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marmar's Journal
marmar's Journal
September 20, 2021
With the 9/11 anniversary behind us, can America wake up from its 20-year nightmare?
After 20 dreadful years of war, the American people are ready for a new path. We must force our leaders to take it
By MEDEA BENJAMIN - NICOLAS J.S. DAVIES
PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 5:50AM
(Salon) Looking back on it now, the 1990s was an age of innocence for America. The Cold War was over and our leaders promised us a "peace dividend." There was no TSA to make us take off our shoes at airports. (How many bombs have they found in those billions of shoes?) The government could not legally tap a U.S. phone or read private emails without a warrant from a judge. And the national debt was only $5 trillion — compared with more than $28 trillion today.
We have been told that the criminal attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 — whose terrible anniversary was observed last week — "changed everything." But what really changed everything was the U.S. government's disastrous response to them.
That response was not preordained or inevitable, but the result of decisions and choices made by politicians, bureaucrats and generals who fueled and exploited our fears, unleashed wars of reprehensible vengeance and built a secretive security state, all thinly disguised behind Orwellian myths of American greatness.
Most Americans believe in democracy and many regard the United States as a democratic country. But the U.S. response to 9/11 laid bare the extent to which American leaders are willing to manipulate the public into accepting illegal wars, torture, the Guantánamo gulag and sweeping civil rights abuses — all of which have undermined the very meaning of democracy. ..................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2021/09/20/with-the-911-anniversary-behind-us-can-america-wake-up-from-its-20-year-nightmare/
With the 9/11 anniversary behind us, can America wake up from its 20-year nightmare?
With the 9/11 anniversary behind us, can America wake up from its 20-year nightmare?
After 20 dreadful years of war, the American people are ready for a new path. We must force our leaders to take it
By MEDEA BENJAMIN - NICOLAS J.S. DAVIES
PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 5:50AM
(Salon) Looking back on it now, the 1990s was an age of innocence for America. The Cold War was over and our leaders promised us a "peace dividend." There was no TSA to make us take off our shoes at airports. (How many bombs have they found in those billions of shoes?) The government could not legally tap a U.S. phone or read private emails without a warrant from a judge. And the national debt was only $5 trillion — compared with more than $28 trillion today.
We have been told that the criminal attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 — whose terrible anniversary was observed last week — "changed everything." But what really changed everything was the U.S. government's disastrous response to them.
That response was not preordained or inevitable, but the result of decisions and choices made by politicians, bureaucrats and generals who fueled and exploited our fears, unleashed wars of reprehensible vengeance and built a secretive security state, all thinly disguised behind Orwellian myths of American greatness.
Most Americans believe in democracy and many regard the United States as a democratic country. But the U.S. response to 9/11 laid bare the extent to which American leaders are willing to manipulate the public into accepting illegal wars, torture, the Guantánamo gulag and sweeping civil rights abuses — all of which have undermined the very meaning of democracy. ..................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2021/09/20/with-the-911-anniversary-behind-us-can-america-wake-up-from-its-20-year-nightmare/
September 19, 2021
‘They screwed up our lake’: tar sands pipeline is sucking water from Minnesota watersheds
The Anishinaabe people are rallying to save their lakes and their traditional wild rice harvests
Will Parrish
@willparrishca
Sun 19 Sep 2021 04.00 EDT
(Guardian UK) Along the eastern boundary of the White Earth Indian Reservation in north-western Minnesota, Indigenous Anishinaabe wild rice harvesters Jerry and Jim Libby set down a row of wooden pallets into the mud just beyond the dock of Upper Wild Rice Lake. It was a clear day, and tight, lush clumps of green rice heads were visible across the lake’s horizon.
In a typical year, the entrance to this – one of a long necklace of wild rice lakes in northern Minnesota to which the region’s Indigenous people flock every year in the late summer – would be covered in at least two feet of water. But now it is composed of suspended sediment as solid as chocolate pudding, through which the Libbys need to create a makeshift ramp simply to carry their canoe out to the waterline.
Minnesota is weathering an historic drought, but there is another problem beyond the weather: Enbridge’s Line 3 tar sands pipeline has taken a substantial toll on watersheds in the region, including through a permit to pump five billion gallons of water for construction. In the case of Upper Wild Rice Lake, a road construction contractor named Knife River Construction stuck a pump directly in the lake this past June, sucking out an unknown quantity of water, which locals suspect was related to the use of heavy trucks for the pipeline.
“As far as I’m concerned, Enbridge screwed up our lake, and they’re taking money directly away from our families,” Jerry Libby says. “It makes us feel anguished – this is our staple food, you know.”
The Indigenous-led struggle against Line 3, which seeks to move 930,000 barrels of tar sands bitumen daily from Alberta to a shipping and refinery hub in Superior, Wisconsin, has been the biggest environmental and Indigenous land protection campaign in the US this summer. More than 900 people have been arrested opposing the pipeline, including nearly 70 who were kettled in late August during protests outside Minnesota governor Tim Walz’s residence in Minneapolis. .............(more)
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/19/tar-sands-pipeline-minnesota-lakes
'They screwed up our lake': tar sands pipeline is sucking water from Minnesota watersheds
‘They screwed up our lake’: tar sands pipeline is sucking water from Minnesota watersheds
The Anishinaabe people are rallying to save their lakes and their traditional wild rice harvests
Will Parrish
@willparrishca
Sun 19 Sep 2021 04.00 EDT
(Guardian UK) Along the eastern boundary of the White Earth Indian Reservation in north-western Minnesota, Indigenous Anishinaabe wild rice harvesters Jerry and Jim Libby set down a row of wooden pallets into the mud just beyond the dock of Upper Wild Rice Lake. It was a clear day, and tight, lush clumps of green rice heads were visible across the lake’s horizon.
In a typical year, the entrance to this – one of a long necklace of wild rice lakes in northern Minnesota to which the region’s Indigenous people flock every year in the late summer – would be covered in at least two feet of water. But now it is composed of suspended sediment as solid as chocolate pudding, through which the Libbys need to create a makeshift ramp simply to carry their canoe out to the waterline.
Minnesota is weathering an historic drought, but there is another problem beyond the weather: Enbridge’s Line 3 tar sands pipeline has taken a substantial toll on watersheds in the region, including through a permit to pump five billion gallons of water for construction. In the case of Upper Wild Rice Lake, a road construction contractor named Knife River Construction stuck a pump directly in the lake this past June, sucking out an unknown quantity of water, which locals suspect was related to the use of heavy trucks for the pipeline.
“As far as I’m concerned, Enbridge screwed up our lake, and they’re taking money directly away from our families,” Jerry Libby says. “It makes us feel anguished – this is our staple food, you know.”
The Indigenous-led struggle against Line 3, which seeks to move 930,000 barrels of tar sands bitumen daily from Alberta to a shipping and refinery hub in Superior, Wisconsin, has been the biggest environmental and Indigenous land protection campaign in the US this summer. More than 900 people have been arrested opposing the pipeline, including nearly 70 who were kettled in late August during protests outside Minnesota governor Tim Walz’s residence in Minneapolis. .............(more)
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/19/tar-sands-pipeline-minnesota-lakes
September 18, 2021
Why has Republican rhetoric gotten so unhinged? It's pure projection
South Carolina's governor recently vowed to fight Biden to "the gates of hell." Where is this even coming from?
By KIRK SWEARINGEN
PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 18, 2021 8:00AM
(Salon) Some Republicans have dialed up the hyperbole to express their indignation about President Biden's vaccine mandates. Here are two tweets from South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster:
Hearing Republican politicians speak about the American dream while voting against a livable minimum wage and undermining unions and consumer protection, is always, well, a little rich.
In this little tirade, McMaster was merely piling on while reacting to the supposed tyranny of Biden's recently announced mandates for vaccinations or testing in the workplace and in school.
....(snip)....
For decades the Republican game has been to claim that liberals and progressives are out to ruin the country with their unholy desire to see a bit more sharing of wealth and resources. But the rhetoric they're employing lately seems truly biblical, end-times unhinged, of the "If you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore" variety. And it all seems to be a psychological projection of their own desire to bring the American experiment as a democratic republic to an end. .............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2021/09/18/why-has-rhetoric-gotten-so-unhinged-its-pure-projection/
Why has Republican rhetoric gotten so unhinged? It's pure projection
Why has Republican rhetoric gotten so unhinged? It's pure projection
South Carolina's governor recently vowed to fight Biden to "the gates of hell." Where is this even coming from?
By KIRK SWEARINGEN
PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 18, 2021 8:00AM
(Salon) Some Republicans have dialed up the hyperbole to express their indignation about President Biden's vaccine mandates. Here are two tweets from South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster:
The American Dream has turned into a nightmare under President Biden and the radical Democrats. They have declared war against capitalism, thumbed their noses at the Constitution, and empowered our enemies abroad.
Rest assured, we will fight them to the gates of hell to protect the liberty and livelihood of every South Carolinian."
Hearing Republican politicians speak about the American dream while voting against a livable minimum wage and undermining unions and consumer protection, is always, well, a little rich.
In this little tirade, McMaster was merely piling on while reacting to the supposed tyranny of Biden's recently announced mandates for vaccinations or testing in the workplace and in school.
....(snip)....
For decades the Republican game has been to claim that liberals and progressives are out to ruin the country with their unholy desire to see a bit more sharing of wealth and resources. But the rhetoric they're employing lately seems truly biblical, end-times unhinged, of the "If you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore" variety. And it all seems to be a psychological projection of their own desire to bring the American experiment as a democratic republic to an end. .............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2021/09/18/why-has-rhetoric-gotten-so-unhinged-its-pure-projection/
September 17, 2021
Mike Lindell wants his ads back on Fox News — but it appears the cable behemoth isn't ready to take him back quite yet.
The MyPillow CEO angrily pulled his company's advertisements from Fox in July after it ignored the leadup to his South Dakota "cyber symposium" and declined to run an ad for the gathering. But after nearly two months away, the bedding magnate appears to finally be ready to make up with the conservative network.
In a broadcast on his website Thursday, Lindell laid out the situation, saying he's tried unsuccessfully several times to air increasingly watered-down versions of advertisements for both MyPillow and FrankSpeech.com, his "social media" platform that has been plagued by false information about the 2020 election and COVID-19, among other things. ..........(more)
https://www.salon.com/2021/09/16/mike-lindell-is-begging-fox-to-start-airing-his-ads-again--but-the-network-refuses/
Mike Lindell is begging Fox News to start airing his ads again -- but the network refuses
Mike Lindell wants his ads back on Fox News — but it appears the cable behemoth isn't ready to take him back quite yet.
The MyPillow CEO angrily pulled his company's advertisements from Fox in July after it ignored the leadup to his South Dakota "cyber symposium" and declined to run an ad for the gathering. But after nearly two months away, the bedding magnate appears to finally be ready to make up with the conservative network.
In a broadcast on his website Thursday, Lindell laid out the situation, saying he's tried unsuccessfully several times to air increasingly watered-down versions of advertisements for both MyPillow and FrankSpeech.com, his "social media" platform that has been plagued by false information about the 2020 election and COVID-19, among other things. ..........(more)
https://www.salon.com/2021/09/16/mike-lindell-is-begging-fox-to-start-airing-his-ads-again--but-the-network-refuses/
September 17, 2021
The ever-increasing popularity of Disney’s theme parks, fuelled by new attractions like Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, has resulted in most visits requiring hours and hours of standing in line for rides. But a Florida man found a clever solution to the problem by using an official Disney World app that allows VIPs to skip the lines, running on what police say turned out to be a stolen iPad.
For guests who didn’t want to spend most of their vacations standing in a long queue, Disney introduced a service in 1999 called FastPass that allowed guests to secure a spot on a ride at a later time, and spend their time waiting in other parts of a park enjoying other attractions. It was eventually joined by other virtual queue services called FastPass+ and MaxPass, which let guests book spots on rides weeks in advance or pay an optional daily or annual fee to avoid the parks’ long lines.
Last month, however, Disney announced that FastPass, FastPass+, and MaxPass were being replaced with a new service called Disney Genie+ that will charge guests “$15 per ticket per day at Disney World and $20 per ticket per day at Disneyland” to skip the long lines and board a ride at a specific scheduled time using the parks’ new Lightning Lane option. Understandably, given how expensive access to the parks already is, many Disney fans were upset at having to shell out even more money to avoid standing in line for what is often hours at a time. ................(more)
https://gizmodo.com/florida-man-used-a-stolen-disney-ipad-with-vip-app-to-l-1847679179
Florida Man Used a Stolen Disney iPad With VIP App to Let Tour Group Skip the Long Lines, Police Say
The ever-increasing popularity of Disney’s theme parks, fuelled by new attractions like Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, has resulted in most visits requiring hours and hours of standing in line for rides. But a Florida man found a clever solution to the problem by using an official Disney World app that allows VIPs to skip the lines, running on what police say turned out to be a stolen iPad.
For guests who didn’t want to spend most of their vacations standing in a long queue, Disney introduced a service in 1999 called FastPass that allowed guests to secure a spot on a ride at a later time, and spend their time waiting in other parts of a park enjoying other attractions. It was eventually joined by other virtual queue services called FastPass+ and MaxPass, which let guests book spots on rides weeks in advance or pay an optional daily or annual fee to avoid the parks’ long lines.
Last month, however, Disney announced that FastPass, FastPass+, and MaxPass were being replaced with a new service called Disney Genie+ that will charge guests “$15 per ticket per day at Disney World and $20 per ticket per day at Disneyland” to skip the long lines and board a ride at a specific scheduled time using the parks’ new Lightning Lane option. Understandably, given how expensive access to the parks already is, many Disney fans were upset at having to shell out even more money to avoid standing in line for what is often hours at a time. ................(more)
https://gizmodo.com/florida-man-used-a-stolen-disney-ipad-with-vip-app-to-l-1847679179
September 17, 2021
A Yellowstone National Park tourist has captured footage showing a couple bathing two dogs in thermal water, potentially endangering themselves and their pets.
“I am sad to say this happened today at Firehole Lake Drive,” Karissa Krull wrote Tuesday on a Yellowstone-themed Facebook page. “They were washing their dogs in the thermal water!”
A video clip shows the woman carrying a dog to a stream, where the man is soaking his feet with another dog in the water as steam wafts in the breeze. .
....(snip)....
Tourists cannot legally exit boardwalks in thermal areas. Pets are not allowed on boardwalks, hiking trails, or in thermal areas. In thermal areas, what appears to be solid ground could crumble into scalding water under the weight of people – hence, the need for boardwalks. .........(more)
https://ftw.usatoday.com/2021/09/yellowstone-tourists-wash-dogs-in-thermal-area-illegally-of-course
Yellowstone tourists wash dogs in thermal area, illegally of course
A Yellowstone National Park tourist has captured footage showing a couple bathing two dogs in thermal water, potentially endangering themselves and their pets.
“I am sad to say this happened today at Firehole Lake Drive,” Karissa Krull wrote Tuesday on a Yellowstone-themed Facebook page. “They were washing their dogs in the thermal water!”
A video clip shows the woman carrying a dog to a stream, where the man is soaking his feet with another dog in the water as steam wafts in the breeze. .
....(snip)....
Tourists cannot legally exit boardwalks in thermal areas. Pets are not allowed on boardwalks, hiking trails, or in thermal areas. In thermal areas, what appears to be solid ground could crumble into scalding water under the weight of people – hence, the need for boardwalks. .........(more)
https://ftw.usatoday.com/2021/09/yellowstone-tourists-wash-dogs-in-thermal-area-illegally-of-course
September 17, 2021
(Detroit News) The county Prosecutor's Office has charged a passenger in connection with allegedly assaulting a woman and calling her a “Muslim terrorist” on a Spirit Airlines flight at Detroit Metro Airport on the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
Alexandra Lynn Farr, 39, of Roseville was expected to be arraigned Friday through 34th District Court in Romulus on ethnic intimidation, a two-year high misdemeanor; disorderly person; and assault and battery, both 93-day misdemeanors, the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office said Thursday.
The incident involved Spirit Airlines Flight 3807, which landed at the airport in Romulus around 6:25 p.m. Saturday from Atlanta.
Wayne County Airport Authority Police were alerted about an unruly passenger.
Aicha Toure, a 29-year-old Muslim woman arriving to visit family in Flint, told The Detroit News that Farr cursed at another passenger whose carry-on bag handle grazed her leg. .........(more)
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/wayne-county/2021/09/16/passenger-charged-spirit-airlines-incident-dtw-9-11-anniversary/8372003002/
Passenger charged in Spirit Airlines incident at DTW on 9/11 anniversary
(Detroit News) The county Prosecutor's Office has charged a passenger in connection with allegedly assaulting a woman and calling her a “Muslim terrorist” on a Spirit Airlines flight at Detroit Metro Airport on the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
Alexandra Lynn Farr, 39, of Roseville was expected to be arraigned Friday through 34th District Court in Romulus on ethnic intimidation, a two-year high misdemeanor; disorderly person; and assault and battery, both 93-day misdemeanors, the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office said Thursday.
The incident involved Spirit Airlines Flight 3807, which landed at the airport in Romulus around 6:25 p.m. Saturday from Atlanta.
Wayne County Airport Authority Police were alerted about an unruly passenger.
Aicha Toure, a 29-year-old Muslim woman arriving to visit family in Flint, told The Detroit News that Farr cursed at another passenger whose carry-on bag handle grazed her leg. .........(more)
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/wayne-county/2021/09/16/passenger-charged-spirit-airlines-incident-dtw-9-11-anniversary/8372003002/
September 17, 2021
Florida man who traveled country in van with fiancee now 'person of interest' in her disappearance
NORTH PORT, Fla. – A Florida man who was traveling the country with his 22-year-old fiancée is now considered a person of interest in an ongoing investigation involving her disappearance.
The North Port Police Department said Wednesday that Brian Laundrie, 23, is a person of interest in the disappearance of Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito who was believed to be in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park when she stopped communicating with her family.
Her family told police the couple set off on a cross-country van trip in July.
According to a Facebook page dedicated to the search, the couple traveled through Colorado and Utah, visiting Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, and Arches national parks before visiting Moab, Utah, WFLA reported. ............(more)
https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2021/09/15/florida-man-who-traveled-country-in-van-with-fiancee-now-person-of-interest-in-her-disappearance/
September 15, 2021
(Guardian UK) Even the staunchest defenders of traditional whaling in the Faroe Islands have condemned the “cruel and unnecessary” massacre on Sunday of a superpod of nearly 1,500 dolphins, which were driven into shallow waters of the Skálabotnur beach on the island of Eysturoy and left writhing for hours before being killed.
The Sea Shepherd group, which has been campaigning to stop the traditional Faroese “Grind” hunt since the 1980s, has claimed Sunday’s hunt was “the largest single killing of dolphins or pilot whales in the islands’ history”, with more animals perishing than in an entire season at the infamous “Cove” at Taiji, Japan.
This time though, the scale of the killing was such that even many Faroese, who frequently view the hunt as part of their cultural heritage, expressed disgust.
“I get nauseous seeing this kind of thing,” said one commentator on the Facebook page of the local broadcaster Kringvarp Føroya, with another describing the massacre as “full-on terrible”, saying: “I’m embarrassed to be Faroese.” ...........(more)
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/14/outcry-over-killing-of-almost-1500-dolphins-on-faroe-islands
Outcry over killing of almost 1,500 dolphins on Faroe Islands
(Guardian UK) Even the staunchest defenders of traditional whaling in the Faroe Islands have condemned the “cruel and unnecessary” massacre on Sunday of a superpod of nearly 1,500 dolphins, which were driven into shallow waters of the Skálabotnur beach on the island of Eysturoy and left writhing for hours before being killed.
The Sea Shepherd group, which has been campaigning to stop the traditional Faroese “Grind” hunt since the 1980s, has claimed Sunday’s hunt was “the largest single killing of dolphins or pilot whales in the islands’ history”, with more animals perishing than in an entire season at the infamous “Cove” at Taiji, Japan.
This time though, the scale of the killing was such that even many Faroese, who frequently view the hunt as part of their cultural heritage, expressed disgust.
“I get nauseous seeing this kind of thing,” said one commentator on the Facebook page of the local broadcaster Kringvarp Føroya, with another describing the massacre as “full-on terrible”, saying: “I’m embarrassed to be Faroese.” ...........(more)
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/14/outcry-over-killing-of-almost-1500-dolphins-on-faroe-islands
September 14, 2021
ATLANTA -- Public transit projects for the first time would receive federal funding based on their connectivity to affordable housing under legislation proposed Friday by several members of Georgia’s congressional delegation.
The Public Transportation Expansion Act is sponsored in the Senate by Georgia Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. Sponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives include Democratic Reps. Nikema Williams of Atlanta, Carolyn Bourdeax of Suwanee and Hank Johnson of Stone Mountain.
The bill would establish a federal grant program to fund public transportation expansion to serve low-income communities and connect affordable housing with transit networks.
It also, for the first time in decades, would let large transit systems use federal funds for operating expenses. ...............(more)
https://www.albanyherald.com/news/democrats-push-bill-linking-public-transit-to-affordable-housing/article_a14e9fd2-1400-11ec-bcd5-1bcdfc3198bd.html
Democrats push bill linking public transit to affordable housing
ATLANTA -- Public transit projects for the first time would receive federal funding based on their connectivity to affordable housing under legislation proposed Friday by several members of Georgia’s congressional delegation.
The Public Transportation Expansion Act is sponsored in the Senate by Georgia Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. Sponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives include Democratic Reps. Nikema Williams of Atlanta, Carolyn Bourdeax of Suwanee and Hank Johnson of Stone Mountain.
The bill would establish a federal grant program to fund public transportation expansion to serve low-income communities and connect affordable housing with transit networks.
It also, for the first time in decades, would let large transit systems use federal funds for operating expenses. ...............(more)
https://www.albanyherald.com/news/democrats-push-bill-linking-public-transit-to-affordable-housing/article_a14e9fd2-1400-11ec-bcd5-1bcdfc3198bd.html
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