Society's Child
And so it goes on. Even though deaths with COVID have dropped sharply, even though the virus has clearly petered out in Britain, even though there's been an official acknowledgement that some 30,000 'positive' test results have been double-counted, the clamour for more 'New Abnormal' measures to be introduced grows by the day.
The 'big' thing this week is to try and make the wearing of face masks compulsory.
According to a tip in the Jalopnik inbox, a number of Black Ford employees came together to raise concern about their employer's manufacture of police vehicles. (We have since received clarification that the letter was written composed by a group of Black and white Ford employees.) Ford wouldn't be the first company to come under scrutiny for making equipment for law enforcement, as folks around the country are raising flags about who gets contracts to produce what for use by police. From small players like bike companies — such as Trek, who makes police bikes — to behemoths like Amazon and its facial-recognition technology a number of companies are facing pressure now, and Ford certainly isn't the first company with internal revolt.
"It's been agony," says Mohamed Ali, a native of Somalia. "I respect the public anger, but I think we carried it too far, to burn our city." At the height of the chaos, rioters set a large fire in front of his apartment, which sits atop several streetside shops. He spray-painted desperate appeals onto plywood affixed to the storefront windows: "Don't burn please . . . Kids live upstairs."
"All these businesses are still boarded, and it's over a month later," Mr. Ali said, gesturing in every direction of his Minneapolis neighborhood. "This was a thriving area," he said. "Now a lot of minority businesses are burned."
The billionaire music artist turned sneaker designer told Forbes that he was running to win in November - even though it is too late for him to register as a candidate in some states. (He'll win in 2024 if things don't work out this time around, he explained to the magazine.)
Although billing himself as an independent, West says he is forming a new Birthday Party to defeat Democrat Joe Biden and Republican incumbent Donald Trump. He chose the name "because when we win, it's everybody's birthday."
He is reportedly being advised by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and he has selected a little-known preacher from Wyoming, Michelle Tidball, as his running mate. West announced that their campaign slogan is "YES!" - not "YEP" or "YEAH," he clarified.
Yes, really.
"In addition to being a gov snitch, fraud George Orwell spent WWII demonizing the USSR as it defeated Nazism. As the Red Army sacrificed millions fighting Hitler, and as the Nazi regime shoved Jews into gas chambers, Orwell was writing Animal Farm. Vile man," tweeted Ben Norton.
Norton followed up by denouncing the 1984 author as:
"a reactionary who hated communists more than fascists. Orwell didn't actually believe in free speech. He wanted to take away the free speech of communists. Orwell was a total fraud."
Comment: So who, exactly, is the 'Orwellian'? The man who wrote about it as a warning...or the man who cancelled the man who wrote about it?
The 100-account network said to be linked to Stone, a Florida resident, was discovered in the course of an investigation into the right-wing group Proud Boys, banned from Facebook years ago, the social media behemoth revealed on Wednesday in a blog post. Some 54 accounts, 54 pages, and four Instagram accounts were removed in the purge. According to Facebook, the deleted accounts were followed by upwards of 320,000 people and had spent over $308,000 on Facebook ads.
Stone, a self-styled "dirty trickster" whose history with the Republican Party goes back decades, is due to report to federal prison next week on charges of lying to Congress, obstruction of justice, and witness tampering for which he was sentenced to three years in prison. His lawyers have petitioned to have his incarceration delayed due to the coronavirus, citing his age (67).
The former Trump advisor was barred from social media last July after federal judge Amy Berman Jackson accused him of breaching a gag order regarding his case. The accounts supposedly linked to him had posted about his website, books, and media appearances, as well as the WikiLeaks materials released in the runup to the 2016 election, Stone's trial, and a Florida land and water resources bill.
Comment: Links to a Website! Books! Media Appearances!...and a Water Resource Bill - you know, bad stuff.
Oppression is seen pretty much across the board in the American system, Omar claimed in a speech in Minnesota on Tuesday.
"We are fighting to tear down systems of oppression that exist in housing, in education, in healthcare, in employment, in the air we breathe. We cannot stop at the criminal justice system. We must begin the work of dismantling the whole system of oppression wherever we find it."Omar, a Somali-American, has frequently called for the dismantling of the Minneapolis Police Department since the death of George Floyd in the city, calling it 'rotten to the root.'
Russian health minister: Anti-vaxxers can rejoice - any future coronavirus vaccine will be voluntary
According to the health ministry, vaccinations in Russia can only be given with a citizen's expressed consent.
"Today, interest in the vaccine is quite high, because people have realized the full significance of vaccination. "Over this period [of Covid-19], the number of supporters of vaccination has increased."In May, it was suggested that Russia's Code of Administrative Offenses include a fine for the refusal of compulsory vaccinations. Still in the discussion stage, the new code would allow a fine of up to 7,000 rubles ($100) for citizens refusing immunizations deemed necessary. According to Rospotrebnazdor, the country's health watchdog, the punishment would only be applied to those who perform work associated with a high risk of contracting infectious diseases.
Stefan Loew, a member of the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, stole the limelight during Tuesday's session of the Bavarian state parliament. Invited to take the floor by the speaker, he turned up at the podium wearing a heavy-duty gas mask.
The stunt garnered some chuckles from the audience, but those running the meeting refused to play along.
"Mr Loew, I'm now giving you three seconds more [to take the gas mask off]," a vice-speaker is heard saying in a livestream video. The stubborn MP hits back, his voice strangled: "There is indeed a requirement to wear a mask!" The vice-speaker repeatedly demanded that Loew stop "making fun" of the session, but the AfD lawmaker kept speaking anyway - albeit quite inaudibly.
Comment: Everyone calm down and take a
Cameron Lindsay, who served as the warden at the Metropolitan Detention Center for three years, said he wouldn't risk the possibility of her suicide because it would be "unimaginable" for her to escape the justice system.
"She allegedly knows a great deal of information about a multitude of potential co-defendants in the actions against Jeffrey Epstein," Lindsay said.
Comment:
- Ghislane Maxwell Finally Arrested by FBI. Is She The Center of The Entire Epstein Case?
- Ghislaine Maxwell reportedly to cooperate, Epstein pal says Prince Andrew is 'concerned'
- Woman claims Ghislaine Maxwell raped her '20-30 times'; willing to testify: 'She is just as evil as Jeffrey Epstein'
- Ex-Reddit CEO knew Ghislaine Maxwell was trafficking underage girls, attended parties with Al Gore, Facebook and Twitter Execs















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