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cbabe's Journal
cbabe's Journal
February 10, 2026
Judge 'bewildered' as ICE reveals detention areas hidden from the court
Matthew Chapman
February 9, 2026 9:03PM ET
A federal judge was blindsided on Monday upon learning that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been storing detainees on floors of a Manhattan facility that it hadn't disclosed to the court prior.
According to Courthouse News, "U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan slammed ICE for 'stalling' the production of discovery related to how immigrants are treated at 26 Federal Plaza, a short-term ICE jail in downtown Manhattan that has been subjected to claims of overcrowding, unsanitary living conditions and violations of detainees’ civil rights."
In particular, per the report, ICE has already been under an order to limit the number of detainees stored on the infamous 10th floor of the facility, so to get around that, they started storing people on the ninth floor as well.
"The makeshift jail is just two floors below immigration courtrooms, where many of the detainees were abruptly detained by ICE following routine court appearances," said the report. "Despite claims from the Department of Homeland Security that the facility is merely a short-term processing center, many noncitizens claimed in court filings that they were held for days at a time and lacked access to clean clothes, edible food and calls with their attorneys."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Oestericher "tried to clear things up for the bewildered judge. He explained that, since Kaplan ordered that no more than 22 inmates may be detained in the building’s 10th-floor jail at a time, ICE has started using holding cells on the ninth floor as they wait for space to open up on the 10th," said the report. When Kaplan then asked, “Are there toilet facilities in each room?” Oestericher conceded he didn't know.
… more …
(‘Storing’ people.)
Judge 'bewildered' as ICE reveals detention areas hidden from the court
https://www.rawstory.com/ice-court-2675241463/Judge 'bewildered' as ICE reveals detention areas hidden from the court
Matthew Chapman
February 9, 2026 9:03PM ET
A federal judge was blindsided on Monday upon learning that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been storing detainees on floors of a Manhattan facility that it hadn't disclosed to the court prior.
According to Courthouse News, "U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan slammed ICE for 'stalling' the production of discovery related to how immigrants are treated at 26 Federal Plaza, a short-term ICE jail in downtown Manhattan that has been subjected to claims of overcrowding, unsanitary living conditions and violations of detainees’ civil rights."
In particular, per the report, ICE has already been under an order to limit the number of detainees stored on the infamous 10th floor of the facility, so to get around that, they started storing people on the ninth floor as well.
"The makeshift jail is just two floors below immigration courtrooms, where many of the detainees were abruptly detained by ICE following routine court appearances," said the report. "Despite claims from the Department of Homeland Security that the facility is merely a short-term processing center, many noncitizens claimed in court filings that they were held for days at a time and lacked access to clean clothes, edible food and calls with their attorneys."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Oestericher "tried to clear things up for the bewildered judge. He explained that, since Kaplan ordered that no more than 22 inmates may be detained in the building’s 10th-floor jail at a time, ICE has started using holding cells on the ninth floor as they wait for space to open up on the 10th," said the report. When Kaplan then asked, “Are there toilet facilities in each room?” Oestericher conceded he didn't know.
… more …
(‘Storing’ people.)
February 9, 2026
‘Operation Dildo Blitz’ Anti-ICE Protest in Minneapolis Ends With 50+ Arrest
One demonstrator said they attended the phallic protest, at which people pelted federal agents’ vehicles with sex toys, “because ICE likes to bend over for Daddy Trump.”
BRETT WILKINS
Feb 08, 2026
Demonstrators hurled insults and sex toys at federal agents outside a Minneapolis government building on Saturday to protest the Trump administration’s deadly Immigration and Customs Enforcement crackdown on undocumented immigrants and their supporters, with state and local police arresting more than 50 people.
Dubbed “Operation Dildo Blitz,” the protest outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building saw demonstrators place sex toys in a chain link fence while others handed out rubber phalluses to protesters who threw them at passing federal and local law enforcement vehicles.
… more … video at link …
'Operation Dildo Blitz' Anti-ICE Protest in Minneapolis Ends With 50+ Arrests
https://www.commondreams.org/news/operation-dildo-blitz‘Operation Dildo Blitz’ Anti-ICE Protest in Minneapolis Ends With 50+ Arrest
One demonstrator said they attended the phallic protest, at which people pelted federal agents’ vehicles with sex toys, “because ICE likes to bend over for Daddy Trump.”
BRETT WILKINS
Feb 08, 2026
Demonstrators hurled insults and sex toys at federal agents outside a Minneapolis government building on Saturday to protest the Trump administration’s deadly Immigration and Customs Enforcement crackdown on undocumented immigrants and their supporters, with state and local police arresting more than 50 people.
Dubbed “Operation Dildo Blitz,” the protest outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building saw demonstrators place sex toys in a chain link fence while others handed out rubber phalluses to protesters who threw them at passing federal and local law enforcement vehicles.
… more … video at link …
February 9, 2026
Artists lead 'ICE Out' protest inside Super Bowl LX
Robert Davis
February 8, 2026 7:02PM ET
An artists' collective led an "ICE Out" protest inside Levi's Stadium on Sunday during Super Bowl LX.
The protest, called "Flags in the Stands," was led by California-based advocacy group Contra-ICE. Organizers said it was directed at the "inhumane treatment" of immigrants and other people swept up in President Donald Trump's deportation regime. The group distributed custom towels around the stadium as fans filed in, which featured a nod to the 2026 halftime performer, Bad Bunny, and the slogan "ICE Out."
…
Culture often leads politics, and moments like this show how people are using joy, creativity, and visibility to push back against ICE and demand a country that truly lives up to its promise to welcome immigrants," Conrad said.
… more …
Artists lead 'ICE Out' protest inside Super Bowl LX
https://www.rawstory.com/super-bowl-2675186934/Artists lead 'ICE Out' protest inside Super Bowl LX
Robert Davis
February 8, 2026 7:02PM ET
An artists' collective led an "ICE Out" protest inside Levi's Stadium on Sunday during Super Bowl LX.
The protest, called "Flags in the Stands," was led by California-based advocacy group Contra-ICE. Organizers said it was directed at the "inhumane treatment" of immigrants and other people swept up in President Donald Trump's deportation regime. The group distributed custom towels around the stadium as fans filed in, which featured a nod to the 2026 halftime performer, Bad Bunny, and the slogan "ICE Out."
…
Culture often leads politics, and moments like this show how people are using joy, creativity, and visibility to push back against ICE and demand a country that truly lives up to its promise to welcome immigrants," Conrad said.
… more …
February 8, 2026
Thanks for the hearts. No clever quips. Just a simple thanks.
February 7, 2026
Use of Irish airport for US deportation flights to Israel called ‘reprehensible’
Irish politicians condemn use of Shannon airport by private jet en route to Israel, owned by Trump donor Gil Dezer
Geraldine McKelvie
Sat 7 Feb 2026 10.38 EST
Politicians in Ireland have said the use of an airport in County Clare by planes deporting Palestinians from the US to Israel is “reprehensible”.
A private jet owned by the Donald Trump donor Gil Dezer was chartered by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for two separate flights that took detainees to Israel, a Guardian investigation revealed this week.
The flights left the US on 21 January and 1 February. Both made refuelling stops at Shannon airport in the west of Ireland.
Dezer’s family property company has built a series of Trump-branded residential towers in Miami. He recently spoke of his “love” for the US president, with whom he claims to have had a 20-year friendship.
Some of those onboard the flights on Dezer’s jet said they had their wrists and ankles shackled for the duration of the journey. After arriving in Tel Aviv, they appear to have been taken to the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The Irish government said in a statement that as the flights stopped in the country for “non-traffic purposes” and were “not picking up or setting down passengers” they did not require prior approval from its transport department.
However, on Friday, opposition politicians expressed concern to the Irish Times about the practice.
Duncan Smith, foreign affairs spokesperson for the Labour party in Ireland, said: “It is absolutely reprehensible that any ICE deportation flights would be allowed stop and refuel in Shannon. The taoiseach and minister for transport must intervene and ensure this ends.” He added: “Ireland cannot in any way be complicit in these ICE flights.”
… more …
Use of Irish airport for US deportation flights to Israel called 'reprehensible'
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/07/use-of-irish-shannon-airport-for-us-deportation-flights-to-israel-called-reprehensibleUse of Irish airport for US deportation flights to Israel called ‘reprehensible’
Irish politicians condemn use of Shannon airport by private jet en route to Israel, owned by Trump donor Gil Dezer
Geraldine McKelvie
Sat 7 Feb 2026 10.38 EST
Politicians in Ireland have said the use of an airport in County Clare by planes deporting Palestinians from the US to Israel is “reprehensible”.
A private jet owned by the Donald Trump donor Gil Dezer was chartered by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for two separate flights that took detainees to Israel, a Guardian investigation revealed this week.
The flights left the US on 21 January and 1 February. Both made refuelling stops at Shannon airport in the west of Ireland.
Dezer’s family property company has built a series of Trump-branded residential towers in Miami. He recently spoke of his “love” for the US president, with whom he claims to have had a 20-year friendship.
Some of those onboard the flights on Dezer’s jet said they had their wrists and ankles shackled for the duration of the journey. After arriving in Tel Aviv, they appear to have been taken to the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The Irish government said in a statement that as the flights stopped in the country for “non-traffic purposes” and were “not picking up or setting down passengers” they did not require prior approval from its transport department.
However, on Friday, opposition politicians expressed concern to the Irish Times about the practice.
Duncan Smith, foreign affairs spokesperson for the Labour party in Ireland, said: “It is absolutely reprehensible that any ICE deportation flights would be allowed stop and refuel in Shannon. The taoiseach and minister for transport must intervene and ensure this ends.” He added: “Ireland cannot in any way be complicit in these ICE flights.”
… more …
February 7, 2026
Indigenous-Led Collectives Are Keeping Minnesotan Communities Safe From ICE
Members of the American Indian Movement and the Many Shields Warrior Society are patrolling the streets of Minneapolis.
By Theia Chatelle , TRUTHOUT
Published February 7, 2026
A cozy cafe in the heart of Minneapolis, Minnesota, has become a staging ground for Indigenous-led patrols working to keep Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) off their streets. Pow Wow Grounds, opened in 2011 by Bob Rice, has been both a gathering place for community members attempting to make sense of the scale of violence they have witnessed over the past few weeks and a place to strategize an autonomous response.
During Truthout’s visit to the cafe at the end of January, wagons full of supplies — from food and gas masks to Narcan — passed in and out of Pow Wow Grounds’ front door, which for the first time was kept locked to keep ICE agents out. The door was unlocked again and again to allow the wagons into the newly repurposed All My Relations gallery space, which is housed with Pow Wow Grounds in the Native American Community Development Institute.
“Look outside,” Rice said during an interview with Truthout in the cafe. “This is the American Indian Cultural Corridor, the heart of Native life here in Minneapolis. They come here to try to intimidate us, but we will not bow down.”
Rice’s efforts to supply the Native
community and its allies with “soup and supplies,” as he told Truthout, have been successful. Members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) and of the Many Shields Warrior Society (an Indigenous community security group) have been patrolling the streets of Minneapolis’s Phillips neighborhood since the start of the occupation, and they do not plan to stop.
“We all have a place. My place is to make sure people are fed and get a cup of coffee,” Rice said.
… more …
Indigenous-Led Collectives Are Keeping Minnesotan Communities Safe From ICE
https://truthout.org/articles/indigenous-led-collectives-are-keeping-minnesotan-communities-safe-from-ice/Indigenous-Led Collectives Are Keeping Minnesotan Communities Safe From ICE
Members of the American Indian Movement and the Many Shields Warrior Society are patrolling the streets of Minneapolis.
By Theia Chatelle , TRUTHOUT
Published February 7, 2026
A cozy cafe in the heart of Minneapolis, Minnesota, has become a staging ground for Indigenous-led patrols working to keep Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) off their streets. Pow Wow Grounds, opened in 2011 by Bob Rice, has been both a gathering place for community members attempting to make sense of the scale of violence they have witnessed over the past few weeks and a place to strategize an autonomous response.
During Truthout’s visit to the cafe at the end of January, wagons full of supplies — from food and gas masks to Narcan — passed in and out of Pow Wow Grounds’ front door, which for the first time was kept locked to keep ICE agents out. The door was unlocked again and again to allow the wagons into the newly repurposed All My Relations gallery space, which is housed with Pow Wow Grounds in the Native American Community Development Institute.
“Look outside,” Rice said during an interview with Truthout in the cafe. “This is the American Indian Cultural Corridor, the heart of Native life here in Minneapolis. They come here to try to intimidate us, but we will not bow down.”
Rice’s efforts to supply the Native
community and its allies with “soup and supplies,” as he told Truthout, have been successful. Members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) and of the Many Shields Warrior Society (an Indigenous community security group) have been patrolling the streets of Minneapolis’s Phillips neighborhood since the start of the occupation, and they do not plan to stop.
“We all have a place. My place is to make sure people are fed and get a cup of coffee,” Rice said.
… more …
February 7, 2026
Minneapolis City Council Delays Liquor Licenses for 2 Hotels Hosting ICE Agents
Residents have shared stories of abusive actions by off-duty agents at the hotels.
By Chris Walker , TRUTHOUT
Published February 6, 2026
A committee within the Minneapolis City Council has delayed the renewal of liquor licenses for two hotels in the city’s downtown area, citing concerns that agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are staying at the hotel during the Trump administration’s ongoing “Operation Metro Surge” immigration raids.
The “Committee of the Whole” (a committee that includes every member of the city council) met on Tuesday with the goal of discussing liquor license renewals for dozens of businesses throughout Minneapolis. More than 100 licenses were renewed, but renewals for the two hotels in question — Hilton Minneapolis-Mill District and The Depot Minneapolis — were stalled until the next meeting later this month, on February 17.
The vote was 8-5 in favor of delaying the renewals.
The delay does not halt liquor operations at those locations for the time being, but it does allow for more discussion on whether their licenses should be revoked. Council members in favor of the delay said their decision was based on comments they received from constituents, who have expressed concerns about ICE agents’ activities in and around the hotels, including nuisance complaints and drunk driving by off-duty agents.
… more …
(That’s correct. Hit them where it hurts.)
Minneapolis City Council Delays Liquor Licenses for 2 Hotels Hosting ICE Agents
https://truthout.org/articles/minneapolis-city-council-delays-liquor-licenses-for-2-hotels-hosting-ice-agents/Minneapolis City Council Delays Liquor Licenses for 2 Hotels Hosting ICE Agents
Residents have shared stories of abusive actions by off-duty agents at the hotels.
By Chris Walker , TRUTHOUT
Published February 6, 2026
A committee within the Minneapolis City Council has delayed the renewal of liquor licenses for two hotels in the city’s downtown area, citing concerns that agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are staying at the hotel during the Trump administration’s ongoing “Operation Metro Surge” immigration raids.
The “Committee of the Whole” (a committee that includes every member of the city council) met on Tuesday with the goal of discussing liquor license renewals for dozens of businesses throughout Minneapolis. More than 100 licenses were renewed, but renewals for the two hotels in question — Hilton Minneapolis-Mill District and The Depot Minneapolis — were stalled until the next meeting later this month, on February 17.
The vote was 8-5 in favor of delaying the renewals.
The delay does not halt liquor operations at those locations for the time being, but it does allow for more discussion on whether their licenses should be revoked. Council members in favor of the delay said their decision was based on comments they received from constituents, who have expressed concerns about ICE agents’ activities in and around the hotels, including nuisance complaints and drunk driving by off-duty agents.
… more …
(That’s correct. Hit them where it hurts.)
February 7, 2026
RFK Jr.’s Bizarre Trip With Epstein and Ghislaine Exposed in Files
Farrah Tomazin
Political Correspondent
Updated Feb. 7 2026 3:07AM EST
Published Feb. 6 2026 8:12PM EST
…
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. went hunting for dinosaur bones in the Dakotas with child sex traffickers Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, according to the latest tranche of documents released by the Justice Department.
As the fallout over the Epstein files continues, an email exchange between the two sex predators centers on the now-Trump Cabinet secretary, one of the many prominent people whose friendship the pair cultivated over the years.
…
The following day, Maxwell replies: “Love that - didn’t we go fossil hunting with him and Bobby Kennedy in N Dakota?”
“Yes,” Epstein replies.
…
The trip actually took place in South Dakota, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where collecting fossils on reservation land without explicit tribal permission is considered looting.
… more …
(Looting. On sovereign land.)
RFK Jr.'s Bizarre Trip With Epstein and Ghislaine Exposed in Files (Dinosaur bone hunting)
https://www.thedailybeast.com/rfk-jrs-bizarre-trip-with-jeffrey-epstein-and-ghislaine-maxwell-exposed-in-files/RFK Jr.’s Bizarre Trip With Epstein and Ghislaine Exposed in Files
Farrah Tomazin
Political Correspondent
Updated Feb. 7 2026 3:07AM EST
Published Feb. 6 2026 8:12PM EST
…
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. went hunting for dinosaur bones in the Dakotas with child sex traffickers Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, according to the latest tranche of documents released by the Justice Department.
As the fallout over the Epstein files continues, an email exchange between the two sex predators centers on the now-Trump Cabinet secretary, one of the many prominent people whose friendship the pair cultivated over the years.
…
The following day, Maxwell replies: “Love that - didn’t we go fossil hunting with him and Bobby Kennedy in N Dakota?”
“Yes,” Epstein replies.
…
The trip actually took place in South Dakota, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where collecting fossils on reservation land without explicit tribal permission is considered looting.
… more …
(Looting. On sovereign land.)
February 6, 2026
The Japanese gardening technique of kokedama will bring a touch of magic into your home
Recreate a centuries-old technique from the far east with moss, soil, twine, bonsai compost – and a little patience
Alice Vincent
Fri 6 Feb 2026 07.11 EST
…
The ones in the cafe were a more contemporary version: the kokedama was a squat little mound, sitting quietly as if growing straight from the table. While the moss looked green and plump, it was home to a few artfully placed sprigs of limonium (sea lavender) and dried sanguisorba – kokedama as a non-polluting answer to florists’ foam.
It prompted me to think about how I could use them in and outside the house at this bleak time of year. On the other side of town, the Chelsea Physic Garden’s Heralding Spring festival traditionally kicks off my gardening year in late January. There, among the miniature theatres of irises, crops of snowdrops rise from kokedama hanging in the trees; a welcome dose of magic at this time of year.
Kokedama can be made at home with moss, soil, twine and a good bit of patience and practice. You’ll need to mix peat-free potting soil with bonsai compost or sharp sand (which encourages drainage) to make a mixture that feels mud-pie-ready. Remove the plant from its pot – hardier ferns are a good bet for beginners, or bulbs in the green – and make a coconut-sized ball from the compost mix around the rootball, squeezing out excess moisture. Wrap it in sheet moss, then crisscross the twine around the ball, tying and leaving some excess to hang it from.
//
The Japanese gardening technique of kokedama will bring a touch of magic into your home
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/feb/06/the-japanese-gardening-technique-of-kokedama-will-bring-a-touch-of-magic-into-your-homeThe Japanese gardening technique of kokedama will bring a touch of magic into your home
Recreate a centuries-old technique from the far east with moss, soil, twine, bonsai compost – and a little patience
Alice Vincent
Fri 6 Feb 2026 07.11 EST
…
The ones in the cafe were a more contemporary version: the kokedama was a squat little mound, sitting quietly as if growing straight from the table. While the moss looked green and plump, it was home to a few artfully placed sprigs of limonium (sea lavender) and dried sanguisorba – kokedama as a non-polluting answer to florists’ foam.
It prompted me to think about how I could use them in and outside the house at this bleak time of year. On the other side of town, the Chelsea Physic Garden’s Heralding Spring festival traditionally kicks off my gardening year in late January. There, among the miniature theatres of irises, crops of snowdrops rise from kokedama hanging in the trees; a welcome dose of magic at this time of year.
Kokedama can be made at home with moss, soil, twine and a good bit of patience and practice. You’ll need to mix peat-free potting soil with bonsai compost or sharp sand (which encourages drainage) to make a mixture that feels mud-pie-ready. Remove the plant from its pot – hardier ferns are a good bet for beginners, or bulbs in the green – and make a coconut-sized ball from the compost mix around the rootball, squeezing out excess moisture. Wrap it in sheet moss, then crisscross the twine around the ball, tying and leaving some excess to hang it from.
//
February 5, 2026
Medgar Evers’ killer was a Klansman, but Trump administration says stop calling him a racist
Jerry Mitchell
Thu, February 5, 2026 at 8:27 AM PST
The National Park Service has removed visitor brochures from the Medgar & Myrlie Evers Home National Monument. Among the anticipated changes? No longer calling his murderer a “racist.”
Edits to the brochure have removed that reference to Byron De La Beckwith, according to Park Service officials, who asked not to be named for fear of retribution. Other edits include eliminating the reference to Medgar Evers lying in a pool of blood after being shot.
… more …
Medgar Evers' killer was a Klansman, but Trump administration says stop calling him a racist
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/medgar-evers-killer-klansman-trump-162736499.htmlMedgar Evers’ killer was a Klansman, but Trump administration says stop calling him a racist
Jerry Mitchell
Thu, February 5, 2026 at 8:27 AM PST
The National Park Service has removed visitor brochures from the Medgar & Myrlie Evers Home National Monument. Among the anticipated changes? No longer calling his murderer a “racist.”
Edits to the brochure have removed that reference to Byron De La Beckwith, according to Park Service officials, who asked not to be named for fear of retribution. Other edits include eliminating the reference to Medgar Evers lying in a pool of blood after being shot.
… more …
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