COINTEL That
“At a House Judiciary Committee hearing on oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., asked FBI Director Christopher Wray for information the bureau had collected on her work as an organizer and activist before her time in Congress. On June 4, Bush sent a letter to Wray requesting that the bureau deliver access to all information it had collected on her protest and organizing activities before Wray’s scheduled testimony. According to Bush’s office, the inspector general’s review is pending.”
“Federal authorities have long surveilled and infiltrated activist movements in the United States, with a particular focus on Black social justice and civil rights organizers, including Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King Jr., the Black Panthers, and Black Lives Matter. As The Intercept reported in 2015, the Department of Homeland Security has routinely monitored activists since the 2014 uprising in Ferguson. The FBI’s counterterrorism division identified a fictional “black identity extremism” movement as a threat until as recently as 2017, and it warned that “perceptions of police brutality against African Americans” drove “an increase in premeditated, retaliatory lethal violence against law enforcement and will likely serve as justification for such violence.” The practice continued last summer, when the FBI flew an advanced spy plane over Black Lives Matter protests in Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, the agency says it does not monitor “First Amendment-protected activities” without a tip or open investigation; the bureau cited that as a reason it did not catch social media activity related to planning the January 6 attacks on the Capitol.” The Intercept: Cori Bush Demands FBI Data On Her Protest Activity Cori Bush asked for receipts! It is known that the data was collected, it will be interesting to see if she can actually get it. But in no way will I believe that what she gets is the entire file. Not a chance. This is a tactic the FBI has always used to attempt to stop Black civil rights movements by creating dissension in the ranks. Cori Bush said not his time.
Oceans Five
“Anyone who thought the world had four oceans will now have to think again, after the National Geographic Society announced it would recognize a new Southern Ocean in Antarctica, bringing the global total to five. The Southern Ocean consists of the waters surrounding Antarctica, out to 60-degrees south latitude. National Geographic Society geographer Alex Tait said scientists have long known that the waters surrounding Antarctica form a “distinct ecological region defined, by ocean currents and temperatures”. Tait told the Washington Post that the span of water is yet to be officially recognized as an ocean by the relevant international body: “But we thought it was important at this point to officially recognize it. Up until now, we’ve said four oceans,” Tait said, referring to the Arctic, Atlantic, Indian and Pacific. We think it’s really important from an educational standpoint, as well as from a map-labeling standpoint, to bring attention to the Southern Ocean as a fifth ocean,” Tait told the Post. So when students learn about parts of the ocean world, they learn it’s an interconnected ocean, and they learn there’s these regions called oceans that are really important, and there’s a distinct one in the icy waters around Antarctica.” The Guardian: National Geographic recognizes new Southern Ocean, bringing global total to five First Pluto, now another ocean; I really hate when the facts from elementary school change.
Evictions in Black
“An advocacy group found that a firm has been filing for eviction much more often in predominantly Black neighborhoods during the pandemic. The letter, written by Senator Sherrod Brown cites reporting by NPR and Bloomberg about findings by the non-profit Private Equity Stakeholder Project that companies owned by Pretium filed to evict more than 1,000 residents during the pandemic. The group also found a disparate impact on Black renters. It looked at four counties where Pretium owns hundreds of single-family rental homes in each, comparing two mostly Black counties in Georgia with two mostly white counties in Florida where the median incomes are similar. But the report found that in the two white counties, Pretium has been filing for eviction against 1% and 2.5% of the people renting homes there. By comparison, they filed to evict 9.5% and 12% of their residents in majority-Black counties in Georgia — rates upwards of four times higher.” NPR: Senator Presses Landlord Over Report It Evicts Black Renters At Higher Rates This company filed for evictions while the CDC ban on evictions was in place. They didn’t care. They wanted these residents out. As we know evictions have a negative effect for years to come and makes is very difficult to find new housing. It is maddening how racism shows up in every single thing. It would already be shady that you did this while a ban was in place to begin with; but then you had to add racism for the proverbial cherry on top.
Toobin Finished
“Months after a very public Zoom scandal during which he was caught masturbating, Jeffrey Toobin is returning to CNN as its chief legal analyst. “I wasn’t thinking very well or very much, and it was something that was inexplicable to me,” Toobin said Thursday in an interview with “CNN Newsroom” co-host Alisyn Camerota. He described the incident as “deeply moronic and indefensible.” Toobin said he spent “seven miserable months” after the incident and has engaged in therapy, as well as volunteering at a community food bank. All of this, he said, is an effort to “become the kind of person people can trust again.” Atlanta Journal Constitution: Jeffrey Toobin returns to CNN after ‘deeply moronic’ Zoom incident Look, this is awfully dramatic. He went to therapy and volunteered at a food bank so he won’t masturbate during a work meeting. I believe him when he says he thought the camera was off. But, I also believe he did this more than once. My advice: Double check your camera … and don’t forget the microphone. (Not that I in any way condone masturbating at work, unless that is your actually job.)
The Culture Commentary 