Saturday, July 7, 2018

DuPont’s Museum of Disastrous Chemistry Continues to Spread Its Poison



Covered with storage tanks, smoke stacks, and holding pools, the old Chambers Works manufacturing site in southern New Jersey is an eyesore. From the bridge crossing the Delaware River, the industrial zone looks like a burnt patch, a brown splotch in the otherwise green of the river’s eastern shore. But the real problem with Chambers Works isn’t as visible.

Since 1892, when DuPont chose this site to house its smokeless gunpowder operations, Chambers Works has been ground zero for some of the world’s most environmentally devastating commercial enterprises. Now mostly abandoned, the roughly 2-square-mile area could serve as a museum of disastrous chemistry. Leaded gasoline; cancer-causing dyes; Kevlar, a synthetic fiber found to cause cancer in rats; Freon, a refrigerant that ate a hole in the ozone layer; neoprene, the production of which gives off a carcinogenic gas; refined uranium for atomic weapons; and PFOA, which now pollutes drinking water around the plant — and around the planet — are among the 1,200 chemical products DuPont made and stored at what was its largest manufacturing complex.

Click here for the full article.

Source: The Intercept_

Judge Rejects Trump's Administration's Blanket Request to Delay Reuniting Children at Border



A federal judge has refused a blanket request from the Trump administration for extra time time to reunite migrant children and their parents separated at the US-Mexico border, saying extensions will only granted in cases where there was an “articulable” reason. 

Last month, District Judge Dana Sabraw issued an order for the government to reunite up to 3,000 children split from their families as a result of a “zero tolerance” immigration policy that resulted in officials charging anyone apprehended crossing the border illegally. He ordered children under the age of five to be reunited with their parents by July 10, and for all children to be reunited by July 26.

Click here for the full article. 

Source: The Independent

A Native American Tribe Has a $800 Million Contract to Run ICE Detention Centers


A Daily Beast Exclusive

The National Congress of American Indians has called Trump’s immigration policies ‘simply immoral.’ One member group, though, is taking a very different approach.

By Justin Rohrlich and Adam Rawnsley

The Port Isabel Detention Center in Los Fresnos, Texas, is currently holding many of the parents who have been separated from their kids. But while PIDC is owned by ICE, its guards are provided by a subsidiary of Ahtna, Inc., a portfolio of businesses operated by the Ahtna, a federally recognized Alaska Native people.

Ahtna, Inc. is one of a number of companies profiting off of the deportation of undocumented immigrants from the United States. Previous reporting by The Daily Beast has revealed that the federal government currently employs the services of several companies and charities bringing in millions of dollars off of the Trump administration’s treatment of immigrant families.

The Ahtna, who have also run immigrant detention centers in New York, Florida, and Arizona in addition to Port Isabel, fall under the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) umbrella, and Ahtna, Inc. is an Alaska Native Regional Corporation established by Congress under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971.

A recent statement from the NCAI decried the Trump administration’s “forced separation of immigrant children from their families,” calling it “simply immoral” and a reminder of “a dark period for many Native American families.”

Click here for the full article.

A Day After Report, Violent White Supremacist Loses Job With Defense Contractor


The CEO of Northrop Grumman told employees he was saddened by ProPublica and Frontline’s report concerning Michael Miselis, an aerospace engineer who took part in the violence in Charlottesville last year.


Update, July 6, 2018: One day after being exposed as a member of a violent white supremacist group, Michael Miselis has lost his job as an aerospace engineer. In an email, company spokesman Tim Paynter told ProPublica and Frontline that Miselis “is no longer an employee of Northrop Grumman.” Paynter did not say whether Miselis was fired or resigned from his position.

Defense contractor Northrop Grumman said it will investigate an employee identified as a member of a violent white supremacist group in a recent report by ProPublica and Frontline.

The employee, Michael Miselis, a 29-year-old aerospace engineer, works at the company’s facility in Redondo Beach, California, and holds a government-issued security clearance of the sort required for personnel assigned to classified military projects. Outside of his professional life, Miselis belongs to the Rise Above Movement, a racist Southern California group whose members have physically attacked their political foes in at least four different cities.

Click here for the full article. 

Source: ProPublica

After Pompeo Departs, North Korea Calls Talks with U.S. 'Regrettable'

by Abigail Williams

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo departed Pyongyang Saturday after spending over 24 hours in the North Korean capital engaged in tense negotiations on the dismantling of the country’s nuclear weapons program.

In the highest-level discussions since President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s historic summit in June, Pompeo did not meet with the head of the rogue nation state.

Instead he finished a second day of long talks with his counterpart, North Korea’s former spy chief Vice Chairman Kim Yong Chol, with commitments for more talks — both on the repatriation of American remains from the Korean War and the destruction of a missile engine testing facility.

Click here for the full article. 

Source: NBC News 

Friday, July 6, 2018

Nazi Children’s Books, KKK Onesies Are for Sale on Amazon


Hate propaganda marketed for kids is sold through the online retailer, researchers found, and they’ve so far dodged censors.

By Kelly Weill

Despite its own policies against hateful content, Amazon still sells racist products—some of them marketed at children, a new study finds.

Baby onesies featuring a burning cross, swastika necklaces, and “costumes” depicting a black man being lynched have all found a recent home on Amazon, according to a new study by the Action Center on Race and the Economy and the Partnership for Working Families. The study also found a trove of white supremacist literature that has been created on Amazon’s publishing platform. Those products lingered on the site despite Amazon’s policy prohibiting “products that promote or glorify hatred, violence, racial, sexual or religious intolerance or promote organizations with such views,” the company states on its website.

Amazon, which takes a cut of sales, often doesn’t take action against the products unless facing public backlash, the study found. While some of the products cited in the study have since been removed from Amazon, others remain for sale on the site.

“Third party sellers who use our Marketplace service must follow our guidelines and those who don’t are subject to swift action including potential removal of their account,” an Amazon spokesperson told The Daily Beast of the study.

Retailers aren’t exactly hiding their Nazi products. A “leather WWII German Waffen SS” replica hat was allowed on the site, despite it being modeled after Nazi uniforms, the study found. The same goes for a swastika necklace, Nazi swords, and paraphernalia with the “Totenkopf,” a Nazi skull logo that has since been adopted by violent neo-Nazi groups.

Click here for the full article. 

Source: The Daily Beast 

President Donald Trump Mocks John McCain, George H.W. Bush 41 At Montana Rally


During a campaign rally at the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls, Montana, the president made remarks about everyone from Sen. John McCain and former President George H.W. Bush to Sen. Elizabeth Warren and the #MeToo movement.

For NYCHA Residents and Their Children: Lead Poisoning - Everything You Need To Know


This video was published on YouTube on January 27, 2016.

Dr. Nabil Ebraheim’s educational animated video describes the condition of lead poisoning. 

Lead poisoning can occur when lead builds up within the body, usually over a long period of time. This excessive amount of lead in the body can cause serious health problems. 

Young children are vulnerable to lead poisoning. It can affect their mental and physical development. 

What is lead poisoning? It is a medical condition caused by increased levels of lead within the body that interferes with the normal processes of the body and it particularly toxic to children. 

Source: Dr. Nabil Ebraheim

Amiri Baraka: 'Somebody Blew Up America'


This video was published on YouTube on December 16, 2009. 

"Somebody Blew Up America" by Amiri Baraka with Rob Brown-saxophone, recorded live on February 21, 2009 at The Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy NY. 

Source: mediasanctuary

'Flashback Friday': The 10 Most Racist Old Movies


This video was published on YouTube on September 29, 2016.

Source: Eskify

Trailblazers in Black History: Kerry James Marshall


This video was published on YouTube on March 31, 2014. 

Source: Louisiana Channel

Meghan McCain Accepts 'Liberty and Justice for All Award' for Father


The ceremony at the Johnson Presidential Library in Austin, Texas, included remarks by Meghan McCain and a panel discussion with Rick Davis, John McCain’s former presidential campaign manager. Senator McCain was diagnosed with brain cancer last year. 

The segment was broadcast on June 29 of this year. 

Click here for video.

Ideas on How to End Congressional Gridlock


No Labels co-founder William Galston discusses the bipartisan group’s “Speaker’s Project” and other proposed rules changes designed to end partisan gridlock in Congress.

Click here for video.

Source: C-SPAN

Deadline Approaches on Migrant Parent, Children Reunions


Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar declined to give a specific number of minors separated from their families but the figure is thought to be under 3,000.

SUNY Student Assembly Opposes Changes to Federal Admissions Guidance


The Student Assembly of the State University of New York strongly opposes the changes to federal guidance on the consideration of race in university admissions announced this week by the Justice and Education Departments.

This guidance, issued by the Obama Administration, encouraged campuses to consider race as part of a holistic admissions process in order to promote campus diversity.

The Student Assembly is deeply committed to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion on all sixty-four SUNY campuses. Race-aware admissions policies are an essential tool for institutions of higher education in creating diverse and inclusive campus communities.

“Unfortunately the work to end the marginalization of certain American communities is still ongoing,” said Michael Braun, President of the SUNY Student Assembly and SUNY Trustee. “Many students enter the college admissions process with the deck stacked against them; it is essential that colleges and universities consider the obstacles marginalized students face in the admission process and institute policies to level the playing field.”

The Student Assembly applauds Governor Andrew Cuomo for his unequivocal opposition to these regressive guidance changes, and for directing the SUNY and CUNY Board of Trustees to investigate whether current SUNY and CUNY admissions guidelines do enough to promote diversity and inclusion.

“On behalf of SUNY’s 600,000 students I would like to thank Governor Cuomo for taking such a strong stand in support of campus diversity,” said Braun. “At a time when students of color feel under attack from Washington, knowing that the Governor has their back is all the more important.”

The Student Assembly encourages all campuses to maintain inclusive admissions policies. While this change in guidance is troubling, campuses can continue to set their own race-aware admissions policies. We implore all campus administrations to not allow this change in guidance to influence policies that do so much good for so many students.

The Student Assembly of the State University of New York (SUNY SA) is the recognized student government organization representing the nearly 600,000 students of the State University of New York. Comprised of student leaders elected by their peers from across SUNY’s 64 campuses, SUNY SA is committed to empowering students throughout the State, and ensuring the representation of its members on the state and national level, as well as throughout the SUNY system.

Source: SUNYSA

Happening in Harlem: Teen Summer Comix Workshop at the Schomberg Center

 
Calling all young comix creators! This summer, the Schomburg Center will offer a free one-week comic-making workshop for youth ages 13-18 exploring the theme: "What does it mean to be a global citizen?". 

The workshop will take place each day, from July 16 to 20, from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Schomburg Center's Media Gallery.

Click here for additional information. 

Source: The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

Thursday, July 5, 2018

Donald Trump Law Enforcement Appointees Previously Worked for ICE Contractors

 

As the recent family separation policy demonstrates, President Donald Trump wears his zeal for immigration enforcement on his sleeve. Some of his high-level appointees wear it on their savings accounts: A handful of senior officials placed in law enforcement roles by Trump previously drew their paychecks from companies that contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The officials serve in a number of roles in federal law enforcement. Take, for instance, the top federal prosecutor in Indiana, U.S. Attorney Thomas L. Kirsch II, who was sworn in last year to serve in the Justice Department. He previously provided legal services to GEO Group, the sprawling private prison corporation that contracts with ICE to detain immigrants.

At least one official went from working with ICE contractors to working directly as a federal employee. Thomas Blank, the chief of staff at ICE, previously worked as a lobbyist at a firm called Wexler & Walker, where he specialized in helping companies secure security-related contracts before the government. His role there included working for the company now known as Axon, formerly called Taser, which contracts with ICE to supply the once-eponymous stun guns.

Click here for the full article. 

Source: The Intercept_

In Memoriam: Ed Schultz

 Radio and Television Personality Dies at 64

By Associated Press

Broadcasting personality Ed Schultz, whose career took him from quarterbacking at a Minnesota college to national radio and television, has died. He was 64.

His son, David Schultz, tells The Associated Press that his father died of natural causes Thursday morning in Washington, D.C., where he anchored "News with Ed Schultz" on RT America, formerly Russia Today.

Click here for summary. 

Source: NBC News

The German Enabling Act of 1933 and the USA Enabling Decision of 2018

Chancellor Heinrich Bruening announces to the Reichstag (German parliament) President Hindenburg's order for its dissolution and for new elections, invoking powers granted to him under the Weimar Constitution. Berlin, Germany, July 18, 1930.

— National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Md.



On January 30, 1933, the then President of the German Weimar Republic (1919-1933), the World War I hero Field Marshall Paul von Hindenburg, as part of a deal with the non-Nazi Right-Wing political parties, appointed Adolf Hitler, the leader of the National Socialist German Workers (Nazi) Party, as Chancellor of Germany. Among other things, the Nazis begin moving very quickly against the trade unions and the two left-wing parties, the Socialists (SPD) and the Communists (KPD), arresting certain members of their leaderships and driving others into exile.

On February 27, the grand, historic, German Parliament building in Berlin, the Reichstag, is hit by a fire that would make it unusable until it was eventually restored after the end of World War II. Although it is not likely that the cause of the fire will ever be known for certain, most historians agree that it was most likely set at the direction of Hermann Goering, one of Hitler's principal deputies, either by a lone native of Holland, a mentally-handicapped member of the Communist Party, Marinus van der Lubbe, or a crew organized by Goering. 

The story of "the cause" that was released almost immediately (within hours) by the Nazis was that the fire was set by van der Lubbe, as the result of a KPD plot. And the Nazis very quickly came up with a series of documents, later proved to be forgeries), that the "KPD Did It." (Actually, the KPD was as surprised by the Fire as was most everyone else.) The Reichstag conveniently happened to be decorated with highly flammable furniture, drapes, and wall-coverings. Apparently, a few matches did the trick. It happened that the KPD knew nothing of it and that the "incriminating documents" quickly produced by the Nazis were later proved to be forgeries. But that meant nothing at the time.

The Nazis quickly created a national hysteria over the "threat of the KPD and the SPD," lumped together as "the Marxists," to the "peace and tranquility of the German nation," to the "security of the German volk." To deal with "the Marxist threat," on Feb. 28, the day after the Fire, before there could be any kind of investigation beyond the Nazi declarations and proffered false documents, with Pres. Hindenburg's approval, and in accord with a provision of the post-World War I Weimar Republic's Constitution, all of the civil liberties protections in it were suspended. But this wasn't enough for the Nazis. 

Click here for the full article.

Source: OpEdNews

Member of a Violent White Supremacist Group Working for a Defense Contractor with a Security Clearance

 
Michael Miselis took part in the violent Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville. So far, it hasn’t damaged his standing at Northrop Grumman. 

Click here for details. 

Source: ProPublica

Newt Gingrich Discusses 'Trump's America'


The former House Speaker offered his thoughts on the impact that the Trump administration policies are having on America and around the world. 

The segment was broadcast on June 8, 2018.

Click here for video.

Source: C-SPAN 

Conservative Columnist Max Boot: ‘I Want Democrats To Take Over’



Conservative columnist Max Boot, a frequent critic of President Donald Trump, says he’s now rooting for a Democratic takeover of both houses of Congress in November’s midterm elections. 

In a Washington Post column, Boot said the GOP was once a conservative party with a white nationalist fringe. 

Now it’s a white-nationalist party with a conservative fringe,” he wrote. 

Click here for video.

Source: The Huffington Post

Almost Half The Country Thinks Donald Trump Is A Racist



Nearly half of voters think President Donald Trump is a racist, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday.

Forty-nine percent of voters said Trump is racist, while 47 percent said he’s not, according to the poll. These numbers are similar to those from a February Quinnipiac poll, where 49 percent of voters said Trump was racist and 46 percent said he was not.

Forty-four percent of voters said they think “racist beliefs” were a motive in Trump’s immigration policy, while 50 percent said Trump has “a sincere interest in controlling our borders.” Sixty percent said the policy of separating children from their parents at the border was a violation of human rights.

Click here for the full article. 

Source: The Huffington Post

Right-Wing Leader Warns Trump: Don’t Hire Bill Shine, Roger Ailes’ Former Fox News Henchman


By Lloyd Grove

Right-wing legal eagle and Donald Trump supporter Larry Klayman, who played a key role in pushing Bill Clinton’s impeachment back in the 1990s, is warning President Trump not to hire former Fox News executive Bill Shine.

Shine, who was forced out of Fox News more than a year ago amid allegations that he helped facilitate and cover up the late Roger Ailes’ sexual misconduct with female underlings, is reportedly under serious consideration to be named White House communications director and a deputy chief of staff.

On Tuesday, Klayman called on federal and local prosecutors in New York to investigate Shine for potential crimes related to his role at Fox News; Shine was a key person of interest in an earlier federal investigation into the alleged misuse of corporate funds to pay off and hush up Ailes’s accusers.

Click here for the full article. 

Source: The Daily Beast

Actions Taken to Support Development of Medical Marijuana and Industrial Hemp Businesses in New York

Governor Andrew Cuomo today announced further action to support the development of medical marijuana and industrial hemp businesses in New York, directing the Department of Financial Services to provide guidance to support the safe and sound provision of banking services for these businesses. 

The DFS guidance issued today encourages New York State chartered banks and credit unions to consider establishing banking relationships with medical marijuana-related businesses that are operating in New York in full compliance with all applicable New York State laws and regulations, including the New York Compassionate Care Act, and the applicable regulations and requirements of the New York State Department of Health. 

Today's guidance also encourages New York State-chartered banks and credit unions to support the development of industrial hemp businesses statewide, continuing this significant economic development goal of New York State.

Click here for the full announcement.

Source: The Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo 

Participate in the 'Jamaica Now' Community Survey


The following statement was submitted by the office of New York State Senator James Sanders, Jr., who represents the 10th Senatorial District. 

The Jamaica NOW Leadership Council is excited to announce the launch of a branding and marketing campaign for downtown Jamaica Queens.

Our goal is to work with residents, business owners, property owners, community organizations, and local government to establish one community brand and story that we can all collectively support and employ in the efforts to celebrate our community.

As a part of the project, we are inviting you to be a part of a survey about living, working, and going to school in Jamaica Queens. Survey insights, along with stakeholder meetings, statistical reports, and workshops are key to developing a compelling brand and positioning strategy for Jamaica Queens.

Attached you will find the flyer for the survey which should take no more than 10-15 minutes to complete.  The survey can found online at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/jamaicaqueens.  All information will be confidential and all identifying information is removed before we analyze the results.

The council appreciates your participation and assistance to promote the survey. The survey will close, July 11th. We look forward to using this information to make Jamaica, Queens an even better place to live, work and play in the future.

Trump Administration To Undo Efforts To Boost College Racial Diversity: Reports

 

President Donald Trump’s administration is planning to undo policies that would encourage race as a factor in college admissions, according to news reports.

The decision, which is expected to be made on Tuesday, according to two sources familiar with the plans, would reverse efforts by former President Barack Obama’s administration to increase diversity in schools through affirmative action, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The New York Times also confirmed the administration’s efforts to encourage race-blind admissions standards.

Click here for the full article. 

Source: The Huffington Post

U.S. Military Surveys Found Local Distrust in Niger. Then the Air Force Built a $100 Million Drone Base.

 

Before the U.S. military began building its $100 million drone base in Agadez, Niger, U.S. Africa Command and the State Department took the temperature of locals through public-opinion surveys. The results indicated mixed feelings about the United States and its motives in the region — and take on added resonance in the wake of an ambush last October in Niger that killed four American soldiers.

“The devout of Agadez are divided on variables associated with violent religious extremism,” reads a military report that contains data from surveys conducted in 2012 by the polling firm ORB International. The 2013 report by U.S. Army Africa, which is the Army component of AFRICOM, is titled “Special Assessment: Agadez, Niger – Strategic Crossroads in the Sahara,” and was obtained by The Intercept via the Freedom of Information Act.

A July 2012 survey found that 83 percent of Agadez respondents believed that American and European cultures pose a threat to traditional Muslim values. Nearly 50 percent were convinced that the United States is fighting Islam, rather than terrorism, across the Muslim world. And 40 percent believed that using violence in the name of their religion was always or sometimes justified.

Click here for the full article.

Source: The Intercept_