Afternoon Tea 4.21.21 - Iron Basement

Waiting on a billion dollars worth of syringes, your hump day salvo of cop nonsense, Iran & Saudi Arabia are passing notes to each other in class, a neoliberal makes a great case for the USA becoming a steadfast ally to Vietnam which I couldn’t agree more with, Burmese pirate radio, Mall-pocalypse, and Diseased Nugent. It’s Wednesday, April 21st 2021, and this is the Tea.

Officer Brian Sicknick died of natural causes after defending Capitol on January 6, medical examiner says (CBS News) He fell down some stairs, didn’t you hear? At times like this, I think of the classic Stephen Wright joke “How young can you die of old age?”

Trump administration awarded a firm $1.3 billion to make Covid vaccine syringes. Where are the syringes? (NBC News) Where are the syringes Lebowski?!

Justices Rule Police Do Not Have a Constitutional Duty to Protect Someone (NYTimes - 2005) Obviously not my style to post old content, but this felt important for some reason.

The Chauvin Verdict Represents an Absolute Minimum of Justice (The Nation) & Columbus Police Release Body-Camera Footage of Fatal Shooting of Black Teen (Daily Beast) You know the glass ceiling? How about the opposite, an iron basement, the absolute floor privileged can be pushed down to. We’ll see how the sentencing goes and how vigorous the appeals are defended, especially if/when AG Ellison leaves office. Also, there was a cop shooting both during the sentencing, and a mass shooting at a Long Island Stop & Shop this morning. 

Scoop: Iran-Saudi Arabia engagement follows 'secret regional talks' in Iraq (Amwaj Media) Confirming reports of what FT reported over the weekend. Honestly, if it gets the West back to the table, and Iran to play ball, I’ll take it. Especially to watch John Bolton’s mustache of fascism twitch.

Ally with Vietnam (Noahopinion) In which I agree wholeheartedly with the neoliberal. Vietnam deserves so much more from us, and has so much more to teach us.

Reporters Without Borders: Press freedoms under pressure in pandemic (DW) The 2021 edition of the World Press Freedom Index is out and while we advanced a spot, we’re still…pretty bad. As illustrated by this semi depressing infographic:

 Young Burmese activists are broadcasting anti-coup messages on pirate radio (RestOfWorld) Who doesn’t love pirate radio?! Instead of pushing out clammy garage music in Manchester, anti-coup organization info in Myanmar.

Mall department stores were staggering. The pandemic has pushed them to the edge of extinction (Washington Post) 50% of the country’s department stores, around 800 Macy’s, Kohl’s, Nordstrom’s, and “Mallrat Daycare Center Name Here” won’t see 2025. 10 billion dollars to the development firm that best figures out how to transition (“right-size” as the assholes say) American commercial real estate into mixed use green spaces.

Ted Nugent, who once dismissed Covid-19, tells fans he's tested positive for it (NBC News) Lol, fucking Nugent got that ‘rona. Way to be my guy.

Song of the Tea: And now for something completely different. Feverkin experiments in the interspace between classical, American folk, bluegrass, ambient, and chill. This track, part of his monthly creative project a few years back, is the first time I’ve ever heard a harmonica used in a novel, non-ironic way. I’m serious, Harmonica chill y’all.

Let the rains fall, they’ll wash away the pain and the shame.

Yours,