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
The Boston Massacre takes place, Winston Churchill warns of the Soviet Union’s growing influence in eastern Europe after WWII, Joseph Stalin dies at 73, John Belushi dies of a drug overdose, and singer Patsy Cline dies.
Breakfast Tunes
Something to Think about over Coffee Prozac
I may be gone, but Rock and Roll lives on.
Breakfast News
Turkey agrees to take back people who don’t qualify for EU asylum
European diplomats are claiming a breakthrough in the continent’s migration crisis after reporting that Turkey has agreed to take back people not qualifying for asylum in the EU.
The agreement came as the EU statistics agency reported that the number of people applying for asylum in the EU more than doubled in 2015, reaching a record 1.26 million. EU leaders are preparing for an emergency summit on Monday aimed at getting to grips with the biggest movement of refugees and migrants since the end of the second world war.
Senior EU diplomats said that in negotiations on Thursday with Frans Timmermans, the vice-president of the European commission, the Turkish prime minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, pledged that all “economic migrants” arriving in Greece and not qualifying for asylum could be returned to Turkey.
British Chambers of Commerce boss suspended in Brexit row, reports say
Business lobby group the British Chambers of Commerce has refused to comment on reports that its director general, John Longworth, had been suspended from his post after after suggesting Britain would be better off outside the European Union.
At the BCC’s conference on Thursday, Longworth told reporters that Britain would be left, “sitting on the margins” of an “unreformed EU” if voters chose to remain in the EU at the 23 June referendum. After a Brexit, he said, Britain could have a “brighter economic future for itself”.
But with a recent survey showing that two thirds of the BCC’s members reject Brexit, Longworth came under pressure after his remarks. He later stressed that he had spoken in a personal capacity, but it was suggested on Friday that he had been suspended. A spokesman said: “We’re not making a comment at this time”.
Supreme court temporarily blocks Louisiana abortion law
The supreme court on Friday temporarily blocked a Louisiana abortion restriction that threatens to shut down all but one of the state’s four abortion clinics.
The ruling came just days after the justices heard arguments challenging a similar law in Texas. It could be taken as a sign that the Texas law is in trouble. Justice Clarence Thomas would have denied the abortion providers’ application for a stay, the ruling noted. [..]
The order said the court’s action was in line with its decision in June to temporarily block part of the Texas abortion law. The justices heard oral arguments in that case on Wednesday.
The law in Louisiana is a 2014 measure that requires all abortion providers to have admitting privileges – the ability to admit and treat patients – at a hospital no more than 30 miles from the clinic.
Alabama supreme court dismisses gay-marriage challenge
The Alabama supreme court refused on Friday to defy the US supreme court ruling that effectively legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, cutting off a conservative bid to prevent gay weddings in the state.
The court issued a one-sentence order dismissing a challenge by a probate judge and a conservative policy group that wanted the state to bar gay marriage despite the landmark federal decision.
In one of several written opinions accompanying the order, Justice Greg Shaw called the decision a “clear refusal” to ignore the supreme court ruling last June.
Several other state justices railed against the high court’s ruling while noting they can’t overturn it.
Italy puts Neapolitan pizza-making forward for Unesco recognition
Italy will put forward the art of Neapolitan pizza-making for inclusion in Unesco’s prestigious cultural heritage list this year, after the country’s Unesco commission unanimously confirmed its candidacy, which was proposed by the government.
The proposal was boosted by a petition that collected more than 850,000 signatures, from the streets of Naples all the way to Japan and Argentina.
The selection commission said the art of pizza-making was a central element of Neapolitan and Italian identity, and a symbol of the brand of Italy around the world. Italy wants the Neapolitan pizza to be distinguished from rivals such as New York-style pizza.
Breakfast Blogs
What Will the #NeverTrump Warriors Do When It’s Trump v. Hillary? Charles Pierce, Esquire Politics
Donald Trump’s Policies Are Not Anathema to U.S. Mainstream, but an Uncomfortable Reflection of It Glenn Greenwald, The Intercept
Gotta love Notorious RBG Tom Sullivan, Huhllabaloo
I Give You All I’ve Got to Give, Rings and Pearls and All
San Bernardino DA Tells Judge To Side With FBI Over Apple Because iPhone May Have Mythical Cyber Weapon Mike Masnick, Techdirt
Recent Comments