The Evening Blues - 2-12-19



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The day's news roundup + tonight's musical feature: Screamin' Jay Hawkins

Hey! Good Evening!

This evening's music features r&b singer Screamin' Jay Hawkins. Enjoy!

Screamin' Jay Hawkins - I'm Your Man

“Divide and rule, the politician cries;
Unite and lead, is watchword of the wise.”

-- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe


News and Opinion

Pro-Israel Lobby Caught on Tape Boasting That Its Money Influences Washington

A debate about the power in Washington of the pro-Israel lobby is underway, after Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., responded sharply to reports that Republican leader Kevin McCarthy was targeting both Omar and fellow Muslim Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat from Michigan. Omar quoted rap lyrics — “It’s all about the Benjamins baby” — to suggest McCarthy’s move was driven by the lobby’s prolific spending. Asked specifically who she was referring to, Omar responded, “AIPAC!”

The debate over the influence of pro-Israel groups could be informed by an investigation by Al Jazeera, in which an undercover reporter infiltrated The Israel Project, a Washington-based group, and secretly recorded conversations about political strategy and influence over a six-month period in 2016. That investigation, however, was never aired by the network — suppressed by pressure from the pro-Israel lobby. In November, Electronic Intifada obtained and published the four-part series, but it did so during the week of the midterm elections, and the documentary did not get a lot of attention then.

In it, leaders of the pro-Israel lobby speak openly about how they use money to influence the political process, in ways so blunt that if the comments were made by critics, they’d be charged with anti-Semitism.

David Ochs, founder of HaLev, which helps send young people to AIPAC’s annual conference, described for the reporter how AIPAC and its donors organize fundraisers outside the official umbrella of the organization, so that the money doesn’t show up on disclosures as coming specifically from AIPAC. He describes one group that organizes fundraisers in both Washington and New York. “This is the biggest ad hoc political group, definitely the wealthiest, in D.C.,” Ochs says, adding that it has no official name, but is clearly tied to AIPAC. “It’s the AIPAC group. It makes a difference, it really, really does. It’s the best bang for your buck and the networking is phenomenal.” (Ochs and AIPAC did not immediately return The Intercept’s requests for comment.)

Without spending money, Ochs argues, the pro-Israel lobby isn’t able to enact its agenda. “Congressmen and senators don’t do anything unless you pressure them. They kick the can down the road, unless you pressure them, and the only way to do that is with money,” he explains. He describes a fundraiser for Anthony Brown, a Democrat running for Congress in Maryland, as typical. “So we want the Jewish community to go face to face in this small environment, 50, 30, 40 people, and say this is what’s important to us. We want to make sure that if we give you money that you’re going to enforce the Iran deal. That way, when they need something from him or her, like the Iran deal, they can quickly mobilize and say look we’ll give you 30 grand. They actually impact,” Ochs tells the reporter.

Such a claim is not so different from what Omar was describing, and for which she was roundly condemned.

As Omar 'Unequivocally' Apologizes, Critics Rip Democratic Leaders for Trying to 'Silence Criticism' of AIPAC

Progressive critics on Monday condemned a statement by Democratic congressional leaders—including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi—who demanded an apology from Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) regarding statements she made about the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

Among those critics was healthcare activist Ady Barkan, who said he was "deeply disappointed" in the Speaker's "failure" on the matter. "When AIPAC and its army try to silence criticism of the immoral, illegal, inhumane occupation by screaming about anti-Semitism and claiming that nobody may ever talk about how the Israel lobby, uses money to build power," Barkan declared, "don't fall for their bullshit."


And while Omar on Monday afternoon did "unequivocally" apologize for a pair of tweets Sunday night that some registered as containing "anti-Semitic tropes," she reaffirmed her belief that powerful lobbying interests—including AIPAC, the fossil fuel industry, and the NRA—remain "problematic" in U.S. politics. "Listening and learning," Omar declared in a tweet, "but standing strong."

Even while many Jewish Americans and other progressives defended Omar from an onslaught of attacks over her tweets—because, as one noted, "accurately describing how the Israel lobby works is not anti-Semitism"—the freshman congresswoman said in her Monday statement that "We always have to be willing to step back and think through criticism."

Worth a read:

The Problem of International Law

Several recent events suggest that global warming is not the only thing threatening our future. As if they are running on parallel tracks, some of the modern institutions that help make for stable societies — the ones that hold back the rise of barbarism — are being weakened even as the atmosphere is heating up and the oceans swell. In pursuit of short-term state or personal interests, some national leaders are violating or ignoring international law and, by doing so, putting us all at long-term risk. ...

One of the most hopeful developments to follow the catastrophe that was World War II [...] was the extension and strengthening of international law. In 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations, seeking to give such laws real force, called for the establishment of an international criminal court. That call triggered resistance because such a court would necessarily impinge on nation-state sovereignty. It took 54 years before the court was finally convened in order to enforce laws against the committing of war crimes and other evils, such as genocide. Still, there are some nations that refuse to recognize the court’s jurisdiction. Often these are the states most addicted to the barbaric behavior that came close to destroying a good part of the globe during the 20th century. ...

In the case of the United States, the problem began when the International Criminal Court at the Hague decided to investigate allegations of war crimes, specifically the use of torture, committed by U.S. forces in Afghanistan. At that point President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton (who reminds one of a modern Savonarolapublicly threatened the court’s judges. ...

Before 1946 the world was a mess: one hot war after another, economic recessions and depressions, imperialism, colonialism, and racism galore. All of this was grounded in the nation state and its claim of sacred sovereignty. The world experienced a sort of climax to this horror show in the form of Nazi racism and the Holocaust, the use of nuclear weapons, and Stalinist Russia’s purges, mass starvations and Gulag exiles. ... Now things are falling apart again, and rest assured that U.S. leaders and their less-savory allies abroad are doing their part in the devolution of peace and justice. Shall we name just a few U.S. names? Well, there is Donald Trump and his minion Bolton. They go gaga over thugs passing themselves off as presidents in such nation-states as Egypt, the Philippines and that pseudo-democracy, Israel. There is also Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who has turned into the U.S. version of Cardinal Richelieu when it comes to Washington’s South America foreign policy. He is the one pushing for the overthrow of the legitimate government in Venezuela while simultaneously calling for close relations with the new fascist president of Brazil. And the list goes on.

But now, with global warming upon us and lifestyles soon to be under threat, things are going to get even messier—and messy social and economic situations are usually good news for barbarians. More than ever, we are going to need uncorrupted international laws, courts and police.

Venezuela - 57% Say Maduro Is Their Legitimate President

The legitimacy of a ruler can best be determined by asking the ruled people.

The independent Venezuelan polling firm Hinterlaces asked (in Spanish) 1,580 Venezuelans in direct interviews who they consider to be the legitimate president of Venezuela.

57% said that the Nicolás Maduro is the legitimated president. 32% said Juan Guaidó. 11% did not know or did not respond.

Protests in Haiti, protests in Venezuela, but for Trump & Co. only the latter needs ‘democracy’

Worth a full read:

Facts Don’t Interfere With Propaganda Blitz Against Venezuela’s Elected President

The Miami Herald (2/8/19) reported, “Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro continues to reject international aid—going so far as to blockade a road that might have been used for its delivery.“ The “Venezuelan leader” reporter Jim Wyss referred to is Venezuela’s elected president. In contrast, Wyss referred to Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s “interim president.”
Guaidó, anointed by Trump and a new Iraq-style Coalition of the Willing, did not even run in Venezuela’s May 2018 presidential election. In fact, shortly before the election, Guaidó was not even mentioned by the opposition-aligned pollster Datanálisis when it published approval ratings of various prominent opposition leaders. Henri Falcón, who actually did run in the election (defying US threats against him) was claimed by the pollster to basically be in a statistical tie for most popular among them. It is remarkable to see the Western media dismiss this election as “fraudulent,” without even attempting to show that it was “stolen“ from Falcón. Perhaps that’s because it so clearly wasn’t stolen. The constitutional argument that Trump and his accomplices have used to “recognize” Guaidó rests on the preposterous claim that Maduro has “abandoned” the presidency by soundly beating Falcón in the election. Caracas-based journalist Lucas Koerner took apart that argument in more detail.

What about the McClatchy-owned Herald‘s claim that Maduro “continues to reject international aid”? In November 2018, following a public appeal by Maduro, the UN did authorize emergency aid for Venezuela. It was even reported by Reuters (11/26/18), whose headlines have often broadcast the news agency’s contempt for Maduro’s government.

It’s not unusual for Western media to ignore facts they have themselves reported when a major “propaganda blitz” by Washington is underway against a government. For example, it was generally reported accurately in 1998 that UN weapons inspectors were withdrawn from Iraq ahead of air strikes ordered by Bill Clinton, not expelled by Iraq’s government. But by 2002, it became a staple of pro-war propaganda that Iraq had expelled weapons inspectors (Extra! Update, 10/02). And, incidentally, when a Venezuelan NGO requested aid from the UN-linked Global Fund in 2017, it was turned down. Setting aside how effective foreign aid is at all (the example of Haiti hardly makes a great case for it), it is supposed to be distributed based on relative need, not based on how badly the US government wants somebody overthrown.

But the potential for “aid” to alleviate Venezuela’s crisis is negligible compared to the destructive impact of US economic sanctions. Near the end of Wyss’ article, he cited an estimate from the thoroughly demonized Venezuelan government that US sanctions have cost it $30 billion, with no time period specified for that estimate. Again, this calls to mind the run-up to the Iraq invasion, when completely factual statements that Iraq had no WMDs were attributed to the discredited Iraqi government. Quoting Iraqi denials supposedly balanced the lies spread in the media by US officials like John Bolton, who now leads the charge to overthrow Maduro.

Catalan separatists' trial: justice or politics?

Trump thrashed the media — then one of his supporters attacked a cameraman

A Trump supporter launched an “incredibly violent attack” on a BBC cameraman during a raucous Trump campaign-style rally in Texas Monday night, the broadcaster reported. Shouting “Fuck the media,” the attacker launched into action moments after Donald Trump trashed the media from the podium in El Paso.

Wearing a red “Make America Great Again” baseball cap, the assailant jumped onto the reporters’ platform and gave a “very hard shove” into the face of Ron Skeans, who said he was blindsided by the attack. “I didn't know what was going on,” Skeans told the BBC. The attacker shouted “Fuck the media” twice before being led away by security.


Trump saw the incident and gave Skeans a thumbs-up from the stage after he got back on his feet.

Denver Teachers Strike over Bonus-Based Pay System, Demanding Reliable Salary Plan & Better Wages

'Inexplicable cruelty': US government sued over family separations at border

Lawyers for eight immigrant families separated under Trump administration policy have filed claims against the US government, demanding $6m each in damages for what they describe as “inexplicable cruelty” and lasting trauma. In claims filed to the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Homeland Security, released on Monday, the parents accuse immigration officers of taking their children away without giving them information, sometimes without even a chance to say goodbye.

The claims allege the children remain traumatized, including a seven-year-old girl who will not sleep without her mother and a six-year-old boy who is reluctant to eat.

Stanton Jones, an attorney representing some of the plaintiffs, warned the Trump administration that other families caught up in the government’s policy of “zero tolerance” for unlawful border crossings, which resulted in parents being forcibly divided from their children and held in detention separately, are getting ready to sue. ... Jones said the claims depicted “inexplicable cruelty” and that the affected families deserve monetary damages. “The government’s actual conduct of tearing children – often small children – away from their parents in a way that was designed to deliberately inflict emotional trauma on those people for the purpose of achieving a policy objective is unlawful,” he said.

“They are entitled to more than just the outrage that was prompted by what people saw in the news in 2018. They are entitled to compensation from the government for intentional infliction of emotional distress. The government’s use of emotionally traumatizing children to try to achieve a policy objective very clearly meets all the legal elements of the offense intentional infliction of emotional distress,” he added.

Trump administration still separating families at border, advocates say

The Trump administration is still tearing young children away from their parents when they cross the US-Mexico border unlawfully, despite formally ending the policy of family separations last summer, according to immigration advocates in Texas.

In El Paso on Monday, on the day Donald Trump held a rally in the border city, a mother sobbed as she told how she arrived in the US from Honduras last October and had her two daughters, aged five and three, taken away from her without explanation. It was a month before she was allowed to speak to her girls, by phone, and then see them for one hour a week. They were reunited after four months and are now staying in El Paso, in western Texas, while authorities process the asylum application of their mother, Yeimi, who asked to withhold her last name out of security concerns.

“It was four months in which I got very depressed and very anxious. I felt I couldn’t control it but I knew I had to do my best to keep my daughters calm when I spoke to them on the phone, even though I wasn’t,” Yeimi said on Monday at Annunciation House, a local not-for-profit in El Paso that shelters immigrants released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice). ...

Taylor Levy, legal coordinator for Annunciation House, said Yeimi’s case is not an anomaly. She said Annunciation House receives one or two calls a week about new cases of family separations – and that is just cases their agency knows about in the El Paso area. ... There is plenty of evidence, including from a government report, that families had been separated months before the official implementation of the policy in May 2018, and that families have continued to be separated since, all while the government has had difficulty reuniting children they had removed.

Party leaders reach deal to avoid fresh US government shutdown

Democratic and Republican leaders announced late Monday that they had reached a deal to avoid a government shutdown when funding under a stopgap agreement expires at midnight on Friday.

The details of the agreement, preceded by intensive negotiations over funding for a wall on the US-Mexico border, were unspecified.

The proposal would require the signature of Donald Trump to avert a new shutdown.

At a rally in El Paso, Texas, on Monday Trump said he had been informed about the committee’s progress. “Just so you know, we’re building the wall anyway”, he added.

Trump will have to accept $1.3 billion for border fencing to avoid another shutdown

Republican and Democratic lawmakers reached a preliminary deal Monday to avoid another government shutdown — but there is no guarantee that President Donald Trump will sign it. The agreement includes $1.375 billion for 55 miles of fencing along the border, far short of the $5.7 billion Trump demanded to build more than 200 miles of steel-and-concrete walls. ...

The $1.375 billion for border security will be spent on a barrier in the Rio Grande Valley using existing designs, such as metal slats, but not the concrete wall Trump wants. The deal also provides an extra $1.7 billion for border security, including technology at ports of entry, more officers and humanitarian aid, according to officials speaking to the New York Times.

Democrats have also caved on one of their main demands. Talks broke down over the weekend because Democrats demanded a strict new cap on immigrants detained within the U.S. — as opposed to at the border. That cap has now been omitted, but the deal does reduce the number of beds in detention centers from 49,057 to 40,250. However, GOP officials briefed on the situation told the Washington Post that ICE would have enough money and flexibility to maintain its current detention levels and add more when needed.



the horse race



Russiagate Is Finished

For more than two years U.S. politicians, the media and some bloggers hyped a conspiracy theory. They claimed that Russia had somehow colluded with the Trump campaign to get him elected. ...

Finally the conspiracy theory has run out of steam. Russiagate is finished:

After two years and 200 interviews, the Senate Intelligence Committee is approaching the end of its investigation into the 2016 election, having uncovered no direct evidence of a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia, according to both Democrats and Republicans on the committee.
...
Democrats and other Trump opponents have long believed that special counsel Robert Mueller and Congressional investigators would unearth new and more explosive evidence of Trump campaign coordination with Russians. Mueller may yet do so, although Justice Department and Congressional sources say they believe that he, too, is close to wrapping up his investigation.

Nothing, zero, nada was found to support the conspiracy theory. The Trump campaign did not collude with Russia. A few flunkies were indicted for unrelated tax issues and for lying to the investigators about some minor details. But nothing at all supports the dramatic claims of collusion made since the beginning of the affair.



the evening greens


Politicians are complicit in the killing of our insects – we will be next

The new global scientific review into the perilous condition of our insects reports that more than 40% of insect species are threatened with extinction while the mass of insects is declining by 2.5% a year. This catastrophic decline is a direct cause of the existential threat to other animals, insects being at the bottom of the chain and the primary food source. Since 1970, 60% of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles have been wiped out. The review identifies a key driver towards this mass extinction: habitat loss and conversion to intensive agriculture with its associated use of pesticides. Given this is a manmade disaster, surely we are capable of tackling and reversing it? ...

What might accurately be dubbed insectageddon is being driven by the agrichemicals industry. This situation is compounded by compliant politicians and policymakers who fall prey to lobbying pressure and then refuse to implement science-driven policy to protect wildlife. This has meant that over the past five decades conventional farmers have forgotten the natural systems they once relied on to control pests. Non-organic agricultural systems are highly dependent on chemicals, so feeding a vicious circle. But there is a legal route out of this – in Europe at least. Since 2009 the EU has adopted the sustainable use of pesticides directive. This aims to reduce the risks and impacts of pesticide use on human health and the environment, while prioritising the use of alternative approaches or techniques such as non-chemical methods.

However, because it is a directive rather than regulation it requires implementation in national law, and the vicious circle that has led to high levels of chemical dependency also operates at national level, meaning that member states have been slow to implement policies that reduce pesticide use. And the agrichemical industry is literally writing pesticide assessments that are then presented as the work of regulators. For example, a recent report exposed how EU regulators based a decision to relicense controversial glyphosate on an assessment plagiarised from industry reports. Around 50% of some chapters were actually a copy-and-paste job from papers Monsanto and other agrichemical corporates had written.

Changing the ways in which we produce our food is a key plank to preserving biodiversity and rebelling against mass extinction. ... We also need independent scrutiny around the authorisation procedure for chemicals and so end the grip that corporate lobbying currently holds over our politicians, policymakers and farmers. ... Unless we take drastic action, insects as a whole will go down the path of extinction within a few decades. And we can be quite sure that we would follow on closely behind.

The End of Ice: Dahr Jamail on Climate Disruption from the Melting Himalayas to Insect Extinction

Global Poll Reveals Surging Fear of Climate Crisis and US Power Under Trump

While a rapidly rising number of people across the globe are worried about the climate crisis—prompting warnings from scientists, demands for robust action, and sweeping legislative proposals such as the Green New Deal—there are also mounting concerns about the United States in the era of President Donald Trump, according to new polling from the Pew Research Center. ...

As the global community frets about the United States flexing its geopolitical muscles under Trump—from ditching the Paris climate agreement and global treaties to backing an effort to overthrow the Venezuelan government—Pew also found that both Americans and people around the world perceive the human-caused climate crisis as a top security risk. In half of the 26 nations where the survey was conducted from May to August of 2018, the greatest number of respondents selected climate change as posing a major threat.

"Since 2013, worries about the climate threat have increased significantly in 13 of the countries where data are available," according to Pew. "In 2013, well before the Paris climate agreement was signed, a median of 56 percent across 23 countries surveyed said global climate change was a major threat to their country. That climbed to 63 percent in 2017, and in 2018 it stands at 67 percent."

In the United States, Canada, Mexico, France, Germany, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom, Kenya, and South Africa, the number of people concerned about the climate crisis has soared, rising by double-digits over just five years. Across Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa—which are increasingly at risk for extreme weather exacerbated by rising temperatures—climate change has continuously ranked as a top concern.

Hawaii sees 'very unusual' snow as US storms wreak havoc

An unusually large weather system is wreaking havoc in America’s north-west and even brought snow to Hawaii. ...

Hawaii officials said the blanket of snow at Polipoli Spring state recreation area is probably the first for any state park. Polipoli is at 6,200ft (1,900m) making this possibly the lowest elevation snow ever recorded in the state.

Honolulu’s National Weather Service reported 60ft (18-metre) waves north of Kauai and Oahu at the height of the storm on Monday. Significant wave heights – a measure averaging the bigger waves – reached a record 38ft.

Sam Lemmo from Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources said: “We rarely, if ever, have seen the combination of record high onshore waves, coupled with gale force winds.”


Also of Interest

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

There Is a Taboo Against Criticizing AIPAC — and Ilhan Omar Just Destroyed It

Unions See an Opening in the Wake of a Ruling That Was Supposed to Finish Them Off

“Reverse Location Search Warrant”: A New Personal Data Hoovering Exercise Brought to You by Google

How Neoliberalism Is Normalising Hostility

Solar energy sector lost 8,000 jobs in US last year, but future looks bright – report

Insurgent Candidate Kerri Harris Has a New Job: Lobbyist for the Working Poor


A Little Night Music

Screamin Jay Hawkins - Whistling Past The Graveyard

Screamin' Jay Hawkins - I'm So Glad

Screamin' Jay Hawkins - I Put a Spell on You

Screamin' Jay Hawkins - Stone Crazy

Screamin' Jay Hawkins - Even Though

Screamin' Jay Hawkins - Alligator Wine

Screamin' Jay Hawkins - Is You is or is You Ain't My Baby

Screaming Jay Hawkins - The Whammy

Screamin' Jay Hawkins - Shut Your Mouth When You Sneeze


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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

joe shikspack's picture

@Johnny Q

heh, i didn't so much forget it as omit it, since i posted it last time i did a feature on screamin' jay. when possible, if there's enough great material to work with, to vary the content a bit when i repeat an artist feature.

that said, thanks! it's a classic. Smile

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snoopydawg's picture

This is going to leave a mark. As well it should

"The Jewish leadership brought her to heal."

And here's Warren showing her true colors.

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

Raggedy Ann's picture

@snoopydawg
correct, snoopy? If you’re disappointed, reply, tell her, give her your thoughts. How will she know, otherwise? How can she respond to the people if they don’t tell her EXACTLY what they think. If she stays on message, you’ll know for sure she’s a secret corporatist. Challenge her.
Pleasantry

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

snoopydawg's picture

@Raggedy Ann

It's AOC's tweet. Or am I missing what you're saying?

How will she know, otherwise? How can she respond to the people if they don’t tell her EXACTLY what they think.

I did. I haven't heard back from her though. And many others have responded to her saying pretty much the same thing.

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Azazello's picture

@snoopydawg
Brought to heel has a different meaning from brought to heal, whatever that means.

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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 think your spelling makes a lot more sense under the circumstances than aoc's.

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joe shikspack's picture

@snoopydawg

i found what was done to ilhan omar far from "inspirational." it's sad that aoc can't see the obvious ugly machinations behind the ostracization of omar by her peers and her party. it's clear that there are forces that want to silence and neutralize her in the worst way.

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But gorsh this shist hoits.

Send me to never, never land.

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joe shikspack's picture

@QMS

a fool's paradise is better than none.

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dystopian's picture

Screamin' Jay is awesome... I loved this (following) version of Put a Spell on You, it was so crazy. Seems to be a movie that was made for the song, maybe back 'in the day'?:
https://youtu.be/7kGPhpvqtOc

Ya don't think Arthur Brown was a fan do you? https://youtu.be/Mizo55muY2I

I feel so sorry for Ilhan Omar for the immediate knee-jerk attacks by the ownership, censorship, and ruling class, buoyed by their puppet lapdog media propagandists. This is how we, and the AIPAC gang of thugs, treat truth-tellers if those truths shed light on their darkness. In the long run I think though it will do what Bernie, Tulsi, and AOC have done, put something into the conversation that was not being discussed, and needs to be. 'Our' politicians are showing us how owned they are, by a foreign country we are not allowed to criticize. 'Our' politicians want to enforce this for the the foreign country
with legislation. A foreign country that refuses to sign the Nuke non-prolif. treaty, or even declare theirs. Which makes giving them foreign aid illegal. They use that money to buy congress critters and the media to control the message. What a bunch of schmucks.

Why is AIPAC and their people not registered foreign lobbyists? It is completely unacceptable to me, and only proves corruption for them not to be. And we haven't even been able to mention it. Any anti-likud-zionist anything is wholesale attacked as anti-Semitic as we have just seen. Which they know it is not. So to use that angle to manipulate opinion with shows how weak their position is. They have to trick others into taking their side. Sad.

Obviously the press is not free, but rather, owned and on a leash.

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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

Raggedy Ann's picture

@dystopian
My sentiments, too. Pleasantry

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

snoopydawg's picture

@Raggedy Ann

I love this version of it. It's from the movie. Warning.. a commercial plays for 5 seconds or so.

[video:https://youtube.com/watch?v=zaC-WDrvmUQ]

Im having a hard time separating Bette's acting from her politics. So many people are upset about Trump doing the same things that Obama did.

Well said!!

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joe shikspack's picture

@dystopian

the film looks like a relic of the early 70's, it's pretty cool. heh, who wouldn't be a fan of screamin' jay?

what happened to omar is just an obvious illustration of the power of the aipac machine. if you look carefully you can see the strings attached at all the important points on the people who executed the attack on aipac's behalf.

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Raggedy Ann's picture

I’m grateful for dystopian’s words. I’m happy Ilhan Omar is exposing the Israeli lobby and the deep ties tying our government in knots. The American people have been sheltered from the truth about Israel in the name of “anti-semitism.” I, too was ignorant, once. The word is getting out. She needs our full support, mine, anyway.

Warming up here. It’s been bitterly cold, with the wind piercing your body like a knife. I know you guys have been hit hard back east. My son said it was a blizzard in Boston.

Have a beautiful evening, everyone! Pleasantry

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

joe shikspack's picture

@Raggedy Ann

She needs our full support, mine, anyway.

absolutely. she will certainly be the target of continued attacks from bigots and jackasses both for what she is and for what she has stood up for.

the weather here has been somewhat unpleasant the last couple of days, but my area has been spared the worst of it. the ice storm that we got did not take down a lot of power lines in my area as these sorts of storms often do. the weather got warm enough during the day to melt off a lot of ice before the next application at night for the last couple of nights.

have a great evening!

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Azazello's picture

Here's another one that's worth a read: Making Globalism Great Again.

What is happening has nothing to do with America … the “America” that Americans believe they live in and that many of them want to “make great again.” What is happening is exactly what has been happening around the world since the end of the Cold War, albeit most dramatically in the Middle East. The de facto global capitalist empire is restructuring the planet with virtual impunity. It is methodically eliminating any and all impediments to the hegemony of global capitalism, and the privatization and commodification of everything.

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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

great article, thanks!

it looks like the donald may be on the brink of becoming president again:

So how did Trump finally get the liberal corporate media to stop calling him a fascist? He did that by acting like a fascist (i.e., like a “normal” president). Which is to say he did the bidding of the deep state goons and corporate mandarins that manage the global capitalist empire … the smiley, happy, democracy-spreading, post-fascist version of fascism we live under.

I’m referring, of course, to Venezuela, which is one of a handful of uncooperative countries that are not playing ball with global capitalism and which haven’t been “regime changed” yet. Trump green-lit the attempted coup purportedly being staged by the Venezuelan “opposition,” but which is obviously a U.S. operation, or, rather, a global capitalist operation. As soon as he did, the corporate media immediately suspended calling him a fascist, and comparing him to Adolf Hitler, and so on, and started spewing out blatant propaganda supporting his effort to overthrow the elected government of a sovereign country.


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Azazello's picture

@joe shikspack
This was in my local paper this morning: Fareed Zakaria: The American left needs to find its voice on Venezuela
So, according to this shithead, the progressive left has to "find its voice" by joining the neocon right in support of yet another regime-change operation in an oil-rich country.
Fuck him.

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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

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Raggedy Ann's picture

@Azazello . Thanks for posting it.

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

Unabashed Liberal's picture

"no news, is good news."

Wink

Seriously, still a bit out-of-the-loop regarding the recent "news" cycles. Can't say that I'm not enjoying it a bit, though. We travel little later this week, but hope/plan to slide by before we leave. "Might" have a piece about Medicare; we'll see.

If I have time this evening, wanted to reply to CS/AZ's comments about MFA. Of course, with a House chock full of so many conservadems, this ol' gal's (me) not at all surprised that the original bill (HR 646) has been ditched. Tried to sound a clarion call before the midterms--even named a Twitter account reflecting my concerns regarding the incoming conservadems--but, to no avail.

Since I have nothing substantial to add to the discussion tonight, I'll leave you Guys with another (easier) "Word Of The Day."

definiendum (dee-fin-ee-END-um) - noun
Origin: This word is from Latin. (One reason it's easier. Wink )
Definition: Whatever is being defined.
Used In A Sentence: Not to blow your mind, but the definiendum of the definition above is "definiendum."

[ATTRIBUTION: Word Of The Day - National Spelling Bee 2019 Desktop Calendar]

Hey, saw that your neck-of-the-woods may/will get some fierce weather--you and your family take care, and be safe. Hope you don't lose electricity. (It's still monsoon season, here, but, in light of much of the US, not much room to complain about it. Flooding is old hat, now.)

Everyone have a nice evening--hopefully, free from dangerous or severe weather.

Bye

Blue Onyx

“If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.”
~~Will Rogers, Actor & Social Commentator

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

"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts."
~~Daniel Patrick Moynihan

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

joe shikspack's picture

@Unabashed Liberal

happy and safe travels!

it looks like the worst of the weather has passed here. we might get one more freeze up tonight, but the next couple of days during the day we should get warm enough to make all this icy slushy stuff head off to the bay before the next load appears this weekend, which will hopefully be all snow. (crosses fingers)

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enhydra lutris's picture

had better eavesdropping equipment. Obviously somebody misoverheard Quaaludes and the rest is history.

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

joe shikspack's picture

@enhydra lutris

heh. i think that everybody ought to get random speech generators and turn them on all the time for the spooks to listen to. it will drive them crazy and perhaps we'll get some new shakespeare works out of it.

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enhydra lutris's picture

@joe shikspack
The Rime f the Ancient Mariner.

Actually, create the document, e-mail it to yourself and use a text to speech app to read it to you. Hmmmmm. Monkeywrench anybody?

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

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joe shikspack's picture

@gjohnsit

yep, that's pretty amazing.

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."

-- Abraham Lincoln

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enhydra lutris's picture

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

enhydra lutris's picture

What will you do if the Russians shut down the power grid in the middle of the Rachel Maddow show?

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

joe shikspack's picture

@enhydra lutris

light a candle and crack a beer? Smile

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enhydra lutris's picture

@joe shikspack

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

I Had a comment but got to laughing so hard I done forgot it!!!
Crazy Buggas!

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Ya got to be a Spirit, cain't be no Ghost. . .

Explain Bldg #7. . . still waiting. . .

If you’ve ever wondered whether you would have complied in 1930’s Germany,
Now you know. . .
sign at protest march

joe shikspack's picture

@Tall Bald and Ugly

glad to be of service. Smile

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Good morning Evening Blues, thanks joe. This is over on globalresearch.ca, haven't seen it around but I don't get out much. In case no one posted it, here is the link:
An Open Letter to the People of the United States from President Nicolas Maduro

Feb. 10, 2019

***

If I know anything, it is about people, such as you, I am a man of the people. I was born and raised in a poor neighborhood of Caracas. I forged myself in the heat of popular and union struggles in a Venezuela submerged in exclusion and inequality.

I am not a tycoon, I am a worker of reason and heart, today I have the great privilege of presiding over the new Venezuela, rooted in a model of inclusive development and social equality, which was forged by Commander Hugo Chávez since 1998 inspired by the Bolivarian legacy.

We live today a historical trance. There are days that will define the future of our countries between war and peace. Your national representatives of Washington want to bring to their borders the same hatred that they planted in Vietnam. They want to invade and intervene in Venezuela – they say, as they said then – in the name of democracy and freedom. But it’s not like that. The history of the usurpation of power in Venezuela is as false as the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. It is a false case, but it can have dramatic consequences for our entire region.
[...]
Long live the peoples of America!

Nicolás Maduro

President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

---
There is a note to their readers over there: "Forward. Make it Go Viral."

Also over there is an article called "Social Media Is a Tool of the CIA: “Facebook, Google and Other Social Media Used to Spy on People”"

heh ok

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joe shikspack's picture

@eyo

thanks for the link! i hadn't run across that yet.

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