The Evening Blues - 3-11-16



eb1pt12


Hey! Good Evening!

This evening's music features Chicago harmonica player Snooky Pryor. Enjoy!

Snooky Pryor - I Feel Like Jumping

“When in doubt about who's to blame. Blame the English.”

-- Craig Ferguson


News and Opinion

Obama waged Hillary's Humanitarian Masscre in Libya at bargain prices!!!

Obama Defends US Involvement in Libya

A new round of wide-ranging comments on his assorted wars in The Atlantic saw President Obama defending America’s involvement in the 2011 NATO-imposed regime change in Libya, saying he had a UN mandate and it only cost $1 billion, which “is very cheap.”

Oh looky, Obama says that the catastophic failure of Hillary's "humanitarian" bombing in Libya to create a democratic paradise is Britain and France's fault.

What a freaking weasel.

'He was distracted' Obama appears to criticise Cameron over Libya crisis

David Cameron was distracted by domestic priorities as Libya descended into a “mess”, Barack Obama has suggested.

In frank comments about foreign relations, the US president also revealed he warned his British counterpart that the “special relationship” would be at risk if the UK did not commit to spending 2% of its national income on defence, in line with Nato targets.

The remarks were made in a lengthy interview with the Atlantic. Obama expressed aggravation with “free riders” among world leaders who call for international action if there is a war or other humanitarian crisis but do not commit enough military resources. “You have to pay your fair share,” he said.

He made critical comments about both the UK and France for participating in military action in Libya in 2011 that removed its dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, but subsequently failing to stop it becoming a “mess”. ...

The US administration has sought to play down the remarks. On Friday, the US ambassador to Britain, Matthew Barzun, insisted that the transatlantic relationship remained “special”.


UN: ISIS in Libya Presenting Itself as Key Bulwark Against Invasion

A new UN report suggested that a key to ISIS’ success in Libya is that the affiliate there is branding itself in nationalistic terms, and presenting itself as a major bulwark against foreign invasion, welcome news for Libyans who have seen foreign intervention as damaging to stability.

That could be a big branding problem for the West, as they have designs on invading Libya to fight ISIS, and UN officials warn that intervention would further polarize the Libyan population, potentially giving ISIS more domestic support.

There’s no such thing as imperialism-lite, Obama. Libya has shown that once again

So Barack Obama thinks Britain in 2011 left Libya in chaos – and besides it does not pull its weight in the world. Britain thinks that a bit rich, given the shambles America left in Iraq. Then both sides say sorry. They did not mean to be rude. ...

America had no “core interest” in Afghanistan or Iraq, any more than Britain had in Libya. When a state attacks another state and destroys its law and order, morally it owns the mess. There is no such thing as imperialism-lite. Remove one fount of authority and you must replace and sustain another, as Europe has done at vast expense in Bosnia and Kosovo.

America and Britain both attacked countries in the Middle East largely to satisfy the machismo and domestic standing of two men, George Bush and Tony Blair. The result has been mass killing, destruction and migration on a scale not seen, at least outside Africa, since the second world war. ... Western warmongering over the past two decades has had nothing to do with the existential defence of territory. “Defence” has become attack, keeping alive the military-industrial lobbies and lumbering military establishments that depend on it.

The US Military Would Commit President Trump's War Crimes

When the former head of an organization that has assassinated people with drones and tortured prisoners at black sites around the world suggests the Republican frontrunner for the presidency is out of line, proposing national security measures that shock the legalistic conscience of this amoral bureaucrat -- to the point, he posited, that others may refuse to lift a blood-stained finger for their commander-in-chief [as he did during a recent interview with Bill Maher] -- people sit up and listen. ...

A President Trump's illegal orders -- like torture that he's promised would be a "hell of a lot worse" than waterboarding; killing the families of "terrorists" would not be all that substantively different than those given out by his predecessors responsible for hundreds of thousands of dead in illegal wars of aggression from Iraq to Vietnam, but whereas they downplayed the "bad apples" that invariably thrive in wartime, the bad apple is what Trump celebrates: the all-American rebel in a green Army jacket proudly doing the dirty work required to make an empire great again. ...

It's hard to believe someone like Hayden, who oversaw an extrajudicial CIA assassination program for George W. Bush that in Pakistan alone droned to death no less than 160 civilians during his tenure, objects to Trump on the basis of a morality the career militarist never previously disclosed. Hayden was a happy killer, by all outward appearances, and an advocate of killing people based not just on who we think they are but on their "pattern of life": If it acts like a terrorist it is a terrorist, especially if it's a military-age corpse, at least for bookkeeping purposes. Killing a whole family might be a bit much, but then Hellfire missiles fired at homes in Waziristan do not discriminate between terrorists and toddlers. ...

The national security establishment, a group to which a former head of the CIA no doubt belongs, perhaps fears an imperial salesman who lacks tact; a mass murderer without social grace. But the national security establishment can't even agree on that. Some rather like Trump's no-nonsense militarism, stripped of romantic sentiment and any rhetorical concern about human rights. ... The "establishment," then, can't decide if Trump's rhetoric is beyond the pale or spot on. ... And power is persuasive: If a president orders the military to do something then it effectively becomes legal -- what court, with what army, would dare object? -- and only those who refuse to go along ever feel the full wrath of the law.

The 2003 invasion of Iraq was illegal, according to one of its architects, former Pentagon policy adviser Richard Perle. He admitted as much a few months into the war. ... Precisely zero such architects of an admittedly illegal war have been prosecuted for violating the international prohibition on aggressive war. Those who refused to follow an unlawful order, however -- they all got charged.

Key powers mulling possibility of federal division of Syria

Major powers close to U.N.-brokered peace talks on Syria are discussing the possibility of a federal division of the war-torn country that would maintain its unity as a single state while granting broad autonomy to regional authorities, diplomats said. ...

Fighting in Syria has slowed considerably since a fragile "cessation of hostilities agreement" brokered by the United States and Russia came into force almost two weeks ago. But an actual peace deal and proper ceasefire remain elusive. ...

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a U.N. Security Council diplomat said some major Western powers, not only Russia, have also been considering the possibility of a federal structure for Syria and have passed on ideas to de Mistura.

"While insisting on retaining the territorial integrity of Syria, so continuing to keep it as a single country, of course there are all sorts of different models of a federal structure that would, in some models, have a very, very loose center and a lot of autonomy for different regions," the diplomat said. ...

The biggest sticking point in the peace talks remains the fate of Assad, who Western and Gulf Arab governments insist must go at the end of a transition period envisioned under a roadmap hammered out in Vienna last year by major powers. Assad's backers Russia and Iran say Syrians themselves must decide.

EU migrant crisis: Tens of thousands stranded as Balkan route is shut off

Denmark Criminalising Decency

A high-profile Danish campaigner for children’s rights was prosecuted on Friday under people trafficking laws, shining a spotlight once more on the country’s crackdown on asylum, as Scandinavian countries compete to make themselves unattractive destinations for refugees.

Lisbeth Zornig, the country’s former children’s ombudsman and a well-known author, was fined DKr22,500 (£2,328) – the maximum demanded by the prosecutor – by a court in Nykøbing Falster, southern Denmark, for allowing a family of Syrians to hitch a ride with her to Copenhagen.

Her husband was fined the same amount for taking the family into his home for coffee and biscuits, and then driving them to the railway station, where he bought them tickets to Sweden.

“This was a political trial, using me and my husband to send a strong message: don’t try to help refugees,” Zornig said after the verdict.

“I am very angry because the only thing we did was the decent thing, the same that hundreds of others did. They are criminalising decency.”

Turkey Is Fighting a Dirty War Against Its Own Kurdish Population

Cizre, Turkey – The streets here are almost desolate, except for the armored personnel carriers that patrol this war-wrecked Kurdish city. The few children who have recently returned or withstood two and a half months of curfew and intense fighting kick around a ball, while their parents salvage the remnants of their homes, scorched black and blown apart by intense shelling. Pavement ripped up by tank tracks is pocked with craters where Kurdish rebels detonated improvised explosive devices (IEDs) against their enemy. Pain and suffering are etched on the faces of survivors, who now live under the close surveillance of an invading army.

This is not Syria, nor is it Iraq. It is Turkey, America’s NATO partner, now in the throes of a rapidly expanding war against its Kurdish population in the country’s southeast. Lazar Simeonov and I are the first foreign journalists to pass through the ring of steel that surrounds Cizre since Turkish government forces started a military campaign last year to crush an uprising by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). ...

Hundreds of civilians were killed before the military assault ended on February 11. Human-rights groups say government forces have carried out massacres of civilians and extrajudicial killings. ... Cizre and the old city of Diyarbakir—the de facto capital of Turkish Kurdistan—have seen the most severe fighting in an urban rebellion that has spread across what Kurds call northern Kurdistan. It’s a homeland the Turkish government refuses to recognize. Nor does it guarantee national minority status for an ethnic group that makes up some 20 percent of the country’s population, concentrated in the southeast but also a large minority in Istanbul. ...

“Kurdish people are fighting for our rights, and Turkey is trying to finish us off,” says 53-year-old Ramazon Sakci as he stands in the garden of his home, which is riddled with bullet holes. His house is in better condition than most—its walls are intact, while his neighbors’ homes have been blown apart. Sakci hid with his 12 children in his basement during the 10 days of bombardment before they were finally able to leave.

“Turkey may give us [Turkish] ID cards, but they attack us all because we are Kurds,” he adds, accusing the Turkish government of collective punishment intended to suppress the community’s political demands. ...

“Where is America?” fumes a middle-aged woman with a traditional white head scarf. She declines to give her name, fearing reprisal, and lashes out at the United States’ silence regarding its NATO ally’s treatment of the Kurds. ... A sense of betrayal is common among Cizre’s survivors, who want to know why the West supports the Kurdish rebels in Syria but calls their allies in Turkey terrorists, even though they have the same leader and ideology.

Cizre Kurds accuse Turkish forces of civilian massacre

US Says Beijing Will Soon Have 'Substantial Military Power' in the South China Sea

China will be able to project "substantial offensive military power" from artificial islands it has built in the South China Sea's disputed Spratly Islands within months, the director of US national intelligence has claimed.

In a February 23 letter to John McCain, chair of the US Senate Armed Services Committee, James Clapper said Chinese land reclamation and construction work in the Spratlys had established infrastructure needed "to project military capabilities in the South China Sea beyond that which is required for point defense of its outposts."

"Based on the pace and scope of construction at these outposts, China will be able to deploy a range of offensive and defensive military capabilities and support increased PLAN and CCG presence beginning in 2016," Clapper said in the letter released this week, using acronyms for the Chinese navy and coastguard.

"Once these facilities are completed by the end of 2016 or early 2017, China will have significant capacity to quickly project substantial offensive military power to the region," Clapper added.

The US has voiced concerns about China's assertive pursuit of territory in the South China Sea. The sea is one of the world's busiest trade routes and regional countries have rival claims, creating a potential flashpoint.

Clapper said that while the US had yet to observe deployment of significant Chinese military capabilities in the Spratlys, it had built facilities able to support them, including modern fighter aircraft.

Before Her Assassination, Berta Cáceres Singled Out Hillary Clinton for Backing Honduran Coup

Uproar Over Hillary's Role in Honduran Coup Grows as Her Campaign Denies Connection

The Clinton campaign is dismissing charges about her connection to the 2009 Honduran coup which ousted democratically elected president Manuel Zelaya as "simply nonsense." ...

A 2014 Al Jazeera op-ed by economist and Latin America expert Mark Weisbrot describes what Clinton wrote about the coup in her memoir:

In Hard Choices, Clinton describes her role in the aftermath of the coup that brought about this dire situation. Her firsthand account is significant both for the confession of an important truth and for a crucial false testimony.

First, the confession: Clinton admits that she used the power of her office to make sure that Zelaya would not return to office. “In the subsequent days [after the coup] I spoke with my counterparts around the hemisphere, including Secretary [Patricia] Espinosa in Mexico,” Clinton writes. “We strategized on a plan to restore order in Honduras and ensure that free and fair elections could be held quickly and legitimately, which would render the question of Zelaya moot.”

This may not come as a surprise to those who followed the post-coup drama closely...But the official storyline, which was dutifully accepted by most in the media, was that the Obama administration actually opposed the coup and wanted Zelaya to return to office. ...

A batch of Clinton emails released last year shed more light on her role in the events.

By evoking the history of US interventions in Latin America, Sanders offered a "teachable moment" for the American people

NOOR: And so Bernie Sanders, as you mentioned, he did raise the issue of Nicaragua and the Sandinistas, his support for Daniel Ortega, he was asked about that. And so, studio crew, just so you know, we're going to the last [unintelligible], because this is really important history, US history, US involvement for the contras in Nicaragua, US support for basically terrorist attacks against the Cuban government which failed to materialize. Let's take a listen to what Bernie Sanders' response was.

ELENA SALINAS: In South Florida there are still open wounds among some exiles regarding socialism and communism. So please explain, what is the difference between the socialism that you profess and the socialism in Nicaragua, Cuba and [crosstalk] Venezuela.

BERNIE SANDERS [Interposing]: Well, let me just answer that. What that was about was saying that the United States was wrong to invade Cuba, that the United States was wrong trying to support people to overthrow the Nicaraguan government, that the United States was wrong trying to overthrow, in 1954, the government, democratically elected government, of Guatemala.

Throughout the history of our relationship with Latin America we've operated under the so-called Monroe Doctrine, and that said that the United States had the right to do anything that they wanted to do in Latin America. So, I actually went to Nicaragua, and I very strongly opposed the Reagan administration's effort to overthrow that government, and I strongly opposed, earlier, Henry Kissinger and the overthrow of the government of Salvador Allende in Chile. I think the United States should be working with governments around the world, not getting involved in regime [change].

NOOR: So that's a really remarkable thing to hear. We know Sanders has brought it up, but I think he went further in this debate than he has before. Your final thoughts?

FIGUEROA: Oh, this was an amazing exchange because, you know, for those who have known about the history of US imperialism and US interventionism in other countries around the world, you know, we never hear this on mainstream media. We never hear this on TV networks, and to hear, you know, names like Salvador Allende, names like Árbenz being mentioned on mainstream media, in terms of an entire history of US interventionism is, that's just a remarkable feat in itself, and it's an incredible teaching moment to the American people about, you know, what their government has done around the world, what, you know, our taxpayer resources has been spent on.

I mean, another thing I wanted to maybe mention about Honduras in particular is that, you know, not only is [this] just a question of American resources, American policy, American time, but also, you know, the human cost of this, not just in terms of children, you know one week ago was the murder of Berta Cáceres. She was an environmental activist, indigenous person, in Honduras who was murdered by the regime that Hillary Clinton helped put in power and maintain in power. Now, this has incredible impact on, again, how [are we] going to think about, you know, what the US is and what role it plays in immigration?

I mean, you know, the violence there, I've heard what's happening in Honduras being described as the worst femicide of the century. Women are being killed in great numbers, and you know, no wonder people want to leave that country and migrate somewhere better. And those are, the conditions that the US government creates in other places affects not only affects incredibly, you know, people's lives there.

Bernie Sanders Said Something We Weren't Ready to Hear Last Night

Well, at least I lived long enough to hear a presidential candidate from one of the major parties refer to "the so-called Monroe Doctrine."

It came during the most interesting passage in the debate Wednesday night between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Rodham Clinton. Sanders was asked if he regretted having once supported the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua and having once paid some compliments to the Castro regime in Cuba.

Well, let me just answer that. What that was about was saying that the United States was wrong to try to invade Cuba, that the United States was wrong trying to support people to overthrow the Nicaraguan government, that the United States was wrong trying to overthrow in 1954, the government—democratically elected government of Guatemala. Throughout the history of our relationship with Latin America we've operated under the so-called Monroe Doctrine, and that said the United States had the right do anything that they wanted to do in Latin America. So I actually went to Nicaragua and I very shortly opposed the Reagan administration's efforts to overthrow that government. And I strongly opposed earlier Henry Kissinger and the—to overthrow the government of Salvador Allende in Chile. I think the United States should be working with governments around the world, not get involved in regime change. And all of these actions, by the way, in Latin America, brought forth a lot of very strong anti-American sentiments. That's what that was about.

A few minutes later, as an addendum to an answer about her solution to Puerto Rico's crippling economic crisis, HRC pounced and pandered.

And I just want to add one thing to the question you were asking Senator Sanders. I think in that same interview, he praised what he called the revolution of values in Cuba and talked about how people were working for the common good, not for themselves. I just couldn't disagree more. You know, if the values are that you oppress people, you disappear people, you imprison people or even kill people for expressing their opinions, for expressing freedom of speech, that is not the kind of revolution of values that I ever want to see anywhere.

OK, I wanted to yell, "What about the Saudis/Chinese?" at my TV, too, and it did occur to me that HRC might want to ask her lunch buddy Henry Kissinger about his human-rights record some time. But what most struck me is the depth of the denial still about the profound costs of U.S. intervention in the affairs of our closest neighbors, and our easiest proxies,

"Old-Fashioned Redbaiting": Hillary Clinton Bashes Sanders as GOP Candidates Clash on Cuba

Cruz and Rubio call on Obama to open Guantánamo to new Isis detainees

Republican presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio have joined 13 other GOP senators to introduce a Senate resolution calling on Barack Obama to change nearly eight years of policy and open Guantánamo Bay to new detainees captured from the Islamic State.

The move follows the capture of Sleiman Daoud al-Afari, a man described as Isis’s chemical weapons chief, whose apprehension has reignited the political controversy over the future of the detention facility.

Hours after the introduction of the resolution, the Pentagon announced it had already transferred the alleged senior Isis figure to Iraqi government custody.

While the resolution will have no binding legal force on Obama, it displays the latest argument from the GOP-led Senate to block the White House’s Guantánamo closure plan – a central aspect of which involves winning the support of Congress for a proposal it has vigorously and consistently resisted.

“All individuals captured by the United States during combat operations against Isil that meet the criteria by their affiliation with Isil must be detained outside the United States and its territories and should be transferred to United States Naval Station, Guantánamo Bay,” the proposed Senate resolution reads in part. Isil is another name for Isis.

Apple: government 'intended to smear' us in digital privacy fight with FBI

Apple said federal prosecutors are “offensive”, “desperate” and “intended to smear” them in a remarkable escalation of the digital privacy fight between America’s most valuable company and the FBI.

The remarks from Apple’s top lawyer, general counsel Bruce Sewell, were made in a conference call with reporters just hours after the Justice Department submitted a legal brief that accused the technology company of trying to usurp power from the government.

In sometimes caustic language, the government had claimed Apple had declared itself “the primary guardian of Americans’ privacy”.

Sewell responded: “In 30 years of practice, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a legal brief that was more intended to smear the other side. I can only conclude that the Department of Justice is so desperate at this point that they’ve thrown decorum to the winds.”

Edward Snowden, Pussy Riot and Ai Weiwei protest cyber censorship

Prominent activists ranging from Edward Snowden to Pussy Riot plan on Friday to spread online protests against growing government restrictions on citizens’ expression, marking an annual world day against cyber censorship.

In one message, Snowden, who has been in self-imposed exile in Russia since 2013 after revealing via the Guardian that the US government ran secret and illegal domestic and international surveillance programmes, will tell the public: “Even if you’re not doing anything wrong, you’re being watched and recorded.”

The Chinese artist Ai Weiwei will also take part. One of his messages will read: “Without freedom of speech there is no modern world, just a barbaric one.”

Ai has long suffered from various forms of oppression and censorship by China’s government. ...

Pussy Riot, an activist female punk collective that has had frequent high-profile run-ins with Russian authorities, released its latest protest song last month.

Many governments around the world are “avidly” seeking to control “ever greater” aspects of their citizens’ online communication, Amnesty warned on Friday, while some seek laws empowering their authorities to carry out intrusive mass surveillance while censoring what people see online.

“Others are trying to acquire technologies that allow them to spy on people, hack their devices or censor free expression online,” the Amnesty statement said.

Jury says four police officers did not use excessive force in 2014 fatal shooting

Four San Francisco police officers did not use excessive force when they shot and killed a college student at a park, a federal jury decided Thursday.

The eight-member jury reached the verdict in a civil lawsuit filed against the city following the 2014 shooting of Alex Nieto. The shooting sparked protests and has fueled anger against police in the wake of the fatal San Francisco police shooting last year of Mario Woods.

Nieto was killed after authorities said he pointed what they thought was a handgun at them, but turned out to be a stun gun. Nieto carried a stun gun for his job as a security guard.

Attorneys for Nieto’s family said that he never pointed the stun gun at officers, and they called a witness who said Nieto’s hands were in his pockets when police opened fire.

A coalition of social justice groups in Scotland looks at the economic and ecological dangers of corporate mega banks and mounts an argument for democratic reform

In a new report (pdf) focused on Scotland but with global implications, a coalition of social justice groups in the U.K. outlines the risks inherent to an economic system built to serve mega banks, and advocates for the radical reform of replacing these multinational conglomerates with small, local, and not-for-profit "people's banks" that would serve citizens instead of shareholders.

Progressives have long argued that corporate banking is an enormous threat to the global economy, as the 2008 economic crisis clearly demonstrated. What's more, the situation has only grown worse as multinational mega banks continue to merge and consolidate—a trend that shows no signs of stopping.

The report notes that in most other developed countries, people keep their money in small, local banks (or credit unions) in higher numbers than in the U.K. But Scotland's particularly severe over-reliance on multinational conglomerates, on the other hand, results in a system "locked into a cycle of fines, bailouts and crisis," the report argues.

"We really want to get across the message that Scotland could create a really powerful, people-centred banking system within the powers it already has and that this could be a really big, really transformative project for a Scottish Government," Robin McAlpine, director of Common Weal, said of the report. "It is the kind of project future generations would thank us for."

Things have proceded to get uglier in Greece as its government is in the grips of neoliberal banksters empowered by foreign governments and their lackeys in the Greek government. The situation is described in this interview with Mona Amanatidou and Christos Triarchis, activists within the Popular Stoppage of Payments movement. It's worth a read, here's the intro:

Taking Action Against Austerity, Greek Activists Block Home Foreclosures

Once again, Greece is in the throes of domestic unrest. Despite the fact that global solidarity movements and the mainstream media have seemingly forgotten about Greece following last July's referendum, in recent weeks, Greeks have been taking action. Farmers have set up roadblocks in hundreds of locations throughout Greece and have descended upon the capital; lawyers are on strike; accountants have declared that they will abstain from filing tax returns for their clients; and ordinary citizens have once again filled the streets in protest of the Syriza government's proposed pension cuts, recapitalization of the banks and tax increases.

The Popular Stoppage of Payments movement, which was founded in Crete in 2013, has inspired similar social movements throughout Greece since its inception. Each week, members of the movement block local courthouses, preventing the auctions of foreclosed homes from taking place and saving these homes for their owners in the process.



the horse race



Sanders Slashes Clinton's Lead in Ohio to Single Digits

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, fresh off a major upset win in Michigan, has cut former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's lead in Ohio to single digits, according to a survey released Wednesday.

Voters in Ohio head will to the polls March 15, with 159 delegates at stake in the Democratic race. Like Michigan, the Midwestern state has been hard hit by the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, losing at least 139,000 manufacturing jobs since the deal came into effect in 1994, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Sanders has made his opposition to tariff-slashing trade deals a centerpiece of his insurgent campaign. In Michigan, an exit poll found 60 percent voters believed that so-called "free trade" cost jobs, with a majority of those who believe that supporting Sanders. His long-time opposition to trade deals appears to be paying off in Ohio as well, with a Quinnipiac University poll finding the senator trailing in Ohio by just 9 points.

This time last year, Sanders was down by 40 points.

Sanders Says Clinton Charges are Fabrications

The Real Gordon Gekko Just Endorsed Bernie Sanders

Gordon "Greed is Good" Gekko remains an enduring symbol of Wall Street greed, corporate lawlessness and 1980s excess. That’s why it’s pretty surprising that the guy on whom the Wall Street character was based—former corporate raider Asher Edelman—says Bernie Sanders is the strongest presidential candidate. Appearing on CNBC’s "Fast Money" this morning, Edelman responded immediately when asked who he thought the best candidate for the economy would be.

“Bernie Sanders,” Edelman said, without missing a beat. “No question.”

Clinton accused of breaking debate rules

A Fox News reporter tweeted a photo Wednesday of Clinton backstage with her campaign aides.


Candidates are not allowed to meet with their staff during breaks in the debate.

Hat tip mimi:

Clinton Declares That She Will Never Be Indicted And Insists That Her “Predecessors Did The Same Thing” On Emails

I watched last night’s debate with great interest. I thought both Sanders and Clinton had some very strong moments. However, I tend to watch these debates for the legal issues and I was most struck by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s discussion of the email scandal. First, she declared that she will never be indicted — a statement that may irritate federal investigations looking into possible crimes. She certainly has defenses and the odds may indeed favor her. However, defense attorneys usually discourage such statements from potential targets which can enrage prosecutors as presumptuous or suggesting some level of immunity. Second, she insisted that her “predecessors did the same thing” that she did on emails — a statement that is demonstrably untrue but again was left unchallenged by the journalists. ...

There is of course no way for Clinton to know about what will happen with the indictment. Given that she is running on the theme of “no one too big to jail,” the dismissing of the notion of an indictment is a tad incongruous. ...

At the March 9th debate, Clinton said “It wasn’t the best choice. I made a mistake. It was not prohibited. It was not in any way disallowed, and as I’ve said and now has come out, my predecessors did the same thing, and many other people in the government.”

That is clearly not true. Only a few of Clinton’s predecessors even had email. Of those four secretaries, none had a private server in their home. What Clinton did was incredibly reckless in the use of a private server that was more vulnerable to foreign interception. Moreover, of those four secretaries, none used email as their exclusive system.

The biggest problem however remains the failure of media to challenge the Clinton statement that she did nothing wrong if the information was not marked classified. That is clearly wrong and does not reflect the legal standard. It would be absurd to suggest that officials are only subject to these laws for marked documents. Clinton has insisted that “I never sent classified material on my email, and I never received any that was marked classified.” The key of this spin is again the word “marked.” I have previously discussed why that explanation is less than compelling, particularly for anyone who has handled sensitive or classified material. As I discussed earlier, virtually anything coming out of the office of the Secretary of State would be considered classified as a matter of course. I have had a TS/SCI clearance since Reagan due to my national security work and have lived under the restrictions imposed on email and other systems. The defense is that this material was not technically classified at the time that it was sent. Thus it was not “classified” information. The problem is that it was not reviewed and classified because it was kept out of the State Department system. Moreover, most high-level communications are treated as classified and only individually marked as classified when there is a request for disclosure. You do not generate material as the Secretary of State and assume that it is unclassified. You are supposed to assume and treat it as presumptively classified.

[See also - Is the White House Putting Its Finger on the Scale in the Clinton Email Investigation? - js]

Hat tip CSTS:

America Is Suffering a Crisis of Imagination

We must resist those voices who urge us to settle for the world as it is

Presidential campaigns feel more like sporting events than democracy. The candidates pretend they want voters to think and choose by putting forward policies and debating. But stump speeches and motivational slogans often feel like a never-ending commercial aimed at getting us to buy something we don’t really need.

The media covers it like entertainment. You can hear pundits rattling off positions as the horses round the bend: “They are running neck and neck” or “so-and-so is pulling away from the pack.”

But if there’s one feature of the whole circus that sets my teeth on edge, it is the attack on our imaginations. This has been particularly the case this election season—and particularly from the Democratic side. You don’t have to be a supporter of Senator Bernie Sanders to see the relentless assault on the “political revolution” he commends.

Words like naïve and idealistic, and, often enough, unrealistic. Questions like “How will he implement it?” Concerns about “How much will it cost?” Language like that effectively shuts down any serious consideration of his proposals and candidacy. We are urged instead to stick with the familiar. Hillary Clinton knows how to play the game. She can actually win a general election, they say. ...

What we are left with, while holding our noses, are the choices right in front of us. Nothing else, it seems, is imaginable.

We must resist this conclusion, because it secures the status quo and ensures that the most vulnerable among us will remain vulnerable. But the imagination constitutes the most important battleground in this election.

Carson endorses Trump: he's 'very cerebral'

Carson said on Thursday that it was important for the Republican party to get behind its nominee to ensure the defeat of the Democrats in November. Carson also said he believed that Trump was attracting new voters to the GOP.

“I’ll tell you why. First of all, I’ve come to know Donald Trump ... he is actually a very intelligent man who cares deeply about America.”

Carson says there are two Trumps. One you see onstage and a secret Trump backstage, who Carson says is “very cerebral”.

“Some people said he said terrible things about you ... well first of all we buried the hatchet. ... That happens in American politics.

“There’s a lot more alignment, philosophically and spiritually, than I ever thought there was,” Carson says.




the evening greens


Michigan governor requests millions in tax dollars for legal defense

Amid calls for him to resign, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is requesting $1.2 million to pay for his defense attorneys in the ongoing Flint water crisis case. Additionally, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette is calling for $1.5 million to pay an independent investigation of the government’s involvement in the crisis.

State lawmakers – namely, Democrats – are critical of these plans detailed on the March 8 agenda of the State Administrative Board. They say the money should instead go toward remedying the contaminated water problem in Flint, where thousands of residents have been drinking lead-polluted tap water for years.

"Paying more for high-priced lawyers than we are for school nurses or fully refunding victims is another kick in the teeth to taxpayers and my community,” state Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, (D) of Flint, told Michigan Live.

The Company Responsible for Poisoning a Pennsylvania Town's Water Will Pay Families $4.2M

A federal jury awarded on Thursday $4.2 million to two Pennsylvania families after determining a nearby natural gas well contaminated their well water.

The problems in the town of Dimock were featured in Gasland, a critical HBO documentary on hydraulic fracturing. Thursday's verdict found the well operator, Texas-based Cabot Oil and Gas, negligently allowed the contamination to occur. ...

Dimock is located atop northeastern Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale, the epicenter of the fracking boom that has revolutionized the US petroleum industry. Residents began complaining about their water soon after Cabot began drilling wells in their small town in 2008, and a water well contaminated with methane exploded in 2009.

Cabot said it would appeal Thursday's verdict in a US District Court in Scranton, citing "the lack of evidence provided by plaintiffs in support of their nuisance claim."

Two Aboriginal Communities Take Their Fight Against Energy Companies to Canada's Supreme Court

Two First Nations have won the right to take their battles against the federal government and energy companies to the Supreme Court of Canada.

The win comes as Canada attempts to both reset its relationship with First Nations and figure out its national energy strategy — and the case could set a precedent for how major Canadian energy projects are decided in the future.

On Thursday, Canada's highest court approved the joint application by Clyde River and Chippewa of the Thames to be heard by the court's nine judges. And in the meantime, a lawyer for the First Nations is asking the energy companies to halt their projects until the Supreme Court decides the case. ...

In Clyde River, hunters tell stories of seals with pus in their ears, made deaf by seismic blasts in the '70s and '80s. Now, three seismic testing companies have been awarded permits to search for oil off the coast of the tiny town.

But the Inuit community says the loud blasts from seismic testing will alter the migration patterns of whales and other animals, which would dramatically change the way of life for the 1,000 mostly Inuit residents who are reliant on hunting these animals.

The NEB gave the seismic testing companies permission to start exploration this spring, but Clyde River says the federal government didn't consult them about the project, even though Canadian law states it has a fiduciary duty to do so. ...

Meanwhile in southern Canada, Chippewa of the Thames is waging a war against a different energy company. The NEB approved an application by pipeline giant Enbridge to reverse the flow of Line 9 through their territory, allowing it to carry bitumen from the Alberta oil sands.

But the First Nation says the federal government failed to consult them directly about the project, and they worry about oil spills. Meanwhile, activists have been manually closing the valves along Line 9 in an attempt to stop oil flowing through the pipeline.


Also of Interest

Here are some articles of interest, some which defied fair-use abstraction.

At Miami Debate, Clinton Campaign Builds On Pattern Of Dishonesty

Sanders, Clinton, and the Neoconning of the Democratic Party

US War Aim Fails, Putin Gains, Medvedev Loses

Justin Trudeau Plans To Experiment Giving Canadians Unconditional Free Money

Here’s what could trigger the next global market meltdown

'A Disneyland of the Cold War': How Martin Roemers photographed the war that never happened


A Little Night Music

Snooky Pryor - Come On Down To My House

Snooky Pryor - I've Got My Eyes On You

Snooky Pryor - In This Mess

Snooky Pryor - Keep Your Fat Mouth Out Of My Business

Snooky Pryor + Johnny Shines - Corrine Corrina

Snooky Pryor + Johnny Shines - Moon Is Rising

Snooky Pryor - Walkin' With Snooky



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Azazello's picture

I got my tickets today. On Friday the 25th, Noam Chomsky, Glenn Greenwald and Edward Snowden will appear at my alma mater.
(A Conversation on Privacy) I think Noam likes Tucson, he was here last year at around this time too.
Maybe he likes chimichangas.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0b7ky96oKg]

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We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

Azazello's picture

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We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

joe shikspack's picture

wow, that's quite a bill! i think that i'm officially envious.

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mimi's picture

recorded on video in its entirety, grab a video camera and record it all ... for the record.

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detroitmechworks's picture

just by reading the news, that makes me weep. And this is from the people who are on "My" Side, supposedly...

Ugh, with friends like these...
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13S11Fhv-y4]

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

joe shikspack's picture

einstein was pretty sure that human stupidity was the one thing in the universe that was infinite. it's sad when some of the people that are on our team go out of their way to prove einstein correct.

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shaharazade's picture

he was a stupid git as he released the secret to making the 'big one' and underestimated the capacity of the US for being as evil as the rest of the world's power happy powers that be. The assholes who want to rule the world, the evil power brokers and destructive game players. If he knew that human stupidity was infinite why arm them with the knowledge to bring teh bomb into the equation? Like Sir Walter Raleigh what a stupid get. Who knows what went through his head. I seriously do not like the way geeks the freaks from pre computer times to now look at the world. Too removed from the human natural realities that are not numbers are not data and are not removed from the dark and light. The beautiful regions that constitute the human heart and soul. Our collective condition as humans Our relationship[p with nature and each other lay somewhere underneath this brave new world and they will prevail. So in a way Einstein for me is just another stupid git that did not get it.

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Bisbonian's picture

I am so sick of all the meddling we have done in other countries, other cultures. Bernie sure sounds like he would take an entirely different approach.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Directive

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"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X

detroitmechworks's picture

and for some reason, the media lets them get away with it. RRRGH...

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

Azazello's picture

The Thunderbirds are practicing over my house right now. Ah, the Sounds of Freedom. Don't forget our Open Thread over at the other place, Sunday at 5.

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We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

joe shikspack's picture

at least bernie is aware that imperialism is a problem. i have some reservations about his positions on foreign policy (for example, he refuses to eschew the use of drones, saying that their use must be more careful) but overall, i am fairly certain that he is not an enthusiastic, homicidal maniac like hillary.

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Bisbonian's picture

...a "somewhat" different approach. I couldn't believe it when he said that about drones. I guess I blanked it out.

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"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X

hecate's picture

The Trudeau program recalls McGovern's 1972 proposal for a guaranteed annual income, set at $5000 (today $28,774). But it never happened, because the voters wanted Nixon.

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joe shikspack's picture

yep back in the 70's there were a number of competing proposals for income maintenance, heck even milton friedman had a plan for a negative income tax. when i was on the debate team in high school, the guaranteed annual income was the national debate topic one year.

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pfiore8's picture

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“There are moments which are not calculable, and cannot be assessed in words; they live on in the solution of memory… ”
― Lawrence Durrell, "Justine"

pfiore8's picture

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“There are moments which are not calculable, and cannot be assessed in words; they live on in the solution of memory… ”
― Lawrence Durrell, "Justine"

shaharazade's picture

of the White Stripes.

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pfiore8's picture

genius. and just love his expansiveness . . .

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“There are moments which are not calculable, and cannot be assessed in words; they live on in the solution of memory… ”
― Lawrence Durrell, "Justine"

joe shikspack's picture

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joe shikspack's picture

thanks for posting that, you have just answered a question that i've had for a year or so.

i was in a music store about a year ago and there was this pimply-faced teenager with a bass plugged into the biggest amp that i have seen since the early 70's, cranked up to 11. he played that same bass line over and over for about 20 minutes.

i was wondering where he got the line from.

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pfiore8's picture

let me know if you go back to it. it is kinda of addictive, no?

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“There are moments which are not calculable, and cannot be assessed in words; they live on in the solution of memory… ”
― Lawrence Durrell, "Justine"

Unabashed Liberal's picture

nickname?

I've seen a couple, and I get so crossed-up when I try to type your user name, that I thought I'd adopt one of them.

BTW, hope you saw the video with the three (Romanian?) dogs. That was a really unique and fun video.

Thanks K9D!

(Music City) Mollie
elinkarlsson@WordPress


"Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare."--Japanese Proverb
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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

rage1_0.jpg

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when Bernie is strong

The more than 2.5 million voters who cast a ballot in Michigan's presidential primary Tuesday set a new state record — shattering the old mark of 1.9 million people who voted in 1972.

and a larger view

So far in the Democratic primary, there's only one set of circumstances in which the party is producing strong voter turnout: When Bernie Sanders wins a state, tons of voters are showing up.

In Colorado, Kansas and Maine, Democrats have actually surpassed the turnout of the 2008 primary contests, while the caucuses in Minnesota and Nebraska only narrowly missed. Sanders won all five states. That's no small feat. Democrats were energized in 2008, eager to turn the page on the Bush years, and excited by two candidates whose election would have represented a breakthrough for millions of people.

But much of this primary season has been a different story. In every state that Hillary Clinton has won -- which is most states -- the party is seeing a significant decline in voter turnout from the 2008 election. Half as many Texas Democrats came out to vote this year than in 2008. In South Carolina, turnout was down by a third. Virginia? Down by one-fifth.

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Unabashed Liberal's picture

Remember the WaPo piece that I posted about a survey of over 1,000 participants--voters from mostly from the South, the Rust Belt, and Appalachian states, up to rural New York state? IOW, so-called Reagan Democrats.

Many of these folks are 'registered Dems,' but, since the Reagan Administration, have usually voted Republican in the Presidential primaries/elections.

I'm figuring that there's been an increase in the numbers of these folks--hence, the drop off in Dem voter turnout.

(Music City) Mollie
elinkarlsson@WordPress


"The obstacle is the path."--Zen Proverb

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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

Raggedy Ann's picture

that the two states where voter turnout wasn't so bad are Minn - which went for Bernie; and Mass - which mostly went for Bernie (although there are suggestions it went for Bernie but shenanigans might have ensued).

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"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

joe shikspack's picture

i suppose that "inevitability" suppresses turnout.

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shaharazade's picture

be a good indication of how ass backward, pig ignorant and full of fear the RW in America is. I'm not happy with the Democrat's for the same reasons as this is a useless same damn thing duopoly when you take a close look at what each side implements once elected. Brands, marketing and variations on a consistently anti-democratic and anti- life planetary and humanistic theme that really offers nothing but full steam ahead with this mad way forward. Seem people who would be 'likely' Dem. voters for the Democratic Party just can't stomach the the choices they are told to ratify and consent to with their vote or else.

"The Hairball" oh no's we gotta elect a rational alternative but is there one?

Not Bernie according to the inevitable rulers of the world. He's a socialist cranky arm waving old dude who is tone deaf, or some such nonsense. Maybe deregulating the media of mass deception and letting it rip (thanks to Big Dog's Telecommunication Act of 1996?) has shown people with a brain in their heads that it makes no difference to show up. Killing the desire to participate in the huge hoax and scam show we vote in is not a bug but a feature. The terms of engagement are surreal. It's really disgusting. No vote is my vote as my non voting full on liberal 'radical' friends say. Looks to me like they are not radical but have a good grasp on the futility of even bothering.

Maybe reality does have a liberal bias and voters who might turn out for a real democratic election just aren't about to cast their vote for a supposedly kinder gentler face of the rulers of the world with their degrees of destruction, killing, thieving, austerity and plundering, as we find it. Easy to see why people who would be Democratic if the Democrat's were democratic don't show up or care to consent to this shit. I'm no longer a Democrat and it's hard to get excited or motivated to get my ass down to DMV to register and cast a vote for more of the same shit or even the lesser evil. Fear don't move me no more. I used it all up fighting to no avail the Bushies right wing coup that ended up being a by-partisan global oligarchical collectivist coup.

Shorter version Democratic, democratic voters are smarter more aware of what a farce this is and not as easily duped or frightened.,. Extrotion is no way to GOTV.

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divineorder's picture

Had planned to vote for Jill Stein again when Bernie jumped in and gives OWS message a megaphone.

Still registered as Democrat though over the years have often wondered why. Voted by mail for Bernie in the primary.

Can't just give up, but can see why some do.

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A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.

joe shikspack's picture

good points. if the democrats are going to act like rethugs once elected, there isn't much point in turning out unless there's a third party on the ballot that offers a meaningful choice.

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about exit interviews with voters on
Super Tuesday.

In interview after interview, most had
never heard of Sanders. One who had
called him "that Communist fellow."

Those three inconveniently scheduled
debates apparently left many in early
voting states not realizing Clinton had
any serious challenger much less his
positions on issues.

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Only connect. - E.M. Forster

joe shikspack's picture

it's kind of depressing how little information most voters have.

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came from the largest US party - the
Independents?

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Only connect. - E.M. Forster

joe shikspack's picture

i guess the democratic strategy of keeping the race under the radar so as not to build name recognition for bernie might be working against them. what a surprise.

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Little Walter's Jump

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Solidarity

joe shikspack's picture

not to harp on it, but, here's some more harmonica...

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divineorder's picture

Thought of you when and all the rain you got a while back when it rained most of the day today here in the TX Hill Country.

Unpacking, washing clothes, paying bills, catching up on some news.

Cast iron dutch oven filled with pinto beans now simmering on low, seasoned with some Northern New Mexico chili.

Costa Rica food we were sampling during our just ended trip was generally quite bland, but tasty. Going for the spicy with these beans.

Reading the Evening Blues and glad to see Bernie educated about the US fail in Central America. So sad to think of all the indigeos and poor people who have died through our bad policy and action in the name of corporate profits.

 photo IMG_1547.jpg Port of entry for tiny wasps at the base of a large tree, spotted on day hike outside Quepos, Costa Rica, February, 2016

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A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.

joe shikspack's picture

i hope that you and jb are warm, dry and comfy this evening. i guess that it's a good thing that you guys are getting some rain to help replenish the aquifers after the drought.

i was really glad to hear bernie repeat his commitment to his 80's and 90's positions on us intervention in latin america and against regime change in general. i hope that clinton gets caught out in the lies she is putting out about her involvement in deposing zelaya and the murderous mess that she created in honduras. (much like the murderous messes that she creates everywhere she gets involved in)

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enhydra lutris's picture

South and Central America is a textbook lesson in imperialism, war crimes, crimes against humanity and much more. Yet, through it all, the government has managed to get most of the citizenry here to buy off on it. Regardless of party, it is propagandized as all being good, right and noble. If nothing else, perhaps Bernie's run will get todays citizenry to look at this ugly history with a fresh and open eye and objective frame of view. Perhaps this pox pax americana lie can be laid to rest and we can stop all this shit.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

joe shikspack's picture

i have been amazed at how successful the media has been at keeping the news of american interventions south of the border from denting the public consciousness in the last decade or so. it would be good if hillary's stupid red-baiting has the unintended benefit of bringing a public focus on the nasty crap the us does in latin and south america.

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I used to look at todayszaman on a fairly regular basis.

They wrote about the power grab of Erdogan

I wondered how long until the reporters would be in jail.

Now the entire publication is shut down

Except they have a branch in Germany, but am not sure when, or if it will come back.

And Erdogan's war on the Kurds seems to be getting worse

Sad, really sad

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joe shikspack's picture

sadly, some of the best reporting on what's going on in turkey is coming out of russian media. the story upstairs in the eb from the nation is quite good and worth a peek if you haven't already read it.

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Unabashed Liberal's picture

to thank you for the excellent "New & Blues" this evening.

Glad you reposted Mimi's piece about FSC's email saga, some of which I mentioned several weeks ago (about all the differences in the servers that the former Secretaries of States were using). Colin Powell only occasionally used his Gmail account for State Dept personnel/housekeeping duties--he's testified that he didn't use his private email account, when handling diplomatic matters. Where or not he's being truthful, is a different matter. But to my knowledge, they haven't proven him wrong.

Gonna link to this comment from DO's excellent diary from earlier today. I think that Tulsi Gabbard would be a good asset for Bernie on military affairs, but would think carefully about considering her for his Veep.

Here's the link, and excerpt about her part in passing, and enacting, the punitive Bill 54 in Hawaii.

All sides agree Bill 54 does little for Honolulu’s ‘homeless’ problem

Jamie Winpenny in Private property on public lands in Houselessness [sic], December 08, 2011 09:47 AM

HONOLULUAbout 20 houseless people, advocates, and Occupy Honolulu supporters turned up to voice their opposition to City Council Bill 54 at Honolulu Hale on Wednesday, December 7. In stark contrast to the good cheer and holiday spirit of the Christmas ornaments on display there, the mood in the Council chamber was decidedly serious as Bill 54 passed its third reading in an 8-to-1 vote.

The vote followed nearly five hours of impassioned testimony both in favor of and in opposition to the measure, which has become a lightning rod for “homeless” issues and a rallying cry for Occupiers.

Councilmember Tulsi Gabbard-Tamayo, who introduced the bill, said that the bill is not about the “homeless,” but rather about protecting the right of the public to have free, unfettered access to public facilities and property.

The measure allows for the City to remove personal property stored on public property. And while the bill passed with only one dissenting vote by Councilmember Romy Cachola, its future remains uncertain due to the various ambiguities within the measure regarding enforcement, the storage of confiscated property, and the cost of the programs needed for implementation. . . .

Her Wikipedia biography also alludes to troubling past extreme stances on LGBT issues as late as 2004, as a State Representative.

As for Sherrod Brown, he sounds increasingly like Maryland's fiscal hawk, Chris Van Hollen, on fiscal matters. He's voiced support in Congressional hearings for entitlement reform, in exchange for tax cuts.

Maybe if Bernie could get a 'guarantee' from him that he would support his (Bernie's) agenda, he'd be a good VP pick. Dunno. But, I think that Brown would definitely need to be carefully vetted. His wife, a journalist, I believe, is an avid FSC supporter, and has propagated baseless stories about 'Bernie Bros.'

You know, it may be difficult to find a sitting lawmaker on the federal level (in the Dem Party) who is as left as Bernie--other than Warren.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

We've been tied up with business for much of today, so I've got to play catch up, before you Guys switch servers.

Good luck with that task, BTW!

Oh, yeah--got a really happy 'animal events' story to post here next week. Guaranteed to bring a smile to a few faces.

Hey, Everyone have a nice evening!

Bye

(Music City) Mollie
elinkarlsson@WordPress


"Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare."--Japanese Proverb

"Every time I lose a dog, he takes a piece of my heart. Every new dog gifts me with a piece of his. Someday, my heart will be total dog, and maybe then I will be just as generous, loving, and forgiving."--Author Unknown

Screenshot Of 'Barabas' -- Dual Photo From WP With Caption.png

Visit Us At Save Our Street Dogs (SOSD)

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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

joe shikspack's picture

i have also seen some information about tulsi gabbard that made her out to be someone that might not be so appealing to progressives. there was some unpleasant information about her ties to the bjp party in india in an article that i read. i didn't really know what to make of it as i have no basis to trust the source, nor do i know much about tulsi gabbard, so i guess i'm waiting for information from a few sources that i recognize.

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mimi's picture

about Bill 54, Molly. All I can say is ... that everybody needs to live and sleep somewhere, so clearly the bill doesn't address the homeless situation in ways that would change it to the better. I have to say that the argument that the bill is about protecting the right of the public to have free, unfettered access to public facilities and property, seems to be somewhat twisted. Though I haven't seen the situation in Honolulu other than through videos from around 2011 or so, I would say that the homeless who camp out on the beaches or parks don't prevent other people from accessing the beaches or parks, it's just that those tourists and those residents who like their neighborhoods to be "clean" feel it's disgusting to be confronted with that kind of situation. As it was said in another paragraph in the article, they clean out the homeless from the sidewalks like rats. If they don't find a solution, I guess, you will see shanty town areas in Honolulu one day soon.

The thing I like about Tulsi Gabbard is that she left the DNC out of conviction. You don't find people like this easily. And she talks about foreign policies more than Sanders himself. So, I assume, she would be an asset to him, because she talks about issues, Sanders is still sitting them out.

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divineorder's picture

for many reasons, Vet, woman, experience, endorsing Bernie. However, will she turn out to be another HRC, changing her stance depending on the wind?
?
And yes., Brown has been disappointing in some areas. Just wonder if his recent amendments to TTP are a setup for it's eventual passage?

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A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.

Unabashed Liberal's picture

fingers crossed that she'll be a true progressive (whatever that means!), if they should decide that she's a suitable running mate.

Your points are well-taken, Joe.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

About American Samoa,

I had a close friend in Alaska during my federal service years, who was with working at a BLM (Bureau Of Land Management) district office located on our military installation. Today, I still laugh whenever I hear 'American Samoa.' (not in a bad way)

My friend Bev's husband was American Samoan; and once, when they were visiting his Family there, a typhoon came through the town.

Now, Bev had never been in one, so she stuck her head out the door for a moment to watch. Apparently, she had a head full of those 'pink sponge' curlers that were used back in the 50's and/or 60's.

Anyway, she said that every one of them blew off her head--that she never saw a single one of those curlers, again!

(The visuals that come to mind, are hilarious!)

Biggrin

Hey, have a nice weekend, Everyone!

(This was not intentionally centered, but whatever.)

Mollie
elinkarlsson@WordPress


"I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role model for being alive."
----Gilda Radner, Comedienne

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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

Clinton on Nancy Reagan's legacy on AIDS:

"It may be hard for your viewers to remember how difficult it was for people to talk about HIV/AIDS back in the 1980's and because of both P

resident and Mrs Reagan—in particular Mrs Reagan—we started a national conversation, when before nobody would talk about it, nobody wanted to do anything about it. And, you know, that too is something that I really appreciate was her very effective but low-key advocacy, but it penetrated the public conscience, and people began to say "hey we have to do something about this too."

Story and MSNBC video at:

http://m.motherjones.com/contributor/2016/03/hillary-clinton-aids-sorry

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Only connect. - E.M. Forster

joe shikspack's picture

i guess hillary doesn't remember the 80's as well as other people do. maybe she inhaled or something.

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from dailykos

Take Two: Second time's the Charm on NBC

But what is perhaps even more amazing than that, is that after the public and twitter out-roar concerning that factually incorrect statement, NBC gave Ms Clinton a second try at the interview with Mitchell to get the story correct, before her out-of-touch mis-statement got totally out of hand.

This link has their updated new story labeled Nancy Reagan Laid to Rest After Funeral In California, but somehow inexplicably, Clinton now credits Nancy Reagan for her out-reach on Alzheimers research (instead of AIDS and HIV research) as she had said earlier:

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detroitmechworks's picture

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLezV_FmX38]

It just... goes away? The MSM not only ignores this, it scrubs the record? Big Fucking Surprise, since they've been doing their level best to erase the culpability of the American government in this for years.

This is officially disgraceful, and I thank God I killed my TV. NEVER plugging it back in.

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

Crider's picture

Seems his encouraging/inciting his followers to violence brought out more than a few Chicago protestors looking for a fight. The police convinced him to cancel.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xMpFBEvf0I]

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joe shikspack's picture

chicago has always been exciting. Smile

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Big Al's picture

"The American socialist left seems to be aware of many of Sanders’ limitations: his lack of genuine socialist politics, his imperialism, and his unjustifiable stances on immigration. The question, then, is why so many socialists choose to support his campaign anyway. If one’s stance on the means of production, NATO, the Israeli occupation, drone strikes and border controls are all negotiable, what positions are non-negotiable?

It is hard to believe that these shortcomings should be ignored simply because Sanders has social democratic convictions. By choosing to support Sanders, the reformist left suggests that it is acceptable to advocate for policies that seriously harm people of color, from undocumented migrants in the United States to innocent civilians in the Middle East."

"Rather than channeling popular anger into institutionalized politics, we need to articulate a vision for the radical reconstruction of the political and economic structures of society. We have to devote ourselves to the hard work of organizing in working-class communities, building power in the streets and in workplaces rather than the halls of Congress. More than anything, we have to recognize that the radical left is at its strongest as a grassroots movement and at its weakest when it tries to bargain with institutional powers."

https://roarmag.org/essays/whose-lives-matter-bernie-sanders/

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joe shikspack's picture

By choosing to support Sanders, the reformist left suggests that it is acceptable to advocate for policies that seriously harm people of color, from undocumented migrants in the United States to innocent civilians in the Middle East.

i strenuously disagree with the author.

by choosing to organize with the movement that has formed around the occupy agenda that sanders has promulgated, the members of the left that do so are engaging with a large number of people who are open to discussing and acting on a left agenda - most of whom have not encountered leftist thought before. this is the best opportunity that the left is ever going to get to put its ideas out into the mainstream of politically active americans, many of them young, energetic people.

if the left can avoid being a bunch of grumpy, sour old cynics, hell, they might actually be able to educate and influence a new generation of kids who are trying to make meaning out of the diminished circumstances and impending environmental collapse that they find themselves faced with.

Rather than channeling popular anger into institutionalized politics, we need to articulate a vision for the radical reconstruction of the political and economic structures of society. We have to devote ourselves to the hard work of organizing in working-class communities, building power in the streets and in workplaces rather than the halls of Congress.

presumably the lefties that are taking some time to engage with the movement that has gathered around the occupy agenda are not preventing the traditionalist lefties who have been working on seizing the means of production and educating the industrial proletariat, lo these many years.

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Big Al's picture

not a sour old cynic.
Just passing it along. We'll see what happens when Bernie endorses Clinton.

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shaharazade's picture

"Rather than channeling popular anger into institutionalized politics, we need to articulate a vision for the radical reconstruction of the political and economic structures of society. We have to devote ourselves to the hard work of organizing in working-class communities, building power in the streets and in workplaces rather than the halls of Congress. More than anything, we have to recognize that the radical left is at its strongest as a grassroots movement and at its weakest when it tries to bargain with institutional powers."

Not just 'working class' communities but all of us. Unless your protecting your place on the pecking order of screw or get screwed. Hey I am a good fully invested cappie who doesn't want to deal with a revolution either political or the other kind. I'm okay jack. Oh no not me, no getting in the street and getting shot dead, pepper sprayed, hauled off to the sink hole of modern jail or manhandled. Let's all get behind the safe alternative who although part of the system has no power what so ever. Besides which caucuses with the absolutely corrupt Democratic lesser evil. Hey those powerful interests are not to be messed with. They are pragmatic and rule the world as they are doing Gods work. So accept this 'inevitable' world as we find it as people heere in the Us think it is reality. Institutional reality is bogus and not reality and we should all stand up and say forget about it your gone.

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mimi's picture

situation.

Sanders expresses a lot of views and has lived long enough to have represented his convictions consistently throughout the last thirty or so years. They are the same for the most part so far that many in the occupy movement or from the community-level radical left have expressed as well. Why it should be necessary to torpedo Sanders candidacy with shots under the belt from the left is not clear to me. Sanders will have to be pushed on foreign policy issues and that will happen, if not from the US left, but from overseas.

"More than anything, we have to recognize that the radical left is at its strongest as a grassroots movement and at its weakest when it tries to bargain with institutional powers." Well, it's weak, not because it bargains, but because it can't bargain successfully from a powerful position. Its ideological supporters in the grassroots movement can't get their act together to unite and give it a try with this candidate, who is the only one, who at least has worked on many anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist and social equality issues for decades. At least they should unite for the purpose of the campaign. If Sanders doesn't get the nomination, there comes the time to think about what the "radical left" will do next. Anybody who supports Sanders now, can still participate and support the street movements and organizing, that will push the agenda of the left.

You can do both. Actually I think one must do both right now.

Sanders doesn't have to endorse Clinton, doesn't have to be a Democrat. He can walk his own way. And may be the movement will walk in the same direction with him.

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Given the incompetent candidates on the Republican side, and the establishment candidate Hillary, the issues would not have been raised.

Some noted commentators have pointed out that Trump's strength is his populist position on some issues but he brings along a lot of baggage. Baggage that the Republicans have handled with dog whistles for generations and Trump said them out loud.

The Clintons have also practiced dog whistle politics and are getting held to account more and more.

Issues have built communities and now with the Bernie movement, several communities are joining.

Can the Bernie movement pull off the needed changes?

Chris Hedges does not think so. Morris Berman said in his 2006 book Dark Ages America that the collapse could not be stopped. He noted that on the way down leaders are chosen that accelerate the collapse. W Bush and Obama fit that. From what we have seen so far, the Bernie movement is the best shot of getting citizens involved on the issues.

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triv33's picture

Just stopped by to read and say, "Hey" as I am linkless tonight. Migraine woke me at four-thirty this morning, you know, the botox doesn't work all the time, so that and the pain meds made for a not so productive day--at least on the news front. I am working on a new piece of art, and I'm stopping along to take pics as I go so I can maybe make a post out of how I put one together. Not sure about that, tho. Great round-up, as always.

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I shave my legs with Occam's Razor~

Lisa Lockwood's picture

Feel better soon.
I've had about 2 dozen bad migraines in my life, and I can say that I feel for you.
Assume you've tried sumatriptan? They usually work for me, although I sometimes have to take four motrin as a chaser, but that, a damp cool cloth across my eyes and forehead, dark room, quiet, etc. usually work within an hour or two.
My cousin used to smoke weed for them, said it helped a lot, but I don't live in a weed legal state ;-(
I do hope it passes quickly. Peace

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"When the powerless are shut out of the media, we will make the media irrelevant" ~Anonymous~

triv33's picture

respond well to triptans, a long time ago I wrote a little something about that for the GOS, remind me to dig that up for you sometime, it was called Confessions of a Difficult Patient...lol. I've had combination headache/statis migraine for 30 years--last year my insurance finally--FINALLY!!!! covered botox for me, and it was, in short, a miracle.

For the first time in 30 years, I know pain-free or very low pain days. Now, no, it's not always a bunch of 'em in a row, you can't have everything, but it can be up to half the month, at least a third of the month consistently, and it's made all the difference in the world for me. I have fiorocet and tramodol for the worst days, and yeah, that motrin chaser. After an almost 20 year hiatus, I'm making art again.

Weed is good, if you can get it. But PA is not a legal state either, and even if our bill passes, migraine won't be on it, and smoking or vaping isn't approved.

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I shave my legs with Occam's Razor~

detroitmechworks's picture

Here In Oregon, one of the new marketing techniques is to sell flowers in Nitrogen Sealed Containers for the ostensible purpose of maintaining the flowers in a non-reactive environment. No smell or reactive elements escapes.

Not that I would ever suggest anything illegal, since the law specifically forbids the exportation of Recreational Marijuana to other states... but it seems to me that friends might want to send packages to their friends sometimes.

Just a thought.

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

Bisbonian's picture

"one of the new marketing techniques is to sell flowers in Nitrogen Sealed Containers"

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"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X

triv33's picture

is into botany. But, I also pray at the church of the Rev Al green and I have deacon who brings me comfort in my times of need, can I get an amen? heh~~~

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I shave my legs with Occam's Razor~

detroitmechworks's picture

Praise Our Lady of the Green and the Relief society.

Glad to hear at least they are bringing you some comfort. Smile

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

triv33's picture

although I hardly think it needs to be said--I am fifty-three fucking years old, I should not have to tippy-toe around something that ought to be my natural right as a human being, damn it!

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I shave my legs with Occam's Razor~

detroitmechworks's picture

I apologize for having to speak obliquely. The most effective tool on the planet, but everybody KNOWS that right now the entire resources of the DEA/NSA are monitoring the places where you can use it...

Yet another reason to be frustrated with our political system.

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

triv33's picture

with a woman who has tape over her camera and her microphone disabled. LOL. I have a FB group 16k strong dedicated to supporting Edward Snowden, our right to privacy, and keeping tabs on the NSA. It was Edger's, I helped him run it, and he left it to me when he died, but yeah....I'm oblique about many things in my communications. Not that I believe it helps...not really.

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I shave my legs with Occam's Razor~

joe shikspack's picture

i hope you feel better soon and the artwork goes well.

take it easy.

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triv33's picture

The art is going really well in the new space, I'm hoping I'll have something new to show soon.

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I shave my legs with Occam's Razor~

smiley7's picture

My side, his side, her side, mom's side, the neighbor's side...................who decides is imperiled.

Thanks, as always, for the blues and the news.

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joe shikspack's picture

i hope you're feeling well and your preparations for heading to knoxville are moving apace.

have a great evening.

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mimi's picture

thanks for the excellent Evening Blues collection of articles again, really very good !!

It's so good, I like to suggest to you and JtC to have three additional links now at the left hand side beneath Content Stream and Comment Stream. One for the Evening Blues, one for the daily morning Open Thread and one for JayRaye' series and may be other recurring series in the future. Your Evening Blues and the Open Thread and Jay Raye's series made this place a home in the very beginning. It's the original soul of the site so to speak. I would love to keep that soul and heart of it all beating and kicking. I like to find the EB and the OT with one click. And then I can scroll through the Content Stream.

It doesn't matter that the EB and the series appear both in the Community Page and in the Front Page as well, it just would make it easier to find the EB, the morning OTs and series faster, as now the site gets a lot of other essays and posts.

Is that ok to say?

The interview with Jeff Cohen on the Real News Network about "Sanders says Clinton charges are fabrications" was really good. In the second half and towards the end of the interview, Cohen is is very eye-opening and clear about what the role of the msm media and its connection to establishment democrats like the Clintons are. "Lying works". As simple as that.

Back to reading. Have a good remainder of the evening. Smile

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joe shikspack's picture

thanks for the suggestion:

I like to suggest to you and JtC to have three additional links now at the left hand side beneath Content Stream and Comment Stream. One for the Evening Blues, one for the daily morning Open Thread and one for JayRaye' series and may be other recurring series in the future.

i'll pass it along to jtc.

i've been experimenting with making eb "sticky" (making it appear at the top of the page rather than scrolling down) in the evening from the time i sit down to participate until later in the evening when i stumble off to bed. i think that helps people find the diary. it's also easier to find on the front page because the front page scrolls more slowly.

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mimi's picture

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