The Digger

There ought to be a law. I read about Eric Barrier, half of the classic rap duo Eric B. and Rakim, and how he recently wound up in jail. The story is interesting not because it’s unusual but because it’s typical. Without getting into the weeds of his original 2002 offense because that would distract from my point here, Barrier’s lawyer told him to skip his sentencing hearing because his presence wasn’t required. Wrong. Unbeknownst to Barrier, New Jersey authorities had issued a warrant for his arrest. “More than 17 years passed before he first learned of the warrant, from law enforcement authorities in Vermont when he came into the United States from Canada last month,” according to The New York Times. In October, Barrier presented himself to court officials, who promptly arrested him. He was freed on bail Nov. 12 after weeks in prison. I’m 99% sure he would have addressed the issue if he’d known about it. This is a common problem. Every day, courts across the United S...

28 November 2019 On Wednesday, Colombian workers and peasants took part in the second national strike of the past week. Following the largest national strike in decades held last Thursday , in which hundreds of thousands peacefully protested against the right-wing Democratic Center (CD) administration of President Ivan Duque, state security forces mounted a counterattack, killing three protesters and injuring hundreds. In response, huge demonstrations took place again Saturday evening, including thousands rallying outside Duque’s private residence. Cacerolazos have taken place nightly across the country, in which thousands bang empty pots and pans in a deafening symbol of protest. News broke late Monday that 18-year-old Dilan Cruz died in hospital, after he was shot in the head with a tear gas canister fired by Mobile Anti-Disturbances Squadron (ESMAD) riot police on Saturday. Cruz’s death had come to symbolize the brutality of ESMAD’s response to the peaceful prote...

Niemand suggested this one. Thank you Niemand! I can't figure out how to get the video of the CBS reporting on the issue, which is a bit more extensive than the text, so you can watch that  here . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eugene, Oregon — When a mental health-related 911 call comes in, a specialized team in Eugene, Oregon, rolls out. "Pretty much everybody we see is for one reason or another is in a state of crisis," said Manning Walker. Walker is a medic and Laurel Lisovskis is a mental health crisis manager. The pair are members of a mobile mental health crisis intervention team called CAHOOTS , which stands for Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets. They answer calls like suicide interventions and overdoses. They're unarmed and most of the time, without police backup. "We always move as a team," Lisovskis said. They took CBS News on an exclusive ride along. Their first call was for a woman they've met before, who they believ...

November 28/29, 2019 Apt it is, in a heinous way, that as the United States celebrates its annual Thanksgiving Day this week, the indigenous people of Bolivia are being slaughtered by a US-backed coup unfolding in the Andean nation. When former President Evo Morales was threatened out of office on November 10 by orchestrated, massive street violence, US President Donald Trump hailed it “a great day for democracy”. What Trump meant was “a great day for plutocracy”. The new regime in Laz Paz is the colonial-descendant, ruling class back in power, rolling back the gains made after 14 years of progressive socialism and democracy for the indigenous majority of Bolivians. The coup was carried off by Washington’s smearing of Morales’ re-election on October 20 and by fascist paramilitaries directed by Bolivian oligarchs who are well connected in Washington, as documented by Max Blumenthal and Ben Norton. The Bolivian oligarchs and their supporters espouse a rightwi...