- Read more from the Guardian’s Cancer Town series
- Contempt – Variations of frequent loss & theft of property title by organized legal efforts against black owners]
- Turnstile teaching – At 26 Philly schools, teachers churn through jobs at an alarming rate, hindering some of the city’s most vulnerable children. [The problem is NOT students skin color, as our fake President reflexively thinks. The problem is the lax attitude and deficient funding by government. We must always do a better job to make a better future. Backsliding MUST NOT be allowed.]
Go deeper: Where abortion restrictions stand: The states that have passed laws
- David Miliband is president and CEO of International Rescue Committee
....Today in Geneva there is a vital opportunity for such a reset as the UN’s leadership meets to evaluate the response strategy. Turning the tide on the outbreak and preventing it from spreading to other conflict zones such as South Sudan requires five steps....
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"Can't Change a Corrupt System by Taking Its Money": Sanders Urges All 2020 Democrats to Reject Insurance, Big Pharma Cash [49:02 video w/ lousy sound] "If we are going to break the stranglehold of corporate interests over the healthcare needs of the American people," Sanders plans to say in Medicare for All speech, "we have got to confront a Washington culture that has let this go on for far too long." Arguing that fundamental changes to America's profit-driven and deadly healthcare system will be impossible to enact as long as political leaders continue to accept industry cash, Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday will deliver a Medicare for All speech calling on 2020 Democratic presidential candidates to join him in rejecting campaign donations from insurance and pharmaceutical lobbyists, executives, and PACs. "What the real debate is about is: do we have the courage to take on these incredibly powerful special interests, who make huge profits?" —Sen. Bernie Sanders "You can't change a corrupt system by taking its money," Sanders will say in the address, according to an excerpt released by his campaign. "If we are going to break the stranglehold of corporate interests over the healthcare needs of the American people, we have got to confront a Washington culture that has let this go on for far too long." In his speech, Sanders will introduce and take the "No Health Insurance and Pharma Money Pledge," which states: "I pledge to not take contributions from the health insurance or pharmaceutical industry and instead prioritize the health of the American people over health industry profits." "Taking the pledge means that a politician or candidate's campaign will adopt a policy to not knowingly accept any contributions over $200 from the PACs, lobbyists, or executives of health insurance or pharmaceutical companies," according to Sanders's website. "The pledge does not apply to rank-and-file workers employed by pharmaceutical giants and health insurance companies." Sanders's speech will be available beginning Wednesday, July 17th at 4pm ET: Sen. Bernie Sanders delivers a major address on Wednesday at George Washington University on Medicare for All. In the address, Sanders confronts the Democratic opponents of Medicare for All and directly challenges the insurance and drug industry, that relies on people being sick in order to profit. Sanders also outlines how Medicare for All is the only way to fix our broken health care system and calls on the Democratic party to unite around it in order to guarantee health care as a human right.... Jake Johnson, staff writer | Common Dreams
Inside Trump's DC hotel, where allies and lobbyists flock to peddle their interests [Also, too much ignored by media, the $millions "donated" corrupting moderate Democrats and Republicans every election cycle must stop] Fossil fuel interests, pro-gun groups, foreign delegations and all manner of allies visit the Trump International Hotel to cozy up to the administration, say watchdogs  The Trump International Hotel was briefly illuminated with projected messages on 15 May 2017. Photograph: Liz Gorman/AP Peter Stone | The Guardian
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Breaking up Homeland Security [0:49:53 audio (to play in the background while you work...)]  Illustration by Golden Cosmos; Source Photograph from Getty Shortly after her trip to the border, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joined David Remnick to talk about what she saw in the migrant-detention facilities she visited and why she thinks the Department of Homeland Security needs to be broken up. And Ocasio-Cortez weighs in on whether Joe Biden is qualified to be President, given his favorable comments about colleagues who supported forms of segregation. “Issues of race and gender are not extra-credit points,” she says. “They are a core part of the competencies that a President needs. . . . Where are you on understanding the people that live in this country?” Plus, the critic Amanda Petrusich talks with the singer Carly Rae Jepsen, who performs an acoustic version of her hit “I Really Like You.” With David Remnick | The New Yorker
This Republican's Case for Medicare for All [A well-informed Republican is rare, so let's hold him in the light so others may learn] It's time to accept that the free market doesn't work for health care. Patients can't do comparison shopping from the back of an ambulance.  Medical costs are the primary reason for bankruptcy in the United States. (Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto) David Steil | Common Dreams
California's housing crisis is due in large part to a lack of supply, particularly when it comes to affordable housing, and it is hitting low-income individuals the hardest. Affordable housing advocates warned that the corporate tax cuts passed by Republicans in 2017 could have disastrous effects on the development of more affordable housing. More than two years later, independent data show it has meant at least 15,000 delayed or killed affordable housing units in California alone. The low-income housing tax credit is the primary federal program for funding affordable housing projects. It promises a tax credit to private companies — usually banks — that fund housing accessible to low-income families. It’s a program that has received broad bipartisan support over the years. But when the Republican tax cuts lowered the corporate tax rate from 35 to 21 percent, it had the unintended effect [What was Kushner doing at the time?] of lowering the potential benefits of the tax credits. Scott Hoekman, president and CEO of Enterprise Housing Credit Investments, LLC, a company that manages funds for the tax credits nationwide, estimated that meant companies were willing to invest about 10 to 15 percent less than they had before the 2016 election, cutting off a major source of funding and derailing thousands of projects.... MICHELLE INEZ SIMON | SACRAMENTO BEE
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 In a new Sinclair segment, Boris Epshteyn, a former Trump adviser, tries to defend President Donald Trump's racist tweets targeting progressive lawmakers. (Photo: screenshot) Sinclair Broadcast Group, the nation's largest television station owner, is facing fresh scrutiny for its latest "must-run" segment, which features the right-wing broadcaster's chief political commentator Boris Epshteyn trying to defend President Donald Trump's recent racist attacks on a group of freshman Democratic congresswomen. On Sunday, Trump targeted four progressive women of color collectively known as "the Squad"—Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.)—tweeting that they should "go back" to the countries "from which they came." That led the hashtag #RacistPresident to trend on Twitter and provoked widespread criticism, including a House resolution condemning Trump's comments that passed mostly along party lines. Sinclair has often come under fire for forcing the local television news stations it owns nationwide to air "must-run" segments—including short clips of Epshteyn, a former Trump adviser, delivering right-wing commentaries.... Jessica Corbett, staff writer | Common Dreams
Trump rally crowd chants 'send her back' after president attacks Ilhan Omar [1:03 video shows Trump pandering to his ignorant idolaters, and together they're making America a greater shit-hole country] Chant follows Trump’s racist tweets targeting Omar and three other Democratic congresswomen of color Crowd chants ‘send her back’ as Trump attacks Ilhan Omar – video Tom McCarthy | The Guardian
Dozens Arrested as Over 1,000 Jewish Activists and Allies Shut Down Entrances to ICE Headquarters Demanding Closure of Trump Detention Camps [Obviously these are not the immoral and less educated right-wing jews who support Netanyahu, Trump and ICE, and who slowly exterminate Palestinians when no one is looking] "It's not just symbolic—we're actually shutting down ICE," said one organizer  Jewish activists and allies on Tuesday shut down the entrances to ICE headquarters in Washington, D.C. to protest the Trump administration's treatment of migrants. (Photo: Movimiento Cosecha/Twitter) Jake Johnson, staff writer | Common Dreams
‘No rioters, only a tyrannical regime’: Thousands of Hong Kong seniors march in support of young extradition law protesters [Most people around the world have more in common with these Hong Kong Chinese protestors than with the ignorant people at Trump rallies] Thousands of elderly Hongkongers marched on Wednesday in solidarity with young anti-extradition bill protesters.  Mr. Wong, a retired repairman, joined the march holding a sign that reads: ‘Young people have both intelligence and bravery, the silver-haired will walk with you.” Photo: Holmes Chan/HKFP. Holmes Chan | Hong Kong Free Press
“We call it the Trump effect. It’s a combination of anti-Chinese political rhetoric, a clampdown on visa processing, and of course tariffs,” Carrie Law, CEO and director of Juwai.com, said in a recent interview. “The Trump effect is undercutting some of the primary drivers of Chinese demand for U.S. property, including buying homes for students who are studying in the U.S. and the country’s reputation as a safe investment.” Diana Olick | CNBC
 Invisible hands – Credit: REUTERS/ANDREW BIRAJ Slavery has been illegal worldwide for just about four decades, since Mauritania finally abolished it in 1981. But slavery didn’t end there. According to the latest report by the Walk Free Initiative, presented today (July 17) at the UN Headquarters in New York, there were 40.3 million people living in conditions of slavery in 2018, most of them women. There isn’t an official legal definition of modern slavery, but the UN describes it as the condition of people whose work “is performed involuntarily and under the menace of any penalty.” Modern slaves can be coerced to work through explicit measures like violence, but also through subtler means like financial pressure, or by limiting someone’s movement by retaining their identification.... Annalisa Merelli | QUARTZ
Sixty-five jail construction projects, totaling $2.1 billion, were awarded funds since realignment. Only 11 have opened. Meanwhile, dangerous jails have become more deadly. Jason Pohl, The Sacramento Bee, and Ryan Gabrielson, ProPublica | ProPublica
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The four congresswomen who came under attack by Trump are popular – as are their policies. That’s why he is terrified of them Joshua Leifer | The Guardian
Lawmakers say they are building a record of White House resistance to testimony from Mueller witnesses — but angst on the left is growing. ANDREW DESIDERIO and KYLE CHENEY | Politico
Jon Queally, staff writer | Common Dreams
Eric Levitz | NY Mag. Intelligencer
We should all be grateful to the four women of color who are offering moral and political guidance to a nation goaded by its commander-in-chief
Moustafa Bayoumi | The Guardian
Four Democratic women targeted by Trump accuse him of following an ‘agenda of white nationalists’ at a press conference Lauren Gambino and Ed Pilkington | The Guardian
Describing 'Future We Want to Live In' Scores of Groups Unveil New Blueprint for Reproductive Rights "The last two years," says new agenda, "have seen increasingly hostile attacks on reproductive autonomy and rights" Andrea Germanos, staff writer | Common Dreams
Alex Lubbenño | VICE
...."I believe that what this president has done to our culture, to our civic discourse ... you cannot unring these bells and you cannot unsay what he has said, and you cannot change that he has now in a very short time made it seem normal for schoolboy taunts and obvious lies to be spun out in a constant stream. I think this will do more lasting damage than Richard Nixon's surreptitious burglaries did."... Chris Cillizza | CNN
As Trump Sows Discord, Chief of Staff Mulvaney Reportedly Focused on 'Building Empire for the Right Wing' [And the South shall rise again...] "Cabinet members are pressed weekly on what regulations they can strip from the books and have been told their performance will be judged on how many they remove." Jessica Corbett, staff writer | Common Dreams
Turnstile teaching [The problem is NOT students skin color, as our fake President reflexively thinks. The problem is the lax attitude and deficient funding by government. We must always do a better job to make a better future. Backsliding MUST NOT be allowed.] At 26 Philly schools, teachers churn through jobs at an alarming rate, hindering some of the city’s most vulnerable children. Jessica Calefati, Dylan Purcell and Kristen A. Graham | The Philadelphia Inquirer
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Trump Murdered the Iran Deal—And Europe Isn’t Too Happy About It [Only psychopathic Saudi Arabia and Russia are U.S. ’allies’ now...] The U.S. behavior regarding such international agreements, Macron said, was "insane." Vijay Prashad | Common Dreams
Jonah Shepp | NY Mag. Intelligencer
‘Go home’ he says to Democrat congresswomen. Meanwhile, on this side of the Atlantic, he tries to stoke fears about Muslims Zoe Williams | The Guardian
Australia now has the highest minimum wage in the world [From 1960 to 2018 – the U.S. has fallen from 1st place to below the tenth place and off the chart] Source: Flourish | The Big Picture
To survive the climate emergency, India needs the collective power of small-scale, nature-based efforts. Meera Subramanianño | The New York Times
Ambitious export plan could generate billions and make Australia the centre of low-cost energy in a future zero-carbon world Adam Morton | The Guardian
At least 24 Yellow Vests lost eyes in violent protests. Now they're more determined than ever [Protests of all kinds will continue until systemic inequality loses political dominance] Violent clashes across France Saskya Vandoorne | CNN
John Kasich | CNN
Trump’s Cruelty and Mexico’s Duty [Our president is immoral to his core and reacts to things like a child, not understanding that his actions are often crueler than they should be. And that cruelty will never completely be excused or forgotten—the people's hatred of Trump is growing, like the Texan's hatred when President General Santa Anna laid seige to the Alamo, which was Mexico's territory at the time...] There’s a right way and a wrong way to deal with the immigration crisis. Guess which the American president is choosing. Ricardo B. Salinas | The New York Times
Charlotte Graham-McLay | The New York Times
After a Police Shooting, Ethiopian Israelis Seek a ‘Black Lives Matter’ Reckoning [Since so-called modern humans evolved there have been 10,000 generations of people. It is extremely far-fetched to think anyone, now, is racially pure. SO ALL THIS HATE IS INCREDIBLY STUPID.] David M. Halbfinger and Isabel Kershner | The New York Times
Brazil’s President May Appoint Son, Friend to the Trumps, as Ambassador to U.S. [Friend of the Trumps, so we know they're all brain-dead except about near-term profits. They are clear-cutting the Amazon Rain Forest to feed-then-butcher millions of methane farting cows, over and over. Yep, that's there business plan. So therefore the rest of the world will hopefully plant billions of trees elsewhere to sequester CO2 to offset what the Bolsonaro family and investors are destroying. What's wrong with this picture?] Ernesto Londoño | The New York Times
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Keith Bradsherño | The New York Times
Contempt [Variations of frequent loss & theft of property title by organized legal efforts against black owners] Their family bought land one generation after slavery. The Reels brothers spent eight years in jail for refusing to leave it. ....Between 1910 and 1997, African Americans lost about 90% of their farmland. This problem is a major contributor to America’s racial wealth gap; the median wealth among black families is about a tenth that of white families. Now, as reparations have become a subject of national debate, the issue of black land loss is receiving renewed attention. A group of economists and statisticians recently calculated that, since 1910, black families have been stripped of hundreds of billions of dollars because of lost land. Nathan Rosenberg, a lawyer and a researcher in the group, told me, “If you want to understand wealth and inequality in this country, you have to understand black land loss.”... Lizzie Presser | ProPublica co-published with The New Yorker
Australia 'deeply concerned' about China's treatment of Uighur people [What are the reasons, exactly, that justify harsh imprisonment of a million people?] Foreign affairs minister says use of detention camps a concern, and China had blocked attempts to offer consular assistance to dual citizens Paul Karp | The Guardian
Zuma tells South Africa corruption inquiry he is victim of foreign plot [Unaccountable corrupt governments are so in fashion these days...] Former president is appearing before committee investigating allegations that he presided over vast corruption network Jason Burke | The Guardian
Warren vows to probe U.S. crimes on immigrants if elected [Can you imagine living in a nation with a working Justice System? How far we've fallen!] Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told the Netroots Nation conference Saturday she would create a commission to investigate "crimes committed by the United States against immigrants" if she's elected in 2020.
What she's saying: Warren said during her speech that President Trump "may be willing to look the other way," but she would not. "Anyone out there who’s working in this system ... [when] you physically abuse immigrants, you sexually abuse immigrants, you fail to get them medical care that they need, [then] you break the law of the United States of America," she said. Rebecca Falconer | AXIOS
IDEA: Virtual Nations could replace nation-states, allowing everyone to be agents for a better world Marc Cherbonnier | The Baltimore Chronicle | Ref.
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