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
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U.S. military force fighting Ebola virus could grow to 4,000 troops
The U.S. military could deploy up to 4,000 troops to western Africa as part of Washington’s broader response to the threat posed by the deadly Ebola virus, the Pentagon press secretary said Friday.
Rear Adm. John Kirby disclosed the number to reporters at the Pentagon, stressing that while the Defense Secretary has approved the potential deployment of up to 4,000 service members, “that doesn’t mean it’s going to get to that number.”
Still, military officials had previously said that about 3,000 service members would deploy in response to the global health crisis developing in Liberia and other neighboring countries. It has killed more than 3,300 people in western Africa. Ebola was diagnosed for the first time in the United States on Wednesday, when it surfaced in Dallas.
Judge orders Guantánamo Bay force-feeding videos to be released
Judge orders US government to prepare public versions of 28 videos showing force-feeding of hunger-striking Syrian detainee
A US federal judge has ordered the disclosure of videotapes that show the force feeding of an inmate on hunger strike at the Guantánamo Bay detention facility.
Days before the first legal challenge to the force feeding was due to begin, Judge Gladys Kessler of the Washington DC district court on Friday ordered the US government to prepare public versions of 28 videos showing a Syrian detainee, Abu Wa’el Dhiab, forcibly removed from his cell and fed through a tube inserted through his nose into his stomach.
Kessler’s ruling came after a coalition of media organisations, including the Guardian, applied for disclosure of unclassified versions of tapes that the US government has never made availabl
Failure to pass US surveillance reform bill could still curtail NSA powers
If the Senate doesn’t pass the USA Freedom Act after the midterm elections, a key section of the Patriot Act could expire
Two members of the US House of Representatives are warning that a failure to pass landmark surveillance reform will result in a far more drastic curtailment of US surveillance powers – one that will occur simply by the House doing nothing at all.
As the clock ticks down on the 113th Congress, time is running out for the USA Freedom Act, the first legislative attempt at reining in the National Security Agency during the 9/11 era. Unless the Senate passes the stalled bill in the brief session following November’s midterm elections, the NSA will keep all of its existing powers to collect US phone records in bulk, despite support for the bill from the White House, the House of Representatives and, formally, the NSA itself.
But supporters of the Freedom Act are warning that the intelligence agencies and their congressional allies will find the reform bill’s legislative death to be a cold comfort.
Ferguson hands control of Michael Brown protests back to St Louis County
Police chief calls in St Louis County force that oversaw intense clashes immediately after teenager’s killing by Ferguson officer
The city of Ferguson, Missouri, has handed control of the continuing protests over the killing of Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old, back to the county force that oversaw intense clashes with demonstrators following the deadly police shooting.
St Louis County police will once again oversee the “security detail” assigned to the demonstrations over the killing of Michael Brown, it was announced in a statement on Friday. It said that the change was taking place at the request of Tom Jackson, Ferguson’s police chief.
Hong Kong protesters beaten and bloodied as thugs attack sit-in
Pro-democracy leaders call off talks with government and accuse police of sending triads against Occupy Central rally
Thugs punched and kicked pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong on Friday night, drawing blood as they tore down demonstrators’ tents and attempted to force them out.
Student leaders called off talks with the government – offered the previous night – accusing officials of allowing violence to be used against them. It dashed the hopes of a resolution to a mass movement that has seen tens of thousands of people take to the streets of the city at its height.
The veteran democracy activist Martin Lee and Occupy Central leader, Benny Tai, blamed triads for the violence in Mong Kok, a densely populated area also popular with shoppers. The area is known for its gang presence.
Police later confirmed that some of the 19 people arrested had triad backgrounds
Must Read Blog Posts
Obamacare Is Just Like the Swiss Health System – minus all the good stuff Jon Walker, FDL Action
The Continuing Myth about USA Freedom Transparency Marcy Wheeler, emptywheel
Protect America Act Was Designed to Collect on Americans, But DOJ Hid that from the FISC Marcy Wheeler, emptywheel
Wall Street’s P.R. whopper: How its big new lie can trigger another crisis David Dayen, Salon
Ferguson’s Strategy Regarding Journalists: Charge Insane Fees For FOIA Requests Tim Geigner, Techdirt
The Shocking Truth: U.S. Medical System Is NOT Prepared for Ebola G. Washington, Washingtonblog