The Evening Blues - 11-5-19
Hey! Good Evening!
This evening's music features New Orleans singer and piano player Cousin Joe Pleasant. Enjoy!
Cousin Joe - Everything Made of Wood Once Was a Tree
“You know what uranium is, right? This thing called nuclear weapons like lots of things are done with uranium including some bad things.”
-- Donald J. Trump
News and Opinion
To Avoid World War III, Gorbachev Says All 'Nuclear Weapons Must Be Destroyed'
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev warned Monday that heightened nuclear tensions between Russia and the West have dramatically increased the threat of another catastrophic global conflict.
"As long as weapons of mass destruction exist, primarily nuclear weapons, the danger is colossal," Gorbachev said in an interview with the BBC. "All nations should declare—all nations—that nuclear weapons must destroyed. This is to save ourselves and our planet."
Gorbachev's remarks came just months after President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty that Gorbachev negotiated and signed with former U.S. President Ronald Reagan. ...
Asked Monday to describe current tensions between Russia and the West, Gorbachev responded, "Chilly, but still a war."
"Look at what's happening," said Gorbachev. "In different places, there are skirmishes, there is shooting, aircraft and ships being sent here, there, and everywhere. This is not the kind of situation we want. There mustn't be bloodshed."
Tulsi Gabbard Introduces Bill to Withdraw Troops from Syria
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) introduced a resolution to the House of Representatives on October 31st titled, “Directing the President pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities in the Syrian Arab Republic that have not been authorized by Congress.”
The idea of the bill is to remove any troops in Syria that do not have Congressional approval to be there, which is all of them. The resolution says, “Congress has not declared war with respect to, or provided any specific statutory authorization for, United States military participation in any activity related to securing, guarding, possessing, profiting off of, or developing oil fields in northern Syria. All of these actions are unconstitutional.”
Iraq protests: Is the collapsing economy a catalyst for change?
Bolivian opposition leader calls for 'radical' strike action, blockades
A civic leader urged Bolivians to “paralyse” government institutions and block the borders as protests sparked by the contentious election victory last month of President Evo Morales entered their third week on Monday.
The long-standing leftist leader is facing rising pressure from opposition groups pushing for him to step down or to force new elections. An international group is also doing an audit of the Oct. 20 vote.
Amid splits in the opposition, civic groups have come to the fore, with strikes and road blockades in cities tapping into anger over Morales’ near 14-year rule.
At a large rally on Monday night in the eastern city of Santa Cruz, Luis Fernando Camacho, a civic leader who has become a key figure in the opposition, urged supporters to peacefully jam government institutions, starting from midnight.
“We have decided to radicalize the indefinite national civic strike,” he told a gathering of tens of thousands, adding that he would march into La Paz on Tuesday with a resignation letter for Morales. Camacho had previously set a 48-hour deadline for Morales to resign, which expired on Monday night.
Protesters in Chile Have Been ‘Murdered, Tortured, and Disappeared’
Chile protests resume, demonstrations crimp economic growth
Thousands of Chileans took to the streets again Monday to demand better social services, some clashing with police, as protesters demanded an end to economic inequality even as the government announced that weeks of demonstrations are hurting the country's economic growth.
The latest protest came after a short break in the weekslong wave of demonstrations in which 20 people have died in clashes amid looting and arson that forced the cancellation of two upcoming major international summits in what is considered one of Latin America's wealthiest countries.
Most Chileans starting last week were on a long holiday weekend and Monday's protest was relatively small compared to earlier demonstrations. But the thousands who turned out showed that protest movement did not appear to be fizzling.
Most demonstrators supporting the leaderless national movement marched peacefully, but some groups threw rocks and firebombs at riot police officers — who responded with volleys of tear gas and water cannon blasts to try to disperse the crowds. The government said that at least six police officers were injured, including two who were attacked and set on fire with Molotov cocktails. ...
Before the marchers gathered, Finance Minister Ignacio Briones warned that negative economic impacts from the protests in the country that is the planet's leading copper producer forced officials to lower their 2019 economic growth prediction to between 2% and 2.2% from 2.6%.
His announcement was met with disdain by protesters who said they have not shared in Chile's economic prosperity.
Dresden, Germany Declares a 'Nazi Emergency'
A city in eastern Germany known as a hotbed for right-wing extremism has declared a “Nazi emergency” to tackle the problem. “This city has a problem with Nazis,” Max Aschenbach, a councillor for the satirical political party known as The Party, told Dresden’s city council when he proposed the motion last week.
Aschenbach said the language used in the resolution — which echoes warnings from environmentalists about a “climate emergency” — is largely symbolic but promises to strengthen liberal democratic culture, protect minorities, and support victims of far-right violence. The council, which passed the resolution with just 10 votes Wednesday, intends to convey the seriousness of the threat posed by the far right in Dresden, the capital of the east German state of Saxony, which has skinhead and hooligan scenes.
“Politics must finally begin to ostracize that and say, 'No, that's unacceptable,'” Aschenbach told local public broadcaster MDR.
The council's resolution specifically cites concerns that “anti-democratic, anti-pluralist, misanthropic and right-wing-extremist attitudes and actions, including violence, are occurring with increasing frequency.” But not everyone agrees. The Christian Democratic Union — the center-right party that governs Germany and holds the largest number of seats on Dresden’s city council — voted against the motion and described it as a stunt.
Chris Hedges breaks down the current situation. Here's a short extract. Support either side of the current struggle to govern the United States and get all the tyranny you can eat.
The Enemy Within
The impeachment of Trump marks a new and frightening chapter in American politics. The deep state has shown its face. It has made a public declaration that it will not tolerate dissent, although Trump’s dissent is rhetorical, mercurial and ineffectual. The effort to impeach Trump sends an ominous message to the American left. The deep state not only intends to prevent, as it did in 2016, Bernie Sanders or any other progressive Democrat from achieving power, but has signaled that it will destroy any politician who attempts to question the maintenance and expansion of empire. Its animus toward the left is far more pronounced than its animus toward Trump. And its resources to destroy those on the left are nearly inexhaustible. ...
There are no internal or external checks on the deep state. The democratic institutions, including the press, that once gave citizens a voice and a say in the exercise of power have been neutered. The deep state will further the corporate consolidation of wealth and power, expand the social inequality that has thrust half of Americans into poverty or near poverty, strip us of our remaining civil liberties and feed the rapacious appetites of the military and the war industry. The resources of the state will be squandered as the federal deficit balloons. The frustration and feelings of stagnation among a disempowered and neglected citizenry, which contributed to the election of Trump, will mount.
There will come a moment of reckoning, as there has during the last few days in Lebanon and Chile. Social unrest is inevitable. Any population can be pushed only so far. The deep state, incapable of reform and determined to retain its grip on power, will morph under the threat of popular unrest into a corporatized fascism. It has at its disposal the legal and physical tools to instantly turn the United States into a police state. This is the real danger behind the deep state’s drive to impeach Trump. It is a stark message to obey or be silenced. Trump, in the end, is not the problem. We are. And if the deep state fails to rid itself of Trump it will, however reluctantly, use him to carry out its dirty work. Trump, if he manages to survive in power, will get his military parades. We will get, with or without Trump, tyranny.
Lots of good analysis in this Aaron Mate piece. It's worth a full read. Here's a snippet or two that I found interesting:
Trump’s Impeachment Lures Democrats Into a Cold War Mentality
Last week’s vote by House Democrats to formally open an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump followed testimony that appeared to boost their case. Several US officials told Congress that the Trump administration sought to leverage US military aid to pressure Ukraine into opening politically tainted investigations. But liberals cheering on these developments should be mindful of their limitations—and their potential consequences. The available testimony does not strike me as being as damning for Trump as it is being portrayed. More importantly, even if that proves to be a faulty interpretation, the impeachment frenzy is enrolling liberals in a dangerous Cold War mentality that could threaten their own election chances in 2020.
The Democrats’ theory of the case is plausible: At the same time as Trump’s chosen point man, EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland, pressured Ukraine to launch politically beneficial investigations, the president froze military aid as a tool of added leverage. But although the available testimony helps the impeachment case so far, we have not uncovered a smoking gun. ...
Another star witness, Vindman, offers a similar outlook. Russia, he says, “has manifested an overtly aggressive foreign policy” necessitating “a deterrent.” To Vindman, that deterrent is “a strong and independent Ukraine,” which, he believes, is “critical to US national security interests because Ukraine is a frontline state and a bulwark against Russian aggression.” Morrison concurs, declaring that the administration’s policy “was to make sure the United States’ longstanding bipartisan commitment to strengthen Ukraine’s security remained unaltered.” In his view, “security sector assistance… is, therefore, essential to Ukraine.”
Given their open dedication to ensuring the continuation of US military aid to Ukraine, it is reasonable to question if the trio’s interpretations of decisions and conversations about freezing military aid were colored by their own policy preferences. As The Washington Post put it, Vindman “told lawmakers that he was deeply troubled by what he interpreted as an attempt by the president to subvert U.S. foreign policy.” While undoubtedly many Democrats and Republicans share Vindman’s foreign policy views, it should be up to the president, not unelected bureaucrats, to decide US foreign policy.
Even if their recollections are accurate, the consequence of embracing their collective worldview is worth considering. We do not need wade far into the intricacies of the Russia-Ukraine conflict to know that the position of Taylor, Vindman, and Morrison—and by extension, the entire liberal political and media establishment now cheering them—is well to the right of what the Democratic Party embodied just one administration ago. The very US military assistance that Trump froze is the same that President Barack Obama refused to provide during his last years in office. Obama feared, as The New York Times noted in 2015, that US weapons sent to Ukraine “would only escalate the bloodshed” in the Donbass and possibly “[end] up in the hands of thugs” (a likely reference to far-right Ukrainians, which proved prescient).
In refusing to send that US military aid, Obama rejected intense pressure from the bipartisan DC foreign policy establishment. This includes Taylor himself, who, as he notes in his opening statement, unsuccessfully lobbied Obama to arm Ukraine.
House committees releases transcripts from impeachment inquiry
The committees investigating impeachment against Donald Trump over his efforts to pressure Ukraine to extract damaging information on his political rivals has entered a “new public phase” with the release of transcripts for two key witnesses.
The deposition transcript with former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch from 11 October 2019 can be read here.
The deposition transcript of former senior adviser to the secretary of state, Ambassador Michael McKinley, from 16 October 2019 can be read here.
Trump rejects whistleblower offer to answer Republican questions
A day after a lawyer for the whistleblower who raised alarms about Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine said his client is willing to answer written questions submitted by House Republicans, the president tweeted: “Written answers not acceptable!” ...
The Whistleblower gave false information & dealt with corrupt politician Schiff. He must be brought forward to testify. Written answers not acceptable! Where is the 2nd Whistleblower? He disappeared after I released the transcript. Does he even exist? Where is the informant? Con!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 4, 2019
The offer to Nunes did not please Trump, who wrote in a familiar vein: “The whistleblower gave false information & dealt with corrupt politician Schiff. He must be brought forward to testify. Written answers not acceptable!” ...
Trump’s Monday morning message continued a line of attack from the weekend. Speaking to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House on Sunday afternoon, Trump was asked if he was “thinking about tweeting out the name of the whistleblower?”
Trump replied: “Well, I’ll tell you what, there have been stories written about a certain individual, a male, and they say he’s the whistleblower. If he’s the whistleblower, he has no credibility because he’s a Brennan guy, he’s a Susan Rice guy, he’s an Obama guy and he hates Trump, and he’s a radical. Now, maybe it’s not him but, if it’s him, you guys ought to release the information.”
Trump Now Has to Turn Over 8 Years of His Tax Returns, Court Rules
A federal appeals court in Manhattan has rejected President Trump’s appeal to keep eight years of his tax returns secret.
The Monday ruling marks a significant loss for Trump, who has fought aggressively to keep his tax returns private, despite such disclosures being common practice among previous presidents.
Trump’s likely to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court, in what promises to be a titanic Constitutional battle over the limits of presidential immunity from investigation and prosecution.
Milwaukee man arrested for allegedly throwing acid at 'illegal' US citizen
Milwaukee police have arrested a suspect who allegedly threw acid at a US citizen after telling him to “go back to [his] country”. Mahud Villalaz suffered second-degree burns to his face after a man threw acid from a container in front of a restaurant on Friday night, in a predominantly Latino part of Milwaukee.
Surveillance video showed a hooded man pointing at Villalaz, who was raised in Peru, before throwing the liquid. Villalaz stumbled away from the man, who police said is white. Speaking outside the hospital where he was treated, Villalaz told local news channel WISN 12 the incident began as a parking dispute and escalated when the other man accused him of being “illegal” and asked him why he had “invaded” the US. The man then tossed the acid. ...
The president of local advocacy group Forward Latino, Darryl Morin, told the Milwaukee Independent police were investigating the attack as a hate crime.
More than $16,000 had been raised to help support Villalaz and his family as of Monday morning. In a post on the crowdfunding site GoFundMe, his sister said Villalaz would be unable to do his job as a welder until his burns healed and that he will need follow-up care for damage to his eyesight. ...
Some experts have said there is a link between political rhetoric and hate crimes. The comments Villalaz said his attacker made paralleled rhetoric from Donald Trump, who regularly disparages immigrants and downplays the destructive impact of white nationalism.
Rights Groups in Canadian Court Because 'The US Cannot Be Considered a Safe Country for Refugees'
A collective of rights groups is demanding Canada meet its legal obligations by recognizing that the United States is no longer a safe place to send refugees and scrapping an agreement between the two governments.
The demand comes from the Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR), Amnesty International (AI), and the Canadian Council of Churches (CCC), who, along with an individual litigant, are in a Canadian federal court this week to challenge the Safe Third Country Agreement.
"We are asking the court to look at the impact of the Safe Third Country Agreement on women, men, and children who can't find safety in the U.S. and to assess the legality of Canada sending them back to detention and potential deportation to persecution," CCR president Claire Roque said in a statement released last week. "The impacts are particularly severe for women, because of U.S. policies that close the door on women fleeing gender-based violence," she said. "The conclusion is clear to us: the U.S. cannot be considered a safe country for refugees."
The Safe Third Country Agreement was signed in 2002 and went into effect in 2004. As NPR previously reported,
[It] operates from the assumption that both the U.S. and Canada offer protections, so people fleeing their homes should apply for asylum in either country they arrive in first. [...]
Under the accord, people leaving the U.S. cannot apply for asylum in Canada at an official crossing point, or vice versa. Except for a few limited cases, such as if they have close family in Canada, they will be turned back to the U.S.
The refugee advocates say that assumption is flawed, and that the lack of proper protections for refugees in the U.S has driven many to seek entry to Canada through irregular crossings, thereby dodging the agreement's mandate that they be sent back.
The lawsuit was first launched in 2005 then resubmitted in 2017 after the groups said the Trump administration worsened the prospect of refugees' rights being upheld.
All It Takes Is a $100 Saw To Cut Through Trump’s Big Border Wall
President Trump has bragged about his border wall being “virtually impenetrable,” but it turns out all you need to get through it is a cheap saw.
Smugglers are reportedly using under-$100 saws to cut through sections of the U.S.-Mexico border wall that have already been built in parts of the San Diego and El Centro sectors in California. Other groups have begun using makeshift ladders made of reinforcement bars to scale the wall and get around its “anti-climb panels,” several U.S. officials told the Washington Post.
Sources told the Post that cartels and smuggling organizations have used a tool called a reciprocating saw — the cheapest of which cost less than $100 at most hardware stores — to cut through the wall’s steel bollards in certain sectors in California. Because of the way the wall is built, smugglers only need to cut through a single slat to make a hole big enough for a person to pass through, according to the Post.
11 months ago @JuliaEAinsley and I obtained a photo showing DHS, while testing Trump's prototype wall designs, cut through steel bollard with a saw available at Home Depot. Here's our story: https://t.co/rt6l8djylU
Today @NickMiroff reports it's actually happening. https://t.co/EMBTrp8elp pic.twitter.com/QwpSztVhkj
— Jacob Soboroff (@jacobsoboroff) November 2, 2019
Sanders Says His Plan to Finance Medicare for All 'Much More Progressive' Than Warren's
Sen. Bernie Sanders said Sunday that his plan to finance Medicare for All is "much more progressive" than the pay-for released last week by his 2020 Democratic presidential rival Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who called for a head tax on employers and new levies on the wealthy as key parts of her proposal to fund a comprehensive single-payer system.
In an interview with ABC News, Sanders warned Warren's proposed head tax - which she terms an "employer Medicare contribution" - could harm workers' wages and suppress job growth.
"I think that that would probably have a very negative impact on creating those jobs, or providing wages, increased wages and benefits for those workers," Sanders said. "So I think we have a better way, which is a 7.5% payroll tax, which is far more I think progressive, because it'll not impact employers of low-wage workers but hit significantly employers of upper-income people."
"The function of healthcare is to provide healthcare to all people, not to make $100 billion in profits for the insurance companies and the drug companies," said the Vermont senator. "So, Elizabeth Warren and I agree on that. We do disagree on how you fund it. I think the approach that [I] have, in fact, will be much more progressive in terms of protecting the financial well-being of middle income families."
In a white paper (pdf) released in April after the introduction of the Medicare for All Act of 2019 in the Senate, Sanders proposed a 7.5% payroll tax on employers that would exempt the first $2 million in payroll "to protect small businesses."
On Friday, Matt Bruenig of the left-wing People's Policy Project think tank similarly argued that a payroll tax would be significantly more progressive than Warren's proposed head tax.
"Under the 8 percent employer-side payroll tax, the employer taxes paid for a worker earning $15,000 per year is $1,200, while the employer taxes paid for a worker earning $200,000 per year is $16,000," Bruenig wrote. "Under the $9,500 employer-side head tax, the employer taxes paid is $9,500 for both workers."
Sanders' remarks to ABC were his first public comments on Warren's 9,000-word proposal. The Vermont senator said he spoke to Warren on the phone after she released her plan last Friday. Asked about Sanders' criticism of her plan, Warren said Sunday that "Bernie may have a different vision of how to pay for it, but let's be really clear: Bernie and I are headed in exactly the same direction."
Dems meltdown over new poll
Krystal Ball: Why woke signaling will lose to Trump
As Examples Mount, Sanders Campaign Accuses Corporate Media of 'Deliberate Attempt to Erase Bernie'
Sen. Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign alleged Monday that corporate media outlets are intentionally ignoring—and attempting to undermine—the Vermont senator's significant gains in recent polls with "cartoonishly inaccurate" reporting and headlines.
"In the last week, a wave of polls has emerged showing a genuine, full-on Bernie surge—but you might not know that if you tuned into cable TV or read the headlines from the national press corps," Sanders speechwriter David Sirota wrote in the campaign's Bern Notice newsletter. "In fact, you might not even know Bernie is running for president." Sirota highlighted what he described as a widening "divide between The Actual Polls and The Media's Manufactured Narrative."
The polls, Sirota noted, show Sanders is leading in New Hampshire, in second place and gaining momentum (pdf) in Iowa, in second place and surging in the key battleground state of Michigan, and the only 2020 Democrat leading President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
"Despite all this data, many in the national press corps continued to both inaccurately report the polling results—and also pretend Bernie doesn't exist," wrote Sirota, who pointed to several flagrant examples that he said are part of a pattern of media outlets attempting to "ignore and derail" the Sanders campaign's momentum.
"In a report about its own poll showing Bernie in first place in New Hampshire," Sirota wrote. "CNN put an inaccurate graphic up showing Bernie in second place."
The Intercept's Ryan Grim highlighted the error on Twitter:
The poll on the right actually found Sanders in first. It’s even CNN’s poll. They dropped him to 2 anyway. pic.twitter.com/bNDfyZVwJa
— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) November 2, 2019
Sirota also cited a report by the New York Times claiming that South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg "eclipsed" Sanders—despite the poll the story was based showing Sanders in second place ahead of Buttigieg.
On other occasions, corporate media outlets like CNN and the Times have simply left Sanders out of the conversation—a phenomenon the Sanders campaign has described as the "Bernie Blackout."
If one of these things happened, you could call it an accident. But all of them together suggest that this is a deliberate effort by billionaire-owned media to erase @BernieSanders, the candidate most powerfully confronting the billionaire class. https://t.co/eo6JljsrPq pic.twitter.com/UJDGilrvhc
— David Sirota (@davidsirota) November 4, 2019
Bernie overtakes Warren in early primary states
— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) November 4, 2019
NYC Voters to Decide Today to Adopt Ranked-Choice Voting in Municipal Elections
Two Surging Candidates Could Make Philadelphia Far More Progressive. Democrats Are Going to War to Stop Them.
Philadelphia has the potential to elect two Working Families Party candidates to its city council on Tuesday, replacing Republicans in two seats the GOP has held since the 1950s. The seats, by the city’s charter, belong to a minority party. If the WFP managed to supplant the GOP, the city council would be dragged dramatically to the left. The Democratic Party is doing everything it can to halt that progress. Over the last few months, the city’s bosses have threatened to remove party committee members who back the third-party candidates from their posts within the party. (It’s unclear what steps the party would take to confront rank-and-file or at-large officials who don’t hold leadership positions but decided to back non-Democrats. Ward leaders risk losing their titles.)
The drama over the surging campaigns of both Kendra Brooks and Nicolas O’Rourke, two longtime community organizers backed by the WFP, that’s played out over the last several months echoes the ongoing debate national Democrats are having over how to deal with an insurgent progressive wing — except in this case, the object of protection is not incumbent establishment Democrats, but Republicans.
The Democrats’ House campaign arm, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, issued a blanket policy earlier this year cutting off consultants and firms working with primary challenges, which has only seemed to energize progressive candidates and the firms working with them. Philadelphia has taken the same stance toward third-party candidates its Democratic officials want to support, going out of its way to warn committee participants that their positions could be in jeopardy if they back someone who isn’t Democrat. The results of Tuesday’s election could demonstrate whether that strategy is effective, at least at the local level. ...
Both Brooks and O’Rourke see their candidacies as part of a broader push to one day build a progressive majority on the city council, working together with progressive Democrats like Gym to advance priorities including tax reform, affordable housing, tenants’ rights, and continuing to expand rights for retail and service workers. Both candidates are endorsed by progressive groups like the Philadelphia chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, Unite HERE Philadelphia, Make the Road Action in PA, and Sunrise Movement’s Philadelphia chapter.
Trump begins year-long process to formally exit Paris climate agreement
Donald Trump is moving to formally exit the Paris climate agreement, making the United States the only country in the world that will not participate in the pact, as global temperatures are set to rise 3C and worsening extreme weather will drive millions into poverty.
The paperwork sent by the US government to withdraw begins a one-year process for exiting the deal agreed to at the UN climate change conference in Paris in 2015. The Trump administration will not be able to finalize its exit until a day after the presidential election in November 2020.
The French presidential office said Emmanuel Macron and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping would sign a pact in Beijing on Wednesday that makes reference to the “irreversibility” of the Paris climate accord. The Élysée palace official expressed disappointment at Trump’s move, saying: “We regret this and this only makes the Franco-Chinese partnership on the climate and biodiversity more necessary.”
The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, announced the development on Monday afternoon, saying the agreement would be an “unfair economic burden imposed on American workers, businesses and taxpayers” and that the US has already reduced its heat-trapping emissions.
Bill McKibben on U.S. Withdrawal from Paris Accord, California Fires, Climate Refugees & More
Canadians exposed to high levels of lead in drinking water, investigation finds
Hundreds of thousands of Canadians have been unwittingly exposed to high levels of lead in their drinking water, according to an investigation that tested drinking water in hundreds of homes and reviewed thousands more previously undisclosed results.
Residents in some homes in Montreal and Regina, in the western prairies, are among those drinking and cooking with tap water with lead levels that exceed Canada’s federal guidelines. The investigation found some schools and daycare centers had lead levels so high that researchers noted it could harm children’s health.
A yearlong investigation by more than 120 journalists from nine universities and 10 media organizations, including the Associated Press and the Institute for Investigative Journalism at Concordia University in Montreal, collected test results that properly measure exposure to lead in 11 cities across Canada. Out of 12,000 tests since 2014, one-third – 33% – exceeded the national safety guideline of five parts per billion; 18% exceeded the US limit of 15 ppb. ...
Some localities are taking action. Montreal’s mayor, Valérie Plante, vowed to test 100,000 homes for lead and speed up replacement of lead-lined pipes immediately after journalists sent her an analysis of the city’s internal data revealing high lead levels across the city. ... “Because there is no federal oversight, everybody does what they want,” said engineering professor Michèle Prévost, who quit working on a government study of school drinking water in frustration over the lack of lead testing. “Most provinces ignore this very serious problem.” ...
Canada is one of the only developed countries that does not have a nationwide drinking water standard. Even countries that struggle to provide safe drinking water have established acceptable lead levels: India’s is 10 ppb, Mexico and Egypt’s are 5 ppb, according to those country’s government websites.
PG&E Spent Millions on Lobbying Following Bankruptcy, Wining and Dining Lawmakers Who Sponsored Bailout
The decision by Pacific Gas & Electric to declare bankruptcy in January did not prevent the utility giant from continuing to spend big on political influence in California’s Statehouse.
The investor-owned utility’s transmission lines have been blamed for multiple wildfires, including the Tubbs fire in October 2017 and the Camp Fire wildfire in November 2018, the two most destructive and deadly wildfires in California history. The company infamously neglected necessary safety upgrades on infrastructure known to be a fire hazard, instead choosing to spend its ratepayers’ money on executive compensation, billions of dollars of investor dividends, and on buying political influence.
The company’s plunge into Chapter 11, widely viewed as maneuver to avoid legal liability for wildfire victims, has temporarily suspended dividend payments to investors, but it hasn’t stopped the company from showering the political system with money in an attempt to secure a preferential bond that could leave customers picking up the tab to cover the company’s negligent behavior. The latest ethics filings disclosed with the California Secretary of State show that PG&E has spent at least $2.1 million on lobbying policymakers this year, well after declaring bankruptcy, with hefty fees spent to retain half a dozen prominent consulting firms and branding experts, along with a team of in-house lobbyists.
Also of Interest
Here are some articles of interest, some which defied fair-use abstraction.
It’s the DNC, Stupid: Democratic Party, Not Russia, Has Delegitimized the Democratic Process
'We've legalized the abuse of the person through the personal' – Snowden on Facebook data collection
Canada's Green party leader Elizabeth May to step down after 13 years
Europe Can Do More Than Watch the Crisis in Kurdistan
British Government Disinformation Shop Lost Charity Status - Continues In New Format
Why Twitter’s ban on political ads isn't as good as it sounds
The Imperial Propaganda Machine: Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix
Andrew Yang sets media straight on impeachment
Keiser Report: Cash-Burn Machines
In Peru’s Operation Car Wash, Prosecutors and Witness Doctored Testimony to Avoid Contradictions
Impeachment is not the issue voters in Iowa care about
Alberta’s Alienation From Canada
Drone-mounted lasers reveal ancient settlement off Florida coast
A Little Night Music
Cousin Joe - Hard Times
Cousin Joe - Weddin' Day Blues
Cousin Joe - Bad Luck Blues
Cousin Joe with Earl Bostic Orchestra - Make Me Strong As Samson
Smilin' Joe - Misery
Cousin Joe - Don't Pay Me No Mind
Cousin Joe - Living on Borrowed Time
Cousin Joe - The Barefoot Boy
Cousin Joe - Life Is A One-Way Ticket
Cousin Joe - Looking For My Baby
Comments
Sadly, this does not come as a surprise
Geez, they aren't even making an effort anymore to hide it. We've made a detour into crazy town and the ante just keeps going up. As to the alternative left to us, does the question then become, how easy do we want to make it for them to achieve this?
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
The ameriKan nnightmare continues unabated
brought to you by the 2 ruling party
gatekeepers of the oligarchs
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
evening anja...
no, they are not making much effort to hide it other than diverting attention. anybody paying attention can clearly see the signs of an information warfare/perception management campaign being carried out in the major media. the propaganda/erasure campaign against sanders is quite plain to see.
perhaps we ought to get a bunch of big name celebrities and rock stars to do a huge benefit concert for sanders and call it "existential aid." bernie and his crowd in the audience can use the high point of the show to scream, "we exist!"
Trump was on target with his “Swing the cameras around!” shtick
in 2016. Of the things he said, that, at least, wasn’t inaccurate or a lie. The oligarch and crony owned media really were then, and still are now, totally biased against both him and Bernie.
The establishment media in Germany even more so. Most people including my friends in Dresden have never even heard of Bernie Sanders and haven’t the faintest clue who he is. They certainly don’t know that in 2016 he almost succeeded in wringing the nomination away from Hillary, whom they do recall.
Anyone vote today?
For the first time in my adult life, I didn’t. There were two votes I could have cast, mayor and city-county counselor. The counselor race was a little interesting just because there was some kind of he said/she said with the state Dems shutting out (or not) a candidate who ended up running as an independent, but as far as I can tell, he was a status quo Dem so not really sure what that was about.
Anyway, with all the presidential stuff going on, I don’t feel there was much light shined on the locals that had off year elections this year. Anyone have anything worth voting for?
Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.
I did not vote today
Not after watching us get screwed last time.
We voted for medical marijuana and to expand Medicaid and both were changed by the legislature. But what makes it worse is that the Mormon church has a seat at the table on both issues. Medicaid passed by the legislature was more expensive and covered less people and needed Trump to okay it. If they didn't then it would revert to what we passed. They didn't okay it and still it's not implemented. Funny though the number of people who are uninsured is going up. Yeah funny. If only..
The marijuana bill is hitting all kinds of problems. Since it's still illegal at the federal level no pharmacist wants to put their license on the line, but they are the only ones who can dispense it. Plus you have to buy a medical card every month. Or you can just drive to Nevada or Colorado and get it much cheaper.
“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt
Yeah, I voted a couple weeks ago in today's election.
Our Mayor and council elections are mail-in only. I voted for our next Mayor, campaigned for her too. I also voted Yes on a sanctuary city initiative.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRKIQS8aYT0 width:500 height:300]
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
Glad you had someone to vote for!
I sincerely mean that.
We have a Democrat incumbent who ran ads touting endorsements from Republicans, a Republican trying to out bipartisan him, listing Democrats he’d name to various positions and the usual Libertarian. A real “two sides of the same coin” situation, unless you wanted to vote Lib.
Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.
evening dr jc...
there were no local elections for me to vote in here.
sorry your choices were not worth going out to the polls for.
Saw "election day" against Nov 5 on my calendar.
I have absolutely no idea what it referred to. I also follow an Illinois political blog and there was no mention of election. State and Federal elections are in even numbered years. There was a local election this year but that was back in March or April.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
I voted!
Four school board officers, one candidate each for three seats and one with no candidate. I didn't know any of them and don't really care about the school board, so I left it blank. A state tax initiative and legalized sports gambling initiative from the legislature, and a local property tax increase measure. That was it, pretty dull. The drop off box in town was busy at lunch time.
"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone
Trump ????...... "This thing..."
So, in TrumpWorld, what are the 'bad things' that might utilize Uranium in their manufacture?
The man's thinking is elemental. Period.
Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.
evening bollox...
heh, i put up that quote to underline the irony that a man who cannot construct a coherent thought about nuclear arms in his own words has been elected to conduct a nations diplomacy and keep the nation safe in a fraught time.
and who has that key
to turn to drop those bombs.
And, that is where we are.
Actually, I would rather be turned to dust in an instant by a nuke than to slowly starve to death when the globe isn't able to produce food.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
evening otc...
well, i'm not sure that the fundamentalist death cult that runs many of the world's institutions wants you to have a choice, though i would imagine that if you could convince them that dropping the big one would bring back their messianic muckety-muck, they'd be happy to go with your choice.
Agree.
Quick death or slow death? That is the question.
Shakespeare would have a field day with this.
And GOOD on Gorbachev.
My dad, I know I have mentioned this before, so forgive me, people, grew up poor and during the Depression, he never knew what being "full" felt like, and then on the D-Day invasion, he took 8 bullets to his stomach.
To his dying day, he said the pain of hunger was worse than those bullets.
Well, I doubt if there are any studies on pain levels of hunger vs. bullets, but I will take his word, since he gave away a portion of everything we ever grew on the farm to the poor.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
heh...
"All our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death."
Has anyone ever questioned why Hillary sold Russia
Our uranium if it would help them build nukes? Besides the money she got for doing it? Just curious.
“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt
heh...
i think that plenty of people have questioned it, but with time and stonewalling, it appears that it has become a mostly partisan interest.
here's an article from last year that might interest you. here's another that shows that further scrutiny by trump's government is criticized as an attempt at authoritarianism..
The Wikipedia article is interesting
It goes on to say that the FBI found no wrongdoing with the Clinton's foundation, but I just don't believe that she did nothing wrong. It's not just the Clinton cash book, but numerous articles showed how she interfered with the state department for people and governments that donated to it. Maybe I'm just prejudiced against her though. We know that certain people are never held accountable for their actions. Maybe once I'm dead and get to know all the secrets of the universe I'll learn the truth.
“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt
Hey, everyone thought that about George W. Bush, too
Then 9/11 and anthrax happened and overnight the narrative became one of a great statesman and another FDR, our savior in time of war, and Congress passed law after law hollowing out civil liberties and giving him and his unitary executive extraordinary powers.
And now? He’s BFFs with Michelle Obama and Ellen DeGeneres.
Hey all ...
Good ole Pat: Establishment’s Coup Attempt Is Approaching End Game
Like I keep saying, if they can do it to Trump, they can do it to Bernie too.
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
evening azazello...
i presume that "they" are already doing what they can to prevent sanders ever having the opportunity (if such is the correct term) to be undermined, denigrated, destroyed and impeached by them.
i'm sure that they would be delighted to provide that service, though, should the american people go against their wishes.
Interesting
Some of the witnesses have stated that they disagreed with Trump's policies in Ukraine and thought they had the right to change them on their own. Vinland said that he tried to change the wording of the transcript, but couldn't. Isn't that something that should be questioned or frowned on? I think so. But the biggest hole in this impeachment farce is this.
Congress had approved those weapons too, but you will notice that Obama's actions didn't warrant impeachment. Another reason why the IC is going after Trump is because he wants Zelensky to make nice with Russia or Zelensky just did that on his own.
One thing that is going to come out when the republicans have their turn is how many democrats have their hands in the Ukraine corruption. Schiff is one of them. Lots of the money that flowed into Ukraine went into US politicians pockets. Maybe. Not sure how trustworthy the site I read this on is.
“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt
good evening
...round and round we go.
Thanks for the music and news Joe. You are a true gift to us all.
I don't have a major take away tonight...just amazement at the way we are manipulated in so many ways. We are all products of our programing....and the lame steam media has the record on cue...over and over again. Is there a way to combat the volume of their voice? My friends seem convinced of the narrative. I try to speak to them but MSDNC is a louder voice than mine. No one looks, but all claim to see.
I speak of impeachment to Syrian withdrawal. Collectively we seem blind.
Meanwhile those who illuminate...Julian , Chelsea, Snowden... are tortured in one way or another. Whata world.
Ironically I live in paradise compared to most. Things are good for me as I watch the world ecosystem, political system, and social structure decay around me. It is a bizarre and odd feeling that brings me no joy. I weep for the young whose future we have borrowed against and capitalized upon. All I can do is try to pay forward. I hope I am.
All the best to you and all of us.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
evening lookout...
daniel's role at belshazzar's feast is getting easier and easier, the handwriting on the wall is no longer cryptic. still, many are blinded by the propaganda.
it is a sad state of affairs.
stay well and thanks for paying forward.
Mene Mene Tekal Upharsin
God has weighed you and found you wanting. And will give your kingdom to the Medes and Persians. IIRC.
Good news for the Afghans and Iranians, eh?
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
evening voice...
heh, good, i was wondering if i had been too cryptic. i see that i wasn't. thanks!
the afghans have always been resistant to the whims of filibustering conquerors and other ne'er-do-wells. they are the toughest, most resilient people on earth. historically, the persians are no slouches, either.
I've known three Iranians
Two immigrants and one First generation. No America hating. Seemed to like being in America.
Of course, the first generation one, a doctor, is an American. Very proud of her culture and pointing out its healthy lifestyle. The other two were Iranian born computer programmers. Very friendly, intent on blending in but still showing others their cuisine and traditions. I've also read that of all the Mideast peoples they are the most America-friendly.
So why are they demonized? Because of the Saudi's? The Saudi's who financed the 9-11 terrorists, led by a Saudi nobleman? Because of oil? I was really upset with the hostage taking but that was the action of a religious government. No reason to hate the people, any more than others should hate Americans because of a Pence administration. (which we may see if Nancy Pelosi gets her way).
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
And then of course there’s also an inconvenient little fact that
on many occasions, operations with horrible consequences for the people of a country are partly stage-managed through U.S. embassies, such as the original overthrow of Mossadegh in Iran in 1953, or the overthrow of Sukarno in Indonesia in 1965 with the attendant mass slaughter.
In fact, the U.S. ambassador to Hawaii himself — in those days called a “minister” — John L. Stevens, played a key role in the overthrow of Hawaii’s Queen Liliuokalani and the replacement of a democratic constitutional monarchy with a racist regime made up of a small cabal of foreign property owners.
So, although in violation of accepted international norms, the seizure of the embassy — by students on their own initiative, by the way, not by the religious government — could, from the students’ point of view, well have been seen as an act of self-defense.
Afghanistan
was I believe called "The graveyard of empires". Russia, Britain, Rome, none had their way. Alexander the Great conquered them, but they absorbed the Macedonians and went their own way after he was gone.
I sarted watching a documentary about that part of the world on Britbox. IIRC, It was called "Worlds of Alexander" and featured the Silk Road. Very interesting but I had no time to finish the series which blended history with archeology and climate change.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
heh...
if i remember my ancient civilization class correctly, alex t. great conquered afghanistan, but conquering is not enough. it was alex's good sense in choosing a well-connected daughter of a powerful warlord for a marriage partner that pacified afghanistan.
Use whatever sword works best!
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Just for you Joe
I woke up last night and thought about that comment on Bush I and chuckled again. Woke up Charlie too. I tried explaining it to her, but...
“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt
evening snoopy...
heh, glad to be of service.
Thanks for the blues.......
What a valuable service you do for us on a nightly basis except when you take off for the weekend. Well deserved I might add. So much to ponder and wonder what it will take to wake the Democratic party the damage they are doing to themselves.
Do not look forward on one hand to going down to Texas because of the political climate I might find among my friends and neighbors. When I left the field was much more open than it might be by now I suspect. In 2017 of course, we were traitors because we did not support Hillary. This time I am sure will find more of the same. I guess I will have to stir them up with some of the things I am reading now and wonder if any of them know some of the current events you bring to light on a daily basis.
Thanks again, Joe.
Life is what you make it, so make it something worthwhile.
This ain't no dress rehearsal!
evening jb...
heh, if i didn't take the weekends off, i'd probably get seriously grouchy and ms. shikspack doubly so.
hopefully we will have a brief reprieve from political backbiting until at least early spring while we wait for the actual voting to start solidifying the fight between progressives and centrists. there is a lot of potential for it to get pretty ugly since a lot of folks on both sides of the divide are not in a mood to compromise.
i just hope that my old buddy, lester of two evils won't drop by and pester me this time.
If your friends all believe that Russia kept Hillary from winni
Show them this article by Elizabeth de Vos. She goes into detail about how the democrats have mucked up voting much more than Russia could ever dream of doing. Neither party goes out of their way to make it easier for people to vote. Republicans have gerrymandered the country and democrats never get enough voting machines in high democratic areas. Oh yeah. And the Supreme Court gutted the voting rights act so there's that too. And CrowdStrike nor the FBI ever completed a report showing that Russia hacked the DNC computers.. good luck with your friends.
“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt
Since Crowdstrike was a foreign company.
Didn't they "meddle" with the election?
Why did the DNC hire a foreign company? Isn't that what they accuse Trump of doing?
I worry more about a foreign company tummaging through a computer that has US state department e-mails mixed with political business than I am of another foreign compnay buying ads on Facebook.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Prett much yes
One reason democrats are impeaching Trump for the Ukraine crap is that Barr is looking into Ukraine's roll in helping Hillary and the DNC get dirt on people in Trump's campaign. Barr is talking to people in Italy and the UK too and this is one you are seeing so many articles saying everything is a CT. If the truth gets out it is going to get real ugly here.
“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt