From former governor Mark Sanford’s “Luv Guv” odyssey last summer to this week’s allegations of GOP plots to field Democratic primary candidates, South Carolina’s politics is colorful, lively and sometimes barely believable. In short, it’s great fodder for both the mainstream media and the Fifth Estate combo of alternative media, bloggers, Tweeters and anyone else with access to the internet. Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
“Wimps in the White House?” General Stanley McChrystal has been recalled to Washington “to explain to the Pentagon and the commander in chief his quotes in the piece about his colleagues.” The cause: a Rolling Stone profile, “The Runaway General,” subtitled “Stanley McChrystal, Obama’s Top Commander in Afghanistan, Has Seized Control of the War by Never Taking His Eye Off the Real Enemy: The Wimps In the White House,” which is scheduled to appear Friday. Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
Free on “unconditional bail,” Minnesota attorney Peter Erlinder is now out of Rwanda and on his way home. Supporters say he will hold a news conference in Kenya on Sunday afternoon.
A fleet of battleships including at least 11 U.S. and one Israeli vessels, crossed the Suez Canal to the Red Sea on Friday, according to Arabic, Israeli, German and Norwegian news media reports. (Strangely, neither BBC nor the mainstream U.S. media are carrying the story, though Firedoglake has a connect-the-dots blog post.) Egyptian authorities lined the canal with thousands of security forces to protect the passage and stopped all non-military traffic and all fishing in the area. According to Ha’Aretz: Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
UPDATE: Peter Erlinder granted unconditional bail in Rwanda – may be released as soon as tomorrow. Peter Erlinder was back in the hospital yesterday, with high blood pressure. His medical problems may be exacerbated by suspicion of food and medicine furnished by the Rwandan government, given past threats to his life from that government. MPR reports: Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
First make concessions – then we might bargain. That seems to be the message from 14 Minnesota hospitals to the Minnesota Nurses Association, which has asked to return to the bargaining table, but is also planning another strike vote. Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
Two immigration stories in the news: The first, in the Star Tribune, is an encouraging note about a Supreme Court decision. The case was that of a young man who had lived in the U.S. as a legal permanent resident:
Carachuri-Rosendo, a legal resident who had lived in the United States since he was 5, was deported to his native Mexico after being convicted of possessing a single tablet of Xanax, an anti-anxiety drug, and serving a 10-day sentence. He had been convicted of possessing a small amount of marijuana a year earlier and received a 20-day sentence.
Filed under Uncategorized
With three murders in the last week pushing the year’s toll to 24, Minneapolis crime is in the news. The latest three: a shooting on the Northside on Thursday, and two shootings in south Minneapolis on Saturday and Sunday. The Daily Planet explains how to find the statistics, and has a chart of the past ten years. Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
The World Cup international soccer tournament, held every four years, launched with opening ceremonies in South Africa last night. Less-known in the United States, the World Cup is a huge international event, leading news and Twitter postings worldwide. More than three million tickets have been sold, and hundreds of millions will watch on television in 215 countries. This is the 19th World Cup, and the first time the tournament has taken place in Africa. The 64 games will take place over the next month, with the final game on July 11. Wikipedia describes in detail how the 32 national teams were selected and scheduled. Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
Officer Duy Ngo committed suicide June 7, seven years after he was shot repeatedly by a fellow officer. In a sorrowful and angry column, MPR’s Bob Collins recalls the shameful history of the Minneapolis Police Department’s treatment of Officer Ngo: Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
When I read the Strib article on home health care overbilling, I recalled last year’s 60 Minutes exposé of highly-organized health care fraud in Florida, and tried to check back to see what has been done to investigate, prosecute, and stop the fraud. The first article that turned up was a May 6 CBS I-Team report from Florida, charging that “government investigators say CMS still can’t accurately track improper Medicare payments.” That sounded important, but the article itself was confusing, referring to the 60 Minutes report, quoting President Obama in a context that was not clear, and referring to “a new bill” to attack fraud. Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
Bombing schools and hospitals is a war crime. Deliberately targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure is a war crime. Yesterday’s fulminations from the Führer in the White House go beyond war crimes to announce that he intends genocide: the wiping out of an entire people and civilization.
ICE is only one of the federal agencies surveilling people. Federal surveillance reaches far beyond immigrants. Federal agents use massive databases, facial recognition, cell phone photos, and license plate records. Beyond surveillance, they target and threaten people involved in protests, bringing the full weight of federal power to bear on individuals. Their actions often remain […]
Five years after the violent attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters, the attacks on democracy and on elected officials continue. Yesterday, two politicians currently under attack by the Trump administration spoke out with anger and eloquence.
The New York Times today has plenty of coverage of who, how, when, and where the United States illegally attacked Venezuela and abducted its president and first lady. But that’s far from the whole story. A few easily overlooked but essential facts: For informed insights on the consequences of Trump’s attack on Venezuela, see:
50 USC Ch. 33: WAR POWERS RESOLUTION §1541. Purpose and policy (a) Congressional declaration It is the purpose of this chapter to fulfill the intent of the framers of the Constitution of the United States and insure that the collective judgment of both the Congress and the President will apply to the introduction of United […]
Mary Turck