As always, there’s a focus on some headline stories and a perhaps unconscious stifling of others.  Here’s what’s going on now, and what’s been going on, while you’ve been doing other things.

– The French ran a sub-launched ballistic missile test from just north of Puerto Rico. I find it a bit unnerving, even though I’ve been reassured the US cooperated in observations.

– Russian bombers were intercepted off the coast of Alaska.  This is what they normally do to try to provoke reactions; we do the same thing over the Black Sea.  In general they’re a bit more aggressive, but it’s a fine line.

– Protests on the west coast continue, as do occasional riots and looting. There’s little media coverage, apparently because major network reporters keep getting beat on by protesters and police alike. Seattle and Portland are the most vocal centers; I’m going to use the term “Antifa” because “anarcho-communist activists” is too long to keep repeating and “white students” doesn’t have the best optics.

– In Nashville, I’ve got word of a car full of people shooting at police and speeding off.  In Atlanta, looks like a middle school age kid grabbed a cop’s Taser and ended up getting shot dead.  No official info on this one.  In California, some dumbass shot up a precinct, killed a homeless man, and fled, triggering a massive manhunt before they finally got him.

– Things are cooling down on the India-China border. It’s possible they may actually solve the dispute long-term if nothing interferes.

– Iraqi PMF militias appear to be splintering in the wake of the deaths of Soleimani and al-Muhandis. Over a third are openly siding with Iraq instead of Iran, and Iran’s funding to them has dried up almost completely due to sanctions. Strange to say, the Trump plan is working like missile-wielding clockwork.

– You probably saw the statue to Jeff Davis came down. Also, NASCAR has banned the Southern Cross, often erroneously known as the Confederate Flag. And COPS is now off the air for good. Reports that the kids show Paw Patrol is under attack are apparently tongue-in-cheek, but “Gone With The Wind” has been removed from HBO streaming services.

– No shock: COVID-19 cases are on the rise in the US. It appears to be somewhat less communicable than earlier suspected, but that won’t be enough. Looks like the second wave is on track for soon after reopening. (Rural areas are heading for their first wave.) But that’s just an educated guess.

– Other countries have announced complete eradication of COVID-19. They’re smaller and have a far more biddable populace as a rule. So long as they keep their borders closed, they should be fine.

– Australians were shocked to discover that slavery was used to help build their country too, and not just unpaid convict labor as most people had thought.  I’m actually serious about this; apparently a large percentage of Australians didn’t know their own history.  In other news, the statue of noted abolitionist Matthias Baldwin was vandalized in Philadelphia by people who apparently didn’t know what “abolitionist” meant.

– The average starting age for a prostitute in the United States is 14.  There are one million active right now, with no labor protections, no healthcare, and no way to prevent children from joining the profession.  The amount I don’t care about Epstein by comparison is difficult to convey.  This is a national shame and mass tragedy, and every day we don’t even talk about it is a day that I’m ashamed to be an American.

– In an ironic twist, Tom Cotton (R, Arkansas) has pointed out that an OpEd in yesterday’s Times entitled “Yes, We Mean Literally Abolish The Police” will put lives at risk and should not have been run according to the paper’s journalistic and editorial standards.  Best I can tell, by the rules presently in place, he’s quite correct.

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There’s a reason your news is biased.  It’s because you want it to be.  The reason I can tell is, people still read the Times and the Post even though they need to pay for the privilege but the number of people willing to even buy one coffee on this site is pretty slim.  The number of people who share links to these posts is even smaller.  We get what we pay for.

If you like these updates but haven’t ever donated, take a moment to stop and think about that.  I’ve been brooding about it for six weeks while trying to figure out how to pay for some additional staff.