The Evening Blues - 4-16-24



eb1pt12


The day's news roundup + tonight's musical feature: Lula Reed

Hey! Good Evening!

This evening's music features r&b singer Lula Reed. Enjoy!

Lula Reed - Sick And Tired

"After six months of mass murder and chaos the only thing that looks more absurd than the claim that Israel is morally superior to other nations in the middle east is the claim that the United States is morally superior to other nations in the world."

-- Caitlin Johnstone


News and Opinion

Israel’s Latest Lie Is That It Has ‘No Choice’ But To Attack Iran

In an article titled “Israel vows to retaliate against Iran for missile attacks,” Axios reports that the Israeli defense minister has informed his American counterpart that Israel “has no choice” but to attack Iran for the retaliatory strike it launched in response to Israel’s deadly attack on the Iranian embassy in Damascus.

“Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant told Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Sunday that Israel has no choice but to respond to the unprecedented missile and drone attack launched by Iran over the weekend,” reports Axios, citing an anonymous US official and another unnamed source.

The state of Israel has been churning out massive lies on a daily basis for the last six months, but this whopper could wind up being the most consequential.

Obviously Israel has a choice as to whether it continues to escalate a conflict it initiated with an extreme act of aggression. This fraudulent apartheid ethnostate is so accustomed to crying victim every minute of every day that it will even pretend to be the victim of its own conscious decisions.

As professor Jason Hickel put it on Twitter, “People need to understand that Israel *does not* need to retaliate. Iran’s action was a telegraphed response to Israel’s bombing of its consulate, which killed 16 people and violated the Vienna Convention. Iran says they now consider the matter closed. Israel must de-escalate.”

Iran’s deputy foreign minister Ali Bagheri has made it clear that if Israel launches another attack against Iran, this time Iran’s response will be instantaneous instead of a twelve-day grace period with Tehran giving neighboring countries and the United States a 72-hour advance warning to ensure minimal damage to Israel.

Predictably, the Biden administration is doing its usual phony schtick where it pretends to be a passive witness to all this, with National Security spokesman John Kirby telling the press that the White House plans to just “wait and see what the Israelis decide to do.”

But as foreign policy analyst Tariq Kenney-Shawa noted of Kirby’s statement, “Israel will be using US-supplied weapons, will have to coordinate with US forces throughout the region, and will depend on the US for missile defense when Iran responds.” So the fact that the US won’t be actively planning the attack with Israel doesn’t mean the US won’t be involved in it on a fundamental level.

If Israel’s escalatory attack happens, it will be because Washington allowed it to. If the US informed Israel that it will instantly lose its pricey US weapons supplies and Pentagon support if it attacks Iran, Israel would discover very quickly that it does in fact have a choice as to whether or not to proceed.

In an article for Foreign Policy titled “Netanyahu Wants War With Iran. Biden Can Prevent It.”, Quincy Institute’s Trita Parsi argues that while Biden’s unconditional support for Israel is often described as a continuation of longstanding US policy, it has actually been a rather dramatic break from the norm. Presidents like Reagan, both Bushes, and Obama have not hesitated to give Israel’s arm a twist whenever they found it necessary to advance US interests in the region; this new policy of just letting Tel Aviv do whatever it wants while providing unconditional support is actually without precedent in the White House.

Both Israel and the US are pretending to be powerless in this situation, when in reality they’re both anything but. They’re like two muggers getting ready to mug someone and saying “If only there was something we could do to stop this terrible mugging!”

Israel absolutely can choose not to accelerate toward a terrifying war between extremely powerful militaries, and the US absolutely can choose to pump the brakes. The fact that neither of them are doing so is just what it looks like when you live under a globe-spanning empire that is fueled by human blood.


“The Dome” COMPLETELY FAILED! – Scott Ritter

Who Will Stop Netanyahu From Starting WW3? w/ Scott Ritter

Biden condemns Iran’s strike on Israel: A case study in imperialist hypocrisy

The imperialist powers have responded to Iran’s strikes on Israel Saturday with an outpouring of condemnation. “I condemn these attacks in the strongest possible terms,” US President Joe Biden declared, reaffirming “America’s ironclad commitment to the security of Israel.” The G7 group of imperialist powers said in a statement, “We ... unequivocally condemn in the strongest terms Iran’s direct and unprecedented attack against Israel.” It added, “Iran has further stepped toward the destabilization of the region and risks provoking an uncontrollable regional escalation.”

These statements by the imperialist warmongers, repeated by every major NATO power, are the height of hypocrisy. The forces “provoking an uncontrollable regional escalation” in the Middle East are Israel and its imperialist backers.

Let us get the timeline straight. Iran’s strike was a response to the April 1 attack by Israel on the Iranian embassy in Syria that killed seven top-level Iranian military officers, including two generals. In response to Israel’s flagrantly illegal and murderous attack on what is, under international law, Iranian soil, the imperialist powers effectively signaled their endorsement. US Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood declared that “terrorist leaders and elements were allegedly present at this facility.” The US, France and the UK vetoed a resolution in the UN Security Council condemning Israel’s attack.

Now, the imperialists are falling all over themselves to condemn Iran’s response to Israel’s action. This is all the more striking given that Iran’s action was largely symbolic. The Iranian government announced Saturday’s strike to countries in the region 72 hours in advance in an effort to limit the impact. ...

The imperialist powers are asserting that they and their proxies can kill as many people as they want, carry out targeted assassinations and act in complete violation of anything resembling international law. But any response, even of the most minimal character, is denounced as a crime. This is the basic law of colonialism and imperialism.

Iran Says Israel Retaliatory Attack COMING; US To Impose More Sanctions On Iran

IDF chief of staff says Israel will respond to Iran missile attack

Israel’s top general has said the country will respond to Iran’s missile and drone attack, but it remains unclear what form that response will take and whether it will be so forceful that it could tip a worsening spiral of violence into a full-scale regional war. US officials said on Monday that some form of counter to Iran’s attack, which involved more than 300 missiles and drones, was almost inevitable, but the Biden administration was still hoping it would be a limited counterstrike and not aimed at Iranian territory.

The Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, gave the clearest confirmation so far since the attack that Israel would strike back. “This launch of so many missiles, cruise missiles and drones into Israeli territory will be met with a response,” Halevi said, speaking from the Nevatim air force base in southern Israel, which was lightly damaged in the attack.

Israel’s war cabinet met for the fourth time in the last two days on Monday afternoon, as the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, and Benny Gantz, the former defence minister and centrist Netanyahu rival, again discussed how to walk the tightrope between escalation and deterrence.

“We respect that that’s a decision the war cabinet, the prime minister, have to make. We know that they live in a very tough neighbourhood,” the White House national security spokesperson, John Kirby, told CNN on Monday. But he added that Joe Biden had “also been very clear that we don’t want a war with Iran. We don’t seek to widen and broaden this conflict. We don’t want to see things escalate.”

A range of options were discussed during a meeting that lasted several hours, Israel’s Channel N12 News reported, which would show Iran its actions had crossed a red line without triggering an even bigger response, as Tehran has threatened.

ON THE BRINK: US GREENLIGHTS Israel-Iran Response

Iran attack shows Israeli deterrence policy ‘shattered’, Netanyahu critics say

Iran’s weekend attack is a sign that Israel’s key defensive policy of deterrence has been severely damaged by the actions of the Netanyahu government, according to the leader of Israel’s opposition, analysts and former Israeli officials. “This government, this prime minister, have become an existential threat to Israel. They have shattered Israeli deterrence,” the opposition leader, Yair Lapid, said on Monday.

Israel’s deterrent policy has long been an obsession of the country’s political and military circles, and is regarded as a vital pillar of its security. The term refers to military policies – including retaliations to previous attacks and maintaining capabilities – and the deployment of soft and hard power to persuade enemies that an attack is not worth it.

“Our enemies are looking at this government and they smell weakness,” Lapid said, referencing a well-known quote of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Writing in Ma’ariv newspaper in the aftermath of the Iranian strikes, the commentator Ben Caspit summed up the mood of many of Netanyahu’s domestic critics – who have cited the undermining of Israeli deterrence as proof of the prime minister’s unsuitability for office. “Israel’s deterrence, which had prevented Iran from attacking it directly, collapsed,” Caspit wrote. “How did Netanyahu once put it?” he added, referring to the same quote as Lapid: “When terror smells weakness, it strikes.

“The Iranians have lost their sense of fear. No more proxies, undercover agents and covert terror attacks. From now on, it is Iran against Israel, out in the open. Israeli deterrence, which got Iran to swallow its pride every time anew and not to attack Israel directly, has now been shattered.”

Under Cover of War in Gaza, Assault on West Bank Intensifies: Palestinian Journalist Dalia Hatuqa

‘Sympathy shifted to Israel’: many fear Iran attack has distracted aid effort

Iran’s attack on Israel tested the country’s air defences, but repaired – at least temporarily – Tel Aviv’s fractured relationship with Washington, and pushed the war and the looming famine in Gaza out of the headlines and down the diplomatic agenda.

In Gaza, where almost all the civilian population is displaced and hungry after more than six months of war, this shift in attention has been felt acutely. “Countries and peoples were sympathetic to us, but now sympathy has shifted to Israel,” said Bashir Alyan, a 52-year-old former employee of the Palestinian Authority, who is now living in a tent in Rafah with his five children. “Israel became the victim overnight.”

He has watched the sudden shift in diplomatic focus, because his family’s lives depend on it. They are mostly living off food aid provided by Unwra, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, and eat only two meals a day. He has lost 20kg (44lb) in weight in six months. “The international pressures that were being exerted on Israel to bring in more aid and to stop the aggression against Gaza are now a thing of the past,” he said, though he has no time for Iran either. “Iran’s issues are not our issues. It only pursues its own interests.” ...

The unprecedented attack by Iran over the weekend, in response to an Israeli strike on a diplomatic compound in Damascus, in effect forced the US and other allies to set aside differences and rally around Israel. “With all eyes on the dangerous escalation between Israel and Iran, we’re concerned that Gaza will be abandoned,” said Tania Hary, the executive director of Gisha, an Israeli NGO set up to protect the freedom of movement of Palestinians, particularly those in Gaza.

“The steps that have been taken in the past month to expand access are woefully and dangerously inadequate and don’t meaningfully address the crisis, but whatever is happening is happening only because of international pressure. With so many lives hanging in the balance, the world can’t afford to look away.” The US seems so distracted that key officials are barely keeping track of aid shipments that last week they claimed were a priority.

George Galloway: Hold your children close

Israel Has Destroyed Nearly All Buildings in Gaza ‘Buffer Zone’

Israel has destroyed nearly every building in Gaza along the Strip’s border with Israel to create a “buffer zone,” a plan that will result in Israel taking a significant chunk of Gaza’s territory.

A report from the United Nations Satellite Center found that Israel has destroyed or damaged 90% of the buildings in Gaza within 1 kilometer of the border as of February 29. It found that 3,033 buildings were completely demolished, 327 were seriously damaged, and 266 were moderately damaged. ...

According to an analysis from Adi Ben Nun, a Hebrew University geography professor, Israel’s buffer zone will take 16% of Gaza’s territory. Besides demolishing any buildings that are in the way, Israeli forces are also destroying agricultural land.

Yanis Varoufakis Banned from Germany as Berlin Police Raid & Shut Down Palestinian Conference

Roads blocked as thousands protest in US against Israel’s attack on Gaza

Thousands of people held protests across the US on Monday condemning Israel’s attack on Gaza, shutting down airports and disrupting traffic in major cities from New York to San Francisco.

A portion of the Kennedy Expressway into Chicago O’Hare international airport, one of the US’s busiest, was blocked off by protesters calling for an end to the violence. ... In the San Francisco Bay Area, two major highways – the southbound 101 across the Golden Gate Bridge and northbound 880 in nearby Oakland – were disrupted during morning rush hour as demonstrators echoed calls for a ceasefire and an end to US support for Israel.

Protesters were also arrested on New York’s Brooklyn Bridge and in Philadelphia, where several streets in the city center were blocked off. Near Seattle, a demonstration closed the main road to Seattle-Tacoma international airport, authorities said. Social media posts showed people holding a banner and waving Palestinian flags while standing on the highway.

Oregon state police said 52 protesters were were arrested for disorderly conduct following the Interstate 5 protest in Eugene, about 110 miles (177km) south of Portland. Six vehicles were towed from the scene.

The protests were just a few of many demonstrations held around the world since Israel’s violent siege on the Palestinian territory began last year.

Leaked Memo Says NYT CENSORS Words: 'Genocide,' 'Palestine,' 'Ethnic Cleansing'

Ukrainian Officials Are Jealous of US Defense of Israel During Iran Attack

Ukrainian officials have expressed envy over the US’s response to an Iranian drone and missile attack on Israel that came in retaliation for the Israeli bombing of Iran’s consulate in Syria.

The US, the UK, France, and Jordan all intervened to help intercept Iranian drones and missiles. “The whole world saw that Israel was not alone in this defense — the threat in the sky was also being eliminated by its allies,” Zelensky said. ...

“When Ukraine says that its allies should not turn a blind eye to Russian missiles and drones, it means action is needed — a bold one,” Zelensky said. “It is not rhetoric that protects the sky, it is not opinions that curb the production of missiles and drones for terror.”

Israel Strike Coming, Ukr Troops Encircled Berdychi, Budanov Panics, Ukr War West's Suez Moment

Mike Johnson unveils complex plan for Israel and Ukraine aid as pressure rises

Mike Johnson, the US House speaker, has unveiled a complicated proposal for passing wartime aid for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, rejecting pressure to approve a package sent over by the Senate and leaving its path to passage deeply uncertain.

The Republican speaker huddled with fellow GOP lawmakers on Monday evening to lay out his strategy to gain House approval for the funding package. Facing an outright rebellion from conservatives who fiercely oppose aiding Ukraine, Johnson said he would push to get the package to the House floor under a single debate rule, then hold separate votes on aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan and several foreign policy proposals, according to Republican lawmakers.

However, the package would deviate from the $95bn aid package passed by the Senate in February, clouding its prospects for final passage in Congress. Johnson has faced mounting pressure to act on Joe Biden’s long-delayed request for billions of dollars in security assistance. It’s been more than two months since the Senate passed the $95bn aid package, which includes $14bn for Israel and $60bn for Ukraine.

The issue gained new urgency after Iran’s weekend missile and drone attack on Israel. Congress, however, remains deeply divided. Johnson has declined to allow the Republican-controlled House to vote on the measure. The senate passed it with 70% bipartisan support and backers insist it would receive similar support in the House, but Johnson has given a variety of reasons not to allow a vote, among them the need to focus taxpayer dollars on domestic issues and reluctance to take up a Senate measure without more information. ...

The GOP meeting was filled with lawmakers at odds in their approach to Ukraine: Republican defense hawks, including the top lawmakers on national security committees, who want Johnson to finally take up the national security supplemental package as a bundle, are pitted against populist conservatives who are fiercely opposed to continued support for Kyiv’s fight. On the right, the House Freedom Caucus said Monday that it opposed “using the emergency situation in Israel as a bogus justification to ram through Ukraine aid with no offset and no security for our own wide-open borders”.

White House Says It Opposes Standalone Israel Military Aid Bill

The White House said on Monday that it opposes the idea of a bill that would give additional military aid to Israel without funding Ukraine and Taiwan.

“We are opposed to a standalone bill that would just work on Israel, as we’ve seen proposed. We would oppose a standalone bill, yes,” said White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.

Kirby’s comments came a day after House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said he would work on getting more military aid to Israel this week in the wake of Iran’s attack on Israeli territory, which came in retaliation for the bombing of Iran’s consulate in Damascus.

Clarence Thomas absent from US supreme court with no explanation

Clarence Thomas was absent from the supreme court on Monday with no explanation.

The 75-year-old justice was also not participating remotely in arguments, as justices sometimes do when they are ill or otherwise cannot be there in person.

John Roberts, the chief justice, announced Thomas’s absence, saying that his colleague would still participate in the day’s cases, based on the briefs and transcripts of the arguments. The court sometimes, but not always, says when a justice is out sick.

Homicides in major US cities falling at ‘one of fastest rates ever’

Homicides in major US cities are falling at likely “one of the fastest rates of decline ever recorded”, a crime analysis has found.

Jeff Asher of AH Datalytics, a New Orleans-based data-analytics company focused on criminal justice, education and the non-profit sector, discussed that finding with the Wall Street Journal on Monday after combing through quarterly data recently released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). “There’s just a ton of places that you can point to that are showing widespread, very positive trends,” Asher told the Journal.

In the company’s sample of almost 200 cities with varying population sizes, murder was down by 20.8% from the period beginning in January through the end of March of this year when compared with the same time period in 2023, as Asher wrote in a recent Substack post on the subject. Furthermore, in some prominent cities like Washington DC, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Detroit, Columbus, Nashville and Philadelphia, murder is down by more than 30%. ...

It’s not just murder rates that have fallen. Asher said with the exception of motor vehicle theft, all crimes – such as violent crimes, defined as “murder and non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault” and property crime, defined as “burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft and arson” – were down “a considerable amount” in 2023 compared with 2022.

At the end of 2023, Asher wrote: “Americans tend to think that crime is rising, but the evidence we have right now points to sizable declines this year (even if there are always outliers). The quarterly data in particular suggests 2023 featured one of the lowest rates of violent crime in the United States in more than 50 years.”



the evening greens


Climate crisis increasing frequency of deadly ocean upwells, study finds

A climate-disrupted ocean is pushing sharks, rays and other species to flee ever-hotter water in the tropics, only for them to be killed by increasingly intense upwells of cold water from the depths, a study has found. One of the authors of the paper described the “eerie” aftermath of a mass die-off of more than 260 marine organisms from 81 species in a singular event of extreme cold upwelling off the coast of South Africa in 2021.

The paper, published in Nature Climate Change on Monday, found that shifts in ocean currents and pressure systems driven by climate breakdown were increasing the frequency and intensity of upwellings, which may in turn increase the vulnerability of migratory species such as bull sharks.

Scientists focused on the mass die-off event in 2021, which they were able to track in unusually precise detail because one of affected creature that survived was a bull shark that had been satellite tagged. They found it had been caught in water that fell more than 10C below the temperature that such tropical species were used to. ...

To understand the broader trends behind the die-off, the scientists tagged other sharks and used 41 years of sea surface temperature data and 33 years of wind records to investigate the frequency and intensity of cold “killer events” inshore of the Indian Ocean’s Agulhas current and the east Australian current in the past 30 years. They found cold upwelling events had increased in frequency and intensity in these regions between 1981 and 2022. Other species killed in such events include whale sharks, convict surgeonfish, bigeye trevallies and common blacktip sharks.

Global heating pushes coral reefs towards worst planet-wide mass bleaching on record

Global heating has pushed the world’s coral reefs to a fourth planet-wide mass bleaching event that is on track to be the most extensive on record, US government scientists have confirmed.

Some 54% of ocean waters containing coral reefs have experienced heat stress high enough to cause bleaching, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coral Reef Watch said.

A global bleaching event is declared when at least 12% of corals in each of the main ocean basins – Pacific, Atlantic and Indian – experience bleaching-level heat stress within a 12-month period. The declaration also requires confirmed reports of bleaching.

Coral Reef Watch also confirmed the world’s largest coral reef system – Australia’s Great Barrier Reef – had been through its most widespread heat stress event on record in 2024. The first global bleaching event happened in 1998 with 20% of the ocean’s reef corals exposed to a level of heat stress high enough to cause bleaching. The second event, in 2010, saw 35% reaching that threshold, and the third from 2014 to 2017 peaked at 56%.

Dr Derek Manzello, the Coral Reef Watch director, told the Guardian the current bleaching was likely to surpass the previous most widespread event soon “because the percentage of reef areas experiencing bleaching-level heat stress has been increasing by roughly 1% per week”.

'Catastrophic': Biden Admin Approves Largest Offshore Oil Export Terminal

Climate action groups are vehemently rejecting the Biden administration's claim that the approval of a new offshore oil terminal—planned to be the largest in the U.S.—is in the "national interest," after the U.S. Department of Transportation announced the project had met several federal requirements and could begin operations by 2027.

The agency's Maritime Administration said last week that Enterprise Product Partners, a Houston-based pipeline company, had been granted a deepwater port license to build the Sea Port Oil Terminal (SPOT) near Freeport, Texas following a five-year federal review process.

The federal government determined the $1.8 billion terminal project had undergone sufficient environmental impact reviews and would overall benefit the country—even as it was projected by the Sierra Club, which has fought SPOT for several years, to emit greenhouse gases equivalent to those of nearly 90 coal-fired power plants.

"The evidence is clear that SPOT would be catastrophic to the climate, wildlife, and frontline communities of the Gulf," said Devorah Ancel, senior attorney with the Sierra Club. "It threatens the future existence of the endangered Rice's whale with a population of less than fifty, and its ozone pollution would compromise the health of thousands of Gulf residents who have endured decades of fossil fuel industry pollution. Make no mistake, SPOT is not in the national interest."

The project is expected to include two pipelines that would carry crude oil to the deepwater port each day, enabling the export of 2 million barrels of crude oil, loaded onto two supertankers at once, daily.

"Nothing about this project is in alignment with Biden's climate and environmental justice goals," said Kelsey Crane, senior policy advocate at Earthworks. "The communities that will be impacted by SPOT have once again been ignored and will be forced to live with the threat of more oil spills, explosions, and pollution. The best way to protect the public and the climate from the harms of oil is to keep it in the ground."

Allie Rosenbluth, U.S. manager at Oil Change International, noted that the project has been approved despite the International Energy Agency's clear assessment in 2021 that "all new investments in oil and gas projects must stop if the world is going to reach its climate goals," including limiting planetary heating to 1.5°C.

"The Biden administration's decision to approve the Sea Port Oil Terminal is a grave mistake. This approval will only harm local communities and ecosystems, and lead to even more devastating impacts of the climate crisis," said Rosenbluth. "The U.S. is already the largest producer of oil and gas and has the largest expansion plans globally. Instead of continuing this legacy of harm by approving fossil fuel projects, President Biden should be listening to the science and the masses of his constituents calling for an end to fossil fuels."

The direct action group Climate Defiance expressed doubt that the approval of SPOT will help Biden win over any voters as the 2024 election approaches.

Nine in 10 Democratic voters and Democratic-leaning independents told Pew Research Center last year that they believe the U.S. should prioritize developing renewable energy sources—and two-thirds of Republican voters under age 30 agreed.

"This project would be the single-largest oil export terminal in the U.S." said the group. "We are being boiled alive here, literally burned to death by 'moderate' politicians who see fit to torch us in the name of quarterly profits. How can we live like this? How can this go on?"


Also of Interest

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

Stop Pretending Biden Is Some Passive Witness To Israel’s Warmongering

Scott Ritter: The Missiles of April

Anyone Who Wants The US To Attack Iran Is An Enemy Of Humanity

The Resistance Axis Penetrated The Zionist Security Screen

Numbers That Stagger the Imagination: There's No Way to Quantify the Suffering in Gaza

Revolt in Northern England: No Ceasefire, No Vote

‘It’s death there’: babies and children hit hardest as famine tightens hold on Gaza

How Ultranationalist Zionists Seek the Destruction of the Al Aqsa Mosque to Produce the End Times

The Standard Conditions Peaceful Or Violent Revolution, Collapse and Coups

FBI reportedly opens criminal investigation into Baltimore bridge collapse

Israel thought the good times would last forever. But nothing lasts forever

“I’m Jewish, and I’ve Covered Wars. I Know War Crimes When I See Them”: Reporter Peter Maass on Gaza

NPR PUNISHES Uri Berliner for Speaking Out, New CEO Katherine Maher’s WOKE TWEETS Exposed

Megyn Kelly And Glenn Greenwald GO AT IT Over US Support Of Israel: ANTI-AMERICAN?

Pro-Palestine Protesters BLOCK Highways, GOP Sen Urges Motorists To 'Take Matters Into Own Hands'

Politicians Set To Make MILLIONS From Israel War

Israeli Settlers RAMPAGE As IDF Stands By

Matt Hoh: Israel vs Iran


A Little Night Music

Lula Reed - Puddentane

Lula Reed - Bump On A Log

Lula Reed - Waste No More Tears

Lula Reed & Freddy King - You Can't Hide

Lula Reed - Your Key Don't Fit No More

Lula Reed - I Know

Lula Reed - I Got A Notion

Lula Reed - Rock Love

Lula Reed - You Gotta Have That Green


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snoopydawg's picture

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Jonathan Cook calls out Biden’s hypocrisy on demanding that Iran shows restraint

And where was the demand for restraint when Israel tore up the rulebook on the laws of war, allowing every would-be strongman to cite the West’s indulgence of Israeli atrocities as the precedent justifying their own crimes?

On each occasion, when it favoured Israel’s malevolent goals, the West’s commitment to “restraint” went missing in action.

Top-dog client state

There is a reason why Israel has been so ostentatious in its savaging of Gaza and its people. And it is the very same reason Israel felt emboldened to violate the diplomatic sanctity of Iran’s consulate in Damascus.

Because for decades Israel has been guaranteed protection and assistance from the West, whatever crimes it commits.

Why did Israel so blatantly attack Iran?

But having destroyed the entire infrastructure needed to support life in the enclave, Israel needs time for the consequences to play out: either mass starvation there, or a relocation of the population elsewhere on supposedly "humanitarian" grounds.

A wider war, centred on Iran, would both distract from Gaza’s desperate plight and force Biden to back Israel unconditionally – to make good on his "iron-clad" commitment to Israel’s protection.
….
Calling for Israel to exercise "restraint" now, as its entrenched lobbies flex their muscles meddling in western politics, and self-confessed fascists rule Israel’s government, is beyond parody.

If the West really prized restraint, they should have insisted on it from Israel decades ago.

Also Israel needs to be seen as a victim again after losing their victim status because they are committing genocide just like what was done to them.

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10 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

joe shikspack's picture

@snoopydawg

great article. every time israel beats on somebody, biden and the west (along with the west's liveried institutions) can't seem to focus on it. everytime somebody hits back, biden and the west get the vapors and clutch the pearls.

israel will undoubtedly "strike back" as it anticipates no accountability.

it's like watching a spoiled, entitled child act out.

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9 users have voted.
snoopydawg's picture

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How Iran’s ‘strategic patience’ switched to serious deterrence

Iran’s retaliatory strikes against Israel were not conducted alone. Strategic partners Russia and China have Tehran’s back, and their role in West Asia’s conflict will only grow if the US doesn’t keep Israel in check

Iran’s aerial message this weekend confirmed this in practice: their missile guidance systems used the Chinese Beidou satellite navigation system as well as the Russian GLONASS system.

This is Russia–China intel leading from behind and a graphic example of BRICS+ on the move.

Ryabkov’s “we stay in constant touch” plus the satellite navigation intel confirms the deeply interlocked cooperation between the Russia–China strategic partnership and their mutual strategic partner Iran. Based on vast experience in Ukraine, Moscow knew that the biblical psychopathic genocidal entity would keep escalating if Iran only continued to exercise “strategic patience.”

Lol…. biblical psychopathic genocidal entity
Good one!

Ritter makes a great point.

Ukraine 'Owned' by US, While With Israel It’s the Other Way Around

President Zelensky took to X on Sunday to plead with US lawmakers not to forget about Ukraine, saying “it is critical that the United States Congress make the necessary decisions to strengthen America’s allies in this critical time” by delivering on the aid package promised by President Biden six months ago.

“Let me make this very clear to the Ukrainian crowd. You see, the difference between Israel and Ukraine is that, whether you like it or not, Israel has bought and paid for the United States' support,” while Ukraine hasn’t, Scott

“Israel, through its political action committee, AIPAC, in the United States, has pretty much bought the United States Congress. They've bought the United States presidency. They control American media. And as a result, America comes to the defense of Israel because we've been paid to do so,” Ritter said.

With Ukraine, it’s the other way around, the observer said.

“America, on the other hand, has bought and paid for Ukraine.You're not a friend. You're not an ally. You're a tool being used by the United States for its larger foreign policy and national security objectives vis-à-vis Russia. We provide you weapons only so far as it facilitates our objective of creating a problem for Russia. We don't want you to win. We don't care about you. We give you just enough to keep you going. And then we stand by and watch you bury your dead. Because we don't care,

Blamm!!

But then I’m taking away points for this happy wishful thinking nonsense.

Faced with extreme reticence on the part of the Israeli government when it comes to altering its policy on Hamas and Gaza, the administration of President Joe Biden has begun to distance itself from the policies of Netanyahu and has put Israel on notice that there would be consequences for its refusal to alter its actions in Gaza to take U.S. concerns into account.

Biden and Kirby said yesterday that they are still 100% supporting Israel. Biden is still sending weapons to them too and he covered Israel’s hit on Iran with a veto and will most probably put more sanctions on them. Trump supporters constantly sing his praises for not starting new wars, but canceling the Iran deal, killing the general and giving Israel the Golan Heights, ect were such boneheaded moves.

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9 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

usefewersyllables's picture

@snoopydawg

Burn! I love it. Keep speaking truth to power there- shout that from the rooftops. People need to hear it.

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9 users have voted.

Twice bitten, permanently shy.

joe shikspack's picture

@snoopydawg

that pepe really has a way with words.

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5 users have voted.
Pluto's Republic's picture

@snoopydawg

....the narrative hijinks at work in the region. The UN also hosts the declarations and resolutions from the world's UN diplomats, and every few days there's a pointless show-vote on non-binding solutions or condemnations. In reality, we should be grateful that the UN's Day Care Center for Diplomats keeps the nations of the world talking and being heard..

I did notice today - as per your examples - that Biden's war funding Bill before the House includes payouts to Ukraine, Israel, and now Taiwan (!) — an island province of China that is not at war. In a new twist from US propagandists, China is currently meddling in the Gaza holocaust, as well as in the Iran war skirmishes. China is accused of providing fire power to the bad guys. The US seems to be in a big hurry to launch itself into war with China.

The recent war in Ukraine provoked by the US, actually ended months ago. That's the consensus among the geopolitical journalists that I read. It seems that the US was the big loser, and it is suffering a variety of consequences. William Schryver, at substack, wrote the most insightful analysis I have read explaining the failure of the US hegemon to become the boss in the new world taking shape. He calls it "The Bitter Pill of Decisive Strategic Defeat." To me, he is describing the delusions of the Neocons... may they be barred from politics forever.

The last two years have produced what is, for most people around the world who ponder such things, one of the most unanticipated and yet astounding geopolitical turnarounds in modern history.

• • • 

The heretofore reigning global hegemon designed to inflict upon Russia — its long-time nemesis — a decisive strategic defeat that would deliver the greatest spoil ever taken, and thereby consolidate its power base into the foreseeable future and beyond.

The empire imagined Russia to be at its civilizational nadir: weak, vulnerable, and finally ripe for the picking.

Notwithstanding the now proverbial failures of the empires that preceded it, the current masters of the Anglo-American empire, in tandem with its European vassal states and a willing proxy force in Ukraine, believed “things are different this time”. They convinced themselves that the power differential between the latest iteration of western empire and its putative Russian adversary was so pronounced as to assure victory over “the gas station masquerading as a country”.

Having previously fashioned for themselves a logically fallacious metric they named “Gross Domestic Product” in order to measure the relative strength of nations, they deluded themselves into believing their imaginary superior “wealth” would guarantee invincibility in all the realms of endeavor that, in aggregate, constitute real power.

If the current war has done nothing else, it ought to have once and for all disabused the shallow minds of the western intelligentsia that an economy based on the financialization of EVERYTHING is not stronger than an economy based on actual production of stuff.

A two-year-long high-intensity conflict has revealed in unmistakable terms that deindustrialized nations are utterly incapable of prosecuting modern industrial warfare.

Of course, the deindustrialization of the so-called “western democracies” took place over the course of several decades, leaving behind the myth of “The Arsenal of Democracy” instead of its material substance. It produced immense profits for a steadily diminishing few even as it hollowed out a prosperous and socially stable middle class and inaugurated an oppressive neo-feudalism that is now well on its way to deconstructing all of western culture.

In entirely unforeseen ways, the increasingly evident failure of the empire’s ill-conceived plan to divide and conquer vast Russia has brought into stark relief the internal contradictions, ideological incoherence, and vast endemic corruption of a capitalist civilization gone irredeemably awry.

In its hubris-fueled determination to prove it could do what no western hegemon had been able to accomplish over the past five centuries, the rapidly eroding Anglo-American empire will now be compelled to swallow the bitter pill of decisive strategic defeat on the same eastern European steppes where its predecessors were served their own banquet of consequences.

.

Could the delusional US neocons pretend that they are going to war with China? These are not sane people; they are psychopaths. They control the US media propaganda machine, which makes any lie possible. Unfortunately, the Neocons are not going anywhere. They are a coup government, until the People declare a constitutional crisis.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
joe shikspack's picture

@Pluto's Republic

If the current war has done nothing else, it ought to have once and for all disabused the shallow minds of the western intelligentsia that an economy based on the financialization of EVERYTHING is not stronger than an economy based on actual production of stuff.

it is darkly amusing that if the neocons were serious about global hegemony, they were promoting precisely the wrong economic policy all along.

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snoopydawg's picture

@Pluto's Republic

I posted his most recent essay last week.

All for One and One for All

Russia, China, and Iran have now formed a de facto military and economic alliance — what they prefer to call a “partnership”.

In the case of Russia and China, a comprehensive full-spectrum partnership has emerged: military, economic, and monetary.

Arms and technology transfers between the three countries have reached unprecedented levels.

Poor John McCain….

“the gas station masquerading as a country”.

He didn’t live to see that gas station with nukes country kick America’s ass or see Israel bomb, bomb, bomb Iran.

Yep….

I did notice today - as per your examples - that Biden's war funding Bill before the House includes payouts to Ukraine, Israel, and now Taiwan (!)

There was nothing about China going to invade Taiwan until America started saying that they would. And there are so many anti China activists in the Republican Party they are why they don’t want to fund and extend the Ukraine War. They want to spend that money on attacking China. Johnson wants to have a stand alone bill to rush money to Israel, but Biden won’t let him separate it from the other two countries. It’s kinda hard to say that China is the aggressor for war when we are the ones being aggressive towards China.

And this is interesting if true. From MoA:

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced in a letter to the US Department of Defense that if Israel launches a possible retaliatory attack against Iran, Russia will also participate in the Iranian counterattack.

— Warfare Analysis

Posted by: financial matters | Apr 15 2024 20:18 utc | 214

Hey y’all…it’s TP roll night! Sam is doing dawggy stretches again. Smile

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mimi's picture

to admit that they are fubarly German style wrong. Better to have a www3 than admit mistakes in judgement.

disgusting.

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@mimi They can't admit a mistake they do not believe or understand they made.
F'ing murderous idiots!

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

joe shikspack's picture

@mimi

it seems our ruling classes have no use for a world that they cannot rule.

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snoopydawg's picture

.

Meanwhile there are claims that the US has signaled Iran that it should allow a 'symbolic' Israeli strike so that the situation can return to the status quo...

Isn’t that like insisting that you get the last word in an argument? If Iran accepted that they would be fools. Bibi bragged that he would keep Israelis safe and yet 10/7 happened even though he was warned numerous times and then Iranian bombs hit the air base. It would be letting Bibi save face after he started the conflict in the first place. And that status quo is Israel continuing the genocide! Gawd our rulers are idiots.

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snoopydawg's picture

@snoopydawg

Why do they need to save face if the Iranian attack was a total failure?

Smile

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joe shikspack's picture

@snoopydawg

seems to me that iran has been quite generous already under the circumstances. i don't think that they owe israel an opportunity to save face at this point.

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snoopydawg's picture

@joe shikspack

was how America was begging China, the Saudis and others to tell Iran not to hit back when it could have stopped it themselves instead of vetoing the UN resolution. This after Blinken tells China not to support Russia and the other ass holey things he’s said to them. On top of arming and training Taiwan. Not a working brain cell in the whole administration.

Did you hear that Bibi scampered like a coward in his plane before the attacks happened? Why aren’t the Israeli newspapers hammering him over his son being in Florida while he is drafting every other Israeli and making them risk death fighting Hamas?

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is not worth mentioning.

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joe shikspack's picture

@humphrey

apparently the meaning of charity has been downgraded.

i have nothing nice to say about ben gvir.

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snoopydawg's picture

@joe shikspack

feeding him some of that wormed food might be a good start since it looks like he could stand to lose about 150 lbs. just another rotten, evil person that Bibi saddled Israel with.

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enhydra lutris's picture

of the EBs.

be well and have a good one

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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

@enhydra lutris

have a good one!

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I wonder if they pointed the finger at the most likely party (US).

I am sure that Speaker Johnson could come up with the money as he seems to being willing to pay for all things war related.

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snoopydawg's picture

@humphrey

Things aren’t looking so swell for him.

How long have we been saying that there is no difference between the two parties? For 3 years now I’ve been seeing more republican voters saying that about their party.

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joe shikspack's picture

@humphrey

i suppose that israel is going to need a lot of weaponry if it is going to get into it in earnest with iran.

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snoopydawg's picture

@humphrey

isn’t Biden reluctant to expand the war and he’s telling Israel to take the win and that he won’t back them up if they decide to hit Iran? You aren’t saying that Biden’s full of sh*t are you? Imagine my surprise.

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@snoopydawg

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found these results.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Google+employees+are+actively+occupying+...

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joe shikspack's picture

@humphrey

one of the articles that i read about the google action suggests that google has been providing israel with cloud services that undoubtedly are what make its nasty war effort (and its ai programs) possible. there's apparently a $1.2 billion dollar sale of google employee souls contract with satan israel.

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janis b's picture

@humphrey

Hopefully this one gets noticed and expanded on. I do wonder where coordinated resistance can lead in these days and times.

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It is a good thing that money grows on trees.

The rest of the tweet:

U.S/Allied Navy Ships from Attack by the Houthi Terrorist Group in Yemen as well as Iran. Secretary Del Toro further stated to the Commitee the need for roughly $2 Billion to Replenish those Munition and to Prepare the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps for other Conflicts.

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