Jim Brown—maybe the greatest athlete of the 20th century.
NAACP’s Board of Directors
…tells tourists that, before traveling to Florida, they should understand the state of Florida “devalues and marginalizes the contributions of and the challenges faced by African Americans and other communities of color.” — AP
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Michael Moore to FL New College Graduates
“We’ll never forget you because you stood up.” — michaelmoore.com
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‘Brandishing’ — 2nd Amendment hypocrisy
Dave Zirin on Ja Morant
Morant deserves the attention, but he doesn’t deserve to be a symbol for this country’s glamorization, fetishization, and even deification of the gun—not in a place where these weapons have more right to exist than school children. Our culture has long been poisoned, and Morant is a product of that culture. — The Nation
Killing fields…
May 20 (Bloomberg) - Russia claimed on Saturday to have fully captured the smashed eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, which would mark an end to the longest and bloodiest battle of the 15-month war.
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Zelensky met with Biden at the G7. Says he has a peace plan, but…
"As long as invaders remain on our land, no one will sit down at the negotiating table with Russia," Zelensky wrote on Twitter, adding that "the world has enough power to force Russia to restore peace step by step." — CNN
When do we get to see the plan?
When a reporter asked during a meeting with President Joe Biden if Bakhmut was still in Ukrainian hands, Zelenskiy said: “I think no.”
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Then Biden announced…
…that the Pentagon will send an additional $375M in military equipment to Ukraine including, "additional ammunition for U.S.-provided HIMARS, additional howitzers, artillery and mortar rounds, and anti-armor capabilities.” He also approved the transfer of F-16 fighter jets from neighboring countries.
In a Sunday interview with CNN's Jake Tapper from the G7 summit Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan made it clear that Washington would approve of US weapons being used in an offensive to recapture Crimea, a horrifying prospect that many experts have agreed is the most likely scenario to lead to nuclear warfare in this conflict.
The U.S. has now committed more than $35.7 billion in security assistance since the beginning of the invasion last February. This includes more than 1.6 million artillery rounds, tens of thousands of anti-tank weapons, secure communications equipment, radar systems, and more. — ABC News
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While the US and G7 leaders were busy issuing more than 300 economic sanctions against Russia and China…
“Around the world, experts have been watching in disbelief as the U.S. flirts with its first default, fearful of the potential international economic ramifications—and astonished by the global superpower’s brush with self-sabotage.” — Washington Post
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‘Storm Shadows’
But while British deliveries of long-range missiles known as Storm Shadows could significantly enhance Ukraine’s offensive capabilities, much of the weaponry pledged by European leaders this week is unlikely to reach the battlefield until well after the start of the counteroffensive, military experts say, and Europe’s ability to sustain such support into the future remains unclear. — Washington Post
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Pope Francis assigns Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, with the mission to pave paths to peace in Ukraine.
Earlier in the week, an Italian website that focuses on Vatican issues indicated that the pope had tapped personal envoys to talk to both Zelenskyy and Putin in hopes of brokering a cease-fire. — AP
TWEETS…
“Christian” pastor Jason Graber recently called for the execution of all LGBTQ people as well as the parents of transgender people: “They just need to be shot in the back of the head and then we can string them up above a bridge.”