{"id":22574,"date":"2019-02-10T02:13:12","date_gmt":"2019-02-10T10:13:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/?p=22574"},"modified":"2019-02-10T02:15:20","modified_gmt":"2019-02-10T10:15:20","slug":"rouge-forum-dispatch-clamoring-against-exploitation-andabuse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/rouge-forum-dispatch-clamoring-against-exploitation-andabuse\/","title":{"rendered":"Rouge Forum Dispatch: Clamoring Against Exploitation and Abuse!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><u>We Say Fight Back!<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"World to Win: The Life and Works of Karl Marx\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/R5dpAmkI9QU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"entry-title\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"dfm-title\">Denver teacher strike to begin Monday after Gov. Jared Polis declines to intervene <\/span><\/h1>\n<p>The union representing the majority of Denver Public Schools\u2019 educators announced it will initiate the city\u2019s first teacher strike in a quarter century next week after Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday declined to intervene in the two sides\u2019 ongoing compensation dispute.<\/p>\n<p>DPS leaders have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2019\/01\/11\/denver-public-schools-strike\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">vowed to keep all of the district\u2019s 161 schools open<\/a> through any walkout, but Superintendent Susana Cordova acknowledged Wednesday that a strike would force the cancellation of early childhood education classes for 3- and 4-year-olds.<\/p>\n<p>Still, both Polis and Cordova expressed hope that the state\u2019s largest school district and its teachers union finally will reach agreement on a new compensation plan before next week. The two sides <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2019\/01\/18\/denver-public-schools-teacher-negotiations-strike\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">remain about $8 million apart<\/a> in their proposals.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve got Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday into Monday,\u201d Cordova said at a news conference. \u201cLet\u2019s spend as much time possible in negotiations. Let\u2019s clear our calendars to do that.\u201d\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2019\/02\/06\/jared-polis-denver-teachers-strike\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.denverpost.com\/2019\/02\/06\/jared-polis-denver-teachers-strike\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"spotlight aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/scontent.fsan1-1.fna.fbcdn.net\/v\/t1.0-9\/52024116_10218978337795337_8341752178838339584_n.jpg?_nc_cat=110&amp;_nc_ht=scontent.fsan1-1.fna&amp;oh=96a4b11f84c5603109a59fa4b3d2fb6e&amp;oe=5CF3F721\" alt=\"Image may contain: text\" aria-busy=\"true\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\">Teachers strike at 2nd Chicago charter school\u00a0network<\/h1>\n<p>Some 175 educators launched a strike Tuesday at four campuses of the Chicago International Charter School \u2014 the second charter network to strike in the city this school year.<\/p>\n<p>Teachers hit the picket line at 6 a.m. Tuesday outside CICS\u2019 ChicagoQuest, Northtown, Wrightwood and Ralph Ellison schools.<\/p>\n<p>The workers want better pay, smaller class sizes and additional social workers and school counselors to be hired.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey are pocketing increased taxpayer funding and insulting our teachers and low-wage paraprofessionals with threats to cut counselors, social workers and critical frontline programs for our overwhelmingly low-income students\u201d CTU Vice President Stacy Davis Gates said.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/chicago.suntimes.com\/news\/cics-teachers-strike-international-charter-union-ctu\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">chicago.suntimes.com\/news\/cics-teachers-strike-international-charter-union-ctu\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><u><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"spotlight\" src=\"https:\/\/scontent.fsan1-2.fna.fbcdn.net\/v\/t1.0-9\/51236052_2016788491769828_5016157103169994752_n.jpg?_nc_cat=107&amp;_nc_ht=scontent.fsan1-2.fna&amp;oh=d27771b137f7245ae0c4ef6f65c485a1&amp;oe=5D008220\" alt=\"No photo description available.\" aria-busy=\"true\" \/><\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"text_exposed_show\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong>The book above is available at a discount t<\/strong><\/em>hrough March 1st. To get All Children at a 30% discount do the following:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">email <a href=\"mailto:customerservice@plang.com\" class=\"autohyperlink\">customerservice@plang.com<\/a><br \/>\nPut Selwyn30 in the subject line.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Someone from customer service will then contact you and help you order the book.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/david.daniels.790\/videos\/10100476888938323\/?t=0\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.facebook.com\/david.daniels.790\/videos\/10100476888938323\/?t=0<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Oakland Teachers vote to Strike Monday<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Lauren.Steiner.LA\/videos\/10218244594803130\/?t=170\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.facebook.com\/Lauren.Steiner.LA\/videos\/10218244594803130\/?t=170<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"header-title\" style=\"text-align: center;\">Oakland teachers vote to authorize strike over pay, class size<\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"campaign-img\" src=\"https:\/\/d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net\/36597884_1548640287519187_r.jpeg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p data-words=\"28\">Oakland teachers voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike, ratcheting up their dispute with administrators of the financially troubled district over wages and class sizes, the union said Monday.<\/p>\n<p data-words=\"28\">The vote allows union leaders to call a strike after Feb. 15, when a neutral fact-finder is expected to release a report that attempts to bridge the impasse.<\/p>\n<p data-words=\"49\">Wages remain the main point of contention. The school district has proposed a 5 percent raise over three years. The union has asked for a 12 percent increase over that period. The starting salary for Oakland teachers is $46,500, and the average salary is $63,100, according to state data.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/bayarea\/article\/Oakland-teachers-vote-to-authorize-strike-over-13589218.php\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.sfchronicle.com\/bayarea\/article\/Oakland-teachers-vote-to-authorize-strike-over-13589218.php<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"src-routes-Site-routes-Post-components-Post-___Post__post_Title___2xo14\">&#8216;Not Just a Teacher Issue&#8217;: Oakland Students Stage Sickout Over School Woes<\/h1>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"irc_mi\" src=\"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/02\/RS35211_OUSD_MOORE_022-1920x1339.jpg\" alt=\"Image result for oakland students sick out\" width=\"734\" height=\"512\" \/><\/p>\n<p data-words=\"49\">Hundreds of Oakland students from high schools across the city skipped class Friday morning to march from Oakland Technical High School to the school district&#8217;s downtown headquarters in a spirited show of support for their teachers, who are threatening to strike amid tense contract negotiations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI&#8217;m here to support our teachers, to fight for things that I want in our schools and show that this is not just a teacher issue. It&#8217;s a schoolwide, community issue,\u201d said Avelina Rivezzo-Weber, a junior at Skyline High School, who helped organize students from her school.<\/p>\n<p>Teens gathered on the plaza in front of Oakland Tech before the start of the school day, where student organizers discussed how to demonstrate safely and then led the crowd down Broadway.<\/p>\n<p>Waving signs and banners, students chanted, \u201c1-2-3-4, pay our Oakland teachers more!\u201d and \u201cWe won\u2019t stop! Chop from the top!&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kqed.org\/news\/11724716\/hundreds-of-oakland-high-school-students-stage-sickout-in-support-of-teachers\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.kqed.org\/news\/11724716\/hundreds-of-oakland-high-school-students-stage-sickout-in-support-of-teachers<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-words=\"49\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"spotlight\" src=\"https:\/\/scontent.fsan1-2.fna.fbcdn.net\/v\/t1.0-9\/23167692_1938343722858986_1808140320629303397_n.jpg?_nc_cat=100&amp;_nc_ht=scontent.fsan1-2.fna&amp;oh=d27983f2ba398806bf45b7edea88f3fa&amp;oe=5CB6B178\" alt=\"No photo description available.\" aria-busy=\"true\" \/><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"post__title\" style=\"text-align: center;\">Teacher strikes show no signs of stopping as Wright State faculty picket for 18th straight day<\/h1>\n<h2 class=\"post__dek\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>The union president claims the administration is participating in union-busting.<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><img srcset=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thinkprogress.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/strike-wright.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"CREDIT: Wright State University's Lake Campus on the picket line.\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Faculty at Wright State University in Ohio are amid one of the longest strikes at a public university in U.S. history \u2014\u00a0demonstrating the rise in worker militancy in the education world.<\/p>\n<p>The strike has so far lasted 18 days, after two years of attempts to negotiate a contract with the university. About 560 of the school\u2019s professors are in the union, the Wright State University branch of the\u00a0American Association of University Professors (AAUP-WSU), and\u00a085 percent of union members voted to authorize the strike.<\/p>\n<p>The only work stoppage at a public university that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1990\/10\/03\/us\/education-temple-professors-narrowly-agree-to-end-strike.html?mtrref=www.google.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lasted longer<\/a> was a 29-day strike at Temple University in 1990, according to the union, which included a fight over health insurance and salary increases.<\/p>\n<p>The university has recently been through a number of serious financial issues, which they are giving as a <a href=\"http:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2019\/01\/20\/wright-state-university-explains-cost-savingsfurlough-days-workload-and-uniform-healthcare-benefits-to-union-leadership\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reason<\/a> for holding out in negotiations. It went through $131 million of its reserves over five years.\u00a0It had to pay back the U.S. Department of Education $2 million in 2017\u00a0after a federal review of the school\u2019s handling of financial aid. It paid the U.S. Department of Justice a $1 million fine in 2018 after the department said the university missed the H1-B visa cap exemption.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/thinkprogress.org\/wright-state-university-faculty-strike-bea3cae02c67\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">thinkprogress.org\/wright-state-university-faculty-strike-bea3cae02c67\/<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"content-item__title\" style=\"text-align: center;\">Don&#8217;t Scab! As Faculty Strike Wears On, Wright State Seeks \u2018Long Term\u2019 Adjuncts in More Than 80 Fields<\/h1>\n<p>As a faculty strike at Wright State University marched into its third week on Tuesday, an ad soliciting \u201clong term\u201d adjuncts in more than 80 fields exposed the extent to which the labor action is threatening basic university operations.<\/p>\n<p>The ad, posted recently on <a href=\"https:\/\/chroniclevitae.com\/jobs\/0000467498-01\"><em>The Chronicle\u2019<\/em><\/a>s and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.higheredjobs.com\/faculty\/details.cfm?JobCode=176913352\">HigherEdJobs\u2019<\/a> job boards, lists a range of disciplines in which the university wants to hire: biology, chemistry, computer science, English and literature, history, mathematics, philosophy, physics, and dozens of others.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier in January, Wright State posted a <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/crystal_b_lake\/status\/1088570227556839429\">separate advertisement<\/a> looking for adjuncts, but it did not specify that the positions would be \u201clong-term,\u201d as the new posting did.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chronicle.com\/article\/As-Faculty-Strike-Wears-On\/245617\/?fbclid=IwAR3iiQVpvkWNlOo15TcjJmZJf0TvrnisuD4G6cie1LtlNvFt1jh-vdH92cU#.XFr6qgCNH6I.facebook\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.chronicle.com\/article\/As-Faculty-Strike-Wears-On\/245617\/?fbclid=IwAR3iiQVpvkWNlOo15TcjJmZJf0TvrnisuD4G6cie1LtlNvFt1jh-vdH92cU#.XFr6qgCNH6I.facebook<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"spotlight\" src=\"https:\/\/scontent.fsan1-2.fna.fbcdn.net\/v\/t1.0-9\/51204998_2155145414736095_1932446730117185536_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&amp;_nc_ht=scontent.fsan1-2.fna&amp;oh=aaae780fbb5e2f7a4b853fc11e2b5e14&amp;oe=5CEDC8C0\" alt=\"No photo description available.\" aria-busy=\"true\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Street-Pauk.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22629\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Street-Pauk.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"850\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Street-Pauk.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Street-Pauk-150x133.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Street-Pauk-500x443.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Street-Pauk-768x680.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\">Watch: It might seem strange, but a Left rally in Kolkata drew enormous crowds<\/h1>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">They suggested a binocular. We tried, but couldn&#39;t see the tail end of <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/cpimspeak?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@cpimspeak<\/a>. Hence the drone view. Enjoy. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/aerialphotography?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#aerialphotography<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/PeoplesBrigade?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#PeoplesBrigade<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/IVj4GJcDzJ\">pic.twitter.com\/IVj4GJcDzJ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Aparna (@chhuti_is) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/chhuti_is\/status\/1092073357971939328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 3, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>In a show of solidarity ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal, the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Front organised a rally that saw several senior leaders address a huge crowd of people in Kolkata on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>The event took place at the Brigade Parade Grounds, the same venue at which Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/scroll.in\/latest\/910048\/opposition-unity-rally-trinamool-congress-chief-mamata-banerjee-arrives-at-venue-in-kolkata\">United India rally<\/a> was held on January 19. A video shared by Twitter user Aparna, showed drone footage of the Left rally from the venue.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/scroll.in\/video\/911930\/watch-it-might-seem-strange-but-a-left-rally-in-kolkata-drew-enormous-crowds?fbclid=IwAR18iW04bV_JSrKsRoOpL4DZQw-uYXkzrnZOp1drH8Bki1rXhQe6j3lVEaE\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">scroll.in\/video\/911930\/watch-it-might-seem-strange-but-a-left-rally-in-kolkata-drew-enormous-crowds?fbclid=IwAR18iW04bV_JSrKsRoOpL4DZQw-uYXkzrnZOp1drH8Bki1rXhQe6j3lVEaE<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong>Yellow Vests Still on the March<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SputnikNews\/videos\/2355297564702661\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.facebook.com\/SputnikNews\/videos\/2355297564702661\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><u>The Little Red Schoolhouse<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Librarians-ed-sect.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22577\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Librarians-ed-sect.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"540\" height=\"540\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Librarians-ed-sect.jpg 540w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Librarians-ed-sect-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Librarians-ed-sect-500x500.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"header\">The San Diego State Corrupt Corporate Land Grab: Sheppard Mullin lobbies SDSU\u2019s city deal<\/h1>\n<div class=\"vote_box\">\n<h3 class=\"sub_header\"><em>The unseen hands of Moores and McGrory<\/em><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"irc_mi\" src=\"https:\/\/media.sandiegoreader.com\/img\/photos\/2018\/06\/19\/monty_copy_t658.jpg?ff95ca2b4c25d2d6ff3bfb257febf11d604414e5\" alt=\"Image result for monty montezuma\" width=\"658\" height=\"358\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"vote_box\">\n<form class=\"vote_form single is_anonymous\" action=\"\/accounts\/login\/?next=\/news\/2019\/feb\/01\/ticker-sheppard-mullin-lobbies-sdsus-city-deal\/\" method=\"post\">Above, Racist SDSU fake Aztec, Monty Montezuma<\/p>\n<p id=\"h960085-p1\" class=\"permalinkable\">During last fall&#8217;s war over the fate of what used to be Qualcomm Stadium and surrounding acreage, an \u00e9minence grise from the city&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegoreader.com\/news\/2001\/apr\/12\/cover-john-moores-exemption\/\">scandal-ridden history<\/a> hovered over the political battlefield.<\/p>\n<p id=\"h960085-p2\" class=\"permalinkable\">Rancho Santa Fe&#8217;s John Moores, who developed downtown&#8217;s Padres ballpark and adjacent Alphaville-like condo towers courtesy of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegoreader.com\/news\/2012\/feb\/29\/citylights1\/\">fat city subsidies,<\/a> was nowhere to be seen.<\/p>\n<p id=\"h960085-p3\" class=\"permalinkable\">But two retainers from his past, ex-city manager <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegoreader.com\/news\/2017\/apr\/19\/radar-mothers-milk\/\">Jack McGrory<\/a> and one-time Democratic state senator Steve Peace, were everywhere, publicly and privately promoting San Diego State University&#8217;s takeover of the property.<\/p>\n<p id=\"h960085-p4\" class=\"permalinkable\">Even after Moores made a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegoreader.com\/news\/2018\/nov\/05\/ticker-developer-moores-last-sdsu-money-move\/\">personal contribution<\/a> of $98,500 to Friends of SDSU, the McGrory-led political committee waging the ballot campaign for SDSU, Moores evaded notice by all but a few observers.<\/p>\n<p id=\"h960085-p5\" class=\"permalinkable\">Moores made his contribution on November 2, just four days before the election, the better to avoid publicity. The donation was simultaneously matched by a contribution of the same amount from Kara M. Kratzer, wife of John Kratzer, CEO of Moores\u2019s JMI Realty.<\/p>\n<p id=\"h960085-p6\" class=\"permalinkable\">Only after the win was secured by McGrory\u2019s committee and SDSU \u2013 which mounted a costly promotional campaign for itself during the days leading to the election \u2013 did Moores emerge from the shadows for a victory lap, courtesy of the <em>Union-Tribune<\/em>\u2019s sports page.<\/p>\n<p id=\"h960085-p7\" class=\"permalinkable\">&#8220;Now that San Diego city voters have agreed with Moores \u2014 and by a fat margin \u2014 by approving the &#8216;SDSU West&#8217; measure on Nov. 6, one wonders if the unfolding events will involve Moores,&#8221; wrote the Tom Krasovic in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/sports\/chargers\/sd-sp-sdsu-west-padres-john-moores-major-league-soccer-20181114-story.html\">November 16 column<\/a> lacking mention of the substantial financial backing Moores and associates had provided the measure.\u00a0\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegoreader.com\/news\/2019\/feb\/01\/ticker-sheppard-mullin-lobbies-sdsus-city-deal\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.sandiegoreader.com\/news\/2019\/feb\/01\/ticker-sheppard-mullin-lobbies-sdsus-city-deal\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/form>\n<\/div>\n<h3 class=\"sub_header\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"irc_mi aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.pinimg.com\/originals\/44\/f1\/d1\/44f1d141b5e50c37aeec4db0a15fb43d.jpg\" alt=\"Image result for monty montezuma\" width=\"382\" height=\"573\" \/><\/h3>\n<h1 id=\"single_title\" style=\"text-align: center;\">The Farce of &#8220;Restorative Justice&#8221;&#8211;Investigation: In NYC School Where a Teenager Was Killed, Students &amp; Educators Say Lax Discipline Led to Bullying, Chaos, and Death<\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Stabbing.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"drop-cap\">A<\/span>n unnamed boy stands in the stairwell of his New York City high school. He secures one end of his sweater to the rail, ties the other around his neck, and tries to hang himself.<\/p>\n<p>The boy had been bullied mercilessly for being gay, and nothing changed no matter how many times he or his grandmother asked administrators for help. He just wanted it to end. But just then, according to <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/10\/27\/nyregion\/at-school-where-student-died-bullying-led-to-a-suicide-attempt.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The New York Times<\/a><\/em>, \u201ca vice principal and two students happened by\u201d and saved him.<\/p>\n<p>Teachers and students say the <em>Times<\/em> story was inaccurate and incomplete. The assistant principal was not there, they say, and the two students who intervened deserve to be named: Ariane Laboy, 16, and Matthew McCree, 15.<\/p>\n<p>But the public was not introduced to Laboy and McCree for the life they saved that day. We know their names because six months later, on Sept. 27, 2017, someone in history class threw a paper ball at Abel Cedeno, an 18-year-old sophomore who, like the unnamed student in the stairwell, had been bullied for his sexuality. The profanity-laced challenge and invitation to violence that followed were par for the course at the school. The one thing different that day: Cedeno pulled out a switchblade. He stabbed McCree, and when Laboy came to McCree\u2019s aid, Cedeno turned the blade on him. Laboy fell into a coma for two days. When he awoke, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nydailynews.com\/new-york\/bronx\/bronx-stabbing-victim-awoke-coma-learns-best-friend-dead-article-1.3532887\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">he asked for an egg roll and news of his best friend<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>McCree was dead.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/article\/investigation-in-new-york-city-school-where-a-teenager-was-killed-students-educators-say-lax-discipline-led-to-bullying-chaos-and-death\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.the74million.org\/article\/investigation-in-new-york-city-school-where-a-teenager-was-killed-students-educators-say-lax-discipline-led-to-bullying-chaos-and-death\/<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"headline\" style=\"text-align: center;\">School cancels play about Darwin and evolution after Christian parents complain<\/h1>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"irc_mi aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biography.com\/.image\/ar_1:1%2Cc_fill%2Ccs_srgb%2Cg_face%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_300\/MTE5NDg0MDU0OTM4NjE3MzU5\/charles-darwin-9266433-1-402.jpg\" alt=\"Image result for charles darwin\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A primary school has cancelled a play about <a class=\"body-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/CharlesDarwin\" data-vars-item-name=\"BL-8768691-https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/CharlesDarwin\" data-vars-event-id=\"c6\">Charles Darwin <\/a>and his theory of evolution following complaints from a group of Christian parents.<\/p>\n<p>Several families threatened to withdraw their children from the play, which is aimed at 7- to 11-year-olds, as they felt one of the scenes \u201cmocked\u201d a bishop involved in a historic debate on <a class=\"body-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/theory-of-evolution\" data-vars-item-name=\"BL-8768691-https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/theory-of-evolution\" data-vars-event-id=\"c6\">evolution.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Hartford Manor Primary School, a non-religious\u00a0community school in a village in <a class=\"body-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/Cheshire\" data-vars-item-name=\"BL-8768691-https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/Cheshire\" data-vars-event-id=\"c6\">Cheshire<\/a>, decided to cancel the musical <em>Darwin Rocks<\/em>\u00a0and replace it with a less divisive show following the objections.<\/p>\n<p>But the decision to cancel the play has provoked anger among another group of parents who argue that it is \u201cunacceptable\u201d that their children have been denied a valuable learning opportunity.<\/p>\n<p>Alan McDonald, a parent at the school who wants the production to be brought back, said: \u201cIt really does feel like a huge step backwards.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/education\/education-news\/evolution-christian-darwin-school-play-cancel-parents-hartford-manor-cheshire-a8768691.html?utm_medium=Social&#038;utm_source=Facebook&#038;fbclid=IwAR3X-3sF2qPhvTGEO3RYP4814Gi-CCJ4HOu4YnPaUi6wkKVNIABdmVOEGdg#Echobox=1549572819\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.independent.co.uk\/news\/education\/education-news\/evolution-christian-darwin-school-play-cancel-parents-hartford-manor-cheshire-a8768691.html?utm_medium=Social&#038;utm_source=Facebook&#038;fbclid=IwAR3X-3sF2qPhvTGEO3RYP4814Gi-CCJ4HOu4YnPaUi6wkKVNIABdmVOEGdg#Echobox=1549572819<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"spotlight\" src=\"https:\/\/scontent.fsan1-1.fna.fbcdn.net\/v\/t1.0-9\/51461680_2452151448132790_982390833141514240_n.jpg?_nc_cat=109&amp;_nc_ht=scontent.fsan1-1.fna&amp;oh=b10b197debf1cbb00684dbd6d799fc7f&amp;oe=5CE09170\" alt=\"Image may contain: text\" aria-busy=\"true\" \/><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"entry-title\" style=\"text-align: center;\">Florida Teacher Fired for Giving Zeros to Students Who Don\u2019t Turn in Their Work<\/h1>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-67050 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/p04z2zbzd0-flywheel.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/1-38.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/p04z2zbzd0-flywheel.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/1-38.jpg 650w, https:\/\/p04z2zbzd0-flywheel.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/1-38-239x300.jpg 239w\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"816\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A Florida teacher has been fired for <a href=\"http:\/\/goodfullness.com\/teacher-gets-fired-giving-zeroes-students-didnt-turn-work\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">giving her students zeros<\/a> for missing assignments.<\/p>\n<p>Diane Tirado has been a teacher for years. Most recently, she was an eighth-grade history teacher at Westgate K-8 School in Port St. Lucie, Florida.<\/p>\n<p>Diane recently gave her students two weeks to complete an Explorer notebook project, but several students simply didn\u2019t hand it in. Since there was zero work done, Diane gave them zeros.<\/p>\n<p>She got fired for it.<\/p>\n<p>The elementary school has a rule called the \u201cno zero policy.\u201d The lowest possible grade that teachers can give students is a 50, even if they don\u2019t turn anything in.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a rule that Diane, unsurprisingly, does not agree with. After she was fired for disobeying, she left her students a charming goodbye message on the whiteboard.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-67051 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/p04z2zbzd0-flywheel.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/2-39.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/p04z2zbzd0-flywheel.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/2-39.jpg 650w, https:\/\/p04z2zbzd0-flywheel.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/2-39-300x225.jpg 300w\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"488\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Diane later shared the story on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/photo.php?fbid=10216718689696576&amp;set=a.1124654793522&amp;type=3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a>, hoping to spread awareness about the school\u2019s policy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA grade in Mrs. Tirado\u2019s class is earned,\u201d she said&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p>Another teacher, Lynden Dorval, successfully won a court case against a school who fired her for giving out zeros in 2012.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wimp.com\/article\/florida-teacher-fired-for-giving-zeros-to-students-who-dont-turn-in-their-work\/?fbclid=IwAR1DvPnom8FBm2yCNIj6HzVpLywdqHFnN07681bjFT1EaGA0AiPbLPPWgeU\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.wimp.com\/article\/florida-teacher-fired-for-giving-zeros-to-students-who-dont-turn-in-their-work\/?fbclid=IwAR1DvPnom8FBm2yCNIj6HzVpLywdqHFnN07681bjFT1EaGA0AiPbLPPWgeU<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 id=\"page-title\" class=\"asset-name entry-title\">Cory Booker, School Choice Fan and Ex-DeVos Ally, Is Running for President<\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><u><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mt-image-center\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.edweek.org\/edweek\/campaign-k-12\/assets_c\/2019\/02\/Corey-Booker-1-article-thumb-600x400-34245-thumb-600x400-35154.jpg\" alt=\"Corey-Booker-1-article-thumb-600x400-34245.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>A politician with a long track record of supporting vouchers and other forms of school\u00a0choice will seek the White House in 2020\u2014on the Democratic ticket.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. Sen.\u00a0Cory Booker, D-N.J., announced Friday that he will seek the presidency. When it comes to education policy, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.edweek.org\/ew\/articles\/2013\/10\/30\/10electionsenator.h33.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Booker has an interesting and perhaps unique track record<\/a> among the Democrats who will fight to take on President Donald Trump. Although much of that record was established before he was elected to the Senate in 2013, how he talks about that record, and how teachers&#8217; unions react to his candidacy, will be worth watching.<\/p>\n<p>Before coming to Congress, Booker was the mayor of Newark, N.J., from 2006 to 2013. During that time, he made his support for various forms of choice one of the key issues of his administration. In 2012, for example, we highlighted Booker as an example of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.edweek.org\/ew\/articles\/2012\/09\/19\/04vouchers_ep.h32.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">how vouchers had gained a political foothold among Democrats<\/a>\u00a0at the state and local level. That year, he gave a speech to the American Federation for Children, a group formerly led by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos (more on her in a moment) that supports vouchers, in which he said that many children &#8220;by law are locked into schools that fail their genius.&#8221; And he co-founded a group, Excellent Education for Everyone, that backed charters and vouchers in New Jersey but fell short of its goals.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.edweek.org\/edweek\/campaign-k-12\/2019\/02\/cory-booker-vouchers-school-choice-devos-ally-president-2020.html?fbclid=IwAR0h8wC5DcixQ6Z5gUio7o3Y5FVGlq93mSfs94T8ZMpb4_NIU1n795V5OFI\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">blogs.edweek.org\/edweek\/campaign-k-12\/2019\/02\/cory-booker-vouchers-school-choice-devos-ally-president-2020.html?fbclid=IwAR0h8wC5DcixQ6Z5gUio7o3Y5FVGlq93mSfs94T8ZMpb4_NIU1n795V5OFI<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 id=\"link-7ce5065\" class=\"css-4a8l5 e1h9rw200\"><span class=\"balancedHeadline\">New York Joins Movement to Abandon Use of Student Tests in Teacher Evaluations and Capitalist Schooling for the empire continues apace<br \/>\n<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-11cwn6f\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/01\/30\/nyregion\/00testing\/merlin_135404226_bdf695ae-c73b-4684-84f5-ef7400a08cd0-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"((min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 1004px)) 84vw, (min-width: 1005px) 60vw, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/01\/30\/nyregion\/00testing\/merlin_135404226_bdf695ae-c73b-4684-84f5-ef7400a08cd0-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/01\/30\/nyregion\/00testing\/merlin_135404226_bdf695ae-c73b-4684-84f5-ef7400a08cd0-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1024w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/01\/30\/nyregion\/00testing\/merlin_135404226_bdf695ae-c73b-4684-84f5-ef7400a08cd0-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 2048w\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">Four years ago, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo pushed through a plan to put New York at the forefront of a national movement to reshape American public education: He vowed that half of a teacher\u2019s rating would be determined by student results on standardized exams.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">But his initiative met with immediate resistance from teachers\u2019 unions and parents, especially those in New York\u2019s wealthy suburbs and progressive urban pockets.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">They protested on the basis it would place undue stress on teachers and children, whose test scores are used for high-stakes admissions decisions and academic tracking.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">As a result, with Mr. Cuomo\u2019s assent, the evaluation system was suspended only months after it had been adopted. Now, in a final capitulation to a yearslong backlash, Mr. Cuomo is set to sign a bill the Legislature just passed that essentially guts the testing component.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/02\/01\/nyregion\/standardized-testing-teachers-students.html\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.nytimes.com\/2019\/02\/01\/nyregion\/standardized-testing-teachers-students.html<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><u>The International Hot War of the Rich on the Poor<br \/>\n<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\"><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1mtf86r e6idgb70\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/opinion\">Opinion<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 id=\"link-35ed3b8e\" class=\"css-7erg01 e1h9rw200\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"balancedHeadline\"><em>Last Week the US Military admitted Iran won the Iraq war. This week the NY Times admits the Afhan war is lost. Next?<\/em> End the War in Afghanistan<\/span><\/h1>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">On Sept. 14, 2001, Congress wrote what would prove to be one of the largest blank checks in the country\u2019s history. The Authorization for Use of Military Force against terrorists gave President George W. Bush authority to attack the Taliban, the Sunni fundamentalist force then dominating Afghanistan that refused to turn over the mastermind of the attacks perpetrated three days earlier, Osama bin Laden.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">In the House of Representatives and the Senate combined, there was only one vote in opposition: Barbara Lee, a Democratic representative from California, who warned of another Vietnam. \u201cWe must be careful not to embark on an open-ended war with neither an exit strategy nor a focused target,\u201d <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2001\/US\/09\/15\/congress.terrorism\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">she said<\/a>. \u201cWe cannot repeat past mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;More than 17 years later, the United States military is engaged in counterterrorism missions in <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/watson.brown.edu\/costsofwar\/files\/cow\/imce\/papers\/2019\/US%20Counterterror%20War%20Locations%2C%202017-18%2C%20Smithsonian_Costs%20of%20War%20upright.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">80 nations<\/a> on six continents. The price tag, which includes the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and increased spending on veterans\u2019 care, will reach <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/watson.brown.edu\/costsofwar\/files\/cow\/imce\/papers\/2018\/Crawford_Costs%20of%20War%20Estimates%20Through%20FY2019%20.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">$5.9 trillion<\/a> by the end of fiscal year 2019, according to the Costs of War project at Brown University. Since nearly all of that money has been borrowed, the total cost with interest will be substantially higher.<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;More than 2.7 million Americans have fought in the war since 2001. Nearly <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/dod.defense.gov\/News\/Casualty-Status\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">7,000<\/a> service members \u2014 and nearly <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/watson.brown.edu\/costsofwar\/files\/cow\/imce\/papers\/2018\/Human%20Costs%2C%20Nov%208%202018%20CoW.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">8,000 private contractors<\/a> \u2014 have been killed. More than 53,700 people returned home bearing physical wounds, and numberless more carry psychological injuries. More than <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/watson.brown.edu\/costsofwar\/files\/cow\/imce\/papers\/2017\/Costs%20of%20U.S.%20Post-9_11%20NC%20Crawford%20FINAL%20.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">one million Americans<\/a> who served in a theater of the war on terror receive some level of disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"War Machine | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/a9Jg20Ukf4E?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&#8230;At the peak of NATO involvement in 2011, around the time Bin Laden was killed in Pakistan, there were more than 130,000 soldiers from 50 nations fighting the Taliban and building up the Afghan national army, so it could stand on its own.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">There are now 22,000 soldiers from 39 countries in Afghanistan. Roughly 14,000 of them are American. Their mission now includes less combat and more training. But the result remains the same: The intelligence community\u2019s 42-page \u201cWorldwide Threat Assessment,\u201d released last week, devotes only a single paragraph to the war in Afghanistan, labeling it a \u201c<a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dni.gov\/files\/ODNI\/documents\/2019-ATA-SFR---SSCI.pdf?utm_source=Gov%20Delivery%20Email&amp;utm_medium=Email&amp;utm_campaign=Media%20Contacts%20Email\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">stalemate<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">This page <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2001\/09\/14\/opinion\/rendezvous-with-afghanistan.html?module=inline\">has been supportive<\/a> of the war in Afghanistan <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2001\/10\/20\/opinion\/the-ground-war-begins.html?module=inline\">since it began<\/a>. (<em>and now we know we lied and the US lost<\/em>&#8211;RG)\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/02\/03\/opinion\/afghanistan-war.html\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.nytimes.com\/2019\/02\/03\/opinion\/afghanistan-war.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/American-geologists-oil-war-sect.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22579\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/American-geologists-oil-war-sect.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"836\" height=\"960\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/American-geologists-oil-war-sect.jpg 836w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/American-geologists-oil-war-sect-131x150.jpg 131w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/American-geologists-oil-war-sect-435x500.jpg 435w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/American-geologists-oil-war-sect-768x882.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/American-geologists-oil-war-sect-500x574.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 836px) 100vw, 836px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"b-article__header-title \">\n<h1>\u2018Like It or Not, We Have Lost\u2019: Retired US General Concedes Afghan Defeat<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Taliban are the victors,\u201d says retired US Brig. Gen. Don Bolduc, who saw 69 of his soldiers killed in Afghanistan. \u201cWe just haven\u2019t figured that out yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"b-article__text\">\n<p>Absorbing the fact that the US has lost militarily in\u00a0Afghanistan will be a &#8220;bitter pill&#8221; for\u00a0the soldiers he fought with, Bolduc told Yahoo News Friday.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They did what they were asked, they did the right thing, and <em><strong>they watched their teammates get maimed, get killed, and because of\u00a0the failure of\u00a0our policymakers and our senior military leaders<\/strong><\/em>, they&#8217;re going to\u00a0have to\u00a0swallow this pill,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Retired US Maj. Gen. Jeff Schloesser, who commanded the 101st Airborne Division in Afghanistan from early 2008 through mid-2009, tells the outlet, &#8220;I lost 184 soldiers there.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Yahoo noted that in the event the US had accepted a Taliban surrender at the end of 2001, &#8220;maybe it would have concluded on our terms then,&#8221; says Bolduc. &#8220;Now it&#8217;s concluding on the Taliban&#8217;s terms.&#8221;\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/sputniknews.com\/us\/201902081072261873-we-have-lost-us-general-afghanistan\/?fbclid=IwAR1-w4n0YRfnvBfKRsIfsOxhODZwiQO4Qpd7YbP8UsV0NUw5DNkzIOOBSN0\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">sputniknews.com\/us\/201902081072261873-we-have-lost-us-general-afghanistan\/?fbclid=IwAR1-w4n0YRfnvBfKRsIfsOxhODZwiQO4Qpd7YbP8UsV0NUw5DNkzIOOBSN0<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"irc_mi\" src=\"https:\/\/oilprice.com\/images\/tinymce\/2016\/Ven1.png\" alt=\"Image result for oil fields venezuela\" width=\"730\" height=\"519\" \/><\/p>\n<h1 id=\"page-title\" class=\"page__title title\">A Military Coup in Venezuela? Not Without the Military\u2019s Support (disponible en espa\u00f1ol)<\/h1>\n<p>A military coup d\u2019\u00e9tat in Venezuela doesn\u2019t seem likely so long as the Armed Forces support Maduro. Meanwhile, U.S. action will likely backfire, and serve only to strengthen those in power.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"dropcaps\">J<\/span>uan Guaid\u00f3, leader of the Venezuelan National Assembly, declared himself President of the Republic on January 23 before a mass demonstration of supporters. This was less than two weeks after the start of Nicol\u00e1s Maduro\u2019s second term, which the opposition\u2014concentrated within the National Assembly\u2014rejected, labeling Maduro a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/2019\/01\/15\/maduro-is-usurper-its-time-restore-democracy-venezuela\/?utm_term=.a0f1a777de94\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cusurper.\u201d<\/a> The 14 countries that make up the Lima Group didn\u2019t recognize Maduro\u2019s inauguration either. They quickly accepted Guaid\u00f3\u2019s takeover and released statements in his favor, which the United States did as well. But considering the powers that be and overwhelming support for Maduro from the Armed Forces, Guaid\u00f3\u2019s rise to power is likely a symbolic event, with little chance of successful implementation.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, China and Russia, who have already declared their support for Maduro, had invested five and six billion dollars, respectively, in Venezuela to help kick-start the weakened petroleum industry. And in early December, Russia teased at a military deployment in Venezuela, landing two Tu-160 strategic bombardiers on Venezuelan soil and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/mundo\/noticias-america-latina-46516213\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">provoking criticism from the United States.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The intensification in political discourse and geopolitical pressure since the beginning of the new year will only worsen economic instability and cause a spike in migration. Barring military intervention organized by the United States and its allies, diplomatic pressure seems useless to take down Maduro. But the key element, the Armed Forces, seem to remain loyal to Maduro, making an internal military coup unlikely. <a href=\"https:\/\/nacla.org\/news\/2019\/01\/30\/military-coup-venezuela-not-without-military%E2%80%99s-support-disponible-en-espa%C3%B1ol?fbclid=IwAR0uJb4IOdK8-GVpeZEKO7MUMpydFFjHdlp0bdOVBnln2rdf8DJKey-FF2w\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">nacla.org\/news\/2019\/01\/30\/military-coup-venezuela-not-without-military%E2%80%99s-support-disponible-en-espa%C3%B1ol?fbclid=IwAR0uJb4IOdK8-GVpeZEKO7MUMpydFFjHdlp0bdOVBnln2rdf8DJKey-FF2w<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"entry-title\" style=\"text-align: center;\">In Venezuela, White Supremacy Is a Key Driver of the Coup<\/h1>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image to4-lazy-load is-loaded\" src=\"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/2019_0207-ven-1200x747.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/2019_0207-ven-1200x747.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/2019_0207-ven-200x125.jpg 200w, https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/2019_0207-ven-400x249.jpg 400w, https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/2019_0207-ven-800x498.jpg 800w, https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/2019_0207-ven.jpg 2400w\" alt=\"Juan Guaid\u00f3 engages supporters in Caracas, Venezuela, on February 2, 2019.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"747\" data-src=\"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/2019_0207-ven-1200x747.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/2019_0207-ven-1200x747.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/2019_0207-ven-200x125.jpg 200w, https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/2019_0207-ven-400x249.jpg 400w, https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/2019_0207-ven-800x498.jpg 800w, https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/2019_0207-ven.jpg 2400w\" data-loaded=\"true\" \/><\/p>\n<aside class=\"introtext\">Note: Palast covered Venezuela during the Chavez presidency for BBC Television Newsnight and the Guardian. Readers of Truthout may download, for free, the film of Palast\u2019s BBC reports, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gregpalast.com\/chavezdownload\/\"><em>The Assassination of Hugo Chavez<\/em>.<\/a> This article incorporates additional reporting by William Camacaro in Caracas.<\/aside>\n<p>On January 23, right after a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2019-01-30\/trump-congratulates-venezuela-s-guaido-in-call-white-house-says\">phone call<\/a> from Donald Trump, Juan Guaid\u00f3, former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2019\/01\/27\/688707295\/who-is-venezuelas-juan-guaid\">speaker of Venezuela\u2019s National Assembly<\/a>, declared himself president. No voting. When you have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2019\/01\/23\/politics\/trump-juan-guaido-venezuela\/index.html\">official recognition<\/a> from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=19&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjGzoC-hKPgAhWaJDQIHd2EArMQ1ScwEnoECA0QAQ&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fnews%2Farts-and-entertainment%2Fwp%2F2015%2F09%2F01%2Fwhy-does-everyone-call-donald-trump-the-donald-its-an-interesting-story%2F&amp;usg=AOvVaw38Z6pKH_xLwEK1zWtfUcbC\">The Donald<\/a>, who needs elections?<\/p>\n<p><em>Say what?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>I can explain what\u2019s going on in Venezuela in photos.<\/p>\n<p>First, we have Juan Guaid\u00f3, self-proclaimed (and Trump-proclaimed) president of the nation, with his wife and child, a photo prominently placed in The New York Times. And here, the class photo of <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/vijayprashad\/status\/1088875934680338433\">Guaid\u00f3\u2019s party members in the National Assembly<\/a>. They appear, overwhelmingly light-skinned \u2014 especially when compared to their political opposites in <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/vijayprashad\/status\/1088875934680338433\">the third photo<\/a>, the congress members who support the elected President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro.<\/p>\n<p>This is the story of Venezuela in black and white, the story not told in The New York Times or the rest of our establishment media. This year\u2019s so-called popular uprising is, at its heart, a furious backlash of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.voanews.com\/a\/are-race-and-class-at-the-root-of-venezuelas-political-crisis\/1886458.html\">whiter (and wealthier)<\/a> Venezuelans against their replacement by the larger Mestizo (mixed-race) poor. (Forty-four percent of the population that answered the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ine.gob.ve\/documentos\/Demografia\/CensodePoblacionyVivienda\/pdf\/nacional.pdf\">2014 census<\/a> listed themselves as \u201cwhite.\u201d)<\/p>\n<p>Four centuries of white supremacy in Venezuela by those who identify their ancestors as European came to an end with the 1998 election of Hugo Chavez, who won with the overwhelming support of the Mestizo majority. This turn away from white supremacy continues under Maduro, Chavez\u2019s chosen successor.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/truthout.org\/articles\/in-venezuela-white-supremacy-is-a-key-driver-of-the-coup\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">truthout.org\/articles\/in-venezuela-white-supremacy-is-a-key-driver-of-the-coup\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-1h6w7uo e1t57l6r0\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/02\/07\/world\/07Isis-1-print\/merlin_150269520_9a37dc29-37ee-4c12-b1e4-05d444feaf7a-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"((min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 1004px)) 84vw, (min-width: 1005px) 80vw, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/02\/07\/world\/07Isis-1-print\/merlin_150269520_9a37dc29-37ee-4c12-b1e4-05d444feaf7a-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/02\/07\/world\/07Isis-1-print\/merlin_150269520_9a37dc29-37ee-4c12-b1e4-05d444feaf7a-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1024w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/02\/07\/world\/07Isis-1-print\/merlin_150269520_9a37dc29-37ee-4c12-b1e4-05d444feaf7a-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 2048w\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<h1 id=\"link-3e26c47f\" class=\"css-2tpadd e1h9rw200\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"balancedHeadline\">Exterminate All the Brutes: A Desperate Exodus From ISIS\u2019 Final Village<\/span><\/h1>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">The men who emerge from the Islamic State\u2019s last sliver of land are ordered to sit behind one of two orange lines spray-painted on the rocky desert floor: Syrians behind one and Iraqis behind the other.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">The women, wearing face-covering veils and clutching toddlers, huddle in a different spot, also separated by nationality.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">Several of the escapees are so badly wounded from incoming fire that they have to be carried to this open vista on mattresses to surrender to the American-backed coalition.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">By midmorning, United States Special Operations Forces arrive in a convoy of armored vehicles. The men suspected of being Islamic State fighters are ordered to approach in single file, their arms outstretched, as they are searched by troops and a sniffer dog. Then they are fingerprinted, photographed and interviewed.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/02\/06\/world\/middleeast\/isis-baghuz.html?action=click&#038;module=Top%20Stories&#038;pgtype=Homepage\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.nytimes.com\/2019\/02\/06\/world\/middleeast\/isis-baghuz.html?action=click&#038;module=Top%20Stories&#038;pgtype=Homepage<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 id=\"link-3d1808a8\" class=\"css-4a8l5 e1h9rw200\"><span class=\"balancedHeadline\">Army Issues New Reprimand to Leader of Green Beret Team Ambushed in Niger<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-11cwn6f\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/02\/08\/us\/politics\/08dc-military\/merlin_137962071_5037ffd5-e9de-4dd9-9a3e-4cc442537d3c-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"((min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 1004px)) 84vw, (min-width: 1005px) 60vw, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/02\/08\/us\/politics\/08dc-military\/merlin_137962071_5037ffd5-e9de-4dd9-9a3e-4cc442537d3c-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/02\/08\/us\/politics\/08dc-military\/merlin_137962071_5037ffd5-e9de-4dd9-9a3e-4cc442537d3c-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1024w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/02\/08\/us\/politics\/08dc-military\/merlin_137962071_5037ffd5-e9de-4dd9-9a3e-4cc442537d3c-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 2048w\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">The Army has issued a new reprimand to the leader of the Green Beret team that was <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2018\/02\/17\/world\/africa\/niger-ambush-american-soldiers.html?module=inline\">ambushed in 2017 in Niger<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\"><a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/08\/23\/world\/africa\/niger-ambush-army-silver-star.html?module=inline\">Capt. Michael Perozeni<\/a> was cited in a letter dated Jan. 16 for not performing proper pre-mission training before the mission that led to the ambush, according to military officials.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">The reprimand, issued by Lt. Gen. Francis M. Beaudette, the head of the Army\u2019s Special Operations Command, will go into Captain Perozeni\u2019s \u201clocal\u201d personnel file, meaning it should not follow him throughout his military career.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">Four American soldiers and five Nigerien troops were killed in the Oct. 4, 2017, ambush while searching for a militant linked to the Islamic State.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">Captain Perozeni <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/11\/03\/world\/middleeast\/army-niger-members-punished.html?module=inline\">was reprimanded earlier<\/a>, in October, for failing to ensure his team was adequately trained before working with the Nigerien troops.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">But the Pentagon rescinded that admonishment, which was issued by Maj. Gen. Edwin J. Deedrick Jr., the commanding officer of the First Special Forces Command. Jim Mattis, the defense secretary at the time, <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/12\/07\/us\/politics\/niger-mattis.html?module=inline\">chided top military officials<\/a> for improperly focusing on junior officers\u2019 roles in the botched mission, rather than those of more senior officers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">Captain Perozeni had told his commanders that the team of Green Berets did not have the necessary equipment or intelligence for an unplanned raid on a local militant during the mission, and had asked to return to base.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">Instead, Lt. Col. David Painter, a battalion commander based in Chad, ordered Captain Perozeni\u2019s team to continue. It did, and was attacked by dozens of militants linked to the Islamic State.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/02\/07\/world\/africa\/army-reprimands-niger.html\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.nytimes.com\/2019\/02\/07\/world\/africa\/army-reprimands-niger.html<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"trb_ar_hl_t\">Navy spokesman who moonlighted as Fat Leonard&#8217;s adviser sentenced to prison<\/h1>\n<p><img class=\"trb_em_ic_img\" title=\"JPASE welcomes new commander\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1260px) 750px, (min-width: 1060px) calc(100vw - 559px), (min-width: 840px) calc(100vw - 419px), (min-width: 800px) 800px, 100.1vw\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c5e1f2b\/turbine\/sd-1549672231-f7fimpup9w-snap-image\/350\/350x197 350w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c5e1f2b\/turbine\/sd-1549672231-f7fimpup9w-snap-image\/400\/400x225 400w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c5e1f2b\/turbine\/sd-1549672231-f7fimpup9w-snap-image\/450\/450x253 450w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c5e1f2b\/turbine\/sd-1549672231-f7fimpup9w-snap-image\/500\/500x281 500w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c5e1f2b\/turbine\/sd-1549672231-f7fimpup9w-snap-image\/550\/550x309 550w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c5e1f2b\/turbine\/sd-1549672231-f7fimpup9w-snap-image\/600\/600x338 600w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c5e1f2b\/turbine\/sd-1549672231-f7fimpup9w-snap-image\/650\/650x366 650w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c5e1f2b\/turbine\/sd-1549672231-f7fimpup9w-snap-image\/700\/700x394 700w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c5e1f2b\/turbine\/sd-1549672231-f7fimpup9w-snap-image\/750\/750x422 750w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c5e1f2b\/turbine\/sd-1549672231-f7fimpup9w-snap-image\/800\/800x450 800w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c5e1f2b\/turbine\/sd-1549672231-f7fimpup9w-snap-image\/840\/840x473 840w\" alt=\"JPASE welcomes new commander\" data-baseurl=\"http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c5e1f2b\/turbine\/sd-1549672231-f7fimpup9w-snap-image\" data-c-nd=\"840x472\" data-role=\"imgsize_srcsetdisplayitem\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A Navy captain described by his <a id=\"ORMP0005\" title=\"Pacific Fleet\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/topic\/unrest-conflicts-war\/defense\/armed-forces\/pacific-fleet-ORMP0005-topic.html\">Pacific Fleet<\/a> commander as the \u201cstandard-bearer in the public affairs community\u201d was sentenced Friday to six months in prison for his role in the years-long \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/news\/watchdog\/sdut-timeline-of-fat-leonard-scandal-2015nov14-htmlstory.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fat Leonard<\/a>\u201d scandal that torpedoed dozens of naval officers\u2019 careers.<\/p>\n<p>Retired Capt. Jeffrey Breslau, 52, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/news\/public-safety\/sd-me-leonard-pleas-20181113-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pleaded guilty<\/a> in November to a felony charge that his business relationship with Leonard Glenn \u201cFat Leonard\u201d Francis constituted a conflict of interest&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p>The so-called \u201cFat Leonard\u201d scandal rocked the Navy and tarnished the reputation of a generation of officers.<\/p>\n<p>Francis <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/sdut-navy-charged-bribery-dusek-leonard-guilty-2015jan15-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pleaded guilty<\/a> in 2015 to orchestrating a massive bribery and corruption scheme involving scores of naval officers. His company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia, served as the Navy\u2019s primary ship husbanding agent in the western Pacific and, over the course of decades, over-charged the Navy $35 million in bogus or inflated fees.<\/p>\n<p>A network of Navy officers and officials, including an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/sdut-navy-investigator-to-plead-guilty-in-fraud-case-2013dec12-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NCIS agent<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/military\/sd-me-fat-leonard-moles-20170804-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">worked for years<\/a> to thwart multiple investigations into Francis and his company and to steer Navy ships to ports controlled by his company. In exchange, Francis provided his network of corrupt officials with cash, travel, fine dining, lavish parties and prostitutes&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Francis was arrested in 2013 in a San Diego hotel room. In the five years since, 33 others have been charged in the scheme, with 22 pleading guilty. Hundreds more were investigated by the Navy.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. Attorney Mark Pletcher, in comments during Breslau\u2019s sentencing hearing, compared him to a \u201chired hitman, using a pen instead of a sword,\u201d because Breslau used his Navy training to help Francis fight the Navy.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/military\/sd-me-breslau-sentence-fat-leonard-20190207-story.html\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/military\/sd-me-breslau-sentence-fat-leonard-20190207-story.html<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\">What will the Navy\u2019s denial of Camp Lejeune claims mean for other contaminated bases?<\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/resizer\/6CD4ZWTBjOBrfBU2XBcgQUbPps4=\/1200x0\/filters:quality(100)\/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-mco.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/KUQ5QWFIAZBNFCXV5BGC4IEGR4.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<div id=\"f0zWeKya63pKgr\" class=\"wrapper clearfix col-lg-12 pb-feature pb-layout-item pb-f-article-mco-slimline-byline col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-xs-12\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"byline slimline col-sm-12 col-xs-12\">\n<div>\n<header>\n<figure><figcaption class=\"publish\">\n<h4 class=\"caption credit \">Retired Marine Corps Master Sgt. Jerry Ensminger addresses a 2014 rally in Washington about the causes of Camp Lejeune&#8217;s contaminated water supply. It was revealed in the 1980s that Camp LeJeune had one of the most contaminated public drinking water supplies ever discovered in the United States. Ensminger helped uncover the contamination after his 9-year-old daughter died of leukemia. (Chip Somodevilla\/Getty Images)<\/h4>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"thinline\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"f0Lb0Gpa63pKgr\" class=\"wrapper clearfix col-lg-12 col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-xs-12 pb-feature pb-layout-item pb-f-article-mco-body\">\n<div id=\"article-body\" class=\"article-body article-body-elements container-fluid gutters\">\n<article>\n<div id=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"row \">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-print-12\">\n<div class=\"mco-body-item mco-body-type-text\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">The Navy\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/01\/24\/navy-denies-claims-linked-to-contaminated-water\/\">announcement<\/a> Thursday that it would deny 4,400 claims from Marines and their families who say contaminated water at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2017\/03\/14\/va-finalizes-disability-benefits-plans-for-contaminated-water-exposure-at-camp-lejeune\/\">Camp Lejeune <\/a>caused cancers and other serious illnesses raised the question of whether any affected military community could ever be compensated for the ailments they now face.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mco-body-item mco-body-type-text\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">On Thursday, Navy Secretary Richard Spencer said that despite the Navy\u2019s acknowledgement there were harmful cleaning solvents and fuels that may have been connected to cancers found in Camp Lejeune personnel from 1953 to 1987, he decided this week to deny claims from those Lejeune lawsuits. In all, the claims sought $963 billion in damages.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mco-body-item mco-body-type-text\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">Spencer\u2019s announcement seemed to end the families&#8217; quest \u2014 at least on the military front \u2015 to seek damages.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mco-body-item mco-body-type-text\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">\u201cI am perfectly cognizant of the fact this will be a disappointment to the claimants,\u201d Spencer said, \u201cHowever it would be a disservice &#8230; to hold the claims without a decision or a way forward.&#8221;\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2019\/01\/25\/what-will-the-navys-denial-of-camp-lejeune-claims-mean-for-other-contaminated-bases\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2019\/01\/25\/what-will-the-navys-denial-of-camp-lejeune-claims-mean-for-other-contaminated-bases\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h1 data-pb-field=\"custom.topperDisplayName\">Reminder: The brass doesn&#8217;t care! Jill Kelley e-mails depict a striving Tampa socialite and a smitten military brass<\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"courtesy-of-the-lazy-loader\" src=\"https:\/\/img.washingtonpost.com\/rf\/image_480w\/2010-2019\/WashingtonPost\/2012\/11\/13\/National-Politics\/Images\/CORRECTION_Petraeus_Resigns_041c2.jpg?uuid=aeZpiC3oEeKJ1AQMkzBwKg\" alt=\"\" data-hi-res-src=\"https:\/\/img.washingtonpost.com\/rf\/image_1024w\/2010-2019\/WashingtonPost\/2012\/11\/13\/National-Politics\/Images\/CORRECTION_Petraeus_Resigns_041c2.jpg?uuid=aeZpiC3oEeKJ1AQMkzBwKg\" data-low-res-src=\"https:\/\/img.washingtonpost.com\/rf\/image_480w\/2010-2019\/WashingtonPost\/2012\/11\/13\/National-Politics\/Images\/CORRECTION_Petraeus_Resigns_041c2.jpg?uuid=aeZpiC3oEeKJ1AQMkzBwKg\" data-raw-src=\"https:\/\/img.washingtonpost.com\/rw\/2010-2019\/WashingtonPost\/2012\/11\/13\/National-Politics\/Images\/CORRECTION_Petraeus_Resigns_041c2.jpg?uuid=aeZpiC3oEeKJ1AQMkzBwKg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"pb-caption\">The Kelleys hosted Gen. David Petraeus and his wife, Holly Petraeus, right, at their home in 2010. At left is Jill\u2019s twin, Natalie Khawam. (Amy Scherzer\/AP)<\/span><\/p>\n<p id=\"U880879924448Jm\">Judging from her e-mails, Jill Kelley was star-struck by the big-name military commanders rotating between the war zones in the Middle East and her home town of Tampa. And they were equally smitten with her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEveryone thinks you\u2019re a RockStar!\u201d Kelley gushed in a 2012 e-mail to Marine Gen. James N. Mattis, then commander of all U.S. military forces in the Middle East. \u201cWe agreed how amazing it must be that you\u2019re single-handedly re-writing history,\u201d she added, recalling how she had sung the general\u2019s praises to several foreign ambassadors at the Republican National Convention that August in Tampa.<\/p>\n<p>After another social event, she wrote a similar mash note to Mattis\u2019s deputy, Vice Adm. Robert S. Harward. \u201cWhat a Leader you were to these heads of State,\u201d she enthused. \u201cYou ROCK!!!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Replied Harward: \u201cYOU ROCK MORE!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In late 2012, Kelley\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/national\/tampa-woman-was-hostess-to-the-military-but-had-deep-financial-troubles\/2012\/11\/13\/45cea33c-2d19-11e2-9ac2-1c61452669c3_story.html\">talent as a Tampa hostess<\/a> and her knack for charming men in uniform indirectly triggered one of the most embarrassing national security scandals of the past decade. Among other casualties, the fallout led to the forced resignation of CIA Director David H. Petraeus \u2014 a former four-star Army general \u2014 and the early retirement of Marine Gen. John Allen, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n<p>Kelley\u2019s chumminess with Petraeus and the military brass had attracted the notice of the spymaster\u2019s biographer and mistress, Paula Broadwell. Below <a href=\"\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"page__title title\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Petreaus-Broadwell.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22582\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Petreaus-Broadwell.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"229\" height=\"220\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Petreaus-Broadwell.jpg 229w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Petreaus-Broadwell-150x144.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 229px) 100vw, 229px\" \/><\/a><\/h1>\n<h1>Two ships collide off the Eastern Seaboard<\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/resizer\/CCdE3OPyUCn1Yob77r2I91Z2cPs=\/1200x0\/filters:quality(100)\/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-mco.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/5PFVUTBIDFEE3FKWLJP2S7EB4E.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"mco-body-item mco-body-type-text\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">A Navy guided-missile cruiser and a dry cargo ship collided during an underway replenishment off the southeastern coast late Tuesday afternoon, according to U.S. Fleet Forces.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mco-body-item mco-body-type-text\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">No personnel were injured and both the cruiser Leyte Gulf and the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nvr.navy.mil\/SHIPDETAILS\/SHIPSDETAIL_AKE_5_3732.HTML\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Robert E. Peary<\/a> \u2014 a Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo and ammunition vessel operated by Military Sealift Command \u2014 were able to safely operate after their sterns touched around 4 p.m. Tuesday, according to a Navy press release issued about four hours later.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mco-body-item mco-body-type-text\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">The statement said that both U.S. Fleet Forces and Military Sealift Command would investigate the incident and damage will be assessed when both ships return to port.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mco-body-item mco-body-type-text\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">The ships were operating with the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, officials said.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/02\/06\/two-ships-collide-off-the-eastern-seaboard\/?utm_campaign=Socialflow+MAR&#038;utm_source=facebook.com&#038;utm_medium=social&#038;fbclid=IwAR1dOW3YR8l1X-fK9f_A3Fr3SapSh3kcXDpibWIxcw25vVnLVW7v3jOwttA\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/02\/06\/two-ships-collide-off-the-eastern-seaboard\/?utm_campaign=Socialflow+MAR&#038;utm_source=facebook.com&#038;utm_medium=social&#038;fbclid=IwAR1dOW3YR8l1X-fK9f_A3Fr3SapSh3kcXDpibWIxcw25vVnLVW7v3jOwttA<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h1 class=\"page__title title\">UC San Diego history prof&#8217;s book on fall of Rome&#8217;s democracy draws parallels to today<\/h1>\n<h1 id=\"page-title\" class=\"page__title title\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Petreaus-Broadwell.jpg\"><img class=\"trb_em_ic_img\" title=\"UCSD professor and author Edward Watts holds up his book about the fall of the Rome on Friday at his home in Carlsbad.\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1260px) 750px, (min-width: 1060px) calc(100vw - 559px), (min-width: 840px) calc(100vw - 419px), (min-width: 800px) 800px, 100.1vw\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c54e9b5\/turbine\/sd-1549068721-lylbc0ww2w-snap-image\/350\/350x197 350w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c54e9b5\/turbine\/sd-1549068721-lylbc0ww2w-snap-image\/400\/400x225 400w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c54e9b5\/turbine\/sd-1549068721-lylbc0ww2w-snap-image\/450\/450x253 450w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c54e9b5\/turbine\/sd-1549068721-lylbc0ww2w-snap-image\/500\/500x281 500w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c54e9b5\/turbine\/sd-1549068721-lylbc0ww2w-snap-image\/550\/550x309 550w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c54e9b5\/turbine\/sd-1549068721-lylbc0ww2w-snap-image\/600\/600x338 600w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c54e9b5\/turbine\/sd-1549068721-lylbc0ww2w-snap-image\/650\/650x366 650w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c54e9b5\/turbine\/sd-1549068721-lylbc0ww2w-snap-image\/700\/700x394 700w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c54e9b5\/turbine\/sd-1549068721-lylbc0ww2w-snap-image\/750\/750x422 750w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c54e9b5\/turbine\/sd-1549068721-lylbc0ww2w-snap-image\/800\/800x450 800w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c54e9b5\/turbine\/sd-1549068721-lylbc0ww2w-snap-image\/850\/850x478 850w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c54e9b5\/turbine\/sd-1549068721-lylbc0ww2w-snap-image\/900\/900x506 900w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c54e9b5\/turbine\/sd-1549068721-lylbc0ww2w-snap-image\/950\/950x534 950w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c54e9b5\/turbine\/sd-1549068721-lylbc0ww2w-snap-image\/1000\/1000x563 1000w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c54e9b5\/turbine\/sd-1549068721-lylbc0ww2w-snap-image\/1050\/1050x591 1050w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c54e9b5\/turbine\/sd-1549068721-lylbc0ww2w-snap-image\/1100\/1100x619 1100w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c54e9b5\/turbine\/sd-1549068721-lylbc0ww2w-snap-image\/1150\/1150x647 1150w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c54e9b5\/turbine\/sd-1549068721-lylbc0ww2w-snap-image\/1200\/1200x675 1200w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c54e9b5\/turbine\/sd-1549068721-lylbc0ww2w-snap-image\/1400\/1400x788 1400w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c54e9b5\/turbine\/sd-1549068721-lylbc0ww2w-snap-image\/1600\/1600x900 1600w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c54e9b5\/turbine\/sd-1549068721-lylbc0ww2w-snap-image\/1800\/1800x1013 1800w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c54e9b5\/turbine\/sd-1549068721-lylbc0ww2w-snap-image\/2000\/2000x1125 2000w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c54e9b5\/turbine\/sd-1549068721-lylbc0ww2w-snap-image\/2048\/2048x1152 2048w\" alt=\"UCSD professor and author Edward Watts holds up his book about the fall of the Rome on Friday at his home in Carlsbad.\" data-baseurl=\"http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5c54e9b5\/turbine\/sd-1549068721-lylbc0ww2w-snap-image\" data-c-nd=\"2048x1152\" data-role=\"imgsize_srcsetdisplayitem\" \/><\/a><\/h1>\n<p>The parallels are striking: Rising income inequality. Partisan gridlock. The erosion of political norms and the loss of faith in public institutions. Angry populist uprisings.<\/p>\n<p>Is America going the way of Rome?<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;Wealth became concentrated in a small number of families who figured out how to manipulate an increasingly sophisticated economy, and they used their money to influence the political process. The fortunes of the middle class stagnated.<\/p>\n<p>Attempts to address income inequality and ease public resentment moved slowly. Rome\u2019s army was privatized, which eventually caused soldiers to put the interests of plundering commanders (and their own desires to share in the loot) ahead of their country.<\/p>\n<p>Over the course of a century, starting in about 130 B.C., outbreaks of economic populism grew increasingly violent. Government rules were broken, traditions ignored, the notion of a common good trampled. Immigrants were disparaged. Politicians used their own militias to intimidate opponents, and when that didn\u2019t work they sometimes turned to assassinations.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/entertainment\/books\/sd-me-rome-history-20190131-story.html\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/entertainment\/books\/sd-me-rome-history-20190131-story.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"DECLINE of EMPIRES: The Signs of Decay\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Q2CCs-x9q9U?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\">This soldier shot himself in the head. His lawyer says it was an accident. The Army is calling it misconduct.<\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/resizer\/bWU8-QH7rZsrePXeeygW4PmSGuI=\/1200x0\/filters:quality(100)\/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-mco.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/PHFNONSJSFEYHGEOH7MAWB4RQQ.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"mco-body-item mco-body-type-text\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">It was St. Patrick\u2019s Day 2017, and Spc. Kevin Holyan was celebrating a friend\u2019s promotion at a home near <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2018\/11\/14\/estranged-husband-indicted-in-shooting-death-of-fort-campbell-soldier\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fort Campbell, Kentucky<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mco-body-item mco-body-type-text\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">Drinks were had, and at one point, Holyan took out his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/off-duty\/gearscout\/2018\/01\/02\/this-is-the-handgun-from-glock-that-lost-the-race-to-replace-the-beretta-m9\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Glock<\/a> 23 pistol \u2015 which he kept stored at that friend\u2019s house, because he wasn\u2019t allowed to keep it in the barracks \u2015 to show to other members of his company within 3rd Brigade Combat Team, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2018\/12\/10\/screaming-eagles-to-move-monument-honoring-256-soldiers-crew-killed-in-the-largest-single-loss-in-101st-airborne-history\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">101st Airborne Division<\/a>, proud of the new hand grip he\u2019d just installed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mco-body-item mco-body-type-text\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">Some soldiers made a joke, and in response, Holyan joked back, holding the handgun up to his head and suggesting he should just kill himself, according to a line-of-duty investigation provided to Army Times by his attorney.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mco-body-item mco-body-type-text\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">Then he pulled the trigger. According to Holyan, he did not think the weapon was loaded, and a fellow soldier\u2019s statement backs up the assertion that, at least at the beginning of the get-together, the pistol wasn\u2019t loaded.<strong> (ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED<\/strong>) He also wasn\u2019t drunk, according to the statement.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2019\/02\/06\/this-soldier-shot-himself-in-the-head-his-lawyer-says-it-was-an-accident-the-army-is-calling-it-misconduct\/?utm_campaign=Socialflow+MAR&#038;utm_source=facebook.com&#038;utm_medium=social&#038;fbclid=IwAR14QfM7UoRw0ic2SoOHaF2qwAIOKvvNy18TpCo2RymNfgY8MIfoix-pvYU\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2019\/02\/06\/this-soldier-shot-himself-in-the-head-his-lawyer-says-it-was-an-accident-the-army-is-calling-it-misconduct\/?utm_campaign=Socialflow+MAR&#038;utm_source=facebook.com&#038;utm_medium=social&#038;fbclid=IwAR14QfM7UoRw0ic2SoOHaF2qwAIOKvvNy18TpCo2RymNfgY8MIfoix-pvYU<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1 class=\"page__title title\">The Marine Corps\u2019 new CH-53K is a mess. This is why its operational date could face delays.<\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><u><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/resizer\/02KlDdy-mCgYrndaBfdPtQutkyo=\/1200x0\/filters:quality(100)\/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-mco.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/WUZT7ITTUFH23C3JHRR6DVROU4.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"feYl182Fn4S8hr\" class=\"wrapper clearfix col-lg-12 col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-xs-12 pb-feature pb-layout-item pb-f-article-mco-body\">\n<div id=\"article-body\" class=\"article-body article-body-elements container-fluid gutters\">\n<article>\n<div id=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"row \">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-print-12\">\n<div class=\"mco-body-item mco-body-type-text\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">The Corps took delivery of its first <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2018\/06\/08\/the-corps-is-spending-money-to-save-money-on-the-ch-53-king-stallion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CH-53 King Stallion <\/a>in May 2018, but since then the heavy-lift helicopter has faced a series of mechanical issues that are impacting its expected operational date.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mco-body-item mco-body-type-text\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">A Defense Department report said the CH-53K\u2019s initial operational capability milestone, originally set for December 2019, would likely be pushed back, and that the aircraft\u2019s initial operational test and evaluation will not kickoff until 2021 to correct multiple \u201cdesign deficiencies\u201d found during testing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mco-body-item mco-body-type-text\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">However, the Corps still expects that its most powerful heavy-lift helicopter will make its first planned operational deployment, which slated sometime in 2023\u20132024, according to Marine spokesman Capt. Christopher Harrison.<\/p>\n<div class=\"mco-body-item mco-body-type-text\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">\u201cThe Marine Corps is closely working with the Navy and Sikorsky to re-evaluate program execution timelines; impacts to the schedule will be updated accordingly,\u201d Harrison said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mco-body-item mco-body-type-text\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dote.osd.mil\/pub\/reports\/FY2018\/pdf\/navy\/2018ch53k.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Defense Department<\/a> laid out a slew of mechanical issues found during initial testing that include: \u201cairspeed indication anomalies, low reliability of main rotor gearbox, hot gas impingement on aircraft structures, tail boom and tail rotor structural problems, overheating of main rotor dampers, fuel system anomalies, high temperatures in the #2 engine bay, and hot gas ingestion by the #2 engine, which could reduce available power.\u201d\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2019\/02\/04\/the-marine-corps-new-ch-53k-is-a-mess-this-is-why-its-operational-date-could-face-delays\/?utm_campaign=Socialflow+MAR&#038;utm_medium=social&#038;utm_source=facebook.com&#038;fbclid=IwAR2J0HEDZimMqWzqWDJC7txG275EhOWN8_NUM33o-lEn9P4Zy1trgDDNjC4\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2019\/02\/04\/the-marine-corps-new-ch-53k-is-a-mess-this-is-why-its-operational-date-could-face-delays\/?utm_campaign=Socialflow+MAR&#038;utm_medium=social&#038;utm_source=facebook.com&#038;fbclid=IwAR2J0HEDZimMqWzqWDJC7txG275EhOWN8_NUM33o-lEn9P4Zy1trgDDNjC4<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><u>The International Economic War of the Rich on the Poor<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Calvin-economic-war.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22576\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Calvin-economic-war.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"504\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Calvin-economic-war.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Calvin-economic-war-119x150.jpg 119w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Calvin-economic-war-397x500.jpg 397w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"article-story__headline grid__scroll-hook\" style=\"text-align: center;\" data-scroll-hook-name=\"article-story__headline\">General Motors to close Lordstown plant next year<\/h1>\n<div class=\"article-story__abstract\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Plant workers were notified of the closure during a meeting Monday morning.<\/em><\/div>\n<p>General Motors has plans to shut the doors on its Lordstown plant sometime after March 1, according to reports by <em>The Vindicator<\/em> and WFMJ.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.vindy.com\/news\/2018\/nov\/26\/gm-close-canadian-plant-s-just-beginning\/\">The Vindicator<\/a> reports that several plant workers have confirmed the closure after they were informed about it in a Monday morning meeting.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.wfmj.com\/story\/39538327\/sources-general-motors-closing-lordstown-plant-in-early-2019\">WFMJ<\/a> says the Lordstown plant had more than 4,500 employees less than two years ago, but that number has since fallen.<\/p>\n<p>Union leaders and politicians who are behind a campaign backing the future of the plant say they&#8217;ll continue trying to convince GM that the plant can be a part of its future.<\/p>\n<p>Ohio&#8217;s incoming governor, Republican Mike DeWine, says he plans on meeting with GM officials after he takes office in January.<\/p>\n<p>The once-bustling factory already has lost two of its three shifts and 3,000 union jobs since last year.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier today, the Associated Press reported GM is also closing a Canadian plant at the cost of about 2,500 jobs.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wkyc.com\/article\/news\/local\/northeast-ohio\/general-motors-to-close-lordstown-plant-next-year\/95-617716124\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.wkyc.com\/article\/news\/local\/northeast-ohio\/general-motors-to-close-lordstown-plant-next-year\/95-617716124<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"irc_mi\" src=\"https:\/\/laborunionreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/government_motors.jpg\" alt=\"Image result for government motors\" width=\"483\" height=\"573\" \/><\/p>\n<section id=\"module-position-RjUIJixQyws\" class=\"storytopbar-bucket story-headline-module story-story-headline-module\">\n<h1 class=\"asset-headline speakable-headline\" style=\"text-align: center;\">Government Motors&#8217;s pricey trucks and utilities drive hefty Q4, full-year profits<\/h1>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-1 p-text\">General Motors Co. relied on its profit-rich pickups to drive\u00a0$2.8 billion in pre-tax earnings\u00a0in the fourth quarter of 2018 as it spent about $1.3 billion on restructuring moves that are expected to ramp up this year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-2 p-text\">The automaker reported a pre-tax profit margin\u00a0of 8 percent on\u00a0$11.8 billion in earnings for the full year, which was off about 8.3 percent from 2017. After taxes, the automaker made $8.1 billion on $147 billion in revenue.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">GM&#8217;s financial performance in 2018 was considered strong despite falling off record-setting paces in 2017 and 2016 and came as the automaker took a $1 billion hit from costs related to trade and rising commodity costs due to tariffs. Robust sales and strong pricing on trucks and utilities helped GM achieve a strong finish in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">&#8220;What drove these results was a flawless truck launch, and Q4 results were helped quite a bit by the fact that from a price-volume perspective our trucks did exceptionally well,&#8221; CFO Dhivya Suryadevara said. &#8220;We\u2019re still seeing strength in recently launched crossovers.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">GM&#8217;s average transaction price in 2018 reached a record of $36,000 as incentives as a percent of average prices fell 0.3 percent from 2017.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/story\/business\/autos\/general-motors\/2019\/02\/06\/gm-reports-annual-quarterly-profit\/2782281002\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.detroitnews.com\/story\/business\/autos\/general-motors\/2019\/02\/06\/gm-reports-annual-quarterly-profit\/2782281002\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"GM Leaves Canadians Out in the Cold\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QEAAz3fr2EU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<section id=\"module-position-RjUqti6SPhs\" class=\"storytopbar-bucket story-headline-module story-story-headline-module\">\n<h1 class=\"asset-headline speakable-headline\">General Motors threatens to sue union over Super Bowl ad<\/h1>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"GM Leaves Canadians Out in the Cold\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QEAAz3fr2EU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-1 p-text\">The war between Canada&#8217;s autoworker union and General Motors intensified over the weekend, with the automaker threatening to sue over\u00a0a union commercial critical of GM set to air in Canada during Sunday&#8217;s Super Bowl.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-2 p-text\">On Friday, lawyers for\u00a0GM\u00a0wrote to Unifor, the Canadian union,\u00a0with a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/s\/qxrk85ro3j6c3p6\/GM%20%20Demand%20Letter%20to%20Unifor%20%28EN%29.pdf?dl=0\" data-track-label=\"inline|intext|n\/a\">\u201cdemand\u201d that Unifor \u201ccease and desist from any further publication<\/a> (in any form and media whatsoever) of the advertisement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The union said it would not comply with GM&#8217;s demand.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freep.com\/story\/money\/cars\/general-motors\/2019\/02\/03\/super-bowl-ad-gm-threatens-lawsuit-unifor-union\/2762478002\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.freep.com\/story\/money\/cars\/general-motors\/2019\/02\/03\/super-bowl-ad-gm-threatens-lawsuit-unifor-union\/2762478002\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Lauren.Steiner.LA\/videos\/10218203032604101\/?t=110\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.facebook.com\/Lauren.Steiner.LA\/videos\/10218203032604101\/?t=110<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 id=\"link-7a0612aa\" class=\"css-1o7db0h e1h9rw200\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"balancedHeadline\">Abolish Billionaires<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Parsons-Wealth.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22648\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Parsons-Wealth.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"764\" height=\"527\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Parsons-Wealth.jpg 764w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Parsons-Wealth-150x103.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Parsons-Wealth-500x345.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 764px) 100vw, 764px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-z6dj7x e1wiw3jv0\" style=\"text-align: center;\">A radical idea is gaining adherents on the left. It\u2019s the perfect way to blunt tech-driven inequality.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/02\/06\/opinion\/06manjoo3\/merlin_149692452_ad1fc9ab-5ad8-4eb0-8e6d-05bc976c68f1-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" \/><\/p>\n<header class=\"css-1ie2czc euiyums1\">\n<div class=\"css-79elbk ehw59r11\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"css-1a48zt4 ehw59r111\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children\">\n<figure class=\"sizeMedium layoutHorizontal css-1b4fpzk toneOpinion\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"media\"><figcaption class=\"css-17ai7jg emkp2hg0\"><span class=\"css-8i9d0s e13ogyst0\">People protesting against the World Economic Forum in Davos in January.<\/span><span class=\"emkp2hg2 css-1nwzsjy e1z0qqy90\"><span class=\"css-1ly73wi e1tej78p0\">Credit<\/span><span class=\"css-1dv1kvn\">Credit<\/span>Fabrice Coffrini\/Agence France-Presse \u2014 Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<section class=\"css-1i2y565\">\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">Last fall, Tom Scocca, editor of the essential blog\u00a0<a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/hmmdaily.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hmm Daily<\/a>, wrote a tiny, searing post that has been rattling around my head ever since.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">\u201cSome ideas about how to make the world better require careful, nuanced thinking about how best to balance competing interests,\u201d\u00a0<a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/hmmdaily.com\/2018\/10\/16\/no-billionaires\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">he began<\/a>. \u201cOthers don\u2019t: Billionaires are bad. We should presumptively get rid of billionaires. All of them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">Mr. Scocca \u2014 a longtime writer at Gawker until that site was\u00a0<a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/gawker.com\/gawker-was-murdered-by-gaslight-1785456581\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">muffled by a billionaire<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 offered a straightforward argument for kneecapping the wealthiest among us. A billion dollars is wildly more than anyone needs, even accounting for life\u2019s most excessive lavishes. It\u2019s far more than anyone might reasonably claim to deserve, however much he believes he has contributed to society.<\/p>\n<p>At some level of extreme wealth, money inevitably corrupts. On the left and the right, it buys political power, it silences dissent, it serves primarily to perpetuate ever-greater wealth, often unrelated to any reciprocal social good. For Mr. Scocca, that level is self-evidently somewhere around one billion dollars; beyond that, you\u2019re irredeemable.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/02\/06\/opinion\/abolish-billionaires-tax.html\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.nytimes.com\/2019\/02\/06\/opinion\/abolish-billionaires-tax.html<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<h1 id=\"link-6c1b7420\" class=\"css-4a8l5 e1h9rw200\"><span class=\"balancedHeadline\">The Financial Crisis Put a Chill on Big Bank Deals. That Ended Thursday.<\/span><\/h1>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">Two banks announced the industry\u2019s biggest merger in a decade on Thursday, signaling bank executives\u2019 growing confidence that the regulatory constraints imposed after the 2008 financial crisis have begun to loosen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">The $28 billion deal between BB&amp;T and SunTrust Banks would create a Southeastern juggernaut that would be the sixth-largest bank in the country \u2014 perhaps giving it the heft to compete against national behemoths like Wells Fargo, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">The planned transaction immediately drew criticism from leading Democrats, who said it could signal the start of a wave of consolidation that leaves customers with fewer choices.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">Executives said the new institution would be able to save money by shutting side-by-side bank branches and cutting overhead costs. The banks would most likely shed deposits and branches in some cities to pass muster with federal regulators.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>In general, bank mergers tend to benefit shareholders and executives but translate into lost jobs and reduced competition, which hurts customers through higher prices and worse terms for banking products and services. BB&amp;T and SunTrust executives insist that would not happen in this case because, while they plan to eliminate lots of jobs, they would plow the savings into technological innovations that fostered greater competition with the nation\u2019s largest banks.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/02\/07\/business\/dealbook\/bbt-suntrust-bank-mergers.html?fbclid=IwAR3MPQJ7r5uBM8i2WfqB1sVxkUfb_CdzIURVau1X6_LLdXQbEFcgij1xYl4\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.nytimes.com\/2019\/02\/07\/business\/dealbook\/bbt-suntrust-bank-mergers.html?fbclid=IwAR3MPQJ7r5uBM8i2WfqB1sVxkUfb_CdzIURVau1X6_LLdXQbEFcgij1xYl4<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Freee-Market.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22594\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Freee-Market.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"764\" height=\"960\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Freee-Market.jpg 764w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Freee-Market-119x150.jpg 119w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Freee-Market-398x500.jpg 398w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Freee-Market-500x628.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 764px) 100vw, 764px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><u>The Emergence of Fascism as a Popular Mass Movement and <\/u><\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><u>The War on Reason<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Los Angeles Attack? Military Drill Sparks Panic\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TgfzWZnk92A?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=7LvbWxFsM50\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.youtube.com\/watch?v=7LvbWxFsM50<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"ArticleHeader__hed___GPB7e\" style=\"text-align: center;\">When It\u2019s Too Late to Stop Fascism, According to Stefan Zweig<\/h1>\n<p>In his memoir, Zweig did not excuse himself or his intellectual peers for failing early on to reckon with Hitler\u2019s significance. \u201cThe few among writers who had taken the trouble to read Hitler\u2019s book, ridiculed the bombast of his stilted prose instead of occupying themselves with his program,\u201d he wrote. They took him neither seriously nor literally. Even into the nineteen-thirties, \u201cthe big democratic newspapers, instead of warning their readers, reassured them day by day, that the movement . . . would inevitably collapse in no time.\u201d Prideful of their own higher learning and cultivation, the intellectual classes could not absorb the idea that, thanks to \u201cinvisible wire-pullers\u201d\u2014the self-interested groups and individuals who believed they could manipulate the charismatic maverick for their own gain\u2014this uneducated \u201cbeer-hall agitator\u201d had already amassed vast support. After all, Germany was a state where the law rested on a firm foundation, where a majority in parliament was opposed to Hitler, and where every citizen believed that \u201chis liberty and equal rights were secured by the solemnly affirmed constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"_kvn img\" src=\"https:\/\/external.fsan1-1.fna.fbcdn.net\/safe_image.php?d=AQAGGJLtKEhbTAuD&amp;w=600&amp;h=600&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.juancole.com%2Fimages%2F2018%2F10%2F640px-Charlottesville_Unite_the_Right_Rally_35780274914_crop.jpg&amp;cfs=1&amp;_nc_hash=AQBDqioU7fSKIZ75\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Zweig recognized that propaganda had played a crucial role in eroding the conscience of the world. He described how, as the tide of propaganda rose during the First World War, saturating newspapers, magazines, and radio, the sensibilities of readers became deadened. Eventually, even well-meaning journalists and intellectuals became guilty of what he called \u201cthe \u2018doping\u2019 of excitement\u201d\u2014an artificial incitement of emotion that culminated, inevitably, in mass hatred and fear. Describing the healthy uproar that ensued after one artist\u2019s eloquent outcry against the war in the autumn of 1914, Zweig observed that, at that point, \u201cthe word still had power. It had not yet been done to death by the organization of lies, by \u2018propaganda.\u2019 \u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/books\/page-turner\/when-its-too-late-to-stop-fascism-according-to-stefan-zweig?mbid=social_facebook&#038;fbclid=IwAR2RCKe3y4KLTHLvWaBfbovSy0sdYSp_zIdH9byg5UJy-DwmA_J8TiWV4nI\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.newyorker.com\/books\/page-turner\/when-its-too-late-to-stop-fascism-according-to-stefan-zweig?mbid=social_facebook&#038;fbclid=IwAR2RCKe3y4KLTHLvWaBfbovSy0sdYSp_zIdH9byg5UJy-DwmA_J8TiWV4nI<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 id=\"link-4da3fc7d\" class=\"css-4a8l5 e1h9rw200\"><span class=\"balancedHeadline\">Beyond College Campuses and Public Scandals, a Racist Tradition Lingers<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-11cwn6f\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/02\/08\/us\/08blackface1-print\/merlin_150326934_07e9b6c7-c11f-46d7-90a1-e9c3e83682ff-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"((min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 1004px)) 84vw, (min-width: 1005px) 80vw, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/02\/08\/us\/08blackface1-print\/merlin_150326934_07e9b6c7-c11f-46d7-90a1-e9c3e83682ff-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/02\/08\/us\/08blackface1-print\/merlin_150326934_07e9b6c7-c11f-46d7-90a1-e9c3e83682ff-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 979w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/02\/08\/us\/08blackface1-print\/merlin_150326934_07e9b6c7-c11f-46d7-90a1-e9c3e83682ff-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 979w\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"css-8i9d0s e13ogyst0\">A photo from the Delta Kappa Epsilon page in the Tulane University 1987 yearbook depicted members in blackface.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">Nina Yeboah was a freshman at Georgia State University in 2004 when she heard about the pair of white fraternity brothers who had shown up at a \u201cStraight Outta Compton\u201d party in blackface.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">Fifteen years later, she said, it still feels traumatic to talk about what would become a moment of embarrassment and pain on the Atlanta campus. As a student of color, said Ms. Yeboah, now a writer, \u201cit kind of wakes you up to what racism is like in the community that you\u2019re in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">It has been a week of waking up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">What first appeared as a grotesque act of racist clowning on the part of Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia turned out not to be an aberration at his medical school in the early 1980s. A confession from Mark Herring, the state\u2019s attorney general, revealed that blackface was common at other Virginia schools at the time as well&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">College fraternities and sororities \u2014 among the most <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/socpro\/article-abstract\/57\/4\/653\/1667281\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">segregated<\/a> institutions in modern American life \u2014 became a common setting for the behavior.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">Before the scandal in the Virginia Capitol, universities had already begun to look deeply at the racism strewn across past yearbooks. At the University of Virginia, a commission that had been examining the institution\u2019s past found copious examples of blackface, racist cartoons and racist stories in fake \u201cslave dialects\u201d in the early 20th century. Similarly vile things have been <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/memory.richmond.edu\/exhibits\/show\/racisminfraternities\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> found in yearbooks<\/a> at the University of Richmond. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/02\/08\/us\/northam-blackface-virginia.html?fbclid=IwAR28WHuyjqfsyj6VufUS8XDsB_FxXcZxbaZcLWhhXy1Qw3QFuvETylg80nA\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.nytimes.com\/2019\/02\/08\/us\/northam-blackface-virginia.html?fbclid=IwAR28WHuyjqfsyj6VufUS8XDsB_FxXcZxbaZcLWhhXy1Qw3QFuvETylg80nA<\/a><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Atlanta charter school apologizes for blackface depiction during student program\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GOcdzgBlRto?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"asset-headline speakable-headline\" style=\"text-align: center;\">GOP leader apologizes for tweeting: &#8216;Time for another Kent State&#8217;<\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"expand-img-horiz\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/a0966f946fa974e70545af74bf2e24021e7b33f2\/c=0-91-2927-2292\/local\/-\/media\/2017\/02\/05\/DetroitFreePress\/DetroitFreePress\/636219146659583614-dfpz73699.jpg?width=534&amp;height=401&amp;fit=crop\" alt=\"636219146659583614-dfpz73699.jpg\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/media\/2017\/02\/05\/DetroitFreePress\/DetroitFreePress\/636219146659583614-dfpz73699.jpg\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/50117b4bfe181f32492ec4d414638d7c08e560e6\/r=500x400\/local\/-\/media\/2017\/02\/05\/DetroitFreePress\/DetroitFreePress\/636219146659583614-dfpz73699.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-1 p-text\">DETROIT \u2014 A county Republican leader in Michigan is under fire for seeming to suggest in his social media posts there should be a <a href=\"http:\/\/on.freep.com\/2kbv9zt\" data-track-label=\"inline|intext|n\/a\">Kent State type\u00a0of crackdown on violent protests<\/a> like the one that\u00a0erupted at a university in California last week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-2 p-text\">But in an interview Sunday with the <em>Detroit Free Press<\/em>, Dan Adamini,\u00a0the secretary of the Marquette County Republican Party, said he apologizes, supports peace and was merely trying to prevent further violence and hatred.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The Marquette resident\u00a0said\u00a0that he has\u00a0received death threats and\u00a0been harassed by people outraged over his remarks that refer to the 1970 shooting deaths of four students at Kent State University in Ohio by the Ohio National Guard. Nine other students were wounded in what many consider a turning point in public opinion about the Vietnam War.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Adamini, 56, tweeted Thursday after\u00a0violent disturbances at the University of California-Berkley\u00a0shut down plans for\u00a0a senior\u00a0editor at the far-right website\u00a0Breitbart\u00a0to speak on\u00a0campus.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cViolent protesters who shut down free speech? Time for another Kent State perhaps. One bullet stops a lot of thuggery,&#8221; Adamini tweeted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">In a separate Facebook post, Adamini wrote: &#8220;I&#8217;m thinking that another Kent State might be the only solution&#8230;They do it because they know there are no consequences yet.&#8221;\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation-now\/2017\/02\/05\/gop-leader-apologizes-kent-state\/97533372\/?fbclid=IwAR18acMHEwf-IeY_yQDwHl1PXETHhcErDL4NRhG7ysIkWpAx82mhAa9MMG4\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation-now\/2017\/02\/05\/gop-leader-apologizes-kent-state\/97533372\/?fbclid=IwAR18acMHEwf-IeY_yQDwHl1PXETHhcErDL4NRhG7ysIkWpAx82mhAa9MMG4<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"spotlight\" src=\"https:\/\/scontent.fsan1-2.fna.fbcdn.net\/v\/t1.0-9\/51915504_834992560218865_1772839092493484032_n.jpg?_nc_cat=1&amp;_nc_ht=scontent.fsan1-2.fna&amp;oh=5e7f14f631da1a99e2fb6ecd103643e7&amp;oe=5CFA6439\" alt=\"Image may contain: text\" aria-busy=\"true\" \/><\/p>\n<section id=\"module-position-RjT1w3Kfsn0\" class=\"longformcovertop-bucket longform-headline-module longform-longform-headline-module\">\n<h1 class=\"longform-intro-headline speakable-headline\" style=\"text-align: center;\">Detroit firefighters battle growing health crisis<\/h1>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"module-position-RjT1w3KMz40\" class=\"longformcovertop-bucket longform-subheadline-module longform-longform-subheadline-module\">\n<p class=\"longform-intro-text\" style=\"text-align: center;\">Emergency care claims an increasing share of firefighters&#8217; workload<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-1 p-text\">James Davis is speeding behind Detroit Fire Engine 44 to a west side motel\u00a0for a cardiac arrest run.\u00a0When he arrives, the outcome already seems clear.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-2 p-text\">&#8220;He&#8217;s ice cold,&#8221; said Davis, chief of the department&#8217;s 8th Battalion,\u00a0after firefighters entered an upper-level room at the Bali Motel off Eight Mile\u00a0to assess a fully dressed man lying on the floor with drug paraphernalia nearby.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The team begins compressing his chest\u00a0and administers\u00a0a nasal form of Narcan, an emergency treatment for suspected opioid overdoses. An EMS crew arrives and takes over, but Davis said\u00a0it&#8217;s too late.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">&#8220;They have enough knowledge and skill to know this guy is gone,&#8221; he\u00a0said of the man that Detroit police on the scene confirm is from Hazel Park. &#8220;There&#8217;s no reviving him.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">This scenario that played out in July has become the daily reality\u00a0for Detroit&#8217;s\u00a0Fire Department since\u00a0its firefighters have become cross-trained to administer\u00a0emergency medical care, which now dominates\u00a0the runs of many city fire companies amid an escalating opioid crisis.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The problem has gotten so bad that on\u00a0one occasion, Davis noted,\u00a0firefighters treated the same woman twice in the same day who had overdosed in two different locations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The Detroit News conducted a series of interviews and went along on all-access emergency runs with Detroit firefighters between July and October to better understand the daily pressures placed on the\u00a0department.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/story\/news\/local\/detroit-city\/2019\/02\/08\/detroit-firefighters-battle-growing-health-crisis\/1145766002\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.detroitnews.com\/story\/news\/local\/detroit-city\/2019\/02\/08\/detroit-firefighters-battle-growing-health-crisis\/1145766002\/<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"headline x-small normal-style text-align-inherit \" style=\"text-align: center;\"><a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2019\/02\/08\/one-trumps-most-vocal-black-supporters-seemed-defend-hitler-recent-speech\/\" data-pb-field=\"headlines.basic\" data-pb-url-field=\"canonical_url\" data-pb-placeholder=\"Write headline here\" data-nummelded=\"\"><em><strong>One of Trump\u2019s most vocal black supporters seemed to defend Hitler in a recent speech<\/strong> <\/em><\/a><\/div>\n<div><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"irc_mi\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bookwormroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Trump-Candace-Owens-supports-him-even-more.png\" alt=\"Image result for candace owens trump\" width=\"683\" height=\"512\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"blurb normal normal-style \">\u201cIf Hitler just wanted to make Germany great and have things run well, okay, fine,\u201d Candace Owens told a London audience. \u201cThe real problem with his policies, is that he wanted, he had dreams outside of Germany.\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.washingtonpost.com\/<\/a><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Einstein-Nationalism-fascism-sect.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22628\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Einstein-Nationalism-fascism-sect.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Einstein-Nationalism-fascism-sect.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Einstein-Nationalism-fascism-sect-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Einstein-Nationalism-fascism-sect-500x375.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Einstein-Nationalism-fascism-sect-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"post-title single-post-title entry-title\" style=\"text-align: center;\">How Mainstream Media Evolved into Corporate Media: A Project Censored History<\/h1>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">This article appeared originally as Chapter 8 in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.projectcensored.org\/product\/censored-2019-fighting-the-fake-news-invasion\/\"><span class=\"s2\"><i>Censored 2019: Fighting the Fake News Invasion<\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"irc_mi\" src=\"https:\/\/www.legalzoom.com\/sites\/legalzoom.com\/files\/images\/uploaded\/xfakenews_0.jpg.pagespeed.ic.232PSP6q2x.jpg\" alt=\"Image result for fake news\" width=\"706\" height=\"466\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s1\">Historically the term \u201cmainstream media\u201d referred to the largest media outlets in the United States. Numbering in the hundreds, these newspapers and broadcast media outlets collectively reached a majority of the public. That was certainly the case in 1976 when Carl Jensen founded Project Censored. His concern was that the mainstream press increasingly left out important news stories; and, with Project Censored student researchers, he began to produce annual reports of the most important news stories ignored by the mainstream media. From the original photocopied reports to the first of the Project\u2019s yearbooks published in 1993, Project Censored referred to the US media collectively as the press, mass media, or mainstream media. In the Project\u2019s 20th anniversary yearbook, Carl wrote, \u201cThe Censored Yearbook is published annually in response to a growing national demand for news and information not published nor broadcast by the mainstream media in America\u201d [Jensen, \u201c20 Years of Raking Muck, Raising Hell,\u201d in <i>Censored: The News That Didn\u2019t Make the News\u2014and Why<\/i> (New York: Seven Stories Press, 1996), p. 9].<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s1\">In the 1980s two important analyses of how mainstream media was changing in the US transformed the study of media and communications. In 1982, when Ben Bagdikian completed research for his book,\u00a0<i>The Media Monopoly<\/i>, he found that fifty corporations controlled at least half of the media business. By December 1986, when he\u00a0finished revisions for the book\u2019s second edition, the concentration of power had shifted from fifty corporations down to just 29. Bagdikian noted that 98 percent of the nation\u2019s 1,700 daily newspapers were local monopolies, with fewer than fifteen corporations controlling most of the country\u2019s print media.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s1\">The second major turning point in the evolution of media studies was the publication of Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky\u2019s book, <i>Manufacturing Consent<\/i>, in 1988. Herman and Chomsky claimed that, because media is firmly imbedded in the market system, it reflected the class values and concerns of its owners and advertisers. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.projectcensored.org\/how-mainstream-media-evolved-into-corporate-media-a-project-censored-history\/?mc_cid=3b0cc707c2&#038;mc_eid=bec289d06d\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.projectcensored.org\/how-mainstream-media-evolved-into-corporate-media-a-project-censored-history\/?mc_cid=3b0cc707c2&#038;mc_eid=bec289d06d<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h1>Giving Water to the Thirsty Now Officially a Crime: No More Deaths Volunteers Convicted<\/h1>\n<p>In the United States in 2019, humanitarian aid has become a crime in the eyes of hardline judges enforcing inhumane immigration policies. The first four volunteers in the trial of the \u201cCabeza Nine\u201d volunteers from No More Deaths \/ No M\u00e1s Muertes (NMD), a ministry of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson, were convicted of \u201cabandonment of property\u201d for leaving gallons of water in the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge located in Arizona, and now each face a maximum of six months in prison and a $500 fine. A date for sentencing has not yet been set.<\/p>\n<p>This was a frustrating and disheartening conclusion to the first of three trials the volunteers are facing for direct humanitarian aid since receiving citations in August 2017. One volunteer, Scott Warren, faces harboring and conspiracy felony charges for \u201chuman trafficking\u201d after reportedly providing food and water to migrants crossing the desert. <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2018\/09\/16\/border-patrol-no-more-deaths-prosecution-arizona-immigrants\/\">An investigation by <em>The Intercept<\/em><\/a>\u00a0exposed a disturbing level of coordination between U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to target NMD and criminalize their humanitarian work.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5341 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uusc.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Screen-Shot-2019-01-25-at-10.38.45-AM.png\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 649px) 100vw, 649px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.uusc.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Screen-Shot-2019-01-25-at-10.38.45-AM.png 959w, https:\/\/www.uusc.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Screen-Shot-2019-01-25-at-10.38.45-AM-300x196.png 300w, https:\/\/www.uusc.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Screen-Shot-2019-01-25-at-10.38.45-AM-768x501.png 768w\" alt=\"\" width=\"649\" height=\"424\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The Cabeza Prieta and surrounding desert are one of the deadliest areas along the entire U.S.-Mexico border, and <a href=\"http:\/\/forms.nomoredeaths.org\/guilty-verdict-in-first-cabeza9-case\/'\" rel=\"noopener\">hundreds of migrants have died or disappeared there<\/a>.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uusc.org\/giving-water-to-the-thirsty-now-officially-a-crime-no-more-deaths-volunteers-convicted\/?fbclid=IwAR3LuKnWVKjGbGfYB8oz5yAI0DpwuprzBWiiMlqI89tEe4-uUQZGCfZKyJQ\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.uusc.org\/giving-water-to-the-thirsty-now-officially-a-crime-no-more-deaths-volunteers-convicted\/?fbclid=IwAR3LuKnWVKjGbGfYB8oz5yAI0DpwuprzBWiiMlqI89tEe4-uUQZGCfZKyJQ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><u>Solidarity for Never<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Reminder:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/media.npr.org\/programs\/morning\/features\/2006\/feb\/solidarity_200-47665c20000a3802841be1b42ba81c08971acf2c-s300-c85.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Mokita&#8221; is the term used by the Trobriand Islanders of Papua New Guinea for a truth that everybody knows but no one talks about. Corruption is mokita in the AFL-CIO. For generations, in the construction, longshore, hospitality, and teamster unions, mobsters have had more influence than the members in choosing the leaders; pension funds are stolen; and bribes smooth the way for contractors to replace union members with lower-paid non-union workers. To control union wrongdoing, the Justice Department routinely resorts to the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, treating labor unions as criminal enterprises. In defense, union leaders provide politicians huge contributions\u2014 essentially for Get Out of Jail Free cards.<\/p>\n<p>Even though, as a Harris Poll released just before Labor Day 2005 showed, most union households disapprove of American unions, the main reason for their disapproval is never openly discussed in union media or addressed at union conventions. &#8220;Sure, unions are flawed,&#8221; the defenders of American unions will concede when pressed. &#8220;They have people in them. So what do you expect? But they\u2019re like democracy: a flawed solution that is preferable to any of its competitors.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s misleading to blame the pervasive corruption of American unions on human nature or on the nature of unionism. You don\u2019t find gangsters running European unions.<\/p>\n<p>Nor does blaming the values of American business culture get us far. Even the leftists who ostentatiously reject those values somehow wind up living by them when they become American union leaders.<\/p>\n<p>Corruption flows rather from the retarded development of American unions, which still haven\u2019t broken out of nineteenth-century models of labor organization. The classic aim of the American union is still to monopolize a territory; the means\u2014an exclusive bargaining contract; the result\u2014 20,000 local unions that inevitably behave more like semiautonomous fiefdoms than like a genuine labor movement pursuing the common good for working people.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/templates\/story\/story.php?storyId=5181842\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.npr.org\/templates\/story\/story.php?storyId=5181842<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><u>Spy versus Spy<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<h1 id=\"link-2fd71133\" class=\"css-4a8l5 e1h9rw200\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"balancedHeadline\">Teaching Activities for: \u2018I Spy at New York\u2019s Museum of Deception\u2019<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><u>\u00a0<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-11cwn6f\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2018\/03\/30\/arts\/30spymuseum9\/merlin_136064538_efa9f505-2f61-4be8-8d1d-9e3ab1ba7865-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"((min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 1004px)) 84vw, (min-width: 1005px) 60vw, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2018\/03\/30\/arts\/30spymuseum9\/merlin_136064538_efa9f505-2f61-4be8-8d1d-9e3ab1ba7865-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2018\/03\/30\/arts\/30spymuseum9\/merlin_136064538_efa9f505-2f61-4be8-8d1d-9e3ab1ba7865-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1024w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2018\/03\/30\/arts\/30spymuseum9\/merlin_136064538_efa9f505-2f61-4be8-8d1d-9e3ab1ba7865-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 2048w\" alt=\"\" \/><\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">Watch <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenews.com.pk\/latest\/281900-interactive-spy-museum-opens-its-doors-in-new-york\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">this short video from The News International<\/a> about Spyscape, a new espionage museum in Manhattan<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">What did you see that was most appealing to you, and why?<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">Would you want to visit a spy museum? Why or why not?<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\"><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">Now, read the article,<\/strong> \u201c<a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/03\/29\/arts\/design\/spyscape-espionage-museum.html?module=inline\">I Spy at New York\u2019s Museum of Deception<\/a>,\u201d <strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">and answer the following questions: <\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\"><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">1. <\/strong>How was Bill Hamilton welcomed when he entered Spyscape in Midtown Manhattan?<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\"><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">2. <\/strong>What are some of the design features of the new museum? What other museum was designed by the same person?<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\"><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">3. <\/strong>What interactive, immersive features does the museum offer, and what was Mr. Hamilton\u2019s experience?\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/04\/06\/learning\/teaching-activities-for-i-spy-at-new-yorks-museum-of-deception.html\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.nytimes.com\/2018\/04\/06\/learning\/teaching-activities-for-i-spy-at-new-yorks-museum-of-deception.html<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 id=\"link-2ed712f9\" class=\"css-1jty1hc e1h9rw200\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"balancedHeadline\">It\u2019s No Secret That Espionage Is This Collector\u2019s Passion<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-11cwn6f\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/02\/08\/arts\/08showwall1\/01showwall1-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"((min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 1004px)) 84vw, (min-width: 1005px) 60vw, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/02\/08\/arts\/08showwall1\/01showwall1-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/02\/08\/arts\/08showwall1\/01showwall1-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1024w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/02\/08\/arts\/08showwall1\/01showwall1-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 2048w\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&#8230;Mr. Melton\u2019s most prized acquisition took him 40 years to find, the ice ax a Soviet agent used in 1940 to kill the exiled Russian revolutionary <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/timesmachine.nytimes.com\/timesmachine\/1940\/08\/22\/issue.html?action=click&amp;contentCollection=Archives&amp;module=ArticleEndCTA&amp;region=ArchiveBody&amp;pgtype=article\">Leon Trotsky<\/a> as he sat reading inside his <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/magazine-19356256\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mexico City compound<\/a>. The ax finally surfaced in 2005: The curator of a Mexican police museum had given it to his daughter, who then stashed it under her bed for 30 years, Mr. Melton said. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\"><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\"> When the ax finally emerged, how did you know it was genuine?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\"><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">KEITH MELTON<\/strong> No. 1, I have a paper trail going back to the Mexican police evidence room since 1946. No. 2, this was a very obscure type of <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/09\/01\/nyregion\/ice-picks-are-still-used-as-weapons.html?module=inline\">ax<\/a> made only in 1928. Third and most definitive is the rust pattern on the blade. Photos taken on the evening of the assassination reveal a bloody fingerprint. A friend at the F.B.I. helped confirm every speck of this rust is exactly consistent with the contour of the fingerprint.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\"><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\"> What was the price?<\/strong> <strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">Six figures?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\"><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">KAREN MELTON<\/strong> [smiles and silently jerks her thumb skyward]\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/01\/29\/arts\/design\/show-us-your-wall-h-keith-melton.html\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.nytimes.com\/2019\/01\/29\/arts\/design\/show-us-your-wall-h-keith-melton.html<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 id=\"link-4180b46c\" class=\"css-4a8l5 e1h9rw200\"><span class=\"balancedHeadline\">Canadian Diplomats Sue Their Government Over Mysterious Cuban Disease<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-11cwn6f\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/02\/08\/world\/08canada-diplomat1\/merlin_149994246_d2bcb9e5-bda2-4ad3-a914-534db2dddbd0-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"((min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 1004px)) 84vw, (min-width: 1005px) 60vw, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/02\/08\/world\/08canada-diplomat1\/merlin_149994246_d2bcb9e5-bda2-4ad3-a914-534db2dddbd0-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/02\/08\/world\/08canada-diplomat1\/merlin_149994246_d2bcb9e5-bda2-4ad3-a914-534db2dddbd0-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1024w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/02\/08\/world\/08canada-diplomat1\/merlin_149994246_d2bcb9e5-bda2-4ad3-a914-534db2dddbd0-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 2048w\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">Canadian diplomats who were posted to Cuba are suing their government, claiming that it failed to protect them and to respond robustly to a mysterious illness they acquired while stationed in Cuba.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">The illness, known as Havana Syndrome, has affected dozens of American and Canadian diplomats posted to Cuba, some of whom have come down with symptoms like memory loss, sleep disturbance and nosebleeds, after saying they heard a strange high-pitched sound.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">The suit, which was filed this week in a federal court in Toronto, says the Canadian government has been too slow to respond and did not provide sufficient medical treatment after diplomats and their children were targeted in 2017 by strange \u201cdebilitating attacks\u201d that resulted in brain injuries without any evident physical trauma.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\"><a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hshlawyers.com\/team\/paul-miller\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Paul Miller,<\/a> the lawyer representing the 14 diplomats, spouses and children who are suing, compared the attack that preceded their illnesses to \u201ca science fiction horror film.\u201d\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/02\/07\/world\/canada\/havana-syndrome-canada.html\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.nytimes.com\/2019\/02\/07\/world\/canada\/havana-syndrome-canada.html<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Venezuela says plane from Miami delivered weapons for use by enemies of Maduro<\/h3>\n<div>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Venezuelan authorities say a U.S.-owned air freight company delivered a crate of assault weapons earlier this week to the international airport in Valencia to be used in \u201cterrorist actions\u201d against the embattled government of Nicol\u00e1s Maduro.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">An air freight company, 21 Air LLC, based in Greensboro, N.C., operates the Boeing 767 aircraft that the Venezuelans allege was used in the arms transfer. The flight originated in Miami on Feb 3.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The Boeing 767 has made dozens of flights between Miami International Airport and destinations in Colombia and Venezuela since Jan. 11, a flight tracking service shows, often returning to Miami for only a few hours before flying again to South America. Read more here: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcclatchydc.com\/news\/nation-world\/world\/latin-america\/article225949200.html#storylink=cpy\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.mcclatchydc.com\/news\/nation-world\/world\/latin-america\/article225949200.html#storylink=cpy<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><u>The Magical Mystery Tour<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/God-Trump.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22578\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/God-Trump.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"680\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/God-Trump.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/God-Trump-150x106.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/God-Trump-500x354.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/God-Trump-768x544.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"headline mar-vert-0 heading-text-shadow\" style=\"text-align: center;\">Ungodly abuse: The lasting torment of the New Tribes missionary kids<\/h1>\n<p>When the clock struck 8 p.m. inside the Aritao boarding school in the Philippines, the children would gather in a common area for their evening routine.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">A nightly devotional. A Bible reading. Prayers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The children were the sons and daughters of American evangelical missionaries. The sessions were led by mission caretakers known as the &#8220;dorm dad&#8221; and &#8220;dorm mom.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">When the prayers were over, the boys and girls as young as 6 would march off to bed. Sometimes, the dorm dad would trail behind the girls, slip into their rooms and do ungodly things to them in the dead of night.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">He would put &#8220;his hands under the covers and would touch me,&#8221; recalled Joy Drake, who says\u00a0<a class=\" vilynx_listened\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/us-news\/olympic-committee-was-told-2015-suspected-abuse-nassar-n843786\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the sexual abuse<\/a>\u00a0started when she was 9.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">&#8220;I would pretend that I was sleeping because I was terrified that he would get angry or something worse would happen if I moved. So I&#8217;d hold my breath and wait til it was over.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The Aritao school was run by a Florida-based group formerly known as New Tribes Mission, one of the largest Christian missionary organizations in the world.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">New Tribes missionaries have operated in more than a dozen countries, spreading the gospel in some of the most remote corners of the globe.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.snapnetwork.org\/ungodly_abuse_the_lasting_torment_feb19\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.snapnetwork.org\/ungodly_abuse_the_lasting_torment_feb19<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"irc_mi\" src=\"https:\/\/i.pinimg.com\/originals\/6d\/8a\/24\/6d8a24dd4bd7b1cd7900205ce9034b39.jpg\" alt=\"Image result for pretty nun with priests\" width=\"393\" height=\"573\" \/><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"headline mar-vert-0 heading-text-shadow\" style=\"text-align: center;\">SNAP Stands in Solidarity with Nuns who have been Victimized by Clergy<\/h1>\n<p><span class=\"m_-2602725277120953595gmail-MsoHyperlink\">Our hearts ache for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/02\/05\/world\/europe\/pope-nuns-sexual-abuse.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">thousands of nuns who have been sexually abused and harassed by priests, bishops and other Catholic clerics<\/a>. We are glad their plight is finally attracting attention but feel compelled to stress that when it comes to the Church hierarchy, awareness does\u00a0 not guarantee action.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>It is worth noting that, once again, a clergy sex scandal surfaces only because of outside pressure on the Vatican. Sometimes, it is a prosecutor or governmental body or an external study that achieves prompt disclosure. This time, it was investigative journalism. We are grateful for all those individuals and institutions who keep chipping away at this ancient, rigid, male-dominated hierarchy that remains so dreadfully committed to secrecy.<\/p>\n<p>We share the view of Anne Barrett Doyle of BishopAccountability who said that she is \u201cbewildered that the pope verifying this should make headlines \u2014 it\u2018s an epidemic problem in certain areas. The Vatican has documentation on likely tens of thousands of cases of sexual violence, and so when a Vatican official or the pope makes a pronouncement as if it\u2019s occurring to them for the first time \u2014 as if they\u2019re identifying a problem for the first time \u2014 it strikes me as disingenuous.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Those who have been sexually assaulted by priests, bishops, brothers, seminarians, deacons and yes, nuns, have heard many pledges of reform from Catholic officials over the years, and have witnessed these promises fall short. So we are not in the least encouraged by the pope\u2019s claim that high-ranking church staff has the will to stop this horror.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.snapnetwork.org\/snap_stands_in_solidarity_with_nuns_feb19\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.snapnetwork.org\/snap_stands_in_solidarity_with_nuns_feb19<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/s3fs-public\/styles\/article_small\/public\/thumbnails\/image\/2019\/02\/07\/14\/cover777.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/watsonvillepolicedepartment\/videos\/555352421633515\/?t=3\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.facebook.com\/watsonvillepolicedepartment\/videos\/555352421633515\/?t=3<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 id=\"link-52842b37\" class=\"css-4a8l5 e1h9rw200\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"balancedHeadline\">Nun\u2019s Rape Case Against Bishop Shakes a Catholic Bastion in India<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-11cwn6f\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/02\/10\/world\/SUB-10india-nun-1\/merlin_150373602_6f0cc363-d553-4d6e-b6cf-2241ec132471-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"((min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 1004px)) 84vw, (min-width: 1005px) 80vw, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/02\/10\/world\/SUB-10india-nun-1\/merlin_150373602_6f0cc363-d553-4d6e-b6cf-2241ec132471-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/02\/10\/world\/SUB-10india-nun-1\/merlin_150373602_6f0cc363-d553-4d6e-b6cf-2241ec132471-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1024w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/02\/10\/world\/SUB-10india-nun-1\/merlin_150373602_6f0cc363-d553-4d6e-b6cf-2241ec132471-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 2048w\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">When Bishop Franco Mulakkal agreed to personally celebrate the First Communion for Darly\u2019s son, a rare honor in their Catholic Church in India, the family was overcome with pride.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">During the ceremony, Darly looked over at her sister, a nun who worked with the bishop, to see her eyes spilling over with tears \u2014 tears of joy, she figured. But only later would she learn of her sister\u2019s allegation that the night before, the bishop had summoned the nun to his quarters and raped her. The family says that was the first assault in a two-year ordeal in which the prelate raped her 13 times.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">The bishop, who has maintained his innocence, will be charged and face trial by a special prosecutor on accusations of rape and intimidation, the police investigating the case said. But the church acknowledged the nun\u2019s accusations only after five of her fellow nuns mutinied and publicly rallied to her side to draw attention to her yearlong quest for justice, despite what they described as heavy pressure to remain silent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0\">\u201cWe used to see the fathers of the church as equivalent to God, but not anymore,\u201d said Darly, her voice shaking with emotion. \u201cHow can I tell my son about this, that the person teaching us the difference between right and wrong gave him his First Communion after committing such a terrible sin?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/02\/09\/world\/asia\/nun-rape-india-bishop.html?action=click&#038;module=Top%20Stories&#038;pgtype=Homepage\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.nytimes.com\/2019\/02\/09\/world\/asia\/nun-rape-india-bishop.html?action=click&#038;module=Top%20Stories&#038;pgtype=Homepage<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><u>The Best and Worst Things in the History of the World<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=XH25EUgFMmI\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.youtube.com\/watch?v=XH25EUgFMmI<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong>Netflix Subscribers: Check out the Sam Cooke Documentary<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DurhamMinersGala\/videos\/748912915303952\/?t=20\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.facebook.com\/DurhamMinersGala\/videos\/748912915303952\/?t=20<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"post-title title title-large entry-title\" style=\"text-align: center;\">Armed Antifa Groups March in Stone Mountain, Neo-Confederates Don\u2019t Show<\/h1>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Armed Antifa Groups March in Stone Mountain, Neo-Confederates Don&#039;t Show\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HC4AUSL9HaM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The event dubbed \u201cRock Stone Mountain\u201d had been planned for months and was expected to attract white nationalist activists, but was cancelled right before taking place. The antifa coalition, which donned the name <a href=\"https:\/\/flowerunited.org\/\">FLOWER<\/a> (\u201cFrontline organizations working together to end racism\u201d) stuck with their original plan to assemble outside the park.<\/p>\n<p>The park itself had announced Friday night that it wouldn\u2019t allow anyone inside.<\/p>\n<p>FLOWER\u2019s coalition included communists, socialists, unions, left-wing militias, and other left-wing activists.<\/p>\n<p>The group marched around the Stone Mountain community as a \u201cvictory lap\u201d for the cancelled right-wing event.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe nightmare scenario is that somebody decides to be a lone wolf and pulls something like what happened in Charlottesville,\u201d an organizer who wished to be identified as \u201cFirebug\u201d said before the event. To that end, the group had left-wing militia groups with long rifles and shotguns act as a roving perimeter around the demonstration.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/news2share.com\/start\/2019\/02\/02\/armed-antifa-groups-march-in-stone-mountain-neo-confederates-dont-show\/?fbclid=IwAR3RiVhQ4raVJg_0NKcqwEUw2AJE9CUvMFmuOE0sGQH-7PFUzIfM9w8nG6U\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">news2share.com\/start\/2019\/02\/02\/armed-antifa-groups-march-in-stone-mountain-neo-confederates-dont-show\/?fbclid=IwAR3RiVhQ4raVJg_0NKcqwEUw2AJE9CUvMFmuOE0sGQH-7PFUzIfM9w8nG6U<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"_kvn img\" src=\"https:\/\/scontent.fsan1-2.fna.fbcdn.net\/v\/t45.1600-4\/cp0\/q90\/spS444\/c87.0.600.600a\/p600x600\/51744821_6116213755231_5877530124575834112_n.png.jpg?_nc_cat=108&amp;efg=eyJxZV9ncm91cHMiOlsibm9fc2FmZV9pbWFnZV9mb3JfYWRzX2ltYWdlIl19&amp;_nc_ht=scontent.fsan1-2.fna&amp;oh=20d74cea4455b6727c0a899f958165b2&amp;oe=5CE66079\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Rainbow over Half Dome<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">KKK imperial wizard Frank Ancona is found dead in Missouri<\/h3>\n<p>Frank Ancona, the outspoken imperial wizard of the Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, was found shot to death Saturday near Belgrade, Mo.<\/p>\n<p>The body of the 51-year-old Leadwood, Mo., resident was discovered near the Big River by a family fishing in the area, according to Washington County Sheriff Zach Jacobsen in southeast Missouri.<\/p>\n<p>Washington County coroner Brian DeClue told The Kansas City Star that Ancona died of a gunshot wound to the head.<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The KKK group\u2019s national headquarters is in Park Hills, Mo., about an hour\u2019s drive southwest of St. Louis. Ancona shares a name with a car dealer in Olathe, but the two are not related or connected in any way.<\/p>\n<p>Ancona\u2019s KKK group is among the newest and most visible of the Klan factions in the country, although it\u2019s not considered the largest. Founded around 2009, the Traditionalist American Knights have made headlines in recent years for such actions as distributing fliers during the Ferguson, Mo., protests warning that they were poised to use lethal force to protect themselves from demonstrators.<\/p>\n<p>The group also regularly leaflets neighborhoods in cities around the country in an effort to recruit more members. And three of its members were charged in Florida in 2015 with plotting to kill a black man.\u00a0 Read more here: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kansascity.com\/news\/state\/missouri\/article132273414.html?fbclid=IwAR29vOnnEncz6saTVSL3i0rNQt8b-QMjTo5mQeoZaDGA8lgX4g3wNyoPFOk#storylink=cpy\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.kansascity.com\/news\/state\/missouri\/article132273414.html?fbclid=IwAR29vOnnEncz6saTVSL3i0rNQt8b-QMjTo5mQeoZaDGA8lgX4g3wNyoPFOk#storylink=cpy<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"spotlight\" src=\"https:\/\/scontent.fsan1-2.fna.fbcdn.net\/v\/t1.0-9\/51851198_2686267024731892_850401742196572160_n.jpg?_nc_cat=108&amp;_nc_ht=scontent.fsan1-2.fna&amp;oh=2d976eb06990721ee46efb17d17d4528&amp;oe=5CF23E52\" alt=\"Image may contain: text\" aria-busy=\"true\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/97543324363\/videos\/2042193509407293\/?t=4\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.facebook.com\/97543324363\/videos\/2042193509407293\/?t=4<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"scaledImageFitWidth img\" src=\"https:\/\/external.fsan1-1.fna.fbcdn.net\/safe_image.php?d=AQDFzZkMns4VMRa5&amp;w=540&amp;h=282&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic01.nyt.com%2Fimages%2F2019%2F02%2F08%2Fopinion%2F08Swisher%2F08Swisher-facebookJumbo.jpg&amp;cfs=1&amp;upscale=1&amp;fallback=news_d_placeholder_publisher&amp;_nc_hash=AQCRv4NwEzmNqqs8\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"262\" aria-label=\"A classic headline from The New York Post on Friday about Jeff Bezos' accusations that David Pecker, publisher of The National Enquirer, sought to blackmail him.\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"spotlight\" src=\"https:\/\/scontent.fsan1-1.fna.fbcdn.net\/v\/t1.0-9\/51316397_2255185501420438_99377846648045568_n.jpg?_nc_cat=110&amp;_nc_ht=scontent.fsan1-1.fna&amp;oh=673a13aa554feffc6b7638379308af2e&amp;oe=5CEF7FAA\" alt=\"Image may contain: 1 person\" aria-busy=\"true\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/the.vintage.everyday\/videos\/1655086581197131\/?t=23\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.facebook.com\/the.vintage.everyday\/videos\/1655086581197131\/?t=23<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><u>So Long<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Woolworths-Mustard-Man-Sit-in.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22606\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Woolworths-Mustard-Man-Sit-in.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"3200\" height=\"1680\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Woolworths-Mustard-Man-Sit-in.jpg 3200w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Woolworths-Mustard-Man-Sit-in-150x79.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Woolworths-Mustard-Man-Sit-in-500x263.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Woolworths-Mustard-Man-Sit-in-768x403.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"title\" style=\"text-align: center;\">&#8216;Mustard Man&#8217; at Woolworth&#8217;s 1963 sit-in celebrated by maroon and gold<\/h1>\n<p>He was a civil rights activist and academic.<\/p>\n<p>The son of a Native American who taught at an all-black college.<\/p>\n<p>A bold demonstrator in the bloody 1963 Woolworth&#8217;s lunch counter sit-in that focused intense national debate on segregation.<\/p>\n<p>A personal friend and associate of NAACP head Medgar Evers, who was assassinated at his Mississippi home by a member of the Ku Klux Klan.<\/p>\n<p>John Randall Salter Jr., who received two degrees from Arizona State University in the 1950s and 1960s, died Jan. 7 at his home in Pocatello, Idaho, of natural causes. He was 84.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBeyond alumni, beyond student and teacher, beyond any label we might have, we are all humans,\u201d said ASU President Michael M. Crow. \u201cAnd to stand up for your fellow humans, to take the hard path and challenge the status quo, to say, \u2018This is wrong\u2019 and then do something about it \u2014 this is an example of greatness. The ASU community has lost a true changemaker in John R. Salter.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4>Social justice warrior<\/h4>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"media-element file-responsive-image panopoly-image-full\" title=\"John R. Salter organizing a meeting\" src=\"https:\/\/asunow.asu.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/panopoly_image_full\/public\/young_man_1.jpg?itok=5MWR3Cwq\" alt=\"Young man with protesters\" data-delta=\"2\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Though a lifelong social justice activist, Salter\u2019s defining moment occurred in his late 20s when he answered the call by NAACP State Field Secretary Medgar Evers to join several students from Mississippi\u2019s historically black Tougaloo College at a segregated lunch counter inside the F.W. Woolworth\u2019s retail store on Capitol Street in downtown Jackson. The May 28, 1963, controversy erupted in chaos and violence when activists ordered service.<\/p>\n<p>The peaceful protesters were taunted and brutalized by a hostile mob, who doused them with sugar, mustard and ketchup. Many of the women were pulled off their stools by their hair while the men were brutally beaten \u2014 some knocked unconscious and taken to the hospital. Salter later recalled in interviews that he had been attacked with brass knuckles and broken glass. He also had cigarettes stubbed out on his back and neck, leaving permanent scars.<\/p>\n<p>We learned later that local radio stations were encouraging people to go there and participate in mob activity,&#8221; Salter recalled in a 2015 article for The Guardian, a British daily newspaper. &#8220;All the while the air was filled with obscenities, the N-word \u2014 it was a lavish display of unbridled hatred.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The taunting and torment went on for three hours before police grudgingly ended the protest, mostly to prevent damage to the store when the mob began throwing merchandise.<\/p>\n<p>A photo taken by Fred Blackwell of the Jackson Daily News forever preserved the moment in history and was later used in various teaching textbooks.<\/p>\n<p>In Jackson, Salter earned the nickname &#8220;Mustard Man&#8221; because the photo showed him drenched in condiments.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/asunow.asu.edu\/20190116-arizona-impact-mustard-man-woolworths-1963-sit-celebrated-maroon-and-gold?fbclid=IwAR2H0YjbxoL_k3UQkhivD79BBLbxdV8eKMMUzkq_lOa6WmMsxsV3uSrxcBw\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">asunow.asu.edu\/20190116-arizona-impact-mustard-man-woolworths-1963-sit-celebrated-maroon-and-gold?fbclid=IwAR2H0YjbxoL_k3UQkhivD79BBLbxdV8eKMMUzkq_lOa6WmMsxsV3uSrxcBw<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We Say Fight Back! Denver teacher strike to begin Monday after Gov. Jared Polis declines to intervene The union representing the majority of Denver Public Schools\u2019 educators announced it will initiate the city\u2019s first teacher strike in a quarter century next week after Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday declined to intervene in the two sides\u2019 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22574"}],"version-history":[{"count":72,"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22574\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22656,"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22574\/revisions\/22656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}