the Incredible Royal Lightness of Being

‘Prince Charles encourages jobless people to ‘pick fruit and veg’ during pandemic; The Prince of Wales has issued a rallying cry on behalf of the ‘Pick for Britain’ campaign, which is hoping to fill some of the 80,000 fruit and vegetable picking jobs usually filled by EU workers;, mirror.co.uk, May 19, 2020

“The Prince of Wales has come out in support of the Pick for Britain campaign, which aims to get people toiling in Britain’s fields.

It had been hoped that 80,000 jobs which are usually filled by seasonal workers from the EU would be taken by students and those out of work.

The royal described the work of picking fruit and vegetables as “unglamorous and, at times, challenging”, but said the work was “hugely important” to avoid food waste.

In a video message recorded at his Scottish home of Birkhall, Charles said: “At this time of great uncertainty many of our normal routines and regular patterns of life are being challenged.”
[…]
“If the last few weeks have proved anything, it is that food is precious and valued and it cannot be taken for granted.

This is why the great movement of the Second World War – the Land Army – is being rediscovered in the newly-created ‘Pick for Britain’ campaign.

Prince Charles’s intervention comes after a difficult few early weeks for the campaign.”

‘You first then’: Prince Charles’ plea to Brits to ‘Pick for Britain’ during Covid-19 crisis provokes anger’, 19 May, 2020, RT.com

Why on earth would they be cross with the poor, poor Prince of Wales?  After all, he’s a farmer, too!

(cross-posted from Café Babylon)

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That's what it sounds like to me.

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19 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

wendy davis's picture

@The Voice In the Wilderness

and a a new twist on: Serf's Up!

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18 users have voted.

@wendy davis

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5 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

ggersh's picture

maybe if he had volunteered to lead in the field.....sigh

posted this at Joes EB's, how is this anything but murder

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/19/mexi-m19.html

Hundreds of Mexican maquiladora workers dying after back-to-work orders take effect
By Eric London
19 May 2020

The decision by Wall Street and the Trump administration to restart production has produced an unprecedented health crisis in northern Mexico, where workers at maquiladora sweatshops that produce parts for export to the US are contracting coronavirus by the tens of thousands and dying at alarming rates.

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16 users have voted.

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

wendy davis's picture

@ggersh

the Prince of Wales was Outstanding in his Field as he delivered his message; whaddya want?

but yes, i click in to wsws every day (save weekends), and really, almost all they feature now is coronovirus and covid-19 deaths. sure it's murder, and likely the wage slaves were unhealthy due to poverty and little (if any) access to health care, to boot.

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13 users have voted.
ggersh's picture

@wendy davis I'm asking for someone to walk the walk rather than talk the talk

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3 users have voted.

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

wendy davis's picture

@ggersh

but in the UK or amerika? your wsws report created a more somber tone, of course....

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3 users have voted.

@wendy davis . . . struggle with spikes in cases, often because autocratic leaders make stupid moves (sounds like ours), or answer to their capitalist overlords (also like ours, except we still pretend our capitalism is "exceptional").

India probably never stood a chance. You can't put your life on hold when you have to go out and scrounge for food every day. Brazil has Tropical Trump who denied the existence of the plague he brought home from Mar-a-Lago, probably gobbling hydroxychloroquine like Tic-Tacs (like Dear Leader). And Putin--LOL--having given up on throwing doctors from skyscraper windows, now claims Covid-19 was cooked up in a Latvian lab. Maybe Wuhan should sue Q-anon for copyright infringement? (Wait until they hear about the chem-trails in a pizza restaurant basement!)

Yep, the world is just as insane as the last time I looked. On the other hand, working in the fields can be cathartic, at least in a mild climate such as the UK.

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10 users have voted.
wendy davis's picture

@SancheLlewellyn

every nation has its own propaganda, your link to 'putin claims it was made in latvia' was quite a stretch. i like RT a lot, as it's one site that permits columnists who differ with USian perspectives, as well as Atlanticist NGO perspectives.

both sputnik and telesur english cover global issues that aren't US centric, either. i've been trying to follow news of the 5 iranian gasoline tankers headed to VZ, and iirc (not a good bet), but i'd had to go to i'd to go to the orinoco tribune to discover their location as of 2 days ago.

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8 users have voted.
CB's picture

@SancheLlewellyn
"And Putin--LOL--having given up on throwing doctors from skyscraper windows, now claims Covid-19 was cooked up in a Latvian lab."

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6 users have voted.

@CB And no, Putin personally doesn't throw people out of skyscraper windows, but his opponents have an amazing tendency to step out over a forty story chasm. (Maybe Russia should place some warning signs in its tall buildings?) At least they don't pull out the bone saws like the Saudi head-choppers.

Russia, for its part, has finally seen the growth in COVID-19 cases start to decline, about 10 days ago. Soon Brazil, run by Trump's tropical twin (and just as madly in love with hydroxychloroquine), will pass Russia in cases and probably move into second place worldwide in the death count. (If one can trust Russia's data, they have kept their death count way low--lower than that of Sweden but with ten times the cases!)

I see Putin and his oligarch friends as just as corrupt and heartless as any other capitalist overlord, including to his own citizens. Mike Malloy claims it results from the way Putin hitched himself to the insane Russian Orthodox church. (I had high hopes for the former Soviet Union when Gorbachev tried to steer his country on a course toward reform. But alas, the iron wheels of neoliberalism ground them under.)

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3 users have voted.

@ggersh It is difficult to know what is going on in Mexico because they are doing even less testing than the US.

Dr. Hugo Lopez-Gatell, Mexico's top epidemiologist and the public face of its Covid-19 response, sat down with CNN for his first network TV interview two days before the government announced plans on how it would re-open.

Certain industries deemed essential, like car parts manufacturing and construction, will be allowed to re-open starting June 1. Other sections of the economy will follow in phases during the weeks after.

Mexican health officials believe the outbreak will peak in this country no later than May 20, though some studies suggest it could arrive in late June, even as the country has one of the lowest testing rates in the world.

"I don't think testing is a must," Lopez-Gatell said when asked if the country could re-open safely without more tests. "This doesn't mean we're resistant to testing, we will use testing but in a carefully planned manner."

As of May 11, Mexico had only conducted 89 tests per 100,000 people, according to health ministry data. By contrast, the US tested at a rate nearly 32 times higher than that, according to the COVID Tracking Project.

.
(My bold)

The amount of testing has improved slightly in the last week but is still extremely low.

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ggersh's picture

@ScienceTeacher but you also have this, so I'll call it as I see it

The Trump administration has applied tremendous pressure to force the reopening of Mexican factories as quickly as possible, regardless of the human cost. On April 30, US Ambassador to Mexico Christopher Landau threatened, “You don’t have ‘workers’ if you close all the companies and they move elsewhere,” urging plants to reopen despite the resulting loss of life. “It seems myopic to suggest that economic effects don’t matter,” he said.

The Pentagon has issued similar warnings, explaining that Mexican maquiladora workers produce parts that are necessary for the American imperialist war machine. On April 30, the New York Times said the Pentagon’s “talks with the Mexican government have been successful,” quoting spokeswoman Ellen Lord, who said, “We appreciate Mexico’s ongoing positive response.”

Shortly after his discussions with the Pentagon, López Obrador appeared on national television on May 2 and declared: “We are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.” Daily positive tests have doubled since then.

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11 users have voted.

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

wendy davis's picture

here's the url for the Tweet from Clarence House. hope it works...

on edit: it does, but his 'pickers are stickers' really pissed off some folks with what it had conveyed, as in: 'ya lazy sods! get off yer asses'.

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RantingRooster's picture

seems to be playing out a lot similar to a certain movie

[video:https://youtu.be/YqRgwoe668M]

It's almost like the Ruling Elites are reading from a similar script.

quote-today-it-is-infinitely-easier-to-kill-one-million-people-than-to-control-one-million-zbigniew-brzezinski-65-48-84.jpg
Drinks

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10 users have voted.

C99, my refuge from an insane world. #ForceTheVote

wendy davis's picture

@RantingRooster

film (and i can barely hear it on my loudest setting), but i don't see the similarity with prince charles. maybe you'd explain why you think so.

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3 users have voted.
The Liberal Moonbat's picture

@wendy davis SEE IT (and/or read the graphic novel)!!!

Yes, the sound on that was BAD.

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4 users have voted.

In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!

wendy davis's picture

@The Liberal Moonbat

dunno what it is, nor how it relates to prince charles (if it does).

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The Liberal Moonbat's picture

@wendy davis It has a downright frightening tie-in to the pandemic, though.

Maybe I mistakenly assumed you caught the name of the movie; are you familiar with V for Vendetta?

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3 users have voted.

In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!

wendy davis's picture

@The Liberal Moonbat

i could have clicked thru to youtube and seen the title.

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snoopydawg's picture

@The Liberal Moonbat

scenes of V for Vendetta. Plus that if no one has read the book or watched the movie they’re in for a treat. I just re listened to it and will watch it again soon. It’s a playbook for where this country is heading if we’re not living in it already.

I never click on videos unless someone tells me why I should watch them. Same thing with links. I know we can’t always excerpt them, but we can give a description can’t we?

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4 users have voted.

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

@wendy davis

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2 users have voted.

NYCVG

RantingRooster's picture

@wendy davis While the film doesn't really have anything to do with prince Charles' "let them eat cake" kind of moment. If you haven't see it, V for Vendetta, I highly recommend it. The parallels within the movie and what's transpiring live, in reality, are eerily similar.

Replace England with the US, and the "Chancellor" with president Trump and boom, too fucking similar to real life (kind of...) But in reality, there are more dead now from a real pandemic, possibly man made as some speculate, than the pandemic depicted in the movie.

Here is a better audio version of the clip I posted [video:https://youtu.be/jrfm7y5nL30]

Here's a pretty good review of the "deeper" meaning of the movie (9.5 miuntes), but it does contain spoilers, so if you're gonna watch it, don't watch this review.

From the vid's description:

Artists lie to tell the truth, while politicians lie to hide it. V for Vendetta is a lie, but a pretty good one. It’s a masterful work of fiction that was written to reveal some truth. It may not be an easy or pleasant truth, but truth nevertheless. A film like this isn’t easily categorized. But don’t get the idea that it’s an action flick and it definitely isn’t a superhero movie. V for Vendetta is an idea. A disruptive, relentless idea.

[video:https://youtu.be/GDCntIvwjJ0]

And of course here's the V for Vendetta "V's speech"
[video:https://youtu.be/chqi8m4CEEY]

As an aside, it will be interesting to see which companies (and who is connected to them through campaign contributions / contracts for service) that profit from a Covid-19 "vaccine". A big theme of the movie not discussed in the review above.

Drinks

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C99, my refuge from an insane world. #ForceTheVote

wendy davis's picture

@RantingRooster

was to have a bit of fun over clueless HRH Prince Charles believing (perhaps at Camilla's insistence) that he could kick a bit more life into the program.

and i completely allowed comment thread to get high-jacked six ways from sunday. look at all the folks still yellin' at me, tellin' me what do watch, etc., although i'd bailed out on the thread maybe 45 comments ago.

i'll try not to (politely, i hope) let that happen again.

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travelerxxx's picture

@wendy davis

Me thinks sometimes we're organized chaos around here....

Not to worry. As I'm sure you well know, occasionally threads just have a mind of their own. One cow in the herd sees some succulent grass, and the next thing you know the whole group is moving that way.

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0 users have voted.

get fifty grand like John McCain said back in the day or would they be lucky to get fifty bucks?

Isn't the inability to pay a decent wage the main reason this kind of work is so unpopular?

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19 users have voted.

They say that there's a broken light for every heart on Broadway
They say that life's a game and then they take the board away
They give you masks and costumes and an outline of the story
And leave you all to improvise their vicious cabaret-- A. Moore

wendy davis's picture

@Johnny Q

was hopin' to get high schoolers to do some of the pickin'. i was thinkin' the Queen or Charles should pay them, but bingling found that in 2020, charles is only worth about the equivalent of $500 million amerikan dollars. maybe that's the reason he'd started some cool 'Green'washed Bidnesses based on 'the greta thumberg effect' at Davos.

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@Johnny Q
Yes.

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3 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

Pricknick's picture

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12 users have voted.

Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

wendy davis's picture

@Pricknick

"We don't have a Lord; we're an anarcho/syndicalist commune!" ; )

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snoopydawg's picture

@Pricknick

in the evening blues?

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3 users have voted.

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

Pricknick's picture

@snoopydawg
and I thank you for it.
Humans suck.
Nature rules.

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4 users have voted.

Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

longtalldrink's picture

Sounds like the Brit response to Charles is to go pick his nose.

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7 users have voted.

Well done is better than well said-Ben Franklin

wendy davis's picture

@longtalldrink

a commenter from the UK just stopped by the café babylon version, and said now she Knows the UK is worse off than the US of A. er...i can't imagine it, but okay, said i.

i'd gone and dug this out again, speaking of Royal Satire: prince william on a throne litter in africa: (should be subtitled: 'If looks could kill')

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longtalldrink's picture

@wendy davis Is that the Brits have had centuries of Monarchy "rule" and their progeny is often so insulated that they actually believe it is good optics to have black people carry you around like you are totally special or something.

Anyway, this is pretty much the reason why British "settlers" wanted to come to America. These guys really did not believe in the generational Monarchy, where the king's offspring would also rule as soon as the king was no longer able to, no matter the capability of said offspring. They believed that even the "common" man should be able to gain riches. For this purpose, our "founding fathers" wrote into law about rich land owners having special "rights" over others. (only they could vote, etc.) Now, here in America, these common men (not of royal blood) could live as KINGS. (Without all those pesky Monarchy rules regarding protocol) In America, we have KINGS, only they are now called corporations.

Every person is born to a mother and is naked. What makes one person "special" over another? It would be much better is we humans all pulled in one direction and quit trying to outdo the other in the "special" department.

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9 users have voted.

Well done is better than well said-Ben Franklin

wendy davis's picture

@longtalldrink

a longish (to me) video now, maybe later?

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@longtalldrink

What makes one person "special" over another?

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6 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

wendy davis's picture

@longtalldrink

the Rule of Law were based on property ownership, as in: Royal Rule, in this csse. and revisionist history shows that the boston tea party wasn't really based on mad king george's taxation (without representation'). but i made it thru about 3 minutes of tim black's video, and had to back out, no offense meant to him.

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1 user has voted.

@wendy davis
it was about the East India Company's monopoly.

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2 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

wendy davis's picture

@The Voice In the Wilderness

by now i seem to remember history by images...

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longtalldrink's picture

@wendy davis but i made it thru about 3 minutes of tim black's video, and had to back out, no offense meant to him.

What was it that you didn't like?

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1 user has voted.

Well done is better than well said-Ben Franklin

wendy davis's picture

@longtalldrink

i just can't handle video interviews, but often i make exceptions for short ones, like Instagrams, as Charles' seemed to be. if i can find a transcript, if i'm potentially interested enough, i'll read it.

i did make an exception a couple dsys ago as gulfgal had brought a jimmy dore (ish) interview with whitney webb onto my (then) diary on the work of hers that i'd featured. i'd listened while doing kitchen chores.

yesterday there was short one from sunrise (?) that i watched in stages. but as it seemed to have been relevant to your comment, perhaps you could give me/us the cliffs notes version?

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longtalldrink's picture

@wendy davis is this: "Every person is born to a mother and is naked. What makes one person "special" over another? It would be much better is we humans all pulled in one direction and quit trying to outdo the other in the "special" department."

I thought it telling that Tim Black (a black man) sees the commonality in all of us who do not classify as elites. Often we find ourselves in very useless arguments, and the arguments usually boil down to class. Everyone not an elite is in the same boat, we are being used by the elites, but we continue to argue against granting benefits against those who do not "qualify"...which is exactly how the elite want us to think.

Anyway, sorry you could not spare 17 minutes to hear what Tim had to say. I spend most of my days listening to political commentaries on YouTube, but I am a political junkie...but I understand most people are not.

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2 users have voted.

Well done is better than well said-Ben Franklin

wendy davis's picture

@longtalldrink

guessed given your long comment containing the same phrases. i guess i don't find it 'more compelling coming from a black man', as blacks and indigenous on turtle island have been under the whip since columbus had 'failed to discover amerika', both indigenous and slavery so followed: amerika's original sins'.

thus, blacks and indigenous have known that we should all be brothers under the skin, save for amerika's twin founding sins; the conquest of america (genocide) and soon slavery. i'd add 'manifest destiny doctrine', as well, proving that gawd had ordained amerika be colonized and grow exponentially.

you can diss me all you like for not 'sparing the 17 minutes' you like; i've been blogging anti-imperialisn and turtle alliance indigeous/black alliances for a dozen years at least. videos are not my medium,as they ARE for so very many of you here at c99%.

the end.

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3 users have voted.

@longtalldrink as all Black's vids are, just wonderful.
If anyone can't sit still and concentrate for 17 minutes, I suggest 3 or 4 minute intervals. Pause, come back.
Whatever it takes to hear such heartfelt, lucid speaking, it is well worth it.

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1 user has voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

longtalldrink's picture

@on the cusp "Whatever it takes to hear such heartfelt, lucid speaking, it is well worth it."

That was the only point I was trying to make. I have been following Tim and other commentators for a while now, and was struck by Tim's low subscriber count. He once commented on this fact and believes it to be because he is ugly. Unfortunately, he may be correct as the US seems to be obsessed with beauty. When was the last time you saw an ugly singer? I have heard many times from people with talent that their promotors would tell them they were just too unattractive to be placed front and center. It did not used to be so.

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3 users have voted.

Well done is better than well said-Ben Franklin

@longtalldrink
Does ANYBODY think Noam Chomsky is (was ever) attractive
I don't doubt that beauty thing at all.
He is just the kind of person I wish was my next door neighbor.

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4 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

CB's picture

@longtalldrink
"their progeny is often so insulated insolent that they actually believe it is good optics to have black people carry you around like you are totally special or something." Wink

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longtalldrink's picture

@CB Yes, your corrected sentence is much better.

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4 users have voted.

Well done is better than well said-Ben Franklin

@wendy davis "Oh look, is that a volcano? This should be jolly good fun!"

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wendy davis's picture

@Snode

but then, so did prince william. a Q if i might: what's a snode?

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2 users have voted.

@wendy davis Don't tell anyone, but the voices in my head tell me it will be the most popular baby name in 2093.

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wendy davis's picture

@Snode

; )

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3 users have voted.

@Snode

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1 user has voted.

@aliasalias but I have been known to frequent Shorpy

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wendy davis's picture

@wendy davis

i'd once titled that photo in a post: 'the Unbearable Whiteness of Being'.

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orlbucfan's picture

@wendy davis @# That was a brilliant indie flick from the 1980s. Rec'd!!

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2 users have voted.

Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.

wendy davis's picture

@orlbucfan it was indeed.

a fascinating page-turning novel by milan kundera. ; )

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3 users have voted.
Cassiodorus's picture

are excellent tools for harvesting the heads of royalty.

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10 users have voted.

"The war on Gaza, backed by the West, is a demonstration that the West is willing to cross all lines. That it will discard any nuance of humanity. That it is willing to commit genocide" -- Moon of Alabama

Bisbonian's picture

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7 users have voted.

"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X

wendy davis's picture

@Bisbonian

but given your sig line, or whatever them thing R called, today is malcolm x's birthday.

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wendy davis's picture

@Cassiodorus

in any event, so sayeth madame defarge.

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Cassiodorus's picture

@wendy davis that the blades don't ask about the nationalities of the heads on the way down. Convenient that!

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5 users have voted.

"The war on Gaza, backed by the West, is a demonstration that the West is willing to cross all lines. That it will discard any nuance of humanity. That it is willing to commit genocide" -- Moon of Alabama

wendy davis's picture

@Cassiodorus

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acT_PSAZ7BQ]

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4 users have voted.

@Cassiodorus

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3 users have voted.

Who is going to do the picking here in the U S ? With Trump halting immigration and with Covid still around. Asking for a friend.

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5 users have voted.
wendy davis's picture

@pro left

as i was signing off last night, so i'd spent some time imagining it thru. it pinged jesse jackson's credo that 'migrants are the only folks good enough to bend over and pick up the food that we eat' (or very close to that). and then, of course, woody guthrie's plaintive Deportees, which still makes me weep...

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2eO65BqxBE]

but think how huge this nation is, and how many crops we're talking about in various locales! i tend to think of california's central valley first, and the water table drop has caused the elevation to drop at some epic number of feet.

a lot of the fruit is picked by machine now, believe it or not. but green chiles in NM, green beans, CA strawbellies (yech), lettuces, grapes,tomatoes, zukes and cukes, a long list...who will pick them up off the ground?

but srsly, how much produce does the US import? i've sure lost track over the years, but even w/ a quick bingle, results were murky, but a lot from mexico, it seems.

anyway, a very good Q, and my guess will be that amerikan wage slaves may, even teens. that's one thing about the massive lockdowns, online shopping for bezos: when jobs do open up again, wages will have been close to zilch.

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5 users have voted.

@wendy davis
Like most California fruit - big, pretty, tasteless.
I grow an old variety. smaller, lower yield, actually tastes like a Strawberry!
And a very nice raspberry still commercially sold by a company with a Japanese name in Northern California or maybe Oregon. I forget which.
If you are interested I'll try to look up the names.

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3 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

wendy davis's picture

thanks for the fun. two closing songs from some of my favorite brits:

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbddqXib814 ]

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjLXyqD3lvI]

good night; and happy birthday to malcolm X.

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5 users have voted.
mimi's picture

the royals will pick the cotton and you all eat dirt. That's the new economic bail-out.

Those are the fruits of c99p's empathetic conversations. Fruits are still a little sour though.

(girl friend picks coffee, after loss of work and income, while some royals are just clueless - united us will make them learn, right?).

Next career move: Become a coffee roaster.

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1 user has voted.
wendy davis's picture

@mimi

fair trade coffee! as far ss i can find, neither germany nor the UK grow coffee, but you may mean that as a metaphor. remember juan valdez picking coffee in colombia in the ads? 'only the ripest of the berries!'

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2 users have voted.
mimi's picture

@wendy davis
lately.

I have in the extended family people, who live in tropical, subtropical, mediterranean, and in shitty, rainy German weather, which is similar to shitty, rainy London weather. And I know a little bit of Quebec, Canada's cold winter weather and US North East coast climate.

In some regions of the above you can grow coffee. My son|'s girlfriend now has to pick coffee, as the business she worked for before, was forced to close down due to the corona lockdown regulations. Tourism is dead and won't come back. This is in the climate zone of one of the Hawaiian islands, which actually has several climate zones on one island. you can grow coffee there.

It makes sense to not only pick coffee for a low hourly wage, but for keeping the beans for yourself and roast them yourself as well. That is not too difficult. You can sell the coffee, which means that your income potential from roasting the beans is not 'burned' and your work's income is not totally 'toast'.

Just know that on the land my son is renting, there are three midsized coffee bush/trees. The owner doesn't care for the plants or beans. So, if you are so down and out of a usual salaried job, it can make sense to pick the beans, roast them yourself, grind them and sell them on one of the famers markets as a side income.

I am such a cynic that I don't trust even the fair trade coffee growers to be fair. Hope that clarifies it. If you happen to find Avocado trees on the public land areas, it's also some kind of nice income you can make, picking the Avocado and sell them. Most people hesitate to do the manual labor and the fact of 'stealing' some government owned land's fruits. As if them government folks would eat them, they rather let it rott and let their land's plants grow untouched.

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snoopydawg's picture

Empty Wheel has finally been called out for her Russia Gate hysteria. See the Greenwald article in the evening blues and the tweets I posted in it that highlights some of it. She even got called out on Rising.

It is one thing to mislead your readers by what she did, it's another to turn someone into the FBI for all the reasons that shouldn't need explaining.

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wendy davis's picture

@snoopydawg

i can manage 14+ min in a couple sessions when sufficiently motivated. ; ) but if i cared what greenwald wrote, i could find it on his twitter account. the many times he, naomi klein, and other of Pierre' "fearless investigative journalists" have tarred, smeared, and lied about julian assange i will Never Forgive. assange may have, as he allowed greenblob into the ecuadorian embassy, but he have thought: any possible port in the storm.

Greenblob on Assange: "no matter what you think of him: Press Freedom!" he can kiss my grits. not to mention, he and snowden have shitty politics as libertarians, imo, of course. ; P

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snoopydawg's picture

@wendy davis

Look for the comment that has lots of yellow in it. And silly me for thinking that Marcy would be too embarrassed to be seen in public after that takedown, but good golly there she is today repeating all her talking points that have been debunked. Her fans gave her lots of kudos though. Blehh and where’s my barf bag?

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wendy davis's picture

@snoopydawg

and her analysis on double standards was tightly contsructed. kinda thought her partner was a bit of an obomba fan, but then...many are.

i looked, but hadn't seen your own tweets on the evening blues, but here's marcy's response, and holy hell, it's long. did we ever discover the identity of her source she'd leaked to the FBI? she raised shit tons of money at her site based on:

"If I disappear one day...!" and used her fake mea culpa on every diary after that for years. i'd thought i'd noted that bernhard at MoA had raised an ojection to her on the earliest thread on the subject, and i'd gone there and give him an atta boy, but noting he could deleted my comment if it seemed appropriate.

but it looks as tough michael tracy is following it all on twitter, not that i've alway found him estimable, myself.

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@wendy davis of others conveniently overlooks her own double standards. Her discussion of bias in reporting is just laughable. But she does tell a lot of lefties what they want to hear, and her conservative co-host is too polite to challenge her. Has she ever had on a guest, not for political horse race discussions, who has ever challenged her fundamental thinking on any important issue? She just seems a little too smug in her views, imo. And it appears the format for that show is designed to keep those views and assumptions smug and unchallenged.

As for MTracey and that fraud empty wheel person, here is a sample of his latest on that FBI enabler.

He went after her last year (or so) full-throatedly, calling out a few online progs for relying on her extensively/exclusively for Russiagate coverage. He had an interview on this with gullible Wheeler-backer Sam Seder on his show, and was of course interrupted frequently, shouted at and basically treated rudely by the host, who didn't like anyone challenging his Wheeler source.

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snoopydawg's picture

@wokkamile

Or you would have seen her call out Trump. Oh well....

Has she ever had some one from the other side? Yep. They have had a few people from Trump’s campaign on on. Does this count?

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

@snoopydawg as I tend to watch many of the Rising videos on TY. Calling out Trump though doesn't earn her major awards in my book -- calling him out is expected from someone from a progressive pov. Would be most peculiar if she didn't. But she doesn't do it a lot that I've seen. Most of her air time the past year has been spent bashing Dems, the DNC, candidates not as progressive as Bernie. I'm sure her Trump-backing colleague appreciates that use of air time.

My complaint on this matter is that KB never has anyone on from the left-leftish side generally to challenge her on anything of significance in her overall political/cultural worldview or on any major issue in the political realm which has come up (e.g., the recent dubious charge against JB). She seems to prefer operating in her little political/cultural bubble, even as The Hill presumably could easily arrange a whole variety of interesting, challenging guests who may hold a very different pov on a given issue. But KB seems to like just inviting on "friends of the show", those who are certain to agree with her.

Compare and contrast with Michael Tracey, who often invites twitter detractors, usually from the left, to come on his podcast for a friendly debate. Unlike the insecure Sam Seder, Tracey is polite and gives his debate opponents plenty of time to state their position. Krystal and Saager could benefit from hearing strong opposing points of view, and it would make their show more interesting viewing.

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travelerxxx's picture

@wokkamile

... My complaint on this matter is that KB never has anyone on from the left-leftish side generally to challenge her on anything of significance in her overall political/cultural worldview or on any major issue in the political realm which has come up (e.g., the recent dubious charge against JB ... ).

Assuming "JB" is Joe Biden?

Are you speaking of one of the not-so-recent accusations of sexual assault against Biden?

If not, what recent "dubious charge" might you be speaking of?

And if this is a new charge, what makes it "dubious" in your view?

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@travelerxxx further derail things, in this thread devoted to Prince Chuck, so only alluded to the well-known case oft-discussed here which we all know about. I'm not familiar with any other such stories against JB.

Although the recent charges of shoddy salacious journalism lodged against one Ronan Farrow are interesting. And who woulda thunk it would involve a major debunking piece by the accused himself, one Matt Lauer. I think Lauer nailed him rather well.

I am not aware of any serious felony, or misroyaling, allegations being directed at Prince Charlie. The royals are holed up too, suffering with their many servants in their various palaces, and are probably going stir crazy like the rest of us, thus the video opportunity which must have seemed a good idea for Chuck to get out for some fresh air and talk about others maybe stepping up to do some hard manual labor. Mighty royal of him.

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travelerxxx's picture

@wokkamile

Thanks for the clarification. Not wanting to derail, either.

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snoopydawg's picture

@wokkamile

had people from opposite sides on it. Would someone from Hillary count for you? Plus many others from the opposite side. You’re making blatant statements without knowing all the facts.

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

@snoopydawg of the facts, and as I noted above I was excluding Rising discussions of the political horse race where they had on proponents of non-Bernie campaigns. Well aware of that -- and they were merely gentle discussions about campaign strategy, tactics; only rarely was there a discussion on some of the fundamental issues or reason for running. Those surface discussions of the horse race constituted about 93% of the shows I've seen in the past year, of many shows viewed on YT. But actually I don't recall seeing any Hillary proponents per se -- was she running again this cycle?

Krystal stepped over the line and lost her credibility on this one, as did others. She embraced a political truth that colored all her reporting -- Biden bad, maybe he can be pushed aside with this alleged victim story, in favor of Bernie -- as opposed to a factual truth based in reason. This is how Fox News operates.

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should be his son. But why should he work when daddy hands him an annual two plus million allowance?

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wendy davis's picture

@aliasalias

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smiley7's picture

The Unbearable Lightness of Being and more poignant to me as i was physically sitting in the Czechoslovakian embassy in DC waiting to hear their ambassador when it happened. A riot taking place on the main street outside which we could view from the giant windows.

Anyways, forgive me for taking flight; and, thanks for the memory.

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