April 9, 2021

Union to file charges against Amazon over 'blatantly illegal conduct' in Bessemer election

Source: Raw Story/Common Dreams

Jake Johnson, Common Dreams
April 09, 2021

As Amazon on Friday received the votes needed to defeat a unionization effort at its Bessemer, Alabama warehouse, the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union announced that it intends to formally object to the election results and file unfair labor practice charges against the tech behemoth for "unlawfully interfering" with employees' right to organize.

"We won't let Amazon's lies, deception, and illegal activities go unchallenged, which is why we are formally filing charges against all of the egregious and blatantly illegal actions taken by Amazon during the union vote," said Stuart Appelbaum, president of RWDSU, the union that attempted to organize the roughly 6,000 Bessemer warehouse workers.

"Amazon knew full well that unless they did everything they possibly could, even illegal activity, their workers would have continued supporting the union," Appelbaum said. "That's why they required all their employees to attend lecture after lecture, filled with mistruths and lies, where workers had to listen to the company demand they oppose the union. That's why they flooded the internet, the airwaves, and social media with ads spreading misinformation. That's why they brought in dozens of outsiders and union-busters to walk the floor of the warehouse."

"Amazon's conduct has been despicable," added Appelbaum. "We demand a comprehensive investigation over Amazon's behavior in corrupting this election."

Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/union-to-file-charges-against-amazon-over-blatantly-illegal-conduct-in-bessemer-election/

April 8, 2021

A 3,000-year-old 'lost golden city' has been unearthed in Egypt

By Sudarsan Raghavan
Washington Post

April 8, 2021 at 10:22 a.m. EDT

CAIRO — A 3,000-year-old “lost golden city” has been unearthed in the southern city of Luxor, a discovery that could be the most significant find in Egypt since the tomb of the boy king Tutankhamun, the archaeological mission said Thursday in a statement.

The lost city, known as Aten, is believed to have been founded by King Amenhotep III, the ninth king of ancient Egypt’s 18th dynasty who ruled the country from 1391 to 1352 B.C., the mission’s statement said. It is believed to be the largest administrative and industrial settlement in that era, nestled on the western bank of Luxor.

“The discovery of this lost city is the second most important archaeological discovery since the tomb of Tutankhamun,” Betsy Bryan, an Egyptology professor at Johns Hopkins University and member of the mission, said in the statement.

Its discovery, she added, “will give us a rare glimpse into the life of the ancient Egyptians” at a time when the empire was at its wealthiest.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/luxor-lost-city-tutankhamun-archaeology/2021/04/08/4d9577d0-9863-11eb-8f0a-3384cf4fb399_story.html

April 2, 2021

All adults in Montgomery County MD can now pre-register for Covid-19 vaccination

E-mail announcement this morning by County Executive Marc Elrich


Montgomery County has opened preregistration at County-operated COVID-19 vaccine centers to all County residents 16-and-over.

To register for a County-operated center, go to https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/covid19/vaccine/

As more vaccines come into Maryland, residents also can continue to preregister for State mass vaccination clinics online or by calling 1-855-MDGOVAX (1-855-634-6829). Residents are encouraged to preregister with the State and with the County—and advised to take the first vaccination appointment they are offered at any clinic.

A new vaccine center is now open on the campus of Montgomery College in Germantown. The County is operating the vaccine center through Wednesday, April 7. It is expected that the State will convert the site to a Maryland mass vaccination center beyond that date. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced last week that a State mass vaccination site will open at the Germantown campus starting next week. He did not establish a date that will happen. The site will be managed by the State and vaccinations will be available to all Marylanders.

Free Ride-On bus shuttle service is operating from the Shady Grove Metro station to the vaccination site at Montgomery College in Germantown. Buses will run every 15 minutes from 8:30 a.m. until 30 minutes after the last vaccination (approximately 5 p.m.). Pick up the shuttle on the east side of the Shady Grove Metro. Buses will be marked “Vaccination Shuttle.”

As of Thursday morning, approximately one-third of all County residents have received at least one vaccine. State statistic shows more than 340,700 County residents (32.5 percent) have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. There are more than 185,700 fully vaccinated County residents (17.7 percent).

March 23, 2021

There's one organization to blame for creating a nation of sociopaths

Amanda Marcotte
Salon, by way of Raw Story

Right on the heels of last week's horrific shooting spree by a 21-year-old at three Atlanta-area Asian day spas that left eight dead comes another mass murder, this time with a death toll of 10 at a Boulder, Colorado grocery store. The suspect, 21-year-old Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa was reportedly armed with an AR-15. While everyone waits for an apparent motive (officials said an investigation would not take fewer than five days to complete) one thing is absolutely certain: Little will be done to address the primary cause of mass shootings. The ease with which any random man with an inchoate grievance can pick up a gun and rapidly snuff out the lives of strangers to make himself feel powerful will remain unchecked.

That's not because Americans oppose stricter gun control laws. In fact, around 90% of Americans polled consistently support background checks for all gun sales. But when House Democrats introduced a bill earlier this month making background checks universal, all but eight Republicans voted against it. And forget about even turning this bill into law. The filibuster's continued existence makes it impossible to get it past Republican obstruction in the Senate.

The grim reality is that the entire nation is in the thrall to a minority of extremely insecure mostly white men who, drunk on decades of NRA-fueled propaganda, have decided that having the ability to commit mass murder at a moment's notice is a crucial component of maintaining their manhood against the ever-encroaching threats from de-gendered Potato Heads and lady video game players. Most of these men claim exoneration because they don't personally grab one of their many overpriced killing machines to lay waste to a grocery store or high school. Grotesquely, some even use these mass shootings to indulge in public fantasies about how they would totally stop an active shooter, though somehow they never seem to actually get around to doing it. But ultimately, they've become complacent in the face of mass murder from decades of being told by right-wing media that there's a binary choice between preventing murder and watching Michelle Obama personally run off with their testicles in her handbag. Worse, the right has cultivated an overall suspicion of the very concept of concern for the lives of others at all.

https://www.rawstory.com/national-rifle-association-nra/

March 23, 2021

Where did I put my socks?

I swear, I just had them

March 23, 2021

We need a national Cease-Fire Day one day each week

With seven mass shootings in seven days, maybe it's time to establish a weekly day of rest for our overworked law enforcement and medical personnel. Not to mention the trigger-happy murderous monsters and their pushers, aka gun merchants.

Is it too much for America to enjoy even one day of respite per week? That's 52 cease-fires a year. Surely patriotic mass murderer wanna-be types could be convinced to hold their fire for 24 hours, right? (yeah, right)

Of course it would be harder to convince the gun peddlers and their enablers in Congress and in state legislatures, and the gun lobby, who seem to feel that waiting even a few minutes for a background check would impose hardship on those anxious to get out and start murdering.

I'm not joking. I'm not trying to make light of the latest horrors in Colorado and Florida. We have a mass murder epidemic in our nation. The fear and anxiety and the grief are exhausting us.

Come on, Congress, give us a weekly cease-fire break. It probably won't stop the crazies with their AK-15s, but maybe, just maybe, it would plant a tiny seed in people's minds that this situation is too much to bear.

Didn't God rest on the seventh day too?

March 23, 2021

A Police Officer Has Died After A Shooting At A Supermarket In Boulder, Colorado

Source: Buzzfeed News

BOULDER, Colorado -- Police are responding to an active shooter at a King Soopers grocery store Monday afternoon, warning residents to stay away from the area as heavily armed officers surrounded the store.

A Boulder police officer was killed in the shooting, two officers told BuzzFeed News. As of Monday evening, authorities had not officially released any information on any deaths or injuries.

Read more: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/salvadorhernandez/boulder-king-soopers-shooting?ref=bfnsplash

---

Huffington Post reports at least 6 people dead

At least six people died Monday in a mass shooting at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado, according to multiple reports.

Police took at least one person into custody after responding to reports of a shooting inside the King Soopers store. Reports by KMGH-TV, WGCL-TV and The Wall Street Journal say that one of the victims was a police officer.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/police-boulder-colorado-active-shooter-supermarket_n_60590410c5b6bd95117f2f90

CNN reporting:

One senior law enforcement source also says the weapon used in the shooting was an AR-15 style rifle.

https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/colorado-king-soopers-shooting/index.html

March 23, 2021

A Police Officer Has Died After A Shooting At A Supermarket In Boulder, Colorado

BOULDER, Colorado — Police are responding to an active shooter at a King Soopers grocery store Monday afternoon, warning residents to stay away from the area as heavily armed officers surrounded the store.

A Boulder police officer was killed in the shooting, two officers told BuzzFeed News. As of Monday evening, authorities had not officially released any information on any deaths or injuries.


https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/salvadorhernandez/boulder-king-soopers-shooting?ref=bfnsplash

Huffpost reporting at least 6 dead:

At Least 6 Reported Dead In Mass Shooting At Colorado Supermarket

By Sanjana Karanth, Carla Herreria Russo, and Sarah Ruiz-Grossman

At least six people died Monday in a mass shooting at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado, according to multiple reports.

Police took at least one person into custody after responding to reports of a shooting inside the King Soopers store. Reports by KMGH-TV, WGCL-TV and The Wall Street Journal say that one of the victims was a police officer.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/police-boulder-colorado-active-shooter-supermarket_n_60590410c5b6bd95117f2f90

March 17, 2021

Is there some kind of Mercury retrograde thing going on today?

It's been a terrible day.

I don't dare to do anything else, for fear of yet another major problem.

March 11, 2021

Since when do mosquitoes bite in early March?

I slapped one when it landed on my hand this afternoon.

This is in Maryland, maybe 16 miles northwest of DC.
It's March 10. We could still see some snow in the next 3 weeks.

The world is going nuts.