#and the rallies for the mta workers

[belialjones]

did it before, gonna do it again

[omfgtrump]

Tale of Two Viruses: Part 29

Can you imagine knowing there is something in the air that can kill people and not being truthful about it? 

The idea that The Don didn’t understand the dangerousness of the virus was always ridiculous, but something his apologists promulgated. Remember that first news conference when he spoke about the 15 cases and how most of the infected were recovered and…well, that’s that?

Now we have tapes from Bob Woodward’s 18 interviews with The Don which are part of his new book “Rage.”

“It goes through the air. That’s always tougher than the touch. You don’t have to touch things. Right? But the air, you just breathe the air and that’s how it’s passed. And so that’s a very tricky one. That’s a very delicate one. It’s also more deadly than even your strenuous flus,” Trump told Woodward on Feb. 7

“This is 5 percent versus 1 percent, or less than 1 percent.” (Referring to what was then thought to be percentage of people who would die.)

 On March 7th, The Don had this to say to Woodward: “Just today and yesterday, some startling facts came out. It’s not just old, older. Young people too, plenty of young people.”

“I wanted to always play it down. I still like playing it down because I don’t want to create a panic.”

Does it enrage you that the man leading this country decided to “play it down,” because he was trying to prevent panic? That’s like not telling someone, with his back turned, that a car is hurtling towards them because you don’t want them to freak out. If you don’t know what hit you, no biggie.

 The Don’s deadly spin on why he down-played the seriousness of the virus is another example of how warped and dangerous he is.

Explain that malignant reasoning to the grandmother you lost, the father, the daughter, your close friend. Tell that to the policeman, the meatpacking plant worker, the sanitation and MTA workers. Tell that to former presidential candidate Herman Cain.

The reason The Don didn’t tell the American people is because he is a deeply disturbed man who has no consideration for anyone else but himself. We have witnessed time and time again his construction of altered realities that he serves up to support the grandiose narrative he tells about himself. If he doesn’t like the facts presented, he spins them to his liking.  

The reason The Don did not tell the public about the seriousness of the virus is because he did not want to ruin his own narrative of how great a president he is. Remember, with The Don, everything is about him; the presence of a virus was like bringing a disruptive guest to your party. How dare they show up and spoil the beautiful spread (the stock market)? What nerve.

Now that we have nearly two hundred thousand deaths, with no end in sight (Canada just reported no deaths in the entire country!), The Don continues to to play it down, acting as if it is a thing of the past. Political rallies of thousands with no social distancing and few masks. Urging schools to open without any federal financial assistance and no coordinated plan. The man continues to promote things that will spread the virus and cause more deaths.

In Woodward’s book, we also get treated to The Don’s smugness about helping the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia cover up the murder of a Washington Post journalist, just as we watch in real time The Don’s disinterest in the poisoning of the opposition leader in Russia.

We also get to hear how tickled he was to be with Kim Jung-un, and be the first to make him smile.

And how disturbed is this country, that with an out of control pandemic raging, he could win re-election?  

And how disturbed is this country that a man who loves autocrats that have no value for human life can win re-election? Here is a quote from one of Woodward’s tapes:

“I can tell you the relationships I have, the tougher and meaner they are, the better I get along with them. ‘The easy ones’ I don’t like as much or don’t get along with as much.” Now those are words we want to hear from a president.   

And how disturbing is it a president who claims climate change is a hoax and waits days before barely mentioning that the wildfires in the West are claiming lives, destroying properties and ruining lives in a manner never seen before; a man who believes if people in the West were just better sweepers none of this would happen.

Finally,when he begrudgingly makes an appearance to meet with officials the “Very Stable Genius” says”

“When trees fall down after a short period of time, they become very dry — really like a matchstick,” Mr. Trump said. ��And they can explode. Also leaves. When you have dried leaves on the ground, it’s just fuel for the fires.”

Then he went on to say:

 “It’ll start getting cooler,” he insisted. “You just watch.”

“I wish science agreed with you,” Mr. Crowfoot replied.

“Well, I don’t think science knows, actually.”

Yes, it will magically get cooler, just like the virus will magically disappear.

Are you enraged that Republicans stand by watching a man destroy lives and bring the country to its knees?

I don’t know about you but I am enraged at Bob Woodward, the world famous Washington Post journalist whose book on Watergate helped bring Nixon down. I am enraged at him as he had a tape of The Don stating he knew how serious this all was and that he was playing it down, knowing that people would die. Some disagree with me, but I feel Woodward should have released that tape to the public as it is irrefutable proof of The Don’s willing complicity with a genocide of neglect. Blood on your hands, Mr.Woodward.

My rage is at Mr. Praying Mad Dog Mattis for thinking that praying at church was the proper response to his fear about The Don causing a nuclear catastrophe. During Nixon’s waning days in office he was becoming more and more unstable. As a result, Defense Secretary James Schlesinger issued an unprecedented set of orders: If the president gave any nuclear launch order, military commanders should check with either him or Secretary of State Henry Kissinger before executing them. And Mad dog, you went to church? For all your bravery Mr. Mad Dog, you abandon your country when it needed you most. It’s disgraceful.

And there are so many others for some inexplicable reason have abandon their moral posts and allowed this man to do what he has done.

People we’ve got to vote this evil and dangerous man out of office!

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[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

By Stephen Millies

New York, Oct. 30 — Ten thousand transit workers jammed Manhattan’s lower tip tonight to say “No!” to the Mass Transit Administration’s giveback demands. MTA chairman Pat Foye — also known as “Pat Fraud” — is demanding workers pay much more money for health insurance.

The 41,000 members of Transit Workers Union Local 100 move New York City. A trillion dollars worth of real estate would be worthless without their labor.

Yet the big business media has been running a hate campaign against TWU members, many of whom work in dangerous conditions underground in the subways and above the streets on elevated lines.

[wikifoxnews]

Who is Alexander Wright ( Suspect who assaulted ‘hero’ NYC subway worker previously arrested 41 times ) Wiki, Bio, Age, Crime, Arrest, Incident Details, Investigations and More Facts

Alexander Wright Biography                              Alexander Wright Wiki

A man accused of beating up a Bronx subway cleaning hero was arrested 41 times in the past, including over a hate crime that has already made him a figurehead for drum justice, the Post learned.

Suspect Alexander Wright, 49, is currently behind bars on a paltry $5,000 bail, half of what Bronx prosecutors were asking for his alleged vicious attack on the station employee he was trying to prevent, the accused Deter offenders from harassing straphangers. Wright reportedly punched 35-year-old MTA employee Anthony Nelson around 8:40 a.m. Thursday, taking the victim to the hospital with injuries including a broken collarbone and a dislocated nose. Alexander Wright, 49 and homeless, is accused of attacking a subway cleaner in The Bronx Thursday. This will be his 42nd arraignment in an NYC court. He faces a maximum 7-year sentence. Last year he was accused of attacking an Asian woman in Chinatown in a video that went viral. https://t.co/Rn1HkEnex0 — Crime in NYC (@CrimeInNYC) August 16, 2022 The horrific attack was just the latest in a long list of crimes attributed to Wright — from throwing a random gunshot party at an Asian woman in Chinatown to throwing hot coffee at two Midtown police officers last year. "If you look at his story, you're going to throw up," Robert Kelly, vice president of the Transit Workers Union Local 100, told The Post. "The system has let society down 40 times," Kelly said. "In the end, these are all similar assault cases." The victim's angry mother, Lisa Nelson, called Wright a "danger to society." "This man Alexander Wright shouldn't be walking the streets," said the mother, who appeared on her son's behalf at a union rally outside the Bronx Courthouse on Tuesday. "I hope that these politicians and these judges will give him the best he deserves and not let him go free." In June 2021, Wright was arrested for allegedly beating a 55-year-old Asian woman in lower Manhattan during a video attack. A month earlier, he had been accused of throwing hot coffee at two Manhattan traffic cops and hitting them in the process. When he was arrested for assaulting the Asian woman, Wright was taken to Bellevue Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. However, it is unclear when or why he was released after this incident or the coffee attack. Other allegations made against the alleged repeat offender over the past year included further second-degree assault, harassment and criminal offenses, police said. He had also previously been charged with other assaults, disorderly conduct, petty larceny and criminal possession of a controlled substance for allegedly carrying synthetic marijuana, police and police sources said. Wright appeared shortly before the Bronx Criminal Court Tuesday during the Nelson assault, but the hearing was adjourned until Friday. In Nelson's attack, he suffers robbery for second-degree criminal assault, third-degree assault, and second-degree molestation. The suspicion remains behind bars on a bond issue, which in the case is set at $5,000 in cash, $5,000 in bonds or the much less rigid $5,000 in partially backed bonds, officials said. Prosecutors have requested that bail be set at $10,000 in cash, $30,000 in bonds or $30,000 in 10% partially secured bonds, a DA official said. Judge Michael Hartofilis determined the lower limit. The ominous subway attack came as the latest NYPD statistics show that serious crime across the city has increased 36% since this time last year. The grim number has remained stable even as homicides and shootings have declined. Read the full article

[shirlleycoyle]

New York City’s War on Bikes Is Dangerous for Workers and the Environment

In Bill de Blasio’s May 16 presidential campaign announcement on YouTube, he is at one point shown at a rally for the Green New Deal, the legislative overhaul proposed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez which would tax rich Americans in order to pay for green infrastructure and jobs.

As the mayor of New York City, to be fair, de Blasio has introduced some progressive environmental measures. He made a promise in April to speed up bus speeds 25 percent by 2020 through measures like making new bus lanes, although it’s up to the MTA to introduce new and electric buses. De Blasio also committed to fully divesting the city from fossil fuels by 2023 (although City Hall said the Comptroller’s Office has yet to hire a consultant to make specific divestment plans), and invested over $1 billion in affordable housing, which not only people’s lives but reduces urban sprawl.

Here’s the problem: Under de Blasio’s leadership, New York City has remained a notoriously unsafe city for bikers, and heavily polices the people that do bike. You can’t sell your city as progressive with respect to climate change mitigation if the city doesn’t support its most low-emission commutes.

Even on a personal level, de Blasio has indicated that he’s pro-cars. As pointed out by the New York Daily News, De Blasio recently drove to an event focused on the Green New Deal, a policy framework introduced to Congress by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that aims to redistribute wealth and fund renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure nationwide.

“He gets driven to work. He gets driven to the gym. He gets driven virtually everywhere,” Gersh Kuntsman, the editor-in-chief of StreetsblogNYC wrote in the New York Daily News.

Of course, there are limits to how much attention you can place on individual choices when it comes to worldwide, structural problems like climate change. But if anyone is in a position to make “green” choices, it’s Bill De Blasio. He can afford to make choices like biking or taking public transit, and have people work around his schedule if necessary.

Five days after de Blasio’s presidential announcement, the 13th precinct of the New York Police Department posted a triumphant tweet about a “successful #ebike operation” showing five e-bikes, several of which clearly belonged to food delivery workers. (While pedal-assisted e-bikes are legal in New York, fully motorized bikes are not.)

Back in April, the NYPD confiscated the bikes of half a dozen teens because they didn’t have bells. Days later, the NYPD confiscated still more bikes from adult cyclists in Tompkins Square Park. And as reported by Gothamist, the NYPD has been ticketing cyclists for allegedly minor or nonexistent misdemeanors.

The NYPD also consistently seizes and impounds e-bikes. For low-wage delivery workers (who make money based on the number of deliveries per hour), these bikes are typically owned by the workers and not their employers.

Under De Blasio, the policing of e-bikes has intensified. In January 2018, New York started fining $100 to $200 on businesses that employ low-wage workers that use e-bikes. Some delivery workers have reported receiving $500 fines. Older delivery workers especially rely on pedal-assist or motorized bikes in order to make deliveries. When these workers have raised their concerns to de Blasio, he has dismissed them.

“You can use a car, you can use a regular bicycle, you can go on foot,” De Blasio said, according to Streetsblog. “There’s all sorts of ways to deliver food, but we’re not going to allow e-bikes.”

When reached for comment, de Blasio’s press team referred Motherboard to the transcript of an April press conference where the mayor addressed these issues. De Blasio said that ideally, the crackdown on e-bikes would be directed at restaurants and not individual workers.

“It is supposed to be toward businesses,” de Blasio said. “And I have had this conversation with the NYPD that we have to ensure that all precincts are educated on this point. Wherever the summons can be given to let’s say the restaurant, rather than the worker, we want that.”

He added that it’s on restaurants to stop using e-bikes and find “other ways to deliver,” and said that they present a safety issue.

“I really have to emphasize this,” “This is a safety problem, and it’s a safety problem waiting to happen a lot of the time too,” de Blasio said.

There isn’t much research about the safety of e-bikes, but existing research tells us there’s two main factors affecting how safe e-bikes are to riders and pedestrians: one, whether there’s adequate bike lanes and infrastructure in place to accommodate e-bikes, and two, how fast the bikes are going (in other words, whether they follow the rules of the road.)

In essence, regardless of how safe e-bikes are right now, existing research tells us that in order to make e-bikes safe, we need a place to put them on the streets. The solution isn’t policing e-bikes. It’s building cities that are more friendly to bikes and less friendly to cars.

The transportation sector is one of the most pollution-heavy industries on earth. According to the United Nations’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an international panel of scientists dedicated to studying climate change, the sector accounts for 14 percent of all global greenhouse gas emissions. And emissions aren’t going down. Between 2000 and 2010, emissions from the transportation sector went up 11 percent.

Last year, De Blasio committed to fully divesting the city from fossil fuels by 2023. But City Hall said the Comptroller’s Office has yet to hire a consultant to make specific divestment plans, and it’s crucial to make changes to city transportation systems in order to lower emissions.

Some of the most effective changes, according to the IPCC and other experts, are creating more biking and walking lanes and encouraging more people to bike. But there’s a huge barrier that keeps more New Yorkers from biking: the city is often unsafe for cyclists.

In 2018, ten cyclists died in New York City. In just the first few months of 2019, ten cyclists have died. Bike-related injuries are an epidemic; in January of 2019 alone, there were 14,538 reported collisions between cyclists and cars or pedestrians. Pedestrian deaths haven’t gone down at all. In fact, pedestrian deaths rose from 104 to 107 from 2017 to 2018.

One way to keep cyclists safe is to build more protected bike lanes, or bike lanes that are marked and separated from trucks and cars. Under de Blasio’s “Vision Zero” plan to eliminate biker deaths in New York City, New York City’s Department of Transportation claimed they added about 16 miles of protected bike lanes in 2018, which rose to 20.9 miles after protective barriers were added in early 2019.

However, the majority of New York City streets don’t have bike lanes, and most bike lanes remain unprotected. (In fact, de Blasio’s presidential campaign announcement video shows a cyclist pedaling, unprotected, just feet from a multi-ton MTA bus.) Unprotected bike lanes, while better than nothing, aren’t as safe as protected lanes. Streetsblog recently tweeted that “his bike lane policy is mostly ‘paint and prayers’” and that shared bike lanes (called “sharrows,” are “chevrons of death.”

Image: YouTube/Bill de Blasio.

Bill de Blasio’s New York City remains structurally friendly to cars at the expense of bikers and walkers. We have to transition away from car use in order to mitigate the worst effects of climate change.

New York City’s War on Bikes Is Dangerous for Workers and the Environment syndicated from https://triviaqaweb.wordpress.com/feed/

[businessliveme]

China Reports Six News Cases; India Tops Spain: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) — China reported six new coronavirus cases on June 6, five of which it said were imported. South Korea reported 57 news cases over a timespan of 24 hours.

The Philippines, fearing a pandemic baby boom, intensified family-planning programs. India surged past Spain and Italy to rank fifth in the number of infections.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is getting masks and hand sanitizer as New York City prepares for Monday’s reopening. The U.K. might speed up plans to lift part of its coronavirus lockdown.

Key Developments:

Virus Tracker: Cases pass 6.8 million; deaths exceed 398,000

Philippines fears baby boom, steps up family planning

Guardians of world economy stagger from rescue to recovery

Post-lockdown Mideast shows signs of virus trouble returning

U.S. jobs returning from lockdowns, but an ugly summer looms

Wall Street doubts Fed’s $600 billion lending plan can succeed

Greece risks unemployment surge as tourism is slow to restart

Subscribe to a daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis team here. Click VRUS on the terminal for news and data on the coronavirus. For a look back at this week’s top stories from QuickTake, click here.

U.S. Weighs Changes to Aviation Greenhouse Gas Pact Over Virus (8:59 a.m. HK)

The U.S. is taking part in discussions at the International Civil Aviation Organization, an agency of the UN, about the effects of the coronavirus on the CORSIA pact, which controls aviation greenhouse gas emissions, according to a statement from the FAA.

Banker Warns Lenders Need Capital (7:30 a.m. HK)

India should prepare to inject capital into state banks and private-sector lenders must strengthen their balance sheets to help bolster the economy against the virus pandemic, said Uday Kotak, the billionaire founder of Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd.

Kotak, 61, appointed last week as the president of the Confederation of Indian Industry, had his bank raise almost $1 billion by selling shares to bolster capital buffers. The founder himself raised a similar amount by selling shares in the bank.

Now is the time for Indian firms to tap financial markets, as a backup to seeking loans from banks, he said. “There is a bank-led model and there is a market-led model. I am glad the market model is performing significantly better during the Covid crisis,” Kotak said.

India has 246,622 coronavirus cases and 6,946 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins data.

U.K. Set to Ease Some Lockdowns (7 a.m. HK)

The U.K. government is considering easing lockdown measures for pubs, restaurants and weddings — earlier than originally envisaged — in an attempt to avert a potential summer jobs crisis in the hospitality industry, The Sunday Times reported.

The measures, to be unveiled next week, would let pubs, cafes and restaurants use outside areas and permit indoor weddings and funerals of up to 10 people from early July. Hairdressers could reopen before July 4, the Times said.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson signed off on the new measures Friday night, the newspaper said. The U.K. economy is reeling from lockdown’s impact during the pandemic, which has killed more than 40,000, the highest toll in Europe and the second globally. In recent weeks, the U.K. has begun cautiously to relax the restrictions. Yet, health authorities warned transmission rates remain high in some areas, raising concerns over the easing.

Protests May Add Cases: Ex-CDC Head (6:10 a.m. HK)

Tom Frieden, former head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said big protest rallies may cause additional coronavirus cases, but he offered some strong offsetting factors. Chiefly, the spread of Covid-19 outdoors is far less than indoors, Frieden said in a “Fox News” interview, with a person 19 times less likely to catch the infection in the open air.

“That doesn’t mean the risk is zero,” said Frieden, chief executive of Resolve to Save Lives, funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, whose founder, Michael Bloomberg, is majority owner of Bloomberg LP. “Only time will tell.” Wearing masks, frequent hand-washing and attempting to maintain social distancing are key, he said.

Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn said earlier he did “worry about the protests and the lack of masks.” He also said that so far, the White House Coronavirus Task Force has yet to see a relationship between states reopening and increased cases. Hahn spoke in a podcast.

Census to Reopen U.S. Offices (6:10 a.m. HK)

The U.S. Census Bureau will reopen all but one of 248 field offices next week after the pandemic forced a shutdown in March, pushing back its metable for the decennial count by several months. Sites in California, New Jersey, New York City, Virginia and Maryland will resume work Monday, ending a five-week phased process that began with two dozens offices.

The office for the Navajo Nation in Window Rock, Arizona, remains closed.

Art Basel Canceled for 2020 (5:30 p.m. NY)

The Art Basel show, slated for September, has been called off after talks with galleries, collectors, partners and experts amid worries about health risks and global travel restrictions.

Art Basel joins dozens of other fairs and auctions delayed or canceled due to the coronavirus, including the Venice Biennale. The show in Basel, Switzerland, drew 93,000 people last year.

MTA Gets 1 Million Masks From N.Y. (4:40 p.m. NY)

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs subways, buses, commuter rail, bridges and tunnels in the New York City area, is getting masks and other supplies ahead of reopening on Monday.

Governor Andrew Cuomo said 1 million masks and 25,000 gallons of hand sanitizer in two-ounce bottle are en route to the agency.

As the city prepared to start opening, Cuomo said the positive test rate is 2%, down from a high of 57%, and hospitalizations for Covid-19 fell to 1,500 from 12,000. “No state in the United States has gone from where we were to where we are,” he said.

JBS Ordered to Shut Pork Plant (4:30 p.m. NY)

Brazil meat processor JBS SA was ordered by a labor court to halt operations for two weeks at its Ana Reich pork plant in Rio Grande do Sul state because of coronavirus, according to a Friday filing. The judge also ordered JBS to remove workers at high-risk for Covid-19.

JBS declined to comment in an email, citing the legal dispute.

U.S. Cases Rise 1.3%, Above Week’s Average (4 p.m. NY)

U.S. coronavirus cases increased 1.3% from the same time Friday to 1.91 million, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg News. The national increase was higher than the average daily increase of 1.2% over the past week. Deaths rose 0.7% to 109,497.

New York cases rose 0.3%, in line with the past week’s average, for a total to 377,316. New deaths fell to 35, lowest since a peak in April. Total deaths were 24,212, the health department said.

New Jersey reported 606 new cases, a 0.5% rise, for a total of 163,893, with 60 new deaths, bringing the total to 12,106, Governor Phil Murphy said.

California added 3,115 new cases, a jump of 2.5%, for a total of 126,016, while deaths rose by 74, or 1.6%, to 4,559.

Florida reported 1,270 cases, a 2.1% increase bringing the total to 62,758, with 28 added deaths for a total of 2,688.

Michigan reported 224 new cases, for a total of 58,749, with 36 daily deaths, raising the total to 45,652.

South Carolina cases jumped 8.4% from Friday, the most in the U.S., for a total of 13,453, according to Johns Hopkins data.

British Airways Threatens to Fire Pilots, Rejects Quarantine (3:20 p.m. NY)

British Airways is battling its pilot union that’s pushing back on further job cuts as the carrier initiates the legal process to block the U.K.’s 14-day self-isolation plan for arrivals starting Monday.

The airline warned its pilots union that it would dismiss all of the company’s 4,300 pilots and rehire them on individual contracts unless the union reached an agreement with the carrier.

Concerned the self-isolation requirement would block its plans to restart services in July, British Airways’ parent IAG SA sent a letter to the Home Office to start the process to block the quarantine, which could lead to a lawsuit, according to a copy of the letter seen by Bloomberg News.

Massachusetts to Expand Reopening (2:15 p.m. NY)

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker said businesses can reopen with some restrictions on Monday, following a steady drop in cases and hospitalizations. Since mid-April, the seven-day average for positive tests is down 82% and the three-day average of hospitalized patients is down 55%.

Retail stores and restaurants with outdoor tables can reopen, as can hotels, but without hosting conferences or meetings, Baker said. Outdoor recreational facilities can open, and professional sports teams can practice but not play games or invite spectators.

Personal services such has hair salons and personal training are excluded from the first phase, Baker said.

Liberia Reopens June 21 (2:10 p.m. NY)

Liberia will open its borders in two weeks as the West African country eases lockdown measures. Commercial flights can resume and hotels can reopen from June 21, President George Weah said in a Friday statement on his website.

The goverment is also working out guidelines to allow final-year secondary school students to return to class sometime in June, so they can sit for exams in August, he said.

Liberia has recorded 334 confirmed cases and 30 deaths, according to the National Public Health Institute of Liberia.

Portugal Has New Cases in Lisbon (2:20 p.m. NY)

Portugal reported 382 new cases on Saturday, above 300 for a fourth day and taking the total to 34,351, the government said. There are 12,070 active cases, Health Minister Marta Temido said at a press conference. The total number of hospitalized patients and of cases in intensive care units both fell from Friday.

The additional cases are mostly in the greater Lisbon region, where authorities have increased testing after new clusters were identified.

The post China Reports Six News Cases; India Tops Spain: Virus Update appeared first on Businessliveme.com.

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[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

May Day 2018 - Baltimore

Tuesday, May 1 - 5:30 to 7:30 pm

Gather at McKeldin Square, 101 E. Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD (corner of Pratt & Light Sts.)

Hosted by Peoples Power Assembly

We will be gathering @ McKeldin for a brief rally 5:30 pm and marching to several locations to underscore the following issues and demands: OUR DEMANDS ON MAY DAY 2018 WORKERS RIGHTS NOW! We demand decent wages and a $15 minimum wage NOW!; Support teachers and striking workers; Defend workers rights to unionize including prisoners; No Janus; Decriminalize sex work; No privatization of postal services; Support postal workers and community demands for postal banking; Jobs program for all! END RACISM AND POLICE TERROR -- Disband and abolish the corrupt Baltimore Police Department; End cooperation with Israeli companies and the IDF; Divest from the police and prisons, invest in schools; No private police at Johns Hopkins University END THE ATTACKS ON IMMIGRANTS & MUSLIMS! End ICE raids and deportations; Permanent protection, dignity & respect for all migrants; Support restoration of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) JOBS, NOT WAR! Say No to U.S. Imperialism; U.S. Out of the Middle East; Africa; Asia, the Global South and the Caribbean; No war on Syria, Korea, Venezuela, Russia or China; close all U.S. military bases around the world; return Guantanamo to Cuba. FUND PUBLIC EDUCATION -- Fund public schools; $3 billion to Baltimore City in the form of racial equity block grants; equal funding for HBCU (Historic Black Colleges and Universities) in Maryland; Make education affordable to all, cancel college student debt; community control (student, teachers, parents) of Baltimore schools. END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, THE TRANS COMMUNITY & OPPRESSED GENDERS -- An end to rape culture and violence against women, trans people and the LGBTQ community; end police attacks on trans and LGBTQ community. HEALTH CARE FOR ALL -- This includes free and on demand community focused addiction treatment and decriminalization of drugs; Medicare for all; No privatization of water, instead roll back rates and declare a moratorium on shut-offs: no gas & electric shut offs; affordable nutritious food for all communities. DECENT HOUSING FIT HUMAN BEINGS IS A RIGHT -- No privatization of public housing; Moratorium on evictions, roll back rents; . TRANSPORTATION IS A RIGHT -- SINK THE LINK -- Free accessible transportation for all; restore and expand bus routes; Decent transportation for all communities -- end the apartheid MTA system; community, riders and union control of transit. (If you are unable to physically March, transportation will be provided). Call 443-221-3775

[quincehat2-blog]

Thursday’s Headlines: Google It — Our Google Story is National News

We were very happy to see the national media pick up on our exclusive story about Google’s new Maps feature tipping off drivers to the locations of New York City’s hard-fought speed cameras. NBC Nightly News did a web story and a video segment (alas, no mention of Streetsblog), both of which made a unmentioned case for public oversight, or at least debate, over who gets to decide what is in the interest of public safety and what is a private company just trying to make some money. The Daily News, Gothamist, Fox5NY, amNY and the New York Times also covered the controversy, with amNY and the Times giving us a hat tip, even.

Streetsblog followed the story today with Google finally breaking its silence.

Here’s the rest of the day’s news:

The Daily News team of Clayton Guse and Dan Rivoli, the Post’s Danielle Furfaro and Gothamist’s team of Chris Robbins and Jake Offenhartz continued chasing the mysterious L train smell on Wednesday (well, it’s not so mysterious, is it? It’s a fuel spill — but it’s still sickening passengers and transit workers). Meanwhile, amNY gave credibility to MTA claims that the fumes are no danger at all, a transit spin on the old cop adage, “Nuttin’ to see here, folks.”

The Post reminded us that we still don’t know what Gov. Cuomo’s L-train repair plan really is.

More outlets are covering the demand that the city retain all the bus lanes and pedestrian and bike safety improvements that were installed for the now-scrubbed L-train shutdown. The latest? amNY’s Alison Fox covered Wednesday’s TransAlt rally on 14th St.

Thank goodness we have the New York Post covering the “crotchless bike shorts” controversy.

And, finally, a trio of Daily News scribes celebrated their departure from the suffering tabloid on Wednesday night with the customary drinks and the awarding of the personalized fake wood. Editorial page writer Alyssa Katz (left in photo below) and longtime reporter Reuven Blau (center) are decamping for the new news site The City, while Albany Bureau Chief Ken Lovett is headed to a consulting firm in the capital. We wish them — and the newspaper they leave behind — the best of luck.

(from left) Katz, Blau and Lovett. Photos: Gersh Kuntzman

Source: https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2019/02/07/thursdays-headlines-google-it-our-google-story-is-national-news/

[nysaflcio]

“Congratulations to the members of Transport Workers Union Local 100 for winning a tentative contract with strong economic gains that puts workers ahead of inflation without concessions,” said Mario Cilento, president of the New York State AFL-CIO. “This is a true testament to the power of union solidarity and all that can be accomplished when we stand up for what is right. “From the kick-off rally in December and throughout these negotiations you stood together. I commend you for your commitment to one another. Your solidarity was evident to everyone and your voices were heard. Together, with the leadership of your president, John Samuelsen, you prevailed and there is no doubt; the Labor Movement is stronger as a result of your actions. “Thank-you for the work you do every day. You provide a vital service that is essential to the success of this great city, its residents and visitors alike,” Cilento said.

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

We don’t have to live like this! #DaysOfRage against Trump and capitalism!

January 15 - 20, 2018 - New York City

In solidarity with our Palestinian comrades and friends who have called for their days of rage, J20Resist calls for #DaysOfRage against Trump and capitalism from January 15, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, through January 20, the anniversary Trump’s inauguration.

Other #DaysOfRage action called so far are below. Many more to be announced soon!

MLK Day - Monday, January 15

Solidarity with Striking Spectrum Workers 2-4 pm Columbus Circle Organized by Workers Defense Committee, MACC and Labor Against Racist Terror

Protest to Free Ahed Tamimi 5-6:30pm Union Square, in front of Best Buy Organized by Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network https://www.facebook.com/events/1991441214403922/

People’s Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. 7pm, Location TBD Organized by NYC Shut It Down

Tuesday, January 16

After J20: Fighting Back Against Political Repression 7-9pm at the Solidarity Center (147 w 24th St, 2nd Floor) Organized by the Committee to Stop FBI Repression https://www.facebook.com/events/161034657995606/

Wednesday, January 17

Pack the Court for Mumia Abu-Jamal 8-11am Criminal Justice Center 1301 Filbert St, Philadelphia Transportation from NYC leaves Solidarity Center at 5:30am. ($20)

Thursday, January 18

Women Fight Back against Capitalism and Imperialism 7pm at the Solidarity Center (147 w 24th St, 2nd Floor) Organized by Workers World Party

Anti-War Action 5:30pm, Location TBA Organized by the International League of Peoples’ Struggle

Friday, January 19

Transit Accessibility for All! 5-7pm Union Square Organized by The People’s MTA

Saturday January 20

Rally against Trump and Capitalism: We Don’t Have to Live LIke This! 4pm Grand Central Terminal 

 Organized by Workers World Party 

https://www.facebook.com/events/894938073999538/

Since January 20th 2017, our class has been under attack with ICE raids, state repression, killer cops and deep cuts into what’s left of our social safety net. Hundreds of activists are facing felony charges for protesting against this racist misogynist regime. Tens of thousands of families are being deported or incarcerated for simply being born. The drive for war goes faster and we all get poorer.

We don’t have to live like this. The Democrats have shown they can’t save us. They can’t even defend an election they say was stolen from them. Across the country, we are tirelessly mobilizing against white supremacy, war and capitalism. It’s only by getting organized, putting the ruling class on notice and making our people power known that we have any hope of fightback.

We will fight for our lives by taking to the streets across the country to address the core problem of all our miseries: a regime that arrests us, dispossesses us, poisons us, bashes us, evicts us, and kills us.

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

#DaysOfRage actions starting today in NYC. Full list below. Gonna be a busy week!

#SprectrumStrike #AhedTamimi #BlackLivesMatter #MLK #J20 #Mumia #AnnaChambers #USAOutOfEverywhere #WomenFightBack #Haiti #Accessibility #FuckTrump

MLK day Monday, January 15 Solidarity with Striking Spectrum Workers 2-4 pm Columbus Circle Organized by People's Power Assemblies Workers Defense Committee, MACC and Labor Against Racist Terror Rally for Working Class Resistance!

Protest to Free Ahed Tamimi 5-6:30pm Union Square, in front of Best Buy Organized by Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network https://www.facebook.com/events/1991441214403922/

People's Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. 7pm, 125th and Malcolm X Organized by NYC Shut It Down https://www.facebook.com/events/132656467534734

Tuesday, January 16 After J20: Fighting Back Against Political Repression 7-9pm at the Solidarity Center (147 w 24th St, 2nd Floor) Organized by the Committee to Stop FBI Repression https://www.facebook.com/events/161034657995606/

Wednesday, January 17 Pack the Court for Mumia Abu-Jamal 8-11am Criminal Justice Center 1301 Filbert St, Philadelphia Transportation from NYC leaves Solidarity Center at 5:30am. Contact nysckrs@gmail.com for tickets ($20) https://www.facebook.com/events/1970165673306717/

Thursday, January 18 Rally against Rapist Cops and All Cops 9am-noon 320 Jay St, Brooklyn Organized by Metropolitan Anarchist Coordinating Council Action is in solidarity with Anna Chambers, who was raped by two Brooklyn police officers earlier this year. https://www.facebook.com/events/1556420631116776/

Anti-imperialist Outreach 2pm in Fulton Street Station, Manhattan Organized by G-REBLS https://www.facebook.com/events/157331745043669/

Resist US-Led War & Imperialism 5:30pm, *New Location: Union Square South Organized by the International League of Peoples' Struggle https://www.facebook.com/events/332441593909080/

Women Fight Back against Capitalism and Imperialism 7pm at the Solidarity Center (147 w 24th St, 2nd Floor) Organized by Workers World Party

Friday, January 19

Trump is a Racist: 1804 Movement March for all Immigrants 8:00 a.m.: Assemble at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn 9:00 a.m.: Start the March down Flatbush Avenue 12:30 p.m.: Rally Trump Building, 40 Wall Street Organized by the 1804 Movement for All Immigrants, a new Haitian-led anti-imperialist coalition This action is not part of the #DaysOfRage campaign. #DaysOfRage endorses and encourages people to attend this very important action.

Transit Accessibility for All! 5-7pm Union Square (14th St and Union Square East) Organized by The People's MTA and People's Power Assemblies https://www.facebook.com/events/1257859871025255/

Saturday January 20 Rally against Trump and Capitalism: We Don't Have to Live LIke This! 4pm Grand Central Terminal https://www.facebook.com/events/894938073999538/?ti=cl

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

NYC activists call for #DaysOfRage Against Capitalism, Trump and White Supremacy

MAKE RACISTS AFRAID AGAIN!

A WEEK OF PROTEST EVENTS CONTINUES, CULMINATING IN SATURDAY'S GRAND CENTRAL PROTEST AT 4 PM 

In the wake of the celebrations of the great leader, thinker, and revolutionary Dr. Martin Luther King, we recognize that the United States still operates on white supremacist, racist, colonialist, and exploitative institutions. For this reason, we have called for a week of action under the hashtag #DaysOfRage. 

The Days of Rage will be a series of events and actions designed to call out these inequities and evils in all their forms—including the Trump Administration itself—and demand that they be abolished. The initial action will begin on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, with a labor rally at Columbus Circle in support of striking Spectrum workers - currently the largest strike in the United States. This rally will also be in solidarity with striking incarcerated workers in Florida, who labor under conditions correctly labeled "Modern-day Slavery.”

Day of Rage disruptions will run throughout the week, culminating on Saturday, January 20th at Grand Central station to mark the anniversary of Trump's inauguration, where over 200 protesters were arrested in an effort to chill our resistance. 

Just last week, Trump denigrated the entire African continent, Haiti, El Salvador, Honduras, Yemen and Syria, referring to them as "shitholes" in a naked display of racism and white supremacist hatred. These sentiments are nothing new to a man who rose to power on the backs of the oppressed. Trump gives power to bigots to voice what they previously kept private, actively works to wrest away the rights and autonomy of marginal people, and to enact dangerous, racist, white supremacist policies on a horrifyingly broad scale. As People's Power Assembly NYC organizer/activist Christian Cobb has said, "We must make racists afraid again."  

We are calling for the people to join us—as radicals, as revolutionaries, as fellow workers and fellow humans. We are in solidarity and struggle with the movement for Black lives, our family in Puerto Rico, our comrades and allies in Palestine, with the Queer and Women's liberation struggle, the migrant struggle, dignity and life for the workers, and for accessibility and real livable wages for us all, and the right for all oppressed people to resist. 

Visit the website j20resist.org and consult the hashtag #DaysOfRage for more information.

Thursday, January 18th 

ANTI-IMPERIALIST OUTER-BOROUGH ACTION, 2-6pm Meet at Fulton Street Subway Station,  Organized by G-REBLS            https://www.facebook.com/events/157331745043669/

#DAYSOFRAGE: RESIST US-LED WAR & IMPERIALISM!  5:30pm, Union Square, Organized by the International League of Peoples' Struggle           https://www.facebook.com/events/332441593909080/

WOMEN FIGHT BACK AGAINST CAPITALISM AND IMPERIALISM,  7pm at the Solidarity Center (147 w 24th St, 2nd Floor), Organized by Workers World Party   https://www.facebook.com/events/185494208714565/

Friday, January 19th 

TRUMP IS A RACIST #1804 MOVEMENT #J19FOR HAITI, 8:00 a.m.: Assemble at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, 9:00 a.m.: Start the March down Flatbush Avenue, 12:30 p.m.: Rally Trump Building, 40 Wall Street             https://www.facebook.com/events/146968892670279/

TRANSIT ACCESSIBILITY FOR ALL!  5-7pm Union Square East & 14th Street,  Organized by The People's MTA            https://www.facebook.com/events/1257859871025255/

Saturday, January 20th WOMEN'S MARCH INTERVENTIONS, Various groups with #DaysOfRage will have a presence at the march

RALLY AGAINST TRUMP AND CAPITALISM! 4-7 pm Grand Central Station, Organized by #DaysOfRage     https://www.facebook.com/events/894938073999538/

[slabotochnik]

WW 2-5-19 AFA Pres General Strike Call, Chicago Bus Drivers Weather and Mexican Labor Strike Wave by WorkWeek Radio WW 2-5-19 CWA AFA Pres General Strike Call, Chicago Bus Drivers Weather Danger and Mexican Labor Strike Wave https://ift.tt/2VnVBbo WorkWeek interviews Sara Nelson who is the president of the CWA Airline Flight Attendants. She represents over 50,000 flight attendants and talks about why she called for a general strike at a commemoration on MLK day. She discusses the conditions that airline workers and other working people are facing. Nelson also calls for rallies throughout the country on February 16, 2019 when President Trump has threatened to shut down the government again. Next WorkWeek hears about the dire dangers to bus drivers in Chicago and the public because of the dangerous weather conditions. We talk with Erek Slater who is a driver at Chicago MTA and is on the executive board of ATU Local 241 about these conditions and the need to protect workers and the public. Last WorkWeek looks at the growing mass strike rebellion in Montamoros, Mexico where over 70,000 factory workers have struck for living wages and decent working conditions. They have been joined by workers throughout the country. We talk with Al Rojas who is a founder of the UFWA and also with the Labor Council For Latin America in Sacramento. We also interview Alan Benjamin who is a delegate to the San Francisco Labor Council and was recently with a labor delegation from the San Francisco Labor Council that went to Mexico city for the inauguration of Lopez Obrador. Additional media: https://ift.tt/2ExjUhj In new government shutdown, flight attendants won't let passengers' lives be put at risk https://ift.tt/2Vh1nv6 WW1-2-19 The Fed Shutdown And Air Traffic Controllers NATCA Speaks Out https://ift.tt/2ExvNny https://ift.tt/2VklxED https://ift.tt/2ExjWFX https://ift.tt/2Vfme26 https://ift.tt/2ExjXtv https://ift.tt/2VmA2rz https://ift.tt/1rrJacE Production of KPFA WorkWeek Radio workweek@kpfa.org https://ift.tt/1rrJacE