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cbabe

cbabe's Journal
cbabe's Journal
November 11, 2025

Preliminary tests find germ that causes botulism in ByHeart baby formula

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/preliminary-tests-find-germ-that-causes-botulism-in-byheart-baby-formula

Preliminary tests find germ that causes botulism in ByHeart baby formula

Health Nov 10, 2025 12:08 PM EST

Preliminary tests showed that ByHeart baby formula contained the type of bacteria that produces the toxin linked to a botulism outbreak, California health officials said.

The outbreak has sickened at least 13 infants in 10 states. No deaths have been reported.

“Consumers in possession of this product should stop using it immediately,” the California Department of Public Health said in a statement late Saturday.

… more …
November 11, 2025

Advocates Applaud as Pro-Palestinian Commentator Sami Hamdi Released by ICE

https://www.commondreams.org/news/sami-hamdi-biography

Advocates Applaud as Pro-Palestinian Commentator Sami Hamdi Released by ICE

“Sami never should have spent a single night in an ICE cell,” said one advocate. “His only real ‘offense’ was speaking clearly about Israel’s genocidal war crimes against Palestinians.”

JULIA CONLEY
Nov 11, 2025

A leading Muslim civil rights group in the US applauded Monday as the Trump administration’s agreement to release British pro-Palestinian commentator Sami Hamdi acknowledged that he is not “a danger to the community or to national security,” after he was held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention for more than two weeks.

Hamdi’s family and the California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which has been representing the journalist, expressed relief at the news that he had accepted an offer to leave the US voluntarily.



As Prem Thakker reported at Zeteo News, two “unelected, far-right, Islamophobic figures,” Laura Loomer and Amy Mekelburg, took credit for “investigating” Hamdi. Mekelburg published a report that called on the US to deport Hamdi and prohibit him from entering the country, claiming he was “training US Muslims in digital agitation, electoral sabotage, and political warfare in alignment with Muslim Brotherhood doctrine.”



CAIR-CA emphasized Monday that in Hamdi’s immigration charging documents, the US government alleged only a visa overstay “and never identified any criminal conduct or security grounds.”

… more …



November 11, 2025

Booker Prize won by 'extraordinary' Flesh by David Szalay

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr43pp456gyo

Booker Prize won by 'extraordinary' Flesh by David Szalay

Ian Youngs
Culture reporter

British-Hungarian author David Szalay has won this year's Booker Prize for his novel Flesh, which the judges described as "extraordinary" and "a very special book".

Flesh tells the story of an alluring, enigmatic and emotionally detached man who is swept through different phases of his life, from a Hungarian housing estate to the world of the ultra-rich in London.

"What we particularly liked about Flesh was its singularity. It's just not like any other book," said author Roddy Doyle, who chaired the judging panel. "It's a dark book, but we all found it a joy to read."

… more …
November 10, 2025

Israeli soldiers speak out on killings of Gaza civilians

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/10/israeli-soldiers-breaking-ranks-gaza-civilians-human-shields

Israeli soldiers speak out on killings of Gaza civilians

IDF soldiers tell documentary of opening fire unprovoked and arbitrary designations of who was an enemy

Julian Borger Senior international correspondent
Mon 10 Nov 2025 02.00 EST

Israeli soldiers have described a free-for-all in Gaza and a breakdown in norms and legal constraints, with civilians killed at the whim of individual officers, according to testimony in a TV documentary.

“If you want to shoot without restraint, you can,” Daniel, the commander of an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tank unit, says in Breaking Ranks: Inside Israel’s War, due to be broadcast in the UK on ITV on Monday evening.

Some of the IDF soldiers who talked to the programme requested anonymity while others spoke on the record. All pointed to the evaporation of the official code of conduct concerning civilians.

The soldiers who agreed to talk confirmed the IDF’s routine use of human shields, contradicting official denials, and gave details of Israeli troops opening fire unprovoked on civilians racing to reach food handouts at the militarised distribution points set up by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

… more …

Breaking Ranks: Inside Israel’s War will air in the UK at 10.45pm on Monday 10 November on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player

//
November 10, 2025

Alternative radio: Jesse Hagopian

Excellent talk by history educator on teaching race and activism.

Jesse Hagopian is a Seattle-based educator who has taught in public schools for over twenty years. He is the director of the Zinn Education Project’s Teaching for Black Lives Campaign. He is an editor of Rethinking Schools and the author of Teach Truth: The Struggle for Antiracist Education.

Listen at link. Free pdf available.

https://www.alternativeradio.org/speaker/jesse-hagopian/

November 9, 2025

Democrats reach deal to end government shutdown before Thanksgiving: report

https://www.rawstory.com/government-shutdown-2674279992/

Democrats reach deal to end government shutdown before Thanksgiving: report

Robert Davis
November 9, 2025 4:30PM ET



Multiple sources granted anonymity told Axios that at least 10 Democrats plan to vote on the deal, which includes supporting a procedural motion to approve a series of short-term spending bills that fund the government through the end of the year. The deal also includes voting in December to extend the Affordable Care Act subsidies that Democrats have been fighting to preserve, according to the report.

There is also a negotiation to reinstate all of the federal workers Trump laid off during the shutdown, the report adds.

“Talks are fluid, and no deal is final until lawmakers have voted," Axios reported. "But the discussions are progressing toward a deal that would end weeks of deadlock in the Senate."

A draft of the appropriations bill lawmakers are expected to pass was released on Sunday.

… more …

Text of bill

https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/
November 9, 2025

GOP Accused of Trying to Slip Backdoor Abortion Ban Into Government Funding Bill

https://www.commondreams.org/news/republicans-backdoor-abortion-ban

GOP Accused of Trying to Slip Backdoor Abortion Ban Into Government Funding Bill

“Trump said he’d leave abortion care up to the states. Well, this latest scheme makes it crystal clear: A de facto nationwide abortion ban has been his plan all along,” said Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden.

JAKE JOHNSON
Nov 09, 2025

Congressional Republicans are reportedly trying to insert anti-abortion language into government funding legislation as the shutdown continues, with the GOP and President Donald Trump digging in against a clean extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits as insurance premiums surge.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, sounded the alarm on Saturday about what he characterized as the latest Republican sneak attack on reproductive rights.

“Republicans said they might vote to lower Americans’ healthcare costs, but only if we agree to include a backdoor national abortion ban,” Wyden said in remarks on the Senate floor.

The senator was referring to a reported GOP demand that any extension of ACA subsidies must include language that bars the tax credits from being used to purchase plans that cover abortion care.

… more …

November 8, 2025

A rats to riches story: Larry the Downing Street cat finds place in TV spotlight

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/nov/08/a-rats-to-riches-story-larry-the-downing-street-cat-finds-place-in-tv-spotlight

A rats to riches story: Larry the Downing Street cat finds place in TV spotlight

Popularity of Britain’s top mouser – ‘the guy to meet in No 10’ – to feature in documentary series

Amy Sedghi
Sat 8 Nov 2025 02.00 EST

He’s on his sixth prime minister, has watched presidents and princes walk through the black door of No 10, and will soon become the longest continuous resident of Downing Street since Pitt the Younger.

The landscape of British politics has changed a lot in the past 15 years, but Larry the cat has remained a reassuring constant. Now his enduring popularity – the like of which some of his temporary owners would kill for – is to feature in a new Channel 4 documentary series exploring Britain’s love of cats. For his fans, the spotlight has been a long time coming.

… more… short clips at link… pigeon … rat .. next door cat … Obama pic …
November 8, 2025

Old fishing nets from France become vital protection against Russian drones in Ukraine

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/08/old-fishing-nets-vital-protection-against-russian-drones-ukraine

Old fishing nets from France become vital protection against Russian drones in Ukraine

Fishers from the Brittany coast are sending horse-hair nets to catch weapons and shield civilians and soldiers

Kim Willsher
Sat 8 Nov 2025 05.00 EST

In the fishing ports along France’s Brittany coast, the discarded fishing nets pile up along the coastal quaysides.

The lifespan of a deep-sea net is between 12 and 24 months, after which they become worn and beyond repair. Until now, the estimated 800 tonnes of nets scrapped every year have been a problem.

Now, the horsehair netting, once used to trawl monkfish from the sea bed, is being used for another catch: Russian drones.

The Breton charity Kernic Solidarités has sent two consignments of nets measuring a total of 280km to Ukraine to be used to protect soldiers and civilians along the frontline where fighting is fiercest.

… more …

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