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the Guardian
Poland closes last Russian consulate after ‘act of state terrorism’ on railway
Foreign minister orders closure of Gdańsk consulate and says four people now arrested after sabotage attack
 Poland accuses Putin of organizing sabotage against Poland's railroads. This doesn't surprise me. To start low-intensity war is Putin's modus operandi, intended to leave the attacked country unsure of how to respond. Europe needs to develop appropriate ways to fight back. It must not limit itself to a choice between the two extreme options - full war, and full
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The Lever
Big Pharma’s Dark Money Scores $8 Billion Bonanza
The country’s top pharmaceutical lobbying group secretly gave millions to a Republican-aligned dark money group, then won billions in drug-pricin...
2020: May - August Political Notes - Richard Stallman
 By spending 4 million dollars on campaigns for Congress, the big US drug companies made Americans pay 8 billion more for medicine. They lobbied to eliminate the changes Biden made to make manufacturers negotiate a lower price for a list pf important medicines. Most countries have a national
the Guardian
Israel used widely banned cluster munitions in Lebanon, photos of remnants suggest
Exclusive: Images are first indication that Israel has used cluster munitions in nearly 20 years
 *Israel used widely banned cluster munitions in Lebanon, photos of remnants suggest.*
the Guardian
What recreating Scott’s Antarctic expedition reveals about our seas today
A new polar project compared samples with those collected more than a century ago by by Scott, along with voyages led by Shackleton and Borchgrevink
 To observe the effects of ocean acidification, scientists retraced the path of Scott's Antarctic expedition, and collected sea animals to compare with the samples he collected. The sea urchins have become very fragile, and ocean acidification seems to be the cause.
Glossary
the Guardian
Zelenskyy says Ukraine has impossible choice as Trump pushes plan to end war
US president demands that Kyiv accepts plan that would mean giving up territory to Russia
Glossary
 The wrecker has thrown his support fully to Putin, trying to rush Ukraine into agreeing a pernicious deal to capitulate and hand over territory to the Putin forces. Zelenskyy has already refused.
the Guardian
Top judge resumes contempt inquiry into Trump El Salvador deportations
James Boasberg demands sworn testimony to determine whether US officials defied March court order
 A federal judge is demanding testimony from officials to investigate whether some of them should face contempt of court for deporting some people to El Salvador's brainwashing prison after he ordered them not to.
the Guardian
An existential battle of interests: what the Sudanese war is actually about
A bitter race to claim economic and political power has divided the country and the human cost can no longer be ignored
 Explaining the civil war in Sudan: two military factions fighting to exploit the country, with the UAE investing in one of them.
TechCrunch
Lawmakers warn Democratic governors that states are sharing drivers' data with ICE | TechCrunch
A group of Democratic lawmakers asked governors in California, Colorado, and other states to block ICE from accessing their residents’ driver’s...
 US states give some federal agencies unlimited access to their drivers license records - and now these agencies may be using them for facial recognition, disregarding laws and human rights.
the Guardian
Researchers say real impact of deforestation being hidden in Australia’s official figures by ‘sleight of hand’
Report commissioned by conservationists suggests some recorded new growth is misclassified or otherwise not equivalent to losses in species-heavy f...
 Australia's official forestry statistics report that forest cover is increasing, but that counts new-growth forests without native wildlife as a substitute for the native habitat which is being steadily destroyed.
the Guardian
UN security council votes to endorse Donald Trump’s Gaza plan
The resolution, which includes references to an independent Palestine, was passed by a vote of 13-0 with China and Russia abstaining
Glossary
 *UN security council votes to endorse the bully's Gaza plan.* I think it is premature to judge that plan when it is so incomplete that we can't tell where it is intended to lead.