The Breakfast Club (Cruel Summer)

Welcome to The Breakfast Club! We’re a disorganized group of rebel lefties who hang out and chat if and when we’re not too hungover  we’ve been bailed out we’re not too exhausted from last night’s (CENSORED) the caffeine kicks in. Join us every weekday morning at 9am (ET) and weekend morning at 10:30am (ET) to talk about current news and our boring lives and to make fun of LaEscapee! If we are ever running late, it’s PhilJD’s fault.

This Day in History

Nazi Blitz on Britain begins in World War II; Mobutu Sese Seko dies; Panama Canal Treaties signed; Rapper Tupac Shakur shot; ESPN debuts; Pro Football Hall of Fame dedicated; Rock star Buddy Holly born.

Breakfast Tunes

Breakfast News

Trial of four Blackwater security guards hinges on belief, not reality, of a threat

As the US military returned to combat in Iraq this summer, a group of jurors in Washington DC were hearing arguments over a dark chapter of the last war.

Though some elements of the 2007 killing of 17 Iraqi civilians at a Baghdad road junction by Blackwater private security guards remain shrouded in mystery even after a trial that lasted 10 weeks, prosecutors provided overwhelming evidence that the tragedy was one of the most one-sided encounters of the US occupation.

The civilian vehicles caught up in the incident were so riddled with bullets and explosives that their contents could barely be identified, yet the convoy of four armoured vehicles in which the guards were riding was marked only by a handful of tiny dents and scratches of indeterminate origin.

And while the four Blackwater guards on trial for the deaths of 14 of the victims claimed they believed they were under attack by an insurgent car-bombing attempt, no weapons or explosives were found on any of the dead Iraqis, despite an extensive FBI investigation. Instead, the official US investigation led to three men facing manslaughter charges, one accused of murder, and a fifth admitting manslaughter of other victims and testifying against his former colleagues.

Campaigners: Obama immigration reform delay ‘a slap to face’ of Latinos

President Barack Obama will delay his long-promised executive action on immigration until after the November midterm elections, White House officials said on Saturday in remarks to the press that blamed “Republicans’ extreme politicisation of this issue”.

The president subsequently gave an interview to NBC, scheduled for broadcast on Sunday morning, in which he said election-year politics were “not the reason” for his decision. Instead, Obama said the summer arrival across the border with Mexico of thousands of unaccompanied children from Central America had prompted a change in the public’s outlook on the issue, and thus in his policy.President Barack Obama will delay his long-promised executive action on immigration until after the November midterm elections, White House officials said on Saturday in remarks to the press that blamed “Republicans’ extreme politicisation of this issue”.

The president subsequently gave an interview to NBC, scheduled for broadcast on Sunday morning, in which he said election-year politics were “not the reason” for his decision. Instead, Obama said the summer arrival across the border with Mexico of thousands of unaccompanied children from Central America had prompted a change in the public’s outlook on the issue, and thus in his policy.

Ukraine ceasefire under threat amid claims of shelling near crucial port city

Witnesses in the Ukrainian port of Mariupol reported sustained explosions outside the city and a volunteer battalion of Ukrainian fighters said that Grad rockets had been fired at its positions.

The reports late on Saturday came little more than a day after Ukraine and Russian-backed separatist rebels signed a ceasefire after more than four months of fighting in the country’s east. Witnesses in Mariupol told the Associated Press that sounds of heavy explosions were coming from the city’s eastern outskirts, where Ukrainian troops retain defensive lines against the rebels.

The volunteer Azov battalion said on Facebook that their positions were hit by Grad rockets, but did not give details.

Sierra Leone’s planned Ebola lockdown could ‘spread disease further’

A four-day nationwide lockdown announced by the Sierra Leone government in a bid to contain the biggest ever outbreak of Ebola could instead exacerbate the spread of the disease, aid agencies have warned.

From 18 to 21 September people across the west African nation will not be allowed to leave their homes, a senior official in the president’s office said on Friday.

But Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) raised concern about the drastic step, warning that it could lead people to try to conceal infections from the authorities.A four-day nationwide lockdown announced by the Sierra Leone government in a bid to contain the biggest ever outbreak of Ebola could instead exacerbate the spread of the disease, aid agencies have warned.

From 18 to 21 September people across the west African nation will not be allowed to leave their homes, a senior official in the president’s office said on Friday.

But Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) raised concern about the drastic step, warning that it could lead people to try to conceal infections from the authorities.

French President Francois Hollande In Trouble Both In Public And Private

Things can’t get much worse for French President Francois Hollande: The economy is lagging; his new government is already under fire; and his private life has just been exposed in a ravaging book by the former first lady.

Adding to his concerns is the possibility that his chief rival – conservative Nicolas Sarkozy – will launch a political comeback this weekend.

The developments have helped push Hollande’s popularity to new record lows. Three polls released in recent days show that he has lower approval ratings than every other French president in modern times.

This week, ex-partner Valerie Trierweiler described Hollande as a mean liar in a book released seven months after they broke up, amid reports that he was having an affair with French actress Julie Gayet.

Scottish Independence Supporters Lead Poll For First Time

Supporters of Scottish independence have taken their first opinion poll lead since the referendum campaign began, according to a YouGov survey for the Sunday Times newspaper.

With less than two weeks to go before the Sept. 18 vote, the poll puts the “Yes” to independence campaign on 51 percent, with the unionists on 49 percent, overturning a 22-point lead for the unionist campaign in just a month, the Sunday Times said.

The paper announced the headline results in a news release ahead of publication. No further details of the poll were immediately available.

“The YouGov survey … shows that the nationalists have taken a two-point lead and are poised to triumph in the referendum,” the paper said.

After months of surveys showing nationalists heading for defeat, recent polls have been showing the gap narrowing to the extent that they raise the real prospect that secessionists led by Alex Salmond’s Scottish National Party (SNP) could achieve their goal of breaking the 307-year-old union with England.

Roger Federer Can Watch U.S. Open Final With Novak Djokovic After Another Major Upset

Instead of Novak Djokovic vs. Roger Federer for the U.S. Open title, first-time Grand Slam finalists Kei Nishikori and Marin Cilic will vie for the championship after a pair of semifinal surprises Saturday.

First, Japan’s Nishikori became the first man from Asia to reach a major singles championship match by staying fresher than Djokovic in stifling heat and winning 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3.

Then, Croatia’s Cilic used every bit of his 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) frame to deliver stinging serves and flat groundstrokes during a quick-as-can-be 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Federer.

“It’s fairly simple, I think: Marin played great and I maybe didn’t catch my best day,” Federer said after his 1-hour, 45-minute loss. “That’s pretty much it in a nutshell.”

Must Read Blog Posts

Elizabeth Warren on Bill Moyers: Will More and Better Democrats Put a Stake Through the Heart of Neoliberalism? Lambert Strether, naked capitalism

Hospital Hero Jack Goldsmith, the Destroyer of the Internet Dragnet, Authorized the Internet Dragnet Marcy Wheeler, emptywheel

Awlaki Really Seems to Have Been Drone-Killed Exclusively on Presidential Authority Marcy Wheeler, emptywheel

American warmongers’ fatal conceit: The massive insecurity behind their calls for blood Elias Isquith, Salon

New MTP Looks Like Lipstick On A Pig karoli, Crooks and Liars

Obama Administration Still Keeping Much Secret About Bush’s Warrantless Wiretapping Program Kevin Gosztola, FDL The Dissenter

Something to Think about over Coffee Prozac

Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.

Plato