers provided the operator with a decrypting tool to restore its disabled computer network, sources tell Bloomberg News.

Posted 8 May 2021

Left Voice (7/5/21): How Biden Funded Colombia’s Deadly Police Regime - Biden played a key role in empowering the ESMAD police force that is now being used to crush dissent in Colombia. This is all the more reason the U.S. Left must make solidarity with the Colombian working class a priority.

Tags: dark-security-news, international-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news

The Intercept (7/5/21): A Climate Dystopia in Northern California - California’s divided and fire-scarred cities, reeling from climate disasters, need a Green New Deal.

Tags: climate-change-news

Democracy Now (7/5/21):

German Chancellor Angela Merkel Rejects Patent Waiver for COVID-19 Vaccines
U.S. Sends Warplanes to Afghanistan Amid Withdrawal as HRW Warns Aid Cuts Jeopardize Women’s Health
New York AG Says 18 Million Fake Comments Were Posted in Support of 2017 FCC Net Neutrality Repeal

Tags: international-news, international-news, vaccine-ip-news, cyber-security-news

Jacobin (7/5/21): Big Tech’s Censors Come for Science - When we allow private organizations like Facebook, Google, and Twitter to police scientific discourse, we abdicate our commitment to free scientific inquiry.

Tags: big-tech-news, science-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Jacobin (7/5/21): Canada’s Mining Industry Is Spreading Havoc Around the World — With Justin Trudeau’s Support - Three-quarters of the world’s mining companies are headquartered in Canada. Canadian mining firms are mired in corruption and human rights abuses around the world, yet Justin Trudeau has reneged on pledges to regulate them and end the abuses.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, industrial-failure-news, international-news, corruption-news

Posted 7 May 2021

MKBHD (Marques Brownlee) (7/5/21): What Is Right To Repair?

Tags: right-to-repair-news, tech-news

The Nation (6/5/21): Nurses Are Striking Across the Country Over Patient Safety - The pandemic—and widespread frustration over unsafe working conditions—has triggered a wave of strikes in hospitals from Massachusetts to Hawaii.

Tags: labor-news, healthcare-news

The Intercept (6/5/21): Opposing PRO Act, Uber and Other Gig Companies Spend Over $1 Million Lobbying Congress - After spending a historic sum against similar worker protections in California, gig companies continue to lobby on labor reform in Congress, new disclosures show.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, corruption-news, legislation-news, labor-news

'“Over the years, as the demands increased with lower pay, I realized this is not a godsend, this is more of a nightmare,” said Cherri Murphy, who now organizes with the activist group Gig Workers Rising. Murphy stopped driving for Lyft last year, near the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. “The number of rides continued to increase, but the pay decreased. There were different things they were taking out while they were making more demands.”'

Democracy Now (6/5/21):

Labor Dept. Voids Trump-Era Rule Making It Easier to Classify Gig Workers as Independent Contractors
Olympic Committee to Ban “Black Lives Matter” Slogan and Protests at Tokyo Summer Games

Tags: labor-news, biden-policy-news, international-news

Posted 5 May 2021

U.S. PIRG (6/5/21): News Release: Statement: Landmark FTC report calls for action on Right to Repair

Tags: right-to-repair-news, biden-policy-news

Posted 5 May 2021

On Labor (5/5/21):In a groundbreaking article published Tuesday, the Pittsburgh Business Times detailed that several local businesses seem to have discovered an exciting new management tool. Though purportedly struggling to fill positions for months, these companies were suddenly inundated with “thousands of applications” after raising their starting wages to $15 an hour and above. As labor shortages reportedly persist around the country, post-pandemic wages remain stubbornly low, and some right-wing state governments have begun to peel back pandemic-era unemployment benefits, these small Pittsburgh firms might have uncovered the long-hidden key to commercial success — paying decent wages and treating workers with dignity. Let’s hope their innovative management strategy spreads to businesses throughout the country.

Tags: labor-news, economic-news

Revolving Door Project (5/5/21): Bust Up Corruption And Protect The Public: Clean House At The PCAOB

Tags: policy-news, corruption-news

Al Jazeera (5/5/21): US [Trump-appointed] judge throws out pandemic-related moratorium on evictions - As many as 40 million Americans have fallen behind on rent during the COVID-19 economic crisis.

Tags: social-woes-news, court-news

'According to the White House, one in five renters had fallen behind on rent as of January, while UDS agencies have said between 4 million and 8.8 million adults are behind on their rent.; The National Association of Realtors told the Biden administration in January that 40 million Americans had fallen behind on rent, with $70bn of missed payments by the end of 2020.'
Update: Al Jazeera (6/5/21): Judge temporarily stays ruling in eviction moratorium case - US Justice Department argues evictions risk spreading COVID-19, as the federal ban on most evictions remains in place for now.
Update: Al Jazeera (7/5/21): Biden gives US renters $21.6bn lifeline as eviction crisis looms - Biden administration officials say the additional support is urgently needed: nearly seven million Americans reported being behind on their rent payments in late April.

New York Times (5/5/21): Covid-19 Live Updates: Biden Administration Backs Lifting Vaccine Patent Protections to Help Boost Global Supply - Experts say a new federal stockpile of doses in the U.S. and outreach efforts could help immunize underserved communities and ensure vaccines go where they’re most needed.

Tags: covid-news, vaccine-ip-news, biden-policy-news

The Intercept (4/5/21): DOJ Threatened MIT Researchers With Subpoena in Collaboration With Bolivian Coup Regime - Emails to the analysts show the Trump administration’s complicity with a Bolivian criminal investigation

Tags: dark-security-news, international-news

The emails reveal the Justice Department’s involvement in the Bolivian coup regime’s criminal investigation into alleged voter fraud, which has not previously been reported. The inquiry targeted a pair of respected MIT researchers about their work for the Center for Economic and Policy Research, in which they broadly refuted suspicions that Bolivia’s socialist party had rigged the election.
'Without evidence, the opposition immediately leveled fraud charges. It was backed up the next day by the Organization of American States, the powerful hemispheric cooperation organization based in Washington, D.C.'
'The coup, roughly the same play President Donald Trump would attempt a year later, was complete.; But the U.S. press [ie New York Times] refused to call it that, instead accepting the allegations of fraud at face value.',
'“There is a whole set of onerous protocols in place for trial attorneys seeking information from a media organization, and the decision to move forward would be made at high levels at the DOJ. This particular request is not your run-of-the-mill criminal investigation, so you can be fairly sure that it received very high-level exposure,” the source said.'

Posted 4 May 2021

The American Prospect (4/5/21): Financial Speculation Is About More Than GameStop Day Traders - The real speculation is happening at the top of the market, through skyrocketing merger transactions and increases in the power of the biggest companies.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, economic-news

OpenSecrets (4/5/21): Big pharma shatters Q1 lobbying record; 'Pharmaceutical companies are kicking 2021 off with a pricey start, spending a record $92 million to lobby the federal government on drug pricing regulations and rules governing the distribution of COVID-19 vaccinations.' (cr: Center for Responsive Politics)

Tags: pharma-news, dark-money-news, corruption-news

'House Democrats introduced a bill, H.R. 3, that would give Medicare the ability to negotiate drug prices with manufacturers and cap out-of-pocket spending for medication at $2,000. The bill is not expected to surpass the 60-vote threshold necessary to survive a Republican filibuster in the Senate, and prominent Democrats are reportedly planning to attach H.R. 3 to Biden’s sweeping American Families Plan in order to push the proposed change through during the reconciliation period. '

Democracy Now (4/5/21):

In Reversal, Biden to Raise Cap on Refugees Admitted to U.S.
Biden Under Pressure as World Health Organization Presses for Waiver on Vaccine Patent Rights
EPA Plans to Phase Out Highly Potent Greenhouse Gases Known as Hydrofluorocarbons
Landmark Trial on Opioid Epidemic Opens in West Virginia Federal Court
Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz Threatens to Punish CEOs Who Oppose Voter Suppression Bills
Kansas Republicans Fail to Override Democratic Governor’s Veto of Transgender Athlete Ban
Ballroom Legend and Trans Activist Jahaira DeAlto Murdered at 43

Tags: biden-policy-news, healthcare-news, voting-rights-news, lgbtq-news, politics-news

'Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz is under fire for threatening to punish corporations whose CEOs have spoken out against voter suppression efforts like Georgia’s recently passed election law. In a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed titled “Your Woke Money Is No Good Here,” Senator Cruz writes, “This time, we won’t look the other way on Coca-Cola’s $12 billion in back taxes owed. This time, when Major League Baseball lobbies to preserve its multibillion-dollar antitrust exception, we’ll say no thank you.” Walter Shaub, the former director of the Office of Government Ethics, responded, “This may be the most openly corrupt thing any Senator has said.”'

Tom Nicholas: (video) Johnny Harris: A Story of YouTube Propaganda

Tags: analysis-news, corruption-news

Posted 3 May 2021

Left Voice: Nationwide Strike Round-up: Steelworkers, Nurses, and Auto Workers - A round-up of actions across the United States by steelworkers, nurses, and auto workers striking for health care, wage increases, safe staffing, and better contracts.

Tags: labor-news

'Union autoworkers in Dublin, Va., have expressed anger on social media following the UAW’s announcement to end a 13-day strike before ratifying a contract after a tentative agreement had been reached with Volvo on April 30' (workers have not been able to see/vote on the contract, yet were told to go back to work by the UAW).
UAW is calling on the nearly 3000 striking workers to take down their pickets and return to work on Monday, May 3. Union members have questions and can’t understand why they are returning before voting. The UAW Local 2069 Facebook page lit up with responses from workers.'
See also: World Socialist Web Site: Volvo Truck workers in Virginia livid over UAW strikebreaking
'The UAW has shut the strike down precisely at the point when it was having significant impact on the company, with the supply of Mack-Volvo trucks reportedly close to running out. Local union officials have made the absurd claim that they could call the workers back out on strike if they reject the deal later this month. By that time workers would have produced enough trucks for the company to stockpile in the event of another walkout.'

Law and Crime: Man Allegedly Plowed Pickup Truck into Picnic Birthday Party After Complaining About ‘Asians,’ ‘Yuppies with Dogs’

Tags: crime-news, far-right-news

U.S. PIRG: Who doesn’t want the Right to Repair? Companies worth over $10 trillion - If we want the Right to Repair, more people need to stand up to the companies that lobby against it.

Tags: right-to-repair-news, dark-money-news

Al Jazeera: Canada branch of far-right Proud Boys group dissolves itself - Move comes after the Canadian government added the organisation to its ‘terrorist entities’ list in early February.

Tags: militant-far-right-news

KHN News: CVS and Walgreens Have Wasted More Vaccine Doses Than Most States Combined

Tags: pharma-news, covid-news

The Intercept (3/5/21) Your Car Is Spying on You, and a CBP Contract Shows the Risks - A “vehicle forensics kit” can reveal where you’ve driven, what doors you opened, and who your friends are.

Tags: big-tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

'In the same podcast, LeMere also recounted the company pulling data from a car rented at BWI Marshall Airport outside Washington, D.C.: “We had a Ford Explorer … we pulled the system out, and we recovered 70 phones that had been connected to it. All of their call logs, their contacts and their SMS history, as well as their music preferences, songs that were on their device, and some of their Facebook and Twitter things as well. … And it’s quite comical when you sit back and read some of the the text messages.”
'The ACLU’s Tajsar explained, “What they’re really saying is ‘We can exploit people because they’re dumb. … We can leverage consumers’ lack of understanding in order to exploit them in ways that they might object to if it was done in the analog world.’”'

Ars Technica (30/4/21): More US agencies potentially hacked, this time with Pulse Secure exploits - Zero-day vulnerability under attack has a severity rating of 10 out of 10.

Tags: cyber-security-news, tech-news

Mother Jones (30/4/21): Biden Promised to Crack Down on Egypt’s Dictator. Why Is the President Still Sending Him Weapons? - During the campaign, Biden said there’d be “no more blank checks,” but the Egyptian government is still locking up journalists and political opponents.

Tags: international-news, fail-biden-policy-news

Posted 2 May 2021

In These Times: As Meatpackers Stoked Fears of a Shortage, U.S. Meat Exports Increased - Citing imminent shortages, the meat industry lobbied to keep packing plants open as Covid-19 tore through workers’ ranks. At the same time, U.S. meat exports increased.

Tags: food-security-news, economic-news, industrial-failure-news

'Trade data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that in 2020 the value of American meat exports reached its highest level since 2014. Companies exporting meat products from the Midwest also fared well, increasing sales by about $500 million from 2019 to 2020.'
'USA TODAY reported in June 2020 that, while meat production tanked from mid-March through the end of April, exports increased and the industry never had to tap into its reserves.'

Vox: Amazon employees say you should be skeptical of Jeff Bezos’s worker satisfaction stat - It’s difficult to get honest feedback from workers who fear retaliation.

Tags: labor-news

U.S. PIRG: There is a very high cost to cheap food - The conventional system of livestock production in the United States hinges on one word: “efficiency.” Time is money, therefore the faster animals progress from birth to slaughter, the cheaper the end product will be. While cost-conscious shoppers appreciate low prices at the meat counter, there is a steep, somewhat-hidden, societal cost to raising animals in the conventional way [rise of antibiotic resistance].

Tags: food-security-news

'To paraphrase Chris, Niman Ranch prides itself on inefficiencies. Its farmers raise lamb, pork, and beef without the use of antibiotics; opting instead to keep animals as healthy as possible through good animal husbandry practices. This model offers benefits for independent farmers, animal welfare and public health.'
'According to Ron, farmers in the Niman Ranch network can begin a hog farm for about $40,000. This initial investment pales in comparison to conventional confinement operations which can cost upwards of $500,000 to get off the ground. These smaller pork operations offer independent farmers increased economic security and flexibility.'

CounterPunch: (video) Noam Chomsky – Bakunin’s Predictions

Tags: analysis-news

Democracy Now (30/4/21):

Biden Vows to Close Private Detention Centers in Response to Georgia Protesters
Right-Wing Extremists Face New WMD Charge in Plot to Kidnap Michigan Governor
New York Man Convicted for Threatening Lawmakers After Insurrection
FDA Moves to Ban Menthol Cigarettes, But ACLU Warns Move Could Backfire
Indian Point Nuclear Point Shuts Down Today

Tags: biden-policy-news, militant-far-right-news, capitol-storming-news, civil-rights-news, energy-news, infrastructure-news

Jacobin: The Canada Infrastructure Bank Is a Subsidy Scheme for Big Business - Justin Trudeau’s government claims that the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) can solve Canada’s infrastructure problems. In reality, the CIB is a vehicle for private interests to get their hands on public assets and revenue streams. It should be excluded from coronavirus recovery plans.

Tags: corruption-news, privatization-news

Posted 30 April 2021

Law and Crime: Federal Court Gives Truckers and Organized Labor a Significant Victory Against Big Business Interests [2]

Tags: labor-news, court-news

Reuters: EXCLUSIVE U.S. Labor Secretary supports classifying gig workers as employees (via u/chilisprout on r/labor)

Tags: biden-policy-news, labor-news

Al Jazeera: Five dead, including deputies, in N Carolina standoff: Sheriff - Wellness check leads to heavily-armoured standoff, deaths in North Carolina.

Tags: crime-news

Al Jazeera: US Supreme Court hands victory to immigrants facing deportation - Thousands facing removal threats from the Department of Homeland Security have a chance to be allowed to remain in US.

Tags: immigrant-news, court-news

KHN: What a Difference a Year Makes in Colorado’s Case for a Public Option Plan

Tags: healthcare-news, legislation-news

It's important to keep in mind here that, in our current system, money flowing to hospitals is largely money flowing to executives, shareholders, bosses - it's not money flowing to the people doing the work, such as nurses. In fact, while hospitals have reaped enormous profit, buoyed by taxpayer support during the crisis, they refused to pay nurses a fair wage, and refused to higher more staff. This left nursing and emergency staff overworked and exhausted - that's why so many nurses have been forced to go on strike (and hospitals pay tens of millions to break the strike, rather than to use that money to hire more nurses and pay them fairly). This talk that THIS or THAT would affect hospital revenue is totally disconnected from the issue of hospital service. Profit has done nothing to increase the efficacy of hospitals. Talk of profit is a distraction.

New York Times: ‘A Perfect Positive Storm’: Bonkers Dollars for Big Tech - The dictionary doesn’t have enough superlatives to describe what’s happening to the five biggest technology companies, raising uncomfortable questions for their C.E.O.s.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, big-tech-news, economic-news

The Intercept: Court Rules that EPA’s Delay “Exposed a Generation of American Children” to Brain-Damaging Pesticide Chlorpyrifos - The ruling represents a stark repudiation of the Trump EPA’s refusal to ban chlorpyrifos.

Tags: trump-news, court-news, industrial-failure-news

Democracy Now (29/4/21):

U.S. Contractors Are Still Helping Maintain Saudi Warplanes Used in Yemen War
Israel Faces Call to Free Alaa al-Rimawi, Palestinian Journalist on Hunger Strike
Senate Votes to Reimpose Regs on Methane Emissions
Houston Sheriff Who Criticized Trump’s Immigration Policies Is Nominated to Head ICE
Native American Groups Call on CNN to Fire Rick Santorum over Embrace of Genocide

Tags: international-news, security-news, legislation-news, indigenous-news, biden-policy-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Posted 29 April 2021

FiveThirtyEight (29/4/21): (video) Republicans Can Govern Without Winning A Majority. That Threatens Our Entire Democracy.

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, electoral-news, voting-rights-news, analysis-news

'State legislatures are the last piece in the institutional jenga[?]. And they're biased towards Republicans for many of the same reasons the House of Representatives is. Republicans currently control at least four state legislative chambers for which Democrats won more votes statewide in their most recent elections. Democrats also won the 2018 popular vote in several state houses, but failed to take control of them. What's particularly pervasive about all of these biases is that US institutions reinforce one another. For example, since the President nominates and the Senate confirms federal judges, including supreme court justices, despite having lost the popular vote, Trump was able to get over 200 judges confirmed over the last four years, and because of lifetime appointments, those conservative judges may have a hand in our legal system for decades to come.'

ProPublica (29/4/21); Texas Enabled the Worst Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Catastrophe in Recent U.S. History - They used their car to stay warm when a winter storm brought down the Texas power grid. In a state that doesn’t require carbon monoxide alarms in homes, they had no warning they were poisoning themselves.

Tags: texas-freeze-news, infrastructure-news, healthcare-news, gop-shenanigans-news, energy-news

'In the aftermath of the unprecedented wave of poisonings two months ago, Texas lawmakers have taken few steps to protect residents from future carbon monoxide catastrophes. That choice caps more than a decade of ignored warnings and inaction that resulted in Texas being one of just six states with no statewide requirement for carbon monoxide alarms in homes, ProPublica, The Texas Tribune and NBC News found.'
'The ambulance driver navigated ice-covered roads to deliver Bekele to Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Texas Medical Center. The hospital was overrun with patients like Bekele. Medical staff were treating so many people for carbon monoxide poisoning that the department was running out of beds and oxygen tanks, said Dr. Samuel Prater, the medical director of the hospital’s emergency department.'
'More than 1,400 people sought emergency care for carbon monoxide poisoning and at least 1,175 for hypothermia and cold exposure from Feb. 13 to Feb. 20'
'But even as lawmakers demanded a wave of complex reforms, they did little to address one of the simplest changes: establishing a statewide requirement for carbon monoxide alarms in homes. The devices cost as little as $15 and health experts say they are critical to preventing carbon monoxide poisoning.'

World Socialist Web Site (9/4/21): Number of deaths counted from Texas blackout catastrophe approaches 200

Tags: infrastructure-news, texas-freeze-news

The Intercept (29/4/21): Factory Owners Around the World Stand Ready to Manufacture Covid-19 Vaccines - Bill Gates said he doesn’t think the recipe for the vaccine should be shared. Drugmakers are eager to retrofit their facilities and get to work.

Tags: infrastructure-news, vaccine-ip-news, covid-news, capitalist-farce-news

'Earlier this month, the World Health Organization established the mRNA technology transfer hub, through which manufacturers of medical products and owners of patented vaccine technology have been invited to provide know-how, process training, and intellectual property rights so that low- and middle-income countries can produce their own vaccines. On Tuesday, Martin Friede, coordinator of the WHO’s Initiative for Vaccine Research, said that the hub had already received some 50 expressions of interest from companies, including some that have patents on components or processes involved in vaccine manufacturing.'
'Others agree sharing know-how is key — and getting cooperation from the companies that created the mRNA vaccines is necessary before deciding to retrofit or build facilities to make them. “It’s useless to focus on that if BioNTech and Pfizer and Moderna are not going to surrender the information on how to do it,” Edward Hammond, an independent consultant who works on vaccine manufacturing, said in a recent online roundtable about vaccine production capacity. “If it is the case that we don’t have an open and cooperative and productive technology transfer environment, then the capacity situation looks a little bit different because you’re going to be relying on a different set of technologies.”'

Mother Jones (9/4/21): An Ex-Google Lobbyist Who Backed Jim Jordan Is Leading Big Tech’s Bid to Court the Left

Tags: big-tech-news, gop-shenanigans-news, corruption-news

Jacobin: Demanding an End to Uyghur Oppression - We can oppose the saber-rattling and militarism of the US’s China hawks without downplaying the oppression of the Uyghur people.

Tags: international-news

'The comparison that is most relevant to what is happening in China is the US expansion to the West, and probably Canada as well. It begins with the desire to expand American economic growth, and to do that in the nineteenth century meant the United States had to control more land, develop it, and settle it. In that process, indigenous peoples were viewed as at best superfluous and at worst an obstacle that had to be removed.'

Posted 28 April 2021

U.S. PIRG (28/4/21): ‘I can’t fix my tractor’: Senator Tester [from Montana] calls on the FTC to step up on Right to Repair - Lawmakers and FTC commissioners agree that it’s time to protect consumers’ Right to Repair

Tags: food-security-news, right-to-repair-news, biden-policy-news

The American Prospect: BlackRock’s Investment in Blacklisted Chinese Surveillance Companies - Wall Street’s divided loyalty is one more complication as Team Biden resets the U.S.-China Relationship.

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news, economic-news, corruption-news, international-news

'BlackRock’s CEO Larry Fink, a Democrat, was heavily promoted to be Biden’s treasury secretary. Several BlackRock alums have senior posts in the Biden administration, including National Economic Council chief Brian Deese, who previously served as BlackRock’s global director of sustainable investing, a pet project—some would say a greenwashing initiative—of Larry Fink. It falls to Deese to sort our diverse national economic objectives, from industrial to environmental to labor, when it comes to resetting the U.S.-China relationship.'
'Under U.S. law, the government maintains an “entity list” of Chinese companies that are barred per se from U.S. commercial or trade relations because of national security or foreign policy concerns. These could be entities that spy, or steal trade secrets, or that repress the Chinese people to a greater degree than usual. These companies are flatly blacklisted from buying U.S. products or selling to U.S. companies.'
'Yet BlackRock is an investor in two Chinese companies that were added to the U.S. blacklist in October 2019, Hikvision and iFlytek. Both companies are involved in the surveillance industry, and both were among 28 Chinese companies added to the entity list for repression of the Uighur population in Xinjiang.'

KHN: Michigan’s outbreak worries scientists. Will conservative outposts keep pandemic rolling? - Deaths from COVID-19 in Michigan are up 219% since March 9, weekly state data shows

Tags: covid-news

Mother Jones: Can Co-ops Save Restaurants? - “We need a new idea, something that changes the rules a little bit.”

Tags: socialist-news, labor-news, economic-news

'But the economic tumult of the last 12-plus years has people searching for alternatives. Before the Great Recession, there were only about 350 worker co-ops in the country; that number climbed to 465 by 2019, about a tenth of which are restaurants, cafes, or bakeries. The pandemic could be a catalyst. During the past year, Lingane says, Project Equity has seen “a lot more” calls from business owners inquiring about employee ownership models. There’s a feeling that “capitalism has failed our generation over and over again,” Arabacioğlu, who’s 37, says. “We need a new idea, something that changes the rules a little bit.”'
'Enjoying a share of revenue entices many workers to this plan. Business ownership is among the most productive assets for building wealth, and co-ops give a wider range of people access to that engine: The majority of co-op owners are women, and nearly 38 percent are Latino. Sarah Vegas, a worker-owner at Niles Pie in the San Francisco Bay Area, made $8,000 extra one year due to the bakery’s success. “That’s life-changing money,” she says. “It’s the difference between having a car that breaks down all the time and a good car.”'

OpenSecrets: Biden proposals spurred Q1 lobbying blitz (cr: Center for Responsive Politics)

Tags: biden-policy-news, dark-money-news

'Lobbying spending totaled $886 million from January through March, according to OpenSecrets’ initial review of lobbying reports filed with Congress.; That figure — which will rise after firms file late reports — is a slight increase from the $868 million spent in the first months of Donald Trump’s presidency in 2017. It’s down from the record $942 million spent in the first quarter of 2020, when firms in every industry scrambled to influence the government’s COVID-19 response.'
'Lobbyists centered their attention on the American Rescue Plan, Democrats’ $1.9 trillion stimulus bill that passed Congress without any Republican votes. Nearly every corporate giant attempted to influence Biden’s legislation, but few industries scored major victories.
State and local governments emerged as the biggest winners in Biden’s stimulus bill, receiving a $350 billion cash infusion that will bolster their budgets for years to come. On the private side, health care interests won new health insurance subsidies, while restaurants and airlines received billions in specified aid. The restaurant lobby secured another win when Democrats couldn’t find the votes to include a $15 minimum wage, a devastating blow to unions that helped Biden win the White House.'
'OpenSecrets found that 1,950 clients reported lobbying Congress or the Biden administration on details of the American Rescue Plan. That makes Biden’s stimulus bill the second-most lobbied bill on record, behind only the 2009 stimulus package.'
[on infrastructure bill] 'Renewable energy firms — several of which hired a former Biden aide to lobby the White House — would be top beneficiaries under the infrastructure proposal, receiving lucrative tax breaks and grants to transform the nation’s energy supply. The construction industry, another big winner in Biden’s plan, increased its lobbying spending by 28 percent year-over-year. Big business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, are pushing to derail Biden’s proposed tax hikes that would fund the bill.'
'Another massive spending package already has the attention of deep-pocketed companies. Biden’s $1.8 trillion American Families Plan would make massive investments in childcare, education and health care through direct spending and tax credits. Biden aims to pay for the proposal by hiking capital gains tax rates for the wealthiest Americans, infuriating Wall Street firms that have substantial lobbying power in Washington.'

The Irrawaddy (28/4/21): US Senators Call for Sanctions on Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise; 'The U.S senators said that history shows that when the previous junta was in place in the 1990s, “gas revenues from Total and Chevron helped them to withstand international sanctions as their [financial] reserves dwindled”. ... A New York Times report revealed that Chevron has intensively lobbied the State Department and key congressional offices against sanctions, warning that they might disrupt its joint ventures in Myanmar.'

Tags: big-oil-news, legislation-news, international-news, economic-news

Al Jazeera (28/4/21): Glaciers melting at a faster rate, new study finds [published in Nature] - Accelerating pace of melt contributing more than 20 percent to sea level rise, threatens populous coastal cities.

Tags: climate-change-news

Salon (28/4/21): New York Post reporter says she resigned after being "ordered to write" debunked Kamala Harris story - "I handed in my resignation to my editors at the New York Post"

Tags: far-right-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

On Labor (28/4/21): A recent study from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis found a significant and growing racial wealth gap between Black and white millennials. ... Today, the typical white millennial family has about $88,000 in wealth compared to the typical Black millennial family which has about $5,000 in wealth. While white millennial families were able to make up the difference between their wealth compared to previous generations in just three years, Black millennials fell further and further behind.

Tags: social-woes-news, economic-news

CounterPunch: Almost Everything Biden Said About Ending the Afghanistan War Was a Lie

Tags: international-news, fail-biden-policy-news

Revolving Door Project: SEC's New Enforcement Director, [veteran Wall Street defense lawyer, with repeat clients including ExxonMobil] Alex Oh, Is Bad News For Climate

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, corruption-news

See also: Revolving Door Project: Revolver Spotlight: Alex Oh
Update: Politico (28/4/21): SEC enforcement chief resigns over role in Indonesian torture case - Alex Oh said in a resignation letter that she was leaving because of a "development" in a case on which she worked as a corporate lawyer.

Democracy Now (28/4/21):

ICE Will Not Be Allowed to Make Courthouse Arrests
Mayorkas Launches Probe into Extremism at DHS
Nurses at Massachusetts’ Saint Vincent Hospital on Strike over Ongoing Staff and Safety Concerns [for eight weeks thus far]

Tags: healthcare-news, far-right-news, immigrant-news, labor-news

Posted 27 April 2021

Left Voice: New Anti-Protest Laws Proliferate Across the United States - A wave of anti-protest laws targeted at the BLM uprising are passing through statehouses across the country.; 'By expanding legal “gray areas” in the discretionary use of police force, the opportunities for brutality and repression are greatly expanded, as are the possible avenues of defense in those few instances where use of police force is actually subject to legal challenge.'

Tags: legislation-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news, civil-rights-news

In September 2020, local police deputized as U.S. Marshals killed 'self-described antifa activist' Michael Reinoehl, with local police investigators concluding that Reinoehl had shot first. But evaluation of the evidence (as well as the lack of body camera footage) of that investigation indicates this is an unlikely story, such as lack of credible witness testimony, or Reinoehl's gun, tucked in his pocket, having a fully loaded magazine (and only one spent casing in his car to suggest he fired his weapon, at odds with the fully loaded magazine) - more likely, he was killed extrajudiciously, having done nothing at the scene to warrant being killed by gunfire. This, along with Trump's endorsement and revelry in the killing is indicative of the dark tone the GOP and law enforcement are willing to take: killing of political opponents, and covering it up, is fine, is good, is worthy of praise. It undermines the claims that the institution of police is acting in the name of law and order. Trump endorsing an extrajudicial political assassination by police officers is anything but a celebration of rule of law, or the U.S. Constitution he swore to uphold.

New York Times: Police [local police deputized as U.S. Marshals] Say an Antifa Activist [Michael Reinoehl] Likely Shot at Officers. His Gun Suggests Otherwise. - Investigators said that Michael Reinoehl probably opened fire before officers killed him last year. But some key evidence raises questions about that conclusion.

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, trump-news

'While investigators found a spent bullet casing in the back seat of Mr. Reinoehl’s car, and pointed to that as evidence he probably fired his weapon, the handgun they recovered from Mr. Reinoehl had a full magazine, according to multiple photos compiled by Thurston County authorities showing Mr. Reinoehl’s handgun. The gun was found in his pocket.'
'But one of the witnesses that Thurston County investigators relied on to reach their conclusion that Mr. Reinoehl had fired his gun was an 8-year-old boy. His father, Garrett Louis, who had rushed to his son’s side at the time of the shooting, has consistently said he believed that officers opened fire first without shouting any warnings.; Of the two other witnesses who investigators cited to support the conclusion that Mr. Reinoehl fired his gun, one did not see it happen and the other was not sure.'
'Mr. Louis’s 8-year-old son told officers that Mr. Reinoehl was shooting at the agents. But when asked what kind of gun Mr. Reinoehl fired, he described it as “big” and “two-handed,” a description that did not match Mr. Reinoehl’s pocket-size handgun.'
See also: Vice News: Police Don’t Have Their Story Straight About the Killing of Michael Reinoehl - He'd been on the run since he was named as a suspect in the fatal shooting of a supporter of the far-right Patriot Prayer last weekend.
See also: Salon: Trump makes it clear: He revels in the killing of his political opponents - Trump endorses extrajudicial executions of Antifa suspects as “retribution”
'Usually, political leaders call for justice in these cases, not retribution. And justice would have entailed letting the criminal proceedings play out, rather than having law enforcement kill Reinoehl upon finding him.'
See also: ProPublica: New Eyewitness Accounts: Feds Didn’t Identify Themselves Before Opening Fire on Portland Antifa Suspect - Local law enforcement officers deputized as U.S. Marshals have given conflicting accounts of the shooting. Witnesses say they heard no warning before the agents shot Michael Reinoehl dead, an outcome President Trump termed “retribution.’’
'What happened next remains unclear, even among law enforcement officials who participated.; One deputy U.S. marshal told investigators with the Thurston County sheriff’s office that Reinoehl pointed a gun at him. Another deputy marshal told detectives that Reinoehl had his hand on his pistol and was in the process of pulling the gun out of his pocket when officers fired. The gun was in Reinoehl’s right front pants pocket when detectives recovered it.'
'She thought the shooters — buff white men dressed in khakis and ballistic vests and armed with rifles — looked less like law enforcement officers than members of a right-wing militia. Perhaps, she said, Reinoehl might have mistaken the lawmen for the far-right vigilantes he feared were hunting for him.'
'A moment after the shooting, Louis, the father of two, stared across the street, still bathed in late summer sunshine, and spotted Reinoehl sprawled on the pavement near a cluster of mailboxes. He walked over to a police officer and introduced himself as an EMT, having served in that capacity in the Army, he said.; “I was going to see if there was any sort of aid that I could offer,” he recalled. “He just told me to shut the fuck up and go inside, and that it was a crime scene.”; A livestream Facebook video posted at 6:59 p.m., well after the law officer rebuffed Louis’s offer to render medical help, shows a police officer in latex gloves performing chest compressions on Reinoehl.

Law and Crime: More Than a Year After Officers Killed Breonna Taylor, DOJ Announces Civil Rights Probe of Louisville Police

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, civil-rights-news

World Socialist Web Site: COVID-19 deaths surge in Michigan

Tags: covid-news

Labor Notes: Don’t Compromise on Farmworker Rights

Tags: labor-news, food-security-news

Jacobin: Joe Biden’s Central America Plan Is a Cruel Joke - Joe Biden has pledged to pour money into Central America to address the root causes of migration. There’s just one problem: the aid dollars would be used to shore up the militarized, free-market model that is making people flee in the first place.

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, immigrant-news, international-news

'Their essence: that millions of dollars in “aid” money should be poured into upgrading local military and police forces in order to protect an economic model based on private investment and the export of profits. Above all, the privileges of foreign investors must not be threatened. As it happens, this is the very model that Washington has imposed on the countries of Central America over the past century, one that’s left its lands corrupt, violent, and impoverished, and so continued to uproot Central Americans and send them fleeing toward the United States.'
'Such outsourcing was, in part, a response to the successes of the immigrant rights movement in this country. US leaders hoped to evade legal scrutiny and protest at home by making Mexico and Central America implement the uglier aspects of their policies.'
'In response to what was seen as a child migrant crisis in the summer of 2014 (sound familiar?), President Barack Obama further pressured Mexico to initiate a new Southern Border Program. Since then, tens of millions of dollars a year have gone toward the militarization of that border, and Mexico was soon detaining tens of thousands of migrants monthly. Not surprisingly, deportations and human rights violations against Central American migrants shot up dramatically there. “Our border today in effect is Mexico’s border with Honduras and Guatemala,” exulted Obama’s former border czar Alan Bersin in 2019. A local activist was less sanguine, protesting that the program “turned the border region into a war zone.”'
'The model Washington continues to promote is based on the idea that if Central American governments can woo foreign investors with improved infrastructure, tax breaks, and weak environmental and labor laws, the “free market” will deliver the investment, jobs, and economic growth that (in theory) will keep people from wanting to migrate in the first place. Over and over again in Central America’s tormented history, however, exactly the opposite has happened. Foreign investment flowed in, eager to take advantage of the region’s fertile lands, natural resources, and cheap labor. This form of development — whether in support of banana and coffee plantations in the nineteenth century or sugar, cotton, and cattle operations after World War II — brought Central America to its revolutions of the 1980s and its northbound mass migration of today.; As a model, it relies on militarized governments to dispossess peasant farmers, freeing the land for foreign investors. Similarly, force and terror are brought to bear to maintain a cheap and powerless working class, allowing investors to pay little and reap fantastic profits. Such operations, in turn, have brought deforestation to the countryside and only accelerated climate change — bringing ever fiercer weather, including the rising sea levels, more intense storms, droughts, and floods that have further undermined the livelihoods of the Central American poor.'
'If a government did threaten investors’ profits in any way, as when El Salvador declared a moratorium on mining licenses, the US-sponsored Central America Free Trade Agreement enabled foreign corporations to sue and force it to submit to binding arbitration by a World Bank body. In the Obama years, when the elected, reformist president of Honduras tried to enact labor and environmental improvements, Washington gave the nod to a coup there and celebrated when the new president proudly declared the country “open for business” with a package of laws favoring foreign investors.'
'It was Obama who oversaw Washington’s recognition of the coup in Honduras. It was Trump who looked the other way when Guatemala in 2019 and Honduras in 2020 expelled international anti-corruption commissions. And it was Trump who agreed to downplay the mounting corruption and drug trafficking charges against his friend, Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, as long as he promoted an investor-friendly economy and agreed to collaborate with the US president’s anti-immigrant agenda.'
See also: Democracy Now (27/4/21): U.S. Homeland Security Department to Train Guatemalan Border Agents

Tags: international-news

ProPublica: How the Federal Reserve Is Increasing Wealth Inequality - The Fed’s low-interest-rate policies have stabilized the economy and turbocharged the stock market. But those who don’t own lots of stocks haven’t benefited anywhere near as much as those who do.

Tags: economic-news, social-woes-news

Democracy Now (27/4/21):

U.S. to Ship Up to 60 Million Doses of AstraZeneca Vaccine Abroad
Head of Firm Hired by Arizona GOP to Audit Election Results Promoted Pro-Trump Conspiracy Theories
California Gov. Gavin Newsom to Face Recall Election

Tags: covid-news, international-news, voting-rights-news, politics-news

Posted 26 April 2021

Law and Crime (26/4/21): Here Are the Biggest Congressional Winners and Losers from the 2020 Census

Tags: electoral-news, policy-news, analysis-news, voting-rights-news

FiveThirtyEight (26/4/21): Which States Won — And Lost — Seats In The 2020 Census?

Tags: electoral-news, policy-news, analysis-news, voting-rights-news

'As a result, we can now say with finality that Republicans will control the redrawing of 187 congressional districts (43 percent) — or 2.5 times as many as Democrats (who will redraw 75 districts, or 17 percent). There are also 167 districts (38 percent) where neither party will enjoy exclusive control over redistricting (either because of independent commissions or split partisan control). And, of course, there are six districts (1 percent) that won’t need to be drawn at all (because they are at-large districts that cover their entire state).'

'The three most populous states to gain seats are Texas, Florida and North Carolina, and in each, Republicans will control the redistricting process. For the first time in decades, they won’t have to seek preclearance from the Justice Department either before implementing their maps thanks to the 2013 Supreme Court decision that struck down part of the Voting Rights Act. That, in turn, could open the door for more extreme gerrymandering in these states, which historically disenfranchised voters of color.'

Jacobin (26/4/21): Bill Gates Chooses Corporate Patent Rights Over Human Lives - The global battle over drug company patents for COVID-19 vaccines is the latest skirmish in the irrepressible conflict between property rights and human rights. It’s no surprise that Bill Gates, the monopolist billionaire, has taken the side of patents.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, vaccine-ip-news, pharma-news, international-news, covid-news

Salon: Biden wants to fight racist exclusionary zoning laws. Will it work? - "Modern-day redlining": Activists wonder if ending exclusionary zoning will go far enough in fighting inequality

Tags: civil-rights-news, biden-policy-news

Ars Technica: Backdoored password manager stole data from as many as 29K enterprises - Compromised update mechanism for Passwordstate pushes malware that steals data.

Tags: cyber-security-news, tech-news

Ars Technica: Apple’s ransomware mess is the future of online extortion - Hackers want $50 million to not release schematics they stole from Apple supplier.

Tags: cyber-security-news, tech-news

Ars Technica: Apple’s AirDrop leaks users’ PII, and there’s not much they can do about it - Apple has known of the flaw since 2019 but has yet to acknowledge or fix it.

Tags: cyber-security-news, tech-news

'The amount of entropy in a phone number is so minimal that this cracking process is trivial since it takes milliseconds to look up a hash in a precomputed database containing results for all possible phone numbers in the world. While many email addresses have more entropy, they too can be cracked using the billions of email addresses that have appeared in database breaches over the past 20 years.'
'The researchers say they privately notified Apple of their findings in May 2019. A year and a half later, they presented Apple with "PrivateDrop," a reworked AirDrop they developed that uses private set intersection, a cryptographic technique that allows two parties to perform contact discovery process without disclosing vulnerable hashes. The implementation of PrivateDrop is publicly available on GitHub.'; 'As of this week, Apple has yet to indicate if it has plans to adopt PrivateDrop or employ some other way to fix the leakage. Apple representatives didn't respond to an email seeking comment for this post.'

Posted 25 April 2021

Great News! New York Times (5/5/21): The Biden administration says it will support lifting patent protections to help produce more vaccines globally.

Tags: biden-policy-news, vaccine-ip-news, covid-news

NewsClick (India) (25/4/21): At Centre’s Request, Twitter Removes over 50 Tweets Critical of Govt’s Handling of COVID-19 Crisis - Many of these tweets -- that are still visible to the Twitter users outside India -- seem to have used hashtags that call for resignation of the PM or have called second wave a #ModiMadeDisaster. [2]

Tags: big-tech-news, international-news, covid-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Rational National: (video) Ex-Cop Offends Tucker Carlson With Basic Facts

Tags: law-news, far-right-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Posted 24 April 2021

The Guardian (24/4/21): The world is desperate for more Covid vaccines – patents shouldn’t get in the way

Tags: vaccine-ip-news, international-news, covid-news

'Biolyse is a small pharmaceutical manufacturer in Canada with a simple proposition: provide a recipe for a coronavirus vaccine, and it will produce 20m doses for nations in the global south. It has approached AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, and even asked the Canadian government to help it with compulsory licensing – which would give it the authorisation to produce another company’s patented product for emergency use – but so far no one has taken up its offer.'
'Fulton says he has been in touch with other manufacturers who say they also have spare capacity – for instance, fellow Canadians Pnuvax and the Bangladeshi producer Incepta. He hopes to put together a consortium to strengthen their offer to industry.'
'This would mark a shift away from business as usual. The pharmaceutical industry has long relied on a very strict global intellectual property regime to ensure they are the sole suppliers of their most profitable drugs. For them, this is an existential issue that goes beyond the current crisis. The arguments against opening up the rights to make coronavirus vaccines are the same ones the industry has always used: that it would stifle innovation, and that transferring the knowhow to others would be too difficult or simply wouldn’t work.'
Once again, the 'stifle innovation' part of this so obviously wrong. The people who are actually doing the work, actually innovating - their income doesn't depend on profit! Only the capitalist leeches' income is correlated with profit, so the idea that reducing Big Pharma's profit (by opening up IP) would reduce it's innovation is categorically ridiculous. Not only this, but the funding for all of this came from the government. Paid for by taxpayers. Developed by scientists and engineers. And all the profit to the lazy class. InTeLlEcTuAl PrOpErTy rIgHtS HELL YEAH mmmm so good for innovation.

New York Times (24/4/21): C.E.O. Pay Remains Stratospheric, Even at Companies Battered by Pandemic - While millions of people struggled to make ends meet, many of the companies hit hardest in 2020 showered their executives with riches.

Tags: economic-news, capitalist-farce-news, labor-news, social-woes-news

Posted 23 April 2021

New York Times (23/4/21): Biden, the World Needs Your Help to End the Pandemic - The president should keep his promise on vaccine patents.

Tags: policy-news, vaccine-ip-news

The Intercept (23/4/21): Pharmaceutical Industry Dispatches Army of Lobbyists to Block Generic Covid-19 Vaccines - New lobbying disclosures show over 100 drug lobbyists working to defeat the IP waiver request at the WTO.

Tags: pharma-news, corruption-news, vaccine-ip-news

'Pharmaceutical lobbyists working against the proposal include Mike McKay, a key fundraiser for House Democrats, now working on retainer for Pfizer, as well as several former staff members to the U.S. Office of Trade Representative, which oversees negotiations with the WTO.; Several trade groups funded by pharmaceutical firms have also focused closely on defeating the generic proposal, new disclosures show. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable, and the International Intellectual Property Alliance, which all receive drug company money, have dispatched dozens of lobbyists to oppose the initiative.'

Posted 22 April 2021

The Nation: Platforms Like Canvas Play Fast and Loose With Students’ Data - Many universities have yet to reckon with the data justice implications of learning technologies—now, with online learning the norm, these practices deserve more scrutiny.

Tags: big-tech-news

Revolving Door Project: Wall Street Lawyer Leading Wall Street Oversight Unsettles Allies Of Gensler

Tags: corruption-news, fail-biden-policy-news

Democracy Now (22/4/21): U.S. Judge Orders Los Angeles to Shelter All Unhoused Residents of Skid Row

Tags: court-news

Posted 21 April 2021

Linus Tech Tips (21/4/21): (video) Words aren't enough. We need ACTION.

Tags: right-to-repair-news, tech-news

Law and Crime (1/4/21): Gov. Cuomo Accused of Illegally Using Campaign Resources to Promote Book Sales

Tags: bad-democrat-news, cuomo-news, corruption-news

Left Voice: Columbia Graduate Workers Organize to Vote No on Proposed Contract - Graduate student workers at Columbia will soon be voting on whether to accept a proposal for their first union contract. But the proposed contract sells out almost all of their demands.

Tags: labor-news

Law and Crime: Two Men, One of Whom Belongs to White Supremacist Gang, Attacked Black Man While Yelling Racial Slurs: Deputies

Tags: militant-far-right-news

Salon: 12 white megadonors contributed $1 of every $13 spent on US elections since Citizens United: report

Tags: corruption-news, economic-news, electoral-news

Common Dreams: Union Leader Presses Biden to Immediately Fire Trump Social Security Holdovers - "It is unacceptable that nearly 100 days into President Biden's first term, Social Security employees and the public we serve continue to remain under the thumb of Trump political appointees." (via u/alllie on r/labor)

Tags: union-news, biden-policy-news

The Intercept: CVS Health Quietly Made Massive Donation to Dark-Money Group Fighting Access to Care - The pharmacy and health insurance giant gave $5 million to Partnership for America’s Health Care Future.

Tags: pharma-news, healthcare-news, dark-money-news, corruption-news

Democracy Now (21/4/21):

Biden Administration Voices Support for Making Washington, D.C., a State
L.A. Plans to Launch Guaranteed Basic Income Program

Tags: biden-policy-news, legislation-news, politics-news

Posted 20 April 2021

Salon (20/5/21): CNN's Chris Cuomo secretly advised brother to remain defiant in face of sex harassment allegations - CNN called the star anchor's decision to participate in his brother's strategy meetings a "mistake"

Tags: bad-democrat-news, cuomo-news, corruption-news

Law and Crime: Former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin Found Guilty of Murdering George Floyd

Tags: court-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news

Revolving Door Project: In Latest Disappointment From Yellen, John Morton Is Treasury's New Climate Counselor

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, climate-change-news

'Since March 2020, Morton has been a Partner at “Pollination Group,” an investment firm that intends to navigate the climate transition by “design[ing] and invest[ing] in breakthrough ideas that deliver financial returns.” Pollination Group recently joined forces with HSBC Global Asset Management to create an asset management venture focused on “natural capital”. Its goal is to put a financial value on water, soil, and air in order to “protect” the environment. If that sounds both ridiculous and horrifying, that’s because it is.'
'It is no surprise, however, that Morton has such faith in the private sector capitalism which got us to this point. He is a serial revolver — moving back and forth between public service and private business upwards of four times. Considering his history using government expertise to assist private corporations and, in turn, remaining loyal to the private sector while in government, it is worrying but not shocking that he appears to not yet comprehend that a market-driven response to climate change dooms us to a non-response.'
'As a “very senior-level” official in the Treasury Department, Morton will undoubtedly have Yellen’s ear on matters such as SIFI designations. It is therefore extremely worrying that Morton appears to admire Brian Deese and thus BlackRock’s private-sector leadership.'

The American Prospect: Letter Carriers’ Union and Congressional Democrats Clash Over Louis DeJoy - House Democrats want the entire Postal Service board fired so their successors can remove DeJoy. The National Association of Letter Carriers privately opposed them.

Tags: union-news

'Sources inside the union expressed disappointment about their leadership’s actions. “I see the NALC as out of step with the public and progressive allies in Congress,” said one rank-and-file member, who preferred to remain anonymous because of their continued work within the union. “I would say most carriers want DeJoy gone, but there’s no platform for them to express that or organize it.”'
'This appeal to bipartisanship accompanies a postal reform bill that unions desperately hope will pass this year. House Oversight Committee chair Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) has issued a “discussion draft” that would integrate postal employees into Medicare and end the prefunding requirement for retiree health care, saving the agency billions of dollars. Postal unions have endorsed these changes; [union president] Rolando calls it “our top priority right now,” and asserts that a partisan fight would detract from it.'
See also: People's World: Unions back Biden’s Postal Board nominees (via u/alllie on r/labor)

The Intercept: The Bigger Short: Wall Street's Cooked Books Fueled the Financial Crisis in 2008. It's Happening Again.

Tags: economic-news, corruption-news

'In the mid-2000s, companies like Countrywide Financial Corp. issued so-called liar loans. Often without informing the borrowers themselves, Countrywide and other loan companies would claim that, say, a bartender was making $500,000 a year, allowing them to borrow enough money to buy a home that they couldn’t possibly afford. The originating banks then took the loans, which could never be paid back on the bartender’s real income, and securitized them — i.e., bundled them together into a trust, which was then sliced up into bonds called residential mortgage-backed securities. These securities behave similarly to regular bonds, coming with a quality rating and an interest rate that they pay out. These securities, sold to credulous investors such as pension funds, were the counterfeit paper of the period, remaining valuable as long as home prices rose, which allowed the bartender to refinance or sell the property when the payments got out of hand.'
'Now it may be happening again — this time not with residential mortgage-backed securities, based on loans for homes, but commercial mortgage-backed securities, or CMBS, based on loans for businesses. And this industrywide scheme is colliding with a collapse of the commercial real estate market amid the pandemic, which has business tenants across the country unable to make their payments.'
...
'“Overall,” they write, “actual net operating income falls short of underwritten income by 5% or more in 28% of loans.” This was just the average, however: Some originators — including an unusual company called Ladder Capital as well as the Swiss bank UBS, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley — were significantly worse, “having more than 35% of their loans exhibiting 5% or greater income overstatement.”'
...
'The money for the loans that make up LCCM 2017 LC26 [one example of byzantine CMBSs] did not come from Ladder. Rather, it borrowed the money on a short-term basis from Wells Fargo, and then one of its subsidiaries, Ladder Capital Finance LLC, loaned it to companies that wished to take out a mortgage to buy commercial property (or refinance an existing mortgage). It then packaged these 57 loans into the trust. But of the 57 loans, 23 of them, totaling $76.7 million, were made by Ladder Capital Finance LLC to another Ladder subsidiary in the real estate business, Ladder Capital Finance Holdings LLLP. In other words, contrary to the admonition to neither a lender nor a borrower be, Ladder was both in the same transaction.'
'That’s where Dollar General comes in. Because Ladder Capital is paying the trust a lower interest rate on its mortgages than it would be if the cash flow and income numbers had not been increased, its monthly loan services costs for its properties logically must be lower. And if that lower cost is then translated into a cheaper rent for the tenant — in this case Dollar General, though the logic would apply generally — that means the store’s overall costs would go down significantly, especially compared to other retailers operating in the same areas.; Rent is the largest cost for many retailers, particularly understaffed stores run by underpaid employees and stores with low-margin sales of low-priced consumer products.'
'Moreover, the spread of Dollar General stores and stores like it is widely understood to be bad for the health of communities where they’re located. They sell snacks, drinks, and canned foods — which makes regular supermarkets reluctant to open locations nearby — but limited or no produce or fruit, thereby creating food deserts. Communities across the U.S. have tried to stop the opening of dollar stores.'

Posted 19 April 2021

DC Report: The Hidden Parts of Biden’s Infrastructure Plan That Will Affect Everyone - Call It ‘The Infrastructure of Workplace Protection’—Beefing Up OSHA and Other Agencies Charged with Protecting Workers (via u/alllie on r/labor)

Tags: infrastructure-news, biden-policy-news, labor-news

New York Times: If You Care About Social Justice, You Have to Care About Zoning - The Biden administration is off to a good start on housing, but there is much more it could be doing.

Tags: civil-rights-news, biden-policy-news

'Economically discriminatory zoning policies — which say that you are not welcome in a community unless you can afford a single-family home, sometimes on a large plot of land — are not part of a distant, disgraceful past. In most American cities, zoning laws prohibit the construction of relatively affordable homes — duplexes, triplexes, quads and larger multifamily units — on three-quarters of residential land.'
'If race were the only factor driving exclusionary zoning, one would expect to see such policies most extensively promoted in communities where racial intolerance is highest, but in fact the most restrictive zoning is found in politically liberal cities, where racial views are more progressive. As Harvard’s Michael Sandel has noted, social psychologists have found that highly-educated elites “may denounce racism and sexism but are unapologetic about their negative attitudes toward the less educated.” Class discrimination helps explain why, despite a 25 percent decline in Black-white residential segregation since 1970, income segregation has more than doubled.'
'By addressing a problem common to America’s multiracial working class, reducing exclusionary barriers could also help promote Mr. Biden’s third big goal: national unity. Today, no two groups are more politically divided from one another than working-class whites and working-class people of color. For centuries, going back to Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676, right-wing politicians have successfully pitted these two groups against each other, but every once in a while, America breaks free of this grip, and lower-income and working-class people of all races come together and engage in what the Rev. William Barber II calls “fusion politics.”'

New York Times: Coal Miners Union Seeks Voice in Move to Renewable Energy: Live Updates

Tags: union-news, labor-news, energy-news, climate-change-news

Important to note that the leadership of this particular union, UMWA, veritably pissed-off striking mine workers in Alabama just this passed week by settling for a bad deal with the company. The miners overwhelmingly decided to keep striking (see strike's side panel on main page). While it is encouraging to hear that union leadership is good with this path, it must also ensure the particular path taken really is good for all of its rank-and-file, and not just a bad deal. Reporting by (NBC News via u/RedditGreenit on r/labor) covers some miners concerns - fearing that they'll either be left behind, or straight-up saying they don't want to be forced to change careers. As On Labor reports, this is a critical task to deal with the wedge the far-right has tried to put into labor.
See also: The American Prospect: What the Mine Workers Need to Emerge in Sunlight

Democracy Now (19/4/21):

Mass Shootings in Texas, Wisconsin Claim at Least 6 Lives in One Day
Biden Reverses Decision to Limit Refugee Intake to Just 15,000 After Backlash
Two Black Transgender Women Killed in NC; 10-Year-Old Activist Speaks Out Against Anti-Trans Bills

Tags: violence-news, immigrant-news, fail-biden-policy-news, lgbtq-news, politics-news

Jacobin: The Fight for Health Care for All Is Opening Up in the States - There’s no substitute for a national Medicare for All program. But with federal action shelved for now, states like Colorado and Washington are grappling with creating public health insurance alternatives in the face of industry opposition.

Tags: healthcare-news

'While such state-level public option programs are no replacement for a national Medicare for All program, many see them as tangible and constructive health care reform for budget-strapped states barred from deficit spending.'
'But the bill had a significant loophole that made the plans inaccessible: Hospitals successfully lobbied to ensure they were not compelled to accept the insurance, due to the public option’s lower reimbursement rates than private insurance. Cascade Care’s public option plans, as a result, were only available to Washingtonians in half of the state’s counties.'

Posted 18 April 2021

Left Voice (18/4/21): Lessons of the 1934 Textile Strike: Their Relevance for Today - In the 1930s, hundreds of thousands of U.S. textile workers took advantage of new legislation and joined unions in an industry that had been facing economic hardship even before the Great Depression. Exploitative working conditions in the South led to one of the largest labor strikes in U.S. history — one that suffered a bitter defeat. The story and its lessons deserve to be told.

Tags: labor-news, history-news, analysis-news

Jacobin: America’s Unions Are More Popular Than You Think - Despite labor’s recent defeat at Amazon in Alabama, the current moment holds out cautious hope for the movement — not least because of a solid majority in favor of trade unionism in American public opinion.

Tags: union-news, labor-news

Economic Policy Institute (4/8/21): The enormous impact of eroded collective bargaining on wages (view pdf report here)

Tags: labor-news, economic-news, analysis-news

Beau of the Fifth Column: (video) Let's talk about police training and change....

Tags: law-news, policy-news

'When they [the military] is notified of the problem, they address it - most times. You just had an incident where a white NCO and a black civilian on a sidewalk. The video that was posted to Twitter - by that night the commanding general of Jackson (of the installation, near where it happened), he's on Twitter. By close of business, the four star over [tradoc?] is in the loop publicly - changes will be made. Changes will be made. [But] when it comes to law enforcement, there is an unwillingness to accept the fact that they have been doing it wrong, and there is an unwillingness to accept the fact that the role in society's changed.

Just The Issues (video) The Ukraine Crisis Explained | Just the Issues (via u/JustTheIssues on r/labor)

Tags: international-news

Left Voice: Workers at Continental in Hesse, Germany carry out 24-hour strike

Tags: labor-news, international-news

On Labor: On Friday, a New York Times article noted the phenomenon that, although unemployment remains high, businesses are struggling to hire workers, which echoes a Business Insider piece published earlier that day, which claims that a “labor shortage” is “forcing” chains like McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Subway, and Dunkin’ to cut hours and close dining rooms. [Why?]

' Others, in response, point out that traditional economic thinking suggests that companies – especially those that made billions in profit in 2020 – should recruit more workers by raising wages, which most have not done, and that the supposed “labor shortage” may in reality simply reflect employers’ stubborn refusal to raise wages above subsidence levels rather than the laziness of workers, many of whom do not feel particularly inclined to work for less than $9 an hour while a deadly virus continues to ravage society. In any event, this debate remains live, and there are differing opinions on the subject.'

New York Times: Indianapolis Shooting Live Updates: Victims Are Remembered - At least four of the people killed were Sikh, putting the religious community on high alert. Vigils were planned around Indianapolis.

Tags: violence-news, militant-far-right-news

Jacobin: Australia’s Government Is Refusing to Support Myanmar’s Anti-Coup Movement - For Australia’s conservative government, keeping Myanmar open for businesses is more important than justice for massacred anti-coup protesters.

Tags: international-news, corruption-news

Jacobin: In New York City, Big Tech Is Bailing Out Big Real Estate

Tags: big-tech-news, economic-news

Law and Crime: Jeffrey Epstein’s Plea Deal Doesn’t Protect Ghislaine Maxwell, Judge Rules in Rejecting Dismissal Motions

Tags: epstein-news, court-news

New York Times: Swiss Billionaire Is Said to End His Bid for Tribune Publishing - Hansjörg Wyss was part of a serious offer for the major newspaper chain that could have prevented it from being sold to the hedge fund Alden Global Capital.

Tags: antitrust-news

The American Prospect (cr: Sludge): Companies Signing Voting Rights Statement Are Members of Anti–H.R. 1 Lobbying Group - The U.S. Chamber of Commerce warned U.S. senators against voting for the Democrats’ election reform bill.

Tags: voting-rights-news, corruption-news

'Microsoft, United Airlines, Deloitte, and Ford Motor Company signed the newspaper statement, but also have their executives on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors. Other companies that signed the statement and appear to be U.S. Chamber of Commerce members include Facebook, Target, General Motors, Johnson & Johnson, and Merck. These companies are either members of U.S. Chamber of Commerce business council or have recently disclosed paying the trade association dues.'
'Yesterday, the Chamber warned U.S. senators against voting for the Democrats’ voting rights and election reform bill, S. 1/H.R. 1. The Chamber told senators it “believes the ability of Americans to exercise their right to vote in accessible and secure elections and to be able to trust in a free and fair outcome is fundamental to who we are as a nation.” But it also said in its letter to senators that it is “deeply troubled by efforts at the state and federal level to enact election law changes on a partisan basis.”'

New York Times: Rosie Could Be a Riveter Only Because of a Care Economy. Where Is Ours? - The men and women who went to work and war during World War II were backed by a care economy. We need one too.

Tags: economic-news, labor-news

Mother Jones: Republicans, Saying the Quiet Part Loud, Discuss Plans for “Anglo-Saxon” Traditions Caucus [America First Caucus] - Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene, Paul Gosar, and Matt Gaetz lead the charge.; plans canceled [1]

Tags: far-right-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Counter Punch: Biden Aligning With the Wrong Side in India

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, international-news

Revolving Door Project: Neglected IRS Oversight Board A Crucial Component of Tax Justice

Tags: tax-news, policy-news, economic-news

The Intercept: Chemical Industry Lobbyist in Trump EPA Suppressed Evidence of Cancer Risk - The EPA inspector general found that Bill Wehrum, who ran the agency’s office of Air and Radiation, buried data about cancer risks from ethylene oxide pollution.

Tags: trump-news, corruption-news, industrial-failure-news

Democracy Now (16/4/21):

Court Vindicates Buffalo Cop Fired for Stopping a Fellow Officer from Choking Handcuffed Man
Pfizer Says COVID-19 Booster Vaccines Likely Needed Within a Year
Biden Admin Imposes Sanctions on Russia for Hacking, Election Interference, Annexation of Crimea

Tags: court-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, covid-news, biden-policy-news, politics-news

Jacobin: Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin to Headline Event for Anti-Union Group Fighting $15 Wage

Tags: bad-democrat-news, labor-news, legislation-news

Jacobin: Farmers Are Leading India’s Biggest Social Movement in a Generation - Ongoing protests by Indian farmers are the biggest challenge Narendra Modi’s right-wing government has faced since coming to power. We can get a clearer picture of this movement and its prospects for success by comparing it to the major struggles of India's past.

Tags: international-news, labor-news

Posted 16 April 2021

U.S. PIRG (16/4/21): Unanimous committee vote shows Medical Right to Repair is surging - Hospital support builds to 10-0, bipartisan vote in California committee

Tags: right-to-repair-news, healthcare-news

New York Times (17/5/21): Cuomo Set to Receive $5.1 Million from Pandemic Book Deal - The New York governor reported earning $3.1 million last year from his leadership memoir, with additional payments coming in the next two years.

Tags: bad-democrat-news, cuomo-news, corruption-news

Posted 16 April 2021

Revolving Door Project (16/4/21): The Brother Of A Pharma Lobbyist Advises Biden As He Weighs Vaccine IP Waiver [Steve Ricchetti - White House Counselor, co-founder with his brother of the lobbying firm "Ricchetti, Inc.", with ties to the healthcare and pharmaceuticals industries; has large influence as the U.S. PTO Director position (who usually briefs the President on IP issues) remains unfilled]

Tags: pharma-news, fail-biden-policy-news, corruption-news

Salon (16/4/21): Military's most elite units share QAnon talking points in private Facebook group: report - Secretary Austin ordered a "DOD-wide stand down" to discuss the problem of right-wing extremism in the military

Tags: defense-news, militant-far-right-news

The American Prospect: The Corporate Good Guys Who Are Really Bad Guys (Just About All of Them)

Tags: corruption-news

'The only corporations on this very long list that are unionized, so far as I can figure, are its two auto companies and its two airlines, American and United—all four of which went union a long time ago. Signatory Levi Strauss was unionized at various times in its long history, but today, virtually all of its product is produced offshore.; So, one thing that’s clear from this very long list is that corporate America’s commitment to democracy certainly doesn’t extend to its own businesses (and if GM, Ford, and the airlines had been founded during the past 40 years, they’d almost surely be non-union, too). By avoiding, evading, or just plain squashing any and all worker attempts to gain a voice in their companies’ affairs by forming a union, virtually all our major businesses have made clear that they’ll run themselves on the traditionally autocratic principles they’ve long exercised.'

Jacobin: Jim Clyburn Is Wrong About FDR and the New Deal

Tags: civil-rights-news, history-news, economic-news, labor-news

'In the current moment, this revisionist perspective on the New Deal has dovetailed with contemporary liberalism’s conviction that racial disparities can only be remedied by race-specific programs and that universalist social policy is inevitably exclusionary. But such a perspective occludes the radically egalitarian politics of many New Deal programs.'
'In 1932, when FDR challenged Herbert Hoover, this attachment to the party of Lincoln still held. Across the urban North, where the vast majority of black voters lived (black Southerners were largely disenfranchised), scholars estimate that Hoover received between two-thirds and three-quarters of the black vote. A mere four years later, the new GOP standard-bearer, Alf Landon, had a very strong civil rights record. He supported federal anti-lynching legislation, and his campaign directly targeted the discriminatory administration of many New Deal programs. Despite this, he received about 28 percent of the black vote. Black voters had finally, in the words of one black newspaper editor, “turn[ed] the picture of Abraham Lincoln to the wall.”; If the New Deal was, in Clyburn’s words, “not good for black people,” this transformation is unintelligible, if not perverse.
'The impact of this work was tremendous. During the 1940s, the black-white wage gap shrank more quickly than any decade since. For a long time, economists attributed this simply to wartime full employment and black migration from the low-wage South. But the FEPC was actually central to this progress. According to one scholar, about half of the progress in compressing racial wage differentials in this period was an effect of FEPC interventions.'
See also: New York Times: F.D.R. Didn’t Just Fix the Economy - He saved democracy itself.

Democracy Now (15/4/21):

Biden Vows to Pull Combat Troops from Afghanistan by 20th Anniversary of 9/11 Attacks
Minnesota Police Officer Kimberly Potter Charged with Manslaughter for Shooting Daunte Wright
Expert Witness for Derek Chauvin’s Defense Sued over Black Teen’s Death at Hands of Maryland Police
Southeast Asian Nations See New Surges After Successful Containment Efforts Early in Pandemic
Washington, D.C., Statehood Bill Advances to Full Vote Despite GOP Opposition
Ex-World Leaders and Nobel Laureates Call on Biden to Waive Patent Rules for COVID Vaccines

Tags: biden-policy-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, court-news, international-news, covid-news, legislation-news, politics-news, vaccine-ip-news

U.S. PIRG The costs of the digital divide are higher than ever. Repair can help.

Tags: right-to-repair-news, big-tech-news

'When it comes to education, millions of students had no choice but to hope their schools could provide them with computers for the 2020-2021 school year. However, supply shortages meant U.S. school districts received 5 million fewer laptops than their students needed last fall. While that number is startling to most of us, to people paying attention to the digital divide in recent years, it’s not. In 2018, well before the coronavirus pandemic, 10 million students didn’t have access to an adequate device for completing schoolwork at home.; Given the tens of millions of laptops consumers purchase each year, the devices we need to address these technological shortfalls likely already exist. However, manufacturer-imposed barriers to repair thwart the secondhand market for electronics.'
'But Mencimer couldn’t fix the laptops because Google would not allow him to access the software needed to reprogram a small chip on the motherboard. One tiny unfixable piece resulted in the school district having to use its limited budget to purchase new Chromebooks for its students.'
'Like the school districts in Mencimer’s testimony, consumers who can’t get their devices repaired are steered toward big box stores or manufacturers to replace them. According to a report published by U.S. PIRG’s Right to Repair campaign, this ongoing occurrence forces American households to spend an average of about $1,480 on new electronic products each year when they each could save approximately $330 annually through repair.'

Jacobin: President Biden Should Use Executive Action to Stop Amazon-Style Union-Busting [and/or other methods]

Tags: labor-news, policy-news

'Biden could instead try to fulfill his campaign promises by using his executive authority to put the rules in place. Such a unilateral move would come with risks; executive actions are more likely to be held up in a federal court system packed with conservative, anti-union judges. But short of passing the PRO Act, such executive actions, despite their legal vulnerabilities, might offer the best opportunity to deter Amazon and other employers’ efforts to block workers from unionizing.'
'During the 2020 campaign, Biden promised to reverse President Donald Trump’s repeal of the Obama-era persuader rule, which had been designed to address a loophole in a sixty-year-old labor statute requiring that any hires made by employers for the purpose of anti-union activities be reported to the Department of Labor within thirty days of the hire. The original law created an exemption if the purpose of the hire was merely to “give advice” rather than to actually engage in anti-union activity.'
'If a resurrected persuader rule survived legal challenges, Magner said that it would help specifically in making unions aware of when employers were planning anti-union pushes.; Employers “always have the first-strike capability,” he said. “They can call up these lawyers whenever they want, get all the advice they need, and then they’re prepared” for a future union drive, even if one is not currently on the horizon, Magner said.'
'The White House has come closer to following through on Biden’s other campaign promise to implement a labor neutrality rule, which would require that companies with federal contracts remain neutral and refrain from actively combating union organizing among their employees. This measure was included in Biden’s sweeping infrastructure proposal, the American Jobs Plan.'
'The federal government contracts with Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company’s cloud computing subsidiary, mostly through intelligence and national security agencies. AWS has been aggressively pursuing these federal contracts, which are sometimes worth billions of dollars — and a union neutrality rule for contractors could force companies like Amazon to choose between busting unions or getting those contracts.'
See also: Workers World: Demand Biden issue an executive order to implement the PRO Act

Behind the Bastards: (podcast) Part One: The Conspiracy to Begin All Conspiracies

Tags: analysis-news, far-right-news

This (and part two) provide a good overview of the origins of anti-semitism, the violence conspiracism has caused, and anti-semitic red flags that can be identified in far-right conspiracies like QAnon today.
See my post on conspiracies (inspired by this podcast) here

EFF: Congress, Don’t Let ISP Lobbyists Sabotage Fiber for All

Tags: big-tech-news, infrastructure-news

'Just like with every other innovation we have seen on the internet, if the capacity is delivered, someone comes up with ways to use it. And that multi-gigabit market is coming online, but it will start in China, where an estimated 57% of all multi-gigabit users will reside by 2023 under current projections. China has in fact been laying fiber optics nine times faster than the United States since 2013 and that is a problem for American competitiveness. If we are not building fiber networks everywhere soon to catch up in the next five years, the next Silicon Valley built around the gigabit era of broadband access will be in China and not here. It will also mean that next-generation applications and services will just be unusable by Americans stuck on upload throttled cable systems. The absence of a major fiber infrastructure investment by the government effectively means many of us will be stuck in the past while paying monopoly rents to cable.'
'But in the end, there is no way for those [Starlink] satellites to keep up with the expected increases in capacity that fiber infrastructure will yield nor are they as long-lasting an investment as each satellite needs to be replaced at a fairly frequent basis as new ones are launched while fiber will remain useful once laid for decades. While they will argue that they are a cheaper solution for rural Americans, the fact is the number of Americans that cannot feasibly get a fiber line is extremely small. Basically, if you can get an electrical line to a house, then you can get them a fiber line.'
'It [Starlink] should be understood as a lifeline when all other options are exhausted rather than the frontal solution by the government for ending the digital divide. Lastly, given the fact that the satellite constellation is meant to serve customers globally and not just in the United States, it makes no sense for the United States to subsidize a global infrastructure to enrich one private company. The investments need to be in domestic infrastructure.'
'But most importantly, national 5G coverage does not happen if you don’t have dense fiber networks everywhere. Any infrastructure plan that comes out of the government should avoid making 5G as part of its core focus given that it is the derivative benefit of fiber. You can have fiber without 5G, but you can’t have 5G without the fiber.'
'By today we know their opposition to community fiber is premised on keeping broadband prices exceedingly high. We know now that if you eliminate the profit motive in delivering fiber, there is almost no place in this country that can’t be connected to fiber.'
See also: Ars Technica: AT&T/Verizon workers’ union urges states to regulate ISPs as utilities (via u/alllie on r/labor)

Law and Crime: Biden Admin Moves Ahead with Trump-Era Arms Deal with the UAE—and Inherits a Lawsuit to Block It

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, trump-news

EFF: Forced Arbitration Thwarts Legal Challenge to AT&T’s Disclosure of Customer Location Data

Tags: big-tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

'Location data generated from our cell phones paint an incredibly detailed picture of our movements and private lives. Despite the sensitive nature of this data and a federal law prohibiting cellphone carriers from disclosing it, repeated unauthorized disclosures over the last several years show that carriers will sell this sensitive information to almost any willing buyer.'
'The legislative problem this case highlights is different: rather than writing a new law, Congress needs to amend an existing one—the Federal Arbitration Act. Arbitration was originally intended to allow large, sophisticated entities like corporations to avoid expensive legal fights. Today, however, it is used to prevent consumers, employees, and anyone with less bargaining power from having any meaningful redress in court. Congress can easily fix this injustice by prohibiting forced arbitration in one-sided contracts of adhesion, and it’s past time that they did so.'

Ars Technica (via Wired): 100 million more IoT devices are exposed—and they won’t be the last - Name:Wreck flaws in TCP/IP have global implications.

Tags: cyber-security-news, tech-news

Law and Crime: Legal Experts React to Unraveling of U.S. Intelligence Story About Russian Bounties on American Troops

Tags: politics-news, international-news

Labor Notes: Massachusetts Nurses Face Down For-Profit Health Care Giant Tenet in Daring Strike

Tags: healthcare-news, labor-news

'“St. V’s” is part of the Dallas-based Tenet Health—one of the largest and most profitable for-profit hospital corporations in the country. It is refusing to back down on the number one issue for nurses: safe staffing ratios.'
'On medical floors where patients need a lot of care, St. Vincent nurses are fighting for a four-patients-per-nurse cap, plus additional support staff. Nurses say this would make a huge difference in reducing burnout, improve patient care, and keep nurses from moving to nearby hospitals with better staffing.'
'St. Vincent’s administration hasn’t claimed it can’t afford to hire additional staff. It is reportedly paying replacement nurses twice the hourly rate of union nurses, and has installed new security cameras that overlook the picket line. The city of Worcester confirmed that Tenet is paying more than $30,000 a day to the Worcester police department for overtime security.'
'Not to mention that Tenet Healthcare has picked up $2.3 billion in federal stimulus funds, on top of its record earnings.'
'MNA Vice President Marie Ritacco, a member of the bargaining committee, is frank: “The bottom line is we have to impede their business and prevent them from making money. An open-ended strike is clearly much more of a problem for them. It gives us the most leverage at the table to win the demand.”'
'Tenet’s stock prices have doubled during the pandemic, but the company may be no match for the enthusiasm and organization that St. V’s nurses are bringing to this fight. “The feeling right now is very good and hopeful,” said Ritacco. “The power is obvious because the nurses know they are doing the right thing.”'
...
'The four largest new organizing wins at the National Labor Relations Board so far this year have been among health care workers, including 525 nurses at the Milford Regional Medical Center who voted to join the Massachusetts Nurses Association in February. “COVID magnified the weaknesses in the hospital,” Sara Burton, a Milford RN and union supporter told the MetroWest Daily News. “Nurses were not being listened to. We felt unprotected, unsafe.”'

OpenSecrets: Joint report: Lobbyists raked in COVID-19 contracts [cr: Center for Responsive Politics]

Tags: covid-news, dark-money-news, corruption-news

Jacobin: [Interview] The Kafkaesque Nightmare of Attorney Steven Donziger, a Literal Prisoner of the Chevron Corporation - When human rights lawyer Steven Donziger won a multibillion-dollar lawsuit against the oil giant Chevron, the company retaliated by setting out to destroy Donziger’s life. Now in his twentieth month of house arrest on the orders of a Chevron-linked judge, his Kafkaesque story is a window into the corrupt and corporate-captured US legal system.

'It was very clear that this was deliberately designed to lower production costs by polluting. So the catastrophe that we witnessed was really disturbing on a number of levels, but I think the thing that maybe most disturbed me was that it was designed to do this. It wasn’t an accident. Over time, experts began to call this the Amazon Chernobyl, and I think that by any objective metric it’s probably the worst oil-related contamination on earth. Chevron owns it. They’re refusing to take responsibility for it, and they’re refusing to pay the people they harmed compensation for the damage, even though that has been ordered by multiple courts.'
'So, ultimately, in my view, there’s a scheme led by Chevron and its law firm, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, supported by Judge Kaplan to weaponize the law in the United States to undermine the judgment of the Ecuadorian court that held Chevron liable. And they’re doing that by trying to destroy and target me, and try to criminalize my work. They’re doing that through the US justice system in a way that I believe is an egregious violation of human rights and basic decency.'
'This is a trial in name only. It’s actually an exercise by Chevron and Judge Kaplan to weaponize the law and try to criminalize me without a jury and without a neutral fact finder. So this is not a real trial to us. It’s more of an attempt by Kaplan at farce. Think about it: I’m being charged by a judge, not by a prosecutor; the prosecutor’s office refused to take the case; Kaplan appointed a private Chevron law firm — Seward & Kissel — to prosecute me in the name of the people, and my judge is a major member of the Federalist Society, which is a pro-corporate group to which Chevron itself is a major donor.'
'So my prosecutor has financial links to Chevron, my judge has financial links to Chevron, the charging judge, Judge Kaplan has investments in Chevron, and they’re denying me jury. So my fact finder is a judge who already locked me up for almost two years on a misdemeanor without hearing any of the evidence. She has totally prejudged the case. So the technical result of the trial on May 10 is pretty much preordained. And, if this trial happens, Judge Preska will convict me and then I’ll have an appeal, but it’s not going to trial as people understand it. There’s no real fact finder.'

Vox: (video) From spy to president: The rise of Vladimir Putin

Tags: international-news

World Socialist Web Site: Taiwan, semiconductor manufacture and the US conflict with China

Tags: international-news, economic-news, tech-news

'While the strategic and military importance of Taiwan in any conflict between the US and China is evident, not so obvious is the crucial role that the relatively small country of just 24 million people plays in the global economy through the manufacture of semiconductor chips. The mass production of computer chips is essential to everything from smart phones, laptops and vehicles to cutting-edge applications, such as artificial intelligence, supercomputers and quantum computing, that augur what some have termed the “fourth industrial revolution.”'
'One giant corporation—the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC)— accounts for about 55 percent of international chip production, but its dominance rises to 90 percent when it comes to the most advanced chips. US companies such as Apple and Qualcomm and their counterparts in Japan, Europe and other countries continue to design chips but have outsourced their production to TSMC fabrication facilities or “foundries.”'
'The Trump administration’s decision to cut off supplies of chips to the Chinese technology giant Huawei, which included pressure on TSMC to do the same, undoubtedly triggered shockwaves in Beijing. China imports all but 15 percent of its chips, especially of the most advanced chips. It spends more on imported semiconductors than oil. US economic warfare against Huawei will only spur Beijing to spend even more to build domestic capacity.'
'TSMC had a seat at the virtual table. It is already establishing a $12 billion chip foundry in Arizona and facilities in Japan, which is concerned about its own lack of domestic chip manufacture. However, the Arizona facility is being geared up to produce 5nm chips, which will already be dated when the new TSMC plant in southern Taiwan starts making 3nm chips in 2023.'

World Socialist Web Site: US, NATO step up threats against Russia, turning Black Sea region into a powder keg

Tags: international-news

In These Times: Pennsylvania Nurses Near Their Breaking Point

Tags: labor-news, healthcare-news

World Socialist Web Site: Frontier workers in Tampa, Florida face cuts to health care and retirement

Tags: labor-news

On Labor: On Monday, a coalition of 19 state attorneys general filed a joint brief to the Eighth Circuit urging the court to reject an effort by Tyson Foods to squelch two COVID-related health and safety lawsuits.

Tags: court-news, food-security-news, covid-news

Posted 15 April 2021

Rational National: (video) Conservative Pat Robertson Criticizes Police Over Recent Events

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news

Salon: Right-wing propaganda is annihilating the truth about Jan. 6 — Democrats must fight back - Fox News and the GOP are already reshaping the Capitol attack — Democrats must seize control of the narrative

Tags: militant-far-right-news

Rational National: (video) White Veteran Harasses Man For Walking While Black

Tags: civil-rights-news

See also: Law and Crime: ‘You’re in the Wrong Neighborhood’: White Soldier Arrested After Shoving Black Man on Video

Salon: First GMO mosquitoes to be released in the Florida Keys - EPA approved Oxitec’s mosquitoes for release this spring. Some scientists and locals want to halt the deployment

Tags: science-news

The Revolving Door Project: Biden Must Fire IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig

Tags: policy-news

The American Prospect: Corporate Merger Aims to Build a Water Privatization Giant - Veolia and Suez plan a $15.4 billion deal that would create the largest private water firm in the world.

Tags: privatization-news, corruption-news

'The Biden administration’s proposed multitrillion-dollar infrastructure package will give states and municipalities plentiful resources to rebuild their physical environments. But it also serves as a target for financiers, privatizers, and monopolists, who see a large pot of funding in front of them, ready for snatching. That’s one context for the $15.4 billion merger announced Monday between Suez and Veolia, two French firms that happen to be the largest water corporations in the world. The deal should signal to the White House that they must build guardrails into the infrastructure package, to prevent the funding from going into public treasuries and then immediately out to private companies.'
'In the U.S., Veolia operates water treatment plants and entire water systems, and virtually wherever high-profile problems have arisen, the company is not far behind. Veolia was contracted to assess water for the city of Flint, Michigan, and according to contemporaneous emails the company knew about the lead risk months before residents and informed city managers, but never made public its recommendations to find an alternative water supply. Veolia’s subsequent report identified Flint’s water as “safe,” and its one recommendation, adding a chemical called ferric chloride to address persistent discoloration, allegedly accelerated pipe corrosion and acidity in the water, according to a lawsuit from the Michigan attorney general. In Pittsburgh, a similar lead contamination crisis also coincided with Veolia’s entry, in this case to manage city water system operations. Veolia replaced an anti-corrosion chemical with a cheaper knockoff, and reduced the city’s water quality staff by half. Simultaneously, the company increased water rates by 20 percent over four years, and issued inaccurate bills that overcharged residents by as much as 600 percent, leading to unnecessary water shutoffs. As lead concentrations increased, Pittsburgh sued Veolia for malfeasance, but eventually dropped the case.'
'These case studies reflect the telltale signs of water privatization, where cities and states sell off their public water infrastructure to be managed or owned by for-profit companies, in exchange for a one-time and short-term cash infusion. The deals both introduce the profit motive into a basic human need and relinquish democratic control of how safely and affordably that need is met. They’re often justified as a source of up-front revenue for the municipality selling the concession. But the consequences are grave, and affect more and more of us: Today, one in six Americans must deal with a privatized water agency.'

CounterPunch: Right-Wing Attacks on Germany’s Press

Tags: far-right-news, international-news

'One of the best-known examples of this happened to a ZDF (of one Germany’s main public broadcaster). Its team was filming a Pegida rally in the former East-German city of Dresden. Shortly into the event, two demonstrators reported to the police that journalists had allegedly violated their rights. The police detained the camera team for 45 minutes, checked their IDs and prevented them from working. The incident became known as “Pegizei” a portmanteau term combining “Pegida” and “Polizei” to show how close Saxony’s police and Pegida are. Despite an apology by Saxony’s police chief, the episode still shows how former East-German police officers protect the radical right against the media. This incident was so bad that Pegizei now has its own Wikipeida entry.'

CounterPunch: The Biden Administration and the Chaotic Middle East

Tags: international-news

this article is pretty optimistic - sometimes that is good.

CounterPunch: What are Turkey and the US Up to in Afghanistan?

Tags: international-news

Posted 14 April 2021

Jacobin (14/4/21): Behind Closed Doors, Republican Plutocrats Conspiring Against Democracy Let the Mask Slip - A coalition of ultra-wealthy oligarchs and Republican leaders is conspiring to kill HR 1, the landmark voting rights bill that will be up for a vote this year. In a newly uncovered secret recording, the conspirators bemoan the unpopularity of their effort — even with rank-and-file conservatives — and underscore how conscious they are that their antidemocratic agenda depends on curtailing democracy.

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, voting-rights-news, corruption-news, electoral-news, legislation-news

Revolving Door Project (14/4/21): Big Pharma's Coils Around COVID-19 Vaccines Likely Protected By Raimondo, Zients, Ricchetti

Tags: vaccine-ip-news, pharma-news, corruption-news

'“The world deserves to know exactly who is responsible for the United States not yet supporting a waiver for intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccine production. We’d be shocked if it’s merely coincidence that almost all of the executive branch offices which impact intellectual property run through Gina Raimondo’s Commerce Department. (Commerce includes the Patent and Trademark Office, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the International Trade Administration.)”

Mother Jones (14/4/21): How America’s Ultrawealthy Won the Pandemic - The few made out like bandits. And the many? They got poorer and sicker.

Tags: corruption-news, economic-news, capitalist-farce-news

Speak Out Socialists: The Power of the Strike in Myanmar

Tags: labor-news, international-news

'In an attempt to stop the protests, the military has increased the level of violence, killing at least 275 people [now more than double that] and arresting thousands more. But while the violence may kill protesters, millions of workers have simply stopped working, bringing the entire nation and its economy to a grinding halt. Without even basic economic activity, the generals may not be able to rule, and may have to step down.'
See also: Jacobin: In the Face of Massacres, Workers in Myanmar Are Still Fighting the Coup [Interview with two leaders of the strikes]

The American Prospect: A New Deal Jobs Program Returns in Biden’s Infrastructure Plan - One provision of the American Jobs Plan would devote $10 billion to creating a Civilian Climate Corps.

Tags: biden-policy-news, economic-news, labor-news, legislation-news

'But the modest scope of the program has some climate activists concerned. “We absolutely don’t think $10 billion is enough,” said Sunrise Movement press secretary Ellen Sciales in a statement. “The plan Biden rolled out would create about 10,000-20,000 jobs in a Civilian Climate Corps … When FDR rolled out a similar Civilian Conservation Corps, it employed around 300,000 people per year, and that was back when the U.S. population was ~40% of its current size.” Mark Paul, an environmental economist with the New College of Florida, told Wired that, scaled to today’s population, the CCC should have “roughly 1.5 million workers at its largest size, and perhaps upwards of 9 million workers over the duration of the program.”'

Democracy Now (14/4/21):

Biden Announces U.S. Will Withdraw Its Troops from Afghanistan by September 11
Iran Ramps Up Uranium Enrichment Following Natanz Attack and Amid Talks on 2015 Nuclear Deal
White House Moves Forward with $23 Billion Weapons Sale to UAE [deal made under Trump]
[~40,000] Russian Troops Amass on Eastern Border as U.S. and NATO Pledge Support for Ukraine
U.S. Sends Unofficial Delegation to Taiwan as China Warns Against Foreign Intervention
More Countries Delay Use of J&J Vaccine After Blood Clot Reports
Wisconsin Declares State of Emergency as Firefighters Battle Hundreds of Wildfires
New York Becomes First State to Divest Pension Fund from Tar Sands Companies
Facebook Allowed Honduran Pres. Juan Orlando Hernández to Use Fake Accounts to Appear More Popular

Tags: international-news, politics-news, fail-biden-policy-news, covid-news, climate-change-news, corruption-news, big-tech-news

Jacobin: Socialists and Organized Labor Are Uniting to Change Pro-Boss Labor Laws

Tags: labor-news, socialist-news, legislation-news

Democracy Now (13/4/21):

European Union Officials Consider Use of Russian COVID-19 Vaccine
Biden Admin Strikes Deals with Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala to Further Militarize Borders
As Volcano Erupts, Only Vaccinated Residents of St. Vincent Allowed to Evacuate on Cruise Ships
Japan to Release 1 Million Metric Tons of Radioactive Water into Pacific Ocean
Fox News Won’t Punish Tucker Carlson over Racist “Great Replacement” Conspiracy Theory [this is beyond 'cancel culture' - replacement theory is one of the most onerous racist cancers out there, and Tucker straight-up defended it]
Domestic Terrorism Surged to Record Levels in 2020, Fueled by Far-Right Extremism

Tags: covid-news ,international-news, militant-far-right-news

World Socialist Web Site: US sends two warships into the Black Sea as Russia warns of “full-scale hostilities” with NATO-backed Ukraine

Tags: international-news

A little too generous to Putin for my taste - but still informative on a lot.

On Labor: What should the pandemic teach us about the future of unemployment insurance?

Tags: economic-news, labor-news

The American Prospect: ‘Problem Solvers’ Threaten Biden’s Infrastructure Plan Over Rich-Donor Tax Break - After raising millions from corporate executives through joint fundraising committees, Problem Solvers Caucus members are threatening to block Biden’s infrastructure package unless a tax cut for the rich gets added.

Tags: bad-democrat-news, legislation-news, corruption-news

'The maximum amount a campaign could accept from an individual donor last election cycle was $5,600, but joint fundraising committees can accept much larger checks from donors because they represent multiple campaigns. The Problem Solvers’ joint fundraising committees exploit the Supreme Court’s 2014 ruling in McCutcheon v. FEC, which struck down aggregate campaign contribution limits and allowed for big donors to fund multiple candidates with a single large check.'
'The Brookings Institution concluded that lifting the SALT cap would be more distributionally favorable to the rich than the 2017 Trump tax bill was. While the 2017 bill gave 21% of its benefits to the top 1% of earners, Brookings concluded that lifting the SALT cap would give 57% of its benefit to that group. The think tank calls the SALT deduction “a handout to the rich” and argues that it should be eliminated rather than expanded as Suozzi is proposing.'

The Intercept: Shontel Brown [running against Nina Turner] Approved Major Contract, Then Contractor Backed Her Campaign - Despite pledging to recuse herself from contracts involving her partner “as necessary,” the councilwoman-turned-House-candidate approved $17 million to Perk.

Tags: bad-democrat-news, electoral-news, corruption-news

On Labor: In his discretionary spending request, President Joe Biden has proposed spending $14.2 billion on the U.S. Labor Department for the 2022 fiscal year—a 14% increase in the agency’s current annual budget, subject to Congressional approval.

Tags: biden-policy-news, labor-news

The Intercept: Israel May Have Destroyed Iranian Centrifuges Simply by Cutting Power - The details of the blackout at Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility are scattered — but intriguing.

Tags: international-news

CounterPunch: New Revelations on Germ Warfare: It’s Time for a Reckoning with Our History from the Korean War

Tags: history-news

CounterPunch: South Korea’s Rural Basic Income Experiment Scheduled for Second Half of 2021

Tags: economic-news, international-news

The Harvard Crimson: ‘Our Success or Failure Is Tied Together’: Grad Student Union Activism Picks Up in Biden Era (via u/RedditGreenit on r/labor)

Tags: labor-news

CounterPunch: Why Republicans are Betting the Farm on Attacking Transgender People

Tags: lgbtq-news, gop-shenanigans-news

'Whether the GOP wins or loses on this issue in the nation’s highest court is almost beside the point because the party’s goal is to distract its anxious base from the fact that their leaders do little to nothing about pervasive problems around inequality and depressed wages, a stagnant job market and the ever-rising cost of living.'

Speak Out Socialists: Florida Waste-Water Crisis: Capitalism “Solving” Problems That Shouldn’t Exist

Tags: industrial-failure-news, climate-change-news

KHN: Biden Seeks $400 Billion to Buttress Long-Term Care. A Look at What’s at Stake.

Tags: healthcare-news, biden-policy-news

The Intercept: Sen. Mark Kelly Is Emerging as an Obstacle to the PRO Act - Sen. Angus King, meanwhile, has been “inundated” by supporters and opponents of the sweeping labor law reform.

Tags: bad-democrat-news, labor-news, legislation-news

Posted 13 April 2021

Liberation News (3/4/21): Chaos of capitalist production: 15 million vaccine doses ruined

Tags: industrial-failure-news, capitalist-farce-news

'Subcontracting is common in government-funded projects. Because the larger corporation and the subcontracted firm each have to make a profit, the public ends up paying a high price not only in terms of dollars, but also in terms of quality. This is the anarchy of capitalist production, where many different and parallel projects are conducted when what is really needed is a single focused effort.; The specific problem that resulted in the ruin of 15 million vaccine doses was the consequence of one contractor handling two different vaccines at the same facility. Ingredients from one vaccine were mixed with ingredients from the other, wasting time and a conservatively estimated $150 million.'

'The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has known about problems at the Baltimore Emergent plant since before the company was contracted to produce COVID-19 vaccines. Most of the deficiencies cited in FDA investigation reports from 2020 indicate the lack of rigor that capitalism incentivizes with its “race to the bottom” profit motive: lax safety practices, missing documentation, and little-to-no training for workers in a facility that allegedly specializes in manufacturing life-saving medicines! This is “efficiency” of the capitalist type: Companies spend as little as possible in the sphere of production, and safety is secondary to profitability.'

'But how was Emergent even allowed to produce crucially needed vaccines when the government already knew about these problems? The individual in charge of the matter who awarded Emergent the “Warp Speed” contract happens to have worked for Emergent in the past.'

ProPublica (13/4/21): Lessons From Bessemer: What Amazon’s Union Defeat Means for the American Labor Movement

Tags: history-news, labor-news, analysis-news

'But the work had become safer and far better paid by the 1950s for one basic reason: in 1941, employees had voted to join the union. The unionization effort took half a century and had been met with fierce resistance from mill management, which had armed company police with several boxcars’ worth of submachine guns, rifles, shotguns and revolvers, and deployed an endless stream of anti-union messaging. “Outsiders have not been necessary in the past,” read one company manifesto. “Nothing has happened to make them necessary now.”'

...

'He wondered whether a better approach than union elections at warehouses was, for now, to focus on strikes and other work disruptions at key points in the Amazon supply chain, not unlike what autoworkers had pulled off in sit-down strikes in Atlanta, Cleveland and Flint, Michigan, in 1936 and 1937, which led to the United Auto Workers’ first contracts with General Motors.' [see next article for rebuttal to this suggestion]

The Guardian (13/5/21): Americans are more pro-union – and anti-big business – than at any time in decades - Support for organized labor has even gone up among Republican voters - perhaps Trump’s faux-populism had an unintended effect

Tags: labor-news, analysis-news, union-news

Democracy Now (12/4/21):

Michigan Remains Major COVID Hot Spot But Refrains from Imposing New Lockdown
Iran Accuses Israel of “Nuclear Terrorism” over Sabotage at Natanz Nuclear Plant
Conservative Ex-Banker Defeats Leftist Economist in Ecuadorian Presidential Election
16,000 Evacuated as Volcano Erupts in St. Vincent and the Grenadines
White House Establishes Commission to Study Supreme Court Reforms
Texas Man Who Joined January 6 Capitol Riots Charged with Plot to Blow Up Data Center
Mark Colville Gets 21-Month Prison Term over Anti-Nuclear Action at Kings Bay Submarine Base

Tags: covid-news, international-news, militant-far-right-news, protest-news

India Times: How corporatisation ate up America’s small farms - Times of India (via Labor Notes)

Tags: food-security-news, antitrust-news, corruption-news

'While the [Reagan, and later Clinton] administration dismantled Great Depression-era mechanisms for family farms like price support, grain-reserve loans, and parity pricing (much like MSP in India), a global recession set in. Farmers woke up one morning to find farm-gate prices had collapsed, land-values were decimated and interest rates had risen sharply. Shorn of government support, a quarter-million small farms closed, over a million generational farmers were displaced, and deserted towns began dotting the rural landscape.
What happened to the land? Unsurprisingly, Big Ag gobbled it up while landless farmers started toiling under onerous contract farming terms. The giant corporations used their financial clout to control the market, depress farm-gate prices, buy granaries and infrastructure for a song, and raise input costs to a point where small farms became unsustainable.'
'When a share-cropper missed out on one loan payment, a large machinery company remotely shut off his tractor in the middle of a sowing season.'
'Nearly 75% of all US poultry farmers today live below the poverty line while Big Ag controls everything from “farm to fork” and from seeds to grocery stores. Four large firms control at least two-thirds of the seed market, 80% of chemical fertiliser, grain trading, dairy production, meat supply, and almost 100% of farm machinery. Meanwhile, government money flows to the corporations in the form of write-offs, market facilitation and crop insurance subsidies. Over 70% of the $50 billion in US government subsidies goes to the top 20% of farms.'
'Did monopoly power reduce food prices? In the past 40 years, average food prices in America have shot up by more than 200%, while the earnings of the bottom 90% have increased by less than 25%. Joe Maxwell, who leads a campaign group called Family Farm Action, told us about entrenched rural poverty, child hunger, and food-insecure homes. Not what you’d expect to hear about the most powerful nation.'

Labor Notes: How a Janitors Union in San Francisco Got Over Its Fear and Struck

Tags: labor-news

World Socialist Web Site: Homelessness crisis rises across the US Midwest

Tags: economic-news

World Socialist Web Site: As details of the sellout deal emerge, Oregon nurses union cynically claims “historic” victory in Bend medical technicians strike

Tags: union-news, labor-news

' The sellout deal was worked out between St. Charles and the OFNHP over the weekend of March 27-28. Significantly, the Bend Bulletin reported on March 29 that the federal mediator requested that neither side discuss the details of the agreement until after the members had voted on the contract, which would happen on March 31. This was a transparent attempt to keep workers in the dark over terms of the sellout.'
'Lessons must be drawn. As the WSWS warned in its analysis of the struggle of the Bend health care workers, victory requires that workers establish an independent rank-and-file committee to take the control of the contract fight out of the hands of the union.'

World Socialist Web Site: Why are the unions isolating the most important health care strike in America?

Tags: union-news, labor-news, healthcare-news

'Nurses taking a stand against these horrific conditions have been met with callousness by hospital management, which has failed to even respond to their demands. St. Vincent is owned by Tenet Healthcare, the Dallas, Texas-based health care conglomerate, which has so far spent at least $22 million to hire strikebreaking replacement nurses. The hospital has installed two surveillance towers to monitor strikers and are paying the Worcester Police Department $30,000 a day to keep hospital entrances open.'
'But despite this well-financed and coordinated campaign of intimidation and strikebreaking by hospital management, striking nurses are not receiving strike pay from the Massachusetts Nurses Association union (MNA). Strikers are being forced to demonstrate financial need to access the union’s ad hoc relief fund for assistance. The union has set up a Venmo/PayPal fund to receive private donations that the MNA matches dollar for dollar, which has raised a little more than $70,000 in donations. If matched, the approximately $140,000 will make a pitiful dent in the millions owed to the hundreds of nurses who soon will have been without a paycheck for a month.'

World Socialist Web Site: Defying strike vote, UAW forces Volvo Truck workers to remain on job in Virginia

Tags: labor-news

'Although Volvo Heavy Duty truck workers in southwestern Virginia voted by 96.8 percent to authorize strike action if a new agreement was not reached by time their five-year contract expired on March 15, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union has kept workers on the job. Defying the strike vote, the UAW signed a 30-day contract extension, which expires on April 16, giving the company ample time to prepare for a strike.'
'Mack and Volvo Truck of North America (VTNA) are owned by the Swedish-based multi-national Volvo AB, which has over 105,000 employees at 18 production facilities worldwide. In 2020, revenues fell by 22 percent due to the economic slowdown caused by the pandemic, but the company made $3.4 billion in profit with an 8.4 percent profit margin. This was largely due to cost-cutting measures, including the elimination of 7,791 jobs worldwide, including 450 white-collar positions in the US.'

Ayanna Pressley Congresswoman's Official Page: Reps. Pressley, Courtney, McGovern and Clark Secure COBRA Subsidies for Striking Workers Under American Rescue Plan

Tags: legislation-news, labor-news, politics-news

Management Science: Low-Wage Workers and the Enforceability of Noncompete Agreements [NCAs] {Literature} (via u/snooshoe on r/labor)

Tags: economic-news, corruption-news, labor-news

This is pay-walled, but the abstract basically outlines how banning NCAs helps workers

Posted 12 April 2021

Salon (12/4/21): Apple [and others] finally admits its products are difficult to repair - Major tech brands must now give their smartphones and laptops "repairability" scores in France

Tags: big-tech-news, international-news, right-to-repair-news

'Nathan Proctor, who heads the U.S. Public Research Interest Group's right to repair campaign, called Samsung's release of a smartphone repair manual "unprecedented" for a major cell phone maker. Tech industry lobbyists contesting consumers' right to repair their devices, Proctor says, will often claim that making technical documentation public means giving up proprietary company information.
"These claims are totally debunked — shown to be ridiculous — by the fact that as soon as there was a reason to publish these documents, namely to improve the repairability score, concerns over the sensitivity vanished and the materials were online," he said.'

New Republic (12/4/21): How Bill Gates Impeded Global Access to Covid Vaccines - Through his hallowed foundation, the world’s de facto public health czar has been a stalwart defender of monopoly medicine.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, covid-news, vaccine-ip-news

The American Prospect (12/4/21): Labor After Bessemer - To halt unions’ seemingly endless losing streak, they need a law that lets workers chart their own course.

Tags: policy-news, labor-news, union-news

Payday Report (12/4/21): RWDSU Say High Turnover Forced Them to Call Election Without Firm Support

Tags: labor-news, union-news

Democracy Now (12/4/21):“We Need to Give the Workers a Fair Shot”: Jane McAlevey on What Went Wrong in Amazon Union Vote

Tags: labor-news, analysis-news

Jacobin (12/4/21): A New Union of Musicians Is Taking on Spotify

Tags: culture-news, labor-news, tech-news

ProPublica: When Births Go Horribly Wrong, Florida Protects Doctors and Forces Families to Pay the Price - A Florida program designed to reduce doctors’ malpractice bills strips families of their right to sue, offering instead a one-time payment and promises to cover medical expenses. Some parents report a bureaucratic nightmare that’s anything but supportive.

Tags: healthcare-news

Jacobin: Amazon Can Only Claim Their Jobs Are Decent Because American Work Has Gotten So Miserable

Tags: labor-news, economic-news

Jacobin: Daniel Hale Blew the Whistle on the US’s Illegal Drone Program. He’s a Hero, Not a Criminal. - Former intelligence analyst Daniel Hale is being prosecuted for blowing the whistle on America’s drone program. It’s the latest in the topsy-turvy world of national security whistleblowers, who reveal illegal and immoral conduct by the US military yet face prison time as if they committed the real crimes.

Tags: dark-security-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Posted 11 April 2021

In These Times: The Movement to End At-Will Employment Is Getting Serious: Unlike much of the world, the U.S. doesn’t ensure “just cause” employment. This coalition in Illinois hopes to change that.

Tags: labor-news

Mother Jones: JPMorgan Secretly Emailed the Trump Administration About Bailing Out the Oil Industry

Tags: big-oil-news, trump-news, corruption-news

Revolving Door Project: Why You Should Care Who Leads the Patent and Trademark Office

Tags: policy-news, ip-news

Law and Crime: Last Year, Matt Gaetz Encouraged Trump to Pardon Himself. Now Trump Is Denying that Gaetz Ever Asked for a Pardon of His Own.

Tags: trump-news, gop-shenanigans-news

U.S. PIRG Toxic waste cleanups are lagging. We need polluters to pay to clean up their messes.

Tags: industrial-failure-news, climate-change-news

U.S. PIRG New survey: [all surveyed] 43 major appliance companies void warranties for independent repair, despite consumer protection laws

Tags: right-to-repair-news

The American Prospect: The Biden Administration Squares Off With Congressional Progressives in Louisiana; Troy Carter and Karen Carter Peterson, on opposite wings of the party on several issues, run for a House seat in New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

Tags: electoral-news, fail-biden-policy-news

The American Prospect: The Devil in the Tax Details: Biden’s international tax reform plan is progressive. Sen. Ron Wyden’s variation is far more pro-corporate.

Tags: tax-news, bad-democrat-news, corruption-news

CounterPunch: The US War on Drugs is Driving the Displacement Crisis

Tags: analysis-news, law-news, immigrant-news

'Drug-related governmental violence and corruption within the U.S. is minimal. We have offloaded most of the costs of the drug war onto the producer and transit countries, especially Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. We have used foreign aid and military assistance as leverage to force them to man the front lines of our War on Drugs regardless of the resulting corruption of their own politicians, police, and military. (By contrast, Uruguay, which does not rely on U.S. foreign aid, could implement its own, more liberal drug policies.)'

CounterPunch: Why the U.S. Shouldn’t Play Games With Cyberwarfare as Its Power Declines

Tags: cyber-security-news, defense-news

Posted 10 April 2021

ProPublica: The Broken Front Line: As the winter’s surge of coronavirus cases overwhelmed Los Angeles hospitals, EMTs like Michael Diaz were forced to take previously unthinkable measures. What lasting impact will the pandemic have on America’s first responders?

Tags: healthcare-news, labor-news

'In Los Angeles County, as in many parts of the U.S., for-profit companies operate the ambulance system. The contract for the north part of LA is held by American Medical Response, the largest ambulance company in the nation. Along with paramedics from the fire department, EMTs employed by American Medical Response handle all of the emergency medical calls in this “exclusive operating area,” a roughly 1,500-square-mile dominion that includes the cities of Palmdale and Lancaster, a smattering of quarries and aerospace factories, and swaths of the Mojave desert.
Spending as little as possible is crucial for all parties involved. The government, which pays for the majority of ambulance trips in many parts of the country, wants to save money. And AMR, of course, makes more if it keeps costs down. Diaz is particularly attuned to this dynamic: He represents around 350 AMR employees as president of an EMT union’s local.'
'The majority of people who call 911 do so for non-life-threatening reasons. Nevertheless, EMTs and paramedics have two options at each scene: leave the patient where they are or take them to the ER — and companies can only charge patients when they do the latter. A recent study of the 911 system by the medical directors of the LAFD noted that this business model “creates a perverse incentive in low-acuity cases (and pandemics) to take all patients to a high-cost, inefficient site” — the hospital — “where one might have to wait hours to be seen and possibly even be exposed to others who are sicker.”'

Liberation News: Arapahoe County [Colorado] DA withdraws dozens of charges against peaceful protest leaders [protesting murder of Elijah McClain] [still keeping many charges open though]

Tags: protest-news, law-news

Democracy Now (9/4/21): Johnson & Johnson to Slash Deliveries of COVID-19 Vaccine After Factory Error

Tags: covid-news

Democracy Now (8/4/21): U.S. COVID-19 Cases and Hospitalizations Rise, Driven by Young People

Tags: covid-news

Democracy Now (7/4/21):

Multiple Personnel Suspended, Under Investigation at Fort Sill After Sexual Assault Allegation
NYT: Matt Gaetz Sought Blanket Pardons from Former President Trump
CO2 Surpasses 420 Parts Per Million for First Time

Tags: internal-military-news, gop-shenanigans-news, climate-change-news

Democracy Now (6/4/21):

Florida Expands COVID-19 Vaccine Eligibility to 16+ as Racial Disparities in Vaccinations Persist
Benjamin Netanyahu Gets First Shot at Forming New Israeli Government as Corruption Trial Opens
Sen. Manchin Won’t Back White House Bid to Partially Roll Back Trump-Era Corporate Tax Breaks

Tags: covid-news, civil-rights-news, international-news, bad-democrat-news, tax-news

Jacobin: The Chicago Teachers Union Has Defeated a Key Anti-Union State Law

Tags: union-news, labor-news

Jacobin: The End of Joe Biden’s Student Debt Prison May Be in Sight

Tags: analysis-news

Jacobin: The 21st-Century Road to Serfdom Runs Through Silicon Valley; The danger posed by California’s Proposition 22, the tech-backed ballot measure that dismantles existing labor protections for gig workers, isn’t just about low wages and poor working conditions. It signals the creation of an entirely new kind of servant class.

Tags: big-tech-news, labor-news, legislation-news

Jacobin: Under Capitalism, the Deck Is Always Stacked Against Unionizing at Companies Like Amazon

Tags: labor-news

See also: Jacobin: New York Times Headline Writers Declare Amazon Union Vote Free and Fair
See also: Vice: Amazon Has Enough Votes to Bust Bessemer Union
See also: Jacobin: Amazon Waged a Brutal Anti-Union Campaign. Unsurprisingly, They Won.

Posted 9 April 2021

The Nation (9/4/21): Blowout in Bessemer: A Postmortem on the Amazon Campaign; The warning signs of defeat were everywhere. (via u/Tuenne on r/labor) (Jane McAlevey)

Tags: labor-news, analysis-news, union-news

Amazon is not innocent here (see busting-labor-news), but we shouldn't be surprised it pulled all of the stops to union-bust. RWDSU made mistakes, regardless, what is done is done. To its credit, unionizing efforts have started across the nation in its wake - hopefully they are sustained. The following is a brief summary of the issues in the unionization effort identified in the article:

Inaccurate list of workers - initially RWDSU thought Bessemer warehouse had 1,500 workers, when the number was really around 5,800
simply taking 'yes' votes to 'should you have the right to vote on a union or not' as a 'yes' to 'I want a union'
Poor handling about conversations about dues; by defaulting to 'this is a right to work state, so you don't have to pay dues' is missing the point
Holding meetings outside company gates, rather than at people's homes, social distance respecting - it's uncomfortable and risky to talk to organizers in view of the boss
Not holding structure tests, and posting majority public structure tests once it gets to that point; there is nothing unique about any work circumstance that warrants avoiding these; workers need to see support amongst their fellow coworkers, not NFL players or even Bernie Sanders, and this is what structure tests show
Not enough effort to contact local support, such as local faith leaders, who said they weren't contacted until February
As for the media, less hype on the particular unionization once it became clear it was flawed, and more on the PRO act - making unionization less obstructed would be an enormous boost to workers
Reported by ProPublica (see below), a former union organizer suggested first focusing on strikes and work disruptions at critical supply chain points, to build up to unionization
In this Left Voice article (17/4/21), author Tatiana Cozzarelli notes another issue is that union coziness with the Democratic Party weakens its ability to act 'against the system' - it must appeal to the politicians more than the working class, and that fundamentally weakens it. Along with all of the solidarity rallies, this results in a phenomena of 'laborism without labor'. Local intense worker action is fundamental. While the Democratic Party is better than the GOP, the past few decades have shown that union-party ties only impede down worker power.

Payday Report (9/4/21): Flawed Approach Sunk Amazon Union Drive, But Birthed National Movement

Tags: labor-news

'In our interviews with workers, we discovered most workers held similar views to Beringer. It wasn’t that they hated unions, who were heavily against them, but that they didn’t know much about unions and didn’t feel they could trust them.'

...

'RWDSU had only started its campaign last June when outrage over unsafe working conditions during COVID was raw. While they had an outpouring of initial momentum and interest, they never developed a strong organizing committee that took the time to build trust through shop-floor action and organizing against the boss.

Instead, they rushed a union election or did what is known in union organizing as “hot shopping,” where union organizers hope to take advantage of an outburst of anger in a facility over things such as poor COVID working conditions to force and win and a quick union election.'

...

'Muhammad said that one of the flaws of the RWDSU’s approach was that they did not try to build a national movement and work with other unions to try to target multiple Amazon facilities across the country at the same time.'

In These Times (9/4/21): The Message from the Amazon Union Defeat in Alabama Is Clear: Keep Organizing

Tags: labor-news

Posted 8 April 2021

The Intercept (8/4/21): Republicans Are Poised to Gerrymander Their Way Back to the Majority - But only if Democrats stand aside and let them.

Tags: voting-rights-news, gop-shenanigans-news, bad-democrat-news, legislation-news, electoral-news

"Republicans’ ability to simply redraw their way into the majority comes partly as a function of their overperformance in 2020. Democrats had expected to expand their 36-seat majority, but instead they now hold just 222 seats — or they will once all the vacancies are filled — meaning that they can only lose four and hold on to a bare 218 majority.

A precise number is impossible to land on, but if gerrymandering remains legal, the best estimates suggest that if the 2020 margin remained constant in 2022, Democrats would lose at least 15 to 20 seats. In 2012, the last midterm after a census, Democrats won more than 51 percent of the House vote, yet Republicans held on to the lower chamber comfortably."

Left Voice (8/4/21): Amazon Bullied and Bribed Their Way to Anti-Union Votes, But It’s Not Over Yet

Tags: busting-labor-news

In These Times: What's Really Behind the Opposition to a $15 Minimum Wage

Tags: labor-news, economic-news, corruption-news

'On March 5, the Senate had another opportunity to lift millions out of poverty, this time by raising the minimum wage to $15. But 50 Republicans, seven Democrats and an Independent voted against the bill sponsored by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I‑Vt.). In doing so, they denied a raise to the 32 million workers — about 21% of the workforce — including 31% of Black workers, 26% percent of Hispanic workers and 20% of white workers. That number includes the 1.1 million Americans who earn $7.25 or less, and the approximately 20.6 million who earn a “near-minimum” wage of up to $10.10, according to the Pew Research Center.'

Revolving Door Project: Janet Yellen's Blind Spot On Regulation

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, economic-news

Revolving Door Project: Financial Disclosures Reveal Fossil Fuel Industry’s Pipeline To The White House

Tags: big-oil-news, fail-biden-policy-news, corruption-news

U.S. PIRG: Statement: Consumers need to go on defense after Facebook data breach

Tags: cyber-security-news

Alphabet Workers Union: (video) AWU stands with data center workers (via u/jms1225 on r/labor)

Tags: labor-news

CounterPunch: Tangled Up In Blue: Lessons for Police Reform?

Tags: law-news, policy-news

CounterPunch: Global Billionaire Wealth Surges $4 Trillion Over Pandemic, While the Cost of Vaccinating the World is Estimated at $141.2 Billion

Tags: corruption-news, capitalist-farce-news, covid-news

CounterPunch: The Liberal Contempt for Martin Luther King’s Final Year

Tags: history-news

ProPublica: I Received Tips to Look Into How a Hospital Treated Premature Babies. Getting Data Was Nearly Impossible.

Tags: healthcare-news

The Intercept: Pipeline Company Issues Broad Subpoena to News Site That Covered Protests Against It: “This subpoena is outrageous and strikes at the heart of the First Amendment. It should be thrown out immediately.”

Tags: big-oil-news, protest-news

Democracy Now (5/4/21): Florida Wastewater Pond on Brink of Catastrophic Collapse

Tags: industrial-failure-news

See also: Workers World: Piney Point reservoir — a disaster waiting to happen

Jacobin: Former Bolivian VP Álvaro García Linera on How Socialists Can Win

Tags: socialist-news, international-news

Posted 7 April 2021

CounterPunch (7/5/21): Biden’s Big Steps on TRIPS: Getting the World Vaccinated

Tags: biden-policy-news, covid-news, international-news, vaccine-ip-news

Posted 5 April 2021

Jacobin: Corporations Like McDonald’s Don’t Believe Their Own Anti–Minimum Wage Talking Points

Tags: capitalist-farce-news

Jacobin: LA Teachers Won a Safe Schools Reopening by Organizing

Tags: labor-news

On Labor (3/24/21): The United States Senate voted 68 to 29 on Monday to confirm Marty Walsh, former Mayor of Boston and union leader, as the Secretary of Labor.

Tags: labor-news, biden-policy-news

'As a reminder, the three pending rulemakings on the aforementioned topics that are front of mind for labor advocates include the Department of Labor’s proposed withdrawal from the Trump Administration’s rule that made it easier for businesses to classify workers as independent contractors (rather than employees), rescinding of a 2020 rule that would have limited scenarios in which joint employers can share liability for wage violations, and delayed implementation of a finalized regulation that would give employers permission to pay tipped workers a lower minimum wage of $2.13 per hour for time spent on tasks that don’t generate tips.'

On Labor (3/28/21): However, as Alex Press noted in TNR, the problem is that these concerns are simply unfounded: unlike California’s AB5, which expanded employment status for many freelancers for the purpose of employment laws including wage and hour laws and other protections, the PRO Act only uses the so-called ABC test to determine employee status for the purpose of protecting freelancers’ rights under the NLRA to engage in concerted activity and bargain collectively. Yet as Press noted, ideological opponents of the PRO Act have seized on the widespread confusion over the PRO Act’s impact on freelancers to sow division among sets of workers, which must be dispelled before it damages the prospects of the PRO Act in Congress.

Tags: labor-news, legislation-news

On Labor (3/30/21): The Center for American Progress has published a new report advocating for the elimination of tipped minimum and other subminimum wages in favor of setting a single minimum wage. The report finds that workers and businesses in states that have eliminated tipped minimums are doing as well or better than states that have maintained tipped minimums.

Tags: labor-news, economic-news

On Labor (3/31/21): [O]n Monday the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report that found that the NLRB was drastically under-staffed and under-resourced.

Tags: labor-news, law-news

Specifically, the report found that between 2010 and 2019 NLRB staff overall decreased 26% and that staff deductions were particularly severe in regional offices. The report also found that during this time period NLRB appropriations decreased by about 17%, translating into a $46 million difference in funding. In a statement, the new NLRB Chairman Lauren McFerran called the report’s findings “alarming to anyone that cares about the mission of the NLRB.” The NLRB’s statement also included findings from a Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey which found that NLRB employees were overburdened with work and under-resourced. The survey found that the NLRB ranked last out of 17 similar federal agencies for worker satisfaction. Both McFerran and Acting General Counsel Peter Sung Ohr said they were committed to “rebuilding the agency’s capacity” and “righting the ship.”

The Revolving Door Project: Dems Are Running Out Of Time To Quickly Strip Damaging Trump Rules From The Books.

Tags: trump-news, policy-news

FiveThirtyEight: The Reason Black Americans Are Getting Vaccinated At A Much Slower Rate Is Not Because They’re Reluctant

Tags: covid-news, civil-rights-news

U.S. PIRG Why are we spending $20 billion of taxpayer money to help fossil fuel companies accelerate the climate crisis?

Tags: big-oil-news, corruption-news

U.S. PIRG New report proposes roadmap for how to transform America’s transportation infrastructure

Tags: infrastructure-news, policy-news

U.S. PIRG We're calling on the FTC to take action on Right to Repair: The FTC is due to report on repair restrictions, and we’re pressing for real action to follow.

Tags: right-to-repair-news, policy-news

Posted 3 April 2021

In These Times: Working People Have an Ally at the Department of Labor in Julie Su: President Joe Biden got it right with Su, a principled and practical leader committed to poor working families. (via u/easone on r/reddit)

Tags: labor-news, biden-policy-news

The American Prospect: Death by Private Equity; 'Private equity ownership of nursing homes increases the likelihood of death of residents, according to a new paper by the National Bureau of Economic Research cited in a recent New York Times op-ed. Everywhere you look, it seems there are new reports of private equity pillaging, whether in retail or in newspaper ownership.'

Tags: economic-news, capitalist-farce-news

OpenSecrets: Biden nominee’s confirmation fight fueled by dueling ‘dark money’ groups (cr: Center for Responsive Politics)

Tags: dark-money-news

CounterPunch: The Border-Industrial Complex in the Post-Trump Era

Tags: dark-security-news, immigrant-news

'In the 12 years from 2008 to 2020, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) dolled out 105,000 contracts, or a breathtaking average of 24 contracts a day, worth $55 billion to private contractors. That sum exceeded their $52 billion collective budgets for border and immigration enforcement for the 28 years from 1975 to 2003. While those contracts included ones for companies like Fisher Sand and Gravel that built the 30-foot wall my son and I saw in Sasabe, many of them — including the most expensive — went to companies creating high-tech border fortification, ranging from sophisticated camera systems to advanced biometric and data-processing technologies.'
'One pivotal moment for that complex came in 2005 when the deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Michael Jackson (previously Lockheed Martin’s chief operating officer), addressed a conference room of border-industry representatives about creating a virtual or technological wall. “This is an unusual invitation,” he said then. “I want to make sure you have it clearly, that we’re asking you to come back and tell us how to do our business. We’re asking you. We’re inviting you to tell us how to run our organization.”'
'In addition, as U.S. war efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq began to wane, many security and defense companies pivoted toward the new border market. As one vendor pointed out to me at a Border Security Expo in Phoenix in 2012, “We are bringing the battlefield to the border.” That vendor, who had been a soldier in Afghanistan a few years earlier, smiled confidently, the banners of large weapons-makers like Raytheon hanging above him. At the time (as now), an “unprecedented boom period” was forecast for the border market. As the company VisionGain explained then, a “virtuous circle… would continue to drive spending in the long term based on three interlocking developments: ‘illegal immigration and terrorist infiltration,’ more money for border policing in ‘developing countries,’ and the ‘maturation’ of new technologies.”'
'Nonetheless, in the 2020 election campaign, the border industry pivoted toward Biden and the Democrats. That pivot ensured one thing: that its influence would be strong, if not preeminent, on such issues when the new administration took over.'
'When President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned Americans against what he dubbed “the military-industrial complex” in 1961, he spoke of its “total influence — economic, political, even spiritual… felt in every city, every statehouse, every office of the Federal government.” Sixty years later, something similar could be said of the ever-expanding border-industrial complex. It needs just such climate disasters and just such caravans (or, as we’re seeing right now, just such “crises” of unaccompanied minors) to continue its never-ending growth, whether the president is touting a big, fat, beautiful wall or opting for high-tech border technology.'

KHN News: Blue Shield Spent Years Cultivating a Relationship with Newsom. It Got the State Vaccine Contract.

Tags: healthcare-news, corruption-news, covid-news

'Facing mounting criticism early this year over the chaotic covid-19 vaccination rollout and a growing recall effort to remove him from office, Newsom gave the insurer a $15 million, no-bid contract to take over California’s life-or-death effort to quickly vaccinate its 40 million residents. Last spring, Newsom also enlisted Blue Shield’s CEO, Paul Markovich, to help steer the state’s covid testing strategy, another component of the state’s pandemic response that had faltered.'
...
'When Newsom announced that Blue Shield would take over California’s vaccine distribution, he emphasized the job would be in the hands of a nonprofit with an expansive provider network equipped to quickly get vaccines into arms. While it remains a nonprofit, the state stripped Blue Shield of its tax-exempt status in 2014, alleging it operated much like a for-profit insurance company.
The insurer, which covers about 4 million Californians, took in $21 billion in revenue in 2019, the most recent year for which data is available, with net income of slightly more than $573 million. The same year, it paid Markovich $7.5 million, plus benefits.
The National Committee for Quality Assurance has given Blue Shield a poor rating for efficient patient care. And on the chief job Newsom is asking it to do — getting vaccines to patients — Blue Shield is average, ranking 3 out of 5 in the national ranking on flu shots.'
See also: KHN: In California, Blue Shield’s Vaccination Takeover Fixes What Wasn’t Broken

KHN News: Democrats Gave Americans a Big Boost Buying Health Insurance. It Didn’t Come Cheap.

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, healthcare-news, legislation-news, policy-news

'By next year, taxpayers will shell out more than $8,500 for every American who gets a subsidized health plan through insurance marketplaces created by the ACA, often called Obamacare. That’s up an estimated 40% from the cost of the marketplace subsidies in 2020, due to the augmented aid, data from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office indicates'
'Medicaid coverage is still costly: about $7,000 per person every year, federal data indicates. ...For patients, Medicaid offered another advantage. Unlike most commercial health insurance, which requires enrollees to pay large deductibles before their coverage kicks in, Medicaid sharply limits how much people must pay for a doctor’s visit or a trip to the hospital.'
'“It’s much cheaper to deliver health coverage to people through public programs like Medicaid than through private insurance because the prices paid to doctors, hospitals and drug companies are so much less,” said Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at KFF.
The price disparity also explains why the health care industry, including insurers and providers, for years has fought proposals to create a new government plan, or “public option,” that might pay less.
Industry officials frequently argue that hospitals and physicians couldn’t stay in business unless they charge higher prices to commercial insurers to offset the low prices paid by government programs.'
Note that part of the reason that doctors (which are the most sympathetic group amongst doctors, hospitals, and big pharma) need to charge such high rates is because they are on the hook for millions of student debt to get through medical school. They are in incredible debt, with interest alone costing tens of thousands of dollars a year for them. These are problems we can solve with more sensible policy.

ProPublica: California Sent $8 Billion to Counties to Improve Jails and Services But Failed to Track the Money, Says Auditor

Tags: corruption-news, policy-news

'The 2011 law signed by former Gov. Jerry Brown, which called the changes “realignment,” was designed to drastically reduce the population of California’s prisons, which were so overcrowded that the U.S. Supreme Court stepped in. The law sent billions of dollars to counties to bolster county jails and services throughout the state in exchange for housing more inmates.'

ProPublica: Documents Show Trump Officials Skirted Rules to Reward Politically Connected and Untested Firms With Huge Pandemic Contracts; House Democrats investigating the COVID-19 response say Trump adviser Peter Navarro pressured agencies to award deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Tags: trump-news, corruption-news, covid-news

Posted 2 April 2021

The Intercept (2/4/21): Last-Minute Trump Rule Would Let Vaccine Makers Hike Prices Unchecked - The Biden administration could halt an attack on one of the government’s few options to rein in drug prices.

Tags: trump-news, policy-news, pharma-news

Not only a good summary of the current issue, but illuminating how this contention is itself an invention of the neoliberal wave of the 80s (a bipartisan effort throughout the decade), invented problems that didn't exist before 1980.
'There have been several recent attempts. In 2016, for example, Knowledge Ecology International filed a petition for march-in rights to control the cost of Xtandi, a prostate cancer drug that was being priced at $129,269 per year. The drug, the petition noted, was developed through a series of grants from the NIH and the Department of Defense.
NIH Director Francis Collins rejected the request, arguing that Xtandi was already “broadly available as a prescription drug.” Collins, in his letter, ignored the issue of pricing and argued that there was no evidence that the drug in question “is currently or will be in short supply.”'

Posted 1 April 2021

Liberation News: New Mexico oil and gas companies sued for environmental damage

Tags: big-oil-news, climate-change-news

'A few months ago, Biden issued a limited executive order halting fracking operations on federal land. Soon after, New Mexico’s Democrat Governor Michele Lujan Grisham met directly with the president, and recently wrote a letter to him, asking for a waiver to continue these operations. Grisham pleaded that the loss of revenue will severely limit the state’s ability to develop and fund desperately needed social programs like early childhood education. The failure of the American capitalist system could not be clearer.'

Liberation News: Mississippi’s renters demand relief

Tags: economic-news

Liberation News: Michigan company uses eviction scare tactics on tenants

Tags: corruption-news, economic-news

Democracy Now (22/3/21):

Drug Companies Plan to Hike COVID Vaccine Prices After Pandemic Is Over
U.S. Says “Border Is Closed” as Number of Unaccompanied Children in Gov’t Custody Tops 15,000
House Bill Would Bring Self-Determination to Puerto Rico

Tags: pharma-news, corruption-news, immigrant-news, politics-news

Democracy Now (23/3/21):

CDC Warns Against Relaxing Public Health Measures at “Critical Point in the Pandemic”
AstraZeneca Submitted “Outdated Information” in COVID-19 Vaccine Emergency Use Application

Tags: covid-news

Democracy Now (24/3/21): Two Dead in Record-Breaking Australian Floods

Tags: international-news, climate-change-news

Democracy Now (25/3/21):

Biden Taps Harris to Oversee Border Effort as Military Moves to House Migrant Children in Texas
EPA: [private prison group] GEO Group Used Pesticide as COVID Disinfectant Inside Immigration Jail
Deportations of Haitians Soar Under Biden Despite Political Crisis in Haiti
New Details Revealed About U.S. Support for 1976 Coup in Argentina & Dictatorship
World’s Biggest Banks Lent $3.8 Trillion for Fossil Fuel Projects After Paris Accord

Tags: immigrant-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news, international-news, history-news, big-oil-news

Democracy Now (26/3/21):

President Biden Says U.S. Unlikely to Honor May 1 Afghanistan Withdrawal Deadline
Netanyahu Fails to Clinch Israeli Election as Extreme-Right Party Gains Seats
Republican AGs Sue Biden Administration over Oil and Gas Leasing Moratorium

Tags: international-news, big-oil-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Democracy Now (29/3/21):

Mexico Revises COVID Death Toll by 60%, Chile [in spite of widespread vaccine rollout] and Brazil Confront Massive Surges
WHO Warns Coronavirus on the Rise in African Countries as Vaccinations Remain Lowest in World
Iran and China Sign 25-Year, $400 Billion Strategic Deal
Minnesota Supreme Court Reverses Rape Conviction Because Survivor Had Been Drinking
House Bill Would Shield USPS from Cuts Favored by Trump-Appointed Postmaster General

Tags: international-news, covid-news, court-news, legislation-news

Democracy Now (30/3/21):

Wealthiest 1% of Americans Account for One-Third of Unpaid Taxes to IRS
60 Child Asylum Seekers Test Positive for COVID-19 in San Diego Convention Center
Indigenous Activists Criminally Charged in South Dakota over Keystone XL Pipeline Resistance [which Biden halted on his first day in office]

Tags: big-oil-news, indigenous-news, immigrant-news, tax-news, capitalist-farce-news, economic-news

Democracy Now (31/3/21):

U.S. COVID Deaths Top 550,000; Florida Undercounted Thousands of Deaths
Bloomberg Employees Got Special Access to Vaccines at NYU Hospitals
Children Videotaped Crying in Overpacked CPB Jail in Donna, Texas
Washington State Lawmakers Vote to Ban For-Profit Prisons
Black Panther Activist “Chip” Fitzgerald Dies After 51 Years in Prison

Tags: covid-news, immigrant-news, legislation-news

Democracy Now (1/4/21): Microsoft Gets $22 Billion Pentagon Contract to Produce Augmented Reality Headsets for Soldiers

Tags: corruption-news, defense-news, cyber-security-news, big-tech-news

Jacobin: Italy’s Amazon Strike Shows How Workers Across the Supply Chain Can Unite

Tags: international-news, labor-news

'[With about 75 percent parcipitation], the strike day was particularly historic because it involved all Amazon logistics workers, from warehouse employees to delivery drivers.; An obvious key focus for the strike was Amazon’s large distribution centers (“fulfillment centers”) where thousands of goods are stocked, picked, and packed, yet the strike extended to the mid-range sortation centers (where boxes are dispatched) and the small “last mile” delivery stations. Decisively, it also included the drivers, who are outsourced and not recognized as Amazon employees, even though they work under the direct control of its algorithms.'
'Across the Alps, Italy’s confederal unions faced the same problem. The firm structure is similar, with one subsidiary in charge of logistics operations (Amazon Italia Logistica) and another for the delivery stations (Amazon Italia Transport), alongside a galaxy of small- and medium-sized outsourced delivery firms. Yet here, unions had more foresight in their strategy for organizing the whole workforce. They realized that last-mile delivery was a weak point of the Amazon network — and the level where exploitation was at its highest. Therefore, the unions, especially the CGIL’s logistics branch, invested in organizing drivers. And, as the first spontaneous walkouts in 2017 showed, drivers didn’t have to wait for the unions’ green light before taking action.'
'COBAS’s successes owed much to its flexible union structure, which relied on preexisting migrant community ties and allowed migrant workers to take leadership roles. Also key were its weapon of sit-ins and blockades at the warehouse gates. This allowed workers to paralyze the circulation of goods. The pressure considerably improved economic and working conditions and brought a wave of revitalized union organization to the sector. Today, SI COBAS and ADL COBAS are the most representative unions in some of Italy’s most important express and courier firms.
The article provides a clear timeline of the unionization efforts of Amazon workers in Italy.

Jacobin: Drug Patents and Big Pharma Are Slowing Down the Vaccine Rollout and More

Tags: vaccine-ip-news, covid-news

Workers World: For over a century and a half: Chinese workers abused and superexploited in U.S.

Tags: international-news, labor-news

Workers World:COVID crisis exposes prison profiteers

Tags: covid-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news

Whatever their motives, Zoom did act ethically here - 'Pennsylvania prisons have used the COVID-19 pandemic to eliminate in-person contact visits. They initially provided free Zoom visits. However, since Zoom would not record the calls, the DOC switched to Polycom, which records all visits.'

Posted 31 March 2021

AP News (1/3/21): Countries urge drug companies to share vaccine know-how

Tags: vaccine-ip-news, covid-news, international-news

In an industrial neighborhood on the outskirts of Bangladesh’s largest city lies a factory with gleaming new equipment imported from Germany, its immaculate hallways lined with hermetically sealed rooms. It is operating at just a quarter of its capacity.
It is one of three factories that The Associated Press found on three continents whose owners say they could start producing hundreds of millions of COVID-19 vaccines on short notice if only they had the blueprints and technical know-how. But that knowledge belongs to the large pharmaceutical companies who have produced the first three vaccines authorized by countries including Britain, the European Union and the U.S. — Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca. The factories are all still awaiting responses.

CounterPunch (1/3/21): To Prevent the Resurgence of the Pandemic, Can We Talk About Open-Source Research?

Tags: vaccine-ip-news, science-news, covid-news

Revolving Door Project (31/3/21): Facebook Strengthens Defenses Against Break Up By Hiring Another DOJ Antitrust Official

Tags: antitrust-news, big-tech-news, corruption-news

Revolving Door Project (22/3/21): [National Security Advisor] Jake Sullivan Advised Microsoft On Policy, And Now Coordinates With Microsoft On Policy. What Could Go Wrong?

Tags: big-tech-news, defense-news, corruption-news

'But if Sullivan’s interactions with Microsoft lead to the federal government subsidizing it in any way, such as helping fund and develop new and more advanced safety protocols, this will raise important questions. Moreover, if Microsoft’s anti-competitive tactics are a key factor to America’s vulnerability to hackers, and there is good reason to think so, then Sullivan’s connections with the company pose a threat to national security.'

Posted 30 March 2021

The Intercept (30/3/21): Big Chunks of Corporate Tax Cuts End Up in Executives’ Pockets: A new study finds that recent tax breaks may be worth hundreds of billions in personal boodle for corporate royalty.

Tags: tax-news, corruption-news, capitalist-farce-news

See original report here

'If Ohrn is correct, the reductions in the corporate income tax over the past two decades will reward America’s corporate royalty with hundreds of billions of dollars between now and 2030. Ohrn attributes this extraordinary payday to executives’ successful use of “rent-seeking,” an economic concept that describes individual and corporate use of power to capture wealth without adding any new value themselves. '

'Neither part of this story is true. There is no discernible connection between levels of corporate profits and investment. Moreover, even if there were, it would likely make little difference for average workers: Higher productivity led to higher median wages for regular people during the three decades after World War II, but that link was broken in the 1970s. Since then, productivity has continually increased but has barely shown up in the paychecks of regular people. Instead, the greater wealth has gone to those at the top of the pay scale, such as corporate executives.'

'The new study does not examine all changes to corporate taxation over the past 20 years; in particular, its analysis does not include the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. (Of the 0.8 percent of GDP drop in the corporate tax rate over the past 20 years, about half is due to the TCJA, and the rest is largely thanks to the Bush administration’s 2002 and 2004 bills.)'

'“If firms responded to the tax cuts in the TCJA in a manner similar to the tax breaks that I studied,” says Ohrn, “between 15 and 19 cents of every dollar would go to the top five corporate executives.” ; That’s between $327 billion and $414 billion. The numbers would be even higher if lower-ranking executives’ compensation were counted.'

'The study examines and dispatches any explanation beyond rent-seeking for the increases in top executive compensation. ... The only explanation this leaves is that corporate executives paid themselves more money simply because it was available and they had the power to grab it.; This, in turn, suggests something important about who holds power in corporate America. Of course, it’s not regular employees. But interestingly, it’s often not shareholders, either.'

Posted 28 March 2021

The Intercept (28/3/21): One Man Is Standing in the Way of an Investigation Into Cuomo’s Nursing Home Scandal: New York Attorney General Letitia James needs a referral from Comptroller Tom DiNapoli to investigate the Cuomo administration’s mishandling of the coronavirus.

Tags: cuomo-news, covid-news, bad-democrat-news, corruption-news

'Making the referral to the attorney general on the nursing home issue is an entirely different proposition for DiNapoli than calling for Cuomo’s resignation. One proposition involves confronting a powerful governor, but one who had already been abandoned by other leading Democrats. The other means confronting Cuomo as well as powerful lobbies and donors that DiNapoli could want to draw on for support as he plots a gubernatorial run.'

Posted 26 March 2021

Jacobin (26/3/21): The Right Created Boot Camps for Destroying Democracy and Voting Rights

Tags: far-right-news, gop-shenanigans-news, voting-rights-news

'One of the groups, WallBuilders, made a name for itself promoting legislation on issues such as displaying religious symbols on state property. But at WallBuilders’ 2018 ProFamily Legislative Network conference in Dallas, Texas, attendees were also taught about the legal validity of restrictive voting laws, according to documents we obtained describing the event.

The other group, ALEC, or the American Legislative Exchange Council, taught a South Dakota legislator how to best gerrymander state districts at its 2019 conference in Austin. According to documents describing the event, one of the attendees found that the conference “provided a lot of good and useful information on redistricting and ways to reduce the risk of lawsuits.”

Truthout (6/3/21): Amazon Is Paying Consultants Nearly $10,000 a Day to Obstruct Union Drive (via u/easyone on r/labor)

Tags: busting-labor-news

The American Prospect (26/3/21): Big Tech Lobbyists Take Down Arizona’s App Store Bill [which Democrats helped kill]

Tags: corruption-news, bad-democrat-news, politics-news, legislation-news, big-tech-news

Mother Jones: The Texas Freeze Set Off a Methane Bomb: We may never know the full extent of pollution in the Permian Basin.

Tags: texas-freeze-news, climate-change-news

Revolving Door Project: A Slam Dunk Climate Opportunity For Biden: Five Open Seats On The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board

Tags: policy-news

Revolving Door Project: John Kerry Must Choose: Wall Street Or The Planet

Tags: bad-democrat-news, corruption-news, policy-news

'This isn’t the only indicator of Kerry’s mealymouthed approach to Wall Street and climate. He reportedly wants to add Mark Gallogly of Blackstone and Centerbridge Partners infamy to his team. As the Prospect reported, with Gallogly at the helm, Centerbridge bought Puerto Rican government debt and forced austerity on the island as it struggled to recover from the climate change–fueled Hurricane Maria. Centerbridge also invested in PG&E, the California electric giant that caused several deadly wildfires. Rather than taking ownership for this harm, Centerbridge financed the lawyer who represented 16,000 fire victims in a suit filed against PG&E, thereby shielding itself from accountability.'

Revolving Door Project: The Industry Agenda: Military-Industrial Complex

Tags: defense-news, corruption-news

Revolving Door Project: Congress Must Examine Biden Admin Possibly Trading Vaccines For Anti-Migration Enforcement

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, covid-news

Law and Crime: IRS Lets Wealthy Taxpayers Skate on Billions in Taxes Based on Misguided Priorities: Treasury IG

Tags: tax-news, economic-news

Law and Crime: ‘F*** You, Asians’: Man Accused of Sexually Assaulting Woman in Hate Crime Attack at Train Station

Tags: racist-attack-news

Payday Report: Fresno Health Officials Tipped Off Foster Farms About Inspection

Tags: corruption-news

Payday Report: RWDSU Reports Over 1,000 Union Contacts at Amazon Facilities Across the Country

Tags: labor-news

CounterPunch: Infrastructure Should Be the Great Economic Equalizer

Tags: infrastructure-news, economic-news

'When it comes to infrastructure and sustainable development efforts, the U.S. is being left in the dust by its primary economic rivals. Following his first phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, President Biden noted to a group of senators on the Environment and Public Works Committee that, “if we don’t get moving, they are going to eat our lunch.” He went on to say, “They’re investing billions of dollars dealing with a whole range of issues that relate to transportation, the environment, and a whole range of other things. We just have to step up.”'
'Despite the multiple stimulus packages that Congress has passed in the Covid-19 era, no funding — not a cent — has been designated for capital-building projects. In contrast, China, Japan, and the European Union have all crafted stimulus programs in which infrastructure spending was a core component.'

ProPublica: America’s Drinking Water Is Surprisingly Easy to Poison

Tags: cyber-security-news

'After noticing the hacker’s morning log-in, Gualtieri later said at the press conference, the plant operator “didn’t think much of it” and didn’t contact anyone since other city employees routinely accessed the system remotely. (It’s not clear why the attacker’s use of the replaced TeamViewer software didn’t immediately raise concern.)'

The Intercept: Private Companies Maneuvering to Cash In on Biden’s Child Migrant Detention: Two of the firms poised to vie for new lucrative child detention contracts have checkered pasts in migrant detention.

Tags: privatization-news, immigrant-news, fail-biden-policy-news

The Intercept: White Supremacists, Conspiracy Theorists Are Targeting Cell Towers, Police Warn: Extremist groups joined forces in the weeks after the election to target critical infrastructure and “incite fear,” an NYPD intelligence report said.

Tags: militant-far-right-news

The Intercept: Tracking the Invisible Killer: Trump EPA Invited Companies to Revise Pollution Records of a Potent Carcinogen

Tags: trump-news, industrial-failure-news

Liberation News: Bay Area elites attempt to divide and conquer in aftermath of violence against Asian residents

Tags: racist-attack-news

“If everyone had jobs, then nobody would need to steal or have time to be racist. When a country offers work for the people and makes sure everyone has enough to eat, crime wouldn’t happen. The safety in the U.S. is bad, because people are forced into doing such things.” — An elderly Chinese food-service worker, laid off and facing eviction in San Francisco, speaking to Liberation News
'What is lost in the coverage of city council infighting, ongoing attacks against Asians, and community responses thus far is the utter inhumanity and hypocrisy of elected, so-called leaders in government — from city administrators all the way up to the White House. Successive Democratic city administrations in the Bay Area have sown the roots of violence for generations by enacting policies that protect corporations and their profits. With every inflated police budget they approve, tax break they give to tech corporations, and homeless encampment they sweep, local politicians devastate Black and Asian communities all over the Bay. San Francisco and Oakland have the highest and 4th highest average rents in the United States, despite studies that suggest there are far more vacant homes than homeless people in the Bay Area.'

Liberation News: Keep up the fight for Mumia: ‘No’ to COVID medical neglect!

Tags: covid-news

Liberation News: PSL in Tennessee launches campaign to fight utility shutoffs

Tags: economic-news

Liberation News: Neoliberal Seattle mayor rejects federal funding, threatens eviction from hotel shelters to 130 people

Tags: economic-news, bad-democrat-news

Democracy Now (19/3/21): 14,000+ Unaccompanied Children Held by U.S. as One Texas Facility Reports Over 50 COVID Cases

Tags: immigrant-news, covid-news

Democracy Now (18/3/21):

President Biden Says U.S. Might Not Honor Afghanistan Withdrawal Agreement
[Major labor victory!] Uber Is Reclassifying All 70,000 of Its U.K. Drivers as Workers
Federal Agents Arrest Heavily Armed Man Outside Residence of VP Kamala Harris

Tags: international-news, labor-news, militant-far-right-news

Democracy Now (3/17/21):

Report Finds a Third of COVID Deaths Tied to Lack of Insurance as Dems Reintroduce Medicare for All
WH to Increase Vaccines for COVID Hot Spots
Tribal Groups Open Up Inoculations for All Oklahomans
U.K. Lifts Cap on Nuclear Arsenal as U.S. Considers Plan for $100 Billion “Cold War-Era” Missile
16-Year-Old Daughter of Jan. 6 Capitol Rioter Testifies in Court Her Father Threatened to Kill Her

Tags: covid-news, capitol-storming-news, militant-far-right-news, healthcare-news, international-news, defense-news

Democracy Now (16/3/21):

440 Tesla Workers Tested Positive for Coronavirus After CEO Elon Musk Defied Plant Closure Order
Biden Admin to Detain Thousands of Teenage Asylum Seekers in Dallas Convention Center

Tags: covid-news, labor-news, immigrant-news, fail-biden-policy-news

Democracy Now (15/3/21): British Police Arrest Women at Peaceful Vigil for Murder Victim Sarah Everard

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, protest-news, international-news

Posted 25 March 2021

Nature (25/3/21): What it will take to vaccinate the world against COVID-19 - A special report outlines the challenges — from unleashing the power of mRNA vaccines, to the battle for temporary relief on intellectual-property rights

Tags: science-news, vaccine-ip-news, covid-news

'But the key bottleneck in mRNA-vaccine manufacture is a worldwide shortage of essential components, especially nucleotides, enzymes and lipids. This is because relatively few companies make these products, and not in sufficient numbers for global supply. Moreover, these companies are proving slow to license their manufacturing so that others could do this.'

'For example, every RNA strand requires a ‘cap’ that prevents the human body from rejecting it as foreign material. It’s the most expensive component, says Kis, and the intellectual-property rights for a popular cap design are held by one company — TriLink Biotechnologies, based in San Diego, California. Similarly, a small number of companies hold the intellectual-property rights for one of the four lipid nanoparticles that form a ‛cage’ around the RNA, Kis adds.'

The American Prospect (25/3/21):How the Pentagon Accidentally Funnels Millions to Iraqi Militia Groups It’s Also Fighting: Leaked documents reveal that the defense contractor Sallyport enriched companies connected to Iranian-backed death squads.

Tags: dark-security-news, defense-news, international-news

'Sallyport’s [a private defense contractor] profit is contingent on maintaining control of the base and ensuring its smooth functioning. This has driven the company to make deals with Iraqi politicians known for corruption. Sallyport’s partners are even allegedly connected to paramilitary groups that include America’s battlefield enemies and human rights violators. These types of illicit deals are a routine part of Pentagon contracts across the country, and they’re valuable enough to fight over.'

'Internally, Sallyport blamed ISIS for the attacks on its trucks. But the ambushes, which targeted tankers attached to the fuel trucks, rather than the drivers, didn’t match the terrorist group’s profile or its capabilities. Intelligence analysts privately believed they were part of a corporate turf war. “The biggest hurdles you have in getting fuel are primarily political,” a Sallyport consultant, Ginger Cruz, wrote in a May 2017 email to the company.'

'In Iraq, good business typically means breaking the rules, something Sallyport was ready to do. On Cruz’s recommendation, the contractor turned to an Iraqi company, Layth al-Bawadi, to supply fuel. Layth al-Bawadi shares personnel with a complex network of multinational companies, called Sigma, that was previously blacklisted by Cruz’s former employer, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, for alleged corruption.'

'To be clear, militia membership in Iraq can be nebulous, with varying levels of affiliations through personal and tribal connections. But American contractors are essentially cooperating with known enemies. Until late February of this year, the local commander at the Iraqi base was Air Force Gen. Sahi al-Amiri, whom sources identified as a relative of a major Hash’d [Iranian-backed anti-American militias] leader, Falih al-Fayyadh. Al-Fayyadh was sanctioned by the outgoing Trump administration for “directing and supervising the murder of peaceful Iraqi demonstrators.” By purchasing additional fuel from another Iraqi company, Medina al-Qibab, Sallyport and the Pentagon had an indirect relationship with Gen. al-Amiri’s now sanctioned family member, and his militias.'

'But through Gen. al-Amiri’s family business, the United States is in effect funneling millions of dollars to militia groups that it is also fighting.'

'America has failed in Iraq because of the symbiotic relationship between the U.S. military, its contractors, including Sallyport and its rivals, and the country’s corrupt politicians and paramilitaries. If there were no stealth occupation, there would be no military and logistics contracts for insurgent leaders and military contractors to profit from, and no economic incentive to continue fighting. Iraq would have a chance to move forward.'

The Intercept (25/3/21): Documents Show Amazon Is Aware Drivers Pee in Bottles and Even Defecate En Route, Despite Company Denial

Tags: labor-news, capitalist-farce-news

Posted 23 March 2021

Louis Rossmann (23/3/21): System76 laptop engineer SUPPORTS Right to Repair; interview with Louis Rossmann

Tags: right-to-repair-news, tech-news

Very informative 'insider' interview on specific issues of right to repair regarding computer hardware, the workings of the laptop-design-and-construction industry, the concerns and issues hardware manufacturers deal with, from both an engineering and financial perspective, and the viability of manufacture in the US. Interestingly - if I'm not mistaken - the engineer, Jeremy, points out that a lot of major OEM providers (HP, Lenovo, etc.) don't provide board diagrams because they themselves either are not provided these by board manufacturers, or because the board manufacturers legally require they don't provide them. As he states, there is basically a cartel [original meaning] of board manufacturers who ensure this practice stays in place, for their mutual benefit. A notable exception is Apple, who has most of the rights to their board diagrams, yet still chooses to make these inaccessible while making repair increasingly difficult. Although to say 'insider' is a bit misleading - from the perspective of right to repair, System76 is one of the most viable and repair-respecting hardware companies out there. Of course, there is an interest of this engineer in promoting System76... but I trust them at least :P

Posted 20 March 2021

Law and Crime (20/3/21): ‘An Attack on Democracy’: Democrats Call For New Election Amid Florida Republicans’ Sham Senate Candidate Scandal

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, voting-rights-news, corruption-news

'An executive producer at Miami’s WPLG-TV was the first to ask questions in Nov. 2020 when she was tasked with the normally thankless job of collecting photographs of candidates for standard broadcast graphics. Photographs of Rodriguez were hard to come by; he also didn’t return the station’s phone calls.

Rodriguez, who ultimately garnered more than 6,300 votes, was allegedly paid $50,000 to run, in part because he had the same last name as Democratic incumbent Javier Rodriguez. The incumbent Rodriguez lost to Republican challenger Ileana Garcia by a mere 32 votes out of more than 215,000 total votes that were cast.'

Posted 18 March 2021

The Intercept (18/3/21): Drugmakers Promise Investors They’ll Soon Hike Covid-19 Vaccine Prices

Tags: pharma-news, capitalist-farce-news, vaccine-ip-news, corruption-news

'But that environment, they hope, will change once the pandemic ends: a date that drugmakers themselves reserve the right to declare. Pharmaceutical officials, speaking at recent conferences and on calls with investors, say they expect the virus will linger, morphing from a pandemic into a perennial endemic. And as Covid-19 mutations continue to spread and booster shots may be required on a regular basis, leaders from the three companies are enthusiastic about cashing in.'
'Achal Prabhala — coordinator for the AccessIBSA project, which campaigns for access to medicines — notes that the U.S. government alone, through Operation Warp Speed, has pumped $18 billion into vaccine makers, in addition to advance payments for vaccines, ensuring that the pharmaceutical industry would face no financial risk.'

The Intercept (18/3/21): Drug Lobby Asks Biden to Punish Foreign Countries Pushing for Low-Cost Vaccines

Tags: corruption-news, pharma-news, vaccine-ip-news, international-news, covid-news

'President Joe Biden’s administration is being asked to punish Hungary, Colombia, Chile, and other countries for seeking to ramp up the production of Covid-19 vaccines and therapeutics without express permission from pharmaceutical companies.'

Posted 16 March 2021

The Hill: LAPD mishandled George Floyd protests, says report

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news

Law and Crime: Judge Blocks ICE, Records Administration from Destroying Records of Sex Abuse, Detainee Deaths

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news

The American Prospect: In Arizona, Democrats Are Backing Big Tech

Tags: bad-democrat-news, big-tech-news, corruption-news, legislation-news, politics-news

EFF: Scholars Under Surveillance: How Campus Police Use High Tech to Spy on Students

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news

'In July 2020, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Reynolds School of Journalism at University of Nevada, Reno launched the Atlas of Surveillance, a database of now more than 7,000 surveillance technologies deployed by law enforcement agencies across the United States. In the process of compiling this data we noticed a peculiar trend: college campuses are acquiring a surprising number of surveillance technologies more common to metropolitan areas that experience high levels of violent crime. '
'While BWC programs are often pitched as an accountability measure to reduce police brutality, in practice these cameras are more often used to capture evidence later used in prosecutions.'

EFF: Seattle and Portland: Say No to Public-Private Surveillance Networks

Tags: privatization-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

'In October 2020, EFF and ACLU of Northern California sued San Francisco after emails between the San Francisco Police Department and the Union Square BID revealed that police were granted live access to over 400 cameras and a dump of hours of footage in order to monitor Black Lives Matter protests in June 2020. By gaining access, the SFPD violated San Francisco’s Surveillance Technology Ordinance, which prohibits city agencies like the SFPD from acquiring, borrowing, or using surveillance technology without prior approval from the city’s Board of Supervisors.'

ProPublica: Feds Investigating Lender That Sued Thousands of Lower-Income Latinos During Pandemic

Tags: economic-news, capitalist-farce-news

ProPublica: Over 700 Complaints About NYPD Officers Abusing Black Lives Matter Protesters, Then Silence [New York City's Civilian Complaint Review Board - the agency responsible for investigating NYPD abuse of civilians]

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news

ProPublica Tracking PPP Loans

Tags: tracker-news

See also: ProPublica:To Hold the Government Accountable, We Need to Know What It’s Doing. That’s Why We’re Tracking PPP Data.

ProPublica: This Billionaire Governor’s [West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice] Coal Companies Owe Millions More in Environmental Fines

Tags: corruption-news, gop-shenanigans-news

The Intercept:Bernie Backers Took Over the Nevada Democratic Party. The Old Guard Walked Out.

Tags: progressive-dem-news, bad-democrat-news

'We weren’t really surprised, in that we were prepared for it. We were hoping that that would not be the case. I mean, we’ve had many conversations — we do a lot of consensus building, we do a lot of worst-case scenario discussions about OK, what if this and what if that — so it didn’t hit us by surprise, necessarily in that regard. But what is sort of shocking is that for a slate that claimed that they were all about unity, and kept this false narrative of division going on throughout the entire campaign, in fact, they kept intensifying that, that’s what was surprising about it was then the willingness to just walk away instead of working with us.'

Democracy Now: Latinx Farmworkers Risk Their Lives During Pandemic. Many Now Struggle to Access Vaccines

Tags: labor-news, covid-news

Democracy Now (10/3/21):

ICE Official Says Biden Not Ending Family Detention
DOJ Drops Expansion of “Public Charge” Rule
Rutgers Divesting from Fossil Fuels After Organizing by Students and Staff
Full Staff of Nevada’s Democratic Party Quits After Progressives Sweep Elections
BuzzFeed Lays Off 30% of HuffPost Workers Weeks After Acquisition

Democracy Now (11/3/21):

Jury Acquits Iowa Journalist Arrested for Covering BLM Protest
Lawyer Has Been on House Arrest [in New York] for 500+ Days in Retaliation for Case Against Chevron in Ecuador

Tags: protest-news, big-oil-news

Posted 11 March 2021

Democracy Now (11/3/21): U.S. & Other Wealthy Nations Block Effort to Waive Vaccine Patent Rights in Blow to Global South

Posted 8 March 2021

Vaush: America is F*cked if Democrats Can’t Fix This

Tags: electoral-news, analysis-news

Sparked by a concerning Nate Silver report, a very frank discussion on the issues with the optics of "defund the police"; perhaps better to target the policy positions this would entail in the current term, ie the War on Drugs.

'But Democrats, I don't think they really took control of the narrative. Like always, they let Republicans take control of the narrative. Every single time this happens. The BLM protests were, at their height, enormously popular, and I feel like the Democrats squandered that. They didn't do a sufficient job of appropriately controlling the discourse around that issue, and that's why stuff like this happens [conservative POC voting Trump]. And if we don't get that shit under control, then Democrats might not even be able to win, even if we were able to get rid of the Electoral College.'

Posted 6 March 2021

Law and Crime: FBI Claims Proud Boy Interacted With Trump White House in Days Leading Up to Capitol Breach

Tags: trump-news, militant-far-right-news

The Guardian: ‘They track every move’: how US parole apps created digital prisoners (via u/johntwit on r/Libertarian)

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news

Reason: 5 Ways Elon Musk and Other Billionaires Get Welfare for the Rich (via u/bobbyw24 on r/Libertarian)

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, corruption-news

CNBC News: Democratic lawmakers show solidarity for Amazon union vote in Alabama: ‘We stand with you’ (via u/DoremusJessup on r/labor)

Tags: labor-news

@ddayen: I've been beating the drum for executive action in part *because* of moments like this. What if Biden said "well Joe you can either accept this or my Treasury Secretary is going to give the unemployed tax relief anyway"

Politico: 'No idea what he's doing': Manchin perplexes with Covid aid power play

Tags: covid-news, bad-democrat-news

Liberation News: The fight for free speech in Selah, Wash.

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news

Democracy Now Daily Headlines (5/3/21):

Sen. McConnell Prepping for Possible Senate Exit, Plans to Strip Power of Dem. Gov. to Replace Him
Texas Grid Operator ERCOT Overcharged by $16 Billion After February Winter Storm
India, South Africa Ask WTO for Patent Waiver to Allow Generic COVID-19 Drugs & Vaccines

Tags: politics-news, infrastructure-news, gop-shenanigans-news, covid-news, vaccine-ip-news

Jacobin: How Rosa Luxemburg Taught Worker-Militants to Think Differently

Tags: labor-news, history-news

Jacobin: Third Parties in the US Are More Important Than You Think - Despite America’s two-party duopoly, third parties have played a crucial role in shaping US politics for good and ill — from bringing us pro-worker reforms and the welfare state to laying the groundwork for Donald Trump’s right-wing authoritarianism.

Tags: history-news, electoral-news

An intelligent article providing a brief history of the integral role third parties have played in American politics.

Posted 5 March 2021

The Rational National (5/3/21): (video) Eight Democratic Millionaires Join GOP To Sink $15 Min. Wage

Tags: bad-democrat-news, fail-biden-policy-news, legislation-news, economic-news, labor-news

Vaush: (video) Krystal Ball & Other "Anti-Woke Populists" Enable the Far-Right

Tags: nazbol-vortex-news, analysis-news

See recent interview of Vaush with Krystal and Kyle here

Vaush, a prominent breadtuber, has really developed (maybe invented?) the term 'Nazbol vortex' - a reference to the Russian 'National Bolsheviks' party, which combines elements of fascism and Bolshevism. The Nazbol vortex is the idea that we need to focus solely on class war - that everything else is a distraction or exclusive to class war (ie there is no intersection between the two, which is absurd); race and LGBTQ+ issues are, for example, 'liberal virtue signal' issues, that distract from the real issue. That corporate support of these issues suggests you should be suspicious. All of this is BS by the way.

This is not simply a 'debunking' video, but an argument for why we should watch out for people trying to convince us these issues of race and LGBTQ+ are "side issues the corporate media wants to distract us with". They aren't, and it requires economics 101 to understand why they would support BLM (hint: there are more liberals than conservatives in America, thus supporting liberal issues provides a larger consumer base, and this is totally tangential to the issue at hand). He debunks the 'race war' narrative, and 'exposes' what Krystal Ball's program (and other 'anti-woke populists') pushes towards. (this isn't to say that Krystal is a transphobe or bigot in any way, she just lets others slip by with wayyyy too much not to be a noticable issue)

Does this necessarily mean we can't be critical of how people talk about these issues, or with how different individuals argue for these issues? No, it does not. But to be stay silent when a Tucker Carlson crony is pushing reactionary rhetoric, and to nod along, is at best highly irresponsible.

This takes us back to the Nazbol vortex - if we keep giving concessions to the populist right (the Tucker Carlson's of the world), that we don't need to fight for people of color, that we don't need to fight for LGBTQ+ people, then what are we even representing? What are we supporting? It's not the individual's right to be who they are, which is one of the most foundational principles for 'liberal' (in the good sense) thought. Who are we fighting? Is it the cancerous growth of capital, the structural disempowerment of the people, or is it a conspiracy, a cabal of evil (probably anti-semitic in tone) bankers or vague 'cultural elites', trying to destroy 'Western values'? (the latter is wrong) Whose fight are we fighting? That is the Nazbol vortex, and it is something we must be wary of, lest we succumb to the veneer of similarity between right and left-wing populists, and lose our souls.

See also: Vaush: (video) Glenn Greenwald Just Called TUCKER CARLSON a Socialist - He’s Done.

Posted 4 March 2021

U.S. PIRG (4/3/21) Statement: House passes timely, important democracy reform legislation

Tags: voting-rights-news, legislation-news

'“Beyond that, smart policies baked into the bill, like automatic voter registration, would help bring our voting systems into the 21st century. Between the IRS and the social security administration, our government has all the information it needs to ascertain a person’s voter eligibility. It’s common sense to use that information to make registering to vote and maintaining voter rolls easy, accurate and automatic.'

Scientific American (4/3/21): (Opinion) Andrew Cuomo Should Resign [24] (via @davidsirota) Read!

Tags: cuomo-news, bad-democrat-news, covid-news, corruption-news

'First, long before anyone heard of SARS-CoV-2, New York State cut almost 20,000 hospital beds over the past two decades. Cuomo has been governor for half of that time. A big reason why there was such a shortage of beds when he was on TV every day, wringing his hands about not having enough ventilators was because he oversaw the decimation of the state’s hospitals and stripped the system so close to the bone, it predictably couldn’t handle a pandemic.'

'Then, just last year, Cuomo cut some $400 million from the state’s Medicaid budget—not his first such major cut to the program. Research published in 2019 showed how Medicaid expansion saved nearly 20,000 lives nationally, and research published just this year has shown how Medicaid expansion has significantly increased diagnosing infectious diseases like HIV, thus reducing further HIV transmission and potential deaths from AIDS.'

'At the same time as it was unscientifically slashing the Medicaid budget in a pandemic, the Cuomo administration was making a disastrous and lethal decision: to send patients recovering from COVID-19 to nursing homes, which did not have the proper staff, ventilation, PPE or physical facilities to protect either their patients—the most vulnerable population at-risk for COVID death—nor their workforce largely made of women of color, many living in tight quarters with other highly vulnerable people. (Cuomo couldn’t send people to hospital beds he’d long ago closed, and it was hard for him to operate costly field hospitals since he vowed not to tax billionaires.)'

Wall Street Journal (4/3/21): Cuomo Advisers Altered Report on Covid-19 Nursing-Home Deaths (via @JoshuaPotash RT of @sydneyp1234)

Tags: cuomo-news, covid-news, corruption-news, bad-democrat-news

The Independent (4/3/21): QAnon has merged with white Christian envangelicals, experts say — and the results could be lethal (via u/L86C on r/Libertarian)

Tags: militant-far-right-news

The Daily Poster (4/3/21): How To Stop The Manchin Presidency And Raise The Minimum Wage (via @davidsirota)

Tags: bad-democrat-news, fail-biden-policy-news, legislation-news, economic-news, labor-news

'Some have argued that the way to fix this situation is by ending the filibuster, but that’s a catch-22: It is absolutely a necessary reform, but President Manchin is pledging to veto it. Even if Democrats were to eliminate the filibuster, they would still need Manchin’s stamp of approval for virtually all legislation, given the Senate’s current 50-50 split.

The way to fix this dynamic is for a decisive number of House Democrats or Democratic senators to make clear, line-in-the-sand demands, and demonstrate they will vote down Democratic legislation that does not honor those demands. And they must do this specifically on must-pass legislation for which Biden can find zero GOP votes.'

'Amazingly, Manchin remains unchecked even though there are enough progressives in Congress to create this necessary countervailing power.'

'Suddenly, Manchin would not be the political solar system’s sun whose gravity forces everyone to revolve around him — he would be one of two poles, forcing the Biden administration to try to find compromise between them, and pressuring Manchin to move.'

'This isn’t rocket science. This is game theory 101. This is the ancient idea of countervailing power — and however difficult and scary it may be for progressive legislators, it is the only strategy to end the Manchin Presidency before it takes over politics, eliminates the prospect of fundamental change, and delivers an electoral disaster to Democrats in 2022 and 2024.'

Miami Herald: Wealthy Keys enclave received COVID vaccines in January before much of the state (via @analecta RT of @MaryEllenKlas)

Tags: covid-news, corruption-news

'But on Feb. 25, one resident of Ocean Reef, Bruce Rauner, the former Republican governor of Illinois and former chairman of the Chicago-based private equity firm GTCR, increased his contribution and wrote a $250,000 check.
Since DeSantis started using the state’s vaccine initiative to steer special pop-up vaccinations to select communities, his political committee has raised $2.7 million in the month of February alone, more than any other month since he first ran for governor in 2018, records show.'
'By hand-selecting the communities, DeSantis allows residents to bypass state and local vaccine registration systems and go directly through their community organizations, like the Medical Center at Ocean Reef.'
'Last month, a high-end community that Republican fundraiser Pat Neal helped develop was chosen by DeSantis to host a pop-up vaccination clinic near Bradenton. Only people from two ZIP codes were eligible to receive the vaccine at the Lakewood Ranch site, and names were chosen by Manatee County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh, who included herself on her vaccine selection list.'
Related: Salon: FBI urged to probe Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over "red carpet vaccine distribution"

Business Insider: Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski, a champion for transparency, failed to disclose dozens of stock transactions worth at least $671,000 in apparent violation of federal law (via @analecta RT of @davelevinthal)

Tags: bad-democrat-news

Prison Policy Initiative: Building momentum against prison gerrymandering

Tags: electoral-news

'The problems stem from the way the Census Bureau conducts its counts. When counting the population every ten years, the Bureau tabulates incarcerated people as if they were residents of the locations where they are confined, even though they remain legal residents of their homes. When the resulting data is then used to draw legislative districts, all of a state’s incarcerated persons are credited to a small number of districts that contain large prisons. This has the effect of enhancing the representation of those districts and diluting representation of everyone else in the state, distorting policy decisions statewide. And since incarcerated populations are disproportionately Black and Latino, minority voting strength is diluted in the process. (Although this affects representation, it fortunately does not have major funding implications, for various reasons.)'

on labor: daily news and commentary (3/4/21)

Tags: labor-news

'Tucked into the relief package, however, are other, smaller victories for workers and labor advocates. For one, the current bill includes a version of the Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Plan and Relief Act, which will allow many troubled multi-employer pension plans to seek special financial assistance without repayment obligations. Additionally, thanks to a last-minute push by unions this week, Democrats inserted language to provide full subsidization of employer healthcare plans under COBRA for laid off workers through September. With millions of Americans still on temporary layoff, this latter measure, already approved to by the parliamentarian, could prove hugely consequential for healthcare access in the near term.'

Common Dreams: 'Utterly Damning 'Docs Reveal Meatpacking Industry Fought Feeble Covid-19 Safeguards Under Trump (via u/easyone on r/labor)

Tags: covid-news, capitalist-farce-news, labor-news

'"While we knew that meatpacking companies did not take adequate measures to protect their workers and the communities they lived in from the threat of Covid-19, these documents show that the industry actively pushed back against the few steps the Trump administration took to try to ensure the safety of meatpacking workers and federal inspectors," Pulver added.'
'Last September's revelations were followed by a November scandal involving supervisors at a Tyson Foods plant in Waterloo, Iowa who placed cash bets on how many workers at the facility would contract the coronavirus. More than 1,000 employees—over a third of the plant's workforce—were infected.'

Jacobin: Trade Agreements Like NAFTA Are a Menace to Democracy

Tags: economic-news, international-news

'These clauses may seem technical, and they’ve long been hidden away from proper democratic scrutiny. But they give companies the power to sue elected governments for making decisions in the interests of their citizens. The Keystone XL case should be the catalyst for a fightback against the threat ISDS clauses pose to democracy.'
'However, the USMCA allows investor-state claims under the old NAFTA rules to continue for three more years. These claims must involve investments made before July 1, 2020 and challenge additional government measures affecting those investments taken at any time until July 2023.'

on labor:Why the Labor Movement Should Fight for Prison Abolition (via u/RedditGreenit on r/labor)

Tags: labor-news, analysis-news

'One reason why the labor movement should become abolitionist is because prisoners are forced to labor due to the loophole in the Thirteenth Amendment, which outlawed slavery except after a criminal conviction. In the 1970s, inspired by Black Panther organizing, tens of thousands of prisoners organized into unions until their efforts were quashed by the Supreme Court in its 1977 decision Jones v. The North Carolina Prisoners’ Labor Union. There, a prisoners union in a North Carolina prison sought to collectively bargain for better working conditions. The Department of Correction responded by barring prisoners from forming unions and refusing to deliver union-related mail or allow union meetings. The union sued, and the district court granted significant injunctive relief, finding that prisoners had First Amendment rights to associate. The Supreme Court reversed, explaining that the prison’s “operational realities” outweighed prisoners’ associational rights.
'But there are more fundamental ways that the prison system and the labor movement are intertwined. Where worker power is weak, prisons are strong. Studies have shown that weak labor movements lead to rising economic inequality. And in places where “inequality is the deepest, prison is used the most.” Only 13% of incarcerated working-age men earned more than $15,000 before being incarcerated. And after being released, only half of working-age men reported any earnings at all. Prisons are both a response to inequality and a driver of it, just like outsourcing, austerity, and underemployment—all things that weaken the labor movement. As Professor Gilmore describes, the places where prisoners come from and the places that prisons get built are also the places that have been deprived of the social services, decent wages, and life-affirming institutions that unions fight for.'
'In addition, mass incarceration has a significant chilling effect on the labor movement. About 70 million people have criminal records, almost half of the U.S. labor force. Many of these people are pushed into informal sectors of the economy—home health care, landscaping, house cleaning, cooking—sectors where unionization levels are low. And workers with criminal records may be less likely to join unions because the risk of retaliation is too high—getting fired can mean being forced back to prison.'

Jacobin: Warehouses Are Today’s “Dark Satanic Mills”

Tags: analysis-news, labor-news

'A recent report put together by Warehouse Workers for Justice and Chicago Workers’ Collaborative notes that warehouses have been second only to nursing homes in COVID-19 cases in Illinois, with at least 165 outbreaks at factories, warehouses, distribution centers, and food production facilities since July 2020. Of the food workers interviewed in the report, 65 percent said that either they or someone they knew at their workplace had contracted COVID-19. And 85 percent said that their employer either didn’t respond to workers’ complaints, retaliated against workers who spoke up with concerns about the employer’s handling of COVID-19, or took action that didn’t improve the situation.'
'But what you can do is start holding these companies accountable. People say Jeff Bezos is a brilliant man. And he is a brilliant man — he knows how to use working Americans to get what he wants. And elected officials let these people get away with it. They tell companies like Target and Walmart to build on our land and we’ll give you a tax exemption for the next ten years. If I’m a businessman, that sounds good to me. I don’t have to pay taxes, and I’ll get some temp services in here to staff the location. I don’t have to pay for medical, I don’t have to worry about retirement plans. Just put the temps in there, keep the costs I’m paying down, and have production go higher than ever.'
'People should understand that a lot of workers in these warehouses are there to better their lives, and these poor working conditions and penalties on people with troubled backgrounds affect all of us. I got involved with WWJ after I worked at Walmart for three years. I was a good worker: I was doing reports at the end of the night, I was in charge of safety on my shift, and so on. When it got time to talk about promotions, they went back twenty years in my record and said I couldn’t work in the warehouse because of that. But, they told me, you can work for us through a temp service and unload the truck. I thought, “Have you lost your mind? I’m fifty-two years old, I’m not going to unload a truck.” That’s how it goes.'
'Until someone holds these companies accountable for what they do, it won’t change. And we, as working people, need to come together and say that enough is enough. Imagine a young woman, single, two kids, lives in Chicago but works in Joliet. First of all, you’re going to need a car. You have rent. You have two growing kids. $15.50 an hour is not going to cut it. If they raised wages to $20 an hour, it would help, but it wouldn’t solve the problem. Even if I have to do this until I die, I’m going to fight this fight until we see some changes.'

EFF: Google’s FLoC Is a Terrible Idea

Tags: big-tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

EFF: The Justice in Policing Act Does Not Do Enough to Rein in Body-Worn Cameras

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news

'Reformers often tout police use of body-worn cameras (BWCs) as a way to prevent law enforcement misconduct. But, far too often, this technology becomes one more tool in a toolbox already overflowing with surveillance technology that spies on civilians. Worse, because police often control when BWCs are turned on and how the footage is stored, BWCs often fail to do the one thing they were intended to do: record video of how police interact with the public. So EFF opposes BWCs absent strict safeguards.'
'At a minimum, H.R. 1280 must be amended to extend the face surveillance ban it mandates for federal BWCs, to federally-funded BWCs employed by state and local law enforcement agencies.'
see article for EFF-advised regulations

The American Prospect: The Rise of the Private Police - In South Africa, private security companies have eclipsed the police force, threatening the state’s democratic authority and replicating apartheid-era racial inequality. Is the U.S. next?

Tags: privatization-news, law-enforcement-oversteps-news

'South Africa is no isolated exception. Private security is becoming the worldwide norm, covering everything from mercenary armies to armed guards for the world’s corporations and elites. Two of the largest global firms, Allied Universal and G4S, are on the verge of a merger. If it goes through, the new company would be one of the top five private employers in the world. It would also be the largest private equity–owned employer globally.'
'Despite horrific police abuses, in America most police are at least public, so there is the possibility of greater accountability. The state of Illinois has just passed a major reform law that eliminates cash bail, enables the state to bring civil action against officers with repeated misconduct, and mandates new police training in de-escalation. But all the while, private policing in the U.S. is immense and rapidly growing.'

Mother Jones: Amazon Has Become a Prime Revolving-Door Destination in Washington (via @analecta)

Tags: corruption-news

'“If you combine the quantity and breadth of their hires, Amazon may have more of a revolving door than any other American company now,” says Jeff Hauser, director of the Revolving Door Project at the Center for Economic and Policy Research. “There is almost no department of the US government Amazon is not interested in.” Timothy LaPira, a professor of political science and revolving-door expert at James Madison University, points out that Amazon wants people with government experience who can help the company understand the regulatory landscape and how to adapt to it: “Amazon is probably not buying access so much as they’re buying the expertise of what happens behind closed doors.”'
'Amazon’s expanding revolving door is a sign of how the firm has grown and how it has become more involved with decisions and policies made across the US government. As Krumholz observes, “There is a lack of scrutiny and transparency in this area. And there is nothing more MEGO—my eyes glaze over—than, say, cloud services. There is far more outcry over where Amazon puts their headquarters or what their delivery times are. But this [cloud services] is big, big money, and inside baseball. The government agencies know how important it is. Amazon knows how important it is. Everyday Americans don’t.”'

New York Times: Inspector General’s Report Cites Elaine Chao for Using Office to Help Family - The Justice Department under the Trump administration declined to open a criminal investigation into the actions by Ms. Chao when she was transportation secretary. (via @analecta)

Tags: corruption-news, trump-news

'While serving as transportation secretary during the Trump administration, Elaine Chao repeatedly used her office staff to help family members who run a shipping business with extensive ties to China, a report released Wednesday by the Transportation Department’s inspector general concluded.'
'As transportation secretary, Ms. Chao was the top Trump administration official overseeing the American shipping industry, which is in steep decline and is being battered by Chinese competitors.'

Fortune: $574 billion in taxes weren’t paid in 2019. Here’s how to shrink the gap (via @davidsirota)

Tags: tax-news, corruption-news

'Today, the disparity between who has money and who is audited is egregious. If you live in the Mississippi Delta and your income is $25,000, you are more likely to be audited by the IRS than if you live on New York’s Park Avenue and make millions.'

@ddayen: The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living report an 82% decline in COVID cases at nursing homes since December 20. The vaccines are extraordinary.

Tags: covid-news

OpenSecrets: Consultants repping Saudi, UAE interests partner with Blinken’s old firm (via @ddayen)

Tags: corruption-news, international-news, fail-biden-policy-news

See also: Axios: Exclusive: Teneo buys stake in consulting firm linked to Bidenworld (via @ddayen)

Tags: corruption-news, fail-biden-policy-news

The Hill: Abbott's medical advisers were not all consulted before he lifted Texas mask mandate

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, covid-news

See also: NBC News: Texas and Mississippi to lift mask mandates and roll back Covid restrictions

What is chilling about this is both states, Texas and Mississippi, are the two states most clearly still suffering from the power failures from a few weeks ago - still, thousands of residents in both states (maybe millions in Texas?) don't have drinkable water. And both states are lifting mask mandates. This is a very eery coincidence. Is it just they are both fools?

See also: Mother Jones: These GOP Governors Are Trying to Distract Us From Their Deadly Failures by Killing More People

'But these governors are not operating in a vacuum here. They need to distract the residents of their states from the real catastrophes they recently have experienced. Last month, a historic winter storm swept across several utterly unprepared southern states. In Texas, the power grid failed leaving millions of people freezing in the dark and often without water for days. A similar disaster unfolded in Mississippi, where 250,000 people lost electricity at the height of the storm. After 4 million Texans were left without power, the Lone Star State received most of the media attention, but Jackson, Mississippi’s 170,000 residents also face an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. Damage from the storm rendered the city’s water plant inoperable leaving those who live there without running water for more than two weeks [many still don't have running water].'

The Washington Post: Home-security cameras have become a fruitful resource for law enforcement — and a fatal risk (u/trot-trot on r/Libertarian)

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

'Police forces across the U.S. made more than 20,000 requests last year for footage captured by Ring’s “video doorbells” and other home-security cameras, underscoring how the rapid growth of inexpensive home surveillance technology has given American law enforcement an unprecedented ability to monitor neighborhood life.'
'The request could have netted video of suspected criminals. But it also could have brought in footage of peaceful demonstrators marching against police abuse, said EFF analyst Matthew Guariglia, who called it a chilling reminder of how the cameras could track Americans exercising their First Amendment rights.'
'“When we let consumers build a large-scale surveillance network that police then get to request from at will, we are essentially letting police skirt the checks and balances they’d otherwise have to address if they wanted to build a CCTV [closed-circuit television] network for the government,” Guariglia said.'

Dakota News Now: Businesses tied to Noem family got $600,000 in virus grants (via u/DublinCheezie on r/Libertarian)

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, corruption-news, dark-money-news

The American Prospect: A Big Tech Showdown in Arizona: The state is attempting to pass a bill that would allow app developers to avoid taxes from Apple and Google. Some Democrats are opposed.

Tags: bad-democrat-news, big-tech-news, corruption-news

Democracy Now Daily Headlines (3/3/21):

Seth Harris, Who Wrote Blueprint for California’s Prop 22 [anti-labor legislation], Tapped for Top Labor Role
Biden Admin Halts Transfer of Oak Flat, Sacred Native Land, to Mining Company
State GOPs Attack Trans Rights, Barring Access to Healthcare, Participation in Sports
Sanders to Force Vote on $15 Minimum Wage

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, biden-policy-news, lgbtq-news, politics-news, legislation-news, labor-news, economic-news

Posted 3 March 2021

Salon (3/3/21): The Supreme Court may be set to gut voting rights — but Democrats can still stop them

Tags: policy-news, court-news, gop-shenanigans-news, voting-rights-news

'The collapse of voting rights was a multi-decade project on the right. It took years of pipelining judges opposed to civil rights through organizations like the Federalist Society and Republicans manipulating the nomination and confirmation process in order to pack the courts with these judges. Once the courts were taken over, then the bill started passing, helping secure more minority power for Republicans and more control over who gets on the courts. This latest round could be fatal to the ability of Democrats to win national elections, no matter how many more Americans prefer them. '

'But passing the For the People Act would stop this multi-decade Republican effort to gut democracy in its tracks. As Jon Schwarz at the Intercept writes, "The bill makes illegal essentially all of the anti-enfranchisement tactics perfected by the right over the past decades. It then creates a new infrastructure to permanently bolster the influence of regular people." '

'This reality makes the unwillingness of Sinema and Manchin to support ending the filibuster to pass the For the People Act incomprehensible.'

Note how the right-wing attacks this. According to good old Fox News, Mike Pence said that: ' the For the People Act is "unconstitutional, reckless, and anti-democratic" because it would take power over elections away from the states'([1] 3/3/21). Now this is funny... it's not democratic because it takes something from... states? What about the people?

He goes on to say that 'would increase opportunities for election fraud, trample the First Amendment, further erode confidence in our elections, and forever dilute the votes of legally qualified eligible voters."' It's pretty clear to identify why this is bogus:

our election was highly secure, and the parts he is likely mentioning are related to HR1 securing vote-by-mail
The 'First Amendment' stuff he is talking about is probably related to the Citizens United ruling, which allowed corporations to spend unlimited money in elections, a ruling which was made based on the 1st Amendment
the confidence thing is just right-wing BS. According to Pence, somehow getting auto-registered to vote should erode confidence in the system! The horror, less red tape for the little guy!
'diluting' votes means that districts won't be gerrymandered, so it will dilute votes... back from their concentrated power to something more fair (which still remains, due to the Senate and the Electoral College).

The American Prospect (3/3/21): H.R. 1: The Path to Democracy in America

Tags: voting-rights-news, legislation-news

KHN (3/3/21): Rural Americans in Pharmacy Deserts Hurting for Covid Vaccines

Tags: covid-news, social-woes-news, pharma-news, healthcare-news

'From 2003 to 2018, 1,231 independent rural pharmacies closed, Mueller’s team found, leaving some 630 rural communities with no retail drugstore. The changing economics in the pharmacy industry did them in, a combination of national pharmacy chains expanding and consolidating, big-box stores and supermarkets opening their own competing pharmacies and pharmacy benefit managers eating into small-pharmacy profits. Mail-order options siphoned off business.'

'In many towns, those pharmacies represented the last bastion of health care in their communities. Now more than ever, residents are feeling the void.'

Payday Report (4/3/21): Twitter Worked With Amazon to Block Payday, Labeling Payday & Other Labor Reporters as “Suspicious Content”

Tags: big-tech-news, labor-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Salon: Virginia GOP candidates woo the Trump base with transphobic hysteria

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, lgbtq-news

This is the same rhetoric that has always plagued American politics - reactionaries cast the issue as "when is enough enough?" When the real issue is letting people live their lives. People are going to make this out that somehow it's a 'bad influence' or that it will 'put people in danger', when in fact there is no evidence to support that - it's just fearmongering. The fact that legislation in Minnesota is seeking to make it a crime for a student to enroll in their gender-correct sports team is absurd and scary. This country, the principles that constitute this country, is ostensibly about freedom, about a right to do and be as you please, so long as you are not harming anyone. You cannot be 'harmed' by someone simply being transgender.

All of these rights, such as women's rights, rights to organize in the workplace, rights for people of color to have equal access to voting, rights for homosexuals to be able to enter in any relationship that should be afforded to any consenting adults, the rights of transgender people to simply be who they are - these are not "side issues". They are issues about what we mean by 'freedom', 'privacy', and the right to be yourself. If these clash with your worldview, then so be it. 'Fair' in society does not mean your right to not be offended (which is snowflake-speak), it means you're afforded the rights and the same basis to live a fulfilling and dignified life as any other person in the country to not be discriminated against on account of your sex, gender, race, religion, creed, and so on. We certainly aren't there yet.

Related: Salon: Mr. Potato Head, Dr. Seuss and trans kids: How Democrats are already letting Republicans win in 2022

'And it will probably work — again— because Democrats, hamstrung by their own inability to end the Senate filibuster, will not be able to pass substantive legislation they can tout as accomplishments in future campaigns. And so the election will come down to the Great Potato Head and Dr. Seuss Wars of 2022. Even more unfortunate, truly vulnerable people — like those who are part of the trans community — are also in the crosshairs, as the favored target for the culture wars that Republicans want to wage ahead of the next election.'
(note that neither Potato Head nor Seuss were 'canceled' - their companies unilaterally decided to make a business decision. These are just the banal workings of capitalism.)
'In fact, not only do these bills not protect cis girls, but they can and likely will be used to hurt cis girls. In some states, the bills allow schools to force any girl participating in sports to "prove" her gender by submitting to a genital inspection. It's easy to see how both trans kids and cis kids who don't fit conservative school officials ideas about "proper" gendered behavior — such as boys who want to be cheerleaders or girls deemed "too" muscular — will be bullied with forced genital exams. Indeed, the ACLU has already filed suit against Idaho on behalf of two students, one trans and one cis, who object to being forced to undergo genital inspections in order to play sports. '
'Culture war antics work because they keep the GOP voters whipped up over imaginary threats. The most famous example is how Republicans fed their voters a bunch of lies in 2004 about the "danger" to marriage poised by same-sex couples, which drove up turnout and helped drag George W. Bush over the finish line in a tight race. But Democrats can also drive up turnout on their side, by focusing on real issues that actually matter to voters, such as economic issues and health care.'

Salon:Why America needs new infrastructure to survive

Tags: infrastructure-news

'America cannot move forward if it continues falling apart. That's why the USW and other labor unions are championing a historic infrastructure program that will modernize the country, improve the nation's competitiveness and create millions of jobs while simultaneously enhancing public safety.'
'Expanding broadband and rebuilding schools will ensure that children across the country have equitable access to educational opportunities. Investments in manufacturing facilities will enable the nation to rebuild production capacity decimated by decades of offshoring.'

Posted 2 March 2021

U.S. PIRG (18/2/21) Report: Deere in the Headlights (or view pdf report here)

Tags: right-to-repair-news

Economic Policy Institute (24/8/17): How today’s unions help working people (via Rational National) (view pdf report here)

Posted 1 March 2021

Law and Crime (1/3/21): ‘Unfathomable’: Biggest Power Cooperative in Texas Hit with $2.1 Billion Post-Outages Bill Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Tags: texas-freeze-news, capitalist-farce-news, infrastructure-news, energy-news

FiveThirtyEight (1/3/21): Why Fallout From Texas’s Winter Storm Won’t Hurt Republicans At The Ballot Box in 2022

Tags: electoral-news, gop-shenanigans-news, texas-freeze-news

Democracy Now Headlines (1/3/21): Jackson, MS, Residents Still Lack Running Water Two Weeks After Cold Snap

Tags: texas-freeze-news, infrastructure-news

@davidsirota (1/3/21): If Democrats put @SenWarren in as Senate presiding officer when the $15 minimum wage comes up, Warren can rule it in order and move it forward. #PutWarrenInTheChair

Tags: bad-democrat-news, legislation-news, labor-news

on labor daily news and commentary (3/1/21): 'Last Thursday, Magistrate Judge L. Patrick Auld of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina issued a recommended ruling upholding broader limitations on dues collection while striking down state farmworker organizing restrictions.'

Tags: court-news, labor-news

on labor: Pumping the Breaks on Healthcare Workers’ Right of Religious Refusal

Tags: healthcare-news

The American Prospect: Reading the Fine Print of University Fossil Fuel Divestment Pledges

Tags: big-oil-news, corruption-news

'“We’re north of $15 trillion in endowments and portfolios divested around the world, including the most famous colleges on earth (Oxford and Cambridge) and the biggest (the UC system),” says McKibben. “I was tickled when Shell called [divestment] a material risk to its business, because their business is a material risk to the earth.”'
'Schools have invested in the fossil fuel sector for decades, providing firms with the capital to continue oil and gas production, to persuade members of Congress to provide industry-specific tax breaks and other favors, and to thwart carbon taxes and new public-transportation projects and other policies—actions that ultimately delay the transition from the greenhouse gas–emitting fuels. About 100 fossil fuel companies, including ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, and Chevron, account for 71 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. The world’s 50 largest oil companies continue to increase oil and gas production, even though they must drastically cut output to meet global climate targets.'
'Meanwhile, Harvard University continues to resist student pressure. The school commands a nearly $41 billion endowment, the country’s largest for a single institution.'

Sludge: Astroturf Campaign Attacks Discount Drug Program for the Poor (via The American Prospect)

Tags: corruption-news

'In September 2020, nearly 250 members of the House of Representatives added their names to a bipartisan letter from Rep. David McKinley (R-W.V.) that asked former Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to take action against the drug companies that had stopped participating in the program. The letter said that allowing the drug companies to back out of the federally required program without consequences would set “a dangerous precedent” for other drug companies to follow. “A failure to act will serve as an invitation to other manufacturers to follow suit, leading to a wholesale increase in prescription drug costs for our safety-net providers during a public health emergency,” the letter states.'
'The 340B program does not cost the government or taxpayers anything, so it’s not clear how CCAGW’s [conservative anti-government spending group which did not support the above, a group with connections to Big Pharma money] work on it fits with its mission of eliminating waste. Sludge asked CCAGW about its work on this issue, but did not receive a response.'

The Intercept: After Texas, Green New Deal Advocates Push Rooftop Solar. But Will Biden Fund It?

Tags: energy-news, texas-freeze-news, infrastructure-news

'“We choose rooftop solar and community solar as an intervention in part to build wealth within communities and have it be something that supports local jobs and results in bill savings and keeps those resources as local as possible,” said Hanna Mitchell, Texas program director of Solar United Neighbors, which is leading the 30 Million Solar Homes initiative alongside the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and the Initiative for Energy Justice. Rooftop solar, Mitchell added, also “aids in grid flexibility and resiliency and mitigating peak demand.”'

Liberation News: The real Boston revolutionaries: three stories of Black resistance

Tags: history-news

Barrons:Americans Are Sitting On Lots of Spare Cash. It May Not Boost Growth Much. (via @ddayen)

Tags: economic-news

"So who actually has more cash to spend? According to the Fed, about 28% of the increase in liquid assets from the end of 2019 through the end of September went to Americans in the top 1% of the income distribution. Fully 70% of the extra cash went to Americans in the top quintile, with only 14% of the extra cash—just $330 billion out of $2.3 trillion—held by Americans in the bottom 60% of the income distribution."
' Economists at the JPMorgan Chase Institute found that the typical American in the bottom quartile of the income distribution has liquidated almost a third of the money in his or her checking account since September. In fact, most Americans outside the top of the distribution had less money in their checking accounts at the end of last year than they did at the end of the third quarter. '
'Stock market ownership is extremely concentrated, so most of the gains have accrued to people who already have plenty of cash to cover their spending needs. While the gains from higher home prices have been more evenly spread, they also aren’t likely to boost consumer spending that much.'

Posted 28 Feb 2021

The Daily Beast (27/2/21): Frustrated Jackson [Mississippi] Locals Are Nearing Two Weeks With No Water (via @JoshuaPotash); see also support (tweet 28/2/21) by @KieseLaymon

Tags: texas-freeze-news, infrastructure-news, energy-news

Jacobin (28/2/21): Finland Had a Patent-Free COVID-19 Vaccine Nine Months Ago — But Still Went With Big Pharma

Tags: vaccine-ip-news, international-news, covid-news

'The need to discover the next breakthrough proprietary product has many corrosive effects on research. It incentivizes companies to conceal their findings from each other and from the wider scientific community, even at the cost of human health. The intellectual property–free “open-source” model aims to reverse this and turn research into a multilateral collaborative effort rather than a race to invent and reinvent the wheel.'

'But if the vaccine is as good as advertised, what’s holding it back? Outside of Big Pharma and venture capital, few mechanisms remain to secure funding for the large-scale patient trials necessary to carry a vaccine past the finish line. Patents are state-sanctioned monopolies that hold the promise of potentially massive returns on investment. The contemporary funding model of pharmaceutical research is almost entirely pinned on that expectation, and this is where an intellectual property–free medical product runs into serious roadblocks.'

'In other words, we are paying for the same shot twice: first for its development, then for the finished product. But there might be even a third price tag, since governments have agreed to assume responsibility for the potential side effects of coronavirus shots. This is a typical dynamic between large corporations and states: profits are private, risks are socialized.'

'The damage goes well beyond shortages and high prices. For one, stopping a disease in its tracks is bad business. In one famous instance, the biotech company Gilead saw its profits fall in 2015–16 as a result of its new hepatitis C drug — because it ended up fully curing most patients. The same perverse incentive structure has sabotaged efforts to create preemptive vaccines, despite urgent calls from public health experts for the last twenty years.'

More Perfect Union (28/2/21): (video) Kroger Workers Speak Out (via u/ChangemakerEnglish on r/labor)

Tags: labor-news, capitalist-farce-news

The Hill (28/2/21): Senate Democrats nix 'Plan B' on minimum wage hike

Tags: legislation-news, bad-democrat-news, labor-news

Liberation News: Housing crisis: Pittsburgh politicians’ patchwork solutions fall short

Tags: politics-news, economic-news

'In spite of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention moratorium “pausing” evictions, Pennsylvania landlords are abusing loopholes to kick people out of their homes. This has caused hundreds of tenants to be evicted in just the last few months, with thousands more facing impending eviction.'
'He expresses a problem millions of the already poor and oppressed are struggling with right now. Despite local politicians’ claims that moratoriums allow tenants “more time to recover” they actually have the opposite effect, allowing rent debt to landlords to pile up and become impossible to pay.'

Salon: Joe Biden needs to emulate FDR and LBJ — but so far, he's not even close

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news

'One big reason that happened is Democrats' ingrained belief that if they embrace aggressive liberal policies, they will lose elections. (This is largely based on the traumatic defeat of George McGovern in the 1972 election, a special case in several respects.) The examples of Roosevelt and Johnson suggest otherwise. Roosevelt was elected president four times, never winning less than 53 percent of the popular vote or fewer than 432 electoral votes. Johnson became president after John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and in the 1964 election won more than 61 percent of the popular vote (the largest proportion in U.S. history) and 486 electoral votes. These two presidents won massive victories precisely by embracing major reforms, and convincing a large majority of Americans those reforms would improve their lives in tangible and meaningful ways.'

MPR News (NPR): North Dakota officials block wind power in effort to save coal (via u/MuuaadDib on r/Libertarian)

Tags: corruption-news, energy-news

Related: Energy.gov: Map showing 'North Dakota has significant amounts of wind resources' (via u/lowrads on r/Libertarian)

Salon: Even by Pentagon terms, this was a dud: The disastrous saga of the F-35: The military-industrial complex spent $2 trillion building a "flying Swiss Army knife." Now it's been shelved

Tags: defense-news

Liberation News: Andre Cailloux and the Siege of Port Hudson

Tags: history-news

'Prior to the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, the Union was losing the Civil War. But that summer, the bloodiest battle of the Civil War–the Siege of Port Hudson, in which more than 15,000 perished just north of Baton Rouge–resulted in a turning point for the North by blocking supplies and support from the richest state of the Confederacy, Texas. In this siege lasting 48 days, a great hero, Andre Caillioux, the first Black officer of the Union army, was killed on the seventh day of the battle. His body lay on the ground for 41 days.'

Jacobin: On Migrant Rights, Biden Is Having a Hard Time Differentiating Himself From Trump

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, immigrant-news

Posted 27 Feb 2021

Jacobin (27/2/21): Get Rid of the Patents on COVID-19 Vaccines Already (by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Rafael Correa, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva)

Tags: vaccine-ip-news, covid-news, international-news

Liberation News (27/2/21): Amazon union struggle takes hold in Southern state with radical labor history

Tags: labor-news, history-news

The Intercept (27/2/21): India Targets Climate Activists With the Help of Big Tech

Tags: big-tech-news, protest-news, climate-change-news, international-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Jacobin (27/2/21): On the Minimum Wage, Joe Biden Chose Failure

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, labor-news, economic-news

'The Biden administration’s preemptive surrender on the $15 minimum wage is nothing like its guns-blazing approach to getting union-buster Neera Tanden confirmed for a White House job. The contrast demonstrates Biden’s lack of sincerity when he claims to be a working-class fighter.'

'Tanden’s confirmation is what it looks like when the president, his party, and the people around him actually care about doing something: they maintain public confidence in it, make an affirmative case to voters, put public and behind-the-scenes pressure on congressional holdouts, and coordinate with outside groups to build momentum for it. And they do it despite the perceived political liabilities, and even when it seems like the odds are squarely against victory.'

Jacobin (26/2/21):Kamala Harris Needs to Act Now to Advance a $15 Minimum Wage

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, labor-news, economic-news

'“Ultimately it’s the Vice President of the United States,” said former Senate parliamentarian Robert Dove in a 2010 interview about such matters. “It is the decision of the Vice President whether or not to play a role here . . . And I have seen vice presidents play that role in other very important situations . . . The parliamentarian can only advise. It is the vice president who rules.”'

'The contrast could not be more stark: the Biden administration appears to be pulling out all the stops to confirm a Washington insider [Neera Tanden] to a relatively obscure position, but not doing the same to fight for a policy that polls show is wildly popular and that economic data suggests is desperately needed now more than ever.'

'According to a recent study by the US Congressional Budget Office, raising the minimum wage to $15 could affect the wages of 27 million US workers. Earlier this week, the Federal Reserve published research showing that the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 is worth less today than it’s ever been.'

'This abominable reality could continue for the foreseeable future if Harris now refuses to use her power to add a minimum wage increase to what could be the only piece of major legislation that could move in a gridlocked Senate.'

Liberation News (25/2/21): Exposed: McDonald’s surveillance operation spies on employees organizing for a living wage

Tags: busting-labor-news, capitalist-farce-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

Economic Policy Institute (19/2/21): Downturn in strike activity reflects COVID-19 recession but fails to capture many walkouts for worker safety (via u/careerdiva1 on r/labor)

Tags: labor-news

Salon: Republicans roll out “tidal wave of voter suppression”: 253 restrictive bills in 43 states (2/27/21)

Tags: voting-rights-news, legislation-news, gop-shenanigans-news

KHN: With GOP Back at Helm, Montana Renews Push to Sniff Out Welfare Fraud

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, economic-news

'The Montana bill, and measures underway in Ohio and Utah, are similar to earlier efforts undertaken to cut costs in states such as Illinois and Michigan. But this year’s bills come even as Congress offers states more Medicaid dollars if they ensure people have continuous coverage through the pandemic because of its economic shock waves.'

Workers World: Mental health effects of COVID lockdown in prison: Interview from inside SCI Albion

Tags: civil-rights-news

Politico: Progressives push to squash Senate filibuster after minimum wage defeat

Tags: politics-news

'One day after the Senate parliamentarian effectively forced a $15 minimum wage hike out of Democrats' coronavirus relief package, leading liberal activists are racing to turn their bitter setback into opportunity. The need to sacrifice a key Biden priority in order to ensure the Covid aid bill can pass the Senate with a simple majority has handed progressive lawmakers and their allied groups a new talking point in their long-running quest to eliminate the legislative filibuster.'
'Failing to fulfill the party’s promise of passing a $15 minimum wage could have dire consequences for Democrats at the ballot box, progressive lawmakers argue. Biden campaigned on increasing the hourly wage for the first time in a decade. The issue is also a longtime priority for key Democratic constituencies, including labor unions.'

FiveThirtyEight: Democrats Are Split Over How Much The Party And American Democracy Itself Are In Danger

Tags: voting-rights-news, bad-democrat-news, progressive-dem-news, politics-news

Speak Out Now: McKinsey told Drug Maker How to Profit from Overdoses

Tags: pharma-news, corruption-news, capitalist-farce-news

'In 2009 it advised the drug maker on how to “counter the emotional messages from mothers with teenagers that overdosed.” And in 2017, after the opioid crisis was widely recognized as a human disaster, “McKinsey estimated how many customers of companies including CVS and Anthem might overdose. It projected that in 2019, for example, 2,484 CVS customers would either have an overdose or develop an opioid use disorder. A rebate of $14,810 per “event” meant that Purdue would pay CVS $36.8 million that year.” All to encourage the use and therefore the sales of the deadly drug!'

on labor:Bargaining for Better Labor Journalism: How The Wave of Unionizing In Media Transforms How Unions Are Covered (via) u/psychothumbs on r/labor)

Tags: labor-news

OpenSecrets: Democrats want to revive earmarks — will they further empower lobbyists?" (cr: Center for Responsive Politics)

Tags: legislation-news

'In 2005, Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) famously secured $231 million for a “bridge to nowhere,” connecting a sparsely populated island with mainland Alaska. That same year, an investigation by the San Diego Union Tribune revealed that former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R-Calif.) accepted millions of dollars in gifts from a defense contractor whose firm in turn benefitted from millions of dollars of earmarked federal funding. Cunningham spent seven years in federal prison on corruption charges before Trump pardoned him during his last week in the Oval Office. '
Related: Politico: Democrats unveil earmarks revival plan

Jacobin: Tyson Poultry Workers Say Their Bosses Have No Regard for Their Lives

Tags: labor-news, industrial-failure-news, capitalist-farce-news

Posted 26 Feb 2021

FiveThirtyEight (26/2/21): Democrats Are Split Over How Much The Party And American Democracy Itself Are In Danger

Tags: voting-rights-news, bad-democrat-news, politics-news, progressive-dem-news

Jacobin (26/2/21): On a $15 Minimum Wage, Democrats Are Shooting Themselves in the Foot — Again

Tags: labor-news, bad-democrat-news, legislation-news

'If the $15 raise passes, millions of Americans, finding their circumstances improved, will suddenly have a reason to vote for Democrats in the next election. And the working poor are not the only voters who would approve: the $15 minimum wage is more popular than either party. Some 60 percent of Americans favor it, making it far more popular than Biden himself, who won just 51 percent of votes cast in the 2020 election. In Florida, often a key swing state, a measure to raise the minimum wage to $15 passed, while Biden lost.'

Posted 25 Feb 2021

Democracy Now (25/2/21):

Illinois Becomes First State to End Cash Bail + Biden Reverses Green Card Ban
Lawyers Found Parents of 105 Separated Migrant Kids in Past Month

Tags: legislation-news, politics-news, immigrant-news, law-news, social-woes-news

Business Insider: McConnell says he would vote for Trump again days after accusing him of being 'practically and morally responsible' for the insurrection

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news

Slightly Sociable (video) The Dark Side of Spotify

Tags: capitalist-farce-news

The Hill: 60 percent of Americans support eight-year path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants: poll

Tags: immigrant-news

Vice: Why Amazon Is Flooding the Country With $15 Minimum Wage Ads - Amazon’s lobbying for a $15 minimum wage is a PR boon, hiring strategy, anti-union tactic, and move against competitors all in one (via r/easyone on r/labor)

Tags: corruption-news, capitalist-farce-news, labor-news

'While Amazon is paying more to its warehouse workers than Walmart pays its shelf-stockers, warehouse jobs typically pay much more than $15 per hour. Amazon is pulling off a trick where it appears to be paying more than its competitors, but the job in question is not the same as those it’s being compared to when we talk about Walmart. In other words, as Bloomberg recently put it in a headline, “Amazon Has Turned a Middle-Class Warehouse Career Into a McJob.”'
'In that December 2020 article, Bloomberg reported on how new Amazon warehouses drag down wages in the local area, even though the company is paying more than minimum wage. In New Jersey, for example, warehouse workers were making $24 an hour before Amazon moved in, paying $15 an hour. In 2019, warehouse workers in New Jersey earned about $17.50 per hour.'
'The natural backstop to this slide is labor unions, and a $15 wage gussied up to seem like a benevolent gift could be one more weapon in Amazon’s total war against unionization efforts in its warehouses.'
'In an insightful piece for The Bull and The Run, McGill’s student-run newspaper, Julian Robinson wrote that if Amazon were indeed a monopsony, we would expect to see a few things: unilateral wage increases (check) coupled with long-term downward pressure on wages (check), but also horrible working conditions because Amazon’s labor monopoly allows it to unilaterally impose those terms as part of the price of working there (check).'

Huffpost: Why Virginia Is Organized Labor’s Next Big Battleground(via r/RedditGreenit on r/labor)

Tags: labor-news

Fox News: West Virginia gov urges Republicans to 'swallow' unrelated spending in Biden COVID-19 relief plan

Tags: politics-news

EFF: Coded Resistance: Freedom Fighting and Communication

Tags: history-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

'These networks often gained runaways years out of captivity and thus the ability to maintain a network among the enslaved. Coachmen, draymen, boatmen, and others who were allowed to move around off plantations were the backbone for this chain of intelligence. The shadow network of the Borderlands was the entry point of organizing for potential runaways. So even if someone was captured, they could tap into this network again later. No one would be getting rest or sleep. As Diouf recounts, keeping a high level of surveillance took a lot of resources from the slaveholders, and that fact was well-exploited by the enslaved.'
'The most famous example of verbal communication on plantations was the usage of song. The tradition of verbal history and storytelling remained strong among the enslaved, and acted as a way to “hide in plain sight”. Tubman said she changed the tempo of the songs to indicate whether it was safe to come out or not.'
'To circumvent the monopolistic Bell System (“Ma Bell”) that only employed white operators and colluded with law enforcement, vital civil rights organizations used WATS phone lines. These numbers were dedicated and paid lines such as 800 numbers.' ... 'These organization’s bases had code names to refer to when relaying information to another base either via WATS or radio.'
Related: EFF Atlas of Surveillance
Tags: tracker-news

CounterPunch: Big Victory in Yellowstone Ecosystem as Biden Administration Pulls Massive Henry’s Fork Logging and Burning Scheme

Tags: biden-policy-news

Related: Alliance for the Wild Rockies

CounterPunch: In Indian Country, It’s Not the Weather, It’s the Racism That’s Leaving Thousands in the Dark

Tags: civil-rights-news, infrastructure-news

The Intercept: Democrats Pressure Biden on U.S. Backing for Saudi War in Yemen

Tags: international-news, fail-biden-policy-news

'Biden said his administration was “ending all American support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen, including relevant arms sales.” But he also promised that the U.S. would continue to help Saudi Arabia defend itself against missile attacks, including from Iranian-backed militias like the Houthis in Yemen. In the following weeks, his administration has yet to explain how it distinguishes between offensive and defensive forms of support.'
Related: Washington Post: After dissident vanishes in Canada, Saudi exiles fear they are in jeopardy (via @kenklippenstein)
Related: CNN: Three names mysteriously removed from Khashoggi intelligence report [by Office of the Director of National Intelligence] after initial publication (via @kenklippenstein)
Related: The Washington Post: When U.S. blamed Saudi crown prince for role in Khashoggi killing, fake Twitter accounts went to war (via @analecta)

Related: Democracy Now Headlines (26/2/21): Biden Calls Saudi King Salman, Doesn’t Raise Crown Prince’s Involvement in Khashoggi’s Murder

Related: The Intercept: Biden Balks at Sanctions on Saudi Crown Prince After Release of Report on Killing of Jamal Khashoggi

Posted 24 Feb 2021

Brennan Center for Justice (24/2/21 - 28/4/21): State Voting Bills Tracker 2021

Tags: voting-rights-news, policy-news, analysis-news

Majority Report (video) (24/2/21): Biden's Press Secretary Chokes During Cuomo Questioning

Tags: cuomo-news, fail-biden-policy-news, bad-democrat-news

CounterPunch (24/2/21): Cuomo’s Cover-up Will be Most Effectively Weaponized by the Right

Tags: cuomo-news, bad-democrat-news, far-right-news, covid-news

CounterPunch (24/2/21): The Green New Deal Threatens Republicans’ Bread and Butter (It’s not Just Competition in the Battle of Ideas)

Tags: energy-news, gop-shenanigans-news, infrastructure-news, texas-freeze-news

Democracy Now Headlines (24/2/21) U.S. Blocks Waiver on Vaccine Intellectual Property Protections

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, vaccine-ip-news

ProPublica (24/2/21): Sheryl Sandberg and Top Facebook Execs Silenced an Enemy of Turkey [Kurdish YPG] to Prevent a Hit to the Company’s Business

Tags: big-tech-news, international-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

@ZcohenCNN: Before today's hearing, Biden's CIA director nominee Bill Burns had to submit a list of all the gifts he's received over the last 5 years that exceed $100 in value.; One of the holiday gifts is not like the others.

Tags: corruption-news, fail-biden-policy-news

The Verge: Biden signs executive order calling for semiconductor supply chain review

Tags: tech-news, biden-policy-news

See also: The Hill: GM extends three North American plant shutdowns due to chip shortage

Tags: tech-news, economic-news

KHN: Lessons From California Prison Where Covid ‘Spread Like Wildfire’

Tags: covid-news

Jacobin: Democrats Are Subsidizing Health Insurance Predators

Tags: healthcare-news, corruption-news, capitalist-farce-news

'The new ACA subsidies wouldn’t affect people living in poverty in states where Republican politicians have refused to expand Medicaid, as those Americans are not eligible for the ACA marketplace plans. House Democrats’ legislation would offer those holdout states more federal funding to expand Medicaid, but it’s unlikely Republicans will suddenly decide to take their boots off their constituents’ necks.'

Jacobin: Amazon’s Anti-Union Drive Shows Why US Labor Law Is Broken

Tags: labor-news, capitalist-farce-news

'If Ontario’s labor laws were in effect in Alabama, the employees would have voted a week or so after the union filed its petition with the National Labor Review Board on November 20. There would still be ongoing litigation about various matters related to the vote, but the ballots themselves would have been cast months ago, frozen until they are ready to be counted.
Amazon would have no motivation to campaign against the RWDSU after the employees had already voted, so there would be relative peace in Bessemer right now. Instead, the National Labor Relations Act allows for a pitched battle, permitting Amazon to hold its employees captive in a months-long propaganda campaign to dissuade them from choosing collective bargaining.'

The American Prospect:Silicon Valley Takes the Battlespace - Through an obscure startup named Rebellion Defense, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt attempts to buy his way into the Biden White House.

Tags: big-tech-news, defense-news

(hesitantly to Google's credit, it appears Schmidt left Google due to disagreements with Google engineers over the company's relationship with the Pentagon)

The Hill: Democrats offer bill to provide tax relief to unemployment recipients

Tags: legislation-news, tax-news

Related: The American Prospect:Unsanitized: The Tax Time Bomb That Congress Can Defuse

Revolving Door Project: Trump Appointees Still Setting Agenda At Biden’s Antitrust Division

Tags: trump-news, fail-biden-policy-news, antitrust-news

The Rational National (Video) Biden Gives ‘Kids In Cages’ A Hip New Rebrand

Tags: immigrant-news, fail-biden-policy-news

Revolving Door Project:How A Little-Known Treasury Position Could Move Mountains For Climate Action

Tags: policy-news, climate-change-news

Revolving Door Project:The Industry Agenda: Fossil Fuel

Tags: big-oil-news, corruption-news

NBC News Florida governor accused of playing politics with Covid vaccine

Tags: covid-news, gop-shenanigans-news

Beau of the Fifth Column: (Video) Let's talk about Biden's first real foreign policy test in Iran....

Tags: international-news

KHN: After Billions of Dollars and Dozens of Wartime Declarations, Why Are Vaccines Still in Short Supply?

Tags: covid-news

See also: Democracy Now (3/3/21): Biden Vows Vaccine Supply Will Be Enough to Vaccinate All U.S. Adults by End of May

Posted 23 Feb 2021

The American Prospect (23/2/21): Freezing Texans: The Larger Lessons- The culprit is deregulation—not just in Texas and not just in electricity.

Tags: texas-freeze-news, capitalist-farce-news, gop-shenanigans-news, infrastructure-news, energy-news

Democracy Now (23/2/21): U.N. Probe Finds Erik Prince [Trump Ally, Blackwater founder] Broke Libya Arms Embargo to Aid Rebel Commander

Tags: trump-news, corruption-news, international-news

Related: The Intercept: Project Opus: Erik Prince and the Failed Plot to Arm a CIA Asset-Turned-Warlord in Libya

Tags: trump-news, corruption-news, international-news

Australian Human Rights Commission: The gender gap in retirement savings

Tags: civil-rights-news, economic-news

The Conversation: Tonight we riot? What Nintendo’s ‘revolutionary’ video game misses about worker liberation

Tags: analysis-news, culture-news

Jacobin:Workers Should Take Back Control of Their Pension Funds

Tags: labor-news, economic-news

'Keating’s superannuation scheme did achieve the goal of “transforming capital markets” by enlarging pools of capital available for economic investment. Yet these funds were modelled on capitalist investment funds, leading to the financialization of retirement savings. This has meant that fund managers treat workers’ capital like private capital, investing and managing it accordingly.'
'Meanwhile, superannuation tax concessions overwhelmingly go to the rich and are on track to exceed government spending on the aged pension. By failing to account for unequal access to superannuation entitlements, and by allowing the rich to use superannuation for further wealth accumulation [via financial gambling], the current system works to entrench inequality.'
'Although far from perfect, industry super funds have been invested to create jobs, to push for divestment from fossil fuels, and to hold to account major corporations such as Rio Tinto and AMP. This hints at their global power. Pension fund divestment was a critical part of ending apartheid in South Africa.'

Jacobin:A Key Fight Against Criminalizing Homelessness Is Playing Out in Austin, Texas

Tags: economic-news

'While these gains were being tallied, unfortunately, a swift backlash responded to increased visibility of homelessness. Governor Greg Abbott spent the better part of 2019 stoking the fires of public opposition, spreading misinformation on Twitter, exaggerating public health risks, and calling for camp sweeps. A group called Save Austin Now was founded in 2019 by Travis County Republican Party chairman Matt Mackowiak and endorsed by the Austin Police Association, and in June 2020 — amid the pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests — Save Austin Now began a petition drive to reinstate camping bans, restore and expand the no-sit/no-lie ordinance, and ban panhandling from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.'
'In the absence of a better framework for addressing homelessness, throwing cops at the crisis is considered the default.'

Jacobin: It’s Looking Like the Department of Justice under Biden Will Have Major Influence from Corporate Law - an interview with Elias Alsbergas and Max Moran

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, corruption-news

'As Elias Alsbergas, the report’s author, writes, “WilmerHale’s work brazenly suppressing unions and [Gorelick’s] affiliation with a monopolist like Amazon” makes her closeness with Garland particularly concerning. Given that Gorelick has been publicly discussing her ties to Garland, it is reasonable to assume that this connection will be leveraged to assist corporate clients. All this, of course, will happen under a President Biden who says helping the labor movement will be one of his priorities.'
'But she heard about that before it was public. Apparently Garland’s wife called Gorelick before Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court was announced. She was one of the few people who knew that this was going to happen. We don’t want to understate the duration of the relationship, especially given that one of them now sits on the board of the most powerful company that is facing scrutiny from the department that should be breaking it up.'
'In so doing, [Boynton - current acting head of DOJ civil division hired after Biden's inauguration] wrote a brief alongside the former number three within the Trump Justice Department. So you have a Biden official partnering up with a Trump official to protect Betsy DeVos. Boynton is a former WilmerHale [law firm where Gorelick is a partner] person. He doesn’t have particular Democratic Party connections and he doesn’t have any particular ties to progressive or even liberal causes, so it seems like he got this job through his firm.'
'There were WilmerHale partners on Biden’s Department of Justice agency review team. WilmerHale is going to have a say, even at the lower levels that will have less scrutiny. And again, with WilmerHale, that means, by proxy, Amazon.'
'Gorelick is a very clear, concrete example because she has so many ties to awful, horrific things. For example, there was an incredible Washington Post interview with her because she was the ethics lawyer for Jared [Kushner] and Ivanka [Trump].'
'But a great number of the people who are staffing his administration across the board are still part of the same neoliberal groups that came up under Bill Clinton. They got their start in Democratic Party politics during the Reagan years, and that is still the frame through which they view a lot of these issues.'

Related: The Intercept: Corporate Lawyers Line Up for Justice Department Top Slots

Related: Revolving Door Project: Jamie Gorelick: Amazon's Anti-Union Shadow Adviser At The DOJ

Jacobin: Union Dues Are About Building Democratic, Self-Sustaining, Working-Class Organizations

Tags: labor-news, analysis-news

'Like a GoFundMe donation or Bernie campaign contribution, union dues are an example of working-class people pooling their limited financial resources to make big things happen — and are particularly powerful because they sustain permanent, democratic organizations.'

Posted 22 Feb 2021

CounterPunch (22/2/21): GOP Offers Preview of Brutal Climate Policies in Texas

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, climate-change-news, texas-freeze-news, energy-news, infrastructure-news

The Nation (22/2/21): We Need a Civilian Conservation Corps (via r/Dolphinetyly at r/labor)

Tags: labor-news, economic-news, policy-news

Law & Crime Biden’s New ICE Guidance Completely Backtracks from 100-Day Deportation Moratorium Promise, Expands Enforcement Priorities (via Rational National)

Tags: immigrant-news, fail-biden-policy-news, law-news

The American Prospect (19/2/21): Big Tech's Bullying Campaigns

Tags: big-tech-news, corruption-news, capitalist-farce-news

The American ProspectFirst 100: The Biden Vaccine Rollout Is Working; Just a couple hurdles remain for successful global inoculation from coronavirus.

Tags: covid-news, biden-policy-news

'But there are a couple barriers still to cross.

First, we’re approaching a time where the binding constraint will be public willingness to take the vaccine. Without any public education campaign, a little more than half of the population will take it. But that’s just it, there’s been no public education campaign, explaining that the vaccines are safe and incredibly effective. They all stop hospitalization and they all stop death.

It’s incredible that the Biden administration is leaving this to a media given to hype negative stories to explain this to the public.'

The Intercept: FBI Seized Congressional Cellphone Records Related to Capitol Attack

Tags: capitol-storming-news

Law & Crime: ‘Oath Keeper’ Who Voted for Obama Was Doing Security for Trump Rally Before Capitol Siege, Met Secret Service: Defense

Tags: capitol-storming-news, militant-far-right-news

Law & Crime: Late NYPD Officer Left Confession He Participated in NYPD, FBI Conspiracy to Assassinate Malcolm X: Attorneys"

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, history-news

Posted 21 Feb 2021

Law & Crime (21/2/21): Family of 11-Year-Old Boy Who Died Amid Texas Blackouts Suing Electrical Grid Operator That Has Sovereign Immunity

Tags: texas-freeze-news, infrastructure-news, energy-news, capitalist-farce-news

Truthout (via Salon): Police deployed potentially lethal chemical during Black Lives Matter protests

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, protest-news

'Simonis, who has over a decade of experience in their field, considers this change well beyond unusual. "I have never seen a Safety Data Sheet that has had chemicals removed over time. [Material Safety Data Sheets] have intentionally become more detailed and harmonized for ease of use and interpretation, so the company removing chemicals is antithetical to the concept of safety," Simonis said.'

Who Rules America?: How to Do Power Structure Research (last edited: October 2012)

Tags: analysis-news

CounterPunch: Power Plays: the Bipartisan Origins of Energy Deregulation

Tags: energy-news, corruption-news, history-news, analysis-news

'Though notorioius as George W. Bush’s prime financial backer, Enron was a bipartisan purveyor of patronage: to its right, conservative Texas Senator Phil Gramm; to its left, liberal Texas Democrat Sheila Jackson-Lee (who had Enron’s CEO Ken Lay as her finance chairman in a Democratic primary fight preluding her first successful Congressional bid; her Democratic opponent was Craig Washington, an anti-NAFTA maverick Democrat the Houston establishment didn’t care for).

In the late 1990s, Cavanagh, backed by money from the Energy Foundation, marshaled environmental support for the disastrous scheme to deregulate California’s electric utilities, a prize long sought by the state’s two biggest power companies, Pacific Gas and Electric and Southern California Edison.'

...

'The Enron traders loved the [California] blackouts, because that meant they could cash in on the sky-rocketing prices helpless consumers were forced to pay. “Just cut ’em off,” one Enron executive said. “They’re so fucked. They should just bring back fucking horses and carriages, fucking lamps, fucking kerosene lamps.”'

...

'Through all of this, John Kerry remained curiously mute. Perhaps because his wife, and chief financial underwriter, Teresa Heinz is not only pals with Cavanagh, but Ken Lay [an Enron top executive] as well.'

'Back in 1970s, Richard Nixon promoted an energy policy that was far more enlightened than anything offered up by the Republicans or Democrats these days. And Ken Lay, then a junior staffer at the Federal Energy Commission, had a hand in developing the Nixon plan. Yes, those truly were the good old days.'

Jacobin: Understanding the Right-Wing Political Ecosystem

Tags: far-right-news

'Like the Left, the forces of the Right are in contestation with each other over which of them will hold the hegemonic position among their comrades and allies — who will be at the forefront of the Right. Knowing which sector of the right wing is currently in control must inform the Left’s tactics and rhetoric. Trump’s nationalist turn in the 2016 election opened space on the Right for fascist and other far-right movements to move millions of people further to the radical right than could have otherwise been imagined. This new array of right-wing forces can’t be met with appeals for a return to normalcy — it has to be fought with a positive vision of a radically different future.'
'These perspectives focus overmuch on the fascist governments of Germany and Italy rather than on the ubiquitous right-wing groups, big and small, that have flourished from the genocidal militias in Indonesia to the fascist Integralists of Brazil, from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in India to the pro-Apartheid parties of South Africa, and countless other examples across the world. Though many of these groups remained too small to actually contest state power, they could still wield incredible influence on their countries’ politics through murderous violence and their competition with other right-wing groups for political hegemony. They did this in cooperation with conservatives, who thought that they could use the fascists to do their dirty work — namely, stopping the growth of the Left through both organizing and violence.'

Jacobin: Social Housing Is Becoming a Mainstream Policy Goal in the US

Tags: socialist-news, policy-news, economic-news

'Having the support of “normal” mayors and county executives has led to many of Stewart’s colleagues changing their minds. “[They’ve] realized this isn’t a fanciful idea at all; this is an extremely realistic idea that’s worked in many other places, and it actually may be our only option if we care about working people and the housing crisis,” said Stewart.'
'I asked Stewart what advice he’d give to Californians who are pushing for social housing. His response may go against the grain of some leftists’ gut instincts when it comes to talking about policy.; “It’s tempting, as someone who is such a believer in the majesty, the beauty of what Vienna has been able to pull off, to speak in those flowery terms about copying this amazing model,” he answered. “But one thing we’ve really had to do is make this practical for people. Make this seem reasonable, mundane, and commonsense, and not utopian.”'
'he coalition will need to grow broader than tenant groups and YIMBYs. Labor should welcome social housing as a stable source of employment, in contrast to the private real estate sector’s boom-and-bust cycles — especially with the COVID-19 recession. And environmentalists have good reasons to join as well: affordable, dense, green-built homes near transit are essential to reducing emissions.'

----------------------------------------------------------

Posted 20 Feb 2021 and Before

Louis Rossmann (20/2/21): A LARGE FAVOR to ask of my viewers on farm right to repair participation this week

Tags: right-to-repair-news, food-security-news

The Guardian (25/6/20): In 2013 the supreme court gutted voting rights - how has it changed the US?

Tags: voting-rights-news, court-news

The Hill (20/2/21): GOP targets ballot initiatives after progressive wins (via Kyle Kulinski / Secular Talk (23/2/21))

Tags: voting-rights-news, gop-shenanigans-news, progressive-dem-news

Jacobin (19/2/21): The Energy Policy Culture War Is an Absurd Fantasy

Tags: energy-news, infrastructure-news, texas-freeze-news, climate-change-news

Democracy Now (18/2/21): Failed State: Texas Power Grid Collapse Impacts Millions. Black & Brown Communities Are Worst Hit

Tags: energy-news, infrastructure-news, texas-freeze-news, climate-change-news

OpenSecrets (17/2/21): House committee members will hear from their donors during GameStop hearing (cr: Center for Responsive Politics)

Tags: legislation-news, politics-news, economic-news, corruption-news

'Still, experts don’t expect serious legislation to emerge from the hearing, only plenty of headlines.'

Jacobin (16/2/21): Andrew Cuomo Is New York’s Richard Nixon [1]

Tags: bad-democrat-news, cuomo-news, corruption-news

Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York was cast as a foil to Trump in the early days of the pandemic. Yet, as Jacobin reported throughout the course of the pandemic, he was legislating loopholes and protections for the hospital and nursing home lobbies ([2] 26/5/20) ([3] 28/7/20) ([4] 20/7/20) ([5] 10/9/20) ([6] 10/1/21). In those days, we saw ridiculous footage of Gov. Cuomo joking with his brother (who had himself been caught up in a scandal when, in the early COVID days, he declared he got the virus and went into quarantine, and was then spotted outside his house by a bicyclist ([6] 29/4/20)). Rather than holding the governor accountable for his legislation, the media made him his darling.

However, as with the Lincoln Project ([7] 13/2/21), it turned out the media-frenzy was a house of cards. Thanks in part to his legilsation, thanks in part to his sliminess and corruption, it turned out that Cuomo had been covering up nearly 15,000 deaths, coming out only after a confession from one of his aides, and followed by allegations of threats to 'destroy' a (Democratic) politician who wanted to probe the issue ([1] 18/2/21) ([11] 12/2/21), and finally half-admitting-but-not-apologizing ([8] 16/2/21). This sort of behavior is reminiscent of a familiar politician - Former President Donald J. Trump.

Digging in further, it should be no surprise. Many New Yorkers could attest to his bullying manner, his abusive disposition, and his general negligence. For example, the town of Hoosick faced a Flint-like water crisis a few years ago, which Cuomo had largely failed to address ([8] 8/12/20). Current New York City mayor Bill de Blasio has reported about his bullying and threats to 'destroy' that this is 'classic Andrew Cuomo' ([9] 18/2/21) ([10] 25/2/21). Notably, Cuomo clashed with de Blasio in the early days of the pandemic, when de Blasio wanted to shut NYC down, and Cuomo scoffed at him ([22] 17/3/20), while eventually capitulating - reflecting his own arrogance and failures, shortcomings that costed an estimated 17,000 lives (([23] 20/3/20) via ([24] 4/3/21)). And now, credible allegations are coming out that Cuomo has sexually harassed at least two women working for him, as well as a third woman ([12] 24/2/21) ([19] 1/3/21) ([20] 1/3/21) ([21] 1/3/21), even evoking a half-hearted apology from the governor ([18] 28/2/21) (now there are half a dozen cases, including aggressively groping an aide ([25] 10/3/21)). This disgusting behavior and negligence by Former President Clinton's Housin and Urban Development Secretary is eerily reflective of Trump-like behavior.

Action should be brought against Cuomo; ideally, he should be impeached and punished for allowing thousands to die, and hiding it. Cuomo is not simply a reflection of what is wrong with the Democratic party - "the Republican party, with a smile", nor of the corrupt and misogynistic chauvinism that pervades many men in power. One hint is that even the same lobby that corrupted Cuomo holds power in Washington D.C. ([13] 18/2/21). To get to the punchline, as many have already pointed out, right-wingers have been quick to point fingers, even as right-wingers (such as Sen. Cruz, Cotton, Tillis, Blackburn and Cornyn) have copied (near plagiarized) Cuomo's legislation which laid the foundation for this scandal to take place([14] 22/2/21). The same machinery that enabled Cuomo's scandal is the same machinery that Republicans have explicitly advocated for - do not be fooled by their bad-faith attacks, as these will be targeted against the Democrats as a whole. In fact, if they really were concerned about COVID-governance-deception, why are they not outraged by the abuses of Florida Gov. DeSantis' abuses on multiple levels ([15] 3/12/20) ([16] 18/2/21) ([17] 7/12/20)? Rather, this is about corrupt Reagan-Clinton era Democrats versus progressive Democrats. Over and over, we are told that popular policies are not the basis for an election - instead, we need disliked, corrupt, and tarnished politicians from the era of deregulation.

The issue this reflects is the 'bipartisan corruption' that plagues our nation, as Jacobin argues ([14] 22/2/21). We need money out of politics, we need politicians for the people, and we need action now.

Jacobin (19/2/21): How to End the GOP’s Attacks on State-Level Democracy

Tags: voting-rights-news, analysis-news, gop-shenanigans-news, policy-news

10 KWTX (18/2/21): ERCOT: Texas was ‘seconds and minutes’ away from catastrophic months-long blackouts (via ([6] 19/2/21))

Tags: texas-freeze-news, infrastructure-news, energy-news

FiveThirtyEight (18/11/20): Republicans Won Almost Every Election Where Redistricting Was At Stake

Tags: voting-rights-news, electoral-news, gop-shenanigans-news

'Democrats were able to win the House and several state legislatures in 2018 thanks to shifting vote patterns in the suburbs in particular, but Republicans in many states will now have the opportunity to draw new gerrymanders that account for this realignment.'

The Verge (20/4/20): Whole Foods [Amazon] is reportedly using a heat map to track stores at risk of unionization

Tags: labor-news, capitalist-farce-news

Brennan Center for Justice (11/2/21): The Redistricting Landscape, 2021–22 (View full report)

Tags: voting-rights-news, policy-news, analysis-news

Sludge (via The American Prospect:) Noem [South Dakota Governor] Bill Would Make Dark Money Disclosure Illegal

Tags: dark-money-news, corruption-news, gop-shenanigans-news

'“House Bill 1079 is a bad bill, intended to deny citizens information to which they are entitled,” South Dakota Republican Senator Don Frankenfeld told Sludge'
'Noem’s bill is part of a trend that extends beyond South Dakota. States including Oklahoma, Arizona, Mississippi, Utah, and West Virginia have all passed legislation to shield nonprofit donors from state and local officials in the past few years. The bills broadly follow model legislation on donor privacy that was promoted by the influential conservative nonprofit the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).'

Vice (17/2/21): 'Department of Homeland Security Confirms Neo-Nazi Leader Used to Work For It' (leader of 'the Base')

Tags: militant-far-right-news, defense-news, security-news

Louis Rossmann (2/2/21): MARYLAND RESIDENTS: CONTACT YOUR SENATOR ABOUT RIGHT TO REPAIR!

Tags: right-to-repair-news, legislation-news

2021 Right to Repair Written Testimony for Louis Rossmann (1/2/21)

Tags: right-to-repair-news

Farmer's R2R Letter

Tags: food-security-news, right-to-repair-news

Just Security (18/2/21): Facebook’s Unconscionable Action in Australia – and What It Means for the Rest of the World

Tags: big-tech-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

'The lesson for Facebook users who have no say in the way their state regulates online content is even more disquieting. As the Myanmar military systematically pushed anti-Rohingya propaganda out on Facebook’s platform to fuel its genocidal campaign, Rohingya survivors and their allies urged Facebook to remove the inciting content. Facebook has since acknowledged it was “too slow to prevent misinformation and hate” on its platform in Myanmar. But the company’s explanations – focused mainly on its technical and linguistic limitations in distinguishing hateful propaganda from lawful content — are now cast in a different light. As the Australian blackout shows, Facebook is willing and able to react at lightning speed to remove even unquestionably lawful content from its platform when its business model is at stake.'

Liberation News (16/2/21): Texas infrastructure nears complete collapse as capitalist neglect meets climate change-driven winter storms[1]

Tags: climate-change-news, gop-shenanigans-news, infrastructure-news, energy-news, texas-freeze-news

The tragic Texas debacle has exposed multiple failures - a failure to prepare ahead of the weather forecast from a week prior ([2] 16/2/21), and a failure to prepare long-term, even as a similar failure of natural gas infrastructure occurred in 2011 in Texas (wiki), as well, luckily more mildly, as in 2014 ([21] 22/2/21) - which should have spurred preparation ([3] 18/2/21) ([17] 19/2/21) ([21] 22/2/21), and were even warned by the federal government in 2011 ([13] 17/2/21) and 2014 ([22] 30/9/14 via [21]). Lack of excess capacity was even shown by the past summer's brownouts ([25] 18/2/21). On top of this is a failure to own responsibility, ie Gov. Abbott either blaming windmills ([4] 16/2/21) or scapegoating ERCOT ([25] 18/2/21) (notably, while clearly a responsible party, ERCOT (its current form a result of 2000s-era deregulation ([27] 24/2/21) and subsequent commitment to that) was oddly one of the most transparent actors in the ordeal ([8] 15/2/21)), or to abdicate responsibility (18/2/21). This isn't to say no Texan legislator has proposed legislation in the interim since 2011 or 2014, they have ([21] 22/2/21), but that didn't gain traction, or were neutered along the way. And so this February in Texas, people died, pipes have burst, millions went without electricity for days, people were told to boil water even as they had no means to do so ([1] 17/2/21). Insidiously, as the vaporization of supply skyrockets price, the profit motive incentivizes under-preparation in such emergencies, as clarified by energy executives, from "Hit[ting] the Jackpot" with this freeze-over ([18] 19/2/21) (see also ([30] 25/2/21)), to admitting to investors that such was profitable a few years back ([21] 22/2/21); at very least, this tendency needs to be addressed with regulation.

To distract from this catastrophic failure which has lead dozens dead ([5] 17/2/21) (now up to 38 ([6] 18/2/21)), right-wing media and Texan leaders, including gov. Abbott, have tried to make this issue about wind-mills (16/2/21) (funny enough in this video, Abbott provides a ridiculously low threshold of "windmills generate more than 10% of the power" around 0:57, seemingly defying his own talking points of wind-mill-driven power collapse). Notably, wind-power is so prominent in Texas due to Gov. Rick Perry (and former Trump Energy Secretary) via the CREZ project ([23] 19/1/17), even as he has joined in on the misinformed windfarm dogpile ([24] 23/2/21). While reality shows that more of the blame lay with natural gas (this may be proportional with each resource's input to the grid) ([7] 18/2/21),([8] (15/2/21),([9] 16/2/21), note the dual strategy here. Coal, natural gas, nuclear, and wind all can be properly winterized and would have been able to provide power if Texas had prepared ([2] 16/2/21) ([3] 18/2/21) - the hardiness of any given resource in the cold isn't fundamentally the issue over why the power went out (we can winterize any of them, although natural gas may be more vulnerable ([21] 22/2/21)). Rather, they are using this as an opportunity to both (A) push talking points which benefit the fossil fuel industry - even as fossil-fuel driven climate change brought us to this point - and (B) to deflect blame from themselves.

The question then isn't about solar or wind power - that's a distraction (and there's plenty of other people who review how it's a BS talking point, ie ([9] 16/2/21) ([10] 15/2/21) ([11] 17/2/21) ([12] 15/2/21), even the ERCOT senior director ([8] 15/2/21)), and should indicate how politically soiled right-wing media and Texan government is by fossil fuel interests/dogma ([34] 2/3/21), and "free-market" capitalist principles (ie that they should be able to regulate themselves for such crises ([13] 17/2/21)), and a dogmatic commitment to avoid federal regulation([14] 8/2/11, 15/2/21) ([15] 18/2/21). This corrosive and widespread attitude is reflected in the hubris of former gov. Rick Perry ([15] 18/2/21) to avoid regulation, the idealism that companies will be able to adequately regulate themselves - and that somehow this all is the way things should be, and if that fails every now and then catastrophically, then so be it - that's the free market, baby! No. The profit motive is NOT the ideal mechanism for regulation (certainly it is A mechanism, just as using a meat cleaver for heart surgery is A potential technique). Now we will see if Texas is able to address this issue properly, as millions cannot drink the tap - a prospect that looks unlikely ([26] 27/2/21). This spirit of 'deregulation' means that the state government's actions which produced modern ERCOT ([27] 24/2/21) have given such wonders as a board of energy executives overseeing their own market, 'akin to Wall Street financiers moonlighting at the SEC' ([26] 27/2/21), five (of 23) of which, 'including the chairwoman and vice chairman, do not appear to actually live in Texas' ([28] 16/2/21) (although this did make ERCOT less prone to Texas business interests ([34] 2/3/21)). The Economist argues three particular reasons why change is unlikely: (A) incoming business ventures may obscure the necessity of reform for attracting business (the GOP's main concern); (B) As the GOP is loathe to institute the necessary changes, and as the GOP is solely in charge of redistricting Texas (making a Democratic government unlikely for years - the Brennan Center for Justice put Texas in its highest risk category with respect to gerrymandering ([29] 11/2/21)); and (C) Texas Republicans are eager to posture themselves as 'opposite' to Biden, for image and political ambition (this in spite of excellent support by Biden through this crisis) ([26] 27/2/21).

Rather than buy into their distractions and corporate propaganda, Texas needs their grid regulated and winterized, in spite of costs - the sort of thing which the government should play a role in. Furthermore, on a larger scale, we cannot afford a ridiculous debate if windmills work or not in the cold - they are all over cold regions, of course they work. The climate crisis is here, now - it is an immanent problem. Putting up wind-mills is just a small piece of the puzzle of addressing climate change, and if we let fossil fuel propaganda muddy the waters here, we are hopeless, and with Abbott having a history of climate change denial, this does not bode well if he stays in power ([16] 9/3/19) (the sort of denialism which may have left him prone to under-estimating the risk Texas faced, for which Texans are paying dearly). What more fitting title than Liberation News' "Texas infrastructure nears complete collapse as capitalist neglect meets climate change-driven winter storms"([1] 17/2/21)?

This is not to say Texas is alone in failure - deregulation, consumer exposure to financial/market volatility, and patchwork + unprepared infrastructure is a feature of the United States, not a bug. This meant seeing similar issues occur in Louisiana ([33] 28/2/21) (which is not covered nearly as much, if at all) Mississippi ([19] 19/2/21), which 'has the highest poverty rate among all the states in the country, but ranks in the top ten for highest monthly electricity bills' - even 10 days later, residents of Jackson, Mississippi still don't have safe water ([31] 26/2/21), ([32] 27/2/21). Eeeeven 'liberal bastion' Portland, Oregon ([20] 19/2/21), where some have gone days without power. In a naked display of capitalist power dynamics in Portland, a grocery store threw out food (as it was going bad due to power outages), and soon called the police on people gathering said food (see sidebar).

As of 2/18/21, 600,000 homes are without power still, and 12 million Texans face water disruptions - 'residents in Houston, Austin, San Antonio and other areas have been ordered to boil tap water to ensure its safety, but many don't have electricity.'([5] 18/2/21)

The Intercept (14/2/21): The “For the People Act” [H.R. 1] Would Make the U.S. a Democracy

Tags: voting-rights-news, legislation-news, policy-newws, gop-shenanigans-news

'With the once-every-10-years redistricting coming, and the GOP’s 2020 success in state legislatures that control redistricting, the situation is set to become even more lopsided and fundamentally unfair. If nothing changes, it’s almost certain that Democrats will lose the House majority in the 2022 midterms, even if they get the most votes.'

As the Jacobin article above notes, passing H.R.1 would likely require eliminating the fillibuster. To avoid losing the majority in the house to anti-democratic redistricting (especially since the Voting Rights Act has been gutted by the Supreme Court in 2013, although this can be restored if Congress revives Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, or the 2019 Supreme Court ruling that they cannot judge gerrymandering), this path is urgent, even as Democratic senators drag their feet on it. Losing power in 2022 would certainly mean deadlock, which could spell a loss in 2024, especially given that neither Biden nor Harris are particularly charismatic or in-touch. Action is necessary - not only for the political life of the Democrats, but for the working class, for the environment, and so on. Unfortunately, Democrats do not look to be acting as bold as necessary, which in and of itself could cost them 2022. If the cards are stacked against them by GOP gerrymandering and redistricting, we are facing quite a dire situation.

Legislation such as H.R.1 would absolutely improve voting rights and reduce partisan gerrymandering, even Fox News admits this (through attacks on the legislation, oddly enough, mixed with concerns about 'big government').

The Drive (9/2/21): Farmers are Having to Hack Their Own Tractors Just to Make Repairs: Owners are turning to hacked software from Eastern Europe as farm equipment companies won't license it to them directly (via LouisRossmann)

Tags: right-to-repair-news, food-security-news

KHN (25/6/20): They Pledged to Donate Rights to Their COVID Vaccine, Then Sold Them to Pharma - by Jay Hancock

Tags: covid-news, vaccine-ip-news, capitalist-farce-news

Brennan Center for Justice (11/2/21): Report - The Redistricting Landscape, 2021–22

Tags: voting-rights-news, policy-news, analysis-news

Economic Policy Institute (4/2/21) 'How the PRO Act restores workers’ right to unionize'

Tags: policy-news, legislation-news, labor-news

Jacobin (15/2/21): At Kroger and Amazon, Capital is Going on the Offensive by Alex N. Press

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, labor-news, economic-news

This article illustrates two important points - (A) corporations will attempt to gaslight the people into thinking that THEIR efforts (labor, political, etc.) to increase worker status is the reason why they are suffering (it's not - it's a strategy to discourage such efforts), and (B) to combat such punitive measures taken against those organizing, we must stand in solidarity, and support the organization and unionization of labor everywhere. They can only win if we are divided.

'While there are plenty of historical examples of capital strikes, a more recent case of such a maneuver came last year, when Uber and Lyft threatened to cease operations in California — one of the companies’ largest markets — if the state enforced Assembly Bill 5 (AB5), a law that mandates the “gig workers” using these companies’ platforms be recategorized as employees, with the protections and benefits that status guarantees. In making these threats, the so-called gig companies emphasized how many drivers would lose their incomes should they close up shop. The sleight of hand was clear: rather than blaming Lyft and Uber for their loss of income, drivers should blame the state. Ultimately, the courts granted the companies a stay on implementing the law, and not long after, a majority of California voters approved Proposition 22, the gig company–penned ballot measure that exempts these companies from AB5.'

CounterPunch (15/2/21): 'Why Amazon Is Fighting So Hard to Stop Warehouse Workers from Unionizing' by Sonali Kolhatkar

Tags: labor-news, capitalist-farce-news

'“This election is the most important union election in many, many years because it’s not just about this one Amazon facility in Alabama,” said Appelbaum. “This election is really about the future of work, what the world is going to look like going forward. Amazon is transforming industry after industry, and they’re also transforming the nature of work,” he said. Indeed, the level to which Amazon has fought against unionization at just one warehouse in Alabama is an indication of how important it is to the company that its workers remain powerless.'

KHN (17/2/21): Rural Hospital Remains Entrenched in Covid ‘War’ Even Amid Vaccine Rollout

Tags: covid-news, healthcare-news

US PIRG (10/2/21): Hospital technicians renew urgent call for Right to Repair medical equipment (via LouisRossmann)

Tags: right-to-repair-news, healthcare-news

OpenSecrets: Unions spent big to boost Biden. Will he return the favor? (cr: Center for Responsive Politics)

Tags: union-news

Watson Institue for International and Public Affairs (15/2/21): "Rhodes Center: Is Now the Time for a Federal Jobs Guarantee?" - How a jobs guarantee would function in America, why it may be better for the economy than Universal Basic Income (UBI), and why now may be the moment for this type of intervention (Economist Mark Blythe interviews Economist Pavlina Tcherneva) (via u/StormalongJuan on r/alltheleft)

Tags: economic-news, policy-news, labor-news, analysis-news

KHN (17/2/21): Why Biden Has a Chance to Cut Deals With Red State Holdouts on Medicaid

Tags: policy-news, healthcare-news

Workers World (12/2/21): Capitalists Consolidate Control over U.S. Farmland by Ted Kelly

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, food-security-news

'Yet despite the fact that both the number of farms and the overall acreage of farmland is plummeting, the average farm size is actually on the rise. How could this be? It’s because of the consolidation of ownership into fewer private holdings. It appears that the billionaires are snatching up farmland as fast as they can.'

Important to note the parallels here with India at the moment - we are further along in the process (large corporate farming pushing out family farming), showing (A) why we should support the Indian protests and (B) the dangers of 'economic liberalization' and (C) the importance of left-wing activism and solidarity as the primary political barrier to this destructive process.

See also: Jacobin: It Didn’t Take Long for Joe Biden to Betray the Labor Movement

Tags: fail-biden-policy-news, labor-news

'First and foremost, there is, of course, the money. According to a Reuters analysis, after Microsoft, it was Amazon senior executives who gave Biden the most donations during the Democratic primaries, while the company and its employees were the fifth-highest contributors to his candidate campaign committee.'
'But there’s also Amazon’s gradual melding with the US government, part of a larger trend among the tech sector and the Democratic Party. Amazon was one of the companies from whom the incoming administration drew on to staff its transition team, before it launched a lobbying campaign to get allies into top government posts, albeit with not much success. It’s now in talks to assist the government’s vaccine rollout, which at this point is the administration’s only real containment strategy for the pandemic, because, as one former State Department official put it: “FEMA does not have that capacity. The National Guard does not have that capacity. Amazon might.”'

See also: Payday Report: Biden Denounces Union-Busting Tactics Ahead of Amazon Union Voice in Alabama (see also: The Hill)

Tags: biden-policy-news, labor-news

Louis Rossmann (4/2/21): WEDA begins anti-right-to-repair FUD comapign: FARMERS, TIME TO FIGHT BACK!

Tags: right-to-repair-news, tech-news, food-security-news

Subtle propaganda piece: Science (2/2/21): Myths of Vaccine Manufacturing (See below)

Tags: analysis-news, vaccine-ip-news, infrastructure-news

Pay close attention to what he is saying here. Now I don't doubt his expertise, nor do I doubt the factuality of what he says. But he gives the game away towards the end: 'But look at the timelines: here’s one of the largest, most well-prepared companies [Sanofi] that could join in on a vaccine production effort, and they won’t have an impact until August.' This is a variation of the Sunk cost fallacy - we're already paying the price for not going open-source and leaving it solely up to the capitalists ('won't have an impact until August [six months from publishing the article]'), so it's pointless! There are three flaws here though: (1) if the technology along these supply chains was opened up awhile ago, say around six months ago (or three months prior to publishing the article) when it became clear that the mRNA vaccines were going to be a thing, well we'd be looking at larger scale vaccine production (but then they wouldn't have excuses...). (2) Estimates for when everyone (who takes one) will be vaccinated range from 2022 to 2024. Even if we had to wait til next fall to set up and verify factories, share knowledge and training, etc., it would still be an enormous accelerant to global vaccination. And (3) mRNA vaccines are excellent technology - they allow for faster updates to vaccines, whereas traditional vaccines require a longer re-research process. Developing global, decommodified infrastructure would help (A) increase the response time to future pandemics, and (B) help establish global equality in dealing with pandemics (which would help stop them in their tracks, stemming the tide of variants emerging in the neglected corners of the Earth). This idea that the supply chains as they are reflect the impossibilities demanded by non-Western nations (and some Western voices) reflects the growing disillusionment with neoliberalism: Sure, maybe the system we have can't handle it. So let's change the rules to make it work.

Brennan Center for Justice (26/1/21): Time to Deal with the Filibuster

Tags: voting-rights-news, legislation-news, politics-news

ProPublica (1/2/21): The Boogaloo Bois Have Guns, Criminal Records and Military Training. Now They Want to Overthrow the Government by A.C. Thompson, Lila Hassan, and Karim Hajj

Tags: militant-far-right-news

EFF: EFF to First Circuit: Schools Should Not Be Policing Students’ Weekend Snapchat Posts

Tags: surveillance-and-censorship-news

KHN: Feds OK’d Export of Millions of N95 Masks as U.S. Workers Cried for More

Tags: trump-news, covid-news

'The Federal Emergency Management Agency issued the waiver in the final moments of Donald Trump’s presidency last month, allowing a Texas company to export its products after it failed to secure U.S. customers, according to the FEMA letter obtained by KHN.'
'National Nurses United president Zenei Triunfo-Cortez called the export waiver “unconscionable” and said N95s remain under lock and key in many hospitals. She said she still has to “beg” for a new N95 if hers gets soiled during a shift caring for covid-19 patients.'
...'That adds up to an unusual situation in which U.S. mask supplies have surged, but employers’ motivation to buy the best protective gear has not, said Peg Seminario, a former union health and safety official who recently signed a letter urging the CDC to update its guidelines to reflect the risk of inhaling the virus.'

KHN:New Single-Payer Bill Intensifies Newsom’s Political Peril

Tags: politics-news

Jacobin: The Alabama Amazon Union Drive Could Be the Most Important Labor Fight in the South in Decades; an interview with Michael Goldfield;Read!

Tags: labor-news

Jacobin: Capitalist Finance Is Incompatible With a Free Press

Tags: capitalist-farce-news

Beau of the Fifth Column: Let's talk about minimum wages and more stimulus.... (video)

Tags: economic-news

EFF: EFF to Patent Office: No New Design Patents

Tags: ip-news, policy-news

CounterPunch: Congressional Budget Office Not Competent to Assess Economics of Minimum Wage

Tags: economic-news, legislation-news

CounterPunch: Cuomo and Newsom Symbolize the Rot of Corporate Democrats and the Dire Need for Progressive Populism

Tags: bad-democrat-news, corruption-news

'On the other side of the continent, Newsom is second to none in sounding the alarm about climate change and the need to move away from fossil fuels. But Newsweek reports that during his first two years as governor, Newsom’s administration “approved more than 8,000 oil and gas permits on state lands.” He continues to issue many fracking permits. (As the Wall Street Journal noted days ago, fracking is now “the source of most oil and gas produced in the U.S.”)'

'It’s possible to transcend such pampered upbringings — Franklin Delano Roosevelt certainly did — but failures to show credible concern for the working class and serve their interests have put both Cuomo and Newsom in today’s political pickles.'

Jacobin (22/12/20): Thank Socialism for the Vaccine. Blame Capitalism for Its Distribution by Leigh Phillips

Tags: socialist-news, covid-news, vaccine-ip-news, capitalist-farce-news

'The jaw-dropping speed of COVID-19 vaccine development is a glorious marvel of science, cooperation, and economic planning - a glimpse of how much more an egalitarian world could produce and achieve. But the lifeboat ethics of vaccine rollout is a horrifying display of the inefficiency and cruelty of capitalism.'

Jacobin (29/1/21): "To See the Danger of a Domestic 'War on Terror', Look No Further Than This Florida Case" (Author: Branko Marcetic)

Tags: law-enforcement-oversteps-news, surveillance-and-censorship-news

'Convinced his state capitol was set to be attacked by violent, far-right extremists, a Florida man called for armed resistance on social media and was promptly jailed. The episode is a case study of how easily a domestic "war on terror" will be turned on the Left.'

--------------------

NPR: "What McDonald's Shows About The Minimum Wage"

Tags: economic-news, labor-news

'But they also found that those touch screens weren't installed in response to higher minimum wages. "We couldn't find any relationship between minimum wage increases and the adoption of touch-screen technology," Ashenfelter says.'
'However, Ashenfelter says, the fast-food workers they studied were still, on the net, much better off. "They still get a raise. They just don't get as big a raise as it may seem," he says. In effect, a minimum wage increase appears to be a redistribution of wealth from customers to low-wage workers.'

CounterPunch: A Framework to Defeat the White Power Movement: Organizing vs. Punditry, State Power, and How the Left Relates to the Police and Military

Tags: far-right-news, socialist-news

Jacobin (2/2/21): The Gamestop Affair is Just the Latest Incarnation of the ``People's Capitalism" Delusion"

Tags: economic-news, capitalist-farce-news

'The Robinhood trading app is an attempt to commercialize a powerful but thoroughly fictional myth: that finance can be democratized while ownership and control remain in the hands of powerful capitalists.'

CounterPunch: Organizing White Workers When the Klan is in the Shop - 'Working-class power demands solidarity. The bosses’ power demands racism. We only get free together.'

Tags: labor-news, far-right-news

ProPublica (22/1/21): "The Unfinished Business of Flint's Water Crisis" by Anna Clark

Tags: infrastructure-news, flint-news, water-security-news

'Criminal charges and a class-action settlement may seem like the last chapter in Flint' story, but many of the most important reforms at the root of the city's water crisis remain undone.'

KHN: Why Biden Has a Chance to Cut Deals With Red State Holdouts on Medicaid

Tags: policy-news, healthcare-news

Jacobin: 'The Lincoln Project Was a Giant Grift' (published 11/6/20, posted 2/18/21) - Trump won a higher share of Republican voters in 2020 than 2016!

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, corruption-news

The Atlantic: The Education of David Stockman (1981) This article was highly controversial, in which Reagan's OMB director was a little too open

Tags: historic-reporting

CNBC: Lincoln Project co-founder Reed Galen ran little known dark money group as super PAC's dealings face scrutiny (via @annalecta)

Tags: dark-money-news, corruption-news, gop-shenanigans-news

The Intercept: 'Leaked Audio Reveals How Coca-Cola Undermines Plastic Recycling Efforts' by Sharon Lerner (Oct 18 2019) (via u/MilanGuy on r/alltheleft)

Tags: capitalist-farce-news, corruption-news

The Texas Tribune (via @ddayen): 'Texplainer: Why Does Texas Have Its Own Power Grid?' by Kate Galbrath

Tags: texas-freeze-news, infrastructure-news

The American Prospect (via @ddayen): Are Endowments Damaging Colleges and Universities? by Kelly Grotke

Tags: economic-news

The Cut (via @AOC): The U.S. Is Seeing a Massive Spike in Anti-Asian Hate Crimes by Madeleine Aggeler

Tags: racist-attacks-news

CNN: House Leader McCarthy got into “heated” exchange with Trump as he refused to grasp severity of Capitol attack"

Tags: gop-shenanigans-news, capitol-storming-news

OpenSecrets: 2017 Financials of the Koch's dark money network

Tags: dark-money-news, corruption-news

The Intercept: "A Silent Pandemic": Nurse at ICE Facility Blows the Whistle on Coronavirus Dangers