All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

Beirut explosion: Lebanon security forces fire tear gas at protesters as anger mounts over blast | World news | The Guardian

State media says several people were injured in protests as country’s ambassador to Jordan resigns over ‘state negligence’
— Read on www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/07/beirut-explosion-lebanon-security-forces-fire-tear-gas-at-protesters-as-anger-mounts-over-blast

No no no no gas, batons or water canons!

Michigan Road Commissioner Uses Racist Slur, Blames Black People for Pandemic

At a public meeting in Leelanau County, Michigan on Tuesday, a road commissioner casually used the n-word while making excuses for not wearing a mask. Is it a stretch to use racism to excuse unnecessarily putting other people’s health at risk during a pandemic? Perhaps. But a racist will always find a way.

— Read on theslot.jezebel.com/michigan-road-commissioner-uses-racist-slur-blames-bla-1844642810

Canada will not offer direct aid to Lebanese government, funds will go to ‘trusted’ partners | CBC News

International Development Minister Karina Gould says Canadian aid to respond to the devastating explosion in Beirut will be funnelled to “trusted” humanitarian organizations and not be directed to the Lebanese government. The federal government announced Wednesday that it was contributing up to $5 million in humanitarian aid to Lebanon, including $1.5 million that will be directed to the Lebanese Red Cross to provide emergency medical services, shelter and food for those affected by Tuesday’s massive explosion.

Source: Canada will not offer direct aid to Lebanese government, funds will go to ‘trusted’ partners | CBC News

Trump Admin Starts Construction on Chinese-Style Great Firewall – (Tik Tok ban a ploy to justify an American “Chinese”-style firewall – of course nothing being said about banning RussIan apps and bots. #TraitorTrump)

Trump regime has concocted a bonkers plan to build a digital wall around the U.S. internet. This plan has it all: dictatorship, nationalism, paranoia, walls, bans, trade war, and extra-legal blustering that could pressure companies to do what he wants to get him off their backs.

Source: Trump Admin Starts Construction on Chinese-Style Great Firewall

Support for Shinzo Abe hits new lows as coronavirus infections spread, East Asia News & Top Stories – The Straits Times

Tokyo is also seeing a sharp rise, prompting Governor Yuriko Koike to yesterday urge the capital’s residents to abstain from travelling during the summer holidays, as have her counterparts elsewhere in Japan, as daily records for new infections are routinely being shattered.

In contrast, the national government is seen as being dawdling and bungling amid Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s reluctance to convene Diet sessions and even hold news conferences.

Mr Abe, who met reporters briefly in Hiroshima yesterday after a ceremony to mark the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing, insisted the country was not at a stage to need another state of emergency.

It was his first news conference since June 18, and it ended abruptly as he ignored questions from reporters calling for greater accountability.

 

Source: Support for Shinzo Abe hits new lows as coronavirus infections spread, East Asia News & Top Stories – The Straits Times

A Promising Life Is Cut Short, Becoming a Symbol of Lebanon’s Heartache – The New York Times

Each death is a unique, unfathomable tragedy, but the story of Ms. Fares, the young bride-to-be, has rippled across social media, capturing the attention and heartache of many Lebanese. The determined daughter of a family of modest means, she had managed to break into the nearly all-male world of the Beirut Fire Brigade, devoting herself to public service and making plans to build a family of her own.