Global
One result of the Republican convention will be a drop in the number of progressives who are in denial about the Trump regime’s momentum toward fascism. This week’s relentlessly unhinged GOP gathering has probably done more to win votes for Joe Biden from the left than last week’s Democratic convention did. And that points up a problem.
This looks like the beginning of a civil war.
The chaos and violence in Kenosha, Wisconsin are unfolding as I write. I feel as though I’m watching some natural disaster develop, suddenly overpowering any hope for social change “before it’s too late.”
Is it already too late — that is to say, too late to disarm our concept of social order and, for God’s sake, safety? The American problem of guns is not only that there are so many of them, vastly more than there are people; and that they are deemed, by so many Americans, necessary for survival and empowerment, commanding a reverence in the collective imagination right there alongside the flag and the cross; but also, that they are inextricably linked, in so many ways, with American racism.
In the spirit of Protest Reports, the Free Press reprints this from:
Charlie Pierce, who cut his teeth writing sports:
I always found [NBA coach Doc Rivers] a smart and aware human being, the son of a Chicago cop. He met his wife, Kris, when they were students at Marquette together. Kris is white. When they were dating, her parents’ home and auto were vandalized. While he was in San Antonio, his house was burned to the ground. He’s been there. He’s seen things. And, on Tuesday night, he turned his history loose.
"It’s amazing we keep loving this country and this country doesn’t love us back."
“We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late.” –Dr. Martin Luther King
Over a year ago, members of the public brought to the Charlottesville City Council a demand that our money not be invested in weapons dealers and fossil fuel producers. The City Council listened. The City Treasurer listened. They supported divestment for the city’s operating budget and swiftly acted on it.
At the same time, they noted that the City’s retirement fund would be a separate question that would have to wait a few months for a key hiring decision. Meanwhile, the City Treasurer suggested that I join the Retirement Commission. I did so. I’ve spent hours and hours in committee and subcommittee meetings. Today I resigned.
Only recently, the Palestinian group, Hamas, and Israel seemed close to reaching a prisoner exchange agreement, where Hamas would release several Israeli soldiers held in Gaza while Israel would set free an unspecified number of Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons.
Instead of the much-anticipated announcement of some kind of a deal, on August 10, Israeli bombs began falling on the besieged Strip and incendiary balloons, originating in Gaza, made their way to the Israeli side of the fence.
So, what happened?
The answer lies largely—though not entirely—in Israel, specifically in the political conflict between Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing political camp, on the one hand, and their government’s coalition partners, led by Defense Minister, Benny Gantz, on the other.
By Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman, PC - August 19, 2020 (2175 words)
The national law firm of Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman filed a Gardasil lawsuit against Merck today on behalf of a 19-year-old woman, alleging the company misled the FDA, legislators, doctors and moms about the safety and efficacy of its Gardasil vaccine.
Palestinians are not going anywhere. This is the gist of seven decades of Palestinian struggle against Zionist colonialism. The proof? The story of Ahmed Amarneh.
Amarneh, a 30-year-old civil engineer from the northern West Bank village of Farasin, lives with his family in a cave. For many years, the Amarneh family has attempted to build a proper home, but their request has been denied by the Israeli military every time.
In many ways, the struggle of the Amarnehs is a microcosm of the collective struggle of Farasin; in fact, of most Palestinians.