23 June 20
Bernie Sanders, Reader Supported News
Sanders writes: "If you think you are living in unusual and unprecedented times, you're right. This is a moment in American history that kids will be studying in school for a very long time."
We are living through a pandemic that has claimed the lives of 120,000 Americans. And, now, after cities and states have "reopened," the number of new cases is skyrocketing.
We are living through an economic meltdown where over 30 million workers have lost their jobs, and people across the country are struggling with hunger, evictions and unpayable debts.
We are living through a massive outpouring of rage against police brutality and murder and the systemic racism which has plagued this country since it's inception.
And, in the midst of all of that, we have a narcissistic and demagogic president who defies science in terms of the pandemic, ignores the pain of the unemployed and hungry and, instead of leading the effort to combat racism, is actively trying to encourage violence and divide us up.
That's the bad news.
Here's the good news:
We are actively and successfully fighting back.
As a result of mass demonstrations across the country, local, state and federal governments are beginning to move toward holding police officers accountable and rethinking the very nature of policing.
And, at the ballot box, there are a number of strong progressive candidates who are taking on the political establishment, running great campaigns and have an excellent chance of winning their Democratic primary and general elections.
Among the candidates whom we are supporting with upcoming elections — many of which are happening today — are:
Charles Booker for U.S. Senate in Kentucky, Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), Mondaire Jones (NY-17), Samelys López (NY-15), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Arati Kreibich (NJ-05), Amy Padden in Judicial District 18, Colorado, Alonzo Payne in Judicial District 12, Colorado, Matt Toporowski in Albany County, New York, Mike Gianaris for New York State Senate, Julia Salazar for New York State Senate, Jessica Ramos for New York State Senate, Jabari Brisport for New York State Senate, Yuh-Line Niou for New York State Assembly, and Ron Kim for New York State Assembly.
Last but not least, in the midst of these tumultuous times, it is imperative that we maintain our bold vision for the America we want to see in the years to come, a vision that more and more Americans are embracing.
Yes. We can transform a rigged and corrupt political system and create a vibrant democracy based on one person, one vote.
Yes. We can create an economic system based on the principles of justice, not greed.
Yes. We can create a guaranteed federal jobs program and decent income for all American workers as we rebuild our crumbling infrastructure.
Yes. We can make public colleges and universities tuition free, cancel all student debt, and have high quality and universal childcare.
Yes. We can make health care a human right and not a jobs benefit, and pass a Medicare for All single-payer program.
Yes. We can create millions of good jobs by implementing a Green New Deal as we lead the world in combating climate change.
Yes. We can move toward a country which eliminates racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia and all forms of bigotry.
Yes. We can fight against all forms of gender discrimination and protect a woman's right to control her own body.
Yes. We can pass common sense gun safety legislation and end the epidemic of gun violence in our country.
And, yes! Listening to the American people, and responding to their needs, we can do much, much more.
In this difficult moment in American history, this is not the time for despair or retreat. Now is the time for courage. Let us go forward together.
In solidarity,
Bernie
Protesters attempt to pull down the statue of Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Square near the White House. (photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images/AFP)
Trump to Sign Executive Order to Punish People With Prison for Defacing Monuments
Al Jazeera
Excerpt: "US President Donald Trump says he has authorised the government to arrest anyone caught trying to tear down monuments or statues, threatening they could be jailed for 10 years."
READ MORE
Al Jazeera
Excerpt: "US President Donald Trump says he has authorised the government to arrest anyone caught trying to tear down monuments or statues, threatening they could be jailed for 10 years."
READ MORE
People wait in line Tuesday to vote at the Kentucky Exposition Center. (photo: Michael Blackshire/Washington Post)
A New Voting Crisis: Kentucky Closes 95% of Polling Places, Leaving Louisville With Just One
Democracy Now!
Excerpt: "As primary voters head to the polls in New York, Kentucky and Virginia, they face long lines, even as President Trump continues to attack mail-in voting, falsely claiming it leads to fraud."
READ MORE
Democracy Now!
Excerpt: "As primary voters head to the polls in New York, Kentucky and Virginia, they face long lines, even as President Trump continues to attack mail-in voting, falsely claiming it leads to fraud."
READ MORE
Facebook makes $70 billion in annual advertising revenue while 'amplifying the messages of white supremacists,' according to the campaign. (photo: Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images)
Kari Paul, Guardian UK
Paul writes: "Several companies have suspended advertising on Facebook over the company's failure to address hate speech on the platform."
The outdoor apparel and product retailers the North Face, REI, and Patagonia have pledged not to pay for advertising on Facebook platforms as part of the “Stop Hate for Profit” campaign, launched Wednesday by advocacy groups including the Anti-Defamation League, the NAACP, and the Color Of Change. The freelance job listing site Upwork and the internet company Mozilla have also joined the pledge.
The movement asks advertisers to pressure the tech giant to adopt stricter policies against racist and hateful content on its platforms by pausing all spending on advertising with the company for the month of July.
Facebook makes $70bn in annual advertising revenue while “amplifying the messages of white supremacists” and “permitting incitement to violence”, according to the campaign.
“We have long seen how Facebook has allowed some of the worst elements of society into our homes and our lives,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive officer of the Anti-Defamation League, in a statement. “Our organizations have tried individually and collectively to push Facebook to make their platforms safer, but they have repeatedly failed to take meaningful action. We hope this campaign finally shows Facebook how much their users and their advertisers want them to make serious changes for the better.”
James Steyer, founder and CEO of Common Sense, a partner in the campaign, said he expected more companies to join in coming weeks. “Companies clearly have heightened awareness around issues of racial justice in the US right now,” he said. “We are heartened by the progress and we think it is the right time for this.”
The campaign cites a number of examples to argue Facebook has failed to address misinformation and hate speech: it made Breitbart News a “trusted news source” despite its history of working with white nationalists and neo-Nazis, was accused of allowing housing discrimination against communities of color, and failed to remove Holocaust denial posts.
Facebook is also the social media platform where the most Americans – 55% – reported experiencing hate and harassment, according to a 2019 ADL survey of Americans using the services.
The company has faced increased pressure to address hate speech and misinformation in recent months as its competitor Twitter began to flag false and incendiary statements from Donald Trump. Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, has refused to rein in the American president or flag his posts despite the urging of more than 100 scientists, coordinated walkouts of employees protesting the decision, and criticisms from civil rights leaders.
Carolyn Everson, vice-president of Facebook’s global business group, said in a statement: “We deeply respect any brand’s decision, and remain focused on the important work of removing hate speech and providing critical voting information.”
Upwork said it would pause its advertising for the month of July. Its CEO, Hayden Brown, said the company “cannot stand by and be complicit to or complacent about the spread of hate, racism, and misinformation”. REI in a statement said that it would “put people over profits” by pulling its advertising.
The North Face is halting paid advertising on Facebook and Instagram for the next 30 days “to support the implementation of stricter policies to stop racist, violent or hateful content and misinformation from circulating on the Facebook platform”, a spokeswoman said by email. It will continue to post unpaid, non-advertising content on its Instagram page.
“We stand in support of the NAACP and #StopHateforProfit organizations asking that Facebook stop promoting hate, bigotry, racism, antisemitism and violence,” she said. “We will re-evaluate our position over the next 30 days depending on these outcomes.”
The hacktivist collective has released more than a million files in total through a leaked-focused group called DDOSecrets. (photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Andy Greenberg, WIRED
Greenberg writes: "It's Been the better part of a decade since the hacktivist group Anonymous rampaged across the internet, stealing and leaking millions of secret files from dozens of US organizations."
"Due to the size of the dataset, we probably missed things," Best concedes. "I wish we could have done more, but I'm pleased with what we did and that we continue to learn." Best adds that the group pruned more than 50 gigabytes of data out of the files before publication out of what they describe as an abundance of caution, and will continue to scour that data for anything in the public interest that the group may publish later.
Best notes, however, that DDOSecrets published the financial information knowingly, arguing that it could be correlated with other information to further expose police behavior in ways that serve the public interest. "The potential of the data, especially in the long run and when correlated with other datasets, outweighs any downsides to allowing the public to examine it," Best argues.
They also have no qualms about publishing the personally identifiable information of police officers. "The public has an interest in the identities of public servants," they write.
For Anonymous, meanwhile, the BlueLeaks release represents perhaps the most significant action the group has undertaken in the US in years. The police targeting harks back to the 2011 operations of the Anonymous subgroup Antisec, whose members—including the prolific hacktivist Jeremy Hammond—stole and leaked data from a wide array of law enforcement targets in support of Occupy Wall Street protesters. "The closest thing I can think of to a precedent is some of Jeremy Hammond's hacks," Best says of BlueLeaks.
Hammond himself is still serving a 10-year sentence for his hacking crimes. On Friday, a group of supporters known as the Jeremy Hammond Support Committee tweeted out a link to the BlueLeaks data dump. It read, simply, "Fuck the police. #BlueLeaks."
A school resource officer. (photo: Urban Institute Blog)
Anya Kamenetz, NPR
Kamenetz writes: "At least two-thirds of American high school students attend a school with a police officer, according to the Urban Institute, and that proportion is higher for students of color."
EXCERPTS:
"There isn't much evidence indicating that police officers in schools make schools safer," says Dominique Parris of the research organization Child Trends. "What they do do is increase the likelihood that Black and brown children are going to be involved in the legal system early and often."
There are dozens of documented incidents in the past decade where a resource officer tasered, pepper sprayed, injured or otherwise used force on a student.
A 2018 Washington Post analysis of nearly 200 incidents of gun violence on campus found only two times where a school resource officer successfully intervened in a shooting. Canady says there are many more. "In several ... incidents SROs responded and stopped the shootings before more lives were lost. In some cases, they stopped the shooting before any lives were lost."
He cites as a success story a 2018 incident in Maryland where a high school student killed an ex-girlfriend, injured another boy and then shot himself fatally as he was fired on by an SRO.
Barcelona's Liceu Opera house played a concert for plants Monday. (photo: Jordi Vidal/Getty Images)
Barcelona Opera House Reopens With Concert for 2,292 Plants
Olivia Rosane, EcoWatch
Rosane writes: "A Barcelona opera house played its first concert since mid-March to an unusual audience: 2,292 plants."
Olivia Rosane, EcoWatch
Rosane writes: "A Barcelona opera house played its first concert since mid-March to an unusual audience: 2,292 plants."
The "Concert for the Biocene" at the Liceu opera house came the day after Spain finally lifted an emergency order put in place to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, Reuters reported. A string quartet played Giacomo Puccini's "Chrysanthemum," bowing respectfully before and after to its leafy audience.
"Nature advanced to occupy the spaces we snatched from it," Eugenio Ampudio, the conceptual artist behind the unique concert, said during a rehearsal Sunday, according to Reuters. "Can we extend our empathy? Let's begin with art and music, in a great theatre, by inviting nature in."
Human listeners were invited in too via a livestream.
The concert organizers are also sharing the event in another way.
"After the concert, the plants will be donated with a certificate from the artist to 2,292 people who have been on the healthcare frontlines, the toughest front in a battle unprecedented for our generations, in recognition of their work," a Liceu press release explained.
The plants came from local nurseries and will be given to workers at the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona in particular.
Spain has been one of the countries hardest hit by the coronavirus, with 28,323 deaths and 246,272 cases to date, according to Reuters. As it emerges from lockdown, theaters and cinemas are being allowed to reopen with limits on audience size, NPR reported.
Monday's unique concert was conceived as a prelude to the opera's 2020-2021 season.
"The Liceu, one of the largest and most important opera halls in the world, thus welcomes and leads a highly symbolic act that defends the value of art, music and nature as a letter of introduction to our return to activity," the opera house wrote.
The concert also embodies Liceu artistic director Víctor García de Gomar's goal of forging dialogue between the venue and the visual arts. It is a collaboration between the Liceu, Ampudia, the Max Estrella Gallery and the curator Blanca de La Torre. As part of the collaboration, Ampudia took pictures and a video during the performance that will be added to the Contemporary Art Collection of "la Caixa."
"After a strange, painful period, the creator, the Liceu's artistic director and the curator Blanca de la Torre offer us a different perspective for our return to activity, a perspective that brings us closer to something as essential as our relationship with nature," the press release said.
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