News on the Blue Marble header
treasury-secretary-janet-yellen REUTERS:"U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urged lawmakers on Friday to increase or suspend the nation's debt limit as soon as possible and warned that if Congress does not act by Aug. 2, the Treasury Department will need to take "extraordinary measures" to prevent a U.S. default. As a partisan fight over raising the debt ceiling erupted in Congress, Yellen told House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a letter that the outstanding debt of the United States will be at the statutory limit on Aug 1. "Today, Treasury is announcing that it will suspend the sale of State and Local Government Series (SLGS) securities at 12:00 p.m. on July 30, 2021," Yellen said in the letter, also sent to other congressional leaders from both parties. The suspension will continue until the debt ceiling is suspended or raised, Yellen said. "If Congress has not acted to suspend or increase the debt limit by Monday, August 2, 2021, Treasury will need to start taking certain additional extraordinary measures in order to prevent the United States from defaulting on its obligations," Yellen added. A failure to work out differences over whether government spending cuts should accompany an increase in the statutory debt limit, currently set at $28.5 trillion, could lead to a federal government shutdown - as has happened three times in the past decade - or even a debt default..."
mcarthy-trump-circus-shit-show-2 CNN:"It's gone beyond whitewashing history. Ex-President Donald Trump and his House Republican enablers are now spinning fantastical inversions to hide his crimes against the Constitution on January 6. Trump insisted that the mob that marched from his rally on that fateful day to invade the US Capitol were a "very loving crowd" in excerpts from audio interviews released on CNN by two Washington Post reporters in a new book on the ex-President's last days in office. The audio came out on the same day Trump's mouthpiece on Capitol Hill, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and other Republicans spoke out against authoritarianism and abuses of power -- but they leveled those accusations at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and not the twice-impeached former President. It was the latest incarnation of a now classic tactic among pro-Trump Republicans and his media propagandists -- an effort to not just excuse the former President's conduct but to comprehensively alter the facts and public perception of the worst attack on Congress in two centuries. The shape-shifting strategy isn't just a political device -- it allows those who promote it to avoid wrestling with the reality of an assault on American democracy..."
asshole-trump-scowling CNN: "The most chilling implication from new reports that America's top military officer feared Donald Trump would try to order the armed forces to stage a coup is not how close the nation came to a post-election disaster last year. It's the extreme danger that the US system of government, Constitution and cherished freedoms would face if an ex-President even now trying to revive his demagogic political career ever gets anywhere near the Oval Office again. In the latest staggering glimpse into Trump's crazed, final days in office from a flurry of new books, it emerged Wednesday that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley was so shaken by Trump's refusal to concede defeat that he feared he might attempt a coup or other illegal gambit to stay in power. Milley saw himself and the armed forces as a bulwark against any presidential mutiny against the Constitution and the nearly two-and-a-half centuries of democratic transfers of power..."
defend-daca REUTERS:"A U.S. federal judge in Texas on Friday blocked new applications to a program that protects immigrants who were brought to the United States as children from deportation, but said the hundreds of thousands of people already enrolled would not be affected until further court rulings..."
Danish-Siddiqui REUTERS:" Reuters journalist Danish Siddiqui was killed on Friday while covering a clash between Afghan security forces and Taliban fighters near a border crossing with Pakistan, an Afghan commander said. Afghan special forces had been fighting to retake the main market area of Spin Boldak when Siddiqui and a senior Afghan officer were killed in what they described as Taliban crossfire, the official told Reuters..."
capitol-attack CNN:"Amid mounting concern about a fresh wave of pro-Trump violence in August, more than a dozen current and former Capitol Police officers, Capitol security officials, lawmakers and aides tell CNN that not nearly enough has been done to address the security failures exposed by the January 6 attack on the US Capitol six months ago. The mere shock of the event, and the criticism that followed, has pushed the US Capitol Police Department to make some quick changes -- rank-and-file officers now get daily intelligence alerts on their cell phones. New tactical gear like helmets, batons and goggles have been purchased. And two former department leaders have been hired as security consultants to streamline improvements. But the sweeping reforms that are widely seen as necessary to prevent a similar attack remain elusive, especially an operational and cultural overhaul of the department that some believe will take years to achieve, if it can happen at all."
morgan stanley: back to the office or else CNNBUSINESS: "...Today, as the engine of the American economy revs back to life, it's not as simple as plugging workers right back into the jobs they left. Here's the evidence.Layoffs are slowing and the economy is adding jobs, but the Labor Department reported a record 9.3 million job openings in April, an unheard-of figure... ....More people are quitting their jobs than any time in the past 20 years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Four million people quit their jobs in April. It's a sign of confidence in finding a new job as millions look for better opportunities in new industries. It's also a sign that millions of Americans are not rushing to go "back to normal,"...Instead of applying to work for someone else, a record number are starting their own businesses. As of May, 2.5 million new business applications have been filed in 2021, according to the Census Bureau. That's already more than half of the businesses formed in 2020...."
sohail-pardis CNN:" As he approached the checkpoint, Pardis put his foot on the accelerator to speed through. He was not seen alive again. Villagers who witnessed the incident told the Red Crescent the Taliban shot his car before it swerved and stopped. They then dragged Pardis out of the vehicle and beheaded him. Pardis was one of thousands of Afghan interpreters who worked for the US military and now face persecution by the Taliban, as the group gains control of wider swaths of the country.In a statement issued in June, the Taliban said it would not harm those who worked alongside foreign forces. A Taliban spokesperson told CNN that they were attempting to verify the details of the incident but said some incidents are not what they are portrayed to be. But those who spoke to CNN said their lives are now under threat as the Taliban launch revenge attacks following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. At the height of the war, there were about 100,000 US troops in the country, as part of a NATO force. ..."
pipe-bombs CNN:"Federal authorities have arrested two men in California who allegedly wanted to start a movement to overthrow the government and discussed blowing up the Democratic headquarters in Sacramento in a new, major case of would-be domestic terrorists motivated by former President Donald Trump's election defeat...Court records citing extensive encrypted messages between Rogers and Copeland raise the alarm of how the men sought to inspire domestic terrorism toward Democrats -- and how their anti-government motivations may still persist. ..In June, the Department of Homeland Security issued an intelligence bulletin... to state and local law enforcement partners about the increasing opportunities for violent extremist attacks this summer."
us-to-take-step REUTERS:"Five months after the attack on the U.S. Capitol, the Biden administration on Tuesday will unveil steps for federal and local officials and social media companies to battle national security threats posed by white supremacists and militia groups. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland will release a plan for increased information sharing, additional resources to identify and prosecute threats, and new deterrents to prevent Americans from joining dangerous groups. The administration conducted a sweeping assessment earlier this year of domestic terrorism that labeled white supremacists and militia groups as top national security threats. The issue took on new urgency after the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump who were trying to overturn Joe Biden's election victory...Garland said the Jan. 6 attack by Trump supporters had shown white supremacists and militia groups to be the country's greatest domestic security threat. .."
fbi-warns REUTERS:"The FBI has warned that followers of the QAnon conspiracy theory could again engage in violence against political opponents out of frustration that the theory's predictions have not come true. Believers in the conspiracy theory - which casts former President Donald Trump as a savior figure and elite Democrats as a cabal of Satanist pedophiles and cannibals - played a prominent role in the deadly Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol. In a June 4 bulletin distributed to members of Congress and seen by Reuters, the FBI said its experts believe that some believers in predictions of political upheavals promoted on QAnon websites and bulletin boards believe they can "no longer 'trust the plan.'" ..."
THE-DOJ-FBI "The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is engaged in a nationwide effort to build public awareness of hate crimes and encourage reporting to law enforcement. Hate crimes are the highest priority of the FBI’s civil rights program because of the devastating impact they have on families and communities. Hate crimes are not only an attack on the victim—they are meant to threaten and intimidate an entire community. “Hate crimes are the top priority within the FBI’s Civil Rights Program, due to the devastating impact these types of crimes have on communities. One act can terrorize entire communities and groups of people,” said FBI Associate Deputy Director Jeffrey Sallet. “There’s simply no place in this country for hate and intolerance. We in the FBI stand ready to use all the tools at our disposal to reduce the threat of hate crimes and fulfill our mission to protect every American.” The FBI is the lead investigative agency for criminal violations of federal civil rights statutes. The Bureau works closely with its local, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement partners in many of these cases, even when federal charges are not pursued. The FBI also works to detect and prevent incidents through law enforcement training, public outreach, and partnerships with community groups. The FBI defines a hate crime as a “criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity.” The FBI works to protect all victims of crimes, regardless of their country of national origin... "
the coronavirus CNN:" With the highly contagious Delta variant spreading, particularly among unvaccinated Americans, it may be time for much of the country to put masks back on, experts said. "We are at a very different point in the pandemic than we were a month ago," Dr. Leana Wen told CNN on Tuesday. "And, therefore, we should follow the example of LA County and say that if there are places where vaccinated and unvaccinated people are mixing, then indoor mask mandates should still apply." Los Angeles County reinstated a mask mandate over the weekend, requiring masking indoors regardless of vaccination status. Wen, a CNN medical analyst, gave two exceptions to the occasions she thinks people should be wearing masks indoors in public: when everyone is vaccinated and has provided proof or if there is a very high level of community vaccination.... "
apocalypse-right-now WASHINGTONPOST:"Holy smokes. It feels like we are living through the first vertiginous 15 minutes of a disaster movie, maybe one called “The Day After Tomorrow Was Yesterday.” ... Heat waves are getting hotter. Forests are ablaze. Floods are obliterating. An iceberg nearly half the size of Puerto Rico broke off from Antarctica. Florida’s fleurs du mal, algal blooms known as red tide, have become more toxic because of pollution and climate change. They are responsible for killing 600 tons of marine life, leaving beaches strewn with reeking dead fish. It’s Mad Max apocalyptic. Crazy storms that used to hit every century now seem quotidian, overwhelming systems that cannot withstand such a battering. .. "
heat-dome WASHINGTONPOST:"The panicked commuters of Zhengzhou, China, could only stand on seats and cling to poles in a desperate attempt to keep their heads above the muddy torrent this past week, as floodwaters from record-breaking rains inundated the subway system. On the other side of the planet, in Gresham, Ore., a 61-year-old maker of handcrafted ukuleles slowly died in June as searing temperatures made an oven out of his lifelong home — one of at least 800 victims of what one scientist called “the most anomalous heat event ever observed on Earth.” Massive floods deluged Central Europe, Nigeria, Uganda and India in recent days, killing hundreds. June’s scorching temperatures, followed by a fast-moving wildfire, erased a Canadian town. More than a million people are close to starvation amid Madagascar’s worst drought in decades. In Siberia, tens of thousands of square miles of forest are ablaze, potentially unleashing carbon stored in the frozen ground below. ... "
first-capitol-rioter-sentenced CNNBUSINESS:"One evening earlier this month, a White rage-filled man sat behind a desk, looked into a camera, and began to rant about how something must be done to "save" the United States before "we become Rwanda," a not-so-subtle reference to the horrific genocide that occurred in the African country decades ago. That rage-filled man, who delivered his diatribe while positioned adjacent to an "ANTI WHITE MANIA" graphic, was not a Neo-Nazi filming a video for an underground network of like-minded extremists. He was Tucker Carlson of Fox News, the most-watched host on one of the most-watched networks in all of America. Carlson occupies the space furthest on the fringe at Fox. His show has become defined by bald-faced race-baiting. Earlier this year, Carlson even endorsed the racist "great replacement" theory on his prime time show. But though Carlson might be more overt about it than most of his colleagues, what he's been doing fits neatly into the broader theme pushed by Fox as a network. Fox has a long history of catering to the fears of white America. But programming in that vein has increased recently, engraining itself into the channel's core DNA. Fox understands the panic rippling through White America and exploits it for profit. Instead of using its platform for good-faith discussion and debate about race, the network chooses to demonize those seeking to have it. It presents a terrifying world to viewers and then tells them, repeatedly, that it is the only entity in society standing up to the nefarious forces that seek to destroy their way of life. ..The examples are too numerous to count. Every day there is a new villain, a new avenue to stoke racial tension, a new target to attack and fuel the outrage machine. One day it is Black Lives Matter. The next day it is Vice President Kamala Harris. The day after it is Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. On and on it goes. ... "
large-fires-in-norcal ABCNEWS:" Firefighters struggled to contain an exploding Northern California wildfire under blazing temperatures as another heat wave blanketed the West, prompting an excessive heat warning for inland and desert areas. Death Valley in southeastern California's Mojave Desert reached 128 degrees Fahrenheit (53 Celsius) on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service's reading at Furnace Creek. The shockingly high temperature was actually lower than the previous day, when the location reached 130 F (54 C). "
president-of-haiti-assassinated CNN:" Kidnapped from church, shot at during an evening commute, chased out of their homes as flames licked up the street. Stories of abduction, lethal attack and indiscriminate destruction are endless in Haiti's seaside city of Port-au-Prince, where everyone seems to know someone who barely made it out alive -- and where many did not, in what rights organizations describe as a particularly dangerous year even before the assassination of former president Jovenel Moise drew the world's attention.... "
cyberninja-circus-shit-show CNN:" Arizona's Senate held a Thursday briefing on the ongoing Republican-initiated "audit" of the 2020 election in Maricopa County, where Joe Biden outperformed Donald Trump by enough of a margin to win the state. The review is being conducted by Cyber Ninjas, a cybersecurity firm that has no experience in election auditing. And the company's chief executive officer, Doug Logan, made some Thursday claims that were immediately called into question by the county and independent experts..... "
the-trump-circus-shit-show-goes-to-texas CNN: "Exactly one week ago, I wrote these words: "If you listen to him long enough -- no easy chore -- Donald Trump will tell you all his secrets." Well, he did it again. During his speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas, Texas, over the weekend, Trump let loose with this line explaining his strategy on polling: "If it's bad, I say it's fake. If it's good, I say that's the most accurate poll ever." Yup. That about captures it! There are very few through lines for Donald Trump since he entered American politics in earnest in early 2015. His obsession with polling is definitely one of them.It began as a love affair. From his earliest days as a candidate, Trump would cite polls that purported to show good news for him. He would, quite literally, read positive poll numbers out loud at rallies during the 2016 campaign. And any time a new poll came out that he deemed to be good news for him -- and there were a lot in the winter of 2015 and spring of 2016 -- Trump would take to Twitter to tout it. "Wow, my poll numbers have just been announced and have gone through the roof!" he tweeted in December 2015. (Between May 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016,Trump sent more than 280 tweets with the word "poll" in them, according to the Trump Twitter Archive.) The relationship took a turn for the worst during the 2016 general election campaign, as most data showed Hillary Clinton likely to beat Trump... "
Attack on the Capitol Washington Post:"Domestic terrorism incidents have soared to new highs in the United States, driven chiefly by white-supremacist, anti-Muslim and anti-government extremists on the far right, according to a Washington Post analysis of data compiled by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The surge reflects a growing threat from homegrown terrorism not seen in a quarter-century, with right-wing extremist attacks and plots greatly eclipsing those from the far left and causing more deaths, the analysis shows. The number of all domestic terrorism incidents in the data peaked in 2020. Since 2015, right-wing extremists have been involved in 267 plots or attacks and 91 fatalities, the data shows. At the same time, attacks and plots ascribed to far-left views accounted for 66 incidents leading to 19 deaths. “What is most concerning is that the number of domestic terror plots and attacks are at the highest they have been in decades,” said Seth Jones, director of the database project at CSIS, a nonpartisan Washington-based nonprofit that specializes in national security issues. “It’s so important for Americans to understand the gravity of the threat before it gets worse.”More than a quarter of right-wing incidents and just under half of the deaths in those incidents were caused by people who showed support for white supremacy or claimed to belong to groups espousing that ideology, the analysis shows. Victims of all incidents in recent years represent a broad cross-section of American society, including Blacks, Jews, immigrants, LGBTQ individuals, Asians and other people of color who have been attacked by right-wing extremists wielding vehicles, guns, knives and fists..."
FBI releases new videos CNN:"The FBI released on Thursday several new video clips of violence toward police during the Capitol riot, as investigators continue their hunt for suspects. The videos -- showing graphic moments of rioters beating police with metal poles, stolen shields and chemical sprays -- highlight some of the more shocking moments from the riot, such as when the crowd worked to overcome a police line to push through a lower archway into the Capitol building. Even with so many arrests and footage documenting the siege already, the FBI's release and request to the public for help identifying the people in the video shows how they continue to pursue cases of severe violence from the pro-Trump crowd. some photos of capitol attack suspects Video capturing the hours-long siege inside and outside the Capitol has been immense in its volume and available publicly for months, since many participants and observers had already posted footage online. But investigators have worked to zero in on specific rioters and moments, scrubbing through the tens of thousands of hours they've collected of police body cameras, news broadcasts, surveillance images and video taken from social media and even from the cell phones of rioters who have been arrested. The FBI's release on Thursday now matches clips of rioters, whose faces are hard to see clearly as they punch, spray or batter police, with clearer images of faces in the crowd..." There are multiple videos and photos of suspects at https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/capitol-violence The FBI is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying individuals who made unlawful entry into the U.S. Capitol building and committed various other alleged criminal violations, such as destruction of property, assaulting law enforcement personnel, targeting members of the media for assault, and other unlawful conduct, on January 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C. We have deployed our full investigative resources and are working closely with our federal, state, and local partners to aggressively pursue those involved in these criminal activities. If you have witnessed unlawful violent action—or have any information about the cases below—we urge you to contact us. You can call ‪1-800-CALL-FBI (1-‪800-225-5324) to verbally report tips and/or information related to this investigation, or submit at tip online at tips.fbi.gov."
The-Capitol-Building ABCNEWS:"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats are considering inviting Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois to join the select committee to investigate the Jan. 6 attack, and asking a former GOP congressman to serve on committee staff amid a standoff with House GOP leaders over their picks for the panel, according to sources familiar with the deliberations. Kinzinger, one of ten House Republicans to vote to impeach former President Donald Trump for inciting the Capitol insurrection, has remained a vocal critic of the 45th president and House GOP leaders over their handling of the episode and its fallout.Former Virginia GOP Rep. Denver Riggleman, a former intelligence officer who lost his primary last year, has been a forceful critic of other Republicans over election-related disinformation and QAnon conspiracy theories, and could join the committee staff in an advisory capacity, according to sources briefed on the discussions. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the only Republican named to the committee by Pelosi, has publicly and privately encouraged the speaker and Democrats to bring both Republicans on to their investigation, the sources said. ... ”
floods-europe NYTIMES:"...The extreme weather disasters across Europe and North America have driven home two essential facts of science and history: The world as a whole is neither prepared to slow down climate change, nor live with it. The week’s events have now ravaged some of the world’s wealthiest nations, whose affluence has been enabled by more than a century of burning coal, oil and gas — activities that pumped the greenhouse gases into the atmosphere that are warming the world. “I say this as a German: The idea that you could possibly die from weather is completely alien,” said Friederike Otto, a physicist at Oxford University who studies the links between extreme weather and climate change. “There’s not even a realization that adaptation is something we have to do right now. We have to save people’s lives.” ... "
floods-hit-china CNN:"Terrified subway passengers in central China were left clinging to ceiling handles inside flooded cars on Tuesday, trapped up to their necks in rising water, as record-breaking rains devastated parts of Henan province. At least 12 people have been confirmed dead in Zhengzhou, the provincial capital, where more than 20 centimeters (7.8 inches) of rain fell in one hour on Tuesday, according to China's meteorological observatory. ... More than 100,000 people have been evacuated from Zhengzhou, a city of 12.6 million on the banks of the Yellow River, with thousands of emergency personnel deployed to assist in the effort, state media reported. ... "
adolf-trump-dictator CNN:"Then-President Donald Trump told a number of his advisers in 2020 that whoever leaked information about his stay in the White House bunker in May of that year had committed treason and should be executed for sharing details about the episode with members of the press, according to excerpts of a new book, obtained by CNN, from Wall Street Journal reporter Michael Bender. ... "
trump-lies-about-capitol-attack CNN:"CNN anchors fact check Former President Trump's 12 lies during a single Fox News interview. The fallacies were pointed out by CNN's Marshall Cohen reporting.” Lie number one: Trump :"They asked me to speak and I did it was a very mild mannered speech..." CNN anchors stated it was a speech to promote his election lie which was anything but mild mannered:Trump on video:"We fight. We fight like hell, and if you don't fight like hell you're not going to have a country anymore" ” ... "
charlie-dent CNN:" Republican former congressman Charlie Dent shares his thoughts on the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas, where former President Donald Trump won the conference's informal straw poll to be the Republican nominee in 2024." CPAC has always been an odd gathering and now its been taken over by a bunch of radicals it's a political freak show serious people are not showing up to this thing one does not know whether to laugh or cry or be alarmed about what we are watching or witnessing ...
russia-china-extend-friendship-treaty APNEWS:" MOSCOW (AP) — The leaders of Russia and China on Monday hailed increasingly close ties between their countries and announced the extension of a 20-year-old friendship treaty, a show of unity amid their tensions with the West. Speaking in a video call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the treaty signed in July 2001 in Moscow helped take relations between Moscow and Beijing to an “unprecedented height” and would be extended for another five years. The Russian leader noted that the coordination of foreign policy efforts by Russia and China has played a “stabilizing role in global affairs.” ... "
taiwan-must-prepare CNN:" China's escalating military intimidation of Taiwan shows the self-governed island "needs to prepare" for a possible military conflict, Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said in an exclusive interview with CNN. His warning came one week after the island reported the largest daily incursion by Chinese military planes into Taiwan's self-declared Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). ... "
Seal_of_the_U.S._National_Security_Agency "The National Security Agency, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) assess that People’s Republic of China state-sponsored malicious cyber activity is a major threat to U.S. and Allied cyberspace assets. Chinese statesponsored cyber actors aggressively target U.S. and allied political, economic, military, educational, and critical infrastructure (CI) personnel and organizations to steal sensitive data, critical and emerging key technologies, intellectual property, and personally identifiable information (PII). Some target sectors include managed service providers, semiconductor companies, the Defense Industrial Base (DIB), universities, and medical institutions. These cyber operations support China’s long-term economic and military development objectives. .. "
trump-inspired-death-threats REUTERS:Trump’s baseless voter-fraud accusations have had dark consequences for U.S. election leaders and workers, especially in contested states such as Georgia, Arizona and Michigan. Some have faced protests at their homes or been followed in their cars. Many have received death threats. Some, like Raffensperger, are senior officials who publicly refused to bow to Trump’s demands to alter the election outcome. In Georgia, people went into hiding in at least three cases, including the Raffenspergers. Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, told Reuters she continues to receive death threats. Michigan’s Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson – a Democrat who faced armed protesters outside her home in December – is also still getting threats, her spokesperson said, declining to elaborate. But many others whose lives have been threatened were low- or mid-level workers, just doing their jobs. Trump’s incendiary rhetoric could reverberate into the 2022 midterm congressional elections and the 2024 presidential vote by making election workers targets of threatened or actual violence. Many election offices will lose critical employees with years or decades of experience, predicts David Becker, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation and Research. “This is deeply troubling,” Becker said. ... "
us-district-court CNN:"A federal judge on Wednesday wrote that Donald Trump's "Big Lie" that the 2020 election was stolen from him could still inspire some of the former President's supporters to take up arms, as they did in January during the deadly US Capitol insurrection. Federal judges have for weeks been warning that the continued push of Trump's baseless claim that the election was "stolen" ... may be keeping alive the same grassroots zeal that led to the insurrection in January. "
trump-scowling CNN:"Online conversation among Trump supporters and QAnon followers on new and emerging social media platforms is creating concern on Capitol Hill that President Donald Trump's continued perpetuation of the falsehood that the 2020 election was stolen could soon incite further violence, three congressional sources tell CNN. The social messaging platform Telegram has emerged as a particular source of concern among law enforcement officials, the congressional sources say....”
3-percenter honestly believes its coming CNN:"CNN's Donie O'Sullivan speaks with supporters of President Donald Trump at a rally in Wellington, Ohio, who falsely believe that Trump won the 2020 election." Several people said Trump will be reinstated soon 'and you all are going down'. When asked what if he isn't the response was he better be or the militias will take over and there will be civil war. When asked if there is going to be further violence a 3-percenter said 'I honestly believe it's coming'
dhs-warnings-as-trump-shit-show-circus-continues CNN:"Department of Homeland Security officials are warning that the same sort of rhetoric and false narratives that fueled the January 6 attack on the US Capitol could lead to more violence this summer by right-wing extremists. A growing belief among some Donald Trump supporters that the former President will be reinstated in August, coupled with relaxed Covid-19 restrictions, has DHS officials concerned that online rhetoric and threats could translate into actual violence in the coming months as more people are out and in public places. ... "
The Seal of the CISA CISA:"CISA INSIGHTS July 14, 2021 Mitigations and Hardening Guidance for MSPs and Small- and Mid-sized Businesses ... Cyber threat actors, including state-sponsored advanced persistent threat (APT) actors, increasingly target managed service providers (MSPs). MSPs provide remote management of customer IT and end-user systems. A large number of small- and mid-sized businesses use MSPs to manage IT systems, store data, or support sensitive processes. ... The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) recommends the following mitigations and hardening guidance:..." Ransomware Risk in Unpatched, EOL SonicWall SRA and SMA 8.x Products Original release date: July 15, 2021 CISA is aware of threat actors actively targeting a known, previously patched, vulnerability in SonicWall Secure Mobile Access (SMA) 100 series and Secure Remote Access (SRA) products running unpatched and end-of-life (EOL) 8.x firmware. Threat actors can exploit this vulnerability to initiate a targeted ransomware attack. CISA encourages users and administrators to review the SonicWall security advisory and upgrade to the newest firmware or disconnect EOL appliances as soon as possible. Review the CISA Bad Practices webpage to learn more about bad cybersecurity practices, such as using EOL software, that are especially dangerous for organizations supporting designated Critical Infrastructure or National Critical Functions..."
Congressman-John-Lewis ABCNEWS:"One year after the death of Rep. John Lewis, the longtime representative of Georgia's 5th Congressional District and civil rights icon, his dedication to ensuring equal access to the ballot is as relevant as ever. Saturday evening, Lewis was honored at Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C., with a "Good Trouble" candlelight vigil, where Texas House Democrats who traveled to D.C. earlier this week attended.The Texas lawmakers happened to be in town for the event because they remain on the lam in the nation's capital, after they fled the Lone Star State on Monday to break quorum and wait out the end of their special legislative session in order to block Republican-backed bills that would change the state's voting and election laws in ways advocates say would make it harder to cast a ballot. ..."
Americas_longest_war "GARDEN GROVE, Calif., July 20 (Reuters) - Jason Lilley was a special operations forces Marine Raider who fought in multiple battles in Iraq and Afghanistan during America's longest war. As Lilley, 41, reflects on President Joe Biden's decision to end America's military mission in Afghanistan on Aug. 31, he expresses love for his country, but disgust at its politicians and dismay at the blood and money squandered. Comrades were killed and maimed in wars he says were unwinnable, making him rethink his country and his life. "A hundred percent we lost the war," Lilley said. "The whole point was to get rid of the Taliban and we didn't do that. The Taliban will take over." ...Lilley's opinions are his own and some veterans differ, just as Americans generally have different estimations about a war that improved women's rights and led in 2011 to U.S. Navy SEALS killing al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan..."
Bridging the Global Wealth Gap Bloomberg New Economy Forum: Bridging the Global Wealth Gap: "IBM Executive Chair Ginni Rometty, McDonald's Corp. CEO Chris Kempxzinski, Singapore Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratmnam and Blackstone Group Inc. Chairman and CEO Stephen Schwarzman discuss the task of rebuilding the economy and the best path to prosperity for low-income workers. The destruction of covid-19 comes on top of a slow burn that affects the middle class a long period stagnation of imcomes diminishing jobs in the middle and polarization of the job market. Then you have the problem lower down, where there are low skill service jobs, and loss of the sense of being able to move up to a middle class life... "
Grand Ayatollah Ali-Al-Sistani and Pope Francis ABCNews:"PLAINS OF UR, Iraq -- Pope Francis walked through a narrow alley in Iraq’s holy city of Najaf for a historic meeting with the country’s top Shiite cleric Saturday, and together they delivered a powerful message of peaceful coexistence in a country still reeling from back-to-back conflicts over the past decade. In a gesture both simple and profound, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani welcomed Francis into his spartan home. The 90-year-old cleric, one of the most eminent among Shiites worldwide, afterward said Christians should live in peace in Iraq and enjoy the same rights as other Iraqis. The Vatican said Francis thanked al-Sistani for having “raised his voice in defense of the weakest and most persecuted” during some of the most violent times in Iraq’s recent history... "
Afghans burying one of three female journalists Reuters:"“Don’t lose yourself, you have to be strong,” she said as she hugged Nadia Momand, the 21-year-old producer recalled. “There are many things that we have to do for our society, especially for women and girls.” Now the same newsroom is mourning Shahnaz. Aged 20, she was one of three female employees at Enikas TV gunned down on their way home from work on Tuesday. Authorities believe it was the latest in a series of targeted attacks on female journalists, civil society members and working women."
Taliban red unit NYTimes:"The Taliban’s swagger is unmistakable. From the recent bellicose speech of their deputy leader... they are promoting a bold message: We have already won the war. And that belief, grounded in military and political reality, is shaping Afghanistan’s volatile present.On the eve of talks in Turkey next month over the country’s future, it is the elephant in the room..."
afghanistan-curfew BBC:"The Afghan government imposed a curfew across almost all of the country on Saturday in an attempt to stop the Taliban from invading cities. Aside from the capital Kabul and two other provinces, no movement will be allowed between 22:00 and 04:00. Fighting between the Taliban and Afghan government forces has escalated over the past two months as international troops withdraw from the country. The militant group is estimated to have captured up to half of all territory. It has moved swiftly in the wake of the US withdrawal, retaking border crossings and other territory in rural areas. The Taliban - a fundamentalist Islamist militia who were pushed out of power by the US invasion nearly 20 years ago - has also seized key roads as it seeks to cut off supply routes. Its fighters have been closing in on a number of major cities, but have not yet been able to capture one. "To curb violence and limit the Taliban movements a night curfew has been imposed in 31 provinces," the interior ministry said in a statement, adding that Kabul, Panjshir and Nangarhar were exempt."...As the US-led forces ousted the Taliban from power in Afghanistan in October 2001. The group had been harbouring Osama Bin Laden and other al-Qaeda figures linked to the 11 September attacks on the US. President Biden has said the American pull-out is justified as US forces have made sure Afghanistan cannot again become a base for foreign jihadists to plot against the West.Taliban continues to advance, fierce clashes have taken place this week on the outskirts of the city of Kandahar. Earlier this month, American troops quietly departed from Bagram airfield, a sprawling base that was the centre of US operations in Afghanistan and once held tens of thousands of troops. Some US intelligence analysts fear the Taliban could seize control of the country within six months, according to an assessment distributed to officials in June. In response, the US launched airstrikes against militant positions in the area on Thursday. But with US operations in Afghanistan officially due to end on 31 August, there are concerns about the months ahead.
Dolly-Parton NYTIMES: "NASHVILLE — When Dolly Parton received her first dose of the Moderna vaccine at Vanderbilt University, where her million-dollar donation helped to fund the research, she sang an updated version of her iconic song “Jolene.” The tongue-in-cheek lyrics were meant to inspire people to get vaccinated: Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine I’m begging of you, please don’t hesitate Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine ’Cause once you’re dead, then that’s a bit too late She gave it a good try, a heroic try, but somehow the bonehead politicians running this state managed to overcome even the good will generated by its favorite daughter..."
trump-snake-oil-salesman-con-artist-and-serial-liar CNN: "If you listen to him long enough -- no easy chore -- Donald Trump will tell you all his secrets. Witness this line from his July 3 speech in Sarasota, Florida: "If you say it enough and keep saying it, they'll start to believe you." Trump was talking about alleged disinformation directed at him and other Republicans. But WOW does that quote explain everything you need to know about his approach to the presidency and life. (Sidebar: One can only hope that Trump was unaware that his quote was a near-replication of this infamous line from Nazi Joseph Goebbels: "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.") Trump has spent a lifetime -- in business and politics -- repeating exaggerations, half-truths and outright lies to make himself look good.The books he wrote prior to politics are littered with quotes extolling the virtues of making up a reality and then repeating it until people start to believe it. "I play to people's fantasies," he wrote in "The Art of the Deal." "People want to believe that something is the biggest and the greatest and the most spectacular. I call it truthful hyperbole." "If you admit defeat, then you will be defeated," Trump wrote in "Think Big.""
inhumane-conditions NBCNEWS: "Despite Facebook’s repeated assurances that it would address poor workplace conditions for its content moderators, often contractors who spend their days reviewing graphic and violent images posted on the site, little has changed at the company, a former Facebook content moderator said in an interview that aired Monday on “NBC Nightly News.” Josh Sklar, a former Accenture subcontractor based in Austin, Texas, who moderated content for Facebook and Instagram from September 2018 through March, said that working conditions had scarcely improved for content moderators and that they continue to review large quantities of often traumatic posts. Sklar was one of approximately 15,000 people who spend hours a day combing through the dark side of the social network, flagging posts that violate its content policies."
homeless camp portland oregon Bloomberg:"An economy is its people. Alongside the 19 million infected and more than 330,000 killed in the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S., there are millions more whose lives have been upended by the economic collapse that has come with it... People once in the middle class are struggling to secure food, shelter and a decent income. At the same time, others are enjoying rising home prices, new models of work and the pleasures of baking bread. This is America in 2020—here are some faces and facts that tell the story. Donna Swangler is used to extending help to others during the holidays. This year that means administering a Facebook group with more than 19,000 self-employed contractors and gig workers, many of them trying to navigate the unemployment system. It also means she's got her own worries about making rent and paying bills..."
19 year old martyr for democracy in Myanmar CNN:"...Angel, whose real name was Ma Kyal Sin, died after she was shot in the head in the city of Mandalay on March 3, during a demonstration against the military coup that forced Myanmar's elected government from power. Wearing a T-shirt with the slogan "Everything will be OK," the 19-year-old quickly became a symbol of the country's deadly fight for democracy -- her image carried high on signs at protests and in artwork shared online. Her struggle was emblematic of a generation fighting for freedom and democracy against a brutal and unrelenting junta that has launched a systematic attack against peaceful demonstrators. ... "
the-trump-circus-shit-show-goes-to-arizona CNN:" ...On a late afternoon of delusion and incitement, Trump offered a preview of how he could exploit grievances of millions of supporters who buy his lies about voter fraud to power a possible new presidential run in the future. ... "There is no way they win elections without cheating," the former President said of Democrats, at a packed event entitled -- with Orwellian overtones -- the "Rally to Protect Our Elections." The one-term, twice-impeached ex-commander-in-chief related prolonged and false stories of election fraud across the country. He also claimed that many more Republican-run states were seeking their own audits of election results, even though multiple judges have ruled that there was no election fraud. Trump's appearance was full of the usual bluster, boasting, self-pity and too many falsehoods to count, and was in many ways a sideshow compared to the critical current challenges — including a pandemic that is quickly worsening again because millions of Republican voters will not get vaccinated. But his appearance was also a warning of one of the most dangerous problems haunting a divided nation's deeply polarized politics — the fact that lies and conspiracy theories now represent sincerely held views of a large minority of the electorate thanks to Trump's mastery of demagoguery and the endless flattery of a compliant right-wing propaganda machine. Trump reinvents the big lie The ex-President did tell his supporters to get the vaccine on Saturday — but in such a way that offered an out for those who have bought into conservative misinformation about it -- and in an attack on Biden, he further politicized the issue. Yet again, Trump showed that he was not willing to diminish his own political capital for the greater good. "I recommend that you take it, but I also believe in your freedoms 100%," Trump said, before adding, "because they don't trust the President, people aren't doing it." On the vaccine, and many other issues, Trump is seeking to do nothing less than create a new truth. "The big lie they call it, you know what is the big lie? The opposite was the big lie. The election was the big lie," Trump said, in a concise example of his malevolent method... "
alleged-hacker WASHINGTONPOST:"The text delivered last month to the iPhone 11 of Claude Mangin, the French wife of a political activist jailed in Morocco, made no sound. It produced no image. It offered no warning of any kind as an iMessage from somebody she didn’t know delivered malware directly onto her phone — and past Apple’s security systems. Once inside, the spyware, produced by Israel’s NSO Group and licensed to one of its government clients, went to work, according to a forensic examination of her device by Amnesty International’s Security Lab. It found that between October and June, her phone was hacked multiple times with Pegasus, NSO’s signature surveillance tool, during a time when she was in France. The examination was unable to reveal what was collected. But the potential was vast: Pegasus can collect emails, call records, social media posts, user passwords, contact lists, pictures, videos,..."
poverty-in-haiti ABCNEWS:"When Haiti won its independence nearly 200 years ago, it came at a hefty price -- an estimated $21 billion today. The country spent the next century paying off the debt to its former slave owners, France. It's a financial conundrum that those experts and historians say have helped keep some formerly colonized countries impoverished: the demand by former slave owners and colonizers for pay in exchange for independence..."
the-trump-shit-show-continues CNN:"The numbers are deeply worrisome. Covid-19 cases -- fueled by the fast-spreading Delta variant -- have nearly tripled over the past three weeks. Every state in the country has seen an increase in cases. It is, by any measure, a fraught moment in the 16-month fight against the virus. People need to get vaccinated or run the very real risk of getting the Delta variant. At moments like these, leaders matter. What our elected officials say (and do) about vaccines matter -- they model behavior that, ideally, people follow. Enter Donald Trump. "Joe Biden kept talking about how good of a job he's doing on the distribution of the Vaccine that was developed by Operation Warp Speed or, quite simply, the Trump Administration," the 45th president said in a statement released via his Save America PAC on Sunday. "He's not doing well at all. He's way behind schedule, and people are refusing to take the Vaccine because they don't trust his Administration, they don't trust the Election results, and they certainly don't trust the Fake News, which is refusing to tell the Truth." ...the former president of the United States, who is, without any question the most influential person in the Republican Party today, affirms the totally misguided doubts people have about receiving the highly effective Covid-19 vaccine while painting the vaccine push in a partisan light with the comparison to the 2020 election. In short: It's a remarkably dangerous thing for anyone to say -- much less a former president. That Trump said it in the midst of a surge in cases -- fueled almost exclusively by unvaccinated people living in areas that he won in 2020 -- makes it even worse... "
CNN:"Earlier this week, a lone Taliban gunman with a red skull cap and a rifle sauntered up to the gates of Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan's fourth largest city, and snapped a selfie. The last time the Taliban controlled the city was 20 years ago, when they left hundreds of captives in steel trucking containers to suffocate and die in the scorching desert heat. Now, the militants are back at the city gates once again, as part of a lightning offensive against Afghan government forces that has set alarm bells ringing from Kabul to Washington. One by one, the Taliban has been taking over areas in a number of provinces in northern Afghanistan in recent weeks, local officials told CNN. The Taliban says it has taken control of 90 districts across the country since the middle of May. Some were seized without a single shot fired..."
Peoples Liberation Army H-6 bomber NBCNews:"China is trying to wear down its neighbors with relentless pressure tactics designed to push its territorial claims, employing military aircraft, militia boats and sand dredgers to dominate access to disputed areas, U.S. government officials and regional experts say...."
the boss wants you back in the office, like now WSJ:"After 16 months of enduring remote work as a viable pandemic-era solution, many CEOs have a message for their staff: Enough. At healthcare products maker Abbott Laboratories, ABT 2.16% executives told corporate employees to return to the company’s headquarters near Chicago this month. In Pontiac, Mich., the 200-acre campus of lender United Wholesale Mortgage is full again after the company brought nearly 9,300 employees back five days a week as of mid-July. Office attendance at CenterPoint Energy Inc., CNP 0.60% a Houston company that delivers electric power in Texas, is back to pre-pandemic levels. The company told all corporate employees to return to its headquarters downtown in June after asking some senior-level employees to return last year. The finally-had-it moment comes just as the highly transmissible Covid-19 Delta variant has injected uncertainty into reopening plans. Apple Inc. said Monday it was delaying its planned September return to the office by at least a month. A number of companies across industries, in particular technology, are maintaining work-from-home arrangements or hybrid plans. Even so, many companies say that, for now, they are sticking with their return-to-office timelines, many of which are centered on Labor Day. Many CEOs say their companies function best when employees can interact in person. Workers have indicated in surveys they want greater flexibility about where and how they work. “I don’t need to be wishy-washy,” said Mat Ishbia, president and CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage, which went public as UWM Holdings Corp. earlier this year. “I have never wavered on this. We are better together. If you have an amazing culture, and great people that collaborate and work together, you want them in the office together.” If people have individual circumstances that require them to stay home longer, the company will work with them, but there has been little resistance from his staff to returning full-time, Mr. Ishbia said. He said too many CEOs are delaying their returns because they fear blowback from workers or don’t want to take action before their peers. “They’re waiting for companies to lead,” he said.... "
Chinese carrier Reuters:"A Chinese carrier group is exercising near Taiwan and such drills will become regular, China’s navy said late on Monday in a further escalation of tensions near the island that Beijing claims as its sovereign territory. Taiwan has complained of an increase in Chinese military activity near it in recent months, as China steps up efforts to assert its sovereignty over the democratically run island. China's navy said the carrier group, lead by the Liaoning, the country's first aircraft carrier put into active service, was carrying out "routine" drills in the waters near Taiwan."
Shenyag PLA J16 fighters Reuters:"Eleven Chinese air force aircraft entered Taiwan's air defence identification zone on Friday, including eight fighter jets, the island's defence ministry said. Chinese-claimed Taiwan has complained over the last few months of repeated missions by China's air force near the island, concentrated in the southwestern part its air defence zone near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands." Beijing blamed the United States on Thursday for tensions over Taiwan after a U.S. warship sailed close to the Chinese-claimed island, asking rhetorically whether China would sail in the Gulf of Mexico as a “show of strength”. The democratically-run island has complained of repeated military activities by Beijing in recent months, with China's air force making almost daily forays into Taiwan's air defence identification zone.The White House on Friday said it was keeping a close watch on increased Chinese military activities in the Taiwan Strait, and called Beijing's recent actions potentially destabilizing. "We have ... clearly - publicly, privately - expressed our concerns, our growing concerns, about China's aggression toward Taiwan," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters. "We've seen a concerning increase in PRC military activity in the Taiwan Strait, which we believe is potentially destabilizing," she said, when asked if Washington was concerned about a possible Chinese invasion.
on the frontline Eastern Ukraine CNN:"Ankle-deep in thick black sludge, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky moves stealthily with his troops in single file through the warren of trenches and tunnels that form the tense front lines in the east of his country. It feels more like the early 20th century than a modern conflict, with tired, nervous soldiers gripping their rifles around him as they reach open ground, scanning the area for movement across no-mans-land. They know snipers, likely trained by Russians, say Ukrainian officials are looking for a chance to fire. More than 20 of their comrades have been gunned down already this year.It's eerily quiet with an occasional crack of a gunshot in the distance shattering the calm, keeping everybody on edge. This area near Mariupol is a risky place for the President of a country to visit, but that doesn't stop Zelensky..."
pro democracy activists remanded Reuters:"Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong was remanded into custody on Monday after pleading guilty to charges of organising and inciting an unauthorized assembly near the police headquarters during last year's anti-government protests..."
Woman and child in Tigray BBC:"Ethiopia's Tigray crisis: PM gives Tigray forces 72 hours to surrender. Ethiopia's prime minister has given forces in the northern region of Tigray 72 hours to surrender as government troops advance on the capital, Mekelle. Abuy Ahmed told Tigrayan leaders they were 'at a point of no return'.."
The Wonders of Star Gazing CNN: "The two largest planets in our solar system are coming closer together than they have been since the Middle Ages, and it's happenng just in tie for Christmas. So there are some things to look forward to in the final month of 2020.On the night of December 21, the winter solstice, Jupiter and Saturn will appear so closely aligned n our sky that they will look like a double planet. This close approach is called a conjunction.' Alignments between these two planets are rather rare, occurring once every 20 years or so, but this conjunction is exceptionally rare...'..."
Large and Small Magellanic Clouds CNN:"There are nearly 2 billion stars in our galaxy. At least that's what the most current map shows. Astronomers have mapped the most extensive atlas of our Milky Way galaxy yet, including the positions of each and every one of those stars. The European Space Agency's Gaia space observatory also tracked the movement, colorsand brightness of these stars as well as the first visible measurement of the acceleration of our solar system..."
Origin of the planets capsule lands in Australia Reuters:"Japan has retrieved a capsule of asteroid dust from Australia's remote outback after a six-year mission that may help uncover more about the origins of the planets and water, the Asian nation's space agency said on Sunday. The mission of the Japanese spacecraft, Hayabusa2, spotlights Asia's growing role in space exploration, with a Chinaes robotic vehicle collecting lunar samples last week for the first time since the 1970s. A helicopter flew the capsule from the unmanned craft containing the first extensive samples of asteroid dust, from the landing site in Australia's desert to a domestic research facility of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)...."
Russia China joint patrols in the Pacific ABCNews:"Russian and Chinese bombers flew a joint patrol mission over the Western Pacific Tuesday in a show of increasingly close military ties between Moscow and Beijing. The Russian military said that a pair of its Tu-95 strategic bombers and four Chinese H-6K bombers flew over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea. The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that the joint mission was intended to 'develop and deepen the comprehensive Russia-China partnership further increase the level of cooperation between the two militaries, expand their ability for joint action and strengthen strategic stability'..."
Annual Threat Assessment ATA ODNI Unclassified Report:"In the coming year, the United States and its allies will face a diverse array of threats that are playing out amidst the global disruption resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and against the backdrop of great power competition, the disruptive effects of ecological degradation and a changing climate, an increasing number of empowered non-state actors, and rapidly evolving technology. The complexity of the threats, their intersections, and the potential for cascading events in an increasingly interconnected and mobile world create new challenges for the IC. Ecological and climate changes, for example, are connected to public health risks, humanitarian concerns, social and political instability, and geopolitical rivalry. The 2021 Annual Threat Assessment highlights some of those connections as it provides the IC’s baseline assessments of the most pressing threats to US national interests, while emphasizing the United States’ key adversaries and competitors.It is not an exhaustive assessment of all global challenges and notably excludes assessments of US adversaries’ vulnerabilities. It accounts for functional concerns, such as weapons of mass destruction and technology, primarily in the sections on threat actors, such as China and Russia..."
Global Wealth Inequality Bloomberg: "Tax cuts for rich people breed inequality without providing much of a boon to anyone else, according to a study of the advanced world that could add to the case for the wealthy to bear more of the cost of the coronavirus pandemic. The paper, by David Hope of the London School of Economics and Julian Limberg of King's College London, found that such measures over the last 50 years only really benefited the individuals who were directly affected, and did little to promote jobs or growth. 'Policy makers shouldn't worry that raising taxes on the rich to fund the financial cost of the pandemic will harm their economies,' Hope said in an interview..."
French Government to return Klimt to rightful Jewish heirs ABCNews:"The French government announced Monday that it will return a Nazi-looted Gustav Klimt landscape painting to its rightful owners more than 80 years after it was stolen from a Jewish family in Austria in 1938. The colorful 1905 oil work by the Austrian symbolist painter titled “Rosebushes under the Trees” has been hanging in Paris’ Musee d’Orsay museum for decades.French Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin told a Paris news conference that “the decision to return a major work from the public collections illustrates our commitment to the duty of justice and reparation vis-à-vis plundered families.”"
Afghanistan one of the worlds most dangerous countries for children BBC:"An average of five children have been killed or wounded every day for the past 14 years in war-torn Afghanistan, a charity has found. Data from the UN showed at least 26,025 children were killed or maimed from 2005 to 2019, said Save the Children. The charity has urged donor nations to protect the future of children ahead of a key meeting in Geneva on Monday..."
Milton Friedman Bloomberg:"George Serafeim wants to revolutionize the way businesses calculate their success. Profit and loss aren't enough says the Harvard Business School professor. Serafeim aims to do what no one has done before: Put a dollar value on the impact of products and operations on people and the planet, then add or subtract it from companies' bottom lines. Intel Corp. provides an example of both. Serafeim and his five-person team credited $6.9 billion to the chipmaker in 2018 fo paying its employees well and for boosting local economies where it has offices..."
HPE website Washington Post:"Tech giant Hewlett Packard Enterprise said it is moving its global headquarters to the Houston area from California, where the company's roots go back to the founding of Silicon Valley decades ago. Texas Gov. Greg Abbot's office announced that the relocation will increase the company's presence in the area, which is already home to more than 2,600 employees..."
simulation of cosmic web and dwarf galaxies CNN :"Scientists have discovered a "myriad" of galaxies that were previously undetected. The newly found systems were observed with the world's most advanced optical telescope. Cosmological models had long predicted the existence of filaments -- gas in which galaxies are created -- but no images had been captured of the phenomenon, except in the vicinity of quasars, which are astronomical objects of high luminosity found in the centers of some galaxies."
Russian TU 95 CNN:"NATO scrambled fighter jets 10 times Monday to track and intercept an unusually "rare peak" of Russian bombers and fighters flying over the North Sea, Black Sea and Baltic Sea, according to a NATO official. "NATO aircraft intercepted six different groups of Russian military aircraft near alliance airspace in less than six hours," the organization said in a statement. The Russian activity across an unusually wide area of European skies came on the same day North American Aerospace Defense Command said it tracked Russian aircraft off the coast of Alaska. None of the Russian aircraft entered the national airspace of NATO nations... but an alliance statement detailed the activity. ..."
PRC Flag outside the old city Xingjiang CNN:"The Chinese government's alleged actions in Xinjiang have violated every single provision in the United Nations' Genocide Convention, according to an independent report by more than 50 global experts in human rights, war crimes and international law. .. It is the first time a non-governmental organization has undertaken an independent legal analysis of the accusations of genocide in Xinjiang, including what responsibility Beijing may bear for the alleged crimes. An advance copy of the report was seen exclusively by CNN. ..."
Auschwitz Reuters:"Marian Turski, a 94-year-old survivor of the Auschwitz death camp, marked the 76th anniversary of its liberation by Soviet troops on Wednesday only virtually, aware that he might never return as the coronavirus pandemic drags on.Survivors and museum officials told Reuters they fear the pandemic could end the era where Auschwitz’s former prisoners can tell their own stories to visitors on site. Most Auschwitz survivors are in their eighties and nineties. “Even if there was no pandemic, there would be fewer survivors at every anniversary,” Turski told Reuters in a Zoom interview from his Warsaw home."
WSJ: "Gunmen stormed Afghanistan's Kabul University as it hosted an Iranian book fair, killing at least 19 people and wounding 22 others, in the second attack claimed by Islamic State in recent weeks on an educational center in the country. Monday's attack in the Afghan capital involved three gunmen who were killed after a six-hour battle with security forces, according to Afghanistan's Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian..."
500-years NBCNEWS:"MEXICO CITY — There are two ways of remembering the Spanish siege of Tenochtitlán, the Aztec capital now known as Mexico City: as the painful birth of modern Mexico, or the start of centuries of virtual enslavement. The world-changing battle started on May 22, 1521, and lasted for months until the city finally fell to the conquistadores on Aug. 13. It was one of the few times an organized Indigenous army under local command fought European colonizers to a standstill for months, and the final defeat helped set the template for much of the conquest and colonization that came afterward. ..."
Bloomberg:"After George Floyd's killing this year, corporate America flooded social media with statements of support for protesters—and some even went further, with pldeges and targes to hire more Black people and other people of color, including in top management roles. Now some companies are taking the ultimate step—unveiling all of their data on the racial makeup of their employees. By showing how underrepresented Black and other minority groups are in their workplaces..."
People sift through debris NBCNews:"A new report by a federal agency that regulates the nation's commodities markets warns that climate change 'poses a major risk to the stability of the U.S. financial system' and is already affecting, or is projected to affect, nearly every part of the American economy. Coming at the midpoint of what has already been an intense hurricane season and as extreme wildfires rage across a huge part of the west Coast, the report offers one of the most strongly worded warnings about the financial risks of climate change yet seen from a federal financial regulator..."
Pro Democracy Activist arrested in security crackdown Reuters:"Over 50 Hong Kong pro-democracy activists were arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of violating the city's national security law, local media reported, in the biggest crackdown yet against the opposition camp under the contentious new legislation. Police also arrived at the offices of pr-democracy online media outlet Stand News, according to live footage on its website. A Stand News reporter said police had asked the editor-in-chief to sign documents related to a national security investigation..."
Lost Library BBC:"Centuries ago, a prestigious Islamic library brought Arabic numerals to the world. Though the library long since disappeared, its mathematical revolution changed our world. The House of Wisdom sounds a bit like make belive: no trace remains of this ancient library, destroyed in the 13th Century, so we cannot be sure exactly where it was located or what it looked like. But this prestigious academy was in fact a major intellectual powerhouse..."
DESI CNN:"In the 2002 blockbuster Star Wars movie "Attack of the Clones," Jedi Masters Obi-wan Kenobi and Yoda use a detailed three-dimensional map of their galaxy to solve an intriguing political puzzle. That map, while no doubt an amazing (if fictional) achievement, pales in comparison with the goals of a new telescopic facility that is just beginning operations here on Earth.That facility is called the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument, or DESI for short. (In the interest of full disclosure, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory is a participating institution in the DESI effort. I am a member of this laboratory's scientific staff, but do not participate in this research effort.) DESI's goal is to map the structure of the entire cosmos, ranging from galaxies near to our own Milky Way to galaxies located so far away from Earth that the light coming from them that we see today was emitted a staggering 11 billion years ago, long before our Sun and Earth were even formed.By making a precise three-dimensional map of the universe, astronomers will be able to answer perhaps the most consequential of cosmological questions: How has the universe evolved and what is its final fate? Achieving this goal would be a crucial achievement for the scientific community and humanity itself.... "
ShakespeareCNN:"When you see a big discovery about William Shakespeare hit the press before fellow scholars have had a chance to ask questions, take a breath and be very, very skeptical..."
CNN:"Betelgeuse, the red supergiant star that acts as the shoulder of Orion in his constellation, is having a moment. Normally one of the brightest stars in the constellation, it's been dimming..."
Reuters:"...Welcome to the longest U.S. economic expansion in history, one perhaps characterized by the excesses of extreme wealth and an ever-widening chasm between the unfathomably rich and everyone else..."
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