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
President George W. Bush warns terrorists still threaten United States; bomb rocks an abortion clinic in Birmingham; “The Raven” is first published; Ty Cobb named hall of famer; Oprah Winfrey is born.
Breakfast Tunes
Something to Think about over Coffee Prozac
I believe in the equality of man; and I believe that religious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our fellow-creatures happy.
Breakfast News
Canada spy agency stops sharing intelligence with international parters
Canada’s ultra-secret eavesdropping agency has stopped sharing intelligence with international partners after revealing it had illegally collected Canadians’ metadata in sweeps of foreign communications.
In a report to parliament, the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) said on Thursday the breach was unintentional and had been discovered internally in 2013.
A CSE official blamed a software flaw that resulted in sharing of metadata, used to identify, manage or route communications over networks that could identify Canadians.
The agency said the likelihood of this leading to any abuses was “low”.
But as a precaution, the CSE suspended its sharing of metadata with its Five Eyes intelligence partners – Australia, Britain, New Zealand and the United States – until it finds a fix to the problem.
Iran president says Tehran ready to ‘turn the page’ as he renews French relations
Iran’s president has told his French counterpart in a historic visit to the Élysée palace that Tehran was prepared to “turn the page” in bilateral relations after the “resentment” of sanctions as he sought to reintroduce his country in Europe two weeks after implementation of the landmark nuclear deal.
Hassan Rouhani was welcomed by François Hollande at the French presidential residence earlier on Thursday during the first official visit by an Iranian president to the French capital in 17 years.
“Let us forget the resentment,” the Iranian president said at the press conference with Hollande. “We are ready to turn the page.”
Hollande responded: “It’s a new chapter of our relationship. I want that relationship to be useful, useful to both countries, useful to the region [Middle East] affected by wars, crises and tragedies.”
Philadelphia’s water-testing procedures are ‘worse than Flint’ – expert
The Philadelphia city council will investigate how it tests its water, after an expert told the Guardian the city’s procedures are “worse than Flint” and risk putting residents’ health in jeopardy.
Philadelphia council members revealed plans to hold hearings “concerning best practices followed by the Philadelphia Water Department” in its testing of drinking water for lead, in the wake of high lead levels in Flint, Michigan, and a Guardian report that found problems with water testing nationwide. [..]
Dr Yanna Lambrinidou, a medical ethnographer, said that water sampling methods used by the Philadelphia water department don’t properly illustrate the level of lead in drinking water and could mask the sort of problems suffered in Flint, Michigan, where a state of emergency has been declared over the toxic, discolored water that made many residents ill.
Hackers post private files of America’s biggest police union
Private files belonging to America’s biggest police union, including the names and addresses of officers, forum posts critical of Barack Obama, and controversial contracts made with city authorities, were posted online Thursday after a hacker breached its website.
The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), which says it represents about 330,000 law enforcement officers across the US, said the FBI was investigating after 2.5GB of data taken from its servers was dumped online and swiftly shared on social media. The union’s national site, fop.net, remained offline on Thursday evening.
“We have contacted the office of the assistant attorney general in charge of cyber crime, and officials from FBI field offices have already made contact with our staff,” Chuck Canterbury, the FOP’s national president, said in an interview.
The FBI did not respond to a request to confirm that it was investigating.
Oregon militia standoff: FBI releases video of LaVoy Finicum fatal shooting
LaVoy Finicum, the Oregon militia spokesman killed by law enforcement officials on a remote highway, was armed with a handgun and reached for his pocket before he was shot, according to the FBI, which shared blurry video footage of the shooting on Thursday night.
Finicum, a key leader of the armed occupation at the Malheur national wildlife refuge in rural Harney County, was traveling with Ammon Bundy and several other militiamen on Tuesday afternoon outside of the town of Burns when troopers with the Oregon State Police (OSP) and federal officials stopped them. [..]
It’s difficult to discern what happened in the final moments before troopers shot Finicum, a 55-year-old Arizona resident. The video shows the vehicle speeding toward a blockade of three law enforcement cars.
The truck got stuck in the snow, and Finicum exited from the driver’s seat with his hands initially in the air. Surrounded by troopers on either side, Finicum’s hands appeared to reach down toward his waist just before officers fired shots.
Finicum fell to the ground and laid motionless in the snow.
Bretzing said the video in its entirety showed Finicum was repeatedly refusing to comply with officials’ orders.
Breakfast Blogs
Can We Ever Take a 3rd Party Run Seriously? Charles Pierce, Esquire PoliticsWhat We Don’t Know about What Rummy Didn’t Know emptywheel aka Marcy Wheeler, emptywheel
Paul Krugman Unironically Anoints Himself Arbiter of “Seriousness”: Only Clinton Supporters Eligible Glenn Greenwald, The Intercept
It’s time to prosecute armed bullies threatening to kill us Spocko, Hullabaloo
How Dangerous Could Grandpa Be? Steve M., No More Mister Nice Blog