The Evening Blues - 5-14-20
Hey! Good Evening!
This evening's music features the master of the single entendre, Bo Carter. Enjoy!
Bo Carter - Pussy Cat Blues
"The difference between reality and unreality is that reality has so little to recommend it."
-- Allan Sherman
News and Opinion
Worth a full read, Sirota goes on to discuss Biden's "task forces," which seem "as if the Biden campaign went into the basement of the DNC, dusted off a three-ring binder from 1983 titled “How To Run Campaigns,” and turned to page 863b for the section entitled “Post-Primary Unity Blueprint” -- and we are all expected to pretend that this is something real."
But this snippet right here, stands out on its own. It is complete as it needs to be:
On Being Real In An Age of Parody
I’ve had this sensation of late that when it comes to politics, we are now all trapped inside of a really dark, badly written Saturday Night Live parody, and yet we all somehow have to pretend that this isn’t parody -- to pretend that while our system is flawed, we still have a serious, earnest and authentic democratic process.
Donald Trump pretends the coronavirus situation is being handled, and our politics asks us to take those assertions seriously, even though we know the situation is out of control.
Congressional Democrats pretend they are really putting up an opposition to Trump, even though they keep supporting his corporate bailout bills -- and progressive organizations in DC ask us to applaud the bait and switch.
Congressional Republicans pretend they care about fiscal responsibility, even though they just keep giving away trillions of dollars to their donors -- and the Beltway media echoes the GOP’s austerity message.
It all feels so insultingly performative -- as if both the actors and the audience knows it’s bullshit, and yet we still sit there and pretend it’s totally legit. Indeed, the fraudulence of the cosplay is now becoming so obvious — so in-your-face brazen — that it’s starting to feel downright embarrassing that we nonetheless still have to go through the motions of pretending that this isn’t an SNL skit.
Unemployment claims surpass 36 MILLION, as poorest amongst us get WIPED OUT
Hello, useless congressional (mal)functionaries? The Fed is telling you to get off your asses and provide some money to the little people so that it can trickle up.
Fed warns more cash is needed as US figures reveal widening inequality
More evidence of how the coronavirus pandemic is widening income inequality has emerged after the Federal Reserve announced 40% of households earning less than $40,000 included someone who has lost a job since February. The Federal Reserve chairman, Jerome Powell, released the figure on Wednesday as he called on US policymakers to do more to pull the country out of the economic mire.
“The scope and speed of this downturn are without modern precedent, significantly worse than any recession since the second world war,” Powell said in prepared remarks for a webcast event with the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
The pandemic, which has already cost at least 20m jobs, has caused “a level of pain that is hard to capture in words”, he said.
On Thursday, the Fed will release a report detailing who has been hit hardest by the pandemic downturn. April’s job report showed rises across the board but minorities have been badly affected and those in low-wage work – such as hospitality and retail – have been the first to lose their jobs.
Pelosi Introduces Horrible $3 Trillion Relief Bill w/Dylan Ratigan
Well, it's a start. Let's hope it catches on.
Warning HEROES Act "Doesn't Do Nearly Enough," Progressive Group Calls on House to Vote Down Democrats' Covid-19 Bill
Grassroots advocacy group Demand Progress on Wednesday urged members of Congress to vote down House Democrats' newly introduced coronavirus relief legislation, warning that the bill "doesn't do nearly enough to help those in need and does far too much to help those who are not."
David Segal, executive director of Demand Progress, said in a statement that the House Democratic leadership "has repeatedly made it clear it does not take concerns of progressives seriously, and is actively seeking to disempower them."
"Progressives must oppose this bill so as to stop being taken for granted and to set us on a course that leads to stronger legislation moving forward," said Segal.
Demand Progress, which has more than two million members nationwide, is one of the few prominent progressive advocacy organizations that expressed opposition to the HEROES Act after examining its 1,815 pages. Other major progressive organizations announced their plans to mobilize in support of the legislation shortly after it was introduced on Tuesday.
While the massive bill includes much that progressives support—from hazard pay for frontline workers to emergency funding for the U.S. Postal Service—Demand Progress noted that the measure excludes many proposals that progressives pushed for and contains others that are highly problematic.
"It bails out lobbyists but doesn't do enough to help small businesses meet payroll," said Segal. "It bails out mortgage services and debt collectors but doesn't provide easy and affordable health insurance access to people who've lost their jobs. It rejects a merger ban that would help ensure the economy works for ordinary people, not for large corporations that will seek to use easy access to cash to consolidate their power." ...
House Democratic leaders also said they will push for a vote on the HEROES Act on Friday, but progressive lawmakers have objected to that timeline. Jayapal and Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), co-chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) late Tuesday demanding that the vote be delayed.
Jayapal and Pocan have also advised CPC members to say they are "undecided" on the bill when asked how they plan to vote. "I am ready and willing to make this legislation better," Jayapal tweeted Tuesday. "We need a full conversation and an open process so we can address this crisis before it gets worse—because if we fail to do so at this moment, it will."
'Massive Giveaway to Health Insurance CEOs': Democratic COBRA Plan Denounced as Costly Taxpayer Gift to For-Profit Industry
For weeks, progressive lawmakers and advocacy groups pressed the House Democratic leadership to support an emergency expansion of Medicare coverage to the tens of millions of people who have lost their jobs and their employer-provided health insurance during the coronavirus pandemic.
But in their newly introduced 1,815-page coronavirus relief bill, House Democrats opted instead for a more expensive alternative that progressives and public health experts warn would provide inadequate care while lining the pockets of the insurance industry, which is already making a killing during the Covid-19 crisis.
The Heroes Act proposes fully subsidizing COBRA, an existing health insurance program that allows laid-off or furloughed workers to remain on their employer-provided insurance plans. Under normal circumstances, COBRA is extremely expensive for individuals—recipients have to cover both their own and their employer's premium payments—but the Democratic plan would cover 100% of the premium costs through next January.
COBRA expansion has the backing of a bizarre alliance of interests, including big business and some labor unions, but critics say the proposal is wildly inefficient and does not come close to matching the scale of the nation's current healthcare crisis.
Subsidization of private COBRA plans would "leave so many uninsured, and many more burdened with the high-deductibles of these plans," said Adam Gaffney, a critical care doctor and president of Physicians for a National Health Program, an advocacy group that supports Medicare for All.
"We're facing the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression—subsidizing the insurers is not going to cut it," Gaffney said. "We need emergency Medicare expansion for the uninsured, and coverage of out-of-pocket costs for the insured, now."
Huffpost reporter: Will the left actually stand against Pelosi on the House floor?
Trump deepens 'Obamagate' conspiracy theory with Biden unmasking move
Ric Grenell, the acting director of national intelligence, on Wednesday sent Congress a list of high-ranking Obama administration members he alleged were involved in the “unmasking” of retired general Michael Flynn, in intelligence reports dating from the presidential transition. ...
Grenell, a Trump ally, declassified and sent the list of names to Republican senators.
“I am providing a revised list of identities of any officials who submitted requests to the National Security Agency at any point between 8 November 2016 and 31 January 2017 to unmask the identity of former National Security Adviser, Lieutenant General Michael T Flynn,” read a memo from Gen Paul Nakasone, director of the National Security Agency, released by Grenell. ...
Flynn was under scrutiny because of his conversations with the Russian ambassador about sanctions.
The list of officials released by Grenell includes former ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, former director of national intelligence James Clapper, former FBI director James Comey and former CIA director John Brennan. The last name on the list, from 12 January 2017, is Biden. ...
Republicans demanded further investigation. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said: “The unmasking of Gen Flynn by the Obama administration regarding conversations during the presidential transition [is] deeply troubling and smell[s] of politics, not national security.”
Rand Paul: 'Vice President Biden was in this up to his eyeballs'
Why “Obamagate” Will Never Lead To Anything Of Significance
The word “Obamagate” was thrust into mainstream attention by the concerted efforts of Trump and his surrogates after new details on the early days of the Trump-Russia collusion investigation emerged. These details include Obama officials (including Joe Biden) requesting the unmasking of a conversation between Flynn and Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, the FBI’s then-counterintelligence director discussing trying to get Michael Flynn to lie during his interrogation about the Kislyak call, and the revelation that there was never any concrete evidence that Russia hacked the DNC.
These are important revelations that are worthy of mainstream attention, but like basically everything else in this stupid, stupid timeline this issue has instead been reduced to the stagnation of vapid partisan squabbling. Democrats and their allied media are finger wagging at Trump for using “conspiracy theories” to distract from his coronavirus failures, and “MAGA” pundits are once again beating the tired old drum that this scandal is going to bring down major Deep State players and drain the swamp once and for all.
Ever since 2016 both of America’s mainstream political parties have been taking turns screaming at the top of their lungs that earth-shattering revelations are right around the corner which are about to obliterate the other party any minute now, and if you’re still buying into this show I highly recommend you also take up watching WWE, because you’ll definitely love it.
“By any normal standard, former FBI Director Comey would now be in serious legal trouble, as should [former Director of National Intelligence James] Clapper, former CIA Director John Brennan, et al,” Ray McGovern wrote for Consortium News the other day. “Additional evidence of FBI misconduct under Comey seems to surface every week — whether the abuses of FISA, misconduct in the case against Gen. Michael Flynn, or misleading everyone about Russian hacking of the DNC. If I were attorney general, I would declare Comey a flight risk and take his passport. And I would do the same with Clapper and Brennan.”
Indeed, this would be the “normal standard”, yet it hasn’t happened. Neither Comey nor Clapper nor Brennan are in any legal trouble at all, nor will they be, nor will any other major player responsible for leading America on a crazy collusion wild goose chase which accomplished nothing but distracting from real issues and manufacturing consent for mountains of cold war escalations against Russia.
You will never see Obama or his administration officials brought down by “Obamagate” for the same reason Trump wasn’t brought down by the Mueller investigation: the swamp protects its own. Both Obama and Trump administrations are packed full of crooks and mass murderers who could and should be imprisoned for any number of offenses, but they won’t be, because that would require a prosecutorial body that is separate from the swamp of corruption with which both of America’s mainstream parties are inexorably interwoven. You cannot use the swamp to drain the swamp.
Do you know why Trump never made good on his campaign platform of locking up Hillary Clinton? Besides the fact that their entire conflict has always been fake, I mean? The Trump administration could easily have found grounds upon which to prosecute Clinton if they wanted to, but going after a loyal establishment swamp monster would have brought the wrath of the entire swamp down upon him. As soon as he had a political opponent in office, if not before, Trump would himself be facing criminal prosecution. By collaborating with the swamp you ensure your own protection, and by attacking it you ensure your destruction.
A fundamental point that many Russiagate-peddling left pundits -- including fake "adversarial" voices like @mehdirhasan -- cannot process in their minds, because doing so would threaten their club membership. Russiagate helps clarify where priorities really lie. https://t.co/FQPnUCtoUc
— Aaron Maté (@aaronjmate) May 13, 2020
That’s why no serious attempt has ever been made to remove Trump from office; he’s been playing nice with existing power structures without challenging them in any meaningful way. Everyone who knew anything was aware that the Mueller collusion would never go anywhere, and anyone who could count Senate seats knew impeachment would fizzle. It was all kayfabe conflict so that Trump’s “opposition” could present the appearance of opposition without interfering in agendas they themselves support or prosecuting crimes of which they themselves are also guilty.
It’s also why Obama never had any intention of prosecuting Bush’s heinous war crimes, citing “a belief that we need to look forward as opposed to looking backwards”. In reality Obama always understood that in order to play the “president” role (and enjoy its massive perks for the rest of his life), he’d need to collaborate with establishment power structures rather than upsetting them. He knew that if he were to go after Bush he’d ensure his own destruction; under “normal standards” prosecution is the only sane and normal response to war crimes, but in the Mutually Assured Destruction environment of establishment corruption, there are no normal standards.
I point this out because it’s painful to watch people on both sides continually getting their hopes up that the big KABOOM is right around the corner which will finally vindicate their worldview and punish their partisan rivals. It will not happen. Trump will not drain the swamp, and neither will Biden or whatever soulless swamp monster inhabits the White House next. You were lied to. It’s good to be aware of surveillance abuses, mass-scale psyops and media malpractice, but definitely abandon hope that any of this will lead to any major changes in the establishment itself.
If we want real change, it cannot and will not come from either of the two mainstream political factions whose primary job is preventing real change. It’s going to have to come from the people; we’re going to have to find a way to punch through the propaganda brainwashing, wake up to reality, and use the power of our numbers to force the changes which will benefit us past all the oligarchic safeguards that have been placed in front of us to prevent us from doing so.
This is a lot less pleasant than believing some magical hero in a white hat is going to ride in and do all our work for us and all we need to do is relax and “trust the plan”. It’s a lot less comfortable than expunging the fake two-party worldview from our minds which vast fortunes and years of conditioning have gone into manufacturing. But it is reality.
Obama’s Other Scandals Worse Than ObamaGate
Judge Might Hold Michael Flynn in Criminal Contempt
The judge overseeing the case against President Trump’s former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn said he’s weighing whether to hold Flynn in criminal contempt. ...
President Trump’s Department of Justice has sought to drop its case against Flynn for lying to investigators about his conversations with a Russian diplomat, despite Flynn’s guilty plea. But Judge Emmet Sullivan just signaled that he’s not going to let the case go that easily. ...Judge Sullivan said he’ll appoint a retired judge to argue the case against dropping the charge against Flynn. And that judge, John Gleeson, will also address the question of whether Flynn should be “held in criminal contempt for perjury,” Judge Sullivan’s brief order says.
World nuclear arms spending hit $73bn last year – half of it by US
The world’s nuclear-armed nations spent a record $73bn on their weapons last year, with the US spending almost as much as the eight other states combined, according to a new report.
The new spending figures, reflecting the highest expenditure on nuclear arms since the height of the cold war, have been estimated by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (Ican), which argues that the coronavirus pandemic underlines the wastefulness of the nuclear arms race.
The nine nuclear weapons states spent a total of $72.9bn in 2019, a 10% increase on the year before. Of that, $35.4bn was spent by the Trump administration, which accelerated the modernisation of the US arsenal in its first three years while cutting expenditure on pandemic prevention.
“It’s clear now more than ever that nuclear weapons do not provide security for the world in the midst of a global pandemic, and not even for the nine countries that have nuclear weapons, particularly when there are documented deficits of healthcare supplies and exhausted medical professionals,” Alicia Sanders-Zakre, the lead author of the report, said.
Led by Sanders and Omar, 300+ Global Lawmakers Call on IMF, World Bank to Cancel All Debt of Poor Nations Amid Covid-19 Crisis
Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Ilhan Omar led a group of more than 300 lawmakers from around the world Wednesday in calling on political leaders and global financial organizations—including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank—to fully cancel the debt that is shackling poor nations as they work to combat the coronavirus crisis and avert total economic devastation.
"This is a global economic and public health crisis unlike any we have seen in our lifetimes," Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, said in a statement. "We as a global community must seize this opportunity to get relief to those who are suffering by cancelling debt for nations who cannot afford it. As the largest contributor to the IMF and the leading force behind the establishment of the World Bank, the United States should take the lead in this effort."
Sanders, a senator from Vermont, warned that without sweeping relief, poor nations could be forced to "dedicate money that should be going towards protecting the health and safety of their people to pay off unsustainable debts."
"We cannot allow these countries to be deprived of the resources they need to purchase food, medicine, protective gear, and medical equipment," said Sanders. "The steps that our international coalition of lawmakers is proposing are not radical. It is the very least that these financial institutions should do to prevent an unimaginable increase in poverty, hunger, and disease that threatens hundreds of millions of people."
The lawmakers' letter (pdf) was sent Wednesday to World Bank president David Malpass and IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva and also forwarded to world leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The letter's demand for debt cancellation—not merely temporary suspension and deferment—for more than 70 International Development Association (IDA) countries as well as an urgent infusion of financial support was backed by hundreds of lawmakers from more than two dozen nations, including Spain, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, France, Italy, and Argentina.
"We call on all G-20 leaders through these [international financial institutions] to support the cancellation of debt obligations held by all IDA countries during this unprecedented pandemic," the letter reads. "The vulnerable communities that lack the resources and privileges to adopt adequate public health measures will ultimately face the disproportionate burden of coronavirus."
"We also urge you to support a major issuance of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) in order to provide developing countries with urgent financial support," the letter continues. "An issuance of SDRs on the order of trillions of dollars will be required to avert major increases in poverty, hunger and disease."
Brazil’s Covid-19 situation worsens drastically as country becomes World’s 6th worst-hit
McConnell Patriot Act Expansion Would Hand AG Barr Unprecedented Spy Powers
Sen. Ron Wyden was joined by privacy advocates Wednesday in forcefully condemning a new proposed amendment to the PATRIOT Act put forward by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that would greatly expand the U.S. attorney general's surveillance powers under FISA.
McConnell's amendment, which the Senate began debating Wednesday as lawmakers took up the reauthorization of the 2001 PATRIOT Act, would explicitly permit the FBI to collect records of Americans' internet search and browsing histories without a warrant. It would also mandate that Attorney General William Barr, and his successors, conduct an annual review of the FBI's submissions into the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Court.
Barr would be permitted to review for "accuracy and completeness" evidence presented to the FISA Court by the FBI regarding potential surveillance targets.
"Under the McConnell amendment, Barr gets to look through the web browsing history of any American—including journalists, politicians, and political rivals—without a warrant, just by saying it is relevant to an investigation," Wyden told the Daily Beast this week, before speaking out against the amendment on the Senate floor.
"Typical Americans may think to themselves, 'I've got nothing to worry about, I've done nothing wrong. The government has no reason to suspect me of anything,'" said the senator. "Unfortunately, the question is not whether you did anything, the question is whether a government agent believes they have the right to look at your web searches... It is open season on anybody's most personal information."
"If that doesn't give you chills I don't know what will," Wyden added on social media. "I'm fighting it every step of the way." ...
An amendment proposed by Wyden and Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), which would have required the Justice Department to show probable cause before collecting data under the PATRIOT Act, was voted down by one vote on Wednesday. Journalist Jeremy Scahill denounced 10 Democratic senators who joined the majority of Republicans in opposing the bill, as well as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who did not attend the vote.
Julian Assange's Trial Is FIXED! w/Chris Hedges
New US coronavirus hotspots appear in Republican heartlands
New coronavirus hotspots are emerging in Republican heartland communities across multiple states, contradicting Donald Trump’s claims that infection rates are declining across the nation.
At a fraught press briefing on Monday, the president declared: “All throughout the country, the numbers are coming down rapidly.” Yet county-specific figures show a surge in infection rates in towns and rural communities in red states such as Texas, Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky and North and South Dakota, according to data tracking by the New York Times.
Trump’s claim is also contradicted by data used by the White House’s own pandemic taskforce to track new and emerging hotspots. In a 7 May report, obtained by NBC News, the list of top 10 surge areas included Nashville, Tennessee; Des Moines, Iowa; Amarillo, Texas; Racine, Wisconsin; Garden City, Kansas, and Central City, Kentucky – a predominantly white town of 6,000 people which saw a 650% week-on-week increase. Muhlenberg county, where Central City is located, has voted Republican in every presidential election since 2004, with Trump winning 72% of votes in 2016 – the biggest ever victory for the party.
The geographical spread of new hotspots suggest that the virus is advancing quickly outside major coastal towns and cities such as New York, Newark and Seattle where infection rates are now plateauing or dipping.
Many of the new emerging hotspots, both rural and urban, are in states where governors refused to issue stay-at-home orders, or are following Trump’s advice to relax lockdown restrictions despite public health warnings about the dangers of doing so too soon.
In other news, Wisconsin is best avoided.
Wisconsin supreme court strikes down governor's stay-at-home order
Wisconsin’s supreme court struck down the state’s stay-at-home order on Thursday, ruling that Governor Tony Evers overstepped his authority by extending the order through the end of May.
The ruling reopens the state, lifting caps on the size of gatherings, allowing people to travel as they please and allowing shuttered businesses to reopen, including bars and restaurants. The Tavern League of Wisconsin swiftly posted the news on its website, telling members, “You can OPEN IMMEDIATELY!”
The 4-3 decision, written by the court’s conservative justices, also chips away at Evers’ authority to slow the spread of coronavirus and will force the Democratic governor to work with the Republican legislature as the state continues to grapple with the outbreak.
Evers issued a stay-at-home order in March and extended it in late April. Republicans asked the supreme court to block the extension, arguing that move required legislative approval.
Nearly seven out of 10 Wisconsin residents support the governor’s “safer at home” order, according to a Marquette University Law School poll. But Republican lawmakers in the state worried about the economic impacts of an extended shutdown.
Former Bernie Senior Advisor Nina Turner: We don't need a task force, we need Medicare for All
California special election: Republicans take back Katie Hill’s House seat
Republican Mike Garcia has beat Democrat Christy Smith in the special election to fill the seat of the former US representative Katie Hill, who resigned amid scandal in late 2019.
After a bitter political battle complicated and constrained by the pandemic, Garcia’s win was a blow for Democrats who in 2018 had secured the suburban Los Angeles district for the first time in since 1990. But the candidates will soon have a rematch. Garcia will serve only five months before the seat is up for a vote again in November.
The circumstances of Hill’s resignation – she quit amid allegations that she had an affair with a staffer, and after private photos of her had been published online without her consent – had brought national attention to the race. Donald Trump, who endorsed Garcia and alleged that the election was “rigged” because of the opening of a new voting center in the district, also ensured that the race was closely watched, especially by Democrats who believed it would be a referendum on the president.
In the election based almost entirely on mailed-in ballots amid stay-at-home orders due to the coronavirus pandemic, the full results likely won’t be clear for days. Officials will accept ballots postmarked by election day, even if they arrive up to three days later.
Still, Smith conceded on Wednesday afternoon as she trailed Garcia by 11 points in the results reported so far. “While it’s critical that we ensure every vote is counted and recorded, we believe that the current tally shows Mike Garcia is the likely victor in the 12 May special election,” she said in her concession statement.
Bernie SCREWS effort to curtail mass surveillance
I am too cynical to fairly comment on this.
The Biden Campaign Has an Unlikely Ally Working on Climate Policy: AOC
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and former Secretary of State John Kerry are co-chairing a climate policy panel, as part of a unity effort between the campaigns of former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders to bring the two candidates’ coalitions together before November. ...
Ocasio-Cortez’s office later clarified that Ocasio-Cortez’s role would be “Senator Sanders' representative on a committee the Vice President has convened to assist with the development of climate policy,” in a statement to the New York Daily News.
“She made the decision with members of the Climate Justice community — and she will be fully accountable to them and the larger advocacy community during this process,” the statement continued. “She believes the movement will only be successful if we continue to apply pressure both inside and outside the system. This is just one element of the broader fight for just policies."
The climate justice group Sunrise Movement’s co-founder and executive director Varshini Prakash, whose organization supported Sanders in the primary, was also named to Ocasio-Cortez and Kerry’s committee.
Biden Appoints AOC To Meaningless “Task Force”
Drop in pollution may bring hotter weather and heavier monsoons
The dramatic improvements in air quality associated with the coronavirus lockdown could increase sunlight and affect weather patterns, scientists say.
With factories closed and roads relatively empty, air pollution in cities across Asia, Europe and the US has dropped by as much as 60% in recent weeks. The lack of haze has made skies bluer and some people in northern India have been able to see the Himalayas for the first time in 30 years.
It also means that with fewer particles and polluting gases to hinder its path, more sunlight is able to reach the Earth’s surface. ...
The cleaner skies resulting from lockdown are likely to have enhanced the brightening effect even further, but measuring the impact on climate is not straightforward. ... In the most extreme scenarios (with rapid increases in air quality) their results suggest the hottest day of the year may be up to 4C hotter by 2050, with around one third of that increase due to cleaner skies.
Russian supertrawlers off Scottish coast spark fears for UK marine life
A fleet of Russian supertrawlers has been spotted fishing off the coast of Scotland in a protected area, raising concerns by environmentalists over the impact of industrial vessels on marine life in UK waters. The 11 vessels, among the largest trawlers in the world, have spent “significant time” fishing in the Wyville-Thomson Ridge, a British special area of conservation (SAC), according to data analysed by Greenpeace.
The vessels, each more than 100 metres long and capable of processing hundreds of tonnes of fish every day, are believed to be targeting blue whiting, a pelagic species that lives in midwater.
The fleet is operating legally, according to the Scottish government. The area, to the west of the Shetland Islands, is within waters shared by the UK and the Faroe Islands. It is managed jointly, but governed by the Faroese government under a special treaty. Its designation as a SAC by the European Union does not prevent commercial fishing in the area.
Environmentalists condemned the “destructive” practices of supertrawlers and called on the UK government to better regulate their activities to protect marine life. Chris Thorne, an oceans campaigner at Greenpeace UK, called for a ban on supertrawlers in UK marine protected areas. He said: “While the UK is in lockdown, this fleet of destructive supertrawlers has been plundering fish from what is supposed to be a protected area in UK waters.
“The intensity with which these vast ships fish is not compatible with a healthy ocean. They drag vast nets, up to one-mile long, in their wake hoovering up fish and other marine life and disturbing the entire water column.”
Also of Interest
Here are some articles of interest, some which defied fair-use abstraction.
The Fed Hasn’t Spent a Dime Yet for Main Street Versus $735 Billion for Wall Street
What Reconstruction and the New Deal Can Teach Us About What Comes After the Pandemic Presidency
Multiple Yvette Clarke Primary Challenges Put Progressives in a Strategic Quandary
FBI seizes Burr’s phone for stock investigation in STUNNING development
Krystal and Saagar: Reporting shows hypocrisy on Biden #MeToo allegation could cost Dems Senate seat
Saagar Enjeti: BOMBSHELL reveals Biden at center of Obamagate, media ignores
Krystal and Saagar: NeverTrumpers, elite media, make their VP choice for Biden clear
Fantasy map-making: 'I like vintage style with a modern twist'
A Little Night Music
Bo Carter - Twist It, Babe
Bo Carter - Doubled Up In A Knot
Bo Carter - Let's Get Drunk Again
Bo Carter - Cigarette Blues
Bo Carter - Your Biscuits Are Big Enough For Me
Charlie McCoy & Bo Chatman (Carter) - Corrine Corrina
Bo Carter - Banana in Your Fruit Basket
Bo Carter - Please Warm My Weiner
Bo Carter - What Kind Of Scent Is This
Bo Carter - I'm an Old Bumble Bee
Bo Carter - I Love That Thing
Comments
Good evening Joe. Thanks for the EB. A most interesting
insight:
Back in High School, some buds and I became aware that a play by Pirandello, an Absurd play in the finest theater of the absurd tradition was showing at a local playhouse; 6 characters in search of an author. Without reading it or any reviews or anything, we rushed off to feast on on whatever it might be. AS the play opened with an initial actor doing this and that, first one person and then another wandered up out of the audience, mounted the stage and began kibitzing, haranguing, discussing, and arguing with the initial character and each other, we all became aware, as did much of the rest of the audience, that this was obviously bogus, that the intruders and kibitzers were actually part of the play.
BUT, we were engrossed. We indulged ourselves in that "willing suspension of disbelief" that is the proper response to high art. By contract, what we are watching isn't even good farce, Feydeau would barf. Wilde would possibly torch the stage and Groucho would put it out with urine. Fuck! It isn't even good slapstick.
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...
i have been wondering for years what sort of force it is that keeps so many of us in their seats. is it merely inertia or merely diminished expectations? will trump one day exclaim, "are you not entertained?"
the theatre of the absurd is getting a run for its money.
Hail to the Chief
Evening all, here's more on the Bay of Morons invasion,
from Venezuelanalysis.com: New Information: Guaido Was the 'Commander in Chief' of the Failed Mercenary Operation Against Venezuela
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
Thanks, Az. Confirmation is always welcome, but aren't we
supposed to be shifting focus today to How China might hack into our Covid-19 vaccine research? You're not keeping up with the news churn.
be well and have a good one.
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 azazello...
i suppose that i can see the attraction for the empire of installing a guy who couldn't competently command the office of dogcatcher to run a country. however, does trump's empire think that these nincompoops install themselves?
perhaps the fact that trump was able to get elected in the u.s. gave him the idea that similar dim bulbs could just take over a country that differs in that it has an actual participatory democracy and real elections.
Hola, Joe! Thanks for the blurb about the HEROES Act--
didn't know about the COBRA 'reform.'
Having said that, contacted the TN State Commissioner Of Insurance Office last week, since I was alarmed about the so-called 'reform' that Dems proposed, which would make Medigap Insurance Policy Premiums skyrocket.
According to the Commissioner's Office Dude I spoke to, feedback--from Medigap insurers--has been requested by the Office. 'Eyes peeled' to see if there's any action (on the website). He conceded that Agents/Brokers are mostly still in the dark, claiming that the Commissioner's Office will post notice of new regulations, etc., about the same time as they notify insurance professionals. We'll see.
One Agent told me that she couldn't imagine that 'we'--i.e., current Medigap beneficiaries--wouldn't be grandfathered, regarding any future 'reforms.'
(as the Agent put it, as long as we continue to pay our premiums, and, don't fall out of our current Medigap contract, she didn't see how our terms would change. hope she's correct, but, that's not how the Bill read, in one paragraph. she had't seen or read the bill, IIRC)
Of course, Plans F & C were sunset effective 1 January 2020, so, that might indemnify those beneficiaries from any 'reforms.'
BTW, I think DT does want to see 'O' and/or Biden frogmarched. (He's vindictive, IMO.) But, agree with writers who say that nothing will happen--too much of O's Deep State actors (and, Republican DS folks sympathetic to them) are still in place, for real accountability to occur. DT did call out Graham on Twitter (according to an article I read) for not having 'O' and Biden testify.
(Guess Graham's dismissed that idea. All he talks about is 'writing letters' to seek information. IMO, he's been playing DT for a fool, because he's in a tight election. Plus, he and McCain and Biden were all very tight. Graham's said, at least 3 times that I've heard, that he 'loves' Biden. Can't remember ever having heard one lawmaker say that about another--unless it was in an eulogy, or something. Phew!)
Absolutely gorgeous day!!! Tomorrow will be warmer, but, if not humid, pretty nice.
Hope Everyone has a nice evening. Take good care; be well.
Mollie
“I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me, they are the role model for being alive.”
~~Gilda Radner, Comedienne
“If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.”
~~Will Rogers, Actor & Social Commentator
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
evening mollie...
keep us abreast of what you find out about the effects on medicare/medigap insurance that you run across going forward. i'm sure that a lot of us either now or not too far into the future will have to deal with this stuff.
sure, dt would like (probably has richly detailed fantasies about) obama and biden getting frogmarched off to the guillotine, but not if it means that he's going to face the same fate not too long thereafter. i think that he's going to be quite mouthy about it, but ultimately, he's not going to push it further than his own safety allows.
Heh, good points, Joe. It has struck me
that DT may be just trying to excite the MAGA crowd, more than anything. You know, with "us, versus them" rhetoric--for fundraising, to build pre-election excitement, etc.
IOW, just good ol' Kabuki!
Anyhoo, I definitely agree that the Repub Establishment/PtB/Donors, especially, McConnell, want nothing at all to do with anything like a serious investigation into so-called "Obamagate." And, long ago saw through Graham's DT rah-rah'ing. I don't follow his race, but, IIRC, he may be handed his *ss in November--it's his first real competitive race, I believe.
Mollie
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
Boy does this fit the first article
Yay for pay go...
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
Heh, Clyburn is practically a clone of 'Pay-Go' Nancy! ;-D NT
Mollie
“I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me, they are the role model for being alive.”
~~Gilda Radner, Comedienne
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
Speaking of Nancy,
what's with those very large neckerchiefs that she's been wearing for the past few weeks? Considering that her eyebrows have again been raised by a noticeable amount, looks as if she's have more "work" done, and this time probably went for the neck as well. Some people, including Biden, should skip the knife and embrace their wrinkles.
Nancy’s kerchief are her color coordinated
outfit masks, but hey I’ll go with she is hiding something... . But I’m disgusted that she has someone going out to buy material, going through her wardrobe and matching it up and making masks for them. This is just more in your faces that she is better than us. "I have extra money to do what you guys can’t."
Most stores in my city are telling people that they need a mask to enter. I do have a few, but if it’s a rule I think they should have to give them to people. Yes they are easy to make or find online, but how many families don’t have access to the internet to find out how to make them? Same thing with the government. If they close your place of employment then they should have to make it so people can survive without a paycheck.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
evening snoopy...
heh, a two-column listing of things which must be, and those which need not be, "paid for" (according to congress) would make for a damnably funny internet meme.
They aren’t even bothered to hide their contempt
for us. "What, you’re hungry and on the verge of losing your home? Sorry, but there is no money for you because we want our donors to be happy and that means making your life a living hell.”
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
"I am too cynical to fairly comment on this."
Motion seconded.
Looks like AOC has been 'absorbed'.
Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.
evening bollox...
i realized as i read the piece that i had hope, but little faith that aoc had the integrity to walk away from the table if asked to compromise existential needs for political expedience.
good evening
...and wishing you all the best.
Had a phone visit with friends this evening. Though serious lung damage can occur, we both agreed we need to allow young folks to gather and interact. It is mainly us old folks at risk.
As to joementia and the election, all I can say is it seems a joke...T-rump will chew him up and spit him out. Time for the DNC to collapse just like our economy/government. Not holding my breath just sayin'.
Hope all is well with you and yours. Things are good back here on the mountain. Did hear of a friend's death but no COVID as far as I know.
On we go. What choice do we have?
Thanks for the news and music as always!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
evening lookout...
hope you're doing well, things are fine here, so far.
heh, i don't want to tell anybody how to live, and perhaps my perspective comes from living in a high population density area, but, i'd hope that young people would practice a caution that is not always associated with their age group for a while yet.
i've been watching the statistics pretty much daily and it strikes me that we are far from out of the woods.
that said, i realize that people who live in rural areas are probably not at the same level of risk and should be allowed to make the choices that they see fit. hopefully, it will all work out.
I think your cynicism is exactly deserved
When it comes to committees, panels, task forces and the so called progressives who take that bait.
Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.
evening dr jc...
heh, it's enough to give a fella the hesitation blues.
Caitlin is on a roll
Luv her snarky humor.
ETA
As for letting kids get exposed to the virus if I had younger kids right now I would keep them isolated if possible because of the new reports of how it’s affecting their hearts. Yes just around 100 have gotten it and less than 5 have died, but those that did survive might be left with lifetime problems.
Just think. No one had to be put in the position to risk their lives or lose everything if congress had any empathy for us wee people and done what other countries have done. I read today that yes there is a way for someone in the house to stop legislation from passing. It’s just like what happens in the senate. Will anyone from the progressive caucus dare to stand up against Pelosi? AOC might not have voted for the first bill, but it was symbolic because she could have stopped it.
That Nancy is doing this without the whole house being involved in creating the bills is dirty. As the article pointed out this gives the minority the power to vote against things. Why isn’t anyone just going to the house and pushing their way into it?
General strike and how bout a tax strike? Let’s burn it down all at once and get something better in place.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
heh...
not exactly. the house is currently operating under "unanimous consent" rules. this means that any member of the house can force a recorded vote on a given bill by objecting, however, that only delays the voting until such time as a quorum can be assembled for a vote.
well it looks like the progressive types are going to have to get together and bleat at each other for a while to see if enough of them are willing to risk pissing pelosi off to make a difference.
I am stunned at the ease with which
a law being passed that waives the need for a warrant to search your web browser history.
Lots of blackmail opportunity coming our way!
Oh, well...we suspended habeas corpus, so what else is new?
Land of the free, my ass!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
we suspended habeas corpus
Under the best president ever's watch. And it’s a good thing that there are so many blue dawgs in the DP huh? Once again there’s Joe Manchin voting with republicans. But hey he gives them a majority or something asinine like that.
I want to know why Bernie didn’t show up to vote? Maybe he was too busy working with Biden on that all important committee.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
Bernie was tasking.
There is no good reason for him to have disappeared when that vote was taken.
That is now the law of the land, and there is a snowball's chance in hell it will be repealed.
Big Brother just moved in.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
this is the worst
did not think he could surprise me anymore.
I was wrong.
But we have his epitaph now-
Has the "Sanders camp" given an explanation?
It better involve a death in the family.
evening otc...
yep, not all of our notions of rights really hold up very well under scrutiny informed by the actions of government and its agents.
The first act you do to defend someone
is to attack the sufficiency of the affidavit that supports the search warrant.
The first line of the defense just flew out the window.
What's the point in telling a client to remain silent if their internet guts have already been spilled onto the floor?
How the hell do you hire an expert computer analyst on a par with the FBI experts to testify it was not you personally that used your computer?
Or that you were hacked? It would be very easy to sit at your bosses pc and really screw them, just as an example.
This is WAY more serious that it looks.
I will be tossing and turning in bed tonight.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
This is why the "I’ve got nothing to hide folks
missed the whole point of what the 4th amendment stood for. It’s not based on that, it’s based on the rule of law that protects us from what they can do to us now which is unconstitutional. Secret courts making up secret laws or stripping us of our rights doesn’t make it legal imo. Take the 1st amendment preamble. "Congress shall make no laws..." how many leftist protest have been met with brutal force when they get broken up. OWS, BLM, DAPL and countless others while they leave rightish protestors alone?
I’m getting lost here trying to make a point. However, It’s not that you don’t have anything to hide. If they can search our browsing history without our knowledge then what’s to stop them from inventing a crime just based on what you read? How often are cases won with just circumstantial evidence? Or people take plea deals because they are afraid of getting an even worse sentence? It’s that our rights are to protected us from unlawful search and seizure of our government without cause. Didn’t this country once go to war over them?
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
heh...
not to mention the possibility of an unscrupulous fibber or other national security state ne'er do well "creating" evidence on a computer device in order to frame a suspect.
js!
No way any of our government would engage in that nefarious activity!!!
Oh, wait...
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981