[ Reader Comments: MAGA Threat; China Balloon - Is This
Justification for a New Cold War; DeSantis Attack on Black Studies as
Alternative to Trump; You Thought Facebook Couldnt Get Worse...Think
Again; Cartoons; Announcements; more.... ]
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TIDBITS – FEB. 9, 2023 – READER COMMENTS: MAGA THREAT; CHINA
BALLOON – IS THIS JUSTIFICATION FOR A NEW COLD WAR; DESANTIS ATTACK
ON BLACK STUDIES AS ALTERNATIVE TO TRUMP; YOU THOUGHT FACEBOOK
COULDN’T GET WORSE – THINK AGAIN; CARTOONS;  
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February 9, 2023
xxxxxx
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_ Reader Comments: MAGA Threat; China Balloon - Is This Justification
for a New Cold War; DeSantis Attack on Black Studies as Alternative to
Trump; You Thought Facebook Couldn't Get Worse...Think Again;
Cartoons; Announcements; more.... _

Tidbits - Reader Comments, Announcements AND cartoons - Feb 9, 2023,
xxxxxx

 

* INFLATED AND DANGEROUS  --  CARTOON BY MIKE LUCKOVICH

 

THE CHINA BALLOON - TWO VIEWS -  IS THIS JUSTIFICATION FOR A NEW COLD
WAR (COMMITTEE FOR A SANE-U.S. CHINA POLICY; JACK RADEY)

 

* RE: RON DESANTIS’S ATTACK ON BLACK STUDIES IS TEXTBOOK
PROTO-FASCISM (PETER PHILLIPS)
* FLORIDA SCHOOLS  --  CARTOON BY ADAM ZYGLIS
* RE: MAKING SENSE OF THE UKRAINE WAR - CONTINUED (VALI BULAND)
* RE: IS IT FORENSICS OR IS IT JUNK SCIENCE? (DANIEL MILLSTONE;
GEORGE LESSARD)
* JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT FACEBOOK COULDN'T GET ANY WORSE  --
 CARTOON BY DR. JAMES MACLEOD
 

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

 

* WEBINAR - EXTENDING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS TO TENANTS: EARLY
LESSONS FROM SAN FRANCISCO’S UNION-AT-HOME ORDINANCE - FEBRUARY 16
(UC BERKELEY LABOR CENTER AND HOUSING RIGHTS COMMITTEE OF SAN
FRANCISCO
* THE 2023 XVI MAY DAY BRIGADE APPLICATION IS NOW OPEN!  -  APRIL
23RD - MAY 7TH 2023. (APPLICATION DEADLINE - FEBRUARY 17) (NATIONAL
NETWORK ON CUBA)

 

INFLATED AND DANGEROUS  --  CARTOON BY MIKE LUCKOVICH

 

Mike Luckovich
February 7, 2023
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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THE CHINA BALLOON - TWO VIEWS -  IS THIS JUSTIFICATION FOR A NEW COLD
WAR

 

STATEMENT OF THE COMMITTEE FOR A SANE-U.S. CHINA POLICY STATEMENT ON
CHINESE BALLOON INCIDENT OF JAN. 31-FEB. 5, 2023

China’s dispatch of a high-altitude surveillance balloon over the
Continental United States was a reckless provocation and should never
have been approved by senior Chinese officials, including President Xi
Jinping. Even if the surveillance was of a low-technology character
and posed no serious threat to U.S. national security – as affirmed
by senior U.S. military officials – it represented a violation of
U.S. sovereignty and a brazen affront to U.S.-China relations.
China’s response that the balloon was intended largely for
meteorological purposes and was blown off course by strong winds is
wholly unacceptable. President Xi should take personal responsibility
for the blunder, apologize to President Biden, and pledge to disallow
any further such intrusions.

That said, the balloon incident should not be allowed to derail
diplomacy between the U.S. and China aimed at reducing bilateral
tensions and establishing “guardrails” against the escalation of
future crises. Presidents Biden and Xi had agreed at their Bali summit
on Nov. 14 to seek such measures, and Secretary of State Antony
Blinken was scheduled to travel to Beijing on Feb. 5-6 to meet with
Chinese officials – including Xi – to carry this process further.

Blinken’s Feb. 3 decision to call off the trip, saying China’s
decision “to take this action on the eve of my planned visit is
detrimental to the substantive discussions that we were prepared to
have,” is understandable given the extraordinary furor in Washington
caused by the balloon’s intrusion into U.S. airspace, but must not
be permitted to impede the diplomatic process altogether. After a
suitable cooling off period – and, hopefully, expressions of regret
from Beijing – Blinken should set a new date for his trip and resume
the process initiated by Presidents Biden and Xi in Bali.

Dispatching a surveillance balloon over the United States was an
unfriendly act, and should never have occurred. It is true, however,
that both China and the United States conduct surveillance operations
on each other’s military capabilities all the time by other means.
Both sides, for example, deploy spy satellites capable of examining
air and missile bases located on the other’s territory. Accordingly,
whatever data might have been collected by the spy balloon would not
have contributed much of substance to the data already possessed by
China’s military.

What all this does tell us, however, is that both the U.S. and China
are treating each other as potential adversaries and view such
surveillance as a necessary prelude to actual combat, should that
occur. It is this dynamic that should worry us the most, as history
suggests that mutual distrust and bellicosity of this sort often leads
to the dangerous escalation of even minor crises and incidents.

Given this danger, and the likelihood that any war between the U.S.
and China would cause immeasurable damage to both countries, even if
nuclear weapons were not used (and there’s no assurance that this
would prove to be the case). Under these circumstances, robust
U.S.-China diplomacy is in the best interest of both countries, and
the two sides should do whatever they can to repair the damage caused
by China’s reprehensible balloon intrusion and allow for Secretary
Blinken to set a new date for his visit to Beijing.

Written by Michael Klare on behalf of the Committee for a Sane-U.S.
China Policy [[link removed]], a non-partisan
advocacy organization dedicated to reducing the risk of a U.S.-China
conflict through enhanced diplomacy and cooperation on issues of
mutual interest, especially climate change

      =====

I miss things, can someone help me out?

* Is there ANY evidence that the now-downed balloon had any "spy
gear" aboard?Any?
 
* Am I correct that the prevailing winds in the world revolve west
to east?
 
* Am I correct that the USA, Russia, China, and probably other
countries have satellites that fly over everywhere on the planet,
taking photos, electronic recordings, infrared pix, and anything else
they care to, that in 1973 were capable of finding every snake in
Sinai?  
 
* If I recall correctly, the US used to fly U-2 jets over the USSR
and China, and then SR-71 Blackbirds... well, we don't know where, or
if they still fly?  As to drones, who knows?
 
* If this balloon is a "spy" balloon, several questions immediately
come up.  Why?  When there are other platforms that can do the same
job?  And when you can drive to the areas the balloon covered and
take photos yourself, or listen to electronic emissions...
 
* And how was the intelligence gained by the balloon to be
recovered?  And since balloons are neither small nor fast, nor
maneuverable, why wouldn't you expect such a balloon to be spotted,
intercepted, downed, and the gear taken?
 
* So wouldn't it make sense that it is in fact not a spy satellite,
but rather a balloon blown off course?

Jack Radey

 

RE: RON DESANTIS’S ATTACK ON BLACK STUDIES IS TEXTBOOK PROTO-FASCISM
 

I  taught critical race theory for over 30 years at Sonoma State
University. 
DeSantis must be called out and stopped for his racist position.

Peter Phillips, PH.D., Professor Emeritus Political Sociology

 

FLORIDA SCHOOLS  --  CARTOON BY ADAM ZYGLIS

 

Adam Zyglis
February 3, 2023
The Buffalo News
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RE: MAKING SENSE OF THE UKRAINE WAR - CONTINUED

(posting on xxxxxx Culture
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So we think it’s acceptable to send weapons we previously sought to
ban? Continued escalation, loss of lives and destruction? Or condemn
the escalation as well as condemning the brutal war and call for
negotiations? I am confused by this article. What is the point?

Vali Buland
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
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RE: IS IT FORENSICS OR IS IT JUNK SCIENCE?
 

The presentation of sampling, analysis and interpretation of
“scientific” investigations in criminal prosecutions poses
problems (mostly) for defenders, "Expert" witnesses, cloaked in
science costumes and adorned with technical "qualifications" give
opinions which can land defendants in prison. Even fingerprint
analysis can fudged. Here, via xxxxxx,
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a look at some of the more egregious forensic fictions which courts
entertain. Thanks, especially to ProPublica
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together.

Daniel Millstone
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
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      =====

“… Dubious forensic techniques have spread throughout the criminal
justice system for decades. Here’s what ProPublica has learned about
junk forensic science techniques and how they proliferate.…”
    

George Lessard
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
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JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT FACEBOOK COULDN'T GET ANY WORSE  --  CARTOON
BY DR. JAMES MACLEOD

 

Dr. James MacLeod
January 26, 2023
MacLeodCartoons FB.COM/MACLEODCARTOONS
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WEBINAR - EXTENDING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS TO TENANTS: EARLY
LESSONS FROM SAN FRANCISCO’S UNION-AT-HOME ORDINANCE - FEBRUARY 16
(UC BERKELEY LABOR CENTER AND HOUSING RIGHTS COMMITTEE OF SAN
FRANCISCO)

 

Thursday, February 16, 2023
12:00-1:00pm PST
El evento se realiza en i inglés y español.

JOIN US via Zoom

REGISTER NOW
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Please join the UC BERKELEY LABOR CENTER and HOUSING RIGHTS
COMMITTEE OF SAN FRANCISCO for a conversation about the early
successes and challenges of San Francisco’s Union-At-Home ordinance.
The ordinance, which took effect in April 2022, is a
first-in-the-nation law that extends collective-bargaining rights to
San Francisco tenants.

During this webinar, a UC Berkeley Labor Center research team will
present a short overview of their findings from an implementation
study of the Union-At-Home ordinance. Afterwards, the research team
will moderate a panel discussion with four people who have been deeply
involved in tenant organizing at the local, state, and national
levels. Panelists will discuss the importance of tenant organizing,
the strengths and weaknesses of San Francisco’s ordinance, and what
it would take to expand the model to other cities and to state and
federal levels.

PANELISTS INCLUDE:

* LENEA MAIBAUM, Organizer, Tenants of Corporate Landlords, Housing
Rights Committee of San Francisco
* MARIA TORICHE, San Francisco Tenant
* KATIE GOLDSTEIN, Director of Housing and Healthcare Campaigns,
Center for Popular Democracy
* DEEPA VARMA, Program and Campaign Director, Tenants Together

Please RSVP if you plan to attend
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Don’t miss this exciting lunchtime event!

UC Berkeley Labor Center [[link removed]]
2521 Channing Way
Berkeley, Ca 94720

 

THE 2023 XVI MAY DAY BRIGADE APPLICATION IS NOW OPEN!  -  APRIL 23RD
- MAY 7TH 2023. (APPLICATION DEADLINE - FEBRUARY 17) (NATIONAL NETWORK
ON CUBA)

 

This year’s May Day Brigade is Sunday, April 23rd - Sunday, May 7th
2023.

Apply Now Online!
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Access Paper Application
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The 14-day program will include solidarity delegations from all over
the world! Preview this dynamic program here.
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The price of this year’s brigade is $900. The program costs
includes accommodations for 14 days (most of which will be spent at
the Julio Antonio Mella Camp), travel to and from the airport, meals,
and program activities. Please note, the $900 program costs
does NOT include visa nor airfare to and from Cuba; however our
partners at Marazul Tours, Inc. may help arrange flight travel for a
small fee.

Marazul Tours Inc. has provided this U.S. flight list for your
reference here.
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The program deposit is $200 and is due by FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2023.
PLEASE COMMUNICATE WITH US IF YOU REQUIRE SPECIAL PAYMENT
ARRANGEMENTS.

*
Money Order, Bank Check or Certified (Cashier’s checks) are welcome
– _no personal checks_

*
Credit Card payments will include a 4% convenience fee-for the land
package. Charge does not apply for airline tickets reserved through
Marazul Tours, Inc.

*
Payments can also be arranged via Zelle, Direct Deposit, or through
institutional checks. Or major credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, AmEx).

*
ZELLE Deposits can be sent with your name
to [email protected] identified ONLY with your name and
travel dates.
IMPORTANT: DO NOT REFERENCE THE WORDS “BRIGADE,” “CUBA,”
“HAVANA” AT ALL. Your note should include your name and the trip
dates only. Note- Zelle can be used for the airfare as well- if
preferred- but as most tickets need to be purchased immediately- a
credit card may be best.

*
Bank transfers are also available. Please
contact [email protected] to arrange payment this way.

SAVE THE DATE! On Thursday, February 16, 2023, we will host an
informational drop in, where we will discuss the May Day Brigade,
answer application questions, and share additional insight about our
program schedule in smaller break out sessions.

Questions? Please email [email protected].

APPLY FOR MAY DAY NOW!
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LEARN MORE [[link removed]]

APPLY FOR A SCHOLARSHIP
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NATIONAL NETWORK ON CUBA [[link removed]]  

* Reader Comments
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* MAGA
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* GOP
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* China Balloon
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* new cold war
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* China
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* U.S. - China relations
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* military budget
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* Ron DeSantis
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* Black Studies
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* CRT
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* Critical Race Theory
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* African Americans
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* Racism
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* Facebook
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* social media
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* Donald Trump
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* tenants
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* rent
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* Housing
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* Cuba
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* Cuba solidarity
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* Venceremos Brigade
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* Cartoons
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* Announcements
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INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT

 

 

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