Brave New Films

“Plea deals are a deal with the Devil,” says defense attorney Michael Curls. He would know. Many of his clients have faced an impossible decision – sit behind bars waiting for trial because their money bail is set absurdly high, or accept a “deal” with the prosecutor by pleading guilty now. The plea deal system is being abused by prosecutors to rack up convictions – and money bail is one of the biggest incentives prosecutors use to do it.

Watch “A Deal with the Devil” and share it – help us expose every scheme used in this unjust system to feed mass incarceration.

More than 95% of Americans who have a criminal conviction have also accepted a plea deal. Join Brave New Films in fighting back against bad plea deals by helping us end money bail, a system that perpetuates poor people taking terrible “deals” for a little short-term, short-lived freedom. Please help us get the word out now about the movement to end money bail.

We all need to do our part – watch, share, take action.

Sincerely,

Robert Greenwald
President, Brave New Films

~ FDA/USDA ~~ Alerts & Safety, ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

FDA/USDA ~~ August 2017 Alerts&Safety

08/11/2017 Nativegrl77

The Comfy Cow Recalls Pints of Ice Cream Due To Possible E. Coli Contamination and/or High Coliform Counts

08/08/2017 02:04 PM EDT

The Comfy Cow is recalling pints of Banana Puddin Y’all, Chocolate Squared2, Cookies and Cream, Cow Trax, Double Fold Vanilla, Georgia Butter Pecan, Intense Dark Chocolate, Salted Caramel, Strawberry Fields Forever due to a potential contamination of E. coli. E. coli bacteria can cause diarrhea and dehydration. Most people who are infected recover, but the bacteria can be deadly.
Taylor Farms Retail, Inc. Recalls Coleslaw Kits Due To Undeclared Milk Allergen

08/08/2017 02:46 PM EDT

Taylor Farms Retail, Inc. in Salinas is conducting a limited recall of 293 cases of Taylor Farms Creamy Homestyle Coleslaw Kits due to an undeclared milk allergen. Milk is an ingredient in the dressing packet included in the salad kit. This recall is limited to one production day from a single location which distributes to Raley’s in California and Savemart in California. The recall did not apply to any other Taylor Farms products.
Updated information is now available. A list of retail consignees has been posted for recall 089-2017, Good Food Concepts, LLC. Recalls Beef Products Due To Possible E. Coli O26 Contamination (Aug 7, 2017).
The Comfy Cow Recalls Pints of Ice Cream Due To Possible E. Coli Contamination and/or High Coliform Counts

08/08/2017 02:04 PM EDT

The Comfy Cow is recalling pints of Banana Puddin Y’all, Chocolate Squared2, Cookies and Cream, Cow Trax, Double Fold Vanilla, Georgia Butter Pecan, Intense Dark Chocolate, Salted Caramel, Strawberry Fields Forever due to a potential contamination of E. coli. E. coli bacteria can cause diarrhea and dehydration. Most people who are infected recover, but the bacteria can be deadly.
Freshtex Produce Recalls “Valery” Brand Maradol Papayas Due to Possible Health Risk

08/07/2017 05:13 PM EDT

Freshtex Produce of Alamo, TX is voluntarily recalling “Valery” brand Maradol Papayas grown and packed by Carica de Campeche, because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.
Good Food Concepts, LLC. Recalls Beef Products Due To Possible E. Coli O26 Contamination Good Food Concepts, LLC., a Colorado Springs, Colo. establishment, is recalling approximately 1,290 pounds of raw intact and non-intact beef because the products may be contaminated with E. coli O26.
Agroson’s LLC Recalls Maradol Papaya Cavi Brand Grown and Packed by Carica De Campeche Because of Possible Health Risk08/04/2017 10:24 PM EDT Agroson’s LLC of Bronx, NY is recalling 2,483 boxes of Maradol Papaya Cavi Brand, grown and packed by Carica de Campeche, as a precaution because other brands that also buy from this farm have been tested positive for Salmonella, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems.
Hahn Brothers, Inc. Recalls Ready-To-Eat Ham Products Due To Misbranding and Undeclared Allergens Hahn Brothers, Inc., a Westminster, MD. establishment, is recalling approximately 115,773 pounds of ready-to-eat (RTE) ham products due to misbranding and an undeclared allergen.
Those trendy glitter iPhone cases may turn out to be more harmful than fun. A company that sold glitter iPhone cases to retailers such as Amazon and Nordstrom Rack has issued a recall for its products due to “skin irritation or chemical burns.”Related
Why the Most Underrated Fashion Accessory Is Your Cell Phone Case Mix Bin issued the recall on Aug. 1 and it includes all iPhone cases for the iPhone 6, 6S, and 7 sold between October 2015 and June 2017. The phone cases ranged in prices from $15 to $65 and were available at Henri Bendel, Tory Burch, and Victoria’s Secret. In an official statement, MixBin stated the cases were recalled “due to risk of skin irritation, blisters, or burns if the liquid contained in the phone case leaks and comes into contact with the skin due to breakage or cracking of the case.”If you’re the owner of an affected phone case, you can go through MixBin to get a refund. You’ll need to take a photo of the case, so don’t throw it out. The company also advises to keep the phone case until you are informed about how to properly get rid of it.
Grande Produce emite retiro voulantrio del mercado de una cantidad limitada de Papaya “Caribeña” por un potencial de riesgo contra la salud.”

08/02/2017 03:17 PM EDT

Salmonella is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
Amrita Health Foods Voluntarily Recalls Protein Bars For Possible Health Risk

08/02/2017 08:29 PM EDT

Amrita Health Foods is recalling a limited number of Amrita Bars because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women. No confirmed illnesses have been reported to public health authorities to date.
Bateman Recalls Poultry Products Due To Misbranding And An Undeclared AllergenBateman, a West Sacramento, Calif. establishment, is recalling approximately 20,297 pounds of poultry products due to misbranding and an undeclared allergen.
Grande Produce Issues Voluntary Recall of Limited Quantity of Papaya “Caribeña” Due to Potential Health Risk (Spanish Version) 08/02/2017 03:17 PM EDT Salmonella is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
JBS USA Inc. Recalls Beef Products Due To Possible Foreign Matter Contamination

08/01/2017 05:43 PM EDT

JBS USA, Inc., a Lenoir, N.C. establishment, is recalling approximately 4,922 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with extraneous materials.
Man of Steel Issues Voluntary Nationwide Recall of Man of Steel 1 and Man of Steel 2 Due to Tainted Supplements

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

BossFeed Briefing ~ workingwa.org

08/11/2017 Nativegrl77

We are Working Washington

BossFeed Briefing for August 7, 2017. Last Tuesday was Primary election day, with fairly low turnout in local races across the state. Last Wednesday was a national Amazon job fair, which drew about 50,000 people to wait on line across the country for the chance to apply for warehouse jobs. This Tuesday marks the anniversary of the invention of the electric washing machine, which transformed domestic labor. And the entire state is currently in the midst of a heat wave, sparking a host of national reports loaded with cliches about flannel, salmon, coffee, and grunge.

The Chicken Littles come home to roost

Three things to know this week:

laughing-crying In 2013, the Seattle Times Editorial Board wrote that if SeaTac voters passed the nation’s first $15 law, “forget about anyone ever building another hotel in the city of SeaTac.” Workers won the election anyway, and in 2017 the New York Times reported that nine hotels are currently under construction in the city.

Burien’s sanctuary city ordinance remains in place for now after a productively rowdy City Council meeting. Immigrant rights supporters successfully urged Councilmembers to delay voting on a ballot measure that would abolish the human rights ordinance, which the Council passed earlier this year.

Taylor Shellfish is paying $160,000 and adopting new training and other policies to settle racial discrimination claims by an African-American mechanic who worked at their Samish Bay farm. The EEOC found he faced discrimination from his first day of work, including being consistently assigned to the worst jobs, having profanities screamed at him, and then being retaliated against by managers after bringing his treatment to their attention.

Two things to ask:

Who are they going to sue now? A Federal judge has dismissed a Chamber of Commerce lawsuit which had aimed to strike down Seattle’s law providing Uber, Lyft, and other drivers the right to organize. The law remains enjoined until a second case is decided.

Could it happen here? Five hundred people who work in the cafeteria at Facebook headquarters in California have voted to form a union. It’s the latest victory in a surge of successful organizing by service workers in Silicon Valley, who are generally paid low wages to serve wildly rich companies while living in one of the most expensive parts of the country.

And one thing that’s worth a closer look:

doctor August 1st was Black Women’s equal pay day, marking how far into the year it takes for black women’s income to finally catch up to what white men earned the previous year. As detailed by Casey Quinlan in Think Progress, the wage gap persists at every level of education and just about every occupation: black women who have advanced degrees make $7/hour less than white men who only have a bachelor’s degree and black women doctors average $18/hour less than white male doctors. We’re not making progress very fast either; at the current rate of change, we won’t achieve equal pay until 2124.

Read this far?

tophat Consider yourself briefed, boss.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Tell the Trump Administration: Respect Students’ Civil Rights

08/11/2017 Nativegrl77

For over a half-century, girls, women, LGBTQ youth, students of color, and students with disabilities have won significant battles in the fight for full recognition of our civil rights, including the right to get an education free of discrimination and harassment.

But now the Trump administration is working to reverse decades of progress through wide-ranging attacks on laws that protect students’ civil rights. From appointing extreme and unqualified Cabinet officials like Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to proposing deep budget cuts that will hamstring crucial civil rights agencies, they are working overtime to undermine the ideal of “freedom and justice for all.” Their latest target? Rules that require schools to provide equal educational opportunities to all students. But we can stop them, if we act right now.

Tell the Trump Administration: Respect students’ civil rights. Keep all current civil rights regulations and guidance in place.

Take Action

Civil rights laws protect students from discrimination on the basis of sex (Title IX); race, color and national origin (Title VI); and disability (Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act, and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act). They are critical to ensuring that all students have the right to learn. That’s why the Department of Education has longstanding rules and regulations that require educators to do right by students and explain what schools must do to follow these laws. For example, these regulations and guidance documents provide schools with commonsense guidelines for addressing harassment based on race and offering accommodations for students who have disabilities, are pregnant or parenting, are learning English, and who have survived sexual assault. And the Department of Education is supposed to hold schools who fail to follow these laws accountable.

But instead, under the guise of “eliminating burdensome regulations,” the Trump administration is attacking these rules. They’re ignoring the benefits of eradicating sexism, racism, ableism, and other forms of bigotry from our schools, colleges, and universities. And they’re ignoring the fact that these laws and regulations were created to give all students — no matter their background or circumstances — a fair shot at learning and thriving. We can’t let them get away with it. The more of us who submit comments explaining why we believe these regulations must stay, the harder it will be to change them.

Thanks in advance for defending students’ civil rights by sending a comment today.

Sincerely,
Neena Chaudhry
Director of Education
National Women’s Law Center

We the Resistance is our fight to protect our rights and freedoms and to defend the most vulnerable among us through powerful collective action. Every conversation you have with a loved one about the issues important to you, every call you make to Congress, every rally you attend is a part of that resistance. Join us — sign on to the We The Resistance manifesto.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

The changejustice project ~ Jon Perri

08/11/2017 Nativegrl77

Did you know that you’re one of Change.org’s most active signers on criminal justice reform? In fact, you’ve signed over 50 petitions just in the the last year! That’s why you’re the first to hear about our new project, changejustice.I’m Jon Perri, Change.org’s Director of Campaigns & Partnerships and the photo below is of me and Sharanda Jones. Sharanda was given a life sentence for a first time nonviolent drug offense and served nearly 17 years before receiving clemency from President Obama.

For over two years I helped her daughter with a Change.org petition that nearly 300,000 people signed. When she was finally free, those supporters raised over $25,000 to help her start her new life. That’s the kind of impact I want to see more of.

Through our new changejustice project, you’ll hear directly from people like Sharanda who served mandatory minimum sentences, from members of Congress working to improve the system, and from key organizations working on the most important pieces of legislation. It won’t just be petitions — we’ll send you powerful photos, videos, interviews and more to help you make the biggest impact on criminal justice reform.

The changejustice project launches soon, but one simple way you can support it right now is just by following us on Facebook and Twitter where you’ll find news, petitions, research, and more. Please follow us.