The Evening Blues - 6-27-19
Hey! Good Evening!
This evening's music features delta blues musician James "Son" Thomas. Enjoy!
James "Son" Thomas - Catfish Blues
"Desert Storm II would be in a walk in the park... The case for 'regime change' boils down to the huge benefits and modest costs of liberating Iraq."
-- Kenneth Adelman
News and Opinion
Iraqi President: US Has No Right to Use Iraq as 'Staging Post' for Attack on Iran
Iraqi President Barham Salih said Tuesday that the United States has no right to use his country as a launchpad for a strike against Iran. Salih, in his interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour, also talked about the adverse impacts his own country has felt as a result of U.S. imposed sanctions, stressed the need to prevent another war, and warned that tearing up the nuclear deal entirely "could be disastrous for the entire neighborhood as a whole.
Their conversation, as Amanpour noted, came amid rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran, including new economic sanctions, the deployment of 1,000 more troops to the Middle East, and President Donald Trump's threat Tuesday to "obliterate" areas of the country.
Salih said he welcomed Trump's last minute decision last week to call off an initially-approved strike against Iran because, the Iraqi leader noted, "there is no military solution to this problem."
“We in Iraq have suffered from sanctions,” Pres @BarhamSalih tells me.
He says there’s a “fundamental question” if sanctions change behavior.
Abandoning the Iran nuclear deal alltogether “could be disastrous for the whole neighborhood, not just for Iran, and not just for Iraq.” pic.twitter.com/MMDqZBh8bj
— Christiane Amanpour (@camanpour) June 25, 2019
After Amanpour replayed part of an interview earlier this year in which Trump said he wanted to maintain a U.S. military presence in Iraq to "watch Iran," Salih reaffirmed his stance that doing so is not part of the deal brokered between the U.S. and Iraq. "The American troops, the coalition troops in Iraq are there... at the invitation of the Iraqi government for the specific, exclusive mission of fighting ISIS," said Salih.
"We do not want our territory to be a staging post for any hostile action against any of our neighbors, including Iran," he added. "And this is definitely not part of the agreement between the Iraqi government and the United States."
EU makes last-ditch effort to keep Iran from leaving nuclear deal
European states will announce a multimillion-euro credit line to ease trade between the EU and Iran in a last-minute and probably doomed effort to persuade Tehran not to take the first step to quit the 2015 nuclear deal. Iran’s withdrawal is almost certain to deepen the Gulf crisis, and prompt US demands for Europe states – primarily Britain, France and Germany – to quit the deal and join Washington in imposing sanctions on Tehran.
The relatively modest credit line will be announced in Vienna at a meeting of the joint commission for the Iran deal – the grouping of all the remaining parties to the deal including Europe, Iran, Russia and China. ... The credit line is expected to be announced as early as Thursday – the same day Iran will break part of the nuclear deal by surpassing the 300kg limit on its low-enriched uranium stockpile.
Iran is due to take further more serious steps to breach the deal on 7 July, when it has pledged to increase uranium enrichment purity levels over the 3.67% limit set in the deal. Officials said this could be a symbolic increase to 3.68%, but if the levels continue to rise Europeans would be concerned that the breakout time – the period it would take Iran to enrich enough uranium for a nuclear bomb – could fall below a year. ...
European leaders will use the G20 summit of world leaders in Japan starting on Friday to press the US to de-escalate the crisis, and to clarify the precise demands it is making of Tehran. Russia and China are also likely to urge the US to back off. Japan as summit host has put itself forward as a mediator. But Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian president, says he is not willing to negotiate while his country is under sanctions.
Trump warns any war with Iran ‘wouldn’t last long’
No 'boots on the ground' in Iran dispute, Trump says; cites 'unlimited time' for new deal
Asked on Fox Business Network if a war was brewing, Trump replied: “I hope we don’t but we’re in a very strong position if something should happen.”
“I’m not talking boots on the ground,” Trump said. “I’m just saying if something would happen, it wouldn’t last very long.”
Speaking later at a gathering of religious conservatives, the U.S. president talked about whether there could be a new agreement with Iran, suggesting he could live without one.
“If it doesn’t happen, that’s fine with me,” Trump said. “I have unlimited time, as far as I’m concerned.”
McConnell opens door to vote on Iran war authorization
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday said he’s willing to vote on a controversial amendment that would require Congress to approve any military action against Iran, but warned colleagues it could signal disunity in Washington to a foreign adversary. McConnell said he’s open to voting on a bipartisan amendment sponsored by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Tom Udall (D-N.M.) that would block funding for military action against Iran without prior congressional approval.
The legislation also has support from Republican Sens. Rand Paul (Ky.) and Mike Lee (Utah).
Democrats feared that McConnell would try to bypass a debate on Iran by voting as soon as Wednesday to cut off debate on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which would be the vehicle for the Iran amendment. But McConnell put those anxieties to rest Tuesday. “We’re not opposed to having the vote and we’re working on having that vote, passing NDAA and doing the supplemental [border spending bill], all this week,” he said.
US officials join bizarre Iranian cult MEK in rallying for regime change
NATO calls on Russia to destroy new missile, warns of response
NATO urged Russia on Tuesday to destroy a new missile before an August deadline and save a treaty that keeps land-based nuclear warheads out of Europe or face a more determined alliance response in the region.
NATO defense ministers will discuss on Wednesday their next steps if Moscow keeps the missile system that the United States says would allow short-notice nuclear attacks on Europe and break the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF).
“We call on Russia to take the responsible path, but we have seen no indication that Russia intends to do so,” Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference. “We will need to respond,” Stoltenberg said. ...
Russia warned on Monday of a stand-off comparable to the 1962 Cuban missile crisis if the United States were to deploy land-based missile systems near Russia’s borders, but Stoltenberg said there were no such plans.
George Galloway Sacked by War Mongers & Smeared as Anti-Semite
Jared Kushner's 'deal of the century' fails to materialise in Bahrain
In the end, the ‘deal of the century’ was little more than a failed clearance sale. Jared Kushner arrived in Bahrain touting bedrock principles at untenable discounts. And even then there were no buyers. The conference that was supposed to offer a new way out of the malaise of the Israel/Palestine conflict provided little of the sort. Its central premise of prosperity as a precursor to a lasting solution barely appeared to register on either side of the separation wall.
In Ramallah and Gaza, there was very little interest in the Trump administration’s proposals. Even in Israel, local media played down the gathering and did nothing to ramp up expectations. The $50bn (£39bn) pledged, effectively as a start-up fund for the region’s Palestinians, was less than enthusiastically received in Jordan, Egypt and in Lebanon – where leaders in Beirut, not usually inclined to turn away from a $6bn money pot, dismissed the pitch as a shameless bribe.
Kushner arrived in Manama as the self-styled envoy who could shake things up, and finally bring traction to a peace process that had gone nowhere in the past decade and had shown real signs of disintegrating. Casting himself as a disruptor who would find new ways to revitalise a moribund issues, he did indeed make bold moves – all of them in support of Israeli interests to which he is ideologically aligned. Kushner’s one hint of his political stance came when he said the Arab peace initiative, brokered 17 years ago by former monarch King Abdullah, was no longer viable.
That concession brought into question the internationally agreed formula of a two-state solution. While dismissing the Arab initiative as a vehicle for a two-state solution does not mean the latter is dead, critics in Ramallah and across the region were quick to draw that inference. “Frankly, we demand an independent Palestinian state on the territories occupied by Israel in 1967,” said Ashraf Jabari, chair of the Palestinian Business Network. Hanan Ashrawi, a senior member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, said of Kushner’s plan: “It is totally divorced from reality. The elephant in the room is the occupation itself.”
Israeli Ambassador: Palestinians Must Surrender
In an op-ed in the New York Times, Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon argued that everyone, including the Palestinians, need to accept the idea that any alternative to unconditionally surrendering to Israel would necessarily be far costlier.
Danon angrily condemned opponents of surrender, mostly Palestinians, who argue that abandoning all national ambitions would mean an end to the Palestinian people entirely. ...
Rather, Danon insisted that it was at least conceivable that the Palestinians might be allowed to continue to exist after surrendering to Israel, and that this was the best, and apparently only option that they have, so they should just go for it and hope for the best.
South Korea: Trump and Kim Are Ready for Another Summit
Four months after Donald Trump walked away from the negotiating table in Hanoi, the U.S. president is closing in on a third summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
That’s according to South Korean President Moon Jae-In, who painted a hugely optimistic picture of the state of peace and denuclearization talks on the Korean peninsula in an interview Wednesday. ...
Moon said that “behind-the-scenes talks” have been taking place between Washington and Pyongyang. “Both sides have been engaged in dialogue in regard to a third summit,” Moon said, though he didn’t mention when a meeting might take place. ...
The main sticking point between Washington and Pyongyang to date has been the question of what denuclearization actually looks like. The North sees it as dismantling its nuclear facilities, while Washington envisions North Korea giving up the nuclear weapons it already has.
Venezuela government says it foiled plot to assassinate president Maduro
Venezuelan officials said that they have foiled a plot to overthrow the government that included assassinating President Nicolás Maduro and his closest political allies.
Maduro spokesman Jorge Rodríguez said on state television that a network of mostly retired police officers and soldiers planned to bomb a key government building, seize a Caracas air base and loot Venezuela’s central bank.
He also said the plotters wanted to edge opposition leader Juan Guaidó from Venezuela’s political landscape. ... Rodríguez said the purported network wanted to steal a helicopter to liberate Raúl Baduel, a former defense minister now in jail and install him as president. ...
Rodríguez charged that Colombian President Iván Duque and Chilean President Sebastián Piñera backed the purportedly thwarted coup plot, but he didn’t provide evidence. Rodríguez showed what he said were scenes from 56 hours of intercepted video conference calls with the alleged plotters hashing out strategy for the attack planned for June 23.
Thanks Hillary!
Honduran military invades university and shoots down students
About 40 soldiers invaded the campus of the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH) firing live ammunition and tear gas into a crowd of hundreds of student protesters, leaving 20 injured. The five wounded by bullets are in “stable” condition, according to hospital authorities. The operation follows the killing of four demonstrators and maiming of dozens with gunfire last week. Videos have shown armed squads snatching protesters, and the body of a young doctor was found after he participated in protests earlier this month.
Dozens more, including university students, have been killed by the Honduran police and military during recurring mass demonstrations since the US-backed military coup on June 28, 2009, that overthrew elected president Manuel Zelaya. UNAH, whose students have continuously been at the forefront of these demonstrations, had previously been invaded by riot police in 2009 and last year. The most recent military repression, however, is unprecedented in the last decades and recalls nothing so much as the methods used against radicalized students and workers during the 1980s. While it did not experience the kind of full-fledged civil war seen in neighboring Central American countries, Honduras saw during this period the “disappearance” of 184 activists and the killing of dozens by US-trained death squads. ...
Students have been carrying out intermittent occupations of campuses across the country as part of the protests led by striking teachers and doctors that began nationally on April 26. While calling for the downfall of the regime headed by President Juan Orlando Hernández (JOH), the most recent demonstrations were triggered by two bills that would further facilitate defunding, mass layoffs and privatizations in the public health and education sectors. These and other austerity measures were dictated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as part of credit talks in April aimed at meeting billions of dollars in interest payments to the local and international financial oligarchies and tax exemptions for the 24 Export Processing Zones in the country, as well as multinational exporters like Dole.
One IMF “structural” program after another, on top of the open sacking of millions of dollars from Social Security Institute (IHSS) by the PNH leadership, have resulted in thousands of unnecessary deaths and a massive fall in living standards. Moreover, unemployment and subemployment have together increased from 35.6 percent in 2008 to 63 percent today.
Trump Admin Moves 100 Migrant Kids Back to “Child Jail” Despite Concern over Inhumane Conditions
As Push Against ICE Exploitation of Solitary Confinement Gains Momentum, Cory Booker Calls for Hearings
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., is calling on Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to hold a hearing into Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s “egregious and appalling abuses,” including the widespread use of solitary confinement.
In a letter to Graham, Booker, who sits on the Judiciary Committee, referred to solitary confinement as a “form of torture” and cited a recent investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, The Intercept, NBC News, and four other reporting partners into ICE’s use of solitary confinement. Our reporting, which included a review of more than 8,400 reports describing placement in solitary confinement from 2012 to early 2017, found that ICE uses isolation as a go-to tool, rather than a last resort, to punish vulnerable detained immigrants. ...
“ICE’s own policy seems to recognize the dangers of solitary confinement,” Booker continued. “It appears ICE has been consistently violating its own policy on the use of solitary confinement.” His letter to Graham comes on the heels of a letter from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., to the acting director of ICE, demanding answers about the agency’s use of solitary confinement and extensively citing our investigation. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., another member of the Judiciary Committee, also called for a hearing into ICE’s use of solitary in response to our investigation last month. The panel’s Democrats do not have independent authority to schedule a hearing, hence the request to Graham.
Booker, in his letter, said that a Judiciary Committee hearing about ICE would give the panel a chance to interrogate “grossly unsanitary conditions at detention facilities,” as well as to gather more information about forthcoming immigration raids that President Donald Trump “flippantly alluded to” on Twitter last week.
Sanders campaign says he will close migrant detention centers if elected
Senator Bernie Sanders’ first executive order as president would be to close America’s private detention facilities, which are part of an ongoing row over the treatment of child migrants, his wife and senior adviser, Jane Sanders, has said. Jane Sanders was outside a detention facility in Homestead, Florida, along with several 2020 Democratic candidates voicing upset at the immigration policies of Donald Trump.
Jane Sanders told the Guardian it was “heartbreaking” to see the Homestead facility firsthand and outlined what the Vermont senator – who is one of the 2020 frontrunners to take on Trump – would do if he won the White House.
“The first thing – one of the things that he says he’ll do as president – the first executive action he’ll take is to shut these down, to shut down the child detention centers across the country,” she said.
Sanders said her husband has a forthcoming immigration plan informed by Latino staff members and immigrant activists. She also he had voted against legislation that led to the creation of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agency in 2002. “Everything that he feared has come true,” she said, referring to the agency, “and it needs to be abolished. We need a complete overhaul of our immigration system.”
Investors in Companies Profiting Off Student Loans Are Worried About Democrats’ Proposals to Cancel Debt
Democratic presidential candidates are laying out plans to wipe out some or all of America’s $1.6 trillion in student debt — and investors in companies that manage student loans are expressing concern.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., was the first to lay out a detailed plan for clearing at least $50,000 in student debt for borrowers earning less than $100,000. Earlier this week, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., offered a more sweeping policy, outlining a plan for a one-off cancellation of all student debt. Other candidates, including Andrew Yang, have signaled support for similar ideas. Democratic lawmakers have won praise from activists for building momentum around ending student debt, but raised fears on Wall Street.
Student debt, while a drag on many economic indicators, is also a lucrative market for the financial firms that service the loans. Investors raised the issue on recent earnings calls, warning that the political push for clearing student debt could harm future returns. ...
“I wouldn’t read too much yet into the proposals of individual Democratic candidates,” responded Roger Crosby Hochschild, chief executive of Discover. “I think we have a long way to go before anyone’s elected or anything gets put into law.” Hochschild noted that the student loan business “continues to perform well” and expressed confidence that little would change. ... The companies that dominate the student loan market — Discover, Sallie Mae, Navient, and Nelnet — maintain robust lobbying operations.
Right-Wing Supreme Court Gives Green Light to Partisan Gerrymandering
In a decision voting rights advocates warned could open the floodgates for even more extreme and undemocratic redistricting than what is already in place throughout the nation, the right-wing Supreme Court effectively condoned partisan gerrymandering Thursday by ruling that the practice is beyond its constitutional reach.
The ruling was 5-4 along party lines, with conservative Chief Justice John Roberts writing the majority opinion (pdf).
"Today, five Supreme Court Justices turned their backs on hundreds of thousands of people in Maryland and North Carolina stripped of their voice in Washington by power-hungry politicians," Karen Hobert Flynn, president of Common Cause, said in a statement. "The Supreme Court had the opportunity to end partisan gerrymandering once and for all but instead a narrow majority chose to wash their hands of the undemocratic practice."
Today, we only have a taste of the extreme partisan gerrymanders that mapmakers can draw using sophisticated technology. SCOTUS' decision ensures that gerrymanders will get much worse in the coming years—and federal courts can do nothing to stop them.
— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) June 27, 2019
"The Supreme Court's decision is a crushing defeat for voting rights," Stern said. "It is hard to overstate the impact of this ruling. Federal courts are now powerless to stop politicians from drawing gerrymanders that indefinitely entrench their party's power. A fiasco for democracy."
Democratic Candidates Talk Immigration, Healthcare & More in First Presidential Primary Debate
Elizabeth Warren Just Went Full “Medicare for All”
Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren bear-hugged “Medicare for All” during the first Democratic presidential debate Wednesday, taking her support a step further than she’s been willing to go in the past.
Warren, who has previously voiced tepid support for Medicare for All, raised her hand when the ten candidates onstage were asked if they supported a policy to “abolish their private health insurance and replace it with a government-run plan.”
“I’m with Bernie on Medicare for All,” Warren said afterward. ...
Warren was unequivocal onstage Wednesday. ... Previously, Warren had embraced the term while dancing around the details.
Map: before and after the #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/7y3iNoJR1N
— GoogleTrends (@GoogleTrends) June 27, 2019
Wapo:
The first Democratic debate night transcript, annotated
NYT:
Renewables Outstrip Coal in the U.S. for the First Time Ever
For the first time ever, the United States is getting more of its energy from renewable sources of energy than from coal.
In April, power from solar panels, wind turbines and hydroelectric dams generated 68.5 million megawatt-hours of electricity, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), released on Tuesday night. In the same period, coal-fired power stations generated just over 60 million kMW hours.
April’s figures mark a record high for clean energy sources, while the amount of power generated by coal is at its lowest point in years. The shift has been facilitated by the rapid expansion of solar and wind farms across the U.S., which is driven by falling capital costs.
A recent study found that in almost three-quarters of cases, producing electricity with wind and solar was cheaper than using coal.
But the victory is likely to be short-lived, given that coal’s low numbers were in part down to routine servicing at power plants across the country, Bloomberg reported. Coal is expected to once again to return to its position as the second-biggest source of electricity, after natural gas, especially as demand increases over the summer.
Residents of America’s Cancer Town confront chemical plant owner in Japan
Residents of Reserve, Louisiana, have travelled to Tokyo to confront the executives and shareholders of a Japanese company which runs a chemical plant they say is responsible for a spike in cancers and a litany of other diseases in their home town – the town at the highest risk of cancer due to airborne toxicity anywhere in the US, according to the Environment Protection Agency (EPA). Their trip involved a series of public and private meetings with environmental groups and stakeholders in the chemicals giant Denka, which operates the Pontchartrain Works facility in Reserve. It marks a significant escalation in the residents’ campaign for clean air.
The Pontchartrain Works facility, was opened in 1968 by the chemicals giant DuPont and sold to Japanese firm Denka in 2015. It is the only site in the US to produce the synthetic rubber neoprene, which is made of the compound chloroprene, listed by the federal government as a likely carcinogen. In 2015, the EPA found emissions from the plant placed residents at the highest risk of cancer due to airborne toxicity anywhere in the US. ...
Last week, Robert Taylor and Lydia Gerrard, a fellow resident whose husband, Walter, died a year ago of cancer, attempted to make their case directly to Denka at its annual shareholders meeting in central Tokyo. They were refused entry after an “extended confrontation with Denka people”, but held a protest outside, said Ruhan Nagra of the University Network for Human Rights (UNHR), a US-based civil society group that organised the trip. “We had a huge banner saying ‘Denka, Stop Poisoning Black People’ in English and Japanese, and handed out flyers,” said Nagra. ...
Chemicals giant DuPont operated the plant for nearly half a century, before selling it to a Japanese counterpart Denka just before an EPA report designated it as the principle cause of the highest risk for cancer of any factory in the US, at 50 times the national average. Earlier in the month the Louisiana state government announced its intention to sue both Denka and DuPont over alleged Clean Air Act violations at the plant, a significant and rare move in a state known for lax environmental enforcement.
The Philly Oil Refinery That Blew Up Last Week Is Closing
The operator of the East Coast’s biggest oil refinery announced Tuesday that they’re shuttering the 150-year-old Philly plant after an explosion Friday that rattled residents as far away as Delaware. But there were plenty of problems before Friday.
The Philadelphia Energy Solutions plant had been struggling financially for years, and had failed to make necessary infrastructure improvements that would’ve kept it in line with environmental regulations. As it turned crude oil into everything from jet fuel to plastics, the plant spewed toxic chemicals into the air in South Philly (even when it wasn’t on fire), and it was found to be in violation of the Clean Air Act nine of the last 12 quarters. It has been in and out of bankruptcy for years.
“During normal operations, the refinery put out pollutants just from the act of refining,” Peter DeCarlo, a professor who specializes in air quality issues at Drexel University, told VICE News after the explosion. “It’s the largest source of pollution from any stationary source in the city.” Benzene, which causes leukemia, and toluene, which can cause nervous system damage, were two of the major carcinogenic pollutants coming out of the plant during normal operations, according to DeCarlo.
In its financial struggles for the last few years, the plant has dipped in and out of bankruptcy. They’ve been fined numerous times by regulatory agencies, but it’s not clear that Philadelphia Energy Solutions had the cash on hand to pay those fines. In May, the company stopped making payments to the union workers at the site’s retirement fund, opting instead to pay them in a lump sum next year.
Also of Interest
Here are some articles of interest, some which defied fair-use abstraction.
Trump May be in Too Deep to Avoid War with Iran
Pompeo: US Prepared to Remove Troops From Afghanistan
How Sen. Rick Scott became Big Oil’s point man on Venezuelan regime change
So Who Is Reporting That Trump Sanctions Have Killed Thousands of Venezuelans?
Jeremy Corbyn and the UK’s Moment in History
Yes, Your Rent Is Too Damn High. Here’s What 2020 Democrats Want to Do About It.
California Affordable Housing Crisis Has Critics Asking: Where’s Kamala?
So Much for Middle-Class Joe: Biden Raked in Millions After Leaving the White House
Monty Python to mark 50th anniversary with record attempt
A Little Night Music
James "Son" Thomas - Beefsteak Blues
James "Son" Thomas - Rock Me, Mama
James "Son" Thomas - Standing At The Crossroads
James "Son" Thomas - It Hurts Me Too
James "Son" Thomas - Mama Don't 'Low No Guitar Playin' 'Round Here
James Son Thomas - Big Fat Mama
James 'Son' Thomas - Dust My Broom
James Son Thomas - Crawlin Kingsnake
James Son Thomas - Fast Boogie
Comments
Thank you, is. Informative as usual. I remember when
Bush was working to get us into Iraq, there was a huuuuge demonstration in DC, but there was practically nothing in the news. It didn’t matter that so many Americans opposed the war. We still got stuck with the check, An so many of our fellow human beings died for no reason except that our rulers wanted a war.
I have tried to publish an essay about a strange mailer my husband got today. I always have problems with the time. I expect to see two numbers divided by a colon, but there are three number with two colons. God knows where my essay has or will end up!
"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"
evening lily...
heh, i remember that demonstration well. i was there.
there were more people than at any previous dc rally that i attended since solidarity day back in 1981. it was enormous and it kind of took on a festive air. i remember seeing people leaning out of windows along the route cheering us on.
there were so many people, you couldn't help thinking that numbers like that couldn't be ignored.
but, of course, we were. the evil powers have immunized themselves against our opinion and mere "feet in the street" are no longer enough to stop them. we are going to have to find another, more effective way of expressing our disapproval.
So frustrating for you to have been ignored by
TPTB. I was watching the news waiting for a reaction, but all I saw was a “(un)fair and balanced” account of two demonstrations: yours and the tiny (and I mean tiny) counter demonstration. A minute and a half of coverage! You’d miss it if you sneezed. Also I’m certain they seriously fudged the numbers to make the anti-war group seem smaller than it actually was. I’m glad you stood up, though. Thank you for your service!
"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"
Really like
the music...just plain awesome, thanks! Now.... onward through the news (ugh).
evening randtntx...
glad you're digging the music. sorry about the news.
have a great evening!
Early 'good evening,' Joe! Hey, appreciate
your efforts to get us the transcripts. Since I've decided to go ahead and tune into this evening's event, I'll have to postpone reading it until the weekend; but, I will. Actually, I get more out of a print transcript, than listening to the garbage.
Speaking of which, we're still debating whether we want to just 'listen' on XM, or, if we should stream it online. There's something to be said for seeing the candidates' facial expressions, etc., but, that can also be a distraction (from their message).
Looks like the corporatist 'talking heads' liked Castro. Figures. Actually, I don't recognize his voice, and, since I was working on Mr M's spreadsheets, every word didn't register/sink in--unless, I was listening intently. So, I mostly missed hearing him. Anyway, I was mostly interested in hearing TG and Warren.
My money's on Biden 'blowing it.' Somehow, he strikes me as pretty angry about the accusations of racism, or insensitivity to it, whichever. But, hey--been wrong many times before. Guess we'll see.
I'd like to think that some of them will mix it up--but, I rather doubt that will happen. They all seem to be playing things so very cautious--more than usual. Not sure I get it. If anything, we need people who are willing to take bold risks, not shy away from them. Their namby-pamby 'BS' is quite disheartening, to me. Blows me away that there are folks who would 'pay good money' to attend these debates. Oh, well . . .
Next week I'll post about a pet service that I've found. Pretty neat. Wish I'd known about them when 'the B' was ill. There's not point in wondering if it might have made a difference, but, I've signed up for it, because I'm not convinced that 'just maybe' Mister B's last medical emergency could have turned out differently, if I'd had their input. Anyhoo, we're real pleased with it, thus far, although we've only used it for relatively minor matters (since most of Kaity's medical issues didn't happen after-hours).
Hey, still sweltering, here--but, got a flash-flood warning a few minutes ago. So, maybe it'll cool down for at least a few hours.
(Stiff couple of fingers, today--in advance, apologize for typos, etc.)
Everyone have a nice evening. If situation allows, will swing back by to give my 2 Cents about the Debate. Unless it's a total debacle, in which case, I'll probably save it for tomorrow evening.
Mollie
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
evening mollie...
i'm guessing that there's more than the usual behind-the-scenes dnc politics going on with instructions not to bloody each other too much.
it's still sweltering here, humid though down to the low 80's now (was in the high 90's today - just awful) probably only going to get down into the upper 70's tonight. yuk. ready to move to maine.
Good evening Joe. Heh, SoS HRC, the gift that keeps on
giving, just like the RW supreme that the Dems let the GOP create. Ah well.
So does the twit map show most of the country a now supporting the Greens, or what?
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 --
evening el...
the twit thing assigns each candidate a color and shows the trends in google searches before and during the debate. it looks to me like gabbard and booker got some mileage out of the debate by that measure.
Ah, thanks. I got spoiled during a long distant age when each
graph or chart had an accompanying table showing what variables each color or symbol represented.
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 --
Thank you for the news Joe!
and yet it is so scary. It must be hard on you researching this. I think War with Iran scares me the most. Russia's nuclear missile is next. But there are so many good people it gives me courage, the Human Rights people interviewing the little prisoners taken from their families for example. I guess that's where we are - between hope and despair. I have faith in the good people winning, somehow, some way.
My best to you.
To thine own self be true.
evening marilyn...
great to see you! i hope that all is going well for you and yours.
while researching all of the things that i post can get a bit depressing at times, it is far better than not knowing for me.
yep, there are a lot of good people out there doing their bit to fix the things that are wrong and remind us of our moral obligations to make the world a better place.
have a good one!
Forewarned is forearmed.
What we need is the truth, good, bad, or ugly.
And the (fine blues) music plays, my friend.
You are amazing, can't possibly thank you enough for what you do day in and day out.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
evening otc...
thanks!
have a great evening!
great tunes JS!
GREAT guitar player, great music! Lot of folks loved that Catfish Blues... not the least of which was Hendrix. Funny too Jagger stole a line from it for Start Me Up", with ... 'made a dead man... ' (let's say smile). Nice Dust My Broom too.
Thanks!
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
evening dystopian...
heh, a lot of blues lyrics like the smiling lyric you mention have been kicking around for a while.
here's another source of that lyric by an artist that could make mick jagger blush (at the very least)
funny twitter picts
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Compensated Spokes Model for Big Poor.
Joe, thought I'd post a copy & paste about VAT Tax
that we were talking about (the other day).
Either tomorrow or next week, I'll post a bit more on this topic. Bolded a key point. From what I'm finding, 'a tourist'--or, anyone who purchases items, then departs from Uruguay with them within a 90-day period with it/them, can file to be exempted from paying the VAT.
IOW, sounds like the only way to escape them, would be to live in Uruguay--not on a biannual basis, but, on a quarterly basis--or, literally every other season. We wouldn't absolutely rule that out. But, we'd have to compare how much we save by avoiding them, to what the actual travel costs would be. (including for our Cockatiel and Pup).
Mollie
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
Hi Mollie, my DH and I did something similar around 2010.
We chose France. Then once here, looked at two different regions. Had lots of criteria for which continent and region. After that specifics on places to live. Finally what to look for in a village or area and housing.
Finances, such as how much required in a bank for French immigrants was important. Cost of living; Transportation for oldsters; access to services; health care; openess to etrangers; banking; weather; climate; housing. Lots more.
If you want to talk about this we can PM or use Open Threads. It might be interesting for others too.
Wishing you two the best. We decided we had better move while we had the energy and interest to make it happen. We think we did the right thing so far.
The VAT is in many countries including Canada. Any US visitor can reclaim taxes paid in most other countries, as far as I know. We have reclaimed VAT from Canada in the past.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
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Hi, DM, it's very good to see you! You had me going,
with the 'DH' reference. (I'm no whiz at internet acronyms, but, will assume it stands for Dear/Darling Husband.
) BTW, even though I call you DM, thought I'd at least ask if you have a preference--such as your entire handle, Dawn, etc.? Please, let me know, and I'll be happy to oblige.
As I mentioned to Joe, I've got time constraints this evening, but, hey--would love to chat on Open Thread, and, PM's, too, in some situations. (never know what questions might come up) Seriously, I, and, I imagine others, would love to hear anything you might want to share about your expatriation to France. Many people here are careful about certain info--location, etc.--so, understand if you'd rather speak in generalities. That would do, anyway.
Agree that we'll find a VAT Tax many places (if not most). From my experience, any of the countries with a really decent social safety net, have them. We've lived in Mexico (twice), and, sorta lean toward a Spanish-speaking country. (Also, Spanish was one of my majors are the undergraduate level. That's how I landed at UDLAP the first time--as a student. I'm not native Spanish-speaking, and, have no where near the fluency I once had. But, don't believe it'd be that difficult, once immersed in it, again.) BTW, I love the sound of French. So, for the heck of it, once we get settled in a retirement situation, may pick it up again. We have two really excellent and extensive self-directed courses by Linguaphone--Spanish and French.
Obviously, I spend a good bit of time kibitzing at EB. Including, talking about personal stuff, pets, etc. So, hope you'll join in the convo any time the mood strikes you. I'm sure you'd better 'understand' how a VAT works, than I, so, if I make a silly comment, please jump in and correct me. And that goes for any other topic.
Gotta run, and leave a comment on Medicare, before I take the Pup out, and start helping Mr M, again. Honestly, I didn't realize that you have expatriated; so, very happy that you popped by.
[Edited: 'lean' not 'learn']
Have a nice weekend.
Mollie
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
thanks, mollie...
i'll stay tuned for whatever else you find in your search for places to retire to.
you might want to look into what the base cost of living (food, shelter, medical care/pharma, etc.) in uruguay is. if it is significantly lower than here, even with the taxes it might represent a savings.