Source: FRANCE 24 English
Friday, September 7, 2018
Nike Sales Spike in Wake of Colin Kaepernick Relationship
What was Nike thinking? Nike was thinking, “Money, money, money, money. . . . MONEY!”
At
its core, Nike’s decision to embrace Colin Kaepernick as one of the
primary faces of the 30th anniversary “Just Do it” campaign is about one
thing and one thing only: Making money.
Don’t get confused or distracted by notions of principle or a desire
to be on the right side of history. A publicly-traded corporation with a
fiduciary obligation to its shareholders, Nike exists not to be a
beacon of freedom but a bastion of capitalism.
Click here for the full article.
Source: NBC Sports
'Flashback Friday': NYPD Corruption in the Rampant Streets of 1970s Brooklyn
This report was published on YouTube on December 14, 2016.
Source: BRIC TV
Betty Shelby, Cop Who Killed Unarmed Black Man, Teaching Course on How to Cope
This report was published on YouTube on September 3.
Source: RT
Congressional Black Caucus Chairman: Kavanaugh's Criminal Justice Record 'Unsatisfactory'
In his testimony Friday, Rep. Cedric Richmond of Louisiana, chairman of
the Congressional Black Caucus, said Supreme Court nominee Brett
Kavanaugh's record on criminal justice is "entirely unsatisfactory for a
country persistently struggling to hold law enforcement accountable for
mass incarceration and police brutality.
Cicely Tyson Becomes First Black Woman To Receive Honorary Oscar
By Ron Dicker
Cicely Tyson is finally bringing home the gold.
The 93-year-old actress was named this week as the recipient of an honorary Oscar, making her the first black woman to gain that distinction, according to Essence and People.
Click here for the full article.
Source: The Huffington Post
Passengers Arriving from France and Germany Report Flu-Like Symptoms at Philadelphia Airport
The scare comes just a day after passengers reported similar symptoms at a New York airport.
Several sick passengers at the Philadelphia airport prompted the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to hold 250 people for medical examination.
Bonus Report: Sick Passengers on Jet at JFK Appear to Have the Flu
The passengers were on American Airlines
flights arriving from Paris and Munich and reported flu-like symptoms
like coughing, fever, or vomiting akin to the passengers on an Emirates flight at JFK International airport in New York just one day before.
Airport spokesperson Diane Gerace said in a statement: "As
a precaution, all passengers on the two flights—totaling about 250 plus
crew—were held for a medical review and the CDC was notified.
Click here for the full article.
FBI Director Christopher Wray Addresses 9/11 First Responders Forum
Wray delivers remarks at a forum in New York
City for federal first responders, who responded to the September 11
terrorist attacks of 2001.
Click here for video.
Source: C-SPAN
Thursday, September 6, 2018
How Grassroots Left is Reshaping Democratic Party Ahead of 2018 Midterms
Candidates Ayanna Pressley and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have toppled establishment Democrats with openly progressive campaigns
By Bill Barrow and Bob Salsberg
When Ayanna Pressley
topped a 10-term congressman in a Massachusetts district once
represented by John Fitzgerald Kennedy, she became the latest face of a
burgeoning movement of the grassroots left. "This is a fight for the
soul of our party and the future of our democracy," Ms Pressley said.
That movement is reshaping a Democratic Party still searching for leaders and identity in the era of Donald Trump.
What’s happening?
Grassroots activists on the left have a mixed record in
Democratic primaries this election year, but the self-described
progressive movement has scored enough victories to suggest its
popularity is based on more than just protesting the Trump White House.
The movement is also remoulding the Democratic Party into a younger,
more diverse and decidedly liberal party.
Click here for the full article.
Source: The Independent
As Months Pass in Chicago Shelters, Immigrant Children Contemplate Escape, Even Suicide
Internal documents reveal despair and tedium in one of the nation’s largest shelter networks for unaccompanied minors.
by Melissa Sanchez, Duaa Eldeib and Jodi S. Cohen
This story was co-published with Mother Jones.
One 16-year-old from Guatemala said he wanted to “quitarme la
vida,” or “take my life away,” as he waited to be released from a
Chicago shelter for immigrant children. He was kept there for at least
584 days.
A 17-year-old from Guinea went on a hunger strike, telling staff
members he refused to eat until he saw evidence they were trying to find
him a home. He was released nearly nine months after he entered a
shelter.
And a 10-month-old boy, forcibly separated from his father at the
U.S.-Mexico border in March, was bitten repeatedly by an older child and
later hospitalized after falling from a highchair. He was detained for
five months.
ProPublica Illinois has obtained thousands of confidential records
about the nine federally funded shelters in the Chicago area for
immigrant youth operated by the nonprofit Heartland Human Care Services —
some dating back years, others from as recently as last week.
The documents provide a sweeping overview of the inner workings and
life inside one of the country’s largest shelter networks for
unaccompanied minors, including children separated from their parents
under the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance policy.
Click here for the full article.
Source: ProPublica
Speaker Ryan Accuses Anonymous Op-Ed Author of 'Dishonesty'
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) has criticized the author of an anonymous
op-ed in the New York Times critical of President Trump's personal
behavior as "living in dishonesty." He went on to say that the writer
should not be working for the president if they are not interested in
helping him. Asked if was concerned about the allegations, the speaker
said he is concerned about results in government.
Click here for video.
Democratic Leader Accuses GOP of Enabling White House Mayhem
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi has accused congressional
Republicans of enabling what she calls "the mayhem" at the White House.
In her first public comments since the New York Times published an
anonymous op-ed by a senior administration official criticizing the
president's personal conduct in office. She also said that the
president's response to the op-ed on Twitter, where he said "Treason?'
was a "manifestation of his instability." She also joked about Vice
President Pence being the author of the piece, but added that her party
remains focused on the issues that matter to the voters ahead of the
November midterms.
Click here for video.
Trump Administration to Defy Court Order on Child Detention
By Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration said on Thursday that it plans to withdraw from a federal court agreement that strictly limits the conditions under which authorities can detain migrant children, and proposed new rules that it said would enable it to detain minors during their immigration proceedings.
The administration is targeting the Flores Settlement Agreement, a 1997 federal consent decree that places significant curbs on how long and in what conditions the government can detain migrant children as it seeks to dissuade migrants from crossing the U.S. southern border.
Immigrants and their advocates are expected to mount legal challenges to the administration’s effort to exit the agreement, which has been interpreted over the years to set a 20-day limit on detaining children who entered the country illegally, and also requires facilities that house migrant children to be licensed by a state authority.
Click here for the full article.
Source: The Huffington Post
Statement from Governor Andrew Cuomo
"By attempting to withdraw from the Flores Settlement, the Trump administration is launching a new front in its attack on immigrants and our American values. The White House is making an egregious and ill-fated bid to undo critical federal standards that are intended to protect children in this country and ensure we are upholding our moral principles.
"In New York, we stand with immigrants and we are fighting back against the Trump administration's abhorrent treatment of immigrant families that goes against everything we believe in this country. We are moving forward with our multi-state lawsuit to end the family separation policy once and for all, reunite children with their families, and defend our principles, our rights and our basic humanity."
Source: The Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
Brett Kavanaugh Said Roe v. Wade Is Not ‘Settled Law’ In 2003 White House Email
Judge Brett Kavanaugh wrote an email in March 2003 questioning whether Roe v. Wade, the landmark abortion rights decision, was “settled law of the land.” The email had been deemed confidential by Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans but was provided to The New York Times by an anonymous source.
Kavanaugh, whom President Donald Trump nominated for the Supreme Court seat vacated by Justice Anthony Kennedy, has attempted to portray himself as believing that the abortion rights secured under Roe v. Wade and affirmed by Casey v. Planned Parenthood are precedent. Roe, according to Kavanaugh in his confirmation hearing, is “an important precedent of the Supreme Court that has been reaffirmed many times.”
Click here for the full article.
Source: The Huffington Post
Trump Administration Tells Agencies to Promote Negative Impact of Marijuana Use
This report was published on YouTube on September 5.
Myanmar Journalists Sentenced: 'We Are Not Going to Rest Until They're Out'
Source: FRANCE 24 English
Sick Passengers on Jet at JFK Appear to Have the Flu
This report was published on YouTube on September 6.
NYPD Update: Mayor de Blasio, Commissioner O'Neill on Crime Stats
This video was published on YouTube on September 4.
Source: NYC Mayor's Office
New York Counties with the Highest Rates of Hunger
By James T. Mulder
About 2.3 million New Yorkers, or 12 percent of the state population,
struggle with hunger, according to a report by Feeding America, a
national network of more than 200 food banks.
The group's latest report reveals food insecurity rates for every county in the state.
The term food insecurity is defined as having limited or uncertain access to adequate food.
The report is based on 2016 data from the U.S. Census, U.S. Department of Agriculture and Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Click here for the full article and listing.
Source: syracuse.com (via Empire Report New York)
Teachout Rejects Wall Street Donations, But Accepts Money from Financial Sector Individuals
A New York Daily News Exclusive
By Kenneth Lovett
ALBANY
– State Attorney General wannabe Zephyr Teachout has touted that she
does not take corporate contributions — but that has not stopped her
from taking money from individuals in the financial sector.
In fact, $174,210, or more than 11.5%, of the money she raised for her attorney general run so far this year has come from those with ties to the financial sector, according to a review of her campaign financial disclosure filings.
CBS Board Offering CEO Moonves $100 Million in Stock as Exit Package: Sources
By David Faber
The CBS board is deep in settlement talks with CEO Les Moonves
that would result in his departure and the appointment of COO Joe
Ianniello as his interim replacement, people close to the negotiations
told CNBC.
The talks have been going on for some
time but have yet to reach a conclusion given continued back-and-forth
about his exit package, the sources said.
While under his contract
he is due as much as $180 million in severance and a production deal,
the
board is offering a roughly $100 million exit package made up almost
entirely of CBS stock, sources said.
Click here for video.
Source: CNBC (via Empire Report New York)
Wednesday, September 5, 2018
Black Police Group Supports Nike Deal with Colin Kaepernick Despite Police Unions’ Boycott
By Shaun King
We often hear that police officers across the country are pissed
at Colin Kaepernick. When Nike announced an endorsement deal with the
former NFL quarterback, who has been effectively banned
from the league for his protests during the national anthem, an
umbrella group of police unions called the National Association of
Police Organizations called for its ranks to boycott the shoemaker’s products.
Yet we often don’t hear about how black police officers across the
country think of Kaepernick and the subjects he raised with his protest.
The reality is that these cops are often in support not only of
Kaepernick’s stance against police brutality, racism, and injustice in
the United States, but that black police actually support and defend his
previous protests around those issues during the national anthem.
On Wednesday, the National Black Police Association released an open
letter they sent to Mark Parker, Nike’s CEO. In the letter, the group
not only condemned the calls from traditionally white police
organizations to boycott Nike, but congratulated Nike on its new
campaign featuring Kaepernick.
Click here for the full article.
Source: The Intercept_
Sex, Sin, and Abortion Rights
Over
the last several years, the Roman Catholic Church has found itself
confronted with a wide variety of scandal --- some of them have been
described even by Catholics as horrors --- that involve sex and what
Catholics describe as sins of one sort or another. First came the
discoveries in Ireland of the Catholic orphanages/homes-for-unwed
mothers and, at some of them, the widespread practice of forcibly
taking babies away from their mothers in the homes and putting them up
for adoption. This practice was denounced by the Pope himself. But of course, it occurred in the past. Occurring in the past, too, was the apparent practice of killing babies and dumping them in unmarked graves (one was a septic tank) along with fetuses aborted in the homes.
The current scandal revolves around the report of a grand jury in Pennsylvania of widespread sexual abuse by
Catholic clergy, over a period of many years. The scandal here concerns
the sexual assaults themselves, discovered on a scale not previously
known of, and the cover-ups. The general public has recently learned of the latter on a broadening scale since the original reporting by The Boston Globe some years ago, which was made into a movie ("Spotlight"). Additionally, charges have been made against the Pope himself of covering-up reports of sexual abuse by a cardinal. There are also charges of the broad toleration of
homosexuality within the Church, which may well be wide-spread.
Interestingly enough, the latter charges are being used against a Pope intent on reforming the Church on a grand scale in how it deals with economic, political and social issues around the world, by a powerful reactionary wing with the Church hierarchy.
Interestingly
enough, too, all of these scandals involve sex --- one of basic humans
drives, both for procreation and for pleasure --- and sin, a concept
that has driven Catholic theology since it was codified by St, Augustine
in the 4th and 5th centuries. "Sin" is, of course, a concept
unique to a certain set of religious beliefs, but not to others, and is
totally alien to those of us who are humanists/reasonists/atheists. As
is well known, there is a list of sins which, if committed by Catholics
without confession and absolution, will lead upon death to eternal
damnation in Hell.
In
the list of sins are such matters as pre-marital sex, giving birth
out-of-wedlock, using contraceptives (other than "Vatican Roulette"),
and homosexuality. I must say that I don't know whether or not the
commission of a crime such as sexual assault or a crime such as knowing
of a sexual assault and not reporting it to law enforcement (the latter
being the crime in Pennsylvania on which the former fabled Penn
State football coach Joe Paterno --- a Catholic himself --- got hung
up) are considered sins of the order of magnitude of the sex-related
ones listed above.
Click here for the full article.
Source: OpEdNews
Indigenous Activists Win 'David vs. Goliath' Victory as Court Rejects $4.5B Trans Mountain Pipeline
This report was published on YouTube on September 4.
Source: Democracy Now!
Social Media Executives Testify Before Congress Amid Election Security Concerns
Facebook and Twitter executives plan to defend their companies in two
congressional hearings, arguing they are aggressively trying to root out
foreign actors who want to do the United States harm just weeks before
the midterm elections.
Twitter's CEO Jack Dorsey will also face angry Republicans who claim the
companies have shown evidence of bias against conservatives. In
prepared testimony released ahead of a House hearing Wednesday
afternoon, Dorsey says his company does not use political ideology to
make decisions.
Congress has sharply criticized the social media companies over the last
year as it has become clear that they were at the forefront of Russia's
interference in the 2016 elections and beyond. That scrutiny has led to
additional criticism over the companies' respect for user privacy and
whether conservatives are being censored — frustrations that are
particularly heightened ahead of the midterms.
Source: CBS News
DR Congo: Exclusion of Opposition Leader from Election Slammed
This report was published on YouTube on September 4.
Two Men Charged in Connection with Skripal Poisoning, But What Can the UK Do?
Source: FRANCE 24 English
Chief of Saudi-Funded Aid Platform: 'Saudi Arabia Means No Harm to the Yemeni People'
Source: FRANCE 24 English
Tuesday, September 4, 2018
Governor Doug Ducey Appoints Sen. Jon Kyl to Fill John McCain's Seat
In announcing his decision, the Arizona governor told reporters that Mr. Kyl was the “best possible person regardless
of politics” and that he would be “prepared to hit the ground running.”
Former Sen. Kyl, who served in the Senate from 1995-2013, said he was
committed to serving until January 2019.
Click here for video.
Source: C-SPAN
Op-Ed: Increased Russian Aggression Catalyzes U.S. Response
By Matthew Dubas
The following commentary is in response to a report published today on From The G-Man, which was entitled Is Renewed Fighting in Ukraine Linked to Trump Taking Office?
The following commentary is in response to a report published today on From The G-Man, which was entitled Is Renewed Fighting in Ukraine Linked to Trump Taking Office?
I'm not sure if this has any influence on the story or the spin, but Dmytro Firtash, who is wanted by the FBI and is residing in exile in Austria (which refuses to extradite him to the U.S.), is director for Euronews in Ukraine. Firtash, through his companies OstChem and DF Group has promoted the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, has links to Russia and Putin through energy dealings, as well as Victor Medvedchuk (his daughter's godfather is Putin), who has styled himself as the go-between (a back channel) in Russia-Ukraine negotiations via the Normandy format (France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia) from the failed Minsk agreements.
https://euobserver.com/news/
If
there is an uptick in fighting in Ukraine's east, it is more as a
result of Russian troops and mercenaries, hardware and weapons being
illegally supplied from Russia, rather than what happens in the White
House. However, this latest action is more of a provocation by Russia to
see how the West, particularly the U.S. responds. Russia recently did
some house cleaning with the bombing of Alexander Zakharchenko - the
former puppet war lord (and war criminal) of the Russian-occupied
Donetsk region - who was killed as a result. A new face plucked from the
local populace will maintain the narrative that this is somehow a civil
war between Ukrainians and not a Russian invasion orchestrated from the
Kremlin.
Russia's latest war games "Vostok" is
another distraction and should be more disturbing as it includes
Russia, China and Mongolia (a new axis powers?), as are Russia's moves
in the Mediterranean and the Azov seas. Russia is attempting to form a
naval blockade of the Azov and Black seas to cripple Ukraine's maritime
shipping and commerce (and the Kerch bridge built by Russia, connecting
Crimea with Russia, limits larger commercial ships from entering
Ukrainian ports of Mariupol and Berdyansk in the Azov Sea). The U.S. is
preparing a response to that threat as well, with increased patrols and
naval exercises in the Black Sea and Mediterranean with its allies.
The
U.S. has also responded with the reactivation of the 2nd U.S. Fleet (on
August 24, Ukrainian Independence Day), which is based in Norfolk, Va.,
and is tasked with patrolling the U.S. east coast, the Arctic and North
Atlantic - its flagship is the newly constructed USS George H.W. Bush
aircraft carrier. Previously the 6th fleet, based in the Mediterranean,
shared double duty. The 2nd fleet was deactivated in 2011 under
President Obama, with the administration claiming that Russia posed no
threat. The 2nd fleet was reactivated by President Trump as a direct
response to the increased Russian threat.
Are
Putin and Trump pursuing brinksmanship or detente? Deterrence through
strength? Russia will not be able to sustain a course of brinksmanship
with its economy in a downward spiral, making it more dangerous with
respect to non-conventional weapons, which Russia has shown it is not
afraid to use (chemical weapons, radioactive elements, etc) on foreign
soil. Or will we see China step up its military threat and cooperation
to ease the burden on Russia?
And let us not
forget the role of the Russian Orthodox Church in Russia's foreign
policy goals (a centuries-long relationship that traces back to tsarist
days).
Matthew Dubas is an editor for the The Ukrainian Weekly. The
newspaper is distributed throughout the United States and Canada and serves as a major source of
news and information for the Ukrainian-American community. He has
reported on many of the country’s political and social conflicts and worked
with ambassadors, politicians, policy advisers, activists and scholars on a
range of issues concerning Ukraine. The views expressed by Mr. Dubas do not
necessarily reflect those of the publication's management or editorial
staff.
From Ministry to Muckraking: The Biblical Basis for Investigative Reporting
Some people say journalists are “godless.” But I spent five years in full-time Christian ministry, and my faith has made me a better reporter.
This story was co-published with The New York Times.
More than a dozen years ago I was a finalist for a reporting job
at a small newspaper. All I needed to do was survive an interview with
the top editor. The other editors warned me, saying their boss took
perverse pleasure from smashing the hopes of naive reporters. I braced
myself as he studied my resume. His lips curled into a sneer.
To be fair, my job history was a tad unusual. I had spent five years
in full-time ministry, including three as an evangelical Christian
missionary in Kenya. Then there was my master’s degree in theology from
Fuller Theological Seminary. There didn’t seem to be a lot of
churchgoing, Bible-believing, born-again Christians like me working at
daily papers.
The editor scowled and said, “So what makes you think that a Christian can be a good journalist?”
He emphasized “Christian” as if it were some kind of slur.
I liked that he spoke his mind, but I was taken aback. I explained
what I saw as a natural progression from the ministry to muckraking,
pointing out that both are valid ways of serving a higher cause. The
Bible endorses telling the truth, without bias. So does journalism. The
Bible commands honesty and integrity. In journalism, your reputation is
your main calling card with sources and readers.
Click here for the full article.
Source: ProPublica
Are We Making Elections Less Secure Just to Save Time?
By Sam Biddle
Something strange happens on election night. With polls closing,
American supporters of both parties briefly, intensely align as one: We
all want to know who’s going to win, and we don’t want to wait one more
minute. The ravenous national appetite for an immediate victor, pumped
up by frenzied cable news coverage and now Twitter, means delivering
hyper-updated results and projections before any official tally is
available. But the technologies that help ferry lightning-quick results
out of polling places and onto CNN are also some of the riskiest,
experts say.
It’s been almost two years since Russian military hackers attempted to
hijack computers used by both local election officials and VR Systems,
an e-voting company that helps make Election Day possible in several key
swing states. Since then, reports detailing the potent duo of inherent technical risk and abject negligence have
made election security a national topic. In November, millions of
Americans will vote again — but despite hundreds of millions of dollars
in federal aid poured into beefing up the security of your local polling
station, tension between experts, corporations, and the status quo over
what secure even means is leaving key questions unanswered: Should
every single vote be recorded on paper, so there’s a physical trail to
follow? Should every election be audited after the fact, as both a
deterrent and check against fraud? And, in an age where basically
everything else is online, should election equipment be allowed anywhere
near the internet?
Click here for the full article.
Source: The Intercept_