The U.S. has found a way to charge Julian Assange: Daily Bullshit, April 20-24, 2017

Updates

  1. April 21, 1:30 pm:
    • The Justice Department has warned several jurisdictions that have designated themselves “sanctuaries” from immigration law enforcement to cooperate.[1] (Unauthorized Migration)
  2. April 22, 1:54 am:
    • In a brief, attorneys general from sixteen states are supporting the state of Washington in its suit against Donald Trump’s revised Muslim Ban.[2]
  3. April 22, 11:48 am:
  4. April 23, 1:30 am:
    • Another photograph added under Homelessness.
    • Waymo denies Uber‘s claim to be using different “lidar” technology in its self-driving cars, alleging that Uber withheld evidence on some projects.[3]
  5. April 23, 12:01 pm:
  6. April 24, 2:01 am:
    • Some psychiatrists have decided that a “duty to warn” about Donald Trump supersedes the “Goldwater Rule” against offering public diagnoses of figures whom they have not examined personally.[5] (Donald Trump)
  7. April 24, 11:01 pm:
    • Yes, Donald Trump and the Republicans are “out of touch” with the country, but a poll finds that people think the Democrats are even more so.[6]

Homelessness

How many of these
How many of these “recreational vehicles” are being used for recreation? The bucolic background might seem misleading: This photograph (by David Benfell, April 21) was taken in an industrial section of one of Oakland’s remaining poorer neighborhoods.
How many of these tents in Berkeley house activists? But also, how many homeless do they represent? If memory serves, this community was previously on a median strip, as a protest either on behalf of or by the homeless. (David Benfell, April 22)
How many of these tents in Berkeley house activists? How many of these activists are “legitimately” (what defines “legitimacy” in this context?) homeless themselves? But also, how many homeless do they represent? If memory serves, this community was previously on a median strip, as a protest either on behalf of or by the homeless. (David Benfell, April 22)

As I’ve previously noted,

in denying the homeless a place even to legally be, the powers that be effectively deny the homeless their right to even exist. The homeless won’t stop being homeless because they’ve been evicted from yet more locations. But, perhaps, they’ll be less visible. And the needs of the homeless—and their rights—won’t be any less urgent because they’ve been evicted from yet more locations. But, perhaps, we’ll be able to pretend they don’t exist.[7]

This is a point underscored in the Truthdig article.[8] Ironically, Fountain Alley, which serves as a locus in that article, is near a vegan restaurant named Good Karma that has, in recent years, transformed itself into a hipster beer joint (that still serves vegan food). And please notice that this fascism of erasing human beings is occurring in west coast so-called liberal cities. I have little doubt that it also occurs in more conservative places, but the public policy response to homelessness illustrates that the entire mainstream political spectrum in this country is fascist.

Rich Gutierrez and Leslie Patron, “Displacing the Unprofitable and Undesirable in California’s San Jose,” Truthdig, April 22, 2017, http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/displacing_unprofitable_undesirable_in_san_joses_fountain_alley_20170419


Julian Assange

It has, until now, always been a matter of speculation that the U.S. would seek Julian Assange’s extradition even though the fear that it would led to Ecuador’s decision to grant him asylum.[9] This is no longer a matter of speculation.[10]

Evan Perez, Pamela Brown, Shimon Prokupecz, and Eric Bradner, “Sources: US prepares charges to seek arrest of WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange,” CNN, April 20, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/20/politics/julian-assange-wikileaks-us-charges/index.html


Unauthorized Migration

Joseph Tanfani, “Justice Department warns sanctuary cities in California, 8 other jurisdictions to cooperate with immigration enforcement,” Los Angeles Times, April 21, 2017, http://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-updates-justice-formally-wans-sanctuary-1492788670-htmlstory.html


Muslim Ban

Ignore Jeffrey Sessions’ attempt to defend his comments belittling Hawaii. Those comments, referring to “some island in the Pacific,” mean just what they sound like they mean. They 1) ignore Hawaii’s status both as an illegally colonized and conquered nation[11] and as a state, and 2) treat this illegally conquered nation and state as something foreign to the United States, all to 3) attack a judge who, inconveniently for the Trump administration, apparently recognizes Islamophobia when he sees it.

Joel Connelly, “Connelly: West Coast states fight against Trump’s ‘Muslim ban 2.0,'” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, April 21, 2017, http://www.seattlepi.com/local/politics/article/Washington-West-Coast-states-in-legal-fight-11090186.php


Uber

Tim Higgins, “Alphabet’s Waymo Claims Uber Hid Self-Driving Tech From Court,” Wall Street Journal, April 21, 2017, https://www.wsj.com/articles/waymo-claims-uber-hid-self-driving-tech-from-court-1492828943


Donald Trump

Gail Sheehy, “At Yale, Psychiatrists Cite Their ‘Duty to Warn’ About an Unfit President,” New York, April 23, 2017, http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/04/yale-psychiatrists-cite-duty-to-warn-about-unfit-president.html


Democrats

Philip Bump, “Two-thirds of Americans think that the Democratic Party is out of touch with the country,” Washington Post, April 23, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/04/23/two-thirds-of-americans-think-that-the-democratic-party-is-out-of-touch-with-the-country/

  1. [1]Joseph Tanfani, “Justice Department warns sanctuary cities in California, 8 other jurisdictions to cooperate with immigration enforcement,” Los Angeles Times, April 21, 2017, http://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-updates-justice-formally-wans-sanctuary-1492788670-htmlstory.html
  2. [2]Joel Connelly, “Connelly: West Coast states fight against Trump’s ‘Muslim ban 2.0,'” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, April 21, 2017, http://www.seattlepi.com/local/politics/article/Washington-West-Coast-states-in-legal-fight-11090186.php
  3. [3]Tim Higgins, “Alphabet’s Waymo Claims Uber Hid Self-Driving Tech From Court,” Wall Street Journal, April 21, 2017, https://www.wsj.com/articles/waymo-claims-uber-hid-self-driving-tech-from-court-1492828943
  4. [4]Rich Gutierrez and Leslie Patron, “Displacing the Unprofitable and Undesirable in California’s San Jose,” Truthdig, April 22, 2017, http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/displacing_unprofitable_undesirable_in_san_joses_fountain_alley_20170419
  5. [5]Gail Sheehy, “At Yale, Psychiatrists Cite Their ‘Duty to Warn’ About an Unfit President,” New York, April 23, 2017, http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/04/yale-psychiatrists-cite-duty-to-warn-about-unfit-president.html
  6. [6]Philip Bump, “Two-thirds of Americans think that the Democratic Party is out of touch with the country,” Washington Post, April 23, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/04/23/two-thirds-of-americans-think-that-the-democratic-party-is-out-of-touch-with-the-country/
  7. [7]David Benfell, “The Calexit Proposition is dead. Long Live the Calexit Proposition,” (Supposedly) Daily Bullshit, April 19, 2017, https://parts-unknown.org/reading/2017/04/19/the-calexit-proposition-is-dead-long-live-the-calexit-proposition-daily-bullshit-april-17-18-2017/
  8. [8]Rich Gutierrez and Leslie Patron, “Displacing the Unprofitable and Undesirable in California’s San Jose,” Truthdig, April 22, 2017, http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/displacing_unprofitable_undesirable_in_san_joses_fountain_alley_20170419
  9. [9]Paul Lewis, “Ecuador seeks to stop ‘evil’ of Julian Assange US extradition,” Guardian, July 26, 2012, http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/jul/26/ecuador-julian-assange-extradition-us
  10. [10]Evan Perez, Pamela Brown, Shimon Prokupecz, and Eric Bradner, “Sources: US prepares charges to seek arrest of WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange,” CNN, April 20, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/20/politics/julian-assange-wikileaks-us-charges/index.html
  11. [11]Australian Broadcasting Corporation, “Kingdom of Hawaii may still exist, challenges US over sovereignty,” May 22, 2014, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-22/kingdom-of-hawaii-sovreignty-challenge/5467832; Taylor Kate Brown, “Aloha to the US: Is Hawai’i an occupied nation?” British Broadcasting Corporation, November 2, 2015, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-34680564; Cathy Bussewitz, “Native Hawaiians debate best path to sovereignty,” Minneapolis Star-Tribune, January 16, 2015, http://www.startribune.com/nation/288871031.html; Catherine Elsworth, “Queen of Hawaii demands independence from ‘US occupiers’,” Telegraph, June 30, 2008, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/hawaii/2218343/Queen-of-Hawaii-demands-independence-from-US-occupiers.html; New York Times, “Native Hawaiians Seek Redress for U.S. Role in Ousting Queen,” December 11, 1999, http://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/11/us/native-hawaiians-seek-redress-for-us-role-in-ousting-queen.html

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