| Time |
Event |
| 5:17a |
NHS privatization linked to avoidable deaths
*NHS privatization drive linked to rise in avoidable deaths, study suggests.*
This is what we would suspect, but it will be harder for politicians to
continue the privatization once this is more than just a suspicion. |
| 5:17a |
Charges were dropped against the Michigan officials involved in poisoning the
water in Flint.
Charges were dropped against the Michigan officials involved in
poisoning the
water in Flint.
For information about the poisoning and its causes,
see these notes.
The charges were dropped because of a fundamental irregularity in
procedure. I wonder if the charges can be refiled in the proper way. |
| 5:17a |
Turkey demands that Sweden extradite "terrorist supporters" including
those of the PKK
Turkey demands that Sweden extradite "terrorist supporters" including
those of the PKK, or it will block
Sweden's accession to NATO at some
later point.
Sweden recently "designated" the PKK as a "terrorist organization"
without a trial. That's always an injustice, and this illustrates it.
That wrong is practiced by many countries including the US.
countries including the US.
It would be an additional wrong to do this and then suddenly start
to extradite people who had previously been accepted as refugees.
Sweden must at least give those people time to leave.
Has Sweden has also "designated" Rojava, the state of the Syrian
Kurds, as "a terrorist organization"? I would think so. I fear that
Turkey demands extradition of people for working with and supporting
Rojava and its army, which is a noble cause, and I fear that Sweden
will eventually do that. |
| 5:17a |
|
| 8:48a |
Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony
Cassidy Hutchinson testified that Tony Ornato told her the wrecker
tried to grab control of his limousine, when Secret Service agents
refused to take him to the Capitol where his followers were attacking.
However, a Secret Service agent says that the wrecker did not actually
do that.
This is no reason to doubt Hutchinson's testimony. She did not claim
to have seen those events herself — she was reporting what someone
else told her. If he changes his story now, that could mean he
regrets having had loose lips.
However, I am sure that the the wrecking crew will try to twist this
so that it appears to shed discredit on everything she testified to.
If the wrecker did to try to grab the wheel, I cannot blame him for
that. If my driver flat-out insisted in taking me where I did not
want to go, I would consider it kidnapping and I would think about how
to escape from the car. To grab the steering wheel might be
ineffective, or dangerous, but it would not be wrong under those
circumstances. This, in itself, would not matter for his guilt or
innocence.
What does matter is that he wanted to go to the Capitol and egg on his
followers in attacking it. That was inculpating, even if he asked for
it in perfectly civil terms. |
| 4:03p |
Urgent: Suspend filibuster and protect abortion rights US citizens: call on the Senate
to suspend
the filibuster and protect abortion rights.
At the same time, the Senate should legislate the right to use
birth control and the legitimacy of same-sex marriage, since those
are the next targets of the Court of Chaos.
How to do
this so
that the same court can't invalidate it may be a tricky problem.
It may require expanding the court to cancel the religious
extremists. |
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| 4:03p |
Brittney Griner
What should we say about the Russian drug charges against Brittney Griner?
First of all, the "war on drugs" is an injustice. Nobody should be
punished for possessing marijuana or its derivatives. On that basic
level, the conclusion is clear: she ought to be freed,
There are many countries that do, or might, put someone in prison for
years for carrying hashish oil. The UAE has an extreme practice of
doing this, which is why I urge people not to transit through Dubai
airport.
The US remains allied with Dubai despite this and other nasty
practices.
Indeed, the US might itself imprison Americans for doing exactly what
she did. Marijuana products remain prohibited by the federal
government and many states.
I won't argue that this makes it legitimate for Russia to imprison
Griner for carrying hashish oil. It is wrong for any country to do
that. A's injustice towards people P, Q and R does not justify B's
injustice towards people X, Y and Z. However, it's a mistake to
treat this as worse when Putin does it than when anyone else does it.
Is Putin using her as a hostage? Perhaps he is — he does
that sort of thing. But it isn't very useful to harp on that.
The more the US demands he release her, the more valuable she
becomes as a hostage.
I suggest that Americans focus on demanding full legalization of
marijuana in the US, a goal which is attainable. Then it would
have more moral stature to call on other countries to release
prisoners of war in the war on drugs. |
| 4:03p |
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