Wicked Blue
Wicked Blue's JournalAmazon's anti-union blitz stalks Alabama warehouse workers everywhere, even the bathroom
Washington Post
By Jay Greene
Feb. 2, 2021 at 6:00 a.m. EST
SEATTLE — Some workers in Amazon’s Bessemer, Ala., warehouse complain that the company’s aggressive performance expectations leave them little time to take bathroom breaks.
When they do get there, they face messaging from Amazon pressing its case against unionization, imploring them to vote against it when mail-in balloting begins Feb. 8.
“Where will your dues go?” reads a flier posted on the door inside a bathroom stall.
“They got right in your face when you’re using the stall,” said Darryl Richardson, a worker at the warehouse who supports the union. Another pro-union worker who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution said of Amazon’s toilet reading: “I feel like I’m getting harassed.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/02/02/amazon-union-warehouse-workers/
Report: Watchdog Investigates Ted Cruz Over Loan Changes That Aided Billionaire Donors
Huffington Post
By Mary Papenfuss
A federal watchdog has launched an investigation into Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz over a $35 million COVID relief loan given to billionaire fracking brothers who were also top Cruz campaign contributors, Bloomberg reported.
Dan and Farris Wilks received the taxpayer-backed windfall even though their businesses were flush enough at the time to buy stakes in six other fracking companies, The Wall Street Journal reported late last year.
Cruz reportedly helped persuade then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and the Federal Reserve to change the rules for the Main Street Lending Program to include operations like the Wilks businesses. The brothers then obtained a $35 million low-interest loan for ProFac Holdings LLC, a supplier of pumping equipment and services, according to records.
The Wilks brothers also donated $15 million to the super PAC Keeping the Promise, which backed Cruz’s 2016 presidential campaign.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tex-cruz-probe-pandemic-watchdog-fracking-loans_n_6018a246c5b653f644d689c9
Fees -- not just strategy -- blew up Trump's legal team
Scoop: Fees — not just strategy — blew up Trump's legal team
Axios
Alayna Treene, author of Sneak Peek
Disagreements over legal strategy weren't the only reason Donald Trump's defense team collapsed just days before his second impeachment trial, Axios has learned.
What we're hearing: The notoriously stingy former president and his lead lawyer, Butch Bowers, wrangled over compensation during a series of tense phone calls, sources familiar with their conversations said. The argument came even though Trump has raised over $170 million from the public that could be used on his legal defenses.
The two initially agreed Bowers would be paid $250,000 for his individual services, a figure that "delighted" Trump, one of the sources said.
However, Trump didn't realize Bowers hadn't included additional expenses — including more lawyers, researchers and other legal fees that would be accrued on the job.
More at link:
https://www.axios.com/trump-legal-fees-impeachment-trial-8f6578e6-0662-4aea-8edc-aee2530c5165.html
Happy Imbolc!
Tonight is the eve of Imbolc, the festival of the waxing light. Days are visibly longer. This is the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.
Here is some information on the Celtic origin of Imbolc. The first link includes ways to celebrate. - Wicked Blue
Imbolc
Date: February 1st and/or 2nd
Other Names: Oimelc, Candlemas, St. Brigid's Day, St. Brigit's Day
Pronunciations: IM-blk
As with all Old Tradition observances, this holiday is usually celebrated beginning at sundown on February 1 and continuing through the day of February 2. Imbolc means in the belly of the Mother because that is where seeds are beginning to stir as it is Spring.
Another name for this holiday is Oimelc, meaning milk of ewes since it is also the traditional lambing season in the old world. Herd animals have either given birth to the first offspring of the year or their wombs are swollen and the milk of life is flowing into their teats and udders. It is the time of Blessing of the seeds and consecration of agricultural tools. It marks the center point of the dark half of the year.
This holiday is especially sacred to the Celtic Fire Goddess, Brigit, patron of smithcraft, healing, midwifery, and poetry. It is the festival of the Maiden, for from this day to March 21st, it is her season to prepare for growth and renewal. The Maiden is honored, as the Bride, on this Sabbat. Straw Brideo'gas (corn dollies) are created from oat or wheat straw and placed in baskets with white flower bedding. Young girls then carry the Brideo'gas door to door, and gifts are bestowed upon the image from each household. Afterwards at the traditional feast, the older women make special acorn wands for the dollies to hold, and in the morning the ashes in the hearth are examined to see if the magic wands left marks as a good omen. Brighid's Crosses are fashioned from wheat stalks and exchanged as symbols of protection and prosperity in the coming year. Home hearth fires are put out and re-lit, and a besom is place by the front door to symbolize sweeping out the old and welcoming the new. Candles are lit and placed in each room of the house to honor the re-birth of the Sun.
More
https://www.wicca.com/pagan-holidays/imbolc.html
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Also:
Fire Deities of the Celts
The two most popular deities of the ancient Celts were Brighid/Bride/Brigantia and Lugh/Lugus/Llew. Both were deities of brightness and fire. Lugh was not a Sun God as is popularly supposed; he represented brilliance in craft and in thinking and was called "master of every art." Similarly, Brighid was a Fire Goddess, mistress or patroness of arts. She was a Goddess of Healing, Smith Craft (a magical art in ancient times), and Poetry, and also a patroness of mothers (because to be a mother was to be a mistress of every art to at least a small extent).
Brighid was the Goddess invoked at Imbolc, the great Fire Festival of February 1 that celebrated the lactation of the ewes.
https://www.llewellyn.com/journal/article/2275
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Also see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imbolc
Trump official hit with whistleblower complaint for 'gross mismanagement' and 'abuse of authority'
Raw Story
Sky Palma
February 01, 2021
A top Trump homeland security official is the target of a whistleblower complaint accusing him of sabotaging President Biden's immigration policies by agreeing to hand policy controls to the pro-Trump union representing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the New York Times reports.
"The complaint accuses Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II of 'gross mismanagement, gross waste of government funds and abuse of authority' over the labor agreements he signed with the immigration agents' union the day before President Biden's inauguration," the Times reports. "Mr. Cuccinelli — an immigration hard-liner whose legal legitimacy to serve in senior positions at the Department of Homeland Security was contested — essentially sought to tie Mr. Biden's hands, according to the complaint."
According to the whistleblower's lawyer David Z. Seide, the "abuse of authority is shocking." The whistleblower, his lawyer says, is a current federal employee who wishes to remain anonymous.
https://www.rawstory.com/ken-cuccinelli/
ICE Deported A Survivor Of The El Paso Walmart Shooting Who Was Assisting In The Investigation
ICE Deported A Survivor Of The El Paso Walmart Shooting Who Was Assisting In The Investigation, Her Lawyers Say
Buzzfeed News
Ryan Brooks
A survivor of the 2019 El Paso Walmart shooting who was assisting law enforcement officials with the case has been deported by ICE following an arrest during a traffic stop, according to lawyers with the Diocesan Migrant & Refugee Services (DMRS).
The woman, identified only as Rosa to protect her identity, was arrested at a traffic stop by El Paso Police for two outstanding 2015 traffic citations last Wednesday, DMRS said. She was booked into the El Paso County Jail and turned over to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The agency deported Rosa to Ciudad Juárez on Friday morning.
Rosa survived the mass shooting at Walmart in August 2019, where at least 22 people were killed. Police said at the time that the shooter admitted to targeting "Mexicans," and described the shooting as a hate crime.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryancbrooks/el-paso-walmart-mass-shooting-survivor-deported
Freezer Failures Force Seattle Hospitals To Rush Out Vaccines
SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle hospitals rushed out COVID-19 vaccines to hundreds of people in the middle of the night after a freezer they were being stored in failed.
It’s not clear what caused the freezer failure Thursday night, but the UW Medical Center’s Northwest and Montlake campuses and Swedish Medical Center received more than 1,300 doses that needed to be used before they expired at 5:30 a.m. Friday, The Seattle Times reported.
Word of the unexpected doses spread on social media, and a line of hopeful vaccine recipients snaked out the clinic door and through a parking lot at UW Medical Center-Northwest. A hundred people lined up at Swedish Medical Center’s clinic at Seattle University. The hospital tweeted at 11:59 p.m. that it had 588 doses to give out, and by 12:30 a.m., all the appointment slots had been taken.
At the UW Medical Center-Northwest, assistant administrator Jenny Brackett walked along the crowd calling out and asking if anyone was over 65. Many of those who showed up were too young and healthy to qualify under Washington state’s current prioritization categories for vaccine distribution. Brackett said the hospital was doing its best to vaccinate those eligible, but that the main objective was to get it into arms and avoid waste.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/seattle-hospitals-freezers-covid-19-vaccines_n_60148a84c5b6aa4bad340be5
OSHA Offers New Virus Safety Guidance for Employers
NBC4Washington
By Joseph Pisani
President Joe Biden's administration released new workplace guidelines Friday that signaled a more proactive approach to protecting workers from the coronavirus.
The new guidance from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration seeks to protect all types of workers, not just ones who are deemed to be at higher risk of contracting the virus depending on where they work.
It also asks employers to shield workers from retaliation if they complain about conditions and sets up ways for them to voice complaints anonymously. And it wants employers to give workers a bigger say in developing safety protocols.
***
Much of the guidelines released Friday are similar to ones from the Trump administration. And many workplaces have already adopted the guidelines, such as keeping workers at least 6 feet away from each other and having them wear face masks. Like the previous guidance, they can't be enforced by the OSHA.
More at link
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/osha-offers-new-virus-safety-guidance-for-employers/2555651/
Alexei Navalny's brother, aides under house arrest ahead of Russia protests
Agence France-Presse via Raw Story
January 29, 2021
The brother and aides of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny were placed under house arrest on Friday ahead of new rallies, as Russian authorities warned that protesters could face charges of taking part in "mass unrest".
Moscow police also announced that on Sunday, when the fresh protests are planned, movement in the centre of the Russian capital would be limited and seven central metro stations closed.
Kremlin critics say authorities are dramatically ramping up pressure on the opposition in an effort to intimidate protesters and smother dissent.
Navalny's plight and the increasing crackdown on dissent in Russia has sparked an outcry in the West, and the UN Security Council is set to meet informally on Wednesday to discuss Navalny, diplomats said.
https://www.rawstory.com/alexei-navalnys-brother-aides-under-house-arrest-ahead-of-russia-protests/
New 'Treason Caucus' campaign targets Cruz, Hawley, and others for role in deadly Capitol insurrecti
Common Dreams via Raw Story
Demands for accountability ramped up on Friday as the progressive organization MoveOn Civic Action launched a "Treason Caucus" campaign calling on Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas to resign or be expelled from office for his role in helping to incite the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6.
The state-specific and national campaign is also targeting Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), and the 147 House Republicans who voted to overturn the November 2020 presidential election, which former President Donald Trump decisively lost to President Joe Biden.
Even before the right-wing siege of the Capitol that left five people dead, Cruz, Hawley, Johnson, and other GOP lawmakers came under fire for elevating unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud that Trump and his allies spouted to anyone who would listen in the months after the election.
"When the country watched as a violent Trump mob stormed the Capitol, we saw the impact of months of delusional election fraud lies and incendiary rhetoric from Donald Trump come to a deadly fruition," said Rahna Epting, executive director of MoveOn Civic Action. "But Trump did not act alone."
https://www.rawstory.com/ted-cruz-josh-hawley/
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