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marmar
marmar's Journal
marmar's Journal
April 17, 2021
(Salon) On Sunday, Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, was pulled over for a traffic stop, apparently because of an expired registration, only to be shot and killed by a police officer who allegedly mistook her firearm for a taser. As the Minneapolis area grieves over Wright's killing, which has sparked volatile demonstrations throughout the small suburb of Brooklyn Center, national right-wing media has taken to the scene to defend the officer who allegedly murdered Wright.
During his Monday night program, Newsmax host Grant Stinchfield proposed that the officer's action in shooting Wright could be "warranted." "Now let me be clear, even though the officer apparently is admitting to making a mistake, an argument could still be made that deadly force was warranted here," Stinchfield stated on his Monday night program. "Fighting officers like you just saw, you could argue, any officer could feel like they were in imminent threat, imminent body harm could come at any moment. There is no duty by the way to deploy a taser, an officer can go to their firearm first, and many do."
Conservative Twitter pundit John Cardillo, currently embroiled in a feud with Roger Stone, attempted to present Wright negatively, which even drew the ire of the right-wing blog RedState, which called Cardillo out over his tweet. "Cardillo, like so many others, wants you to buy into the idea of the scary black man with a gun in order to deflect away from what was more obviously bad policing," RedState blogger Joe Cunningham wrote on Tuesday.
https://twitter.com/johncardillo/status/1381604925474541569?s=20
Conservative pundit and frequent Newsmax guest Terrence Williams tweeted, "#DaunteWright was charged for illegally carrying a pistol and fleeing a peace officer. He had a history of resisting and doing illegal things. This man did not get pulled over for having air freshener in his car. That's a HOAX." ..............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2021/04/17/right-wing-media-keeps-on-trying-to-justify-the-killing-of-daunte-wright/
Right-wing media keeps on trying to justify the killing of Daunte Wright
(Salon) On Sunday, Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, was pulled over for a traffic stop, apparently because of an expired registration, only to be shot and killed by a police officer who allegedly mistook her firearm for a taser. As the Minneapolis area grieves over Wright's killing, which has sparked volatile demonstrations throughout the small suburb of Brooklyn Center, national right-wing media has taken to the scene to defend the officer who allegedly murdered Wright.
During his Monday night program, Newsmax host Grant Stinchfield proposed that the officer's action in shooting Wright could be "warranted." "Now let me be clear, even though the officer apparently is admitting to making a mistake, an argument could still be made that deadly force was warranted here," Stinchfield stated on his Monday night program. "Fighting officers like you just saw, you could argue, any officer could feel like they were in imminent threat, imminent body harm could come at any moment. There is no duty by the way to deploy a taser, an officer can go to their firearm first, and many do."
Conservative Twitter pundit John Cardillo, currently embroiled in a feud with Roger Stone, attempted to present Wright negatively, which even drew the ire of the right-wing blog RedState, which called Cardillo out over his tweet. "Cardillo, like so many others, wants you to buy into the idea of the scary black man with a gun in order to deflect away from what was more obviously bad policing," RedState blogger Joe Cunningham wrote on Tuesday.
https://twitter.com/johncardillo/status/1381604925474541569?s=20
Conservative pundit and frequent Newsmax guest Terrence Williams tweeted, "#DaunteWright was charged for illegally carrying a pistol and fleeing a peace officer. He had a history of resisting and doing illegal things. This man did not get pulled over for having air freshener in his car. That's a HOAX." ..............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2021/04/17/right-wing-media-keeps-on-trying-to-justify-the-killing-of-daunte-wright/
April 17, 2021
Big corporate donors claim to support racial justice — but fund Republicans pushing voting limits
Companies that virtue-signaled on BLM are funding the very lawmakers "stripping voting rights" from Black people
By IGOR DERYSH
APRIL 17, 2021 10:00AM
(Salon) Corporate America is taking a stand against new voting restrictions around the country, boycotting states that imposed harsh new laws and speaking out against proposed limits in others. But many top corporate political donors who have touted their commitments to racial equity and diversity have also funded the Republican lawmakers who are pushing bills aimed at making it more difficult to vote.
Three of the top five corporate donors to state lawmakers in Texas promoted their commitments to racial justice — but have also donated $493,000 to state senators who sponsored Senate Bill 7. That legislation would limit early voting and absentee voting while empowering partisan poll watchers and clearly targets Houston, the state's densest population center, where a majority of voters are people of color, according to a new report from the left-leaning government watchdog Accountable.US.
Top corporate donors in Arizona, including defense contracting giant Raytheon, which made a $25 million commitment to help "racially and ethnically marginalized communities," have donated $76,647 to three sponsors of state Senate bills that would limit mail-in voting and purge residents from voter rolls, as the state tilts blue as a result of quickly changing demographics.
Four of the top five corporate donors in Florida, including Disney, have contributed more than $230,000 to state legislators behind bills that would restrict mail-in voting and make it a crime to give water or food to voters in long lines — despite vowing their support for inclusion, racial equity and Black Lives Matter. ............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2021/04/17/big-corporate-donors-claim-to-support-racial-justice--but-fund-republicans-pushing-voting-limits/
Big corporate donors claim to support racial justice -- but fund Republicans pushing voting limits
Big corporate donors claim to support racial justice — but fund Republicans pushing voting limits
Companies that virtue-signaled on BLM are funding the very lawmakers "stripping voting rights" from Black people
By IGOR DERYSH
APRIL 17, 2021 10:00AM
(Salon) Corporate America is taking a stand against new voting restrictions around the country, boycotting states that imposed harsh new laws and speaking out against proposed limits in others. But many top corporate political donors who have touted their commitments to racial equity and diversity have also funded the Republican lawmakers who are pushing bills aimed at making it more difficult to vote.
Three of the top five corporate donors to state lawmakers in Texas promoted their commitments to racial justice — but have also donated $493,000 to state senators who sponsored Senate Bill 7. That legislation would limit early voting and absentee voting while empowering partisan poll watchers and clearly targets Houston, the state's densest population center, where a majority of voters are people of color, according to a new report from the left-leaning government watchdog Accountable.US.
Top corporate donors in Arizona, including defense contracting giant Raytheon, which made a $25 million commitment to help "racially and ethnically marginalized communities," have donated $76,647 to three sponsors of state Senate bills that would limit mail-in voting and purge residents from voter rolls, as the state tilts blue as a result of quickly changing demographics.
Four of the top five corporate donors in Florida, including Disney, have contributed more than $230,000 to state legislators behind bills that would restrict mail-in voting and make it a crime to give water or food to voters in long lines — despite vowing their support for inclusion, racial equity and Black Lives Matter. ............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2021/04/17/big-corporate-donors-claim-to-support-racial-justice--but-fund-republicans-pushing-voting-limits/
April 11, 2021
TOKYO (AP) — Athletes at the Tokyo Olympics who come down with minor symptoms of COVID-19 could be isolated in a hotel lined up by local organizers of the games.
The Japanese news agency Kyodo on Sunday said organizers are working to secure 300 rooms in a hotel near the Athletes’ Village. The agency cited unnamed officials with “knowledge of the plan.”
The rooms would be for athletes and staff who do not need to be hospitalized. The measures underline the risk of trying to hold the Olympics and Paralympics during a pandemic.
The Olympics are to open on July 23 and face strong opposition from up to 80% of Japanese polled. The Olympics and Paralympics will involve about 15,000 athletes from more than 200 nations and territories, and tens of thousands of other officials, judges, administrators, media and broadcasters. ....................(more)
https://apnews.com/article/tokyo-sports-asia-coronavirus-pandemic-japan-olympic-games-25467782a519ab53859f96d6a8461132
Report: Hotel will house Olympic athletes with COVID-19
TOKYO (AP) — Athletes at the Tokyo Olympics who come down with minor symptoms of COVID-19 could be isolated in a hotel lined up by local organizers of the games.
The Japanese news agency Kyodo on Sunday said organizers are working to secure 300 rooms in a hotel near the Athletes’ Village. The agency cited unnamed officials with “knowledge of the plan.”
The rooms would be for athletes and staff who do not need to be hospitalized. The measures underline the risk of trying to hold the Olympics and Paralympics during a pandemic.
The Olympics are to open on July 23 and face strong opposition from up to 80% of Japanese polled. The Olympics and Paralympics will involve about 15,000 athletes from more than 200 nations and territories, and tens of thousands of other officials, judges, administrators, media and broadcasters. ....................(more)
https://apnews.com/article/tokyo-sports-asia-coronavirus-pandemic-japan-olympic-games-25467782a519ab53859f96d6a8461132
April 10, 2021
(Newsweek) Advertisements for a "White Lives Matter" rally on April 11 urge demonstrators to wear face masks "for anonymity," rather than protection from the coronavirus.
The "peaceful march" across "all major city centers" will take place at 1 p.m. on Sunday, according to posters advertising the march, Valley News Live reported. Cities across the U.S., including New York City, Chicago, Fargo and Fort Worth, are anticipating the march as well as counter-protests.
https://twitter.com/DEFendFURiously/status/1380882944043143173?s=20
White Lives Matter is a "racist response to the civil rights movement Black Lives Matter" and "a neo-Nazi group that is growing into a movement as more and more white supremacist groups take up its slogans and tactics," according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. .........(more)
https://www.newsweek.com/white-lives-matter-protesters-urged-wear-face-masks-anonymity-1582639
'White Lives Matter' Protesters Urged to Wear Face Masks for Anonymity
(Newsweek) Advertisements for a "White Lives Matter" rally on April 11 urge demonstrators to wear face masks "for anonymity," rather than protection from the coronavirus.
The "peaceful march" across "all major city centers" will take place at 1 p.m. on Sunday, according to posters advertising the march, Valley News Live reported. Cities across the U.S., including New York City, Chicago, Fargo and Fort Worth, are anticipating the march as well as counter-protests.
https://twitter.com/DEFendFURiously/status/1380882944043143173?s=20
White Lives Matter is a "racist response to the civil rights movement Black Lives Matter" and "a neo-Nazi group that is growing into a movement as more and more white supremacist groups take up its slogans and tactics," according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. .........(more)
https://www.newsweek.com/white-lives-matter-protesters-urged-wear-face-masks-anonymity-1582639
April 10, 2021
(Bloomberg) -- Covid-19 vaccination requirements are fast becoming facts of life in the U.S., spreading business by business even as politicians and privacy advocates rail against them.
Brown, Notre Dame and Rutgers are among universities warning students and staff they’ll need shots in order to return to campus this fall. Some sports teams are demanding proof of vaccination or a negative test from fans as arenas reopen. Want to see your favorite band play indoors in California? At bigger venues, the same rules apply. A Houston hospital chain recently ordered its 26,000 employees to get vaccinated.
Yet it’s another matter how people prove they’ve had their shots or are Covid-free. Republican politicians and privacy advocates are bristling over so-called vaccination passports, with some states moving to restrict their use.
Given the fraught politics, many companies are “not necessarily wanting to be the first in their sector to take the plunge,” said Carmel Shachar, executive director of the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology and Bioethics at Harvard Law School. Still, “we’re going to see employers start to require vaccinations if you want to come into the office, if you will have a public-facing job.” ............(more)
Read more at: https://www.bloombergquint.com/onweb/vaccine-requirements-spread-in-u-s-sowing-concern-on-overreach
Copyright © BloombergQuint
Vaccine Requirements Spread in U.S., Sowing Concern on Overreach
(Bloomberg) -- Covid-19 vaccination requirements are fast becoming facts of life in the U.S., spreading business by business even as politicians and privacy advocates rail against them.
Brown, Notre Dame and Rutgers are among universities warning students and staff they’ll need shots in order to return to campus this fall. Some sports teams are demanding proof of vaccination or a negative test from fans as arenas reopen. Want to see your favorite band play indoors in California? At bigger venues, the same rules apply. A Houston hospital chain recently ordered its 26,000 employees to get vaccinated.
Yet it’s another matter how people prove they’ve had their shots or are Covid-free. Republican politicians and privacy advocates are bristling over so-called vaccination passports, with some states moving to restrict their use.
Given the fraught politics, many companies are “not necessarily wanting to be the first in their sector to take the plunge,” said Carmel Shachar, executive director of the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology and Bioethics at Harvard Law School. Still, “we’re going to see employers start to require vaccinations if you want to come into the office, if you will have a public-facing job.” ............(more)
Read more at: https://www.bloombergquint.com/onweb/vaccine-requirements-spread-in-u-s-sowing-concern-on-overreach
Copyright © BloombergQuint
April 10, 2021
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) would allocate $187 million in Capital Investment Grants (CIG) to four Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) projects Monday.
The projects, located in California, Utah, and Washington State, are nearing completion of the statutory and regulatory requirements for the projects, a condition of receiving the grant awards.
“Millions of Americans rely on public transit to get to work, services, and family – and communities need support to create more public transit options,” Buttigieg said. “The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to modernizing and expanding our public transit systems, and that includes support for these great projects.”
BRT is a high-quality bus-based transit system that delivers fast, efficient services. The system may include dedicated lanes, busways, traffic signal priority, off-board fare collection, elevated platforms, and enhanced stations. With features similar to light rail or subway systems, BRTs are considered to be more reliable, more convenient, and faster than regular bus services. ....................(more)
https://transportationtodaynews.com/news/22097-buttigieg-announces-187m-in-funding-for-bus-rapid-transit-projects/
Buttigieg announces $187M in funding for bus rapid transit projects
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) would allocate $187 million in Capital Investment Grants (CIG) to four Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) projects Monday.
The projects, located in California, Utah, and Washington State, are nearing completion of the statutory and regulatory requirements for the projects, a condition of receiving the grant awards.
“Millions of Americans rely on public transit to get to work, services, and family – and communities need support to create more public transit options,” Buttigieg said. “The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to modernizing and expanding our public transit systems, and that includes support for these great projects.”
BRT is a high-quality bus-based transit system that delivers fast, efficient services. The system may include dedicated lanes, busways, traffic signal priority, off-board fare collection, elevated platforms, and enhanced stations. With features similar to light rail or subway systems, BRTs are considered to be more reliable, more convenient, and faster than regular bus services. ....................(more)
https://transportationtodaynews.com/news/22097-buttigieg-announces-187m-in-funding-for-bus-rapid-transit-projects/
April 10, 2021
U.S. Reps. Rodney Davis (R-IL), Greg Stanton (D-AZ), Steven Palazzo (R-MS), and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) announced Tuesday that they had introduced legislation to increase funding for transit systems in small communities.
The Small Community Transit Improvement Act, H.R. 2306, would increase the apportionment for the Small Transit Intensive Cities Program (STIC) from 2 percent to 3 percent to urban areas with populations of less than 200,000.
“The Small Transit Intensive Cities Program (STIC), which rewards high performing small transit systems, has been incredibly successful over the years at supporting transit in communities in central Illinois and across the country,” said Davis, ranking member of the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit. “I have four prime examples of cities in my district that have benefited from this program, including Bloomington-Normal, Champaign-Urbana, Springfield, and Decatur. Our bipartisan bill ensures funding for this program is keeping up with demand so we can continue to help successful, small transit systems like these make investments to improve efficiency and service.” .............(more)
https://transportationtodaynews.com/news/22134-bipartisan-group-of-lawmakers-introduce-legislation-supporting-transit-in-smaller-communities/
Bipartisan Group of Lawmakers introduce legislation supporting transit in smaller communities
U.S. Reps. Rodney Davis (R-IL), Greg Stanton (D-AZ), Steven Palazzo (R-MS), and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) announced Tuesday that they had introduced legislation to increase funding for transit systems in small communities.
The Small Community Transit Improvement Act, H.R. 2306, would increase the apportionment for the Small Transit Intensive Cities Program (STIC) from 2 percent to 3 percent to urban areas with populations of less than 200,000.
“The Small Transit Intensive Cities Program (STIC), which rewards high performing small transit systems, has been incredibly successful over the years at supporting transit in communities in central Illinois and across the country,” said Davis, ranking member of the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit. “I have four prime examples of cities in my district that have benefited from this program, including Bloomington-Normal, Champaign-Urbana, Springfield, and Decatur. Our bipartisan bill ensures funding for this program is keeping up with demand so we can continue to help successful, small transit systems like these make investments to improve efficiency and service.” .............(more)
https://transportationtodaynews.com/news/22134-bipartisan-group-of-lawmakers-introduce-legislation-supporting-transit-in-smaller-communities/
April 10, 2021
(Guardian UK) Jair Bolsonaro’s perverse and “genocidal” response to one of the world’s deadliest Covid outbreaks has left Brazil “adrift on an ocean of hunger and disease”, the country’s former president Dilma Rousseff has claimed.
Speaking to the Guardian this week – as Brazil’s coronavirus death toll hit devastating new heights, with more than 12,000 deaths in the last three days – Rousseff said her country faced perhaps the gravest moment in its history.
“We are living through an extremely dramatic situation in Brazil because we have no government, no stewardship of the crisis,” said Rousseff, a former leftist guerrilla who was president for just over five years until her controversial 2016 impeachment.
“We are seeing 4,200 deaths per day now and everything suggests that if nothing changes we’ll reach 5,000 … Yet there is an absolutely repulsive normalization of this reality under way. How can you normalize the 4,211 deaths registered [on Tuesday]?” Rousseff asked as Brazil’s official death toll rose to over 345,000, second only to the US.
Brazil’s first female president, like a growing number of citizens, believes much of the blame lay with Bolsonaro, a far-right populist whose anti-scientific response to what he calls a “little flu” has made him an international bogeyman. Opinion polls and pot-banging protests suggest growing public anger at the Trump-admiring politician who was elected in 2018 after Rousseff’s mentor, former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, was jailed and prevented from running by a judge who later joined Bolsonaro’s cabinet. ...........(more)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/10/brazil-bolsonaro-dilma-rousseff-coronavirus-crisis
Bolsonaro's 'genocidal' Covid response has led to Brazilian catastrophe, Dilma Rousseff says
(Guardian UK) Jair Bolsonaro’s perverse and “genocidal” response to one of the world’s deadliest Covid outbreaks has left Brazil “adrift on an ocean of hunger and disease”, the country’s former president Dilma Rousseff has claimed.
Speaking to the Guardian this week – as Brazil’s coronavirus death toll hit devastating new heights, with more than 12,000 deaths in the last three days – Rousseff said her country faced perhaps the gravest moment in its history.
“We are living through an extremely dramatic situation in Brazil because we have no government, no stewardship of the crisis,” said Rousseff, a former leftist guerrilla who was president for just over five years until her controversial 2016 impeachment.
“We are seeing 4,200 deaths per day now and everything suggests that if nothing changes we’ll reach 5,000 … Yet there is an absolutely repulsive normalization of this reality under way. How can you normalize the 4,211 deaths registered [on Tuesday]?” Rousseff asked as Brazil’s official death toll rose to over 345,000, second only to the US.
Brazil’s first female president, like a growing number of citizens, believes much of the blame lay with Bolsonaro, a far-right populist whose anti-scientific response to what he calls a “little flu” has made him an international bogeyman. Opinion polls and pot-banging protests suggest growing public anger at the Trump-admiring politician who was elected in 2018 after Rousseff’s mentor, former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, was jailed and prevented from running by a judge who later joined Bolsonaro’s cabinet. ...........(more)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/10/brazil-bolsonaro-dilma-rousseff-coronavirus-crisis
April 10, 2021
Tackling the climate and air pollution crises requires curbing all motorized transport as quickly as possible
By CHRISTIAN BRAND
APRIL 10, 2021 11:29AM
(Salon) Globally, only one in 50 new cars were fully electric in 2020, and one in 14 in the UK. Sounds impressive, but even if all new cars were electric now, it would still take 15-20 years to replace the world's fossil fuel car fleet.
The emission savings from replacing all those internal combustion engines with zero-carbon alternatives will not feed in fast enough to make the necessary difference in the time we can spare: the next five years. Tackling the climate and air pollution crises requires curbing all motorized transport, particularly private cars, as quickly as possible. Focusing solely on electric vehicles is slowing down the race to zero emissions.
This is partly because electric cars aren't truly zero-carbon – mining the raw materials for their batteries, manufacturing them and generating the electricity they run on produces emissions.
....(snip)....
What a difference a trip makes
We observed around 4,000 people living in London, Antwerp, Barcelona, Vienna, Orebro, Rome and Zurich. Over a two-year period, our participants completed 10,000 travel diary entries which served as records of all the trips they made each day, whether going to work by train, taking the kids to school by car or riding the bus into town. For each trip, we calculated the carbon footprint.
Strikingly, people who cycled on a daily basis had 84% lower carbon emissions from all their daily travel than those who didn't. ...........(more)
https://www.salon.com/2021/04/10/cycling-is-ten-times-more-important-than-electric-cars-for-reaching-net-zero-cities_partner/
Cycling is ten times more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities
Cycling is ten times more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero citiesTackling the climate and air pollution crises requires curbing all motorized transport as quickly as possible
By CHRISTIAN BRAND
APRIL 10, 2021 11:29AM
(Salon) Globally, only one in 50 new cars were fully electric in 2020, and one in 14 in the UK. Sounds impressive, but even if all new cars were electric now, it would still take 15-20 years to replace the world's fossil fuel car fleet.
The emission savings from replacing all those internal combustion engines with zero-carbon alternatives will not feed in fast enough to make the necessary difference in the time we can spare: the next five years. Tackling the climate and air pollution crises requires curbing all motorized transport, particularly private cars, as quickly as possible. Focusing solely on electric vehicles is slowing down the race to zero emissions.
This is partly because electric cars aren't truly zero-carbon – mining the raw materials for their batteries, manufacturing them and generating the electricity they run on produces emissions.
....(snip)....
What a difference a trip makes
We observed around 4,000 people living in London, Antwerp, Barcelona, Vienna, Orebro, Rome and Zurich. Over a two-year period, our participants completed 10,000 travel diary entries which served as records of all the trips they made each day, whether going to work by train, taking the kids to school by car or riding the bus into town. For each trip, we calculated the carbon footprint.
Strikingly, people who cycled on a daily basis had 84% lower carbon emissions from all their daily travel than those who didn't. ...........(more)
https://www.salon.com/2021/04/10/cycling-is-ten-times-more-important-than-electric-cars-for-reaching-net-zero-cities_partner/
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