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August 14, 2020
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Justice Department investigation has found Yale University is illegally discriminating against Asian American and white applicants, in violation of federal civil rights law, officials said Thursday. Yale denied the allegation, calling it “meritless” and “hasty.”
The findings detailed in a letter to the college’s attorneys Thursday mark the latest action by the Trump administration aimed at rooting out discrimination in the college application process, following complaints from students about the application process at some Ivy League colleges. The Justice Department had previously filed court papers siding with Asian American groups who had levied similar allegations against Harvard University.
The two-year investigation concluded that Yale “rejects scores of Asian American and white applicants each year based on their race, whom it otherwise would admit,” the Justice Department said. The investigation stemmed from a 2016 complaint against Yale, Brown and Dartmouth.
“Yale’s race discrimination imposes undue and unlawful penalties on racially-disfavored applicants, including in particular Asian American and White applicants,” Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband, who heads the department’s civil rights division, wrote in a letter to the college’s attorneys.
Feds say Yale discriminates against Asian, white applicants
https://www.yahoo.com/news/feds-accuse-yale-discriminating-against-200457383.htmlWASHINGTON (AP) — A Justice Department investigation has found Yale University is illegally discriminating against Asian American and white applicants, in violation of federal civil rights law, officials said Thursday. Yale denied the allegation, calling it “meritless” and “hasty.”
The findings detailed in a letter to the college’s attorneys Thursday mark the latest action by the Trump administration aimed at rooting out discrimination in the college application process, following complaints from students about the application process at some Ivy League colleges. The Justice Department had previously filed court papers siding with Asian American groups who had levied similar allegations against Harvard University.
The two-year investigation concluded that Yale “rejects scores of Asian American and white applicants each year based on their race, whom it otherwise would admit,” the Justice Department said. The investigation stemmed from a 2016 complaint against Yale, Brown and Dartmouth.
“Yale’s race discrimination imposes undue and unlawful penalties on racially-disfavored applicants, including in particular Asian American and White applicants,” Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband, who heads the department’s civil rights division, wrote in a letter to the college’s attorneys.
August 11, 2020
Members of Black Lives Matter held a solidarity rally on Monday night with the more than 100 individuals who were arrested after a night of looting and unrest in Chicago. The rally was held at the South Loop police station where organizers say those individuals are currently being held in custody.
“I don’t care if someone decides to loot a Gucci or a Macy’s or a Nike store, because that makes sure that person eats,” Ariel Atkins, a BLM organizer, said. “That makes sure that person has clothes.”
Black Lives Matter Chicago organized the rally after overnight unrest throughout the city, with police saying that more than 100 individuals were taken into custody for a variety of offenses, including looting.
“That is reparations,” Atkins said. “Anything they wanted to take, they can take it because these businesses have insurance.”
(excerpt)
Black Lives Matter: Looting in Chicago is reparations
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/black-lives-matter-holds-rally-supporting-individuals-arrested-in-chicago-looting-monday/2320365/Members of Black Lives Matter held a solidarity rally on Monday night with the more than 100 individuals who were arrested after a night of looting and unrest in Chicago. The rally was held at the South Loop police station where organizers say those individuals are currently being held in custody.
“I don’t care if someone decides to loot a Gucci or a Macy’s or a Nike store, because that makes sure that person eats,” Ariel Atkins, a BLM organizer, said. “That makes sure that person has clothes.”
Black Lives Matter Chicago organized the rally after overnight unrest throughout the city, with police saying that more than 100 individuals were taken into custody for a variety of offenses, including looting.
“That is reparations,” Atkins said. “Anything they wanted to take, they can take it because these businesses have insurance.”
(excerpt)
August 10, 2020
A question for those who are against the use of atomics bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki:
On the 75th anniversary of use of an atomic bomb of the city Nagasaki, I would like to pose a question to those who think that the US should not have ussd them on those targets:
What would you done to defeat Japan?
Specifically, presuming you are against the use of atomic weapons on any Japanese city during WW2, Here are the major strategies we used or anticipated using against Japan, starting in March of 1945. Which of the following would you use?
1) Firebombing of Japanese cities
2) Attacking military targets using conventional forces
3) Mining Japanese waters to destroy shipping ("Operation Starvation" )
4) Invasion of the Japanese Home Islands ("Operation Downfall", projected to begin in March, 1946)
If you have an alternative, please list it.
Lastly, when do you anticipate Japan would surrender based upon your decisions?
August 6, 2020
Cuomo calls on wealthy to return to New York City: 'You got to come back!'
Source: The Hill
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) is calling on the wealthy to return to New York City from their weekend homes in the surrounding suburbs, fearing they may choose to stay and file taxes there.
“I literally talk to people all day long who are now in their Hamptons house who also lived here, or in their Hudson Valley house or in their Connecticut weekend house, and I say, ‘You got to come back, when are you coming back?’” Cuomo said at a press conference Monday.
"'We'll go to dinner, I'll buy you a drink, come over, I’ll cook,'” Cuomo added in jest.
His comments come as state legislators and some New York lawmakers in Washington have called for him to adopt a billionaire’s tax, which he has vehemently rejected.
Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/510829-cuomo-calls-on-wealthy-to-return-to-new-york-city-you-got-to-come-back
August 5, 2020
It's not a tumor, but it has been cut out like one. NW Film Center had planned to kick off Cinema Unbound, its summer drive-in movie series at Zidell Yards, on Aug. 6 with a screening of the 1990 action-comedy Kindergarten Cop. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as a police detective who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher in order to bust a drug dealer, the movie was filmed in Astoria, Ore., and celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. NWFC had planned to show the film "for its importance in Oregon filmmaking history," according to a press release.
Those plans are now off—in part, it would appear, due to an online campaign against the screening. In announcing the cancellation, NWFC said it came to the decision after discussions with "staff and community members" convinced them that, given the current political climate, it would be wiser instead to add a second screening of Good Trouble, the new documentary on civil rights icon John Lewis, who died July 17. A screening scheduled for Aug. 7 had already sold out.
On Saturday, Portland author Lois Leveen—whose writing credits include contributions to The New York Times and The Atlantic and the book The Secrets of Mary Bowser, a novel based on the life of a slave-turned-Union spy—took to Twitter to excoriate the organization for leading off its series with the movie. "National reckoning on overpolicing is a weird time to revive Kindergarten Cop. IRL, we are trying to end the school-to-prison pipeline," she tweeted. "There's nothing entertaining about the presence of police in schools, which feeds the 'school-to-prison' pipeline in which African American, Latinx and other kids of color are criminalized rather than educated. Five- and 6-year-olds are handcuffed and hauled off to jail routinely in this country. And this criminalizing of children increases dramatically when cops are assigned to work in schools."
In a message sent to WW over the weekend with the subject line "Kindergarten Cop-Out: Why Does NW Film Center Think There's Anything Fun About Cops Traumatizing Schoolchildren," Leveen elaborated on her concerns. "It's true Kindergarten Cop is only a movie. So are Birth of a Nation and Gone With the Wind, but we recognize films like those are not 'good family fun,'" she wrote. "They are relics of how pop culture feeds racist assumptions." "Because despite what the movie shows," she continued, "in reality, schools don't transform cops. Cops transform schools, and in an extremely detrimental way."
(excerpt)
Comparing "Kindergarten Cop" to "Birth of a Nation"?
Really?
NW Film Center Has Canceled an Outdoor Screening of "Kindergarten Cop" Following Complaints
https://www.wweek.com/arts/movies/2020/08/03/nw-film-center-has-cancelled-an-outdoor-screening-of-kindergarten-cop-following-complaints-from-local-author/It's not a tumor, but it has been cut out like one. NW Film Center had planned to kick off Cinema Unbound, its summer drive-in movie series at Zidell Yards, on Aug. 6 with a screening of the 1990 action-comedy Kindergarten Cop. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as a police detective who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher in order to bust a drug dealer, the movie was filmed in Astoria, Ore., and celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. NWFC had planned to show the film "for its importance in Oregon filmmaking history," according to a press release.
Those plans are now off—in part, it would appear, due to an online campaign against the screening. In announcing the cancellation, NWFC said it came to the decision after discussions with "staff and community members" convinced them that, given the current political climate, it would be wiser instead to add a second screening of Good Trouble, the new documentary on civil rights icon John Lewis, who died July 17. A screening scheduled for Aug. 7 had already sold out.
On Saturday, Portland author Lois Leveen—whose writing credits include contributions to The New York Times and The Atlantic and the book The Secrets of Mary Bowser, a novel based on the life of a slave-turned-Union spy—took to Twitter to excoriate the organization for leading off its series with the movie. "National reckoning on overpolicing is a weird time to revive Kindergarten Cop. IRL, we are trying to end the school-to-prison pipeline," she tweeted. "There's nothing entertaining about the presence of police in schools, which feeds the 'school-to-prison' pipeline in which African American, Latinx and other kids of color are criminalized rather than educated. Five- and 6-year-olds are handcuffed and hauled off to jail routinely in this country. And this criminalizing of children increases dramatically when cops are assigned to work in schools."
In a message sent to WW over the weekend with the subject line "Kindergarten Cop-Out: Why Does NW Film Center Think There's Anything Fun About Cops Traumatizing Schoolchildren," Leveen elaborated on her concerns. "It's true Kindergarten Cop is only a movie. So are Birth of a Nation and Gone With the Wind, but we recognize films like those are not 'good family fun,'" she wrote. "They are relics of how pop culture feeds racist assumptions." "Because despite what the movie shows," she continued, "in reality, schools don't transform cops. Cops transform schools, and in an extremely detrimental way."
(excerpt)
Comparing "Kindergarten Cop" to "Birth of a Nation"?
Really?
August 3, 2020
Until a few weeks ago, Julie Reno was dead set against having any kind of firearm in her home. With children around, she felt that it would be irresponsible and dangerous.
All that changed after Reno saw what was happening in Seattle and Portland, where clashes between rioters and racial justice protesters and law enforcement have delayed responses for public safety calls.
“With everything that’s going on in the country right now, I’m realizing that police are not always safe to come out. In Seattle police are being prevented from going to calls from people for help,” Reno, 43, explained. “Everything is safe here right now. But if it ever becomes unsafe, I want to be able to protect myself and my family, if necessary.”
Reno, who works in customer service, and her husband, Michael, network manager at Worcester Public Library, are among a growing number of people in Massachusetts and across the country who are strapping up in light of the uncertainty of the pandemic and violent riots that have mushroomed out of peaceful protests that began after America watched a video of the brutal killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.
(excerpt)
Pandemic, protests trigger surge in firearms licenses and sales
https://www.telegram.com/news/20200801/pandemic-protests-trigger-surge-in-firearms-licenses-and-salesUntil a few weeks ago, Julie Reno was dead set against having any kind of firearm in her home. With children around, she felt that it would be irresponsible and dangerous.
All that changed after Reno saw what was happening in Seattle and Portland, where clashes between rioters and racial justice protesters and law enforcement have delayed responses for public safety calls.
“With everything that’s going on in the country right now, I’m realizing that police are not always safe to come out. In Seattle police are being prevented from going to calls from people for help,” Reno, 43, explained. “Everything is safe here right now. But if it ever becomes unsafe, I want to be able to protect myself and my family, if necessary.”
Reno, who works in customer service, and her husband, Michael, network manager at Worcester Public Library, are among a growing number of people in Massachusetts and across the country who are strapping up in light of the uncertainty of the pandemic and violent riots that have mushroomed out of peaceful protests that began after America watched a video of the brutal killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.
(excerpt)
August 1, 2020
A FEW MONTHS ago, on an ordinary day in an unremarkable Costco parking lot, I was nearly squashed by an unusually large pickup. Thank God I was wearing a mask. As that chrome grille closed on me like a man-eating Norelco shaver, time slowed. It seemed I was watching myself from afar, being nimble for a man my age, darting from the path of a towering, limousine-black pickup with temporary plates, whose driver barely checked his pace. Jerk.
What the hell was that thing? A 2020 GMC Sierra HD Denali? It was huge! The domed hood was at forehead level. The paramedics would have had to extract me from the grille with a spray hose, like Randall Jarrell’s ball-turret gunner. He didn’t even see me.
Later, returning to my car, I noticed something: The parking lot was dotted with similarly enormous luxury pickups—many new, many taking up two spaces: Ram, Ford, Chevy, GMC. They stood out like Percherons in a herd of Shetland ponies. What is going on here? When did pickups get so big? And why are XL-sized pickups so big now?
I know. Pickup trucks at Costco. Film at 11. Except that in April, U.S. sales of pickups surpassed automobiles for the first time ever—about 112 years, give or take. Trucks and truck-based sport-utilities now account for roughly 70% of new vehicles sold in the U.S.
(excerpt)
Pickup Trucks Are Getting Huge. Got a Problem With That?
https://www.wsj.com/articles/pickup-trucks-are-getting-huge-got-a-problem-with-that-11596254412A FEW MONTHS ago, on an ordinary day in an unremarkable Costco parking lot, I was nearly squashed by an unusually large pickup. Thank God I was wearing a mask. As that chrome grille closed on me like a man-eating Norelco shaver, time slowed. It seemed I was watching myself from afar, being nimble for a man my age, darting from the path of a towering, limousine-black pickup with temporary plates, whose driver barely checked his pace. Jerk.
What the hell was that thing? A 2020 GMC Sierra HD Denali? It was huge! The domed hood was at forehead level. The paramedics would have had to extract me from the grille with a spray hose, like Randall Jarrell’s ball-turret gunner. He didn’t even see me.
Later, returning to my car, I noticed something: The parking lot was dotted with similarly enormous luxury pickups—many new, many taking up two spaces: Ram, Ford, Chevy, GMC. They stood out like Percherons in a herd of Shetland ponies. What is going on here? When did pickups get so big? And why are XL-sized pickups so big now?
I know. Pickup trucks at Costco. Film at 11. Except that in April, U.S. sales of pickups surpassed automobiles for the first time ever—about 112 years, give or take. Trucks and truck-based sport-utilities now account for roughly 70% of new vehicles sold in the U.S.
(excerpt)
July 31, 2020
An unprecedented run on guns — partly due to Covid-19 — is so strong, that Sturm Ruger and Company can’t produce them fast enough, again partly due to Covid-19. “The incredible surge in demand outstripped our production capacity, ” said CEO Christopher Killoy, in an earnings call on Thursday. In his 30 years in the industry, “This is probably the strongest level of demand that I’ve seen,” including the surge preceding the assault weapons ban.
The company, headquartered in Connecticut but with a major facility in Newport, NH, reported second quarter sales are $130 million, up by more than a quarter, with a net income of $18.6 million, a $1.05 a diluted share – triple the profits from the same quarter last year. But that was limited by production capacity. The number of units ordered nearly doubled in the first quarter and nearly tripled in the second.
The thirst for firearms – despite the recent bankruptcy of Ruger’s rival Remington Arms Company (for the second time within a year) – is industry wide. Background checks are up 65% for the half, and 92% for the second quarter. Ruger’s comparable increase (the estimate unit sell though) was a mere 47%. As a result, the inventories at Ruger andother brands “was largely depleted in the second quarter and remains at very low levels.”
Killoy attributed the “staggering increase” for “personal protection and home defense stemming from continuing Covid-19 pandemic; protests, demonstrations and civil unrest in many cities throughout the United States and lastly, the call by some for the reduction in funding and authority of various law enforcement organizations.”
(excerpt)
Demand for guns outpaces Sturm Ruger's production
https://www.nhbr.com/demand-for-guns-outpaces-sturm-rugers-production/An unprecedented run on guns — partly due to Covid-19 — is so strong, that Sturm Ruger and Company can’t produce them fast enough, again partly due to Covid-19. “The incredible surge in demand outstripped our production capacity, ” said CEO Christopher Killoy, in an earnings call on Thursday. In his 30 years in the industry, “This is probably the strongest level of demand that I’ve seen,” including the surge preceding the assault weapons ban.
The company, headquartered in Connecticut but with a major facility in Newport, NH, reported second quarter sales are $130 million, up by more than a quarter, with a net income of $18.6 million, a $1.05 a diluted share – triple the profits from the same quarter last year. But that was limited by production capacity. The number of units ordered nearly doubled in the first quarter and nearly tripled in the second.
The thirst for firearms – despite the recent bankruptcy of Ruger’s rival Remington Arms Company (for the second time within a year) – is industry wide. Background checks are up 65% for the half, and 92% for the second quarter. Ruger’s comparable increase (the estimate unit sell though) was a mere 47%. As a result, the inventories at Ruger andother brands “was largely depleted in the second quarter and remains at very low levels.”
Killoy attributed the “staggering increase” for “personal protection and home defense stemming from continuing Covid-19 pandemic; protests, demonstrations and civil unrest in many cities throughout the United States and lastly, the call by some for the reduction in funding and authority of various law enforcement organizations.”
(excerpt)
July 31, 2020
Fort Hood sergeant says he shot and killed armed Black Lives Matter protestor
Source: The Hill
An active-duty Army sergeant from Fort Hood says he was the one who shot and killed a man at a Black Lives Matter protest in Austin, Texas, last weekend, according to the sergeant's attorney.
Sgt. Daniel Perry said he fired at Garrett Foster out of self-defense after Foster allegedly raised an assault rifle toward Perry, according to a statement from the attorney obtained by The Washington Post.
According to the statement, Perry was driving for a ride-share company in downtown Austin on the night of July 25 when he turned a corner toward a protest he did not know was taking place.
At that point, the attorney says protesters began beating on Perry's car. Foster then allegedly approached the car window holding an assault rifle.
Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/509987-fort-hood-sergeant-says-he-shot-and-killed-armed-black-lives-matter
July 31, 2020
An international Jewish group is calling on an Ontario auction house to stop the online sale of scores of German items from the Second World War, many adorned with swastikas and some bearing the image of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. Shackelton Auctions, near Aylmer, Ont., posted an online sale this week of 1,200 items of military memorabilia from a private estate sale.
But among the Royal Canadian Legion berets, ration cards and war bond posters are about 100 objects from Nazi-era Germany, including Hitler youth daggers and postcards with Hitler's image — along with flags, medals and armbands, many emblazoned with swastikas. There are also cast iron busts of Hitler, German officers' swords and toys of German armour and soldiers. Most of the items already have bids in the auction, which is set to end on Aug. 18.
The auction's web page includes a statement that says the items "do not represent the views or opinions of Shackelton Auctions or Sackrider Auctions or their staff." But Jaime Kirzner-Roberts of the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies said the auction should be stopped. She's also calling for laws that would make the sale of such items illegal in Canada.
"Our position is that it's disgusting and unacceptable that people should be buying and selling relics of murder and genocide," she said. "We find it very difficult to imagine any legitimate reason why someone would want to possess them." CBC News contacted Shackelton owner and auctioneer Mike Shackelton about the sale. He said while he sympathizes with those concerned about the items being sold, he will not take them off the auction block.
(excerpt)
Jewish group calls for 'disgusting' online sale of Nazi-era items to be stopped (Canada)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/nazi-auction-war-objects-1.5653383An international Jewish group is calling on an Ontario auction house to stop the online sale of scores of German items from the Second World War, many adorned with swastikas and some bearing the image of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. Shackelton Auctions, near Aylmer, Ont., posted an online sale this week of 1,200 items of military memorabilia from a private estate sale.
But among the Royal Canadian Legion berets, ration cards and war bond posters are about 100 objects from Nazi-era Germany, including Hitler youth daggers and postcards with Hitler's image — along with flags, medals and armbands, many emblazoned with swastikas. There are also cast iron busts of Hitler, German officers' swords and toys of German armour and soldiers. Most of the items already have bids in the auction, which is set to end on Aug. 18.
The auction's web page includes a statement that says the items "do not represent the views or opinions of Shackelton Auctions or Sackrider Auctions or their staff." But Jaime Kirzner-Roberts of the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies said the auction should be stopped. She's also calling for laws that would make the sale of such items illegal in Canada.
"Our position is that it's disgusting and unacceptable that people should be buying and selling relics of murder and genocide," she said. "We find it very difficult to imagine any legitimate reason why someone would want to possess them." CBC News contacted Shackelton owner and auctioneer Mike Shackelton about the sale. He said while he sympathizes with those concerned about the items being sold, he will not take them off the auction block.
(excerpt)
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