T and R, and Many Thanks, Ms. Benny!! 🙂

The Assange case is an illegitimate prosecution of a journalist for exposing US war crimes who along with his lawyers was spied on by the CIA, and a key witness against him has admitted to fabricating crucial pieces of evidence. And yet, somehow, Assange is still in prison.

— Caitlin Johnstone (@caitoz) June 26, 2021

Broadband speed slashed by 86%?
My goodness.
LINA KHAN (FTC) has been rattling All the right Hollywood cages regarding the Amazon/Warner Brothers deal….
I cannot wait to see how Broadband Bandits react to her tough talk!! https://t.co/QcXV0l93A4

— Chloe Valentine 🇺🇲 (@ChloeVTweets) June 26, 2021

A dramatic rendition of the fireflies from last night. This image includes the light from a police car that was patrolling the park. I love the orange of the Pyractomena sp. fireflies. It looks like an amazing summer party.#FireflyMagic pic.twitter.com/2y0avUeoAq

— Jen Cross (@7StellarJays) June 27, 2021

I hope you are all having a good weekend.

🙁

RIP Mike Gravel.

— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) June 27, 2021

He was a good man.

Film director describes how teenagers persuaded Mike Gravel to run for president

https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/547375-film-director-describes-how-teenagers-persuaded-mike-gravel-to-run-for

Biden gambles on bipartisanship

President Biden has taken a high-stakes gamble on bipartisanship, tying his sails to a Senate deal on infrastructure that has sparked howls of protests from his liberal base.

The president has moved to soothe anxieties on the left, saying he wants to pass the bipartisan deal and a larger package filled with progressive priorities “in tandem.”

But make no mistake, the president who vowed to change the way Washington works after four years of former President Trump has now given his blessing to a package put together by GOP senators working with the most conservative Democrats in the body.

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/560331-biden-gambles-on-bipartisanship

Looks like the “in tandem” thing is already old news.

Biden: ‘Not my intent’ to imply veto for bipartisan infrastructure package

Biden had said on Thursday that he would not sign a bipartisan deal on infrastructure unless a larger reconciliation deal was passed through the Senate, but on Saturday he attempted to walk back some of those remarks.

“At a press conference after announcing the bipartisan agreement, I indicated that I would refuse to sign the infrastructure bill if it was sent to me without my Families Plan and other priorities, including clean energy,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House Saturday afternoon.

“That statement understandably upset some Republicans, who do not see the two plans as linked; they are hoping to defeat my Families Plan—and do not want their support for the infrastructure plan to be seen as aiding passage of the Families Plan.

“My comments also created the impression that I was issuing a veto threat on the very plan I had just agreed to, which was certainly not my intent,” he added.

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/560403-biden-says-it-was-not-my-intent-to-imply-he-would-veto-bipartisan

I hope this happens! It would be a welcomed bit of good news:

Where the buffalo roam: world’s longest wildlife bridge could cross the Mississippi

Between Iowa and Illinois, spanning the only stretch of the Mississippi River that flows from east to west, sits an exhausted 55-year-old cement bridge. Each day 42,000 cars drive across the ageing structure, which is slated to be torn down and replaced.

But when Chad Pregracke looks at the bridge, he has a different vision entirely – not an old overpass to be demolished, but a home for the buffalo to roam.

If completed, the bridge would become the longest human-made wildlife crossing in the world. The plan would see a new bridge built further down the river, where car traffic will be rerouted, and the existing bridge converted for use by humans and American bison – colloquially known as buffalo.

On one side would stand a pedestrian path and bike path, and on the other an enclosed bison paddock that would let visitors see eye to eye with the huge creatures. The herds would be free to roam between Iowa and Illinois in the grassy expanse, and the project would establish the first national park in either state.

Native American groups say bison restoration is an important means of reconnecting with the land and local history – and recognizing the interlinked atrocities committed against bison and Indigenous people.

Since 1997, the National Wildlife Federation has held a conservation agreement with an intertribal advocacy group for the return of wild bison to tribal lands and “restoring Native Americans’ cultural connection to bison”. What is now the Quad Cities was, in the early 1800s, a principal trading center for Indigenous peoples. Advocates say highlighting the area’s traditional connection with bison can call attention to that history.

Jason Baldes, a tribal bison coordinator for the National Wildlife Federation and member of the Eastern Shoshone:

“We are finding ways to heal from the atrocities of the past, and buffalo restoration, and the restoration of the foundation of our cultural values and belief systems, is very important to that,” Baldes said.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/27/bison-bridge-wildlife-crossing-mississippi-river

Gwen Berry turns away from flag at US Olympic trials and says she was ‘set up’

Olympic hammer thrower Gwen Berry has said she was “set up” after turning away from the flag during a medal ceremony at the US Olympic trials on Saturday night.

The 31-year-old has a long history of activism and raised her fist as The Star-Spangled Banner ended when she won gold at the 2019 Pan American Games, something she said was a protest against injustice in the US and the presidency of Donald Trump. On Saturday, the anthem started as Berry was on the podium after finishing third in the trials. While the music played, Berry placed her left hand on her hip and shuffled her feet. She took a turn, so she was facing the stands, not the flag. Toward the end of the anthem, she picked up her black T-shirt with the words “Activist Athlete” emblazoned on the front, and draped it over her head.

Berry believes it was no coincidence that she was front and center during the anthem. Unlike the Olympics, the anthem does not accompany medals ceremonies at the US trials. But the hammer throwers received their awards just before the start of the evening session, which has been kicking off all week with a video rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner played on the scoreboard. “I feel like it was a set-up, and they did it on purpose,” Berry said of the timing of the anthem. “I was pissed, to be honest.”

USA Track and Field spokeswoman Susan Hazzard said that “the national anthem was scheduled to play at 5.20pm. We didn’t wait until the athletes were on the podium for the hammer throw awards. The national anthem is played every day according to a previously published schedule.” On Saturday, the music started at 5.25pm.

“They said they were going to play it before we walked out, then they played it when we were out there,” Berry said. “But I don’t really want to talk about the anthem because that’s not important. The anthem doesn’t speak for me. It never has.”

Berry’s third-place finish at the trials guarantees her a place at the Olympics and she has promised to use her position to raise awareness about social injustices in the US. “My purpose and my mission is bigger than sports,” she said. “I’m here to represent those … who died due to systemic racism. That’s the important part. That’s why I’m going. That’s why I’m here today.”

Berry’s gesture drew virtually no reaction from the stands, and the winner of Saturday’s hammer trial, DeAnna Price, said she supported her teammate. “I think people should say whatever they want to say. I’m proud of her,” Price said.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jun/27/gwen-berry-national-anthem-protest-hammer-thrower-us-olympic-trials

(attached pic)
Gwen Berry (left) turns away during the national anthem at the US Olympic trials. Photograph: AP/Charlie Riedel