When this is over, US rights abusers must be tried for crimes against humanity

Promoter of election conspiracy theories wins Republican primary for Nevada Secretary of State

How Republicans are gerrymandering black votes into irrelevance

Looming Supreme Court decision could narrow mail-in voting

Federal Judge blocks Idaho law criminalizing going to the bathroom

Trump administration seeks to halt first local reparations program for Black people

Secret vetting and blocked promotions: Inside Hegseth’s war on women and minorities in the military

US Department of Transportation will no longer enforce a provision of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibiting racial discrimination in federal funding

Frustrated by courts, Trump weighed suspending habeas corpus

Claiming an antifa plot, US charges 15 in Minneapolis with conspiracy

‘Rejected’: How federal prisons stonewall grievances and deny care for years

Trump regime arrests Colombian immigrant for speaking out against a Trump-endorsed candidate in his home country’s upcoming presidential election

Justice department says it will investigate Major League Baseball amid Pride hats controversy

Trump administration’s budget office has illegally redirected funds intended in part for Secret Service training and recruitment to help pay for the new East Wing ballroom

Apparently the real reason Anthropic’s models are offline: a six-year-old Trump grudge

Trump’s new acting intel chief Bill Pulte arrives early, eyes firing hundreds

Gavin Newsom says Justice Department is investigating him and his wife

The President of the United States posted this at 3:38 AM today

Manager at Trump’s New Jersey golf club helped plan Reflecting Pool repairs

ICE spent $700 million on 7 warehouses. Now it wants to get rid of them.

Woman’s hypothermia death in Pittsburgh after her release from ICE custody is ruled a homicide

Report authors say feds violated Minnesotans’ human rights during ICE surge

As punishment for organizing a hunger strike at an ICE jail, Cuban immigrant was deported to Ecuador

Cubans are being unjustly deported under Trump even if they have bona fide asylum claims

25 babies and toddlers are in ICE custody on an average day

A mom’s worst moment is costing her everything. How ICE is tearing this New Jersey family apart.

ICE is targeting the lawyers of immigrant children

ICE protester says he was shackled in hospital for days after agents’ attack

ICE removed detainee protections after private outreach from top contractor

‘This neighborhood is like a hornet’s nest’: Protesters are calling attention to ICE vehicles parked on Manhattan streets

‘It’s like Hell’: 60 lawsuits detail alleged medical neglect at New Jersey ICE jail

ICE agents defy Connecticut law on mask ban

US citizen says ICE detained him for 2 hours without explanation

After US strike on Iranian school, months pass without answers

A Muslim Texan sought to find his place in the party at the state Republican convention. He left in tears.

Tulsi Gabbard, her guru and the mysterious messages that helped shape her political career

Leak exposes members of Peter Thiel’s secretive ‘Dialog’ society

Right-wing activist accused of assaulting security guard while trying to force his way into pro-LGBTQ event

22-year-old son of pro-crypto New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand raises $30 million to launch a derivatives exchange

Colorado commutations board had twice rejected freeing election thief; Dem Gov let her out anyway

UAW votes to divest from Israel Bonds

8 great Americans killed in B-52 bomber crash at US Air Force base in Southern California

[2018] Children of Ted Kaczynski: the Unabomber has become an unlikely prophet to a new generation of acolytes

CNN resident fact checker disappeared from air as company waited for Trump merger approval

New York Times does a deep-dig, decides Jeffrey Epstein probably killed himself

[2020] Personal news: why I’m now leaving MSNBC, by Ariana Pekary

Why do these San Francisco gay bars have TSA-style face scanners?

Judge denies Biden’s bid to block release of transcripts linked to special counsel inquiry

License plate cameras will soon track phones, wearables, infotainment, and even your pets

Nation-state cyberattackers are increasingly using residential proxy networks to mask their traffic, turning everyday electronics into a global threat

Autistic children being injected with unapproved stem cell treatments supported by RFK Jr

Scores fall ill at Air Force base after Hegseth makes flu vaccine optional

Federal Trade Commission sues leading transgender health group

They’re uninsured after Obamacare became too costly. And they’re far from alone.

RFK Jr. hosts meet-and-greet with infectious diseases

US faces triple threat of climate crisis, economic hardship, and Donald Trump

US accused of trying to ‘edit out’ climate change in Antarctic report

Study shows that HPV vaccines have reduced deaths from cervical cancer to ZERO for women aged 20-24, but RFK Jr. says that HPV vaccine is “dangerous and defective”.

RFK Jr insists scientific journal explain retraction of anti-vaxx article he liked

RFK Jr roundup (includes optimism!)

New plan scales back CDC’s work on diseases abroad

How an addictive gas station drug found allies in Trump’s cabinet

Trump ramps up Education Department’s dismantling with changes on special education and civil rights

Disability groups fear RFK Jr.’s new special education role

Pokémon Go players unwittingly contributed to tech with military drone uses

Papa Johns is spying on your fridge to know when you can be influenced to buy pizza

Amazon retaliated against workers who supported regulating data centers, complaint says

Trump DOJ trying to protect Musk from lawsuit over Memphis AI data center pollution

DOJ lawyers argue xAI is ‘vital’ for national security in NAACP lawsuit

‘We will hunt you down,’ Trump says in pre-movie ad that stunned Portland theatergoers

For World Cup, branding isn’t allowed, unless FIFA gets a kickback

After 95 years, Big Money kills Hockey Night in Canada

US plans to end AIDS funding for South Africa

Military official admits boat strike may have murdered human trafficking victims

Canadian released from US immigration detention after 8 months in a “vile, wretched hellhole”

Israeli “settlers” set fire to two West Bank mosques overnight

It is trivially easy to use Reddit to manipulate AI search, research suggests

Student cheating is becoming impossible to detect in an AI era

Data center drained 30 million gallons of water without reporting or paying for it, investigation reveals

Leaked financial docs show OpenAI is losing billions of dollars a year

21-million copyrighted songs were fed to AI music generators, and Sony, UMG, and Warner seek $150,000 per song in damages

Utah turns to AI doctors—and actual doctors aren’t happy about it

Will it take a ‘Chornobyl-scale disaster’ for us to regulate AI?

California admits using high-risk AI — including systems it failed to report last year

AI facial recognition software leads to false arrests and ruined lives in Florida

Pension fund claims Microsoft duped investors about AI growth

How Ukraine uses AI to knock deadly Russian drones out of the skies

AI Slop: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Guy who sucks at being a person sees huge potential in AI

How cops are turning traffic stops into immigration arrests

Supreme Court declines to hear innocent man’s case seeking to hold federal agents accountable for brutalizing him more than a decade ago

Arizona officer guilty of manslaughter after shooting unarmed man

‘I give up, you win!’: California cops taser disabled 61-year-old black man as he surrenders on camera, but he played the long game for revenge

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass orders probe into fatal dog shooting by LAPD

Cop driving San Diego police cruiser hits and kills pedestrian, and it’s ruled a suicide

Colorado trooper is finally fired for falsification of taser records, excessive force

Video contradicts FBI agent’s account of shooting during undercover sting in Country Club Hills

Louisiana: Fired deputy indicted for rape of a child under the age of 13 and several other sex crimes

Family sues Detroit officer who stumbled, accidentally shot & disabled teen at 2024 block party

Family files wrongful death lawsuit after unarmed Navy veteran is killed by Michigan deputies

Mississippi: Shoplifting call ends with gunfire as police officer shoots into car outside Walmart, killing child

Ohio corrections officer charged with illegal cavity search over bar of soap

Second federal lawsuit alleges unconstitutional strip search by Oklahoma police, jail staff

Former San Antonio cop who fed homeless man shit-filled sandwich gets big promotion

Former Virginia officer sentenced to 5 years for indecent liberties with 16-year-old

A disease of deforestation: how Ebola is linked to the smartphone in your pocket

Theory: El Nino releases excess heat originally created by humans. Each El Nino going forward will be Super+ El Nino.

All it takes is a broken car air conditioner for climate change to kill you

Damage to boreal peatlands fast-tracks climate change

American government to pay $765 million to cancel 4 more wind projects

Trump administration allegedly backs off plan to end ocean monitoring

Pope Leo: Safeguarding minors ‘is a mandate’ for the Church

Arizona pastor gets seven years in prison for abusing minor

Arkansas: Immanuel Baptist Church tells members it’s reached settlement in sexual abuse lawsuit

Florida: Southern Baptists’ new leader denies ‘systematic’ cover-up of abuse, says issue ‘absolutely was weaponized’ against church

Florida “church overseer” arrested after hidden camera is discovered inside bathroom where adolescent girls were changing following a baptism service

Florida diocese places priest on administrative leave after unexplained ‘serious charges’

Louisiana pastor gets 80 years in prison for sexually abusing teens

A sexual abuse case against a Michigan church leader keeps growing even after 60+ felony charges

Missouri pastor resigns after child molestation arrest

New Jersey: Appeals court rules Catholic university does not have to disclose entirety of sex abuse report

North Carolina: Former seminary student pleads in child sexual abuse material case

Founder of Pastors for Trump drops from Congressional race amid extramarital texting scandal

Catholic church had been alerted to Texas priest’s sexual predation for years – but dawdled before acting

Utah man in ‘position of authority’ at family’s church arrested for sexual abuse of 14-year-old nephew

In this Wyoming church, child sexual abuse has gone unchecked for so long that it spans generations

Chris Evert & Martina Navratilova: The Final Set

Maridee Bonadea
bicyclist in a car country

James Burrows
sit-com maestro

Daveigh Chase
actress, Donnie Darko

Tom Dreesen
comedian

Carlo Ginzburg
microhistory

Alan Greenspan
husband of NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Andrea Mitchell

Abdullah Ibrahim
piano jazz

Mona Khalil
sea turtles

The Major Oak
Sherwood Forest

name withheld
forgotten person

name withheld
forgotten person

James Blood Ulmer
rock’n’roller, “Are You Glad to Be in America?”

Gregory Williams
what is race anyway?

Jane Yolen
author, The Devil’s Arithmetic

Nothing will meaningfully improve
until billionaires fear for their lives.

6/22/2026

Logo illustration by Jeff Meyer. Tip ‘o the hat to the Anderson Valley Advertiser, Daily Grail, Voenix Rising, What Not’s, Jamie Zawinski, and anywhere else I’ve stolen links, illustrations, or inspiration.

Special thanks to Linden Arden, Becky Jo, Joey Jo Jo & John the Basket emeritus, Jeff Meyer, Dave S, Name Withheld, and always extra special thanks to my lovely late Stephanie, who gave me 21 years and proved that the world isn’t always shitty.

News always and only from reliable sources, and I decide what’s reliable — no right-wing bullshit, no Substack because fuck Nazis, and no RawStory, Newsweek, or other clickbait sites. Written news is preferred; video links will be rare, and damned near never to videos where the reporter sits, stands, or strolls in front of a camera — that’s show biz, not news.

If you’re blocked from reading anything linked above, please send an email, and I’ll reply with the article’s complete text, via my computer’s fine ad-blockers and paywall-vaulters.

And Now the News

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Kamome Diner (2006)
a/k/a Rice Balls

Welcome to Helsinki, Finland, where a Japanese woman opens a cafe specializing in Japanese soul food, which mostly means rice balls. Problem is, zero customers come in, day after day.

More than the menu, this is about the mood, and everything’s always a smidgen off-kilter — things that make you say, “Huh.” It’s unique, but akin in spirit to the great Baghdad Cafe or I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing, only less wackadoodle, which is actually a good thing.

No bad guy. No good guy. Minimal plot. Just a lot of rice balls, which are mild, but very satisfying.

Verdict: BIG YES.

♦ ♦ ♦

Kimi (2021)

Kimi is a virtual assistant for the home, like Alexa or Siri, but what makes it better (we’re told) is that Kimi keeps track of interactions that error out, and they’re resolved later by actual human employees. No worries, the data has been randomized, so it’s totally anonymous.

An exec describes these human-powered corrections as “the fastest way for Kimi to get better fast, if that makes any sense.” Which it does, I guess, though I’m skeeved out by the listening, and the whole concept. Skeeving is the proper response, too, because this flick is a thriller.

Angela (Zoë Kravitz) is one of the voice stream interpreters, listening to those errored-out AI interactions. She works from home, and the job must pay very well, as her apartment seems to be an entire floor of a skyscraper. And then one night, in a twist you might see coming but I didn’t, Angela overhears a violent crime in the middle of one of these failed commands.

She reports it to management, but the company’s security department needs to meet with her and play the files, in person, at the office. And here’s the wild card — Angela is a survivor of assault, which has given her a phobia, exacerbated by the 2020 pandemic and lockdown. It’s traumatic for her to leave her apartment, double traumatic going into the office, and triple traumatic when she realizes that the company sees her, not the violence she’s overheard, as the problem.

The story and tech are solid, with a smart, tough woman driving the plot, and even a good guy who’s a fat dweeb! As for fears and phobias, it sure plays into mine — the movie was filmed in Seattle, with a key scene at a bus stop where I used to wait after work. And it’s quadruple traumatic, believe me, to watch a scene like that knowing what shops are off-camera and what buses are coming and remembering an argument years ago in the crosswalk…

Written by David Koepp (Apartment Zero, Jurassic Park), and directed by Steven Soderbergh (Erin Brockovich, The Limey).

Kimi is a fresh and nearly perfect slice of suspense. Except for Angela’s ginormous apartment, my only complaint is: How the heck had I never even heard of this movie?

Verdict: BIG YES.

♦ ♦ ♦

Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)

Louis Mazzini (Dennis Price) was born to the wealthy, aristocratic D’Ascoyne family, but only technically. His mother had married a commoner, which got her disinherited, and left young Louis cut off from the uppercrust life he believes he deserves, so to set things right, he begins killing numerous D’Ascoynes.

This is a famous British black comedy, and all the murders are committed with good British manners. It’s droll, frequently funny, and perfection if you’re in the right kind of bad mood.

I first saw Kind Hearts and Coronets as a dialing-for-dollars movie on TV when I was a kid, and enjoyed all the killing, certainly, but key elements zoomed right past me when I was 7 — including the central brilliance of having Alec Guinness play all eight of the doomed D’Ascoynes.

Verdict: BIG YES.

♦ ♦ ♦

The Kindred (1987)

Rod Steiger gets last billing, big paycheck for the big star in a supporting role. Steiger did some good stuff, but at the end of his career “and Rod Steiger” at the end of the credits is the beginning of a bad movie. Like this one, for example.

Steiger looks like death himself, which is fitting, since he’s playing a mad scientist tinkering with death, but a thousand better films have tinkered better.

Verdict: NO.

♦ ♦ ♦

The King and I (1956)

In 1862 Siam (Thailand), a schoolmarm is hired as teacher for the king’s children, of which there are many. Deborah Kerr plays the teacher, Yul Brynner is the king, and they both sing a lot. A few of the tunes are catchy — “Getting To Know You,” “Shall We Dance” — but others aren’t, and cripes this story is primitive.

His Royal Highness has no personality beyond being hyper-authoritarian, and Anna hasn’t much, beyond showing spunk enough to occasionally say no to the King, a word he’s never heard before.

A subplot concerns one of the King’s many wives, who’s having an affair that ends in tragedy, but it’s merely a plot device and is never mentioned again. I’m assuming the Siamese ballet and any other Thai culture bits are Hollywood horseshit.

Mostly, though, my problem with The King and I is the plot and premise, that kings and men should rightly rule, and women should promptly bow to both. It’s so provincial, it’s like 1862.

It’s a true story, sort of. Some British dame (Anna Leonowens) really did work as governess to Siamese King Mongkut’s many children, and wrote a book about it, which an American writer named Margaret Landon turned into a novel, which John Cromwell turned into a film, which Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II turned into a Broadway play, which Walter Lang turned into this movie, produced by Charles Brackett, with choreography by Jerome Robbins.

The names Rodgers, Hammerstein, Lang, Brackett, and Robbins should yield something special, and most agonizingly, the script is by Ernest Lehman (North by Northwest, Sabrina, West Side Story), but the whole shebang wavers between a yawn and an annoyance.

Verdict: MAYBE.

♦ ♦ ♦

Love Your Neighbour (1952)
a/k/a Neighbours

This is a live-action stop-motion short subject, eight minutes of mayhem after two neighbors, buddies and best friends, quarrel over a lovely flower that unexpectedly sprouts on the lawn between their two houses.

Made by Canadian master animator Norman McLaren, this won the Oscar as Best Short Subject Documentary, despite being in no way a documentary. Also, based on any reading of the credits, the title of the film is Love Your Neighbour, not Neighbours, but it was Neighbours that won the Oscar and all the accolades, while IMDB doesn’t even list Love Your Neighbour as an alternate title.

These are quibbles, of course. What matters is, Love Your Neighbour is frickin’ brilliant, perhaps one of the best shorts ever made, silly, surreal, smart, and still savagely on point even all these years later.

Verdict: BIG YES.

Logo illustration by Jeff Meyer.
— — —
If you can’t find a movie I’ve reviewed, or if you have recommendations, please drop me a note.
— — —
No talking once the lights dim, and only real butter on the popcorn, not that fake yellow stuff.

our 85th weekly open mike

Let’s see what happens when your host (me) has nothing to say. Step right up, speak your mind, tell a story, sing a song, whatever.

6/20/2026

Anything goes

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