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
Actress Marilyn Monroe dies; Cornerstone laid for the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal; ‘American Bandstand’ debuts on network TV; Actors Richard Burton and Alec Guinness die.
Breakfast Tunes
Something to Think about over Coffee Prozac
Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.
Breakfast News
State Dept Accused of Watering Down Human Rights Ratings to Advance Obama Trade Agenda
The U.S. State Department is being accused of playing politics with human rights after a damning new Reuters investigation published late Monday revealed that high level officials watered down the opinions of rights experts hired to evaluate nations’ human trafficking records seemingly to advance a number of the Obama administration’s key agenda items.
Exposing a “degree of intervention not previously known,” according to the investigation, there were 14 instances where senior American diplomats overruled the analyst opinions to inflate the record of “strategically important countries” for this year’s Trafficking in Persons Report, released last week.
Greece needs wide debt relief to avoid permanent depression, thinktank warns
Greece’s economy will suffer fresh damage from the austerity measures demanded by its creditors and will remain stuck in permanent depression unless it receives substantial debt relief, one of the UK’s leading thinktanks has warned.
The National Institute of Economic and Social Research said the increases in VAT reluctantly accepted by the Syriza-led coalition in Athens in exchange for a new bail out will result in a 1% fall in national output in 2016.
German justice minister to request prosecutor’s dismissal over treason case
The German justice minister, Heiko Maas, is to request the dismissal and retirement of chief federal prosecutor, Harald Range, over a treason investigation into a news website
Maas said on Tuesday he made the decision after consultations with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s office.
The justice ministry has questioned Range’s decision to open the treason investigation against two journalists who had reported that Germany’s domestic spy agency planned to expand surveillance of online communication.
The 67-year-old, who was due to retire early next year, has accused the government of interfering in the investigation.
Toronto gun crime hits three-year high, police stats show
Toronto police say there’s been a spike in gun violence this year, with at least 95 people injured or killed by bullets in the city.
Despite the presence of security guards and police officers, gunfire erupted at Muzik nightclub early Tuesday morning in Toronto’s latest fatal shooting, which left two people dead and three others injured. Peter Sloly, the deputy police chief, said the shooting at the crowded nightclub is indicative of the trend gripping the city.
Puerto Rico Has Another Debt Worry on Horizon
While Puerto Rico’s first bond default in its history reverberated through the financial markets on Tuesday, another move by the cash-poor island may provide a clue to where the next trouble spot lies.
After openly acknowledging on Monday afternoon that it had not made a $58 million bond payment, the government quietly disclosed in a financial filing later that afternoon that it had temporarily stopped making contributions of $92 million a month into a fund that is used to make payments on an additional $13 billion in bond debt. A small payment from the fund is due on Sept. 1.
Unlike the bond payments that went into default on Monday, the ones coming due are on general obligation bonds – the kind many investors have been led to believe would never go into default because the issuer’s full faith, credit and taxing authority stand behind them.
Death of woman in New York jail sparks investigation by attorney general
The attorney general of New York state is taking over an investigation into the case of a black woman who was found dead in a jail cell last month.
Raynette Turner, 42, was arrested for shoplifting on 25 July and was found dead two days later in her cell at Mount Vernon police headquarters.
The mother of eight was arrested on a Saturday, reported feeling ill on Sunday and was taken to an area hospital that night. She was brought back to the jail around 10pm that night, and found dead at 2pm the next day, when corrections officers came to collect her for her arraignment.
Light rain brings little relief to Calif. wildfire
A light rain Tuesday afternoon gave a small helping hand to crews battling a fast-moving, 65,000-acre wildfire that crossed a key highway in several places and was threatening 7,000 structures, officials said.
But the precipitation won’t be enough to douse the nearly 100-square-mile Rocky Fire, which jumped a highway containment line and is spreading rapidly across Lake, Colusa and Yolo counties. It is only 12% contained.
The conflagration, which started almost a week ago, “is just too big, too wild,” a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman told the Sacramento Bee.
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Must Read Blog Posts
JPMorgan And Citigroup Pay Over $800 Million For Credit Card Crimes Dan Wright, Shadowproof
The US Chamber of Commerce Is Pre-Clearing What It Is Willing to Do for Our National Security on CISA emptywheel aka Marcy Wheeler, emptywheel
73,000 felons to have their voting rights restored as California drops appeal Jon Green, AMERICAblog
Martin O’Malley calls for constitutional amendment guaranteeing affirmative right to vote Jon Green, AMERICAblog
Why Won’t The L.A. Times Admit They Were Wrong About Ted Rall? Suzie Madrak, Crooks and Liars
Report: NYPD Targets People Of Color from Newsweek at Crooks and Liars
Meet the Hedge Funders and Billionaires Who Pillage Under the Shield of Philanthropy Lynn Parramore, naked capitalism
FBI Sends Subpoena To Boing Boing Over Its Tor Exit Node, Gets Educated, Goes Away Mike Masnick, Techdirt
FBI Wants To Lead The Nation’s Cyberbattalions, But Can’t Seem To Recruit Enough Cannon Fodder Tim Cushing, Techdirt
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