HEEEEEEEEE'S BAAAAACK

Rudy Giuliani returns to White House, denounces ‘deep state,’ calls BLM ‘Marxist’ just days after Trump fired SDNY chief

July 1, 2020 By David Badash, The New Civil Rights Movement


It’s been less than two weeks since President Donald Trump fired the U.S. Attorney heading the once-independent Southern District of New York (SDNY) Office. Geoffrey Berman was conducting a criminal investigation of the President’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, and his actions regarding Ukraine. Berman had already indicted two of the former New York City mayor’s associates.

And it’s been months since Giuliani has been seen at the White House – though just 12 days since Attorney General Bill Barr first announced Berman was “stepping down,” and just ten days since Trump fired him, forcing his resignation.

Giuliani, himself once the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, was very talkative when he spoke with reporters from the White House lawn, in front of a building in which he does not work and has no authority for. In fact, Giuliani has not been elected to any public office in over two decades, since 1997.

It is unknown why he was there.

He did, however, manage to put on a show.

The 76-year old former mayor called the Black Lives Matter movement a “Marxist organization,” and claimed it “has been planning to destroy the police for three years.”

There is no evidence of that.

“They’ve finally gotten stupid Democrat mayors to agree with them,” he added.

Rudy Giuliani: “Black Lives Matter is a Marxist organization — Black Lives Matter has been planning to destroy the police for 3 years & they finally got stupid Democrat Mayors to agree with them.” pic.twitter.com/TAW7qO5eLc
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) July 1, 2020


“Right now murder is up 58 percent under the regressive Democrat mayor who is typical of Democrat mayors all over the country,” Giuliani claimed. (NCRM has not verified that claim.)

“They are a disaster. They are a danger to their people,” the former NYC mayor told reporters. What he neglected to say is NYC murders have dropped dramatically since he was mayor, but are not as bad as they were when he was mayor.

He also slammed the person, currently unknown, who leaked information to The New York Times on which the paper based its story that Russia is paying the Taliban to murder U.S. soldiers. Counting on his fingers he called the leaker “some kind of a felon in the federal government,” and a “deep state criminal.”

Giuliani claimed the information that was leaked was “actionable intelligence,” despite the Trump administration claiming the president was not briefed on it because it was not. Also, it’s unclear how or why Giuliani, who is not a federal government employee, would know anything about the intelligence – which the Trump White House says is a “hoax” and does not exist.

“I can’t think of a worse crime,” Giuliani, the personal attorney for President Trump actually claimed. “It’s not treason, but it comes close.”

In the driveway of the White House, Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani calls the person who leaked the Russian bounty story to the NY Times a “felon” and a “deep state criminal.” pic.twitter.com/ncWgimiok8
— The American Independent (@AmerIndependent) July 1, 2020

75 years ago: When atomic scientist Leo Szilard tried to halt dropping bombs over Japan

Published on July 2, 2020 By Greg Mitchell

As this troubled summer rolls along, and the world begins to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the creation, and use, of the first atomic bombs, many special, or especially tragic, days will draw special attention. They will include July 16 (first test of the weapon in New Mexico), August 6 (bomb dropped over Hiroshima) and August 9 (over Nagasaki). Surely far fewer in the media and elsewhere will mark another key date: July 3.

On July 3, 1945, the great atomic scientist Leo Szilard finished a letter/petition that would become the strongest (virtually the only) real attempt at halting President Truman’s march to using the atomic bomb–still almost two weeks from its first test at Trinity–against Japanese cities.

We rarely hear that as the Truman White House made plans to use the first atomic bombs against Japan in the summer of 1945, a large group of atomic scientists, many of whom had worked on the bomb project, raised their voices, or at least their names, in protest. They were led by the great physicist Szilard who, among things, is the man who convinced Albert Einstein to write his famous yes-it-can-be-done letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, setting the bomb project in motion.

On July 3, he finished a petition to the new president for his fellow scientists to consider. It called atomic bombs “a means for the ruthless annihilation of cities ” and asked the president “to rule that the United States shall not, in the present phase of the war, resort to the use of atomic bombs.” Dozens of his fellow Manhattan Project scientists signed.

The following day he wrote this cover letter (see below). The same day, Leslie Groves, military chief and overall director of the Manhattan Project, began a campaign to combat Szilard–including strong FBI surveillance–and remove him from the bomb project. Groves also made sure the petition never landed on Truman’s desk. No action was ever taken on it, in any event.

The bomb would be dropped over Hiroshima on August 6, with almost no one close to Truman or in a high military position calling for him to delay or reconsider (General Dwight D. Eisenhower a prime exception). For taking part in creating the bomb, and then failing to halt its use against people, Szilard would later proclaim that he might deserve the label, “war criminal.”

I have become rather fond of the mouthy, principled, Szilard as he came play a key role in my new book, The Beginning or the End: How Hollywood–and America–Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. It’s the story of how Truman and Groves sabotaged the first movie on the atomic bomb, from MGM, in 1946, transforming it from a warning against building more and bigger bomb into pro-bomb propaganda. The film-makers managed to secure Szilard’s permission to be portrayed in the movie–but failed to mention his petition or opposition to the Truman’s use of the bomb.

Indeed, MGM was forced to make numerous key revisions under pressure from Truman and Groves, who had script approval, to endorse using the weapon against Japanese cities.

Here’s the letter to his colleagues:

Dear xxxxxxxxxxxx,

Enclosed is the text of a petition which will be submitted to the President of the United States. As you will see, this petition is based on purely moral considerations.

It may very well be that the decision of the President whether or not to use atomic bombs in the war against Japan will largely be based on considerations of expediency. On the basis of expediency, many arguments could be put forward both for and against our use of atomic bombs against Japan.

Such arguments could be considered only within the framework of a thorough analysis of the situation which will face the United States after this war and it was felt that no useful purpose would be served by considering arguments of expediency in a short petition.

However small the chance might be that our petition may influence the course of events, I personally feel that it would be a matter of importance if a large number of scientists who have worked in this field went clearly and unmistakably on record as to their opposition on moral grounds to the use of these bombs in the present phase of the war.

Many of us are inclined to say that individual Germans share the guilt for the acts which Germany committed during this war because they did not raise their voices in protest against these acts. Their defense that their protest would have been of no avail hardly seems acceptable even though these Germans could not have protests without running risks to life and liberty. We are in a position to raise our voices without incurring any such risks even though we might incur the displeasure of some of those who are at present in charge of controlling the work on “atomic power”.

The fact that the people of the people of the United States are unaware of the choice which faces us increases our responsibility in this matter since those who have worked on “atomic power” represent a sample of the population and they alone are in a position to form an opinion and declare their stand.

Anyone who might wish to go on record by signing the petition ought to have an opportunity to do so and, therefore, it would be appreciated if you could give every member of your group an opportunity for signing.

Leo Szilard

Greg Mitchell is the author of a dozen books, the latest The Beginning or the End: How Hollywood–and America–Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (The New Press).

US-born woman in Canada yells at Canadian girls to ‘go back’ where they came from

 July 1, 2020 By Sky Palma

A confrontation in a Vancouver park was caught on video and has been circulating the internet, showing an elderly lady confront two woman for picking berries off trees.

Speaking to the Daily Hive, Elika Gholizadeh says the woman approached her and her friend and confronted them for having removed branches from trees, adding that she and her friend “genuinely were not aware that there was a bylaw in place against picking at the small branches and we would have understood the woman’s concern for the environment, had she not approached us in such a condescending and rude manner.”

As the confrontation continues, Gholizadeh took out her phone and began recording.

At one point, the woman tells the pair to “go back where you came from,” to which the pair responds by calling the woman a “colonizer.”

Pointing out that they were both born and raised in British Columbia, the pair then ask the woman where she’s from, to which the woman replies that she was originally born in the U.S.

Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart stated on social media that he “can’t believe” the woman “used the ‘go back to where you came from’ line,” adding that “she conveyed her message incredibly badly, and when her buttons were pushed she included an extremely offensive comment.”

Watch the video below:

Copy

Expect MAGA dead-enders to become even more dangerous as Trumpism proves to be a spent force

Published July 1, 2020 By Mark Hill, AlterNet- Commentary


Last week, I walked over to Black Lives Matter Plaza in front of the White House to clear my head and draw some inspiration. When I arrived at the north end of the square, the line of people waiting to climb up a stepladder so they could get a better picture of “Black Lives Matter” painted on the street in bright yellow letters heartened me. They were so obviously proud and energized by DC Mayor Muriel Bowser’s act of defiance against Donald Trump itself, but also I expect by what that act represented: That the people still own this nation and still have power to move it where it needs to go.

I made my way south towards the White House to drink in the atmosphere. When I got to the corner of 16th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue (where Trump’s Bible fiasco played out), I came upon a scene that spoke volumes about where we are as a nation and where Trumpism is as a force. Approximately 20 shirtless, apparently impaired white supremacists were lurching back and forth between the encamped BLM supporters and a cordon of DC police -– attempting to provoke either or both parties into a Fox News-ready response.

This group was the most pathetic collection of human beings I have ever encountered in my sixty years on this earth. They made me ashamed to be an American, just like Trump has succeeded in making me feel totally differently about the flag and even the word “American.” And I say this as a Veteran, a retired career government official and someone who used to tear up at the national anthem as a young boy.

When you connect the fact that this pitiful group of fascist provocateurs was the best that this movement could get in front of the President’s own home to Trump’s Tulsa rally debacle, his obvious fatigue and dejection after the event, recent Supreme Court rulings rebuking his regime and pushback from government officials, it’s fairly clear that Trumpism has passed its high water mark and is rapidly declining.

Contrast that with the positive energy that gave us Black Lives Matter Plaza and you might conclude that barring some unforeseeable game-changer emerging this summer, the Republicans are going to lose big time in the 2020 elections, and even if Trump, Barr and McConnell attempt a coup to remain in power they will be thwarted. They know it – or at least feel it – themselves.

But let’s be sober about what the fight ahead of us looks like. Germany was all but defeated in the spring of 1945, but thousands of Americans still lost their lives to a dedicated group of fanatical German soldiers – a mix of old men and young boys. Following the American Civil War, the South turned decisive battlefield defeat into an insurgency that lasts to this day in some form. Black Americans have paid a disproportionate price of permitting this for 150 years, and what we are experiencing today is a direct outgrowth of that failure to reinforce the Union’s victory.

What was the difference between Germany and the Confederacy? The Allies pursued de-Nazification vigorously if imperfectly, and we “softly” occupied Germany for 45 years (until the end of the Cold War). Conversely, after the half-hearted Reconstruction program, we let the Southern states resume governing themselves while we rapidly got the economy back up and running (sound familiar?) in the North.
I lived in Germany for six years and maintain continuing relationships with friends there. And I’ve lived 40 years in the American South. I can say unequivocally that Germany is a more evolved country than the American South as a region. Like all nations, Germany is a work in progress, but its lived values and quality of life far surpass those in the American South. It’s not treason to point this out – it would be journalistic and political malpractice not to.

Trump and his supporters are going to go down swinging after the Elections. Or maybe I should say, “shooting.” They’re not going to walk away from 400 years of cultural instinct and material advantage because ‘snowflakes’ outvoted them.

Trump’s dismal poll numbers are just starting to register broadly with Republicans, and we’re already seeing white supremacist terror attacks by the Boogaloo Bois and other groups, massive voter suppression efforts from state government officials, the demonization of Democrats and delegitimization of peaceful protesters and the ginning up of a coordinated propaganda campaign of fear that that makes the Willie Horton ads that sank Michael Dukakis’s candidacy 30 years ago look like child’s play.

That said, America can’t go back to business as usual after we stave off a potential Trumpian coup. If Democrats manage to sweep the 2020 elections, progressives need to “occupy” the American information and political battle-spaces, reform the police and secure justice and equal access for all citizens. Most importantly, we will need to remain vigilant, and continue to stamp out and suppress all anti-democratic ideologies and movements. We forced the Germans to adopt a law that specifically outlaws the use of symbols of fascism – one that has been applied quite broadly and effectively. I am saddened and ashamed to admit this, but we need such a law in the U.S.

Like Abraham Lincoln, I do fondly hope and fervently pray that this mighty scourge may speedily pass away. But as he also knew, hope and prayer must be augmented by decisive action. Let us seize the tremendous, and undeserved, opportunity presented to us by our fellow African-American citizens, eject the cancer of Trumpism from the body politic, and, as Lincoln said in his second Inaugural Address, “strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan — to do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.”

Or reap the whirlwind.

Mark Hill is a career U.S. Intelligence Officer and former National Security Senior Executive, and Chief Innovation Officer of Revelatur, Inc., a progress accelerator whose mission is to measurably advance Democracy in the United States and globally

This article was paid for by Raw Story subscribers. 

Supreme Court Rules Private Religious Schools Are Eligible for State Aid

JUL 01, 2020'

NEITHER ORGINALISTS NOR TEXTUALISTS

THEOCRATS THROW OUT FIRST AMENDMENT 

"THIS DAY WILL GO DOWN IN HISTORY 
AS A DAY OF INFAMY"

The Supreme Court has issued a major ruling backing the right of states to fund private religious education using taxpayer dollars. The 5-4 ruling came in a case focused on a tax credit program in Montana that helped students attend religious schools. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos hailed the ruling as a turning point in the history of American education. The American Civil Liberties Union said the ruling is an attack on the very foundations of the separation of church and state.

New York City Hall Occupation Continues as Budget Fails to Meet Protesters’ Demands

JUL 01, 2020
DEMOCRACY NOW!

Image Credit: Twitter: @VOCALNewYork

New York’s City Council on Tuesday approved an $88 billion austerity budget that purports to cut $1 billion from the New York Police Department. But critics say the move fails to meet a core demand of protesters for a reinvestment of NYPD funds into social programs. In a statement, New York Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote, “Defunding police means defunding police. It does not mean budget tricks or funny math. It does not mean moving school police officers from the NYPD budget to the Department of Education’s budget so that the exact same police remain in schools.” Early this morning, dozens of police officers in riot gear surrounded a peaceful encampment of protesters who’ve remained camped outside City Hall for over a week. This is Charles Khan, one of the protesters.
Charles Khan: “We know that when we look at safe communities, they don’t have some magic key or magic code for safety. What they have are resources. They have like the best — some of the best public schools in the country. And they don’t have police roaming around their neighborhoods.”

Israel’s Netanyahu Vows to Annex Occupied West Bank Despite International Condemnation

DEMOCRACY NOW HEADLINEJUL 01, 2020

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is vowing to proceed with his plan to annex occupied West Bank territory in the coming days despite international condemnation and growing opposition within Israel. Netanayahu had originally planned to begin the annexation today, July 1, but the country’s alternate prime minister, Benny Gantz, is now calling for a delay, in part due to the coronavirus outbreak. Meanwhile, in Washington, Senator Bernie Sanders has signed on to a letter drafted by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calling for cuts to U.S. military aid to Israel if the annexation plan proceeds.

Likud minister: Annexation will happen in July after Trump statement

This declaration was initially scheduled for the end of last week, but was then delayed.

By TOVAH LAZAROFF JERUSALEM POST
JULY 1, 2020

Jerusalem protest calling for sovereign now.
(photo credit: YESHA COUNCIL)

Israel will annex portions of the West Bank in July but only after US President Donald Trump has made a statement on the matter, Regional Cooperation Minister Ofir Akunis (Likud) told Army Radio on Wednesday.

Sovereignty “will certainly happen in July,” but it has to be done in partnership with the US, Akunis explained, noting that Israel and the US were still ironing out their differences on the contours of an annexation plan.

Israeli application of sovereignty “will only happen after “a declaration by Trump,” he said, emphasizing that this would be a new one, which would be issued from the US.

This declaration was initially scheduled for the end of last week, but was then delayed, he explained.

Israel is waiting for that declaration to be rescheduled before it takes any action and to date, it has not yet received word of when that declaration will be, Akunis said.

Last week, senior Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway spoke about an announcement on Israeli annexation that never happened.

Akunis pushed back at reports that the Jordan Valley would not be included in an Israeli sovereignty plan. He noted that the Jordan Valley has long been considered part of Israel’s sovereign borders dating back to the Allon plan, first put forward in 1967 immediately after the Six Day War by general and Labor politician Yigal Allon, who served as interim prime minister.



US official to ‘Post’: July 1 was never an annexation deadline for America

Akunis has been outspoken for years about his support for the Jordan Valley's inclusion in Israel’s sovereign borders.

“Of course it has to be in [the sovereignty plan],” he said.

But first and foremost, the population centers in Area C, known as the settlement blocs, had to be secured. This included the Gush Etzion region as well as the settlement cities of Ariel and Ma’aleh Adumim, he explained. He also included the Jordan Valley in that list, even though it was not a population center, because of its strategic value.

He spoke as confusion reigned in Israel with regard to the actual date for an annexation plan or even what the details of the plan would be.

According to the coalition agreement between the Likud and the Blue and White parties, Israel can apply sovereignty to up to 30% of the West Bank as early as July 1, as long as it is done in agreement with the US.

But now that July 1 has arrived, no action has been taken, no timetable has been presented and no details have been provided with regard to the annexation map.

US special envoys Avi Berkowitz and Scott Leith have been in Israel this week holding meetings with Israelis with regard to a sovereignty map.

CHINESE EQUIPMENT BAN —

Small ISPs “stunned” by FCC move to ban Huawei/ZTE gear during pandemic

AMERICAN JEALOUSY & ENVY IS THE OBVERSE OF AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM 

Huawei/ZTE ban’s timing “puts rural carriers in a precarious situation.”

CUTTING NOSE TO SPITE FACE 

JON BRODKIN - 7/1/2020

Enlarge / Huawei sign displayed at CES 2020 in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020.
Getty Images | Bloomberg

Small Internet service providers are "stunned" that the Federal Communications Commission is enforcing a ban on Huawei and ZTE network gear during the ongoing pandemic.

The FCC already voted unanimously in November 2019 to ban Huawei and ZTE equipment in projects paid for by the commission's Universal Service Fund (USF). But the ban, inspired by fears that the Chinese vendors' equipment poses national security risks, is just now coming into effect, with the FCC announcing yesterday that USF money "may no longer be used to purchase, obtain, maintain, improve, modify, or otherwise support any equipment or services produced or provided by these suppliers."

FURTHER READINGFCC finalizes ban on Huawei and ZTE equipment in Universal Service Fund

The Rural Wireless Association (RWA), a trade group that represents ISPs that serve fewer than 100,000 subscribers each, said yesterday it is "stunned by [the] FCC's decision to immediately bar use of USF funds on Huawei and ZTE equipment and services during a time when it is critical to keep rural Americans connected."

The RWA statement said:

As a result, rural carriers who have deployed Huawei or ZTE equipment or services in their networks will now lack the ability to support their critical networks that are serving hundreds of thousands of rural Americans and those traveling through rural America. Given the difficulty in demonstrating where specifically their USF support is being utilized in their networks, this puts rural carriers in a precarious situation while they strive to offer extended payment terms for their customers as requested by FCC Chairman [Ajit] Pai, adjust to the fallout of the T-Mobile/Sprint merger, and continue to keep rural Americans connected to broadband and telephone services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The FCC's public notice said ISPs "may seek a waiver of this prohibition if necessary," but the RWA said ISPs should have been given more time to seek waivers. "RWA members appreciate the opportunity to submit waivers of this prohibition but ask the commission to give them sufficient time to submit such waivers before pulling away their USF support which is scheduled to start tomorrow, July 1," the group said yesterday.
FCC defends ban but needs funding

The FCC said its ban targets Huawei and ZTE "because of their substantial ties to the Chinese government, Chinese law requiring them to assist in espionage activities, known cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities in their equipment, and ongoing Congressional and Executive Branch concern about this equipment."

FURTHER READING 

Congress gives small ISPs $1 billion to rip out Huawei, ZTE network gear

"We cannot and will not allow the Chinese Communist Party to exploit network vulnerabilities and compromise our critical communications infrastructure," Pai said, calling the companies' gear a risk "to our 5G future."

The ban has support from Pai's Republican majority and the FCC's Democrats. Democratic Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said that yesterday's action "will help secure our networks against new threats from Huawei and ZTE equipment" and that the FCC "must not... lose sight of the untrustworthy equipment already in place."

But Starks said Congress has not yet provided funding to help ISPs replace Huawei and ZTE network gear with other companies' equipment:

Funding is the missing piece. Congress recognized in the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act that many carriers will need support to transition away from untrustworthy equipment, but it still has not appropriated funding for replacements. I look forward to working with Congress and my colleagues to ensure there are sufficient funds to get the job done.

The legislation Starks referred to became law in March and says that $1 billion shall be provided in "reimbursement funds to remove, replace, or dispose of any covered communications equipment or service." However, the FCC said in a recent public notice that while the "reimbursement program created by the Secure Networks Act appears to require an express appropriation from Congress," the bill itself "does not provide funding for the reimbursement program and states that the program must be 'separate from any federal universal service program established under section 254 of the Communications Act.'" That apparently means the FCC can't use money it already has for Huawei/ZTE replacements and hasn't gotten money it can use for that purpose from Congress.

While ISPs can no longer use USF money to maintain Huawei and ZTE equipment, they technically aren't required to stop using the equipment entirely. But the FCC is considering another plan to require removal of Huawei and ZTE equipment from USF-funded networks that have already been built.
Huawei: FCC offered “no evidence”

When contacted by Ars, a Huawei spokesperson said that "Huawei believes this order is unlawful as the FCC has singled out Huawei based on national security, but it provides no evidence that Huawei poses a security risk. Instead, the FCC simply assumes, based on a mistaken view of Chinese law, that Huawei might come under Chinese government control."

A ZTE filing in February said the company "conducts business only in compliance with all applicable laws where we are operating, including US export and sanctions laws and regulations." We contacted ZTE today about the FCC decision and will update this story if we get a response.


JON BRODKIN is Ars Technica's senior IT reporter, covering the FCC and broadband, telecommunications, wireless technology, and more.

REBRANDING, SERIOUSLY

Realtor groups drop 'master' bedroom, bathroom terms from listings

By Katie Kindelanvia 1 July 2020

At least two realtor groups are now no longer using the word "master" to describe bedrooms and bathrooms in their listings.

The Houston Association of Realtors replaced the phrases "master bedroom" and "master bathroom" with "primary bedroom" and "primary bathroom" on its property listing database.

"We changed the terms Master Bedroom and Master Bath to Primary Bedroom and Primary Bath in our internal MLS entry platform after a diverse group of members expressed concern that some consumers might perceive the terms to be sexist or racist," a spokesperson for HAR told ABC News. "No one felt Primary would be objectionable."

The idea to stop using the term "master" in listings has been a topic of discussion among HAR members for several years. Some members did not personally view the term "master" as either racist or sexist but were willing to change it for others who may find it objectionable, according to the spokesperson.

MORE: Mrs. Butterworth's, Cream of Wheat join Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben's in changing brand amid racial protests

However, HAR said its agents will not be fined or banned from using the terms "master bedroom" and "master bathroom" in their own marketing materials and remarks.

In this undated file photo, a home is shown with a sold sign in the front lawn.In this undated file photo, a home is shown with a sold sign in the front lawn.Getty Images, FILE

Several states away, in Illinois, Holly Connors, the managing partner of GetBurbed, a brokerage firm, also made the decision this month to discontinue using the term "master" and use "main" instead in her agency's materials and listings.

"It pretty much suggests that a white, Anglo-Saxon male lives in that room," she said of the term "master bedroom." "As a woman and a woman-owned business I think it's appropriate to change our line of thinking."

People have called for the end of using the term for some time, but now amid racial protests across the country after George Floyd's death, it is a change whose time has come, according to Connors.

#GetBurbed #BeTheChange #Realtors @properties @ChicagoREALTORS @CrainsChicago @dailyherald @chicagotribune @Dennis_Rodkin @nardotrealtor pic.twitter.com/kejw2bChx6— Get Burbed (@GetBurbed) June 29, 2020


In recent weeks, companies including Aunt Jemima, Mrs. Butterworth, Uncle Ben's and Cream of Wheat have all announced plans to change their brands and packaging in response to calls for racial justice in the U.S.

Connors is now calling on other realtors and industry sites like MLS.com, the real estate listing service, to make the change too.
MORE: Hollywood is addressing its racist past -- but there's still more work to be done

"There's a lot of things that people do in everyday life that we don't necessarily realize are derogatory and if people have opened their eyes to the ideas or they're open to it, I think the world is ready for change," she said. "The major online real estate websites have to get on board with the idea too. It can't be as simple as some brokerages in Illinois making the change, or some in Texas."

PulteGroup, an Atlanta-based national home construction company, confirmed to ABC News that it phased out the term master bedroom several years ago. It now uses the terms "owner's suite" and "owner's bath" in its floor plans.

The exact origins of the term master bedroom are debated. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as "a large or principal bedroom" and says its first known use was in 1925.

The term master though on its own is defined as the male head of a household and the owner or employer of slaves and servants.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has determined in the past that the term master bedroom is not discriminatory and its use does not violate fair housing laws.

The National Association of Realtors, which represents 1.4 million members, said it does not oppose realtors using other terms to describe a listing's main bedroom and bathroom.

"Even though there may be no historical connection to discrimination and HUD finds it does not violate fair housing laws, NAR has no objection to the use of other terminology if consensus evolves that the word has taken on new meaning," Vince Malta, the 2020 president of the National Association of Realtors, told ABC News in a statement. "NAR is laser-focused on effecting accountability, culture change and training to address the discrimination that still occurs too often in housing transactions, which we believe to be the most pressing and significant issue at hand."

Germany disbands elite army unit over extremism concerns

Germany’s defense minister has disbanded a company of special forces, saying a culture of right-wing extremism had been allowed to develop in it behind a “wall of secrecy.”


WE HAD A PROBLEM LIKE THIS WITH THE RACIST CANADIAN AIRBORNE WHICH WERE DISBANDED IN THE NINETIES
By DAVID RISING Associated Press 1 July 2020


BERLIN -- Germany’s defense minister disbanded a company of special forces on Wednesday saying a culture of right-wing extremism had been allowed to develop behind a “wall of secrecy.”

Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer told reporters that “toxic leadership” in the company was found to have fostered an extreme right attitude among some members of the Kommando Spezialkraefte, or KSK, unit.

Some of the 70 soldiers in the unit will be distributed among the KSK's other three combat companies, while “those who made clear they are part of the problem and not part of the solution must leave the KSK," she said.

The entire organization's training and deployments are being scaled back as the investigation into extremism continues, and reforms are implemented.

It comes at a time of broader concerns that Germany has not done enough to tackle right-wing extremism within its Bundeswehr military in general.

Kramp-Karrenbauer emphasized, however, that she felt reform was the right course rather than the dissolution of the entire unit, saying “we need the KSK.

“The vast majority of the men and women in the KSK and in the Bundeswehr as a whole are loyal to our constitution, with no ifs or buts,” she said.

The KSK was formed as an army unit in 1996 with a focus on anti-terrorism operations and hostage rescues from hostile areas. It has served in Afghanistan and the Balkans and its operations are kept secret.

Military investigators have been looking into the unit since a group of public German broadcasters reported in 2017 that at a going-away party, members displayed the Hitler salute, listened to right-wing extremist music and participated in a game that involved tossing a pig’s head. In January, the military reported 20 soldiers are under suspicion of being right-wing extremists.

In May, the head of the unit, Brig. Gen. Markus Kreitmayr, told soldiers that he wouldn’t tolerate extremism in the ranks.

That month, Kramp-Karrenbauer established an independent commission to investigate the KSK and propose reforms, after a cache of weapons, explosives and munitions were found at one of the suspected extremist's homes in Saxony which she said revealed a “new dimension” to the problem.

She said the investigation has revealed “grave deficiencies” in the unit's record keeping and that there were many missing items, including ammunition and explosives. It was not clear whether the munitions were used, left behind after deployments, or pilfered, she said.

“We cannot rule any of these out and are not,” she said.

A general inventory has been ordered, to include all KSK equipment and supplies.