Thursday, June 15, 2017

The Guardian UK:
"A rightwing protester who was filmed helping law enforcement in Portland arrest an anti-fascist activist has been identified as a member of a 'patriot movement' militia-style group.

Todd Kelsay confirmed he was the man captured in photographs and video assisting three officers from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as they pinned down and apprehended the masked protester.

The footage, which shows Kelsay kneeling alongside the DHS officers, and then removing cuffs from the back of one officer, has fueled debate over the policing of the event last Sunday."

-->Collusion between right wing, racist thugs and the nation's police forces is a major indication of fascism on the rise. The failure of our media, including the NYT to cover this story is an indication that this emerging fascism will remain unchallenged.

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Common Dreams:
"U.S. Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning has given her first interview since being released from prison last month in which she explains her motivations for making public thousands of military documents. ...

Asked about why she leaked the trove of documents, she says, 'I have a responsibility to the public … we all have a responsibility.'

'We're getting all this information from all these different sources and it's just death, destruction, mayhem. ... We're filtering it all through facts, statistics, reports, dates, times, locations, and eventually, you just stop,' she adds. 'I stopped seeing just statistics and information, and I started seeing people.' "

-->Yes, we all. have a responsibility to the public. Well, all accept the NYT which didn't't think Chelsea Manning's words were fit to print. Our newspaper of record avoided the interview completely, while a Reuters story focused on Chelsea's transgender experience. 

UPDATE: Manning will be featured in the NYT Sunday Magazine.

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The Guardian, UK:
"Progressive politicians in the US have hailed Jeremy Corbyn’s performance in the British general election 'an inspiration' that could shift the Democratic party to the left in the run-up to the 2018 midterms.

Bernie Sanders was among those to praise Labour’s result, saying it showed 'people are rising up against austerity and massive levels of income and wealth inequality,' while left-leaning members of Congress said the victory would have major implications for the future of Democrats. ...

Corbyn’s achievement was part of a 'global trend,' said Pramila Jayapal, a US congresswoman from Washington, 'towards recognising that progressive policies are the answer to a lot of the inequality, and a lot of the issues that young people and working families across the globe are facing.' ”


-->To the NYT, all this shift to the left is more baffling than hopeful. The newspaper doesn't acknowledge a "global trend" at all, but instead quotes disillusioned English voters: “Britain doesn’t feel stable anymore.” Unwilling as ever to see a left movement in either country, the NYT warns that, "Britain is increasingly confusing and unpredictable." Blind to Burnie Sanders, and now blind to the Labour victory in Britain.