The Evening Blues - 7-28-17



eb1pt12


The day's news roundup + tonight's musical feature: Johnnie Johnson

Hey! Good Evening!

This evening's music features blues and rock and roll piano player Johnnie Johnson. Enjoy!

Johnnie Johnson - Movin' Out

"The idea of accountability in Vietnam, Nicaragua and now Iraq - the media never has that in its quiver. When you see time after time there is no possibility of Nuremberg [war crime trials], we're doomed to have it repeated."

-- Haskell Wexler


News and Opinion

US-Trained Forces Linked to Mosul War Crimes

An Iraqi army division trained by the United States government allegedly executed several dozen prisoners in Mosul’s Old City, Human Rights Watch said today. Two international observers detailed the summary killings of four people by the Iraqi army’s 16th Division in mid-July 2017, and saw evidence that the unit had executed many more people, including a boy.

The US government should suspend all assistance and support to the 16th Division pending Iraq’s full investigation of the allegations and appropriate prosecutions, Human Rights Watch said. Under the “Leahy Law,” the US is prohibited from providing military assistance to any unit of foreign security forces if there is credible evidence that the unit has committed gross violations of human rights and no “effective measures” are being taken to bring those responsible to justice. ...

Two international observers independently told Human Rights Watch that on a day in mid-July at about 10 a.m. in Mosul’s Old City, they saw a group of Iraqi soldiers who identified themselves as members of the 16th Division lead four naked men down an alleyway, after which they heard multiple gunshots. The observers said other soldiers standing in the street told them that the four men were Islamic State (also known as ISIS) fighters.

The observers said that they had been in the area throughout the morning and witnessed no fighting or gunfire in the area. One said they saw the soldiers beat the four men with their rifle butts before leading them away. They said they photographed the incident but a commander later took their camera and deleted the pictures, then ushered them into a nearby building. While they were inside, they heard gunshots. An officer then came in and told the observer to leave the area.

One of the observers said that as they were leaving the area, they saw through the doorway of a damaged house about 20 meters down the street the bodies of a number of naked men lying in the doorway. They said one of the dead men was lying with his hands behind his back and appeared to have been handcuffed, and there was a rope around his legs. The observer returned the next day and photographed three naked bodies and a mattress that appeared to cover additional bodies that they had seen the previous day, and shared the photo with Human Rights Watch.

‘Without any judge, without any trial’: HRW Iraq researcher speaks out on Mosul killings

The U.S. Hypocrisy of ‘Human Rights’

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is reportedly considering closing the Office of Global Criminal Justice, a tiny agency with a meager budget of $3 million a year, located within the State Department. ... The New York Times reported that human rights advocates saw the proposal as an example of “the Trump administration’s indifference to human rights outside North Korea, Iran and Cuba.” Human rights activists also said that shutting the Office “would hamper efforts to publicize atrocities and bring war criminals to justice.” Newsweek reported, however, that the Obama administration also reportedly considered downgrading the office and merging it with another agency.

According to the Newsweek article, the office offered rewards for information on “war criminals, and has inveighed against brutal dictators, including Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.” But the article also noted it “has not criticized Saudi Arabia or other American allies with dismal human rights records.” The same Newsweek piece explained that the office was formed following the 1996 passage of the War Crimes Act. ... Newsweek writer Nina Burleigh correctly noted that when “the CIA began using torture early in the Iraq War and, later, jailing people indefinitely and without trial in Guantanamo, the U.S. was in open breach of the conventions.” As noted above, the Office of Global Criminal Justice has inveighed against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. But it seemed to have had no problem with the Syrian government when CIA officials outsourced torture to the Syrian government earlier in the so-called Global War on Terror.

So, if there was ever a U.S. government agency standing as a symbol for U.S. hypocrisy, the Office of Global Criminal Justice is it.

The closing the Office of Global Criminal Justice just makes official what has been U.S. policy since 9/11. If it is true that hypocrisy is the tribute that vice pays to virtue, then the U.S. government has showered tribute upon vice with the hypocrisy of the Office of Global Criminal Justice. If it closes, it means we won’t even pay tribute anymore to virtue, preferring to fully embrace vice in a display of our “authenticity.” And that may be the one example where the “Office of Global Criminal Justice” fulfills its mission to “expose the truth.”

Saudi-led coalition stops oil tankers from entering Yemen, U.N. says

A Saudi-led military coalition and the government of Yemen denied four oil tankers access to a Yemeni port last week, a move that could hurt the flow of aid and exacerbate a cholera outbreak in the country, a United Nations agency said.

The vessels were on their way to Hodeidah, a Red Sea port controlled by the rebel Houthi movement that is aligned with Iran. Saudi Arabia, a regional rival of Iran, is leading a military coalition fighting the Houthis.

More than 1,900 people have died from cholera in Yemen and 400,000 cases have been reported since the start of the outbreak in April. The disease spreads in polluted water, and fuel is needed to run pumps for clean water and power generators in hospitals, among other uses. ...

The four ships were carrying just over 71,000 metric tons of fuel, which represents over 10 percent of Yemen's total monthly fuel needs.

Top Trump Middle East adviser ousted from National Security Council

The White House said Friday that Derek Harvey, a senior Middle East adviser to President Trump, is no longer with the National Security Council (NSC). ... The Weekly Standard first reported Harvey’s departure, saying he was fired effective immediately. He served as senior director for Middle East policy on the NSC.

The move comes amid fierce disagreements within the administration over its approach to Iran.

Harvey was known as a hawk on the matter, among a contingent of Trump advisers who are pushing for a more aggressive tack toward Iran by urging Trump to scrap the nuclear deal struck by former President Obama. But others, including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary James Mattis, want a more measured approach and reportedly convinced the president to stop short of doing so.

Thousands of worshippers surge into Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque, 113 injured by Israeli Police

Thousands of Muslim worshippers surged into Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque on Thursday and at least 113 were hurt in scuffles with police after Israel lifted security measures imposed at the sacred site in the face of days of violent protests. Chaotic scenes unfolded as Israeli police used stun grenades to try to control crowds charging forward when the last gate Muslims use to enter Al-Aqsa was opened after a stand-off lasting several hours. ...

For the past two weeks, most Muslims refused to enter Al-Aqsa, instead praying in streets around Jerusalem's Old City.

Earlier on Thursday, the Waqf Muslim trust that manages the mosque declared itself satisfied that Israeli authorities had scrapped all the new security measures and reverted to the set-up before July 14. The Waqf urged Muslims to return to Al-Aqsa.

Putin signs Syria base deal, cementing Russia's presence there for half a century

President Vladimir Putin has signed a law ratifying a deal with the Syrian government allowing Russia to keep its air base in Syria for almost half a century, official documents show.

The original deal, signed in Damascus in January, sets out the terms under which Russia can use its Hmeymim air base in Latakia Province which it has used to carry out air strikes against forces opposing President Bashar al-Assad. ...

The document says Russian forces will be deployed at the Hmeymim base for 49 years with the option of extending that arrangement for 25-year periods.

Rand Paul blocks McConnell from setting up defense bill vote

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) blocked Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) request early Friday morning for the chamber to advance the annual defense funding bill. McConnell made the request in the immediate aftermath of the Senate's shocking rejection of a scaled-back bill to repeal parts of ObamaCare, asking for unanimous consent to proceed to the defense legislation. ...

"Senator Rand Paul requested two bipartisan amendments, one on ending indefinite detention and one on AUMFs," said Paul communications director Sergio Gor, referring to authorizations for the use of military force.

"He looks forward to working with leadership and the committee to get this done soon."

US Sanctions against Russia: Moscow orders U.S. diplomatic staff cut in retaliation

With the European Union Livid, Congress Pushes Forward on Sanctions Against Russia, Iran and North Korea

A rare role reversal played out in Washington on Thursday night, as the Senate took a break from debating the repeal of the Affordable Care Act to pass a bipartisan bill that will serve to alienate U.S. allies and isolate America. That job, of course, is typically reserved for President Trump, but Congress showed decisively that the administration doesn’t have a monopoly on the practice, voting 98-2 to apply new sanctions to Russia, Iran, and for good measure, North Korea, too.

The Iran sanctions threaten to blow up the Iran nuclear deal, a landmark foreign policy achievement of President Obama’s, one negotiated with both European allies and with Russia and China. The Russian sanctions have been met with threats of retaliation not just from Russia but from the European Union, which is apoplectic that the U.S. is threatening to undo its regional energy policy. And the North Korean sanctions, well, nobody really knows what those will do. ...

The sanctions may be a symbolic move for Congress, but they are very real to Europeans who do business with neighboring Russia. On Sunday, the European Union indicated that they would retaliate against additional sanctions on Russia, fearful that they would impact energy companies. A memo obtained from Brussels by the Financial Times said that the EU should “should stand ready to act within days” if the bill was “adopted without EU concerns taken into account.”

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., told The Intercept that the concerns of U.S. allies come second to the need to punish Russia for its election interference. ... Another author of the bill, Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., an ardent foe of the Iran deal, said that very little was done to take the EU concerns into account. “Not much, to be honest with you,” he told The Intercept. ... Menendez said he wasn’t overly concerned with the European reaction, and that it was up to the administration to smooth it over.

Collateral Damage: U.S. Sanctions Aimed at Russia Strike Western European Allies

Do they know what they are doing? When the U.S. Congress adopts draconian sanctions aimed mainly at disempowering President Trump and ruling out any move to improve relations with Russia, do they realize that the measures amount to a declaration of economic war against their dear European “friends”? Whether they know or not, they obviously don’t care. U.S. politicians view the rest of the world as America’s hinterland, to be exploited, abused and ignored with impunity. ...

This congressional temper tantrum flails in all directions. The main casualties are likely to be America’s dear beloved European allies, notably Germany and France. Who also sometimes happen to be competitors, but such crass considerations don’t matter in the sacred halls of the U.S. Congress, totally devoted to upholding universal morality. Under U.S. sanctions, any EU nation doing business with Russia may find itself in deep trouble. In particular, the latest bill targets companies involved in financing Nord Stream 2, a pipeline designed to provide Germany with much needed natural gas from Russia.

By the way, just to help out, American companies will gladly sell their own fracked natural gas to their German friends, at much higher prices. That is only one way in which the bill would subject European banks and enterprises to crippling restrictions, lawsuits and gigantic fines. While the U.S. preaches “free competition”, it constantly takes measures to prevent free competition at the international level. ...

European leaders reacted indignantly to the latest sanctions. The German foreign ministry said it was “unacceptable for the United States to use possible sanctions as an instrument to serve the interest of U.S. industry”. The French foreign ministry denounced the “extraterritoriality” of the U.S. legislation as unlawful, and announced that “To protect ourselves against the extraterritorial effects of US legislation, we will have to work on adjusting our French and European laws”.

Tensions Rise as Russia Retaliates Against New Sanctions Bill

Members of the U.S. diplomatic staff in Russia will be expelled in the coming weeks, following an order on Friday by the Russian Foreign Ministry. The move was made in response to a new economic sanctions bill that passed in both houses of the U.S. Congress.

Russia said it would also seize two properties used by the U.S. Embassy by next week. Reuters cited a report by Russia's Interfax news agency saying "hundreds" of employees would be affected, by the exact number was not clear.

The legislation, meant to retaliate against Russia for its alleged interference in the 2016 election, passed in a vote of 419 to 3 on Thursday, effectively veto-proofing the bill should President Donald Trump want to overrule it. The White House has said in recent weeks that it didn't want new sanctions in place. The Obama administration imposed earlier sanctions late last year just after the election. ...

On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he "very much regrets" the strained relations between the U.S. and Russia, and accused the U.S. of displaying "boorish behavior" and "anti-Russia hysteria."

The Russian foreign ministry called allegations that it meddled in the 2016 election "an absolutely invented pretext."

North Korea issues challenge to Trump by firing new missile into Sea of Japan

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has issued a fresh challenge to Donald Trump, firing what military officials in the US and South Korea identified as a ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan.

The launch, late on Friday – which came less than a month after Pyongyang claimed to have tested its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) – took place in North Korea’s Chagang province, towards the border with China, at about 11.41pm local time, South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said.

US officials told NBC the missile had flown for about 1,000km and had landed within Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

“We assess that this missile was an intercontinental ballistic missile, as had been expected,” Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis said in a statement. “The missile was launched from Mupyong-ni and traveled about 1,000 km before splashing down in the Sea of Japan. We are working with our interagency partners on a more detailed assessment,” he said.

Steve Bannon Wants Facebook and Google Regulated Like Utilities

Tech companies like Facebook and Google that have become essential elements of 21st-century life should be regulated as utilities, top White House adviser Steve Bannon has argued, according to three people who’ve spoken to him about the issue. Bannon’s push for treating essential tech platforms as utilities pre-dates the Democratic “Better Deal” that was released this week. “Better Deal,” the branding for Democrats’ political objectives, included planks aimed at breaking up monopolies in a variety of sectors, suggesting that anti-monopoly politics is on the rise on both the right and left.

Bannon’s basic argument, as he has outlined it to people who’ve spoken with him, is that Facebook and Google have become effectively a necessity in contemporary life. Indeed, there may be something about an online social network or a search engine that lends itself to becoming a natural monopoly, much like a cable company, a water and sewer system, or a railroad. The sources recounted the conversations on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to give the accounts on record, and could face repercussions for doing so. ...

Regulating a company as a utility does not mean that the government controls it, but rather that it is much more tightly regulated in what it is able to do and prices it is able to charge. And it doesn’t mean every element of the company would be regulated in that way. For Google — which now calls itself Alphabet and has already conveniently broken itself up into discrete elements — it may only be the search function that would be regulated like a utility.

Under the Obama administration, the Federal Communications Commission moved forward on a plan to regulate internet service providers as utilities, barring them from slowing down traffic to a site in order to pressure it into paying higher fees. The Trump administration is pushing to reverse that move, which complicates Bannon’s message.

A Monster Payday in Argentina Shows a Flaw in Trump’s NAFTA Renegotiation

A company that specializes in bankrolling lawsuits has won a huge payday from the government of Argentina, in one of the biggest examples of financiers using the secret courts embedded in trade agreements as casinos. Burford Capital, the world’s largest firm for “litigation finance,” will earn $140 million on a $13 million investment in an investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) case against Argentina over the nationalization of Aerolineas Argentinas, the nation’s flagship airline. The case was brought under Argentina’s bilateral investment treaty with Spain; the investors in the airline were Spanish.

Under ISDS, part of over 3,000 trade agreements worldwide, corporations can sue governments for changes in law or regulation that violate trade agreements, and win awards equaling “expected future profits” they might have otherwise gained. The idea was to protect investors from seizure of assets, outside the court system of the offending government. But instead of helping companies resolve legitimate disputes over seized assets, ISDS has increasingly become a means for rich investors to speculate on lawsuits, winning huge awards and forcing local taxpayers to foot the bill.

Donald Trump did not seek to eliminate ISDS in his negotiating objectives for reimagining NAFTA. ...

In 2010, investors with three insolvent affiliates of the Spanish travel firm Marsans filed an ISDS claim, arguing that Argentina forcibly expropriated the national airlines from them, first by restricting fare prices and finally by passing a law forcing a sale for $1. Argentina said it nationalized the airlines because they were mismanaged and deeply in debt, and paid no money in the sale because they were functionally worthless.

Investors sought $1.6 billion in the case, but in a 400-page ruling, the ISDS tribunal issued $324 million in awards. ... Burford agreed in 2010 to pay $13 million in legal fees for the case, in exchange for a cut of any judgment. The firm now stands to take home over 40 percent of the award.

Good idea. Perhaps if it makes all the cops quit, it's an even better idea.

Minneapolis mayoral candidate Raymond Dehn proposes disarming police of guns

State Representative and Minneapolis mayoral candidate Raymond Dehn is calling for major policing changes, proposing to take away guns from the majority of officers. Dehn is one of several candidates running to beat current Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges in the fall.

He recently won the support of voters at the Democratic Farmer Labor convention and now his call to disarm police of their side guns is garnering major attention. "I'm not saying they don't have access to that, just like they have access to more lethal weapons in their cars, I would believe they would still have access to their guns in their cars," said Dehn. ...

Dehn says the details of his no gun proposal are still in the early stages and he wants to sit down with police officers and come up with a strategy that keeps both the community and law enforcement safe. But the head of the police union, Lt. Bob Kroll, says there's not a chance this idea would fly with any cop.

"Far from Over": Senate Narrowly Defeats Obamacare Repeal, But More Attacks on Healthcare Loom

John McCain sinks 'skinny repeal' of Obamacare health act

Arizona senator John McCain torpedoed his party’s Obamacare repeal bill – and with it Donald Trump’s legislative agenda – in a night of high drama on Capitol Hill in the early hours of Friday morning.

McCain’s vote against the bill delivered a major setback for Republicans who have spent seven years vowing to repeal and replace Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act.

McCain, who returned to Washington this week after being diagnosed with brain cancer, joined fellow Republicans Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska in voting down the so-called “skinny repeal” bill 51-49. Their no votes had been expected, but McCain’s came as a stunning and decisive blow to Senate Republicans and the president.

The bill would have removed the individual mandate, a key aspect of Obamacare which requires all Americans to have health insurance or pay a fine. In an analysis released roughly an hour after the bill was filed, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that 15 million people would lose their cover if it passed and premiums would rise by 20%.

Trump issued a statement on Twitter early on Friday morning in which he insisted that he now wanted to let Obamacare collapse. He said: “3 Republicans and 48 Democrats let the American people down. As I said from the beginning, let ObamaCare implode, then deal. Watch!”

Heh. One could have mixed feelings about Trump's threat. While the,"nice state you have there, it'd be a shame if anything happened to it" message is kind of gangsterish, the details seem to indicate that Trump's idea of a threat is not to allow the destruction of Alaska's environment. In a strange way, it sounds kind of like a win-win.

Trump administration threatens retribution against Alaska over Murkowski health votes

President Donald Trump isn't going to just let go of Sen. Lisa Murkowski's no vote Tuesday against debating Obamacare repeal.

Early Wednesday, Trump took to Twitter to express displeasure with Murkowski's vote. By that afternoon, each of Alaska's two Republican senators had received a phone call from Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke letting them know the vote had put Alaska's future with the administration in jeopardy. ...

Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan said the call from Zinke heralded a "troubling message."

"I'm not going to go into the details, but I fear that the strong economic growth, pro-energy, pro-mining, pro-jobs and personnel from Alaska who are part of those policies are going to stop," Sullivan said.

Efforts and issues on the line include nominations of Alaskans to Interior posts, an effort to build a road out of King Cove through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, and future opportunities to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and expand drilling in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, among other regulatory issues that are a priority for Murkowski and Sullivan.



the horse race



Empire Files: The Hidden Purging of Millions of Voters



the evening greens


Answering Annihilation: Some Notes on Earth’s Execution

Half of all wild animals on Earth have been wiped out. You may have missed the news. It came from a scientific study mentioned on page 5 of last Wednesday’s New York Times. You had to flip past the usual stories of Trump regime scandals, four jewelry advertisements, and an ode to a slain officer from the New York Police Department. “’Biological Annihilation’ Said to Be Underway.” The article took up only as much space as a Sootheby’s ad on the same page announcing jewelry sales in New York City. While “biological annihilation” sounds like an evil plot thought up by a Bond villain, the term actually comes from a peer-reviewed study in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The authors Gerardo Ceballos, Paul Ehrlich, and Rodolfo Dirzo use it to describe the ongoing destruction of local populations within different species. ...

It is not just nonhumans facing extinctions. The authors write, “Humanity will eventually pay a very high price for the decimation of the only assemblage of life that we know of in the universe.” ... The Climate Vulnerability Monitor estimates that 400,000 people currently die each year from global warming, most “due to hunger and communicable diseases.” The vast majority of them reside in the Global South, making them unworthy victims in the eyes of presidents such as Obama and Trump, who have subsidized and protected climate-destroying factory farm and fossil fuel interests.

The PNAS report’s authors, despite their solid grip on scientific matters, show a political naivety when they point to “human overpopulation” as an “ultimate driver” of wildlife’s destruction. One of the authors, Paul Ehrlich, has a history of blaming ecological problems on poor communities in and from the Global South. ... Ehrlich’s misleading analysis distracts attention from the real “enemy of nature” (a phrase by ecosocialist Joel Kovel). The real roots of ecological destruction are in domination and particularly in the capitalist system, where a business must constantly grow or else risk getting squeezed out by competitors. The profit-driven ruling class must constantly search for new commodities to produce and new ecosystems to plunder. These billionaires, not slum dwellers or immigrants, are the ones responsible for the murder of Earth.

It was recently calculated in the “Carbon Majors Report” that just 100 companies are responsible for some 70 percent of global-warming emissions since 1988. By Oxfam’s estimate, the world’s richest 10 percent produce half of all greenhouse gas pollution. The solution, then, must involve class struggle against the ultra-wealthy. Both the PNAS and New York pieces omit this reality. With an optimism about new technological fixes, Wallace-Wells seems to think governments will voluntarily shift their course in an ecologically sound direction. He reports, “[C]limate scientists have a strange kind of faith: We will find a way to forestall radical warming, they say, because we must.” Repeatedly, Wallace-Wells uses the pronoun “we” to lump together all humans, rich and poor alike, into the same political category: “if we stop burning fossil fuels,” “should we stay the present course.” This lumping obscures key social antagonisms.

In today’s plutocratic world, a mere 5 people are as wealthy as 50 percent of humanity combined. “We” are not the problem, and no solution will come about unless the false unity implied by Wallace-Wells’s “we” is dismantled. The capitalists causing the crisis do not, and structurally cannot, care about their victims. To quote the Industrial Workers of the World, “The working class and the employing class have nothing in common.”

Meet the Two Catholic Workers Who Secretly Sabotaged the Dakota Access Pipeline to Halt Construction

The Brightest Meteor Shower in Recorded Human History Happens August 12, 2017

There is going to be a meteor shower on 12th of August, 2017. According to astronomers this will be the brightest shower in the recorded human history. It will light up the night sky and some of these might even be visible during the day. This meteor shower is being considered as once in a lifetime opportunity as the next meteor shower of such kind will be after 96 years.

The Perseid meteor shower, one of the brighter meteor showers of the year, occurs every year between July 17 and August 24. The shower tends to peak around August 9-13. ...

The Perseids can be seen in the Northern Hemisphere. Look between the radiant, which will be in the north-east part of the sky, and the zenith (the point in the sky directly above you).


Also of Interest

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

What Does Russiagate Look Like to Russians?

PBS’ Anti-Russia Propaganda Series

Media Mourn End of CIA Killing Syrians and Strengthening Al Qaeda

Rania Khalek reports from Damascus:

As the U.S. Backs Away From Syria’s Civil War, War-Weary Residents of Damascus Struggle to Survive

Netanyahu Seeks US Support for Expelling Arab Villages

The Real Scandal: Americans Don’t Care About Afghanistan

Hipster-bashing in California: angry residents fight back against gentrification

Overlooked class action against Democratic Party and Wasserman Schultz turns nasty

Despite What the Press Says, “Maverick” McCain Has a Long and Distinguished Record of Horribleness

The Other Side of War: Fury and Repression in St. Louis

Wells Fargo at It Again, Stuck Over 800,000 Customers With Unnecessary Car Insurance

Bug in top smartphones could lead to unstoppable malware, researcher says


A Little Night Music

Johnnie Johnson - Johnnie's boogie

Johnnie Johnson - Johnnie B. Bad

John Lee Hooker & Johnnie Johnson - I Want To Hug You

Johnnie Johnson - Real Good Woman

Johnnie Johnson - I Know You Can

Chuck Berry and Johnnie Johnson - House of Blue Lights

Johnnie Johnson - Tanqueray

Johnnie Johnson - I'm Goin' Fishin'

Johnnie Johnson Band - Tossin' and Turnin'

Johnnie Johnson w/Barbara Carr - Black Nights

Johnnie Johnson - Rockinitis

Johnnie Johnson - Honky Tonk Train Blues


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Comments

Arrow's picture

A good one as always....strange but good.

A comment about attempted 'self abuse' blows up twitter.

Alaska gets a Win-Win on a healthcare vote.

The blues are as good as always..thanks for that.

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I want a Pony!

joe shikspack's picture

@Arrow

heh, i'm feeling pretty good about alaska. i wonder if we can get some other reps, say in western states, to piss off the t. rump so that perhaps he will refuse to trim down their national monuments and turn them into a series of frack pads, strip mines and logging camps.

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NCTim's picture

Happy honky tonk Friday,

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The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -

Azazello's picture

@NCTim
that Johnson actually wrote Chuck Berry's tunes.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0u2A2HEs-Q width:400 height:240]

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

joe shikspack's picture

@Azazello

it seems like a pretty good theory to me. i like to think of them as co-writers, johnson provided the musical inspiration and berry provided the lyrical excellence.

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joe shikspack's picture

@NCTim

happy honky tonkin', buckaroo...

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dervish's picture

the swastika and several racist epithets, in a bizarre effort to restrict their use.

Supreme Court ruling leads to offensive trademark requests

In light of this, I've decided to trademark the words "and", "or" and "but". Every time anyone uses these words, please send JtC a nickel.

Thanks.

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"Obama promised transparency, but Assange is the one who brought it."

joe shikspack's picture

@dervish

heh, seems pretty funny that they would try to trademark a symbol that's thousands of years old and has been used (both forwards and backwards) in any number of cultures.

good luck with that, fellas. Smile

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Meteor Man's picture

Disarm American cops: http://www.fox9.com/news/270151845-story
Not just in Minneapolis. Everywhere! A Right Cop can do the job without being a homicidal maniac. If they use caution and de-escalation tactics nobody has to die. It can be done. If wrong cops don't like it they can take a hike.

Even L.A. Firefighters are getting away with blood thirsty mayhem:

An [off duty] L.A. firefighter choked and seriously injured a man giving out Halloween candy. His sentence? No jail

And he still has his job:
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-firefighter-plea-deal-20170726-...

It's not just L.A.P.D. cops. Anybody who works for the Los Angeles City Crime Family will never go to jail.

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"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn

joe shikspack's picture

@Meteor Man

i agree wholeheartedly!

twin cities police easily startled

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Azazello's picture

I don't do that very often anymore but I just had to have this one by Ozomatli. It's called Non-Stop Mexico-Jamaica and the basic idea is to play Mexican pop hits over reggae rhythms. There's a Selena song on there, Como la Flor, as well as La Bamba, Besame Mucho, El Noa Noa by Juan Gabriel and a version of the Vincente Frenandez classic Volver Volver. It's got this on there too.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=782kRXTuYiQ width:400 height:240]
Have a nice weekend everybody. And give the Russians back their dachas.

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

joe shikspack's picture

@Azazello

i still buy cd's every couple of months to feed my music habit and to keep my local music store in business.

this is my favorite reggae mash-up band:

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Azazello's picture

@joe shikspack
How'd you discover these guys, at a blues festival or something, do they gig around Baltimore?
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_wLVCLPx0M width:400 height:240]

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0 users have voted.

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

joe shikspack's picture

@Azazello

i think that they're a california band. back when i was doing radio, their label sent the station their first cd. a whole bunch of us flipped out over it. i couldn't stop laughing all the way through it.

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Unabashed Liberal's picture

Gotta run to an ATM for a few minutes, but will be back to vent about a piece that I saw posted earlier today.

Heck, I'm even considering contacting HuffPo for a correction, or retraction. (On principle, only--I could care less about the folks referenced.)

Thanks for tonight's EB, Joe.

Been dodging thunderstorms (not severe) all day--but, it's sure nice that the extraordinarily oppressive heat has abated somewhat. Biggrin

Bye

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

"You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink."--Old English Proverb

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

joe shikspack's picture

@Unabashed Liberal

it's been cool and raining here on and off since this afternoon. we're supposed to get 3 inches of rain today through tomorrow. i guess ms shikspack's garden will be pleased. Smile

heh, imagine that, bad journalism at huffpo. you could knock me over with a feather.

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that is cataract free! Perfect score on every exam. On Thursday, I do the right eye, and with luck, and an amazing dr., and cutting edge (of eyes! ouch!) technology, I should be able to live out whatever life I have without glasses, other than some sexy sun shades.
On a whim, and to keep her mileage status, a friend offered me a cheap trip to Trinidad, not exactly on the top 10 world destination list. And I paid our local guide to take us to some places around the capital city to attend steel drum band concerts. We attended 3 in our 4 day stay.
Of all the music I love outside the classical realm, steel drum band music makes my top 10 list.
The passion for their art was palpable.
I say, make music, not war! Even if it is banging on a damn steel drum!
Thanks for the news and music and for all you do, joe.

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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

Deja's picture

@on the cusp Was wondering about you, lately. Glad to hear you're well and the surgery was successful. Fingers crossed for round two.

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@Deja Hey, Deja! Mann Eye Institute.
When you need it done, check them out.
Being 45 miles from the exams, 60 miles from the surgery site, trying to secure drivers when I can't see to drive, man, it has been an ordeal, chica.
I am seeing people truly suffer in their 70's and 80's from the surgery. If anybody says you need to check out your cataracts, my best advice for healing is to do it as young as they will recommend.
The first dr. that pronounced me legally blind said "in a couple of years, you need to have cataract surgery." I immediately scheduled Mann Eye Institute to find out exactly why I would want to be driving around on Texas highways with buses loaded up with kids while legally blind for 2 years. Like, I just might be successfully sued for knowingly driving while blind in a personal injury suit if I had an accident.
I just hope my right eye cooperates.
And let's do lunch before I head to Africa August 24!

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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

divineorder's picture

@on the cusp We are headed home our latest camping in Africa trip. Where are you going if I might ask?

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

@divineorder The tour is 15 days, 7 in Kenya, 8 in Tanzania. I really went all out on this tour. It is a high end, small group tour. I would have to look at the schedule and itinerary to get the names of the parks.
I have a great relationship with Gate 1 Travel. This will be my 18th tour with them, and I already have 2 more tours booked. If anyone reading this decides to book a tour with them, send me a pm, I will give you my name, and using it as a referral will get you a $50 discount right off the bat.
I am pea green with envy that you spend so much time out in the bush.

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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

@on the cusp @on the cusp 2 nights in Nairobi, 2 in Samburir Natl. Park, 1 in Aberadare Natl. Park, 1 in Lake Naerasha, 2 in Masai Mara Natl. Reserve, 1 in Arusha, 1 in Ngorongoro Conservation Area, 1 in Lake Manyara, 2 in Tarangire Natl. Park.
Edit: 3 nights in Serengeti Natl. Park.

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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

Deja's picture

@on the cusp Heard on the news last night that Hwy 146 in Seabrook is expanding and dislocating lots of businesses in doing so. Neptune Subs is one of them. I intend to make a road trip down there soon to have the very best au jus potato I've ever had, before they have to move. I used to live on the bay, and that little place was a treat.

I know that's a long way from either of us, but I just have this urge to go down there. Wouldn't mind some Oysters Gilhooley either - no kids, no pets, just bad ass oysters in a dive bar in San Leon.

Travel channel video won't embed, so here's the link to Oysters Gilhooley:
www.travelchannel.com/videos/gilhooleys-oyster-bar-0197025

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joe shikspack's picture

@on the cusp

glad to hear that your cataract surgery is going well. keeping my fingers crossed for round 2.

trinidad sounds cool. have fun!

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@joe shikspack One of 2 tar pits on earth. One of the most extraordinary bird habitats on earth. The largest Hindu statue in this hemisphere.
And steel drum band concerts where you get to meet and hug everybody in the band.

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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

@on the cusp

we have the trinidad and tobago steel band, which is a local institution. we just went to see them last month at a really nice outdoor concert.

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@joe shikspack awww man! Baltimore rocks!
I guess from Texas it is cheaper to fly to Trinidad than Baltimore, but I will check out Expedia.
That is just astonishing.

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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

@on the cusp

here's a link to t&t's website. if you click the performances tab at the top it brings up their calendar.

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@joe shikspack I bookmarked it! Thanks!

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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

and the boogie woogie really makes my spine stiffen up enough to make the hips roll into a seated swing. comment on randy paul blocks mcconnel setting up defence bill without re-visiting aumf, that's almost like good news, tanks a bunch

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joe shikspack's picture

@QMS

heh, i've been a news junkie since i was a kid (back when dinosaurs roamed the earth).

as republicans go, rand paul is far from the worst of them and damned if from time to time he doesn't do something useful. Smile

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dervish's picture

@joe shikspack crossover with Paul. We agree on most issues regarding foreign policy and war. I wish the other side had more like him, it would be a better world. For that matter, I wish our side had more like him, at least as far as war policy goes.

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"Obama promised transparency, but Assange is the one who brought it."

Could there be some upside to the sanctions bill if signed by Trump?. First, it may defang the whole "collusion" charges. Democratic party partisans and the elite media will keep it up, but for the mass of people who didn't care about the issue to begin with, a nothing burger now for sure. The bill may also marginalize those who wanted a military confrontation with Russia--the war mongers in both parties will have a harder time making their case with sanctions viewed as payback. Pundits have argued that all the sanctions so far on Russia have been super effective--can't back off that now and argue they are ineffective and military payback is needed.

The worst part is the sanctions against Iran which is just another step aimed at removing Obama's deal to put the US on a war footing with Iran.

Aside from the propaganda value of the sanctions bill, will it actually be effective? The EU has promised retaliation if the bill is signed and enforced. But if so, major feud between EU and US. In which case, sanctions may not be enforced over energy, which is huge source of income to Russia. So no stopping Euros going to Russia. If enforced, the EU will find ways around it. Does Merkel want to put the energy needs of Germany in the hands of American companies who will gouge every penny out of the Germans and endanger her election chances?

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dervish's picture

@MrWebster they are a bridge too far, and this over-reach will hurt the US more than it will any of the perceived targets.

The natural result should be to drive the EU, Russia, Iran and China into each other's arms. The world will soon discover that not only is the USA dispensable, but that dispensing with it alleviates most problems.

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"Obama promised transparency, but Assange is the one who brought it."

@dervish
and they're too pig-headed to realize it. Every move they've made for the past 20 years has come back around to bite them, and they still refuse to admit it. Unbelievable. All those advanced ivy league degrees, all that think-tank brain power, yet they can't seem to see beyond the ends of their own noses.

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native

dervish's picture

@native many of those with the advanced ivy league degrees in the think tanks aren't American anyway, and couldn't care less if we're gullible enough to fall for what they spit out.

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"Obama promised transparency, but Assange is the one who brought it."

@dervish Unless the sanctions bill is really and effectively ignored by everybody, there will be consequences which are not good for the imperial order. Every Russian conspiracy expert is constantly ranting about how Putin is subverting the relationship between the US and EU (like he was behind Brexit), and lo and behold, Congress hands him a gift.

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@dervish too much destructive power in the hands of too few (insert your own term here)...

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