The Evening Blues - 6-15-17
Hey! Good Evening!
This evening's music features r&b singer and guitarist Curtis Mayfield. Enjoy!
Curtis Mayfield - People Get Ready
“Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality.”
-- Lewis Carroll
News and Opinion
U.S. expands presence in Syrian desert, rebels say
U.S. troops based in Syria's southeastern desert have expanded their footprint, rebels there say, increasing the risk of direct ground confrontation between the Americans and Iran-backed pro-government forces. U.S. special forces have been based since last year at Tanf, a strategic Syrian highway border crossing with Iraq, where the Americans have assisted rebels trying to recapture territory from fleeing Islamic State fighters.
The U.S.-backed Syrian rebels in the area are in competition with pro-government forces who are also trying to recapture territory from Islamic State.
On several occasions in recent weeks, warplanes of the U.S.-led coalition have struck pro-government forces to prevent them advancing, in what Washington has described as self defense. Abu al-Atheer, military spokesman for the U.S.-backed Maghawir al-Thawra rebel group, told Reuters U.S. forces had spread from their initial location at Tanf to set up a second base at Zakf, around 60-70 km (40-50 miles) to the northeast.
US rocket artillery deployed to southern Syria for first time
The US has moved its High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) into southern Syria from Jordan for the first time, according to defence officials. According to CNN, the deployment will position it near the US coalition training base at Al-Tanf, which has been a flash point for clashes between the US and forces loyal to the Syrian government.
The HIMARS is a truck-mounted system which can fire missiles as far as 300km and will heavily boost US military power in southern Syria.In May, the US-led coalition struck a convoy of military vehicles belonging to Shia militias loyal to the Syrian government near Al-Tanf. According to a US defence official, the pro-Assad militia convoy was heading to a remote coalition garrison near the Jordanian border. The US official also said the coalition air strike did not directly target the Syrian army but Shia militias who support the Syrian government which was operating in the area. "A convoy going down the road didn’t respond to numerous ways for it to be warned off from getting too close to coalition forces in al-Tanf," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Russia said on Saturday it had told the United States it was unacceptable for Washington to strike pro-government forces in Syria following the Al-Tanf attacks last month.
Rep. Barbara Lee: In Expanding Global Wars, Trump Is Creating More Havoc and Chaos & Has No Strategy
Syria: From ‘no boots on the ground’ to (not so secret) forward operating bases
It’s a familiar pattern by now. From “we’re staying out” to “just some logistical aid to rebels” to “okay, some mere light arms to fight the evil dictator” to “well, a few anti-tank missiles wouldn’t hurt” to “we gotta bomb the new super-bad terror group that emerged!” to “ah but no boots on the ground!” to “alright kinetic strikes as a deterrent” to “but special forces aren’t really boots on the ground per se, right?” And on and on it goes.
As of this week the public is getting a rare glimpse of more US boots on the ground in southern Syria. Not just boots, but a US Special Forces Forward Operating Base, along with evidence of US operational control of a sovereign country’s border crossing.
Caleb Weiss reports the following for Long War Journal:
Photos released by a news outlet affiliated to a Free Syrian Army-branded group show that US special forces have been conducting joint patrols in southern Syria near the Al Tanf crossing. The position of these troops has been the catalyst for US airstrikes against Iranian-backed groups in the area in recent weeks.
Hammurabi’s Justice News, a news outlet affiliated with Maghaweir al Thowra (MaT), has released several photos and videos in recent weeks showing US special forces conducting joint patrols with the group. In addition, several photos show fighters from MaT and American troops guarding the Al Tanf border crossing with Iraq. Special forces from other allied countries are likely featured in some photos, as British and Norwegian special forces are also in the area.
According to the commander of MaT, around 150 US special forces are stationed with the group near Tanf. The commander also said that five other countries have troops stationed with MaT, including two Arab states. MaT is the current incarnation of the New Syrian Army, formed with US support in 2015.
Egypt: Gulf siege against Qatar should include Turkey
The Egyptian president has called on allies in the Gulf to escalate the diplomatic row with Qatar to include Turkey, the New Arab reported.
According to the news outlet, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi urged Gulf leaders to expand their boycott until Ankara gives up support for Qatar. He is reported to have said that this would maintain the pressure on Doha to respond positively and help bring a speedy end to the regional siege.
The sources said that Al-Sisi raised the matter during a meeting with the King of Bahrain, Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa, last Thursday in Cairo. They added that Al-Sisi pushed for the escalation of the Arab campaign and accused Turkey of funding and hosting groups classified as “terrorist” such as the Muslim Brotherhood or organisations in Syria.
According to the news outlet, Al-Sisi has not received a response to his suggestion. The sources pointed out that the Gulf countries were keen; however, to at least neutralise Turkey from assisting Qatar in the crisis.
Heh. Funding terrorists is serious, but not so serious as to be an obstacle to commerce.
US signs deal to supply F-15 jets to Qatar after Trump terror claims
The US has signed a $12bn deal to supply dozens of F-15 jets to Qatar, despite recent high-profile claims by President Donald Trump alleging Qatar’s “high-level funding” of terrorism.
The signing of the deal on Wednesday is the latest twist in the highly contradictory US diplomacy over the crisis around Qatar – now in its second week – with the emirate targeted by a Saudi-led embargo.
Hailed by Qatar, the deal underlines the reigning confusion inside the Trump administration as it handles one of its first big foreign policy crises, which was in large part triggered by Trump.
Qatar is facing a severe economic and diplomatic boycott by Saudi Arabia and its regional allies, who cut ties last week accusing it of funding terrorist groups, a charge Doha denies.
Saudi coalition says Yemen rebels fired missile at UAE ship
A Saudi-led coalition says rebels in Yemen have fired a missile at an Emirati ship, causing no damage but wounding one sailor.
A statement early Thursday carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency said rebels fired on the ship as it left Mokha, a strategic Red Sea port.
Donald Trump under investigation for potential obstruction of justice
Donald Trump is reportedly being investigated for potential obstruction of justice by the special counsel looking into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. This marks the first time that the ongoing investigation, which has hung over Trump since his inauguration, has potentially implicated the president himself.
The Washington Post reported on Wednesday night that the federal probe into the Trump campaign’s ties with Russia during the 2016 campaign, being overseen by Robert Mueller, has now expanded into whether the president attempted to thwart that investigation.
Trump tweeted early on Thursday morning: “They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice.” He later repeated his claims that such investigations were a “WITCH HUNT”.
The allegations of obstruction of justice apparently center on Trump’s efforts to encourage former FBI director James Comey to drop an investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Comey testified under oath to Congress last week that Trump told him in a private meeting, “I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.” Trump has since said Comey said things that “weren’t true” while under oath and that he was “100% willing” to testify before Congress.
Putin jokingly offers Comey asylum during annual phone-in session
Vladimir Putin made a sarcastic offer of asylum to former FBI director James Comey on Thursday, during an attack on Comey’s claims of Russian interference in the US election.
“It sounds very strange when the head of the security services writes down a conversation with the commander-in-chief and then leaks it to the media through his friend,” said Putin. “How, in that case, does he differ from [Edward] Snowden,” the Russian president asked, referring to the NSA whistleblower who has been given political asylum in Russia.
“That means he is not the leader of the security services, but a human rights defender. And if he faces pressure, then we are happy to offer him political asylum too,” said Putin.
Speaking during a marathon phone-in session with the Russian people, Putin said he had not followed Comey’s testimony to the Senate intelligence committee last week, but knew some of the details. “The former FBI director said there was Russian interference in the US election process but again gave no evidence,” said Putin.
Two arrested over violent clash during Turkish president's White House visit
Two men have been arrested for their role in a violent altercation outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence during a recent visit to Washington by Turkey’s president, police said Wednesday.
The Metropolitan police department said in a brief statement that Sinan Narin had been arrested in Virginia on an aggravated assault charge. It said Eyup Yildirim had been arrested in New Jersey on charges of assault with significant bodily injury and aggravated assault. The department released no further details about the men but said additional information would be available Thursday. A spokesman for the US attorney’s office in New Jersey confirmed that Yildirim made his first appearance before a judge there on Wednesday.
Narin and Yildirim were both participants in the protests, according to a US official familiar with the case. On the day of the violence, police detained two members of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s security detail but released them shortly afterward. Two other men were arrested at the scene – one for aggravated assault and the other for assaulting a police officer.
Turkish Guards Will Be Charged in Embassy Protest, Officials Say
Law enforcement officials plan to announce charges Thursday against a dozen members of the Turkish president’s security detail for their involvement in a brutal attack on protesters outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence here last month, two American officials said on Wednesday. ...
The Washington police have been investigating the May 16 attack along with the State Department and the Secret Service. The police planned to announce the charges at a news conference on Thursday morning, according to the two officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the charges before they were made public. ...
Coming almost a month after the episode, the charges are the most significant retaliatory step taken to date by American authorities, who have fumed privately and publicly over what they see as a highly offensive attack on free speech — not to mention American law enforcement.
Europe: the Danger of the Center
The good news out of Europe is that Marine Le Pen’s neo-Nazi National Front took a beating in the May 7 French presidential election. The bad news is that the program of the winner, Emmanuel Macron, might put Le Pen back in the running six years from now.
Macron pledges to cut 120,000 public jobs, reduce spending by 60 billion Euros, jettison the 35-hour workweek, raise the retirement age, weaken unions’ negotiating strength and cut corporate taxes. It is a program that is unlikely to revive the morbid French economy, but it will certainly worsen the plight of jobless youth and seniors and hand the National Front ammunition for the 2022 election.
Europe is enmeshed in an economic crisis brought on by the structure of the European Union (EU), on one hand, and the nature of capitalism, on the other. That convergence has derailed economies throughout the 27-member trade group, impoverished tens of millions, and helped conjure up racist, rightwing movements that are not likely to be deterred by a few election losses. ...
Because most the center-left parties bought into the austerity-as-a-cure-for-debt formula, they have been devastated at the polls. ... The lesson for the left would seem to be that moving to the center or the right is a prescription for electoral disaster. Macron’s new centrist party, En Marche!, won, but mostly due to the anti-Le Pen vote. His program of austerity, restraints on unions, and corporate tax cuts is popular with everyone, although En Marche! did well in the first round of voting for the legislature, and poll indicate he may get a majority. If he does not, he plans to push the measures through by decree. ...
If the economic situation worsens, or even stays the same, the right will be waiting to pounce with their easy answers to economic crisis: nationalism and racism.
Naomi Klein on How to Resist Trump's Shock Politics
Trump Officials Overseeing Health Care Overhaul Previously Lobbied for Health Insurance Firms
The political appointees tapped by President Donald Trump to oversee federal health care programs — including the potential transition to a new Republican bill to replace the Affordable Care Act — joined the government just after working as lobbyists and attorneys for the largest health care interests in America.
Several senior Health and Human Services Administration appointees previously worked for insurers seeking to influence the consumer regulations mandated by the ACA, according to new political appointee financial disclosures obtained by The Intercept. The appointees work closely under HHS Secretary Tom Price — a former member of Congress and longtime ACA opponent who has pushed his old colleagues on the Hill to repeal the ACA. ...
Private health care interests, particularly health insurers, have worked closely with Republican leaders to shape the next iteration of health reform. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., attended a fundraiser hosted by health insurance lobbyists just before appearing to explain his party’s approach to repealing and replacing the ACA. The major provisions of the plan passed by House Republicans includes a major tax cut for insurers, along with an option for states to opt-out of consumer protections — proposals demanded by health insurance companies.
Democratic Party Leader Nancy Pelosi Faces Progressive Primary Challenge
Dakota Access pipeline: judge rules environmental survey was inadequate
A federal judge has handed a lifeline to efforts to block the Dakota Access pipeline, ruling Wednesday that the US Army Corps of Engineers did not adequately consider the possible impacts of an oil spill where the pipeline passes under the Missouri River. US district judge James Boasberg said in a 91-page decision that the corps failed to take into account how a spill might affect “fishing rights, hunting rights, or environmental justice, or the degree to which the pipeline’s effects are likely to be highly controversial”.
The judge said the army must redo its environmental analysis in certain sections and he would consider later whether the pipeline must halt operations in the meantime. A status conference is scheduled for next week.
Dave Archambault II, chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, which has led opposition to the pipeline, called it “a significant victory”.
The pipeline developer Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) announced earlier this month that it started shipping oil to customers. ETP maintains that the 1,200-mile pipeline is safe, but the Standing Rock Cheyenne River, Yankton and Oglala Sioux tribes in the Dakotas fear environmental harm.
Trump Hearts Methane
In a move environmental groups decried as a gift to fossil fuel polluters, President Donald Trump's Interior Department announced Wednesday it was postponing key parts of an Obama-era rule regulating methane emissions from oil and gas developments on public lands.
The document, set to be published Thursday at the Federal Register, cites pending litigation and "significant expenditures" the industry faces to comply with the Bureau of Land management (BLM) rule to limit methane flaring.
Last month climate campaigners cautiously celebrated when the Senate failed to pass a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to kill the rule, calling it a win for common sense, taxpayers, and the environment. But as Lukas Ross, Friends of the Earth's climate and energy campaigner, predicted could happen, the Trump administration took another avenue to derail it.
"Interior's BLM methane waste rule delay flies in the face of overwhelming public support, Congress' recent rejection of an attempt to repeal the rule, and a federal court's determination that an injunction halting implementation of the rule was not warranted," commented Erik Schlenker-Goodrich, executive director of the Western Environmental Law Center. "Methane waste seriously and urgently threatens our climate, our pocketbook, and public health," he said. According to Schlenker-Goodrich, the move also proves that (controversial) Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is not serving the interests of the American public.
Also of Interest
Here are some articles of interest, some which defied fair-use abstraction.
Putin, Ukraine and What Americans Know
Red Alert: Russian Focus Might Save Trump’s Hide
Meet the New Party: Just About the Same as the Old Party
Netanyahu wants the UN out of the way to be able to achieve his objective
The U.S. Intelligence Community Can Share Your Personal Information With Other Governments
A Little Night Music
Curtis Mayfield - We Got to Have Peace
The Impressions - This Is My Country
Curtis Mayfield - Superfly
Curtis Mayfield - Move On Up
Curtis Mayfield - Hard Times
Curtis Mayfield - Pusher Man
Curtis Mayfield - We The People Who Are Darker Than Blue
The Impressions - Keep On Pushing
Curtis Mayfield - New World Order
Comments
Curtis Live!
The man was a genius and I've always loved that he took a song that started life as a bank jingle and made it a Civil Rights anthem. Still gives me chills...
Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.
evening dr. jc...
he has a real way with melodies even when he is cranking out the funk.
have a great evening!
Where was old Barbara Lee when Obama
greased the skids for eternal war in the Middle East, meddled in the Ukraine, and ramped up military bases and actions in Africa?
Trump's a short fingered hateful conscienceless asshole but The Empty Suit increased US aggression all over the globe
I hope history deals honestly the SOB running around making the Clinton grifters look like amateurs. Why people have a good opinion of this asshole who has spent his whole professional life fellating the wealthy I will never understand. How can people, especially Dims, piss and moan about Trump without acknowledging all the death and destruction that occurred during his two terms? Why, when it is common knowledge that he's lied over and over and over again do people think that he's worthy of respect and attention?
We are a horrible country. Look how many innocent people have had to die to keep corporate profits sky high. Look how many are dead because they are inconveniently sitting on what we believe should be OUR assets. And how many millions more will have to die so corporate America's bank balance and the Dow keep climbing ever higher? Because it is all about money and power. Humanity and empathy have no place in the world we live in today.
I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks
Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa
evening amanda...
humanity and empathy are bad for business.
and morals are bad for partisan pursuits. barbara lee was eerily quiet during obama's reign of error.
as far as obama goes, he was brought to us by general dynamics and goldman sachs. he performed his function well and will now be rewarded lavishly.
obama and the power of gold (man sachs)
I know this is neither blues music nor Curtis Mayfield, but it fits this topic like a custom-tailored glove:
"Balance the cost of the soul you lost
With the dreams you lightly sold
And tell me that you're free
From the Power of Gold!"
[video:https://youtu.be/Kk75J-VwUOU width:500 height:350]
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
These are damned good questions
I thought this exact same thing today while I was browsing diaries on DK. The echo chamber kept saying that the republicans are passing heinous legislation or voting for more wars and not one person said that the democrats had been just as complicit.
If anyone bothers to write about the issues facing us or on what the republicans are doing while everyone is focusing on this Russian distraction, those diaries roll off the rec list and have hardly any comments in them.
I remember when that site was writing about issues before they were talked about on the MSN.
What a joke that place has come to be.
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
Daily Kos: Ichabod
That's because everyone who would ever have said that on DK is now here.
We didn't stick around when the proprietor made it thoroughly and abundantly clear that we were no longer welcome there, as we once had been.
Ichabod. "The glory is gone." (See Jewish Scriptures, I Samuel 4:21)
And there's only one person to blame for that: Markos Moulitsas Zúniga. He did this. He created this.
Maybe he ought to change his surname to Frankenstein!
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
I think you'll find that Barbara Lee has been consistently
against wars, reauthorizing and funding the AUMF, etc.
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 --
Crass Media go Three Monkeys on her then?
"See nothing, hear nothing, report nothing"?
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
Barbara Lee's ONLY. concern is that The
Empty Suit's ass was covered. No one heard her calling for Obama to quit killing old people, wedding parties, and CHILDREN. Just to get a new AUMF to make his murders legal.
She's been damn quiet for someone who is 'anti-war'. What's the deal? Now that someone else is in the White House, she's a peacenik?
They're all sucking the corporate teat.
EDIT: test/teat
I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks
Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa
Hola, Joe & Gang! Getting ready
to go on a rampage over the passage of another bill that completely dismantles federal VA employee protections regarding firing, demotion, and suspension, etc. This is 'Act 2' of the original toxic bill informally called the Veterans Choice Act (2014). I will also furnish a list of the Democrats who negotiated and/or voted for these two toxic bills.
I accidentally ran into this info yesterday, while searching for something else. This should be an object lesson in allowing ourselves to be distracted by MSM shiny objects, or Russia, Russia! IOW, while the MSM and Dems have everyone obsessing about the so-called 'hacking' into DNC computers, we have a bipartisan effort to go beyond the unconstitutional provisions in the original Veterans Choice Act, to write a bill that not only dismantles employee protection under the MSPB, but, that also denies federal VA employees the right to utilize the union grievance procedures in fighting adverse personnel actions (firing, demotion, suspension, etc.).
I am beyond dumbfounded, especially after speaking to the Northwest Regional Office of the AFGE this afternoon. I am totally convinced that they are complicit in these actions. If they're not, they are sure as heck lame, if not flat-out useless! I wouldn't give them one plug nickel--today, the AFGE is clearly just an appendage of the corporatist Dem Party.
Gotta run for now, but I'll be back to post a blurb about this so-called 'accountability' bill.
Dodging rain all day, but at least the oppressive heat has abated a tad.
Everyone have a nice evening!
[Edited: BTW, thanks for the Curtis Mayfield tunes.]
Mollie
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."--Lao Tzu
"I think dogs are the most amazing creatures--they give unconditional love. For me, they are the role model for being alive."--Gilda Radner
COUNTDOWN TO (FULL) RETIREMENT
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
AFGE ?
Do you mean the American Federation of Government Employees, Mollie?
(If you're going to tell us who the bad guys are -- an excellent idea, by the way -- we do need to understand what you're trying to tell us! Thank You!)
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
That's what I meant--thank you, Sean! ;-) Got
a little lazy. Guess I'll paste the union's name to Notepad for future reference.
Mollie
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."--Lao Tzu
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
love you mollie!
Any time, Mollie! Love you!
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
Right back atcha, Sean -- only got one NMDR bud! ;-D
For those folks not familiar with the acronym NMDR--it's stands for 'National Mill Dog Rescue,' an organization formed in tribute to puppy mill dogs, and in memory of Italian Greyhound 'Lily.'
For her story, please see below.
NATIONAL MILL DOG RESCUE
Mollie
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
evening mollie...
it's sad, the republicans are in, so now the democrats have political cover to allow public employees unions to be destroyed. i doubt that unions are going to last much longer as viable institutions.
You're right about that, Joe. I think
I'm going to wait until I finish attempting to obtain info from the AFGE (American Federation Of Government Employees), before I write the blurb that I mentioned. I began so late this afternoon attempting to contact both the D.C. office, and the Pacific Northwest office, that I got a recording for the one in the Eastern Time zone.
As a last resort, I decided to see if I could get some information from the national AFGE website. Guess what I saw on their website? A webpage with a picture of Pelosi, and one with Steny Hoyer, respectively!
I mean, give me a break--are these folks serious?
Mollie
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
unions
Oh, there will be viable unions out there. But they won't be the ones who've been lining up to kiss Killary's
assring in 2016.Instead, they'll be of the ilk of the IWW and UE, the more radical and democratic (note capitalization please!) unions which still fight for their members and do what their members want.
But the AFL-CIO, and its members, are moribund -- and probably ought to be as they're collecting dues for increasingly little service to the rank-and-file membership.
Note: Slavish servitude to Democrats (again, please note capitalization!) does NOT constitute service to the rank-and-file membership!
I recommend opening the UE link and read up on how they are doing political action. They're doing it right!
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
Likely the UFW, too.
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 --
Yes, definitely the UFW!
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
Good points--I'll defer to you and EL
regarding the unions you both referenced. BTW, followed the UE link, and it did look promising.
To be clear, I am not anti-union, generally speaking. Before I took a supervisory position, I was an AFGE member, and a steward. Of course, AFGE is mostly a white collar/professional union, but represents WG, or Wage Grade employees who are tradespersons/blue collar, as well. There are just generally a lot fewer of those types of positions in the federal government, including on military installations. Exceptions are those installations which have a BLM (Bureau Of Land Management) District Office, and/or an Army Corps Of Engineers office in residence.
Anyhoo, at one time, AFGE most definitely represented their rank-and-file. Today, from what I gather, not so much.
Mollie
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
a complete history of sabotaging Jeremy Corbyn
Blairite traitors
evening gj...
excellent and compelling article, thanks!
Evening all ...
The Oliver Stone Putin interviews are up on YouTube. Looks like a good series, well worth watching.We watched Part 1 last night, we'll watch Part 2 tonight. I assume Part 3 will be posted tomorrow morning and Part 4 the day after that at the same location.
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
Had been causally looking for these
thanks for providing the links
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
evening azazello...
thanks for the links! i was wondering if the programs would become available for folks who refuse to pay for teevee.
It's like I always say, joe ...
Paying for TV is like paying a reverse sewage company to pump raw sewage into your house.
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
Good stuff!
They've been great so far.
"Obama promised transparency, but Assange is the one who brought it."
(No subject)
They say that there's a broken light for every heart on Broadway
They say that life's a game and then they take the board away
They give you masks and costumes and an outline of the story
And leave you all to improvise their vicious cabaret-- A. Moore
evening jq...
thanks for the tune. have a great evening!
Another article of interest defying fair use extraction
..... came out today in Jacobin: Repressing Radicalism. It's about how the Espionage and Sedition Acts, now 100 years old today, have been used and abused to chill our supposedly Constitutionally guaranteed free speech in the USA.
And may any afterlife he should be in be kind to Eugene Debs!
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
evening tk...
thanks for the article. it's amazing that wilson is not reviled as a particularly nasty authoritarian given his actions in office.
woodrow wilson
And a racist dick to beat the band, too! Birth of a Nation a documentary?
Aaaiiiieeee!!
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
You can take the man out of Dixie but you can't
take Dixie out of the man.
Woodrow Wilson was an old-line (and hard-line) Virginian. In his day that automatically meant racist.
(DW Griffith was a tool and a fool, just regurgitating what he had lapped up at his Daddy's knee. There was no malice in him, but plenty of ignorance - he didn't even know what he didn't know.)
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
Just a note about Senate sanctions on Russia and Iran.
Gawd, I love irony. Looks like the Germans and Austrians are hoping mad about the Senate sanctions on Russia. Appears the Germans and Austrians think the sanctions are meant to remove the Russians as competitors in the natural gas market at the expense of a number of European countries and companies. And of course, EU countries start buying LNG from the US--essentially moving profits and jobs from Europe to the US.
https://www.ft.com/content/27e28a44-51b0-11e7-a1f2-db19572361bb
Gawd, the corrupt world of the fossil fuel industries.
Watch for the EU
to start tossing over their moorings to the US and its policies. We've become a liability.
"Obama promised transparency, but Assange is the one who brought it."
Would not be surprising.
Russia issued counter sanctions early, and really hurt some sectors of EU economy. One of biggest seems to be agriculture. Hurt French farmers big time when all French imports stopped and prices dropped. Even Lithuanian pig farmers protested. Traffic through Lithuania's main port was greatly reduced as ship traffic stopped from EU for goods to Russian markets. From what I read, Russian farmers like the sanctions as demand for their goods has increased. Suddenly you know, Russian cheese ain't so bad.
I remember back in the day, pundits used to argue for trade with in particular communist countries as there was nothing more subversive than jeans and rock-n-roll. The idea was that the more countries traded with each other, the more bound they were to each other.
Germany is making noises
that they've had enough of this destabilizing conflict crap. Being Germany though, they are a little unsure of their power and have a tendency towards passive-aggressive behavior.
I expect them and Austria to play a good cop/bad cop routine, with Austria demanding that the sanctions be lifted, and Germany having to (grudgingly) go along with it, to keep the peace in the EU.
The upshot though, is that the EU is fed up with these games that benefit no one but the US, and I don't expect them to play much longer. This is one of the few benefits of a Trump administration, the mask is off now.
"Obama promised transparency, but Assange is the one who brought it."
evening mr webster...
looks like the senate is offering trump a hand in turning the us into a pariah state.
That is for sure.
If Trump bombs N. Korea, I am sure the Senate will back him up. And then there is Iran ....
I have the image of Oliver Stone etched in my mind when we asked "what is wrong with detente". And really he is asking, what is wrong with talking and diplomacy.
trump really does faithfully represent the country...
as it has been formed by the 1%. a 1% creation so drunk on its own excesses that it disdains a fig leaf to hide its naked greed, corruption and aggression.
It looks like we found out why
the base in Tanf was set up, with the rocket artillery. It was a stepping stone to Zakf, and from there they'll establish a border with ISIS controlled regions, and physically choke off any potential Shia corridor to Iraq.
They'll claim they're there to fight ISIS, but it looks like they're actually containing Syrian government forces.
"Obama promised transparency, but Assange is the one who brought it."
evening dervish...
what they are trying to do is to block iran from having a corridor to access the mediterranean.
it's a mixture of pipeline politics and the deluded wahabbis desire to destroy the shia "threat" to saudi rule.
Perfect choice for some Curtis Mayfield tonight.
Thanks Joe. Tunes came in handy.
All the propaganda and media-manufactured distraction has led me even further away from the circus than usual. Such a drag. For instance, where's the reporting on the UPS worker's plea to management that he'd been working excessive hours and couldn't take it anymore? As far as I see it, another casualty of the economic downturn, who just snapped. Will never hear any thoughtful introspection about that on the MSM, or laying the blame at the feet of the Economic Terrorists of Wall St, who ultimately brought it about.
Curtis was a true soul brother. So many great tunes and many thoughtful, compassionate messages. His solo stuff really captured the zeitgeist of the early 70's.
Went to the AfroPunk Festival in Brooklyn a few years ago. Was great. And although we missed Bad Brains, who I really wanted to see, we did see Meshell Ndegeocello, who was amazing, and Fishbone, one of my all-time favorite live bands who I've been going to see since the late 80's. We met them there (I've met them in the past) and they're super cool and fun, bright, thoughtful dudes. Got my Fishbone "Fuck Racism" shirt signed by them that afternoon. They all went to high school together in Los Angeles. Nice documentary here. Their shows are some of the most fun you'll see; I'd never seen so many people po-go-ing up and down in unison as I did when they played The Ritz in 1988 - I swore the floor was going to cave in as it appeared to be going concave.
For their biggest record "Truth and Soul" they covered "Freddie's Dead." Here's them doing it at that show:
Needed that. Thanks, brother.
"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"
- Kurt Vonnegut
evening mark...
wow! that's a really different version of "freddie's dead," pretty cool!
a perfect antidote to the news. have a great evening!
Good evening, Joe, and thanks.
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 --
Saudi diplomat carelessly kills Berlin bike rider. No penalty
Can’t be charged with anything, can’t even be fined under the law.
https://www.taz.de/Unfall-mit-Todesfolge/!5417862/
Diplomatic immunity might well have the same result
here in the US too. It sucks though.
"Obama promised transparency, but Assange is the one who brought it."
Hello js, bluesters ! Thanks for the EB joe.
Thanks for crafting out this fine brew for all us little guys.
The biggest threat to local homo sapiens from the elephants pictured here is to the women who sally forth in the morning to cut trees weighing maybe 50 pounds or more and carry them back to their villages for cooking on their heads. Elephants are almost invisible when moving through the roadside bush in twilight, and if surprised, will lash out, especially if accompanied by their young. 3-4 villagers a year are killed by elephants in the area where we go and camp for a month most years. Earlier this year one person was killed on a secondary road near our camp while trying to ride his bike from his workplace at another safari camp to a mobile clinic. Another person was killed while we were there. This person had allegedly practiced witchcraft on his fellow villagers who had then appealed to the area cheif for help. The cheif summoned him and he road his bike. Not sure what the cheif decided but when he left for home he was attacked by and elephant and killed. Last year we convinced one of the barmen at the campsite to get us some mountain bikes and lead us on a biking safari exercise ride into the village, a ride he took himself most days to and from work. This year, we decided maybe we would just walk around camp for exercise. Mfuwe, Zambia, May 2016
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
afternoon do...
glad to hear that you have been dodging the elephants successfully. do please keep it up.
reminds me of that old music class joke - you have to c-sharp or you'll b-flat.
take care!