All posts by nedhamson

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

“F-35s Don’t Help Families Pay Their Bills”: GOP Under Fire for Slipping $30 Billion Pentagon Gift Into Coronavirus Plan | Common Dreams News

a look at the legislative text (pdf) released by Senate Republicans shows the HEALS Act is replete with massive gifts to the Pentagon and defense contractors that would do nothing to aid the unemployed, provide nutrition assistance to hungry children, prevent an avalanche of evictions, or stop the spread of coronavirus.

“Last time I checked F-35s don’t help families pay their bills,” Rep. Chuy García (D-Ill.) tweeted in response to the GOP’s proposal of $686 million in spending on new fighter jets.

The legislation also includes hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for surveillance planes, Apache helicopters, and armored vehicles.

 

Source: “F-35s Don’t Help Families Pay Their Bills”: GOP Under Fire for Slipping $30 Billion Pentagon Gift Into Coronavirus Plan | Common Dreams News

Hong Kong warns city on verge of large coronavirus outbreak, East Asia News & Top Stories – The Straits Times

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has warned the city is on the brink of a large-scale outbreak of the coronavirus and urged people to stay indoors as much as possible as strict new measures to curb the disease’s spread take effect on Wednesday (July 29).

The new regulations ban gatherings of more than two people, close dining in restaurants and make the wearing of face masks mandatory in public places, including outdoors.

These are the toughest measures introduced in the city since the outbreak.

 

Source: Hong Kong warns city on verge of large coronavirus outbreak, East Asia News & Top Stories – The Straits Times

The money raised for Palestinian hospital : Banksy altered sea view triptych sells for £1.8 m at auction

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Banksy three paintings sold for £ 1.8m Tuesday evening at a charitable auction where Banksy donated the price of the three paintings to a Palestinian hospital in the city of Bethlehem that lives under the Israeli occupation.

A Banksy triptych, which aims to make a powerful political statement on the global migrant crisis, sold for £ 1.8m at a charitable auction in London.

The three paintings were offered by Banksy to raise money for Bethlehem Arab Rehabilitation Hospital “BASR“.

Entitled Mediterranean Sea View 2017, the three traditionally framed paintings appear to be Romantic-era seascapes but the lifebuoys and orange life jackets washed on to the shore tell a different story. Banksy made the additions to the three found paintings.

The paintings were originally created for Banksy’s Walled Off hotel in Bethlehem, which boasts “the worst view of any hotel in the world” – a reference to the barrier it looks out on to that separates Israel from the Palestinian territories.

The piece hung in the lobby of the hotel since 2017 but is now being sold to raise money for a new acute stroke unit and buying children’s rehabilitation equipment for the BASR hospital in Bethlehem.

The hotel, which overlooks the West Bank wall dividing Bethlehem, bills itself as having “the worst view of any hotel in the world” and is filled with original Banksy artwork.

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5 deadly countries for environmental defenders | Environment| All topics from climate change to conservation | DW | 28.07.2020

Environmental activists are being murdered in ever-increasing numbers. According to a new report by London-based NGO, Global Witness, 212 land and environmental defenders were killed in 2019 alone, a 30% rise from the 164 killed in 2018. Around 40% were indigenous people and traditional land owners.

More than two-thirds of killings took place in Latin America, with Colombia topping the list with 64 murders due to the failure to implement the 2016 peace agreement with FARC and protect farmers transitioning from coca to cocoa and coffee to reduce cocaine production.

The overall rise in murders is part of a broader trend. Astudy published in Nature in 2019 showed that in the 15 years between 2002 and 2017, more than 1,558 environment defenders were killed, doubling from two to four per week over that time.

 

Source: 5 deadly countries for environmental defenders | Environment| All topics from climate change to conservation | DW | 28.07.2020

Russia used English-language sites to spread Covid-19 disinformation, US officials say

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Intelligence services reportedly targeting American and western audiences to exploit crisis ahead of US presidential election

US officials say Russian intelligence services are using a trio of English-language websites to spread disinformation about the coronavirus pandemic, seeking to exploit a crisis that America is struggling to contain ahead of the presidential election in November.

Two Russians who have held senior roles in Moscow’s military intelligence service known as the GRU have been identified as responsible for a disinformation effort reaching American and western audiences, US government officials said on Tuesday. They spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Continue reading…

Minneapolis protests: ‘Umbrella Man’ who broke windows is white supremacist, police say

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Man sought to incite racial tension and sparked chaos at peaceful demonstrations, police say

Police say a man captured on surveillance video breaking windows at a south Minneapolis auto parts store in the days after George Floyd’s death is suspected of ties with a white supremacist group and sought to incite racial tension.

The man’s actions soon led to an arson fire, the first of several that transformed peaceful protests into chaos, police say. He has been dubbed “Umbrella Man” for dressing in an all-black outfit that included hood, gas mask and black umbrella.

Continue reading…

German officials ‘very concerned’ by rising Covid-19 cases | RNZ News

in recent days cases have jumped. New recorded infections increased by 633 on Tuesday, nearly double Monday’s rise of 340. Over the last week the country has reported an average of 557 new infections daily, compared with about 350 in early June.

Moreover, the rise is widespread, with counties across the country reporting new cases. An RKI official said that only a few weeks ago nearly 150 counties were reporting no new infections, compared with only 95 counties now.

 

Source: German officials ‘very concerned’ by rising Covid-19 cases | RNZ News