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This evening's music features blues shouter Big Joe Turner. Enjoy!

“It is far more important to know what person the disease has than what disease the person has.”

-- Hippocrates

News and Opinion

Former U.S. Detainees Sue Psychologists Responsible For CIA Torture Program

The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit on Tuesday morning on behalf of three former U.S. detainees against the psychologists responsible for conceiving and supervising the Central Intelligence Agency’s interrogation program that used systematic torture.

From 2001 to 2010, James Mitchell and John “Bruce” Jessen, along with their employees, netted almost $85 million dollars in contracted fees from the CIA for executing a pseudoscientific plan to extract information from alleged terrorists.

The plaintiffs in the case, Suleiman Abdullah Salim, Mohamed Ahmed Ben Soud, and Gul Rahman, are just three of 119 detainees who were tortured through means developed by Mitchell and Jessen. Rahman died in a CIA black site due to his treatment, and the ACLU is suing on behalf of his estate.

Salim and Soud were never formally charged by the U.S. with a crime and are now free, but are still suffering severe physical and psychological impairments as a result of their treatment in various CIA “black sites.”

The plaintiffs were subject to being waterboarded repeatedly, crammed into tiny coffin-like boxes, stripped naked and then slapped and beaten, and left alone in the dark with nonstop loud music, among other torture techniques.

The plaintiffs argue that Mitchell and Jessen, charged professionally as psychologists with promoting mental health, are guilty of commissioning “torture, cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment; non-consensual human experimentation; and war crimes, all of which violate well-established norms of customary international law.”

The Rise of America’s Secret Government: The Deadly Legacy of Ex-CIA Director Allen Dulles

Needling Obama for More Wars

As demonstrated by Steve Kroft of CBS’ “60 Minutes” in his contentious interview with President Barack Obama, a key role for the mainstream news media is to enforce whatever warmongering “group think” dominates Official Washington, such as today’s perceived need to escalate U.S. military involvement in Syria and hit back against Russian President Vladimir Putin. ...

In that way, the mainstream media reflects the views of what some analysts call the “deep state,” i.e., the underlying assumptions of the ruling elite that are profoundly influenced by decades of massive investments in what President Dwight Eisenhower famously termed “the military-industrial complex.” Also shaping the “group think” is the pressure from well-entrenched lobbies, such as those representing Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Thus, on Sunday evening, Kroft castigated Obama on behalf of those interests, badgering the President of the United States to intervene more aggressively in the Syrian conflict in line with the desires of the Saudis and the Israelis who have both adopted an intensely hostile position vis a vis the so-called “Shiite crescent,” the string of Shiite-led governments and political movements from Iran through Iraq to Syria and southern Lebanon.

On “60 Minutes,” there was no debate as to why the United States should jump in on one side of a sectarian conflict between Sunnis and Shiites dating back to the Seventh Century — or whether U.S. national interests ally with either Saudi support for the Wahhabi fundamentalist form of Sunni Islam or Israel’s opportunistic teaming-up with Saudi Arabia. In Kroft’s world, it is just taken as a given that Obama should do what the Saudis and Israelis want.

Syrian al-Qaeda Leader Urges Escalated Attacks on Alawites

In a new audio message released today, al-Qaeda’s Syrian faction leader, Abu Mohamad al-Golani is calling for his forces to escalate attacks against Syria’s Alawite minority, the religious group to which President Bashar al-Assad belongs.

“There is no choice but to escalate the battle and to target Alawite towns and villages in Latakia,” Golani said, calling for “daily” attacks against them, saying the attacks will defeat both the Assad government and their Russian allies, who he called “Christian crusaders.” ...

Al-Qaeda, backed by other Islamist factions, seized materially all of the Idlib Province over the summer, and has since been trying to expand westward toward the Latakia coast, though significant military resistance has largely kept them out of the area.

French Jihadists in Syria Might Have Been Killed by French Government Airstrikes

The United States has killed American citizens abroad who are suspected of fighting alongside terrorists, and last month Britain killed two of its own citizens in drone strikes in Syria. Now it appears that France has probably done the same.

French airstrikes against an Islamic State training camp southwest of the Syrian city of Raqqa could well have eliminated French nationals. Reports suggest that six French fighters were among the dead of the attack, which was carried out overnight on Thursday. A French military source told AFP that he could not confirm these casualties, suggesting that they had been provided by a non-governmental Syrian organization. But he conceded the possibility that French citizens could have died at the camp, which is said to have been involved in the planning of suicide missions. ...

Ever since it announced the launch of its operations in Syria, the French government's official line has been that it is not targeting individual jihadists but rather IS as a whole.

"We are not fighting individuals but a terrorist group made up of [fighters] with different nationalities, under the rules of international humanitarian law," French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in September.

France seems eager to avoid the controversy surrounding extrajudicial executions, the legality and morality of which has been hotly disputed in both the UK and the US.

US Airdropping Weapons to Syrian Rebels, as YPG Is Accused of War Crimes

US forces airdropped small arms ammunition and other supplies to Syrian Arab rebels following the start of Russia's air campaign in the country, it was revealed on Monday — as the release of an Amnesty International report documenting evidence of alleged war crimes by the YPG, a Kurdish militia which is an American ally.

A US source told CNN that 50 tons of ammunition on 112 pallets were dropped to a coalition of rebels groups vetted by the US, known as the Syrian Arab Coalition. The group is fighting alongside the Kurdish YPG as part of a new rebel grouping around 3,200-strong known as the Democratic Forces of Syria.

On Tuesday, Turkey warned the United States and Russia it would not tolerate Kurdish territorial gains by Kurdish militia close to its borders in north-western Syria, two senior officials said. ... Turkey has accused the Kurdish militia of pursuing "demographic change" in northern Syria by forcibly displacing Turkmen and Arab communities. Ankara fears ultimately the creation of an independent Kurdish state occupying contiguous territories currently belonging to Iraq, Syria and Turkey.

Amnesty International on Tuesday accused the YPG, which has seized swathes of northern Syria from IS this year, of committing war crimes by driving out thousands of non-Kurdish civilians and destroying their homes. Its report claims the forced displacement was often retribution for perceived sympathy with IS and other armed groups. ...

The Kurds, who have emerged as the US-led coalition's most capable partner in Syria against Islamic State on the ground, say the allegations are false. They say those who left areas they seized did so to escape fighting and are welcome to return.

Did Turkish Security Forces Know About Deadly Ankara Attack?

Ankara Bombing Sets Turkey Into Uncharted Waters

Since a popular uprising against the Syrian government began in 2011, the Turkish government has been forced to manage a difficult balancing act with regard to its southern neighbor. Prior to the uprising, Turkey had instituted a “zero problems” policy with regard to the other countries in its region, and maintained good relations with the Assad government. Once it began, Turkey initially maintained this posture, even offering to mediate between Bashar al Assad’s regime and the opposition. But after the Syrian military and intelligence agencies began to wage a brutal crackdown on protesters, Turkey’s position shifted, and the country began to support a wide range of militant opposition factions seeking to topple the regime. As part of this policy, Turkey loosened restrictions on its southern border, accepting hundreds of thousands of civilian refugees, but also allowing militant groups and foreign fighters to cross south and join the battle against the Syrian government.

Unfortunately, this strategy failed to achieve Turkey’s goal of toppling Assad and allowing a new government to come to power in Syria. While Turkey and other countries in the region had expected an international coalition to eventually intervene on behalf of the rebels, as NATO had intervened in Libya, such an intervention never materialized. Instead, the Syrian uprising has devolved into a grinding war of attrition, with millions of refugees fleeing the country and terrorist groups establishing themselves in contested areas.

In light of these circumstances, Turkey’s open border policies, as well as its singular focus on toppling Assad at any cost, has now shown itself to be disastrously misguided. Not only is Assad still in power, but some of the same groups that Turkey had once indirectly supported are now apparently conducting attacks against civilians in Turkish territory. As Turkey also confronts the growing authoritarianism of the ruling AKP government and a revived insurgency by the Kurdish independence group PKK, its stability looks increasingly threatened. Furthermore, while there is no evidence that the AKP government had foreknowledge of the bombing, the fact that its leaders had been openly inciting against the HDP in the weeks and months leading up to the attack has fed allegations that they bear responsibility for the bloodshed that has now come to pass.

This November, Turkey will hold another general election, after the June election failed to produce a viable governing coalition. The HDP party may actually end up benefiting from a wave of popular sympathy and outrage over the Ankara bombing; its members were the primary victims of the attack.

NATO Vows Military Support if Turkey Goes to War with Russia

Addressing questions about the possibility of Turkish threats against Russian warplanes escalating into a full-scale war, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stollenberg committed NATO to providing military support in such a conflict, since NATO is there to “help and assist” Turkey. ...

After similar complaints about Syrian planes, NATO sent some additional air defense assets to the Turkish border, though it was clear this was not done at the time with an eye toward starting a new world war against Russia, a fact that may be lost on the Turkish government, which in the run-up to elections is eager to please nationalists with a show of force.

Major Taliban Sweep Continues as Forces Near Key Afghan City of Ghazni

The Taliban’s advantage in their latest offensive against the Afghan military seems to be growing, with the strategically important city of Ghazni in their sights, and clashes reported along the outskirts as Taliban forces approach from multiple directions.

Just two weeks after the Taliban capture the important northern city of Kunduz, the fall of Ghazni, in the southeast, could be a sign of a growing trend, as reports grow of the Taliban having more territory under their control than at any other time during the 14-year US occupation.

Ghazni is a smaller city than Kunduz, but arguably more important, located on the nation’s main highway, connecting the capital city of Kabul to the rest of the nation.

Outsourcing a Refugee Crisis: U.S. Paid Mexico Millions to Target Central Americans Fleeing Violence

After Nearly $20 Million Spent Watching Assange, Scotland Yard Ends 24-Hour Guard Outside Embassy

UK police have withdrawn from their round-the-clock cordon outside of the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has lived under asylum for the past three years. ...

Instead of posting uniformed guards at the embassy, police said they would employ "overt and covert tactics" to nab the Australian journalist. But as Wikileaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson told the BBC, the change in operation will not affect Assange. "They will still arrest Julian if he steps outside the embassy so there is no real change to the situation, other than the removal of uniformed police officers," Hrafnsson said.

In remarks to Sputnik News, he added, "I don’t think I'd call anything a victory unless the siege was called off and Julian is allowed to enjoy the political asylum that he was granted fully in compliance with international law by the Ecuadorian government. So this doesn't make a huge difference in my mind, it's obvious that the Metropolitan police is somewhat reacting to the outrage among the public for spending over £12 million on this ridiculous attempt to arrest him."

Libor interest rate-rigging scandal: British bankers' trial begins in US

Two British bankers will on Tuesday become the first people to stand trial in the US over allegations of Libor interest rate rigging.

Anthony Allen and Anthony Conti, who worked in London for Dutch bank Rabobank, are charged with wire and banking fraud in connection with an alleged global scheme to rig Libor, which underpins $450tn of financial products globally from mortgages to credit card loans.

Their trial will begin in a Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday with jury selection. Both men have pleaded not guilty, and claim that the UK authorities in charge of Libor setting knew that the rate was often set in banks’ self-interests.

The trial comes shortly after British banker Tom Hayes became the first person to be convicted of Libor rate rigging and was sentenced to 14 years in jail [in Britain - js]. ...

Last month US attorney general Loretta Lynch set out new guidelines designed to ensure that more executives, bankers and other businesspeople are held personally accountable for their actions.

It comes after intense criticism that under Obama’s administration very few individuals have been prosecuted for their roles in the 2008 financial crisis or other big corporate scandals.

Credit scores in America perpetuate racial injustice

In response to aggressive marketing by the “big three” multinational credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion – employers, landlords and insurance companies now use credit reports and scores to make decisions that have major bearing on our social and economic opportunities. These days, your credit history can make or break whether you get a job or apartment, or access to decent, affordable insurance and loans.

For decades, banks have systematically redlined black and Latino neighborhoods, refusing to make conventional loans or locate branches in non-white and lower-income areas, notwithstanding laws that obligate banks to meet the credit needs of all communities they serve, consistent with safe and sound banking operations. Thanks to financial services deregulation and the advent of asset-backed securitization, a multi-billion dollar “fringe” financial system has filled the void, characterized by high-cost, destabilizing products and services, from payday loans to check-cashers – which banks typically also own or finance.

People and communities of color have been disproportionately targeted for high-cost, predatory loans, intrinsically risky financial products that predictably lead to higher delinquency and default rates than non-predatory loans. As a consequence, black people and Latinos are more likely than their white counterparts to have damaged credit.

This firmly-entrenched two-tiered financial system has had devastating consequences for entire neighborhoods of color. Starting in the 1990s, financial institutions began flooding historically-redlined neighborhoods with predatory mortgages that ultimately led to the meltdown of the global economy. Waves of foreclosures hammered neighborhoods of color for more than a decade before the crash and black and Latino Americans bore the brunt of the ensuing foreclosure crisis, recession and spiking unemployment. Droves of people turned to high-rate credit cards to cover even basic expenses, contributing to the consumer debt crisis and spawning a bottom-feeding debt-buying industry that purchases old debts on the cheap and then uses the courts to extract judgments disproportionately from people and communities of color. These judgments are then listed in their credit reports, which also brings down their credit scores, in turn limiting a whole range of opportunities.

Campus to Protest Concealed Guns with Unconcealed Dildos

Campus community will protest fact that, starting in August 2016, they will be allowed to carry concealed weapons, but not sex toys, on school grounds

The campus community at the University of Texas at Austin has found a creative way to protest the fact that soon they will be allowed to carry concealed guns—but not sex toys—on school grounds.

On August 24, 2016, soon after the gun law goes into effect, students and alumni will stage a Campus Dildo Carry in which they strap "gigantic swinging dildos to our backpacks in protest of campus [gun] carry." ...

The "campus carry" bill, signed into law by Texas Governor Greg Abbott in June, mandates that, starting in August 2016, public universities will not be allowed to ban guns on campus.

In contrast, "obscene materials" are banned on school grounds, according to UT rules, which cite the Texas penal code. According to event organizers, this means "You would receive a citation for taking a DILDO to class before you would get in trouble for taking a gun to class."

"The State of Texas has decided that it is not at all obnoxious to allow deadly concealed weapons in classrooms, however it DOES have strict rules about free sexual expression, to protect your innocence," the announcement continues.

This is in a state where, until seven years ago, the sale of sex toys was banned.

Presidential candidates must answer uncomfortable questions about Syria

Hillary Clinton and others have called for military action against Assad, a no-fly zone and an escalation of the war. But key questions remain unanswered.

At the Democratic presidential debate on Tuesday night, there will certainly be a question about the increasing chaos in Syria. But before the candidates opine based off questions from pundits inevitably itching for more war in the Middle East, maybe the first question should be: why can’t we have an honest debate about Syria?

Much of the talk over the last few weeks - beyond Russia’s military entrance into the country, already saturated with foreign countries bombing it - has been the US’s failed Syrian rebel training program. ... Steadfastly ignored, however, has been the CIA’s parallel weapons funneling program that has been steadily feeding arms into the country for two or three years (much longer than the Congressional approved program). Unlike the military program, which was only focused on Isis, the CIA program is arming rebels who are attacking the Assad regime directly, while most of the media pretends that the US is refusing to take on Assad at all. ...

The CIA’s foray into Syria is almost always ignored during the Syria debate, despite the fact that it seems to be increasingly dictating facts on the ground (or at least that’s what “anonymous US officials” have been suddenly telling multiple media outlets in the last week). ... In addition to the Washington Post, the Associated Press also reported that the CIA program is alive and well late last week. Funny how all of a sudden anonymous administration officials are so willing to talk about the program no one would mention for months!

While the article focused on the supposed sudden success of the CIA program, they also quoted Syria expert Joshua Landis, who said this: “Probably 60 to 80% of the arms that America shoveled in have gone to al-Qaida and its affiliates.” ...

This brings up several unanswered questions for Clinton or any of the candidates who have called for military action against Assad, and are also now blindly calling for a no-fly zone and an escalation of the already tragic war. Do they think the CIA - or any US agency - should be funneling weapons into Syria without the American public’s knowledge? Are they OK committing 70,000 US military personnel (and untold billions of dollars) to make it happen, like just-retired Joint Chiefs of Staff Jim Dempsey told Congress two years ago would be required? Are they OK basically starting an open war with Assad, given that we’ll need to destroy the Syrian air force to make it happen? And are they willing to engage in direct military combat with Russia - a nation with thousands of nuclear warheads - now that their planes are flying over Syrian skies as well?

An Undemocratic Party? Ahead of First Debate, Criticism Grows over DNC’s Move to Control Process

Hillary Clinton's U-turn on TPP deal has team working overtime ahead of debate

Last week, the treaty was partially leaked to less than enthusiastic reception as the US Congress, which awaits a “legal scrub” of the full document. Clinton, consistently the highest-polling candidate for the Democratic nomination, was among the first to snub the Obama-backed plan.

“I’m worried about currency manipulation not being part of the agreement,” she told PBS. “We’ve lost American jobs to the manipulations that countries, particularly in Asia, have engaged in.” ...

Wall Street, which has been very supportive of Clinton, is worried.

Morgan Stanley, one of the largest investment firms in the US, has lobbied extensively on the TPP as the Center for Responsive Politics noted in May, spending $4m in 2013 and nearly $5m in 2014 on the deal. Tom Nides, Morgan Stanley’s vice chairman, is one of Clinton’s closest advisers.

“It is not desirable for trade agreements to include provisions aimed at so called currency manipulation. This is because monetary policy affects the value of currencies. Attempts to penalize countries for supposedly manipulating exchange rates would thus impose constraints on US monetary policy, to the detriment of all Americans,” some 14 economic advisers wrote in a letter to Mitch McConnell, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid on 5March 5 of this year.

Morgan’s Laura D’Andrea Tyson, a major Clinton supporter, was among the signatories. Erskine Bowles, another Morgan Stanley board member, served alongside Tyson during former president Bill Clinton’s administration.

Another Clinton adviser, former Goldman Sach’s vice chairman Robert Hormats, is another big supporter of TPP. “On the base of what I’ve seen, it looks like we’re doing quite well [on TPP],” he told Bloomberg TV last week, the day before she rejected it.

Why Build the Green Party? - Jill Stein

Will Sanders challenge Clinton on foreign policy?

On the campaign trail, Sanders offers cogent critiques of the economic power structure while deftly tapping into anger at what he calls “the billionaire class.” But beyond domestic issues and trade policies, his positions don’t really conflict with the interests of corporate profiteers who get rich and richer from military spending, global arms sales and perpetual war. ...

Glimmers of a shift appeared earlier this month when Sanders diverged from Clinton on expanding military intervention in Syria. “I oppose, at this point, a unilateral American no-fly zone in Syria, which could get us more deeply involved in that horrible civil war and lead to a never-ending U.S. entanglement in that region,” he told The Washington Post on Oct. 3.

He made that statement two days after Clinton called for “a no-fly zone and humanitarian corridors to try to stop the carnage on the ground and from the air” in Syria. She is among the many politicians who are inordinately fond of the no-fly zone euphemism for aerial bombing and military intervention. As secretary of state, she championed such a deadly maneuver in Libya four years ago — causing more deaths on the ground and lethal chaos that extends to this day. ...

As a candidate for president, Sanders has begun to make statements on foreign policy that Clinton never would. Those statements amount to high jumps over a low bar of Clinton’s overt militarism.

Yet, with the notable and laudable exception of Sanders’ opposition to NATO expansion (which Russia sees as a close-to-home military threat), there are few significant differences between his positions and Obama’s on foreign policy. Evidently, Sanders isn’t willing to distance himself from administration actions that have propelled the U.S. into its 15th year of continuous war.

Rising numbers of Americans believe climate science, poll shows

Around 70% of Americans believe in the science behind global warming - the highest level of acceptance in the US since 2008 - according to a new survey.

The level of belief has increased seven percentage points in the past six months, the polling by the University of Michigan and Muhlenberg College shows.

The researchers said the significant rise in acceptance is particularly notable among Republicans and evangelical Christian groups.

The swing is largely due to recognition of the role that climate change is playing in changing weather patterns, with respondents citing weather events close to home, according to Prof Barry Rabe, a co-author from the University of Michigan.

The report revealed a “strong recognition of recent weather patterns” with a particular emphasis on severe droughts in the US and warmer local temperatures, he said.

The report reveals strong backing for wind power, energy efficiency measures and natural gas. Support for solar power is the strongest, with 90% approval ratings.

Capitalism is Mother Earth's Cancer

Decrying capitalism as a "threat to life," an estimated 7,000 environmentalists, farmers, and Indigenous activists from 40 countries convened in the Bolivian town of Tiquipaya for this weekend's World People's Conference on Climate Change, aiming to elevate the demands of social movements and developing countries in the lead-up to upcoming United Nations-led climate talks.

"Capitalism is Mother Earth's cancer," Bolivian President Evo Morales told the crowd, which also heard over the course of the three-day conference from United Nations Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon as well as other Latin American leaders.

The people's summit, which concluded Monday afternoon, produced a 12-point declaration (Spanish) that will be presented during the COP21 climate negotiations taking place November 30-December 11 in Paris, France, during which 200 countries will attempt to cement an agreement to curb global warming. The COP21 agenda has been criticized for its sidestepping of issues like the role of capitalism in climate change and for the robust involvement of multinational corporations in the talks.

According to a translation, the Declaración de Tiquipaya calls for, among other things:

• the creation of an international tribunal with "a binding legal capacity to prevent, prosecute and punish states that pollute and cause climate change by action or omission";
• compensation from wealthy countries to developing nations for "climate, social, and ecological debt accumulated over time";
• reclamation of the global commons; and
• wholesale rejection of global capitalist and colonialist systems.

"We demand that the Paris Agreement does address the structural causes of capitalism," the declaration reads. "It does not have to be an agreement that reinforces the capitalist model, through more market mechanisms, allowing volunteer commitments, encouraging the private sector and strengthening patriarchy and neo-colonialism."

Don't Drink the Water in Flint, Michigan

This article is very much worth reading in full:

Why Sale of National Geographic To Fox Signals Perilous Times For Photojournalism

When the news broke that National Geographic was sold to Rupert Murdoch, fans of the magazine gasped. 

A magazine known for its photo essays paired with reports often based on scientific research being under the control of an outspoken climate change denier worried them.

As a photojournalist, it is to difficult for me to imagine that the sale of National Geographic to Murdoch won’t contribute to the decline of photojournalism, because it is one of the few publications left whose brand is connected to original, visually-oriented content. ...

Six corporations own 90 per cent of the media companies in the U.S., according to a report by Business Insider. What most Americans read, watch, and listen to is filtered through those corporate interests. And media that isn’t corporate-owned is often corporate-sponsored. National Public Radio, for example, took funding from America’s Natural Gas Alliance, which leads those who oppose fracking to point out how weak NPR’s reporting is on the topic.

“Propaganda by omission is something to watch out for,” Daymon Hartley, former photographer for the Detroit Free Press, told DeSmog. “Now corporations control what you see and what you don’t see. They look through lens of their own ideology and control the message by hiding what it doesn’t want you to see.”

Also of Interest

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

The Debate the Democrats Should Be Having on Defense

How CNN Shapes Political Debate

13 vital questions CNN should (but won’t) ask at tonight’s Democratic debate

Let’s take it to Michelle Rhee and Bill Gates: Here’s how Democrats should talk about education tonight

A Little Night Music

Big Joe Turner - Flip Flop and Fly

Big Joe Turner - SK Blues

Big Joe Turner - If you remember

Big Joe Turner - Shake, Rattle & Roll

Big Joe Turner - Feelin' Happy

Big Joe Turner - Honey Hush

Big Joe Turner - Juke Joint Blues

Big Joe Turner - Boogie Woogie Country Girl

Big Joe Turner - I Hear You Knockin'

Big Joe Turner - Crawdad Hole

Big Joe Turner + Elmore James - TV Mama

Big Joe Turner - Married Woman

Big Joe Turner - Low Down Dog

Big Joe Turner - Bump Miss Susie

Big Joe Turner + Pete Johnson - Roll 'Em Pete

Big Joe Turner - Corrine Corrina

Big Joe Turner - Piney Brown Blues

The Trumpet Kings Meet Joe Turner - TV Momma

Big Joe Turner - Rock the Joint Boogie

Joe Turner - Jumpin' At The Jubilee

Big Joe Turner Full 1965 UK Show