TK Cooper Injured During PROGRESS NYC Show (VIDEO) – Pro Wrestling Sheet (registration) (blog)

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Posted By: Ashley Leckwold August 13, 2017

The tag team title match during PROGRESS Wrestlings New York debut came to an abrupt stop on Saturday night because TK Cooper suffered an ankle injury.

The South Pacific Power Team member was taking a dive to the outside last night when a bad landing caused his ankle to dislocate. The match was immediately stopped and Cooper was carried out by the locker room before EMTs arrived.

PROGRESS co-owner Glen Joseph accompanied Cooper to the hospital where he updated on his condition, tweeting, Hour number 3 in an ER room somewhere in Queens. @PureTKCs foot is on straight again. This is, indeed, progress. Aint out the woods yet as to surgery etc but @PureTKC definitely appreciates the outpouring of support. Tough kid. An idiot, but tough.

Coopers injury was just one of the many speed bumps PROGRESS hit in their US debut. Pete Dunne was injured on Friday before the show, there were reports of the venue being overheated and the entire crew got stranded trying to make it to Boston after the show.

As for TK he tweeted this morning saying, Yo New York, Im hella sorry! I owe you guys big time. Lemme just sort this ankle and Ill be back in a bit.

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Mack Town urges progress on Town Center – Mad River Union

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TOWN CENTER This aerial photo shows the boundaries of the town center. Graphic from McKinleyville Community Plan

Jack DurhamMad River Union

McKINLEYVILLE McKinleyvilles advisory committee is asking the county to move forward with the creation of a McKinleyville Town Center.

The McKinleyville Municipal Advisory Committee voted unanimously July 26 to send a letter to the Humboldt County Planning Department asking that it start drafting a McKinleyville Town Center ordinance.

The creation of a McKinleyville Town Center was called for in the McKinleyville Community Plan, approved by the Board of Supervisors in 2002.

However, an ordinance with specific rules for development in the Town Center was never created.

The zone extends from Pierson Park to McKinleyville Avenue, and from Railroad Drive to an area just south of Hiller Road. It also includes the commercial area north of Heartwood Drive where the Burger King and other businesses are located.

Anne Pierson, the owner of the largest undeveloped property in the Town Center, has endorsed the idea.

I celebrate that the community cares because it needs that kind of energy behind it to have the county pay attention, said Pierson, who owns the McKinleyville Shopping Center and the land behind it. The only thing I request in the process is flexibility for creativity.

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Mack Town urges progress on Town Center - Mad River Union

BlueIndy makes progress in Indianapolis – Fox 59

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BlueIndy car

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. An electric car-sharing service in Indianapolis is winning over customers after initially angering some business owners.

BlueIndy is increasing membership in Indianapolis,The Indianapolis Starreported.

The company has 280 cars in the city. Its sold almost 5,000 memberships and almost 65,000 rides have been taken. Almost 8 percent of those rides have been to or from Indianapolis International Airport.

The company made a deal with former Mayor Greg Ballard that allowed the company to install its charging stations in public parking spots in 2015.

Some business owners said the loss of nearby parking spots cost them customers.

If theyre like a business, they should buy up empty lots and set their thing up in there, said SoBro Cafe owner Helger Oomkes. Its really damaged my business.

Mayor Joe Hogsetts administration has been negotiating changes to the companys contract. The new 15-year deal gives the city more say over where the charging stations can go.

Residents and businesses now have a 16-day period to object to new stations being built.

The company has agreed to move up to seven stations that were installed during the initial building phase.

There are a very small number of stations where there remains concern and we are actively working with the city to come up with resolution that makes sense for the city, makes sense for BlueIndy and makes sense for those businesses, said James Delgado, the companys general manager.

The company aims to have 100 stations open by the end of the year.

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BlueIndy makes progress in Indianapolis - Fox 59

49ers’ Kyle Shanahan a ‘work in progress’ as first-time head coach – ESPN (blog)

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SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Kyle Shanahan has coached in the league in some capacity since 2004, but it wasn't until Friday night in Kansas City, Missouri, that he got his first opportunity to be the man in charge on an NFL sideline.

As the new head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, Shanahan has gone through the usual laundry list of firsts. Along with that comes a natural process of learning the ins and outs of managing a game and taking care of an entire team. In Shanahan's case, it also means balancing those things while serving as the offensive playcaller.

Put simply, there's a lot on Shanahan's plate, and this preseason will be just as important for him as it will be for his players as he gets acclimated to his new job.

"It is a work in progress," the 37-year-old Shanahan said. "I enjoyed it. It was the same as usual -- calling plays, doing everything I have done down there -- but it was definitely different trying to carry the offense and then having to peek up at the score and having to watch the time and having to watch the defense. I think some series I did it better than others. Also, with so many guys subbing in and out and having to pay attention to how long we are keeping them in and things like that. It was definitely a challenge, but I enjoyed it. I am glad we have three more of them, and hopefully I will get better at it each week."

Throughout the offseason, Shanahan has been refreshingly candid and honest in acknowledging that he knows what he doesn't know. In the spring, he talked about how there were moments he wasn't exactly sure where to be throughout the course of a practice and admitted to having some nerves going into his first time addressing the whole team.

As the days went by, Shanahan clearly got more comfortable and drew positive reviews from players for his attention to detail and ability to answer any sort of football question.

Now, as the regular season approaches, business is picking up and there is a limited amount of time for Shanahan, his staff and his players to make sure everything hums on game day.

In Friday's preseason victory against the Kansas City Chiefs, Shanahan was able to go through a lot of scenarios, such as mass substitutions and clock management, and he even attempted his first replay challenge. To be sure, there were some bumps in the road, including a whopping 17 penalties against his team.

Before that, Shanahan was able to oversee the first road trip of the season for the Niners, their first with him in charge.

Shanahan made it clear Saturday evening that even the tiniest of those details will remain under review moving forward.

We look at everything, from just how we travel from the airplane to the food on the planes to what time we got to the stadium," Shanahan said. "So, theres lots of little tweaks that you look at that I think well be looking at throughout this preseason. Hopefully we get it to exactly where we want by the first game."

For starters, Shanahan was pleased with the game-day process, though it also wasn't lost on him that this was his first time going through it. The biggest difference on his first attempt?

"I cant lie, theres a lot more to think about," Shanahan said. "The defense is up and Im trying to study pictures and get my calls right for the next series, but Im also glancing at them and having to pay attention to the clock when the offense isnt up and thinking about replays and all the situations that are going on."

Making things even more complex is the constant rotation and keeping tabs on a 90-man roster. While that might be difficult now, it's something that should make his life easier when he gets to the regular season and there are only 53 players on the roster and 47 on game day. That got complicated further by some injuries to the likes of defensive linemen DeForest Buckner and Ronald Blair. Going into Friday's game, the plan wasn't to play rookie Solomon Thomas for as many snaps as he did, but that became necessary after those injuries.

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"Youre trying to balance it out, when to get guys in and out of the game," Shanahan said. "Then you have a few injuries happen and youve got to get guys back in the game."

This week, there will be a few more firsts for Shanahan as a head coach. The 49ers will host the Denver Broncos for a pair of joint practices and then have their first preseason home game Saturday, giving Shanahan a chance to fine-tune some things in front of a friendly crowd.

"Its pretty hectic during all NFL games, but especially in the preseason," Shanahan said. "Im glad weve got three more of them. I thought our staff did a pretty good job communicating our first time together. I know we had 12 people on the field that first play in the third quarter for the defense, which is on coaches. That is always a challenge here in the preseason especially. I was pretty pleased with how we did in the first game.

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North Korean Tensions Are Spurring Doomsday Survival-Goods Sales – Fortune

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Emergency preparedness and survival products are seeing a rise in sales and interest as tensions between the U.S. and North Korea mount. Though information is still anecdotal, several retailers speaking to the New York Times say theyve seen customers stocking up on emergency food supplies and other survival gear. Sales at the Emergency Essentials retail chain in Utah, for instance, were more than double their usual amount in the days after President Trumps fire and fury comments last Tuesday.

Google searches for terms including prepper and survivalism have also risen significantly over the last week. But theyre still well below all-time highs that came after the 2012 Presidential election win by Barack Obama, and not all preparedness retailers speaking to the Times have seen sales rise.

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Obamas election and re-election also triggered a sharp rise in gun sales. Thats partly because of fears that Obama would push through tougher gun control laws. But the rise in survivalism was also fueled by right-wing conspiracy theories , which sellers said had receded somewhat by 2013.

But the usual buyers of dehydrated food and camp stoves have much more faith in the Commander in Chief than they did his predecessora recent poll puts the Presidents approval rating among Republicans as high as 82%. With conservative politics such a major driver of the preparedness market, and despite fears over North Korea, the Trump presidency could wind up offering modest growth for the industry.

Responses to both North Koreas tests and Trumps bellicose language have been tepid more broadly. U.S. stock markets, usually hypersensitive to rumors of global war, dropped only 0.2% on the day of Trumps statements.

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Outside Lands and the Nihilism of the Fake Counterculture – SF Weekly

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Outside Lands and the Nihilism of the Fake Counterculture
SF Weekly
Across the continent, Nazis bearing semiautomatic weapons and garden-supply-store tiki torches made a show of force at the University of Virginia. After protests and counter-protests, someone was killed. It feels redundant to condemn it, but in short ...

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Naked News presenters go fully nude for X-RATED starkers dance session – Daily Star

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PRESENTERS from the steamy Naked News network have stripped off for their raunchiest task yet.

A trio of scantly clad babes took on Ukrainian dancing in their own unique way for the feature.

Led by busty brunette Hanna Orio, co-hosts Carli Bei and Isabella Rossini stripped down to their birthday suits for the challenge.

In the clip, the girls can be seen leaping around completely nude while traditional Ukrainian music plays in the background.

NAKED NEWS

The Naked News channel presenters have set the internet alight with their saucy, full frontal antics. Now they've released their hottest pics ever

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But this isnt the first time the networks hosts have put on such a racy display.

Earlier this year Carli Bei got naked to meet with members of a swinging community in Jamaica.

As part of the feature, couples at the Hedonism II nudist resort in Negril spoke on camera about how they got into swinging and embarrassing moments theyve had.

Naked News bills itself as the programme with nothing to hide and regularly shows hosts stripping off on camera.

The Canadian TV station started in 1999 as an English speaking show and now has one based in Japan too.

NAKED NEWS

The raunchiest celebrity photos around

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Joanna Krupa shows everything in naked snaps

It was reported to be attracting more than six million viewers at its height.

The channels Twitter page has more than 60,000 followers with current anchors including Whitney St-John, Isabella Rossini and Elise Laurenne.

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Walsh Issues Warning Ahead Of Planned Boston Free Speech Rally … – CBS Boston / WBZ

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August 13, 2017 8:10 PM

BOSTON (CBS) Mayor Marty Walsh sent a strong message that hate groups will not be welcome in Boston ahead of a planned Free Speech Rally that will reportedly take place on Boston Common next week.

The rally is slated for Saturday, though Walsh said it is being planned by a different group than that one that organized a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville that led to the death of one woman and injuries to 19 others.

Related:Protesters Rally On The Common Against Charlottesville Violence

Walsh said that some group is supposed to be in the city for a march, but added that no one has pulled permits with City Hall as of Sunday.

Poster for the August 19, Free Speech Rally. (Photo credit: WBZ-TV)

The Boston mayor said police are gathering information to see who the group is.

We dont need this type of hate, said Walsh. So my message is clear to this group. We dont want you in Boston. We dont want you on Boston Common. We dont want you spewing the hate that we saw yesterday, and the loss of life.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. (WBZ-TV)

Walsh said there have been similar demonstrations in the past on Boston Common.

Very small, but its a bad message, said Walsh.

Boston Police Superintendent William Gross said on Sunday that police will be developing a plan throughout the week ahead of the latest planned rally.

Were going to send a strong message in Boston that we protest peacefully, using our voices of logic and not the ignorance of destruction, said Gross.

Were going to be working together this whole week to send a message to everyone thats heading to Boston, those that are of the mindset of white supremacy to those who understand were all Gods children were working together. No violence.

Pro free-speech protesters on the Boston Common in May 2017. (WBZ-TV)

Gross said anyone engaging in violence will be arrested immediately.

Walsh said his initial reaction to President Donald Trumps statement about the Charlottesville violence was that Trump left his comments too open-ended.

But Walsh said he was encouraged to see Attorney General Jeff Sessions decision to open a federal civil rights investigation into the Charlottesville incident.

Lets hope theyre consistent. I think it would be great for the President to come out today with a clearer statement, particularly about the white supremacist neo-Nazi groups, said Walsh. I think he needs to separate himself a little bit from them, because I think there are a lot of people putting the two together.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030s Kim Tunnicliffe reports

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The Misguided Attacks on ACLU for Defending Neo-Nazis’ Free Speech Rights in Charlottesville – The Intercept

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Each time horrific political violence is perpetrated that is deemed to be terrorism, a search is immediately conducted for culprits to blame other than those who actually perpetrated the violence or endorsed the group responsible for it. Its usually only a matter of hours before the attack is exploited to declare onesown political views vindicated, and to depictonespolitical adversaries as responsible for, if notcomplicit in, the violence. Often accompanying this search for villains is a list of core civil liberties that were told ought to be curtailed in the name of preventing similar acts of violence in the future.

All of this typically happens before much of anything is known about the killer, his actual inspirations, hismental health, or hisassociations. In the aftermath of the widespread horror such violence naturally produces, the easiest targetfor these guilt-by-association tacticsare those who have advocated for the legal rights of the group of which the individual attacker is a memberand/orthose who have defended the legal right to express the opinionsin the name of which the attack was carried out.

These tactics aremost familiar when a Muslim perpetrates violence withina western city, aimed at westerners. Before anything is known about the attacker other than his religious identity, the violenceis instantly declared to be terrorism. Then the search is quickly launched to find anyone who can be said to be responsible for the violence by virtue of having encouraged or enabled Islamic extremism, often by doing nothing more than having defended the legal rights of the group that is being blamed for the attack.

At the top of the blame list one always findsa wide range of imams who preach Islam even those who never in their lives advocated violence of any kind as well asactivists who defend Muslims from bigotry and persecution. But also prominently featured in this vilification gameare legal groups, such as the Council on American-Islam Relations (CAIR) and the ACLU, that defend the free speech rights and other civil libertiesof Muslims to be free of state persecution and suppression. Recently, even social platforms that allow Muslims to express themselves without state censorship are said to becomplicit.

Linking CAIR to terrorist attacksbecause of their civil liberties work is commonplace among the Islamophobic right. The ACLU which has defended accused Al Qaeda terrorists, tried to prevent the Obama administrationfrom killing Anwar al-Awlaki without due process, and opposed the criminal prosecution of Muslim extremists on free speech grounds is constantly vilifiedas terrorist enablersby the anti-Muslim right as a result of that civil liberties advocacy. And now, each time theres a new attack, the UK Government routinely accuses Facebook and other social media companies of aiding and abetting ISIS and Al Qaeda because of its refusal to obey UK Government orders about which views should be censored from the site.

That anyone who defends the legal rights of terrorists or gives them a platform is culpable for the violence they commit has been standard neoconservative and far right cant for decades. One of the most odious examples came from 2009 when a new group started by Bill Kristol and Lynne Cheney calling itself Keep America Safe produced ads strongly implying that Obama DOJ lawyers who defended accused Al Qaeda suspects were supporters ofjihadist violence against the U.S.:

Demonizinglawyers and civil liberties advocates by depicting them as complicit in the heinous acts of their clients is a long-standing scam that is not confined to the U.S. The Belgian lawyer who represented one of the Muslim attackers in Paris, Sven Mary, saidhe had suffered physical and verbal attacks and his daughters had even needed a police escort to school.

Needless to say, none of these legal organizations or individual lawyers condone violence. They all vehemently oppose the ideology and worldview in the name of which this violence is committed. Yet they are all blamed for the violence and accused of complicity in it because they defend the free speechrights and civil liberties of people who express views in the name of which violence iscommited.

This same warped mentality blaming civil liberties advocatesfor the bad actsof their clients was on full display yesterday in the wake of the heinous car attack in Charlottesville, Virginia by a whitenationalist on a group of anti-fascist protesters. That attack killed one woman, a 32-year-old paralegal, Heather Heyer, and injured multiple anti-racistprotesters, many of whom were members of groups such as Democratic Socialists of America and Industrial Workers of the World now regularly castigated as the alt-left (as though they bear any resemblance to the alt-right groups they bravely protest).

The accused attacker, 20-year-old James Alex Fields Jr., is in custody. He seems to have been photographed participating before the attack in the white nationalist march. And Fieldslocal Ohio paper citedhis mother as saying that her son texted her Friday to say he had dropped his cat off at her Monclova Township apartment so he could go to an alt-right rally in Virginia.

Photo: Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Some of the attempts to assignculpability for this violence on others besides the perpetrator were reasonable and rational. In particular, a legitimate causal connection can be drawn between this violence and the two-year flirtation byDonald Trump and several of his closest advisers with the rhetoric and even the activism of white nationalism, as even many of the white supremacists themselves recognized. As I argued last August, it seemed only a matter of time before Trumps worldview sparked violence of this kind:

The rhetoric that [Trump has]been embracing over the past 18 months is extraordinarily frightening, because, even if he loses, he is emboldening extremist nationalism, racism, all kinds of bigotry. Hes giving license for its expression. He is serving as a galvanizing force for these very dangerous elements, not just in the American political culture, but in Europe and elsewhere throughout the right.

But other blame attemptswere not just baseless but themselves deeply pernicious, a mirror image of the ugly Kristol/Cheney campaign against the Obama Justice Department lawyers who had defended the due process rights of Al Qaeda members.

Last week, the ACLU sparked controversy when it announcedthat it was defending the free speech rights of alt-right activistMilo Yiannopoulos after the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority refused to allow ads for his book to be displayed on public transit. Lost in the debate was that other groups the ACLU was defending along with Yiannopoulos were also censored under the same rule: Carafem, which helps women access birth control and medication abortion; the animal rights group PETA; and the ACLU itself.

For representingYiannopoulos, the civil liberties group was widely accused of defending and enabling fascism. But the ACLU wasnt defendingYiannopoulos as much as it was opposing a rule that allows state censorship of any controversial political messages the state wishes to suppress: a rule that is often applied to groups which are supported by many who attacked theACLU here.

The sameformula was applied yesterday when people learned that the ACLU of Virginiahad represented the white supremacist protesters in Charlottesvilleafter city officials tried to ban the group from gathering in Emancipation Park where a statue of Robert E. Leewas to be removed (city officials tried to move the march to an isolated location one mile away). One board member of the ACLU of Virginia, Waldo Jaquith, waited until the violence erupted to announce on Twitter that he was resigning in protest of the ACLUs representation of the protesters as though he was unaware when he joined the Board that the ACLU has been representing the free speech rights of neo-Nazisand other white supremacist groups(along with Communists, Muslims, war protesters and the full spectrum ofmarginalized minorities and leftists) for many decades.

Many attackedthe ACLUs decision to representYiannopoulos and these Charlottesville protests as though they were allies of the marchers, while others literally accused them of enabling fascism or evenblamed them for the violence:

(Ironically, just last month, the ACLU was the target of a similar de-funding campaign by the anti-Islam, pro-Israel right for the groups defense of Muslim-American activist Linda Sarsour; such is life as a principled civil liberties proponent).

The flaws and dangers in this anti-free-speech mindset are manifest, but nonetheless always worth highlighting, especially when horrific violence causes people to want to abridge civil liberties in the name of stopping it. In sum, purporting to oppose fascism by allowing the state to banviews it opposesis like purporting to oppose human rights abusesby mandating the torture of all prisoners.

One of the defining attributes of fascism is forcible suppression of views (For Ur-Fascism, disagreement is treason, wrote Umberto Eco); recall that one of Trumps first proposals after winning the 2016 election was to criminalize flag desecration. You cant fight that ideology by employing and championing one of its defining traits: viewpoint-based state censorship.

Even if this position could be morally justified, those who favor free speech suppression, or who oppose the ACLUs universal defense of speech rights, will create results that are the exact opposite of those they claim to want. Its an indescribably misguided strategy that will inevitably victimize themselves and their own views.

Lets begin with one critical fact: the ACLU has always defended, and still does defend,the free speech rights of the most marginalized left-wing activists, from Communists and atheists, to hard-core war opponents and pacifists, and has taken up numerous free speech causes supported by many on the left and loathed by the right, including defending the rights of Muslim extremists and even NAMBLA. Thats true of any consistent civil liberties advocate: we defend the rights of those with views we hate in order to strengthen our defense of the rights of thosewho are most marginalized and vulnerable in society.

The ACLU is primarily a legal organization. That means they defend peoples rights in court, under principles of law. One of the governing tools of courts is precedent: the application of prior rulings to current cases. If the ACLU allows the state to suppress the free speech rights of white nationalists or neo-Nazi groups by refusing to defend such groups when the state tries to censor them or by allowing them to have inadequate representation then the ACLUs ability to defend the free speech rights of groups and people that you like will be severely compromised.

Its easy to be dismissive of this serious aspect of the debateif youre some white American or non-Muslim American whose free speech is very unlikely to be depicted as material support for Terrorism or otherwise criminalized. But if youre someone who cares about the free speech attackson radical leftists, Muslims, and other marginalized groups, and tries to defend those rights in court, then youre going to be genuinely afraid of allowing anti-free-speech precedents to become entrenched that will then be used against youwhen its time to defend free speech rights. The ACLU is not defending white supremacist groups but instead is defending a principle one that it must defend if it is going to be successful in defending free speechrights for people you support.

Beyond that, the contradiction embedded in thisanti-free-speech advocacy is so glaring. For many of those attacking the ACLU here, it is a staple of their worldview that the U.S. is a racist and fascist country and that those who control the government are right-wing authoritarians. There is substantial validity to that view.

Why, then, would people who believe that simultaneously want to vest in these same fascism-supporting authorities the power to ban and outlaw ideas they dislike? Why would you possibly think that the List of Prohibited Ideas will end up including the views you hate rather than the views you support? Most levers of state power are now controlled by the Republican Party, while many Democrats have also advocated the criminalization of left-wing views. Why would you trustthose officials to suppress free speech in ways that you find just and noble, rather than oppressive?

As I wrote in my comprehensive 2013 defense of free speechat the Guardian, this overflowing navet is what Ive always found most confounding about the left-wing case against universal free speech: this belief that state authorities will exercise this power of censorship magnanimously and responsibly: At any given point, any speech that subverts state authority can be deemed legitimately so to be hateful and even tending to incite violence.

Then theres the back-up attack on the ACLU: OK, fine, Im for free speech, even of Milo and Nazis, but why dont they spend their resources defending free speech rights for good people rather than White Supremacists?Nobody is forcing them to take these cases. Asa recent Vox article on the ACLU debate put it:some question whether the organization should be using its resources to defend such awful groups of people. Its one thing in theory to support universal free speech rights, but its another to actually spend time and money defending neo-Nazis. This was one of the arguments made by ACLU lawyer Chase Strangio in objecting to the groups decision to defend Yiannapoulous.

Notably, this was the same argument made by right-wing neocon activists to attack the Obama DOJ lawyers for defending Al Qaeda members:yes, fine, everyone deserves a defense, but why did they choose to represent Al Qaeda? As National Reviews Andrew McCarthy put it in attacking those lawyers:The salient issue in the controversy over Justice Department attorneys who formerly represented our terrorist enemies detained at Guantanamo Bay is this:They were volunteers.

Leave aside the fact that the ACLU does expend vast resourcesto defend the rights of immigrants, minorities against abusive policing and a racist justice system, and Muslims. Beyond all that, the reason its vital to expend resources to defend free speech rights of awful people, even white nationalists, is because thats where free speech battles are always and by definitionfought.

Its always those whose views are deemed mostodious by the mainstreamthat are the initial targets of censorshipefforts; its very rare that the state tries to censor the views held by the mainstream. If you allow those initial censorship efforts to succeed because of your distaste for those being targeted, then you lose the ability to defend the rights of those you like because the censorship principle has been enshrined. Thats why the ACLU, for instance, defended the free speech rights of the revolting Fred Phelps, and one of its leading LGBT lawyers justified that position this way:

We do it because we believe in the principle, and because we realize that once you chip away at one persons rights, everyone elses are at risk. . . . Free speech doesnt belong only to those we agree with, and the First Amendment doesnt only protect speech that is tasteful and inoffensive. In fact, it is in the hard cases that our commitment to the First Amendment is most tested and most important. As one federal judge has put it, tolerating hateful speech is the best protection we have against any Nazi-type regime in this country.

Then, finally, theres the argument about efficacy. How can anyone believe that neo-Nazism or white supremacy will disappear in the U.S., or even be weakened, if its forcibly suppressed by the state? Is it not glaringly apparent that the exact opposite will happen: by turning them into free speech martyrs, you will do nothing but strengthen them and make them more sympathetic? Literally nothing has helped Yiannopoulos become a national cult figure more than the well-intentioned (but failed) efforts to deny him a platform. Nothing could be better designed to aid their cause than converting a fringe, tiny group of overt neo-Nazis into some sort of poster child for free speech rights.

The need to fight neo-Nazism and white supremacy wherever it appears is compelling. The least effective tactic is to try to empower the state to suppress the expression of their views. That will backfire in all sorts of ways: strengthening that movement and ensuring that those who advocate state censorship today are its defenseless targets tomorrow. And whatever else is true, the impulse to react to terrorist attacks by demanding the curtailment of core civil liberties is always irrational, dangerous, andself-destructive, no matter how tempting that impulsemight be.

Clarification: One sentence was lightly edited to clarify that it was the ACLUs defense of the free speech rights of Muslim extremists and NAMBLA that found support on the left not that those groups are themselves part of the left.

Top photo: Demonstrators hold shields and flags during the Unite the Right free speech rally at Emancipation Park in Charlottesville, Va., on August 12, 2017..

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Boston protests ahead of ‘free speech rally’ | Boston Herald – Boston Herald

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Scores of Hub residents who gathered on the Common last night to condemn the violence in Charlottesville, Va., say theyre prepared to return to the sitenext Saturdayto protest against a local Free Speech Rally organized by the man behind yesterdays white nationalist demonstration.

Were trying to mass mobilize said a woman named Elise, a member of the Boston Feminists for Liberation, which organized last nights vigil. We hope to get as many people as we can. Boston is my home and theyre coming here. I want to defend my home.

The Boston Free Speech Rally, set to begin on Boston Common at noon, is reportedly being organized by Jason Kessler, who led yesterdays protest in Charlottesville.

As dozens of people chanted bash the fasc and no Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA, demonstrators said theyre gearing up for a confrontation next week.

Its clear that the far right feels emboldened right now, said Khury Peterson-Smith, 35 of Dorchester. I think that starts with the president. I feel confident that the majority of people in this city and this country oppose that kind of bigotry. I hope we can show that through our presence.

Bonnie McBride of Boston said she worried that a large counterprotest would give them more of a voice but stressed she also didnt want to ignore it.

If it doesnt affect you directly, its easy to turn your face, she said. Its important for those of us who are white to stand up against this.

Nick Serpe, 29, of Cambridge said he was shocked by what happened yesterday in Virginia.

I think a lot of people werent planning on taking them seriously until what happened in Charlottesville, he said. We feel as a community we need to respond. I think everyone will be on high alert but I find comfort and strength in numbers from the people who are out against those demonstrators. Were not afraid.

Kristin Doyle, 23, of Framingham agreed.

Its really important to be proactive and get involved, she said. Things keep getting worse and we need to take a stand together. Its obviously going to probably be huge and probably terrifying. But solidarity is important I think well be ready.

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Militia chief says his group sought to guard free speech at Unite the Right – The Daily Progress

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Of the harrowing images televised nationwide from Saturday's white nationalist demonstration in Charlottesville, one of the more chilling sights, amid hours of raging hatred and mayhem, was of camo-clad militiamen on the streets, girded for combat in tactical vests and toting military-style semiautomatic rifles.

Photos and video of the heavily armed cadre - a relatively small force commanded by a 45-year-old machinist and long-ago Navy veteran from western Pennsylvania - spread rapidly on social media, raising fears the clash of hundreds of neo-Nazis and counterprotesters might end in a bloodbath.

The show of strength was about "allegiance . . . to the Constitution," particularly the First Amendment, said Christian Yingling, leader of the Pennsylvania Light Foot Militia. He said he and his troops "convoyed in" to Charlottesville early Saturday to defend free speech by maintaining civic order so everyone present could voice an opinion, regardless of their views.

The fact that no shots were fired, Yingling said, was a testament "to the discipline of the 32 brave souls serving under me during this particular operation." In a telephone interview Sunday, he sought to dispel "the absurd idea in the public's mind" that his group of "patriots" was allied with or sympathetic to the white nationalists.

Many militia units in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast have "mutual defense agreements," Yingling said. Because he has overseen several militia responses at contentious gatherings in recent months - helping "keep the peace" at right-wing public events in Boston; in Gettysburg and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; and at an April 29 rally in Harrisburg for President Donald Trump - Yingling said the commander of a Virginia militia asked him to organize and take "tactical command" of the Charlottesville operation.

"He had never handled anything like this," Yingling said. "And given the volatility of the event, it was not a good place to start."

When his group arrived in Charlottesville, "we put our own beliefs off to the side," Yingling said. "Not one of my people said a word. They were given specific orders to remain quiet the entire time we were there. . . . Our mission was to help people exercise their First Amendment rights without being physically assaulted."

He added: "It was a resounding success until we were just so drastically outnumbered that we couldn't stop the craziness. It was nothing short of horrifying."

In the interview and in a Facebook Live monologue Sunday, Yingling detailed why the militia members participated, how he went about organizing their appearance, and how his group was received - which he said was not with much welcome.

"Jacka---s," was how he described both sides, meaning the white nationalists, who billed the gathering as Unite the Right, and the counterprotesters, many marching under the banner of Antifa, for "anti-fascist." Yingling also criticized police, saying that officers were poorly prepared for the violence and not assertive enough in combating it and that they should have enlisted the militiamen to help prevent the mayhem.

Instead, about five hours after Yingling and his platoon arrived at 7:30 a.m., they were ordered by police to leave the area, he said. By 1:42 p.m. - when a man reputed to be a neo-Nazi adherentallegedly drove his car intentionally through a crowded pedestrian mall and into a sedan, killing a 32-year-old woman and injuring 19 others - the militiamen were far from Charlottesville, headed back to their encampment 50 miles northeast of the city, Yingling said.

He said several of his troops were battered and bloodied, having been attacked by people on both sides of the demonstration, yet they did not retaliate.

He said he does not know the suspect in the car killing, James Alex Fields, 20, of Ohio, or any of the white nationalists involved in Saturday's demonstration.

Virginia's secretary of public safety, Brian Moran, rejected the assertion that police were ill-equipped to handle Saturday's unrest. "To say we were unprepared or inexperienced is absolutely wrong," Moran declared Sunday, adding, "We unequivocally acted at the right time and with the appropriate response."

He said: "The fighting in the street was sporadic. But soon after it started, we began to have conversations about when to go in. The concern was that the fighting was in the middle of the crowd and that if we went in there, we would lose formation, lose contact. We would be putting the public and law enforcement in jeopardy."

Saturday marked the first time in 28 years the Virginia National Guard was used to help quell a civil disturbance. "The militia showed up with long rifles, and we were concerned about that in the mix," Moran said. "They seemed like they weren't there to cause trouble, but it was a concern to have rifles of that kind in that environment."

Authorities also were worried that Yingling - who was carrying a Sig Sauer AR-556 semiautomatic weapon - and his troops would be mistaken for National Guard members by the public, Moran said.

Yingling called the weapons "one hell of a visual deterrent" to would-be attackers from either side. Although the weapons' magazines were fully loaded, he said, the day's standard procedure "was that anyone who was carrying a long gun was not to have a round in the chamber. Now, our sidearms are generally chambered and ready to go."

The Pennsylvania Light Foot Militia is one of several Light Foot Militia outfits in states nationwide. In addition to having overall command of units in Pennsylvania, Yingling said, he is the leader of his home unit, the Light Foot Militia Laurel Highlands Ghost Company, based near his home in New Derry, Pennsylvania, about 50 miles east of Pittsburgh. The Ghost Company has about a dozen members, he said.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit watchdog group that monitors extremist organizations, classifies 276 militias in the country as "antigovernment groups," meaning they generally "define themselves as opposed to the 'New World Order,' engage in groundless conspiracy theorizing, or advocate or adhere to extreme antigovernment doctrines."

The Pennsylvania Light Foot Militia is on the list, as are Light Foot Militia units in South Carolina, Utah, Wisconsin, Idaho, Nevada and Oregon. But the SPLC points out that inclusion on its list "does not imply that the groups themselves advocate or engage in violence or other criminal activity, or are racist."

Yingling said he abhors racism and that his company, which usually trains in the woods once or twice a month, is open to prospective members "of all races and creeds," although its active roster is entirely white.

A Navy veteran of Operation Desert Storm, Yingling said he was an aviation machinist's mate for three years before leaving the service in 1993 as a petty officer third class, meaning he was four rungs up the enlisted ranks.

"I joined the military to avoid the addictive lifestyle of my parents," he wrote in a Facebook post. "I was raised in a VERY dysfunctional, abusive home. The military gave me the structure I needed." After his discharge, however, "I quickly fell right into the lifestyle I had known all my life with my parents. I quit going to church, I started using drugs and alcohol, heavily becoming addicted to both. It started a . . . downward spiral which led to an eventual suicide attempt."

Then, in 2008, President Barack Obama was elected. Yingling said he was drawn then to right-wing, anti-government extremism.

"I left my old addictive lifestyle behind and traded it for the lifestyle of a patriot," he wrote. "I had found my calling" as a militiaman. "I founded The Westmoreland County Militia, Regulators 1st Battalion with two fellow patriots." He later left the unit and formed the Laurel Highlands Ghost Company.

"No, I don't think the government, as a whole, is out to get us," he said in the interview, but "a lot of people in society are self-absorbed. They don't get involved with the Constitution and defending the freedoms that it gives us. We need to defend those freedoms - for everyone, on all sides of the political debate - or eventually we'll lose them."

About a month ago, when he learned the Unite the Right event was being planned, Yingling said, "I, like most militia commanders, did not want to touch it with a 10-foot pole" for fear of being wrongly perceived as an ally of white supremacists. But after talking it over with a fellow Light Foot commander, in upstate New York, he decided he had a duty to defend the right of free speech on the streets of Charlottesville.

Through Facebook and various militia chat rooms, he said, he recruited militia members from various East Coast units and organized a rendezvous Friday night at a farm in Unionville. He said he was angered and embarrassed that only 32 people showed up. Many others, he said, were afraid of being publicly branded as racists.

"We knew what we were walking into," he said on Facebook Live. "We knew what the results were going to be. And yet we walked in anyway. We weren't afraid. And we didn't give a good damn about our image or about what anybody thought about us. And I still don't."

Read the rest here:

Militia chief says his group sought to guard free speech at Unite the Right - The Daily Progress

Unitarian Universalism and Pantheism World Pantheism

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Pantheism and Unitarian Universalism: A harmonious match

Unitarian Universalism is based on the shared values of the Seven Principles, such as peace, democracy, tolerance and justice. However, it does not promote any particular answers to the ultimate questions about human existence is there a God or gods? Are our souls separate from our bodies? Do we have personal afterlives? Is the Universe a projection of a collective consciousness?

Most people need answers to ultimate questions, and most UUs add in these answers from some other source, such as Humanism, Buddhism, Paganism, Christianity and so on.

Scientific Pantheism is extremely compatible with the Seven Principles of UUism. If you love nature and are science-minded in your outlook, you may find that it provides a nice complement to UUism.

Many World Pantheist Movement members belong to Unitarian Universalist congregations and some are UU ministers. They tell us that perhaps a third or a half of Unitarian Universalists are probably strongly sympathetic to Pantheism.

The essence of Pantheism is a profound reverence for Nature and the wider Universe and awed recognition of their power, beauty and mystery. Some Pantheists use the word God to describe these feelings, but the majority prefer not to, so as to avoid ambiguity.

From this feeling flows the desire to make the most of our present life in our bodies on this earth, to care for nature, and to respect the rights of humans and animals in general. We choose to focus on the vibrant and urgent here and now, rather than on invisible realms, spirits, deities or afterlives.

We feel that Nature and the wider Universe are the most appropriate focus for our deepest reverence, rather than supernatural beings or afterlives. We believe that everything that exists is a part of Nature and tend to be skeptical of supernatural phenomena.

We believe that mind and body are an inseparable unity, and so we do not expect personal survival after death. Instead we look forward to a natural persistence of our time on earth, in the actions and creations we leave behind, memories people hold of us, and recycling of our elements in Nature.

Many people who have these feelings dont call it Pantheism they may call it atheism plus wonder and awe, they may call it religious humanism, spiritual humanism, religious naturalism or some other variant, or they may not have a name for it.

A related tendency often found in Unitarian Universalist congregations is Panentheism. Panentheists hold that God is present in and throughout nature and humans, but also transcends them and is much greater than them. By contrast Pantheists consider that God is identical with Nature and the wider Universe, and use the term (if at all) primarily to express their own feelings towards Nature.

Basically Panentheism is a form of belief in a creator God, while Pantheism is not. Panentheism is fully compatible with traditional Christianity, Islam and Judaism, but Pantheism is not.

The two organizations complement each other neatly. World Pantheism shares the values of the UU Seven Principles. We are strongly committed to religious freedom, separation of church and state, religious tolerance and the teaching of science free from religious interference. We filed afriend-of-court brief in the US Supreme Court case, opposing the under God wording in the Pledge.

We have collected more signatures for UNESCOs Manifesto for Peace and Non-Violence than any other US voluntary organization.

We are signatories of the Earth Charter. We endorse and greatly expand on the Unitarian Universalist seventh principle Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. Active care for the environment is a central part of our ethic, along with human and animal rights. We aresaving rainforest via EcologyFund faster than any other religious or environmental group.

Many Unitarian Universalists, including ministers, are members and friends of the World Pantheist Movement. WPM members who belong to UU churches in some cases run courses on pantheism or pantheist services or regular small group meetings of pantheists. The WPM offers manyresources for Unitarian Universalists interested in pantheist services or groups.

Unitarian Universalism is a context where you meet sensible sociable tolerant people with varying religious philosophies for shared spiritual exploration and social action. But Unitarian Universalist congregations are focused more on broad spiritual exploration and social justice, and UUism in itself does not offer answers to lifes ultimate questions. Many people need both a social context AND a belief context in order to feel comfortable with their place in the universe.

With its special focus on Nature and Naturalism, World Pantheism can be considered as one of the main flavors of Unitarian Universalism, such as UU Buddhism, Religious Humanism, Unitarian Universalist Paganism and so on. If you consider yourself an atheist or humanist with spiritual feelings and a deep love of nature or if you are a pagan who enjoys nature-oriented celebration but does not believe in the literal reality of gods, spirits and magick then World Pantheism may be the spiritual context you are looking for.

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Unitarian Universalism and Pantheism World Pantheism

Book review | Radicals: Outsiders Changing the World, by Jamie Bartlett – Democratic Audit UK

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InRadicals: Outsiders Changing the World,Jamie Bartlettprobes into the worldviews and lives of individuals, groups and movements who are seeking to change the way we live now and examines their ostensibly radical properties. Bartletts natural storytelling abilities, shapedby his sensitive yet probing approach, make for an engaging read. This book inspires both enthusiasm and caution aboutradical thinking today, writesDavid Beer, and raises questions regardinghow radical ideas take hold and circulate.

Find this book:

Among the characters described in Jamie BartlettsRadicals, Im finding it hard to shake the image of the grinders. A particularly dedicated and self-focused branch of biohackers, grinders operate on their own bodies, adding microchips, devices and prosthetics as they seek to turn themselves into living DIY cyborgs. This is a kind of meat and metal transhumanism one that the grinders see as standing apart from the abstractions and pointless waffle of the transhumanist movement. The transhumanists want to think about how technology can extend and enhance human life; the biohackers want to get stuck into the practicalities of testing and experimenting.

This is where Bartletts book is so successful. He is a natural storyteller andRadicalsis a book of tales. Showing understanding and humility, moving himself into the role of outsider or studied observer when needed, Bartlett exercises the art of storytelling. The chapters follow a series of individuals and groups to explore their apparently radical properties. Each looks closely at the toils, successes and failures of those figures and the features of their thinking that might lead them to be labelled radical. Often mixing individual human stories with those of the movements of which they are a part, the book ranges across a transhumanist presidential hopeful, eco-protestors, mushroom-eating gatherings, a commune pursuing self-sufficiency, a libertarian nation-state start-up and a comedian-led anti-establishment political party, through to an interlude on the Prevent strategy and an account of some disturbing multinational Islamophobia.

Bartletts ability to be probing whilst remaining sensitive and non-dismissive draws out intriguing details that could easily have been lostthe state of the mattress in a commune love-shack, the emotional post-match reactions to hallucinogens, the character traits in a Five Star meeting, the revelation that a coffin-shaped bus was used partly to try to highlight a problem with American democracy and so on. For want of a more accurate comparison, this is documentary storytelling in the mode of Louis Theroux. As a result, subtleties emerge, such as tension between what appears, on the surface, to be philosophically aligned: for instance, biohackers and transhumanists. Intriguing and sometimes fraught with a little jeopardy, you cant help but get hooked on the narratives.

In places, the stories seem unreal or like Bartlett is gate-crashing a film set. In other cases, the stories are grim and all too gritty, upsetting in how easy it is for unpalatable ideas to circulate and create action. There is a message here about what happens when frustration builds. Bartletts argument is that we need different radical approaches, however unsettling, to enable genuine debate to thrive. Radicals are important, Bartlett suggests, because they bring both disobedience and the possibility of getting things wrong.

Genuine radicals, by definition, are hard to find. An easy point to make about a book like this would be to take issue with the selection of stories chosen. In places I found myself wondering if these were, indeed, all that radical. Psychedelics and free-love communes seem a bit dog-eared. People have been implanting themselves withRFID chipsfor well over a decade. And setting up a new nation state has even been the focus of a fairly well-knowncomedy series. In places Bartlett acknowledges this, and adds reflections on the unoriginality of what he is seeing. Im not sure that matters though. In all cases, the contemporary context lends new life or new circumstances to even old ideas. And anyway, this seems to be a book about peopletryingto be radicals. I started to wonder if these characters were actually trapped in the idea of what a radical is, causing patterns to be repeated. Bartletts stories are laced with more than enough self-awareness for him to see the limits of the various propositions on display. As I read the accounts, I sometimes imagined the author flashing a knowing glance to cameraoccasionally that glance was tinged with discomfort and even, in some key moments, deep concern.

Bartletts radicals may not always be all that radical, and they certainly bring out a strong sense of disgust in some cases, but their stories tell of something beyond the surface. These stories often feel symptomatic. As well as being a book about radicals, it is a book about problems. Sometimes the radicals are trying to solve the problem; in other cases they embody one. As Bartlett begins the book, he claims that: although we have more information, fast computers and clever analysts to understand these problems, we seem less and less capable to predict or affect any of them. We cant data-analyse our way out of a number of these issues, especially as we are data-analysing our way into quite a few of them.

Undoubtedly we find ourselves in a moment thatcalls for some radical thinkingwhich is probably something you could have said for most moments in history. Bartlett acknowledges that there were some political shifts whilst he was working on his book, shifts that altered what might be seen to be radical. Genuinely radical thinking cant now deal only in grand issues: it needs to ask how we can stem the rise in homelessness, transcend growing prejudice and divisions, make social housing safe, reopen libraries or rebuild crumbling health and education systems.

Bartletts prediction is that there is more to come. His book was finished in 2016 and the events of 2017 seem to lend it some credibility. He identifies the shifts in 2016 as being early signs of a more significant realignment and that political norms will change. Prediction is difficult at the moment, but this one seems to have some weight. If this realignment does continue to unfold, then some radical notions might well be guiding it.

Bartletts book inspires both caution and enthusiasm for radical thinking. The current moment is defined by a battle for ideas in a mutating public sphere of social media, algorithms and unfettered real-time reaction. In this context, Id be a bit worried that we dont really fully understand how ideas circulate or who is able to conjure the authority to make those ideas visible and give them power. As Bartlett points out, it is what is seen to be possible that is at stake. As this book begins to illustrate, it is not just ideas themselves that matter, but how they become part of the world; how they are promoted, controlled and silenced. This is no fault of Bartletts, but Im left wondering about the mechanisms by which radical ideas take hold.

This post represents the views of the author and not those of Democratic Audit. It was originally publishedhereand is repostedwith the permission ofDavid Beer.

David Beeris Reader in Sociology at the University of York.Popular Culture and New Media: The Politics of Circulationis now available in paperback. His most recent book isMetric Power. You can find him on Twitter @davidgbeer.

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Book review | Radicals: Outsiders Changing the World, by Jamie Bartlett - Democratic Audit UK

Ex-NATO supreme commander: ‘We’re in bad upward spiral’ with North Korea – The Hill

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Retired Navy Adm. James Stavridis warned that tensions between the U.S. and North Korea are in "an upward spiral," and urgedPresident Trump to pursue a diplomatic solution to the current standoff between the two countries.

"We're in an upward spiral of very aggressive rhetoric both from Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, and President Trump," Stavridis told radio host John Catsimatidis in an interview that aired Sunday. "That rhetoric is driving both militaries to a higher level of readiness to conduct operations.

"The good news is we still have a diplomatic path to play here, and I'm hopeful as the week unfolds we'll see cooler heads prevail both in Washington and Pyongyang," he added.

Stavridis, who previously served as chief of U.S. European Command and supreme allied commander of NATO, said that the Trump administration should stop casting current tensions with Pyongyang as a U.S. problem.

Instead, he said, the president should seek to "internationalize" the issue to encourage cooperation from other countries.

"What we need to do is increase our missile defense capability," he said. "We need to internationalize this problem instead of treating it as though it's the United States versus North Korea. This should be about the world versus North Korea."

Tensions have soared between Washington and Pyongyang in recent days, after Trump threatened on Tuesday to unleash "fire and fury" on North Korea if the reclusive country continued to threaten the U.S.

That warning came amid reports that the North had successfully developed a nuclear warhead small enough to fit inside one of its missiles a major milestone in the country's pursuit to become a nuclear power.

North Korea's military followed up on Trump's threat Wednesday, saying it would have plans in place by mid-August to strike the waters near the U.S. territory of Guam.

Since then, Trump and North Korea's government have exchanged tough talk, stoking global concerns of a military conflict betweenWashington and Pyongyang.

Link:

Ex-NATO supreme commander: 'We're in bad upward spiral' with North Korea - The Hill

Why Russia is foolish not to invite NATO observers to its war games – The Economist

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Why Russia is foolish not to invite NATO observers to its war games - The Economist

Amnesty International: Weaponizing Hypocrisy for the US, NATO – teleSUR English

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Nicaraguas current Sandinista government has been the most successful ever in reducing poverty and defending the right of all Nicaraguans to a dignified life.

Over the last year, in Latin America, Amnesty International has takentheir collusion in support of NATOgovernment foreign policy down to new depths of falsehood and bad faith, attacking Venezuela and, most recently, Nicaragua. The multi-million dollar Western NGO claims, We are independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion.

RELATED: Global 'False' Witness Targets Nicaragua

That claim is extremely dishonest. Many of Amnesty Internationals board and most of the senior staff in its secretariat, which produces the organizations reports, are individuals with a deeply ideologically committed background in corporate dominated NGOs likePurpose,Open Society Institute,Human Rights Watch, and many others.

Mexico has over 36,000 people disappeared and abuses by the security forces are constant. Colombia has over four million internally displaced people with over 53 community activists murdered just in 2017. Amnesty International generally puts that horrific reality in context by including criticism of forces challenging those countries' authorities. By contrast, its reporting on Venezuela and Nicaragua, like those of other similar Western NGOs, reproduces the false claims of those countries minority political opposition forces, all supported one way or another by NATO country governments.

In Venezuela and Nicaragua, Western human rights organizations exaggerate alleged government violations while minimizing abuses and provocations by the opposition. This screenshot of Amnesty Internationals three main news items on Venezuela from Aug. 9gives a fair idea of the organizations heavily politicized, bad faith coverage of recent events.

This is identical false coverage to that of Western mainstream corporate media and most Western alternative media outlets too. Amnesty Internationals coverage minimizes opposition murders of ordinary Venezuelans, setting many people on fire, violent attacks on hospitals, universities and even preschools and innumerable acts of intimidation of the general population. That headline Venezuela: Lethal violence, a state policy to strangle dissent is a pernicious lie. President Nicolas Maduro explicitly banned the use of lethal force against opposition demonstrations from the start of the latest phase of the oppositions long drawn out attempted coup back in early April this year.

RELATED: Nicaragua Says Nica Act Reflects Continuity of US Imperialism

Likewise, against Nicaragua,Amnestys latest report, kicking off their global campaign to stop Nicaraguas proposed Interoceanic Canal, also begins with a demonstrable lie: Nicaragua has pushed ahead with the approval and design of a mega-project that puts the human rights of hundreds of thousands of people at risk, without consultation and in a process shrouded in silence That claim is completely false. Even prior to September 2015, the international consultants impact study found that the government and the HKND company in charge of building the canal had organized consultations with, among others, over 4,000 people from rural communities in addition to 475 people from Indigenous communities along the route of the canal and its subsidiary projects. There has been very extensive media discussion and coverage of the project ever since it was announced.

That extremely prestigious ERM consultants Environmental and Social Impact study, which together with associated studies cost well over US$100 million, is publicly availablein Spanishandin English. Two years ago, it anticipated all the criticisms made by Amnesty International and was accepted by the Nicaraguan government, leading to a long period of analysis and revision that is still under way. Amnesty International excludes that information. Recently, governmentspokesperson Telemaco Talaverasaid the continuing process involves a total of 26 further studies. Until the studies are complete, the government is clearly right to avoid commenting on the proposed canal, because the new studies may radically change the overall project.

Amnesty International states, According to independent studies of civil society organizations, along the announced route of the canal, approximately 24,100 households (some 119,200 people) in the area will be directly impacted. But, the ERM study notes, HKND conducted a census of the population living in the Project Affected Areas. The census determined that approximately 30,000 people (or 7,210 families) would need to be physically or economically displaced. But Amnesty Internationals report omits that contradictory detail, demonstrating how irrationally committed they are to the false propaganda of Nicaraguas political opposition.

Amnesty International claim their research team interviewed at least 190 people concerned about the effects of the canal. By contrast, the Nicaraguan government and the HKND company have discussed the project with around 6,000 people in the areas along the route of the canal. In that regard, even the local church hierarchy hascriticized the way the Nicaraguan oppositionhave manipulated rural families on the issue of the Canal. But that fact too, Amnesty International omits. Their whole report is tailor made to supplement the political oppositions campaign for U.S. intervention via the notoriousNICA Act.

The Nicaraguan government has made an express commitment to a fair and just resolution of the issue of expropriations. Its2015 report on the canalin the context of its National Development Plan, states: The Nicaraguan government and HKND will guarantee that persons and families on the route of the canals construction will have living conditions superior to those they currently have (without the canal). To that end, the Government of Reconciliation and National Unity, via the Projects Commission, will guarantee not just a fair and transparent indemnification of their properties, via negotiations and direct agreements with each family affected, but furthermore will promote actions to improve their economic conditions, health care, education, housing and employment."

But the Amnesty International report systematically excludes that and any other sources giving the governments point of view, claiming it was unable to access primary sources either from the government itself or from among the canals numerous advocates. However, secondary sources abound that categorically contradict Amnestys advocacy against the canal. The report specifically and extensively attacks theLaw 840, facilitating the construction of the canal and its sub-projects, but cynically omits a fundamental, crucial detail, while also failing completely to give relevant social and economic context.

The crucial detail is that Law 840s Article 18 specifically states the canal project cannot require any Government Entity to take any action that violates the political Constitution of the Republic of Nicaragua or the terms of any international treaty of which the State of the Republic of Nicaragua is a party. Amnesty International completely omits that absolutely crucial part of Law 840 from their report because it makes redundant their advocacy of opposition claims attacking the equity and legality of the Canals legal framework. The same is true of the relevant political, social and economic context.

Nicaraguas political culture is based on dialogue, consensus and respect for international law. All the main business organizations in Nicaragua and all the main international financial and humanitarian institutions acknowledge that. President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo enjoy levels of approval of over 70 percent. There is good reason for that massive majority approval. Among many other factors, the precedents of how the Nicaraguan authorities have resolved the relocation of populations affected by large projects, for example, the Tumarin hydroelectric project, completely contradict the scaremongering of the Nicaraguan opposition propaganda, so glibly recycled by Amnesty International.

Nicaraguas current Sandinista government has been the most successful ever in reducing poverty and defending the right of all Nicaraguans to a dignified life. To do so, among many other initiatives, it has mobilized record levels of direct foreign investment. In that context, Law 840 explicitly protects the huge potential investments in the proposed canal, while at the same time implicitly guaranteeing constitutional protections. Similarly, ever since the announcement of the canal, Ortega has repeatedly, publicly reassured people in Nicaragua that any families who may eventually be relocated should the canal go ahead will get every necessary help and assistance from the government.

Just as it has done in the case of Venezuela, on Nicaragua, Amnesty International misrepresents the facts, cynically promoting the positions of the countrys right wing political opposition. In Latin America, under cover of phony concern for peoples basic rights, in practice Amnesty International, like almost all the big multi-millionaire Western NGOs, gives spurious humanitarian cover to the political agenda of the US and allied country corporate elites and their governments. The destructive, catastrophic effects of Amnesty Internationals recent role in the crises affecting Syria, Ukraine and now Venezuela, are living proof of that.

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Amnesty International: Weaponizing Hypocrisy for the US, NATO - teleSUR English

Zapped over Zapad: NATO double think on war games reaches brain-dead condition – RT

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Finian Cunningham (born 1963) has written extensively on international affairs, with articles published in several languages. Originally from Belfast, Ireland, he is a Masters graduate in Agricultural Chemistry and worked as a scientific editor for the Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, England, before pursuing a career in newspaper journalism. For over 20 years he worked as an editor and writer in major news media organizations, including The Mirror, Irish Times and Independent. Now a freelance journalist based in East Africa, his columns appear on RT, Sputnik, Strategic Culture Foundation and Press TV.

With four weeks to go until the start of Russias Zapad (West) war games in Belarus, Western media are already reporting alarm bells that the exercise is a cover for an invasion into NATO countries.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, the United States is mobilizing a giant military force within days off the Korea Peninsula that could very well ignite World War III. Strangely enough, or perhaps not, the Western media report no concern about that much more ominous development.

The selective hysteria and double think over Russia-Belarusian military defense exercises, which occur every four years, makes a good case that those maneuvers should be renamed 'Zapped' such is the brain-dead condition of NATO governments thinking and the Western media reporting.

Russia and Belarus claim that the total number of troops involved are around 13,000. The US and other NATO members counter-claim that the numbers are in the 100,000 order.

Russias envoy to NATO, Aleksandr Grushko, has submitted an inventory of military forces backing up the Russian number, while the countrys foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said accusations that the war exercises are anything more sinister than simply defensive preparations are nonsense.

Those assurances havent stopped the Western media from hyping up the forthcoming Zapad drill as a foreboding event. In order to do so, the double think has inevitably gone into overdrive.

The New York Times reports: Russias military drills near NATO border raise fears of aggression. It goes on to call the event an exercise in intimidation carried out by an increasingly assertive Russia.

US Defense Secretary James Mattis has called the forthcoming Russian exercises destabilizing.

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So, lets get this straight: countless NATO exercises and unprecedented force build-up around Russias borders are not destabilizing? Seems like Mattis is saying that to merely have an army in ones own country is no longer acceptable. 'How dare you carry out provocative defensive measures,' seems to be his dubious logic.

What the NY Times fails to explicitly mention is that the Zapad drills are occurring within Russian or Belarusian territory and that the NATO border has come to exist only because of years of provocative eastward expansion by the US military alliance towards Russia. In contravention of the Russia-NATO Founding Agreement following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the supposed end of the Cold War.

Elsewhere, The Economist reports: Russias biggest war games in Europe since the Cold War alarms NATO. It adds: Some fear that Zapad 2017 could be a cover for skullduggery.

Omitted in all the fear-mongering reportage is that last year NATO actually mounted the biggest war games since the end of the Cold War when it conducted the Anaconda exercises in Poland and the Baltic states. Those drills involved over 30,000 troops and the participation of 24 of the then 27 NATO member states (NATO has since gained another member with Montenegro joining this year).

A Guardian report on the Anaconda maneuvers at the time noted, in a rather nonchalant tone, how it was the first time German tanks crossed Poland since the Nazi invasion of Russia in Operation Barbarossa in 1941.

Also omitted in general Western media coverage is that as the NATO alliance membership has expanded over the years so too have the number of its war games. Last year, for instance, in addition to the giant Anaconda maneuvers there were several other exercises: Summer Shield, Iron Wolf, Saber Strike and BALTOPS.

Other Western media reports claim that the Russian Zapad games are a harbinger of invasion by stealth, pointing to the case of Georgia and the Southern Caucasus. This comparison by the Western media is a betrayal of what psychologists call guilt projection. For it was the US-backed Georgia which launched a war nine years ago this month on Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The US-backed Operation Clear Field, which the Pentagon had invested $2 billion in, proved to be a disaster when Russian forces quickly repelled invading Georgian military.

For Western media and NATO figures to now claim that Russia is readying to repeat a Georgia-style invasion is beyond double think. It is an outrageous distortion of history.

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A helpful perspective on how zapped Western media have become is that next week the US will conduct huge military maneuvers on the Korean Peninsula with its South Korean and Japanese allies. Those exercises will involve up to 75,000 troops, as well as nuclear-capable warships, aerial bombers and amphibious forces.

Admittedly, the US war games in Korea occur every year. Their scheduling is not unusual. Albeit why such maneuvers have become acceptable in the West has to do with the normalizing function of the Western media.

Nevertheless, the massive mobilization is a continual source of threat perceived by Communist North Korea, which views it as a preparation for invasion. Given that the US never signed a peace treaty with North Korea following the Korean War (1950-53), the fears in Pyongyang are reasonable enough.

Especially in the light of bellicose statements made in recent days by US President Donald Trump and his Pentagon chief James Mattis, in which they have threatened to destroy North Korea if the latter should continue with missile tests. Trump has warned North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that his country will be met with fire and fury the like of which the world has never seen before.

The region, and the world for that matter, is being placed on a hair-trigger for catastrophic war a war that most likely would escalate into a nuclear conflagration involving the deaths of millions of people.

Yet, the US is bullishly proceeding to conduct its war games in Korea despite calls by both Russia and China for Washington to freeze the military operations in order to give diplomacy a chance at resolving the crisis.

Where are the urgent concerns about those US war games in the Western media? Precisely, there are none.

Instead, the Western media are preoccupied with anxieties over Russian military exercises within its own territory and that of a neighboring ally.

The brain-dead double think and double standards of Western media show more than ever that these news organs have nothing to do with reporting on or analyzing objective reality. For anyone doubting the purpose and function of these information services, they can be clearly seen as nothing other than propaganda ministries. Their function is to conceal, obfuscate, normalize the abnormal, defend the indefensible, justify the unjustifiable.

Perhaps the consummate absurdity betraying their propaganda purpose is the way Western media are totally ignoring and normalizing the reckless war maneuvers by the US in South Korea. That provocation could set off World War III with nuclear weapons, yet Western media say little to nothing about this abominable destabilizing danger.

No. Such 'news' media are far too busy fantasizing over a Russian invasion of Europe with troops that are stationed within Russias own territory, while being surrounded by NATO forces from more than 20 nations.

Zapped indeed!

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.

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Zapped over Zapad: NATO double think on war games reaches brain-dead condition - RT

NATO ‘Has No Right to Exert Pressure’ on Turkey Over Konya Military Base – Sputnik International

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Despite the fact that the Turkish authorities banned members of the German Bundestag from attending the Konya military base, NATO sent a letter to Berlin inviting German MPs to visit the facility.

In an interview withSputnik Turkey, former chairman ofTurkey's Council ofVeterans Koray Gurbuz said that NATO representatives have no right toexert pressure ona sovereign state and act onbehalf ofthe Turkish government ininternational politics.

"Turkey is an independent and sovereign state. And German parliamentarians must take this intoaccount. They can't visit military bases inTurkey when they want, even if these are NATO bases. To visit the base inKonya, the German government had tosend an appropriate request tothe Turkish competent authorities, and not toNATO structures," Gurbuz told Sputnik.

AP Photo/ Selcan Hacaoglu

"NATO's behavior inthis situation was inmy opinion incorrect. NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller sent a letter toBerlin inviting German MPs tovisit the base inTurkey. Ankara, afterall, had its reasons toban the Germans fromvisiting the base. And the behavior ofMrs. Gottemoeller was nothing else butexcess ofpower, which is unacceptable," the Gurbuz sad.

"According tothe norms ofinternational law and bilateral agreements signed byTurkey, NATO representatives have no right toexert pressure ona sovereign state and act onbehalf ofthe Turkish government ininternational politics," he concluded.

AP Photo/ Selcan Hacaoglu

Relations betweenBerlin and Ankara became tense afterGerman-Turkish reporter ofDie Welt newspaper Deniz Yucel was arrested inIstanbul inFebruary overalleged links toterrorist organizations and propaganda. The situation betweenboth nations worsened afterGermany banned Ankara fromholding pre-referendum rallies onGerman soil.

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NATO and Western Militarism in a Multipolar World – Center for Research on Globalization

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In this pact, we hope to create a shield against aggression and the fear of aggressiona bulwark which will permit us to get on with the real business of government and society, the business of achieving a fuller and happier life for all our citizens.

Address by US President Harry S. Truman, on the occasion of the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty (April 4, 1949) [1]

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The establishment of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in April of 1949 was defended, at least in public discourse, as a necessary bulwark against threats to peace posed by the Soviet Union.

Composed of 12 member states at the time, NATO was conceived as a collective defense among countries in the North Atlantic area (including Canada and the United States) all united in common cause to safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilization of their peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law. [2]

Today, nearly 3 decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the alliance remains active, with 17 additional members, including former members of the Warsaw Pact and constituent nations of the former Yugoslavia. Defense spending has shifted to the Middle East & North Africa and East Asia & Pacific regions. [3]

The post Cold War peace dividend was not realized, at least not for very long, as theatres of battle were waged progressively in the Gulf (1991), the former Yugoslavia (1995-1999), Afghanistan (2001), Iraq (2003), Libya (2011), and on the Russian frontier.

Peace has not been realized in the post Cold War era, and remarkably, a nuclear conflict between major powers is once again a very real prospect.

In April 2017, a symposium was held at the University of Manitoba probing the post Cold War military and parallel economic order. Three prominent thinkers were on hand to provide some background on NATOs actual as opposed to official role, the economic context of its various maneuvres, and the prospects and prescription for peace as social and ecological disruption continues to grip the globe.

The lectures were sponsored by the University of Manitoba based Geopolitical Economy Research Group, in association with Peace Alliance Winnipeg, the Manitoba Chair for Global Governance Studies in the Department of Political Studies at the University of Winnipeg, and the University of Manitoba Institute for the Humanities in the Department of Political Studies at the University of Manitoba. Audio and complete video were provided by Paul S Graham.

Radhika Desai is professor of Political Studies at the University of Manitoba and director of the Geopolitical Economy Research Group, based at that university. She functioned as the moderator andconvenerfor the April 3rd conference, and introduced the three main speakers.

Dr. Paul Kellogg is an Associate Professor in the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies at Athabasca University. He writes extensively about Canada and international political economy, Marxist theory and social movements. His most recent book is Escape from the Staple Trap: Canadian Political Economy after Left Nationalism (2015).

Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya is a sociologist, geopolitical analyst, Research Associate with the Centre for Research on Globalization, and the award-winning author of The Globalization of NATO. He is a contributor at the Strategic Culture Foundation (SCF), Moscow, and a member of the Scientific Committee of Geopolitica, Italy.

Roger Annis is a long time sociologist and retired aerospace worker. He writes on issues around war and peace and social justice. He is co-founder and editor of The New Cold War: Ukraine and Beyond.

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TheGlobal Research News Hourairs every Friday at 1pm CT onCKUW 95.9FMin Winnipeg. The programme is also podcast atglobalresearch.ca.The show can be heard on the Progressive Radio Network atprn.fm. Listen in everyThursday at 6pm ET.

Community Radio Stations carrying the Global Research News Hour:

CHLY 101.7fmin Nanaimo, B.C Thursdays at 1pm PT

Boston College RadioWZBC 90.3FM NEWTONSduring the Truth and Justice Radio Programming slot -Sundays at 7am ET.

Port Perry Radioin Port Perry, Ontario 1 Thursdays at 1pm ET

Burnaby Radio Station CJSF out of Simon Fraser University. 90.1FMto most of Greater Vancouver, from Langley to Point Grey and from the North Shore to the US Border.

It is also available on 93.9 FM cable in the communities of SFU, Burnaby, New Westminister, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Surrey and Delta, in British Columbia, Canada. Tune in at its new time Wednesdays at 4pm PT.

Radio stationCFUV 101.9FMbased at the University of Victoria airs the Global Research News Hour every Sunday from 7 to 8am PT.

CORTES COMMUNITY RADIO CKTZ 89.5out of Mansons Landing, B.C airs the show Tuesday mornings at 10am Pacific time.

Cowichan Valley Community Radio CICV 98.7 FMserving the Cowichan Lake area of Vancouver Island, BC airs the program Thursdays at 6am pacific time.

Campus and community radioCFMH 107.3fmin Saint John, N.B. airs the Global Research News Hour Fridays at 10am.

Caper Radio CJBU 107.3FM in Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia airs the Global Research News Hour starting Wednesday Morning from 8:00 to 9:00am. Find more details atwww.caperradio.ca

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NATO and Western Militarism in a Multipolar World - Center for Research on Globalization

StarTimes pay courtesy call on NSA boss – Ghana News Agency

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Print Sunday 13th August, 2017 Accra, Aug. 11, GNA - StarTimes, official Broadcaster of the Ghana Premier League, on Friday, met the leadership of the National Sports Authority (NSA). The StarTimes delegation held fruitful discussion with the Director General of the NSA, Mr. Robert Sarfo Mensah concerning the development of sports in the country. As part of StarTimes' aim of getting involved in promoting all sports in Ghana,

Accra, Aug. 11, GNA - StarTimes, official Broadcaster of the Ghana Premier League, on Friday, met the leadership of the National Sports Authority (NSA).

The StarTimes delegation held fruitful discussion with the Director General of the NSA, Mr. Robert Sarfo Mensah concerning the development of sports in the country.

As part of StarTimes' aim of getting involved in promoting all sports in Ghana, the NSA boss was consulted to partner the dream.

According to the Country Director of StarTimes, Leo Hao, sports must have a new look in Ghana.

"It is our dream to help grow Ghana sports.

"We want a successful collaboration that will see all sports get a better face lift as we are committed to grow sports in all aspects."

Mr. Sarfo Mensah was delighted to meet the StarTimes delegation and confirmed his office's readiness to partner them.

"My office wants to give Ghana sports the best, in terms of development.

"We are actually preparing to host the National Sports Festival, where more talents will be identified and nurtured. "

"I am very glad to have you and am confident that we can together promote Ghana sports," he noted.

GNA

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StarTimes pay courtesy call on NSA boss - Ghana News Agency

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