January 18, 2021

Maryland Man Arrested After GPS Monitor Places Him At US Capitol During Riots, Prosecutors Say

MARYLAND (WJZ/CBS NEWS) — A self-professed white supremacist from Maryland was arrested Sunday after his GPS monitor placed him at the US Capitol during the riots on January 6, CBS News reports.

According to a federal affidavit, Bryan Betancur has made statements to law enforcement officers that he is a member of several white supremacy organizations and has voiced “homicidal ideations, made comments about conducting a school shooting and has researched mass shootings,”

Betancur was previously convicted for fourth-degree burglary and after he was released engaged with “racially motivated violent extremist groups on the internet, expressing his desire to be a ‘lone wolf killer,'” according to CBS News’ David Begnaud. ............(more)

https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2021/01/17/maryland-man-bryan-betancur-arrested-after-gps-monitor-places-him-at-us-capitol-during-riots-prosecutors-say/

January 18, 2021

Judge drops charges against 28 Black Lives Matter protesters in Detroit

(Detroit Metro Times) The 36th District Court in Detroit dismissed charges against 28 protesters who were arrested during anti-police brutality demonstrations last year.

Judge Larry Williams Jr. tossed the cases after the city of Detroit failed to provide discovery of information, including the identities of arresting officers and body cam footage, that could be used during a trial.

Protest group Detroit Will Breathe applauded the dismissals.

“This ruling is a vindication of the broader struggle for racial justice and liberation,” Detroit Will Breathe said in a statement. .............(more)

https://www.metrotimes.com/news-hits/archives/2021/01/15/judge-drops-charges-against-28-black-lives-matter-protesters-in-detroit

January 18, 2021

The Big Lie and truth are in an epic battle for the soul of America

The Big Lie and truth are in an epic battle for the soul of America
The media and brave politicians hold the key

Thom Hartmann


The media must explode this generation’s Big Lie: Donald Trump’s assertion that he really won the election and “voter fraud” handed a false victory to Joe Biden.

Trump and his handmaids on Fox, et al, have pushed his Big Lie so hard and so far that more than half of Republicans fully believe it —thus some are predictably acting on it, from the January 6th failed coup to armed protests at state capitols all around the nation. As long as they believe the Lie, they’re not going to stop or go away.

If our media keeps failing to point out that voter fraud largely doesn’t exist in America, and that Biden won by about 7 million votes fair and square, our political crisis will slide from bad to worse, more blood will be shed, and our republic may never recover.

The media must point out the fact that Trump is simply repeating the old fascist Big Lie playbook that, 80 years ago, brought the world to its knees, and nearly shattered our federal government. .............(more)

https://thomhartmann.medium.com/the-big-lie-and-truth-are-in-an-epic-battle-for-the-soul-of-america-d4cab6b06358

January 18, 2021

Lansing protest over the presidential election proves to be a dud

(Detroit Free Press) Fears of mayhem at the Capitol in Lansing appeared overblown as no trouble was reported Sunday during a small protest.

A dozen or so self-described members of the Boogaloo Bois openly carried rifles and handguns, but no shots were fired and no altercations were reported. They wore masks as they spoke briefly outside the fence that encircled the Capitol building. They condemned government overreach and insisted they always intended a peaceful demonstration. ....... (more)

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/01/17/lansing-capitol-protest-presidential-election/4199510001/

January 17, 2021

The story of mambo (or mumbo) sauce, the condiment that likely fueled the civil rights movement

The story of mambo (or mumbo) sauce, the condiment that likely fueled the civil rights movement
In this edition of "Saucy," we dive into the sticky red sauce that launched a multi-state trademark dispute

By ASHLIE D. STEVENS
JANUARY 17, 2021 10:31PM


(Salon) What is mumbo (or mambo) sauce?

It's a sweet and sticky red-orange sauce that's just a touch tangier and spicier than your typical Kansas-style barbecue sauce. This sauce is typically a mixture of tomato paste, pineapple juice, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, hot sauce (or cayenne pepper) and a squeeze of citrus.

What's in a name?

In 2018, a decades long debate about the origin of mumbo sauce — and who had the right to actually use the word "mumbo" — finally escalated to the courtroom. On one side, there was Select Brands, LLC., a company representing the interests of the late Chicago barbecue restaurant owner Argia B. Collins Sr. On the other, was the Washington-based company Capital City Mumbo.

Both claimed their respective cities as the birthplace of mumbo, and underlying the trademark dispute were parallel stories of Black entrepreneurship and the ways in which it impacted a city's culture.

Argia B. Collins was born in Indianola, Miss., in 1926. He was the twelfth child of his parents Elizabeth and Harvey. They were a farming family and one of the few Black families in their community who actually owned the land they worked (and one of the few families — Black or white — who actually owned an automobile in Indianola).

....(snip)....

Mumbo sauce also literally fueled the civil rights movement of the '60s. As the Chicago Tribune reported, Collins often served a young Rev. Jesse Jackson and other organizers of Operation Breadbasket — a predecessor of Operation Push — for free at Argia B's Bar-B-Q. Collins eventually expanded his mumbo empire, while simultaneously spurring the Black business movement. He opened two more restaurants and began supplying area grocery chains, such as Jewel and Dominick's and A&P. ............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2021/01/17/the-story-of-mambo-or-mumbo-sauce-the-condiment-that-likely-fueled-the-civil-rights-movement/

January 17, 2021

'Farcically stupid' GOPer Boebert brutally dismantled by Democrat for lies about Capitol assault

During an appearance on MSNBC's "The Sunday Show," Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) didn't mince any words when asked about newly-elected Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), calling her "stupid" and not worth anyone's time.

Speaking with host Jonathan Capehart, Maloney was asked about an accusation leveled at him by Boebert -- that she had to retract -- which opened the door for the blunt-talking Maloney to call out the GOP lawmaker in the thrall of QAnon conspiracies.

"You know, when you said bumper crop of crazy colleagues, it made me think of this back and forth that seems to be happening," Capehart stated. "Let me read it to the audience what your colleague, Congresswoman Boebert said: 'Sean Maloney's comments were extremely dangerous and shameful. there's not an ounce of truth to things he claimed about me.' Having read that, and the comments you just made, even in past interviews, you've never named anyone. Why do you think your colleague from the other side of the aisle is singling you out?"

"Well because she's incompetent," Maloney quickly shot back. "Because she jumped to a conclusion and didn't bother to look at what I said." ..........(more)

https://www.rawstory.com/boebert/?

January 17, 2021

Not that many protestors at the Michigan Capitol thus far, but there was this:

https://twitter.com/michpoligal/status/1350833813845385230?s=20

January 17, 2021

50 ancient coffins uncovered at Egypt's Saqqara necropolis

Egypt has announced the discovery of a new trove of treasures at the Saqqara necropolis south of Cairo, including an ancient funerary temple.

The tourism and antiquities ministry said the “major discoveries” made by a team of archaeologists headed by the Egyptologist Zahi Hawass also included more than 50 sarcophagi.

The wooden sarcophagi, which date back to the New Kingdom period – between the 16th and the 11th century BC – were found in 52 burial shafts at depths of 10 to 12 metres (40 feet).

Hawass said the funerary temple of Queen Naert, the wife of King Teti, as well as three warehouses made of bricks were also found on the site. ..........(more)

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/17/archaeologists-uncover-new-treasure-trove-at-egypts-saqqara-necropolis

January 17, 2021

Ultra-Orthodox rabbi tells followers Covid vaccine 'can turn people gay'

(Independent UK) An ultra-Orthodox rabbi has told his followers to avoid getting a Covid vaccine because it can “make them gay”.

Israeli media reported that Rabbi Daniel Asor, who has amassed a large online following, also claimed inoculation efforts were part of a “global malicious government“ trying to ”establish a new world order”.

While his claim of a link between the vaccine and homosexuality is factually incorrect, it also contradicts statements from leading orthodox rabbis who have called on their followers to come forward for a coronavirus jab.

According to news outlet Israel Yahom, Mr Asor used a recent sermon to claim: “Any vaccine made using an embryonic substrate, and we have evidence of this, causes opposite tendencies. Vaccines are taken from an embryonic substrate, and they did that here, too, so ... it can cause opposite tendencies," seemingly referring to homosexuality. .......(more)

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/covid-vaccine-rabbi-gay-b1788543.html

January 16, 2021

2020 was the hottest year on record. We'll remember it as one of the century's coldest.

(Grist) On Thursday, 2020 officially took its place in the upper echelon of warmest years in human history: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration ranked last year as the hottest year to date, ahead of 2016 by just a hair. Two other global temperature tracking organizations, the U.K.’s Met Office and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said 2020 was the second-hottest year on record, closely tailing 2016. Meanwhile, the European Union’s climate change agency declared a tie between the two years.

To say that this news was unsurprising would be a massive understatement. For 44 years in a row now, the globe has been hotter than the 20th century average. The world’s hottest seven years on record have all taken place since 2014, the 10 warmest years have occurred in the past decade and a half.

Each year, these monumental milestones seize the spotlight for a moment or two and then quickly fade away.

Tired of this cycle, Andrew Dessler, a professor in the geosciences department at Texas A&M University, has created a template auto-response for the requests he receives from journalists to comment on these records each year. “Thank you for emailing me asking for comment about 20__ being one of the hottest years on record,” it reads. “Here is a comment you can use for your story: ‘Every year for the rest of your life will be one of the hottest in the record. This means that 20__ will end up being among the coolest years of this century. Enjoy it while it lasts.’” ...........(more)

https://grist.org/climate/2020-was-the-hottest-year-on-record-well-remember-it-as-one-of-the-centurys-coldest/