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.
AP’s Today in History for October 30th
‘War of the Worlds’ spooks Americans on Halloween Eve; A deadly mudslide hits Nicaragua after Hurricane Mitch; Muhammad Ali beats George Foreman in the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’; Comedian Steve Allen dies.
Breakfast Tune Malaquena by Roger Sprung on 1963-64 Folkways LP.
Something to Think about, Breakfast News & Blogs Below
EU, Canada sign free trade deal but battle not over
Robert-Jan Bartunek and Philip Blenkinsop, Reuters
The European Union and Canada signed a free trade agreement on Sunday that aims to generate jobs and growth though it must still clear some 40 national and regional parliaments in Europe in the coming years to enter fully into force.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signed the treaty along with the heads of EU institutions, a step that should enable a provisional implementation of the pact early in 2017 with the removal of most import duties.
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Assuming the European Parliament gives its assent, CETA could come into force partially early next year. However, full implementation, which would include a contentious investment protection system, will ensue only after clearance by more than three dozen national and regional parliaments. …
US personnel ‘targeting killer drones from Britain’
Jamie Doward, The Guardian
US military personnel serving at the UK’s RAF bases are helping to identify targets for drone strikes, according to their job specifications.
Human rights groups have seized on the descriptions of the roles as proof of the UK’s part in the covert US drone programme, which some critics claim is in breach of international law.
One job advertised at RAF Molesworth in Cambridgeshire was for an “all source analyst”, in support of US operations in Africa. The suitable candidate will “perform a variety of advanced targeting operations … in support of employment of GPS guided weapons, weaponeering and collateral estimation, as well as utilizing the tools required for advanced targeting”. …
#NoDAPL: Native American Leaders Vow to Stay All Winter, File Lawsuit Against Police
Common Dreams staff
Native American leaders vowed on Saturday to protest through the winter against a North Dakota oil pipeline they say threatens water resources and sacred lands and are planning lawsuits over police treatment of arrested protesters.
Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault II said he and other tribal leaders were working on providing food, heat and shelter for protesters opposed to the $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline.
“We’re just working through some technical details as far as where the land is, and the type of land that can be used for some permanent structures,” Archambault told reporters in Mandan, North Dakota on Saturday morning. …
Supreme Court Will Rule on Long-Delayed Transgender Rights Case
Nadia Prupis, Common Dreams
The U.S. Supreme Court announced Friday it would hear a transgender rights case that has captured national attention regarding whether students can use school facilities that correspond with their gender identity, rather than their biological sex.
The judges will review an April decision by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals that found Gavin Grimm, a 17-year-old Virginia transgender boy, is legally allowed to use male facilities at his high school in Gloucester County. The school board appealed the ruling.
In August, the Supreme Court blocked the order until the case could be reviewed, meaning Gloucester High School is still able to ban Grimm from using the boy’s restroom. …
- I’m with stupid: The entire 2016 election has been an insult to our intelligence
Sophia A. McClennen
- Why do we still accept that governments collect and snoop on our data?
Ashley Gorski and Scarlet Kim
Something to Think about over Coffee Prozac
Real-life angry birds: Town tries to rein in rowdy turkeys
DAVIS, Calif. (AP) — Leaders of a California college town are working to relocate turkeys that have been harassing people on the streets.
The Sacramento Bee reports (http://bit.ly/2eeuM4l ) that the Davis City Council voted this week to approve a wild turkey management plan that includes trapping and relocating many of the birds and possibly killing some of the more aggressive ones. It also called for an ordinance prohibiting people from feeding the turkeys.
Davis residents are fond of urban wildlife. They built a tunnel for toads and protected jackrabbits from construction, but the well-known turkeys wandering the streets are too much.
Police Chief Darren Pytel says his department has fielded calls from people accosted by turkeys, including a man who was pinned against the wall of a bank by a bird.
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