“Hossam Nasr was never under the impression Microsoft is a force for good, but says he ‘did genuinely believe it to be one of the lesser evil big tech companies’. So when he graduated with a computer science degree, he took a job there and moved to its Seattle campus in 2021. ’I sort of felt like I had to work at a big tech company,’ he recalls, ’because that was the definition of what success in my field looks like.’ To his horror, he discovered the cloud storage service he worked on, Azure, provided the Israeli military with artificial intelligence tools essential to the post-October 2023 onslaught on Gaza. He says he was unaware his labor had been contributing to the very military operations filling his social media feed with massacres at refugee camps, bombed-out apartments, and lifeless children pulled from the rubble.” (07/08/26)
“Last week, millions of people around the world were subjected to record-breaking heatwaves. At least 25 deaths in the U.S. from this heat dome were reported. The French government also counted over 2,000 excess deaths during the June heatwaves. At the same time, this past weekend, a devastating super typhoon hit the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam, leaving islands like Rota, where 2,000 people live, without running water and most buildings impacted. In both cases, the people least responsible for the climate crisis are the most vulnerable to its effects. And in both cases, people’s ability to withstand crises has been made dramatically worse by militarization. Those most threatened by heatwaves are too often in neighborhoods subjected to militarized policing, economic abandonment, and the exploitation of their communities. Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands are occupied by the U.S. military and subjected to environmentally destructive bases and training exercises.” (07/09/26)
“Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, said her Democratic Senate primary race was ‘a racist race’ in an interview published Wednesday and argued she didn’t need to campaign with her former opponent and the party’s nominee, James Talarico. Crockett said at the Essence Festival alongside the hosts of the ‘Native Land’ podcast that the best thing she could do for former primary foe Talarico was to endorse Black candidates down ballot so more Black voters turn out in November. ‘The best thing that I can do is take down-ballot candidates who no one’s ever heard of and do my best to uplift them and increase the voter participation in a way that we did in Texas,’ she said.” [editor’s note: Okay, so this loser in a “racist race” is going to support other candidates based SOLELY on the color of their skin, not the content of their character. – SAT] (07/09/26)
“The party of Me Too has shown its true face in the rolling Graham Platner scandal. Now that a liberal woman has credibly accused him of rape, the rats have deserted the sinking ship and the Democrat-endorsed US Senate candidate for Maine has dropped out. But it’s ‘Me Too’ late to save face. Conservatives always knew the left’s effort to assert moral superiority on matters of sex, race and ideology were play-acting but now it’s undeniable for even their most blinkered supporters. The Democratic Party’s defense of Platner to the bitter end against an avalanche of rape and sexual abuse allegations, not to mention his Nazi tattoo, has left them exposed as hypocrites.” [editor’s note: Gotta agree — Democrats ARE just like Republicans – TLK] (07/08/26)
“Pakistan naval search and rescue teams battled rough seas on Thursday as the search for five crew members who went missing after their cargo plane crashed into the Arabian Sea entered its second day, officials said. Wreckage from the aircraft was recovered on Wednesday, with no sign of the missing crew members. The aircraft, operated by private carrier K2 Airways, reported a malfunction in its navigation system before losing radio and radar contact late Tuesday, according to the Pakistan Airports Authority. Ships and aircraft have continued to comb waters nearly 300 kilometers (180 miles) southwest of Karachi, where the plane disappeared from radar while approaching Pakistan’s largest city from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.” (07/09/26)
“The right to support and elect candidates for political office is a distinguishing feature of democracy. It can also be a profoundly challenging privilege, as political parties and the voting public weigh information and perceptions around candidates’ policies and personal appeal, their competence and character. Around the world, voters want ability and integrity from their politicians. Increasingly, they also want authenticity, a sense that those running for office understand ‘regular’ people and their daily lives and struggles. Three candidacies in the news this week underscore the civic tension among these needs and demands: the nomination for a United States Senate seat, a local council election in the United Kingdom, and a presidential run in France. Graham Platner in the U.S., Nigel Farage in the U.K., and Marine Le Pen in France all seem to have tapped into voters’ everyday concerns – and their yearning for recognition.” (07/08/26)
“The suspect in the murder of a New York mom who recently moved to Ireland is a Middle Eastern asylum-seeker who met her at an anti-Israel protest — and who may have already fled the country, according to reports. The bloody body of Jamey Carney, 43, was found Tuesday afternoon by her 13-year-old daughter at her rented home in Killarney, where she had moved five years ago from Westchester County, the Irish Sun reported. She was beaten to death and suffered multiple head injuries, with cops probing reports that a loud argument was heard the night before at her home on a luxury housing estate.” (07/09/26)
“Reuters published a photograph taken during the weekend of America’s 250th birthday celebration. It depicted a young black woman seated by herself on a packed D.C. Metro train. Standing and sitting around her were white men wearing white masks. They belong to a white nationalist organization called Patriot Front, a group involved in the violent 2017 Charlottesville, Virginia, rally that resulted in the death of a woman. The intimidating-looking men reportedly said nothing to the woman and never threatened her, and she remained composed. The photo quickly went viral and was hailed by many journalists and commentators as a microcosm of America in this era of President Donald Trump. ” (07/09/26)
“Utah prosecutors plan to play audio clips in open court Thursday of law enforcement officials interviewing the roommate of the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Defense attorneys fought against the public release of the statements from Tyler Robinson’s roommate and romantic partner, Lance Twiggs. They said prosecutors would characterize the statements as a confession, undermining Robinson’s right to a fair trial if the statements are broadcast by the media. Robinson is charged with aggravated murder and has not entered a plea. … Prosecutors allege Robinson confessed in a note left for Twiggs that read: ‘I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it’. Robinson also allegedly sent a text to Twiggs saying he targeted Kirk because he ‘had enough of his hatred’.” (07/09/26)
“Janeese George’s recent victory in the Washington, DC, mayoral primary and wins by progressive Democrats in New York and Colorado last week are signs that Zohran Mamdani’s election was not a one-off, and that populist, ‘eat the rich’ messaging is effective across a broad swath of voters. But as the US heads toward midterm elections, Democrats are having a hard time finding a partywide motto with similar resonance. Since last fall, they have been focusing on ‘affordability’ because the slogan resonates with working-class voters; their main message is that things are too expensive and that the cause is unchecked corporate greed. But here’s the problem with focusing on affordability: It addresses poor and working-class Americans as consumers rather than as workers.” (07/09/26)
