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"There is no liberation to compare with freeing oneself from the illusions and delusions of the age in which one lives."

-- Terence McKenna

News and Opinion

“Feet to the Fire” and Other Lies

Democrats love to pretend. They pretend their party advocates on their behalf, even though the leadership makes clear they’ll do no such thing. They have no intention of doing what their voters want; the people subconsciously know and engage in wishful thinking, and every four years we witness a pathetic collusion. “We will hold their feet to the fire,” is one of the saddest or perhaps funniest of all quadrennial proclamations. When the Democratic Party ends its charade of a primary process and spits out the person most closely aligned with neo-liberal policies, the gas lighting begins. The victims go along with their abusers and announce they will accept what they said they didn’t want. They continue the kabuki theater with self-delusion and an odd promise to hold the intentionally corrupt candidates accountable. ...

Anyone who actually votes for a Democrat yet ends up pushing back against them is in a very distinct minority. Most Americans have been so bullied by the system that their political activity is already limited to voting. They have no experience whatsoever with political organizing and literally have no idea where to begin. ... Even if the people were sufficiently well organized to call anyone to account, they would be begging Biden and Harris to act in direct opposition to the interests of the donor class who put them in their positions. The day after the Harris announcement media headlines proclaimed that Wall Street was breathing a sigh of relief and Silicon Valley couldn’t be happier. Kamala Harris was chosen precisely because she complements Biden’s determination to do nothing on behalf of the people. He famously told a group of funders, “Nothing will fundamentally change,” if he were elected president. Even if the previously unseen feet and fire trick was attempted, it would face interests determined to fight against it. ...

Of course there are sincere folks who swear they will speak up when the horrible Democrat foisted upon them gets into office and promptly carries out orders from the rulers. But like clockwork, they are told that the congressional majority isn’t big enough to give the president any leeway, or that the right wing are already attacking and they must protect the person doing them wrong, or look at that one good thing he did, or they point out the meaningless words of a conservative pundit as proof that the gangster in chief ought to be loved and appreciated. Of course, the off-year election rolls around and the cycle of protecting the abuser starts all over again with pleas to provide whichever liar in chief is in the White House with more cover.

Liberation can’t come from electoral politics. The mass movement comes first and electoral successes may follow. But there is a larger problem at work today. The recognition of the U.S. as an imploding failed state is rarely acknowledged. The days of getting a victory or even a partial win are long gone. The loss of democracy is complete and we are left with a system that must be torn up root and branch.

War Hawks Endorse Biden At DNC Convention!

Colin Powell at the Democratic National Convention: Democrats prepare administration of militarism and war

In the second day of its national convention, the Democratic Party officially nominated Joe Biden as its candidate for president in the 2020 election. Overall, the four-day event has been a highly scripted act of political theater, full of trite clichés and empty rhetoric. The most notable element of yesterday’s proceedings was the decision to feature remarks from former general Colin Powell and a video highlighting the “unlikely friendship” between Biden and former Republican presidential candidate and Senator John McCain. A Biden/Harris administration, the Democrats emphasized, would be prepared to wage war.

In his remarks, Powell, who served as Secretary of State under the administration of George W. Bush, declared that Biden, as “commander-in-chief,” will “trust our intelligence agencies” and “stand up to our adversaries with strength and experience. They will know we mean business.” ... Powell’s remarks were preceded by a speech from John Kerry, Secretary of State under Obama, who helped oversee the 2014 regime-change operation in Ukraine, spearheaded by fascistic groups, and the US-backed civil war in Syria. Kerry denounced Trump’s foreign policy, particularly focusing on what is seen within the military-intelligence agencies as the administration’s insufficiently aggressive attitude to Russia. “Our interests,” Kerry said, “can’t afford four more years of Donald Trump.”

Kerry referred to the strength of Biden’s “moral compass,” citing his support for war in Yugoslavia in the late 1990s, though avoiding reference to his vote to authorize the invasion of Iraq. Kerry was followed with a video segment featuring Republican Chuck Hagel, along with career diplomats under both Republicans and Democrats, including Brett McGurk (the longest-serving civilian adviser overseeing the war in Iraq and Syria, going back to the Bush administration); Marie Yovanovitch (US ambassador to Ukraine under Trump and witness in last year’s impeachment trial); Jack Weinstein (US Air Force general and high-ranking nuclear weapons officer); and Rose Gottemoeller (former deputy secretary general of NATO until 2019).

In the ad, the officials insisted that Biden had “made the tough calls” (Yovanovitch, referring to the Obama administration’s operation in Ukraine) and there was “no one more qualified … to be sitting at the head of the table in the Situation Room” (Hagel). They criticized Trump for having “a love fest with dictators” (Gottemoeller, referring to Russia) and being “a danger to national security” (McGurk). After Powell spoke, the Democrats aired the ad on the “unlikely friendship” with McCain, one of the most ferocious warmongers in the US Senate, who consistently advocated for aggression against Iran, Russia and China, before his death in 2018. Even though they were members of different parties, McCain’s widow Cindy explained, the two enjoyed backyard dinner parties together.

One has the distinct impression that if the Democrats could get George W. Bush or John Bolton to speak at the convention, they would jump at the chance. Perhaps this is still to come.

EU says it does not recognise Belarus election results

The EU has said it does not recognise Alexander Lukashenko as Belarus’s president and vowed to press ahead with sanctions on his regime, following an emergency summit in response to 10 days of protests that have shaken the autocrat’s 26-year grip on power.

“The European Union stands in solidarity with the people of Belarus,” said Charles Michel, the European council president, who convened the last-minute meeting of the EU’s 27 leaders. Belarus’s presidential elections had been “neither free nor fair and did not meet international standards”, he said. “We don’t recognise the results presented by the Belarus authorities.”

Angela Merkel said: “The people in Belarus know what they want ... that’s why we want an independent path for Belarus where the political conditions are decided by the country itself.”

The German chancellor also revealed that Lukashenko had rejected a phone call with her. Expressing regret, Merkel said: “You can only mediate when you are in touch with all sides.”

The Belarusian defence ministry on Wednesday ordered an increased military presence on the borders with Poland and Lithuania. Lukashenko also ordered the ministry of the interior “not to allow further unrest” in Minsk. Riot police returned to the streets of the capital, after several days in which they had let protesters rally unmolested, in a sign that the protest momentum that culminated in a huge rally on Sunday has been halted, at least temporarily.

Gaza’s only power plant shuts down, putting health care in danger

Secret Service Bought Phone Location Data from Apps, Contract Confirms

The Secret Service paid for a product that gives the agency access to location data generated by ordinary apps installed on peoples' smartphones, an internal Secret Service document confirms. The sale highlights the issue of law enforcement agencies buying information, and in particular location data, that they would ordinarily need a warrant or court order to obtain. This contract relates to the sale of Locate X, a product from a company called Babel Street.

In March, tech publication Protocol reported that multiple government agencies signed millions of dollars worth of deals with Babel Street after the company launched its Locate X product. Multiple sources told the site that Locate X tracks the location of devices anonymously, using data harvested by popular apps installed on peoples' phones. ...

A myriad of smartphone apps, from weather predictors, to games, to flashlights, collect location data. Sometimes this may provide some benefit to the app's operation itself, such as being able to route directions from a users' current location, but many of these apps often sell that information as well to data brokers or other companies who incorporate it into their own products.

Government agencies are increasingly at the end of that location data chain. ... Law enforcement agencies typically require a warrant or court order to compel a company to provide location data for an investigation. Many agencies have filed so-called reverse location warrants to ask Google to hand over information on what Android devices were in a particular area at a given time, for example. But an agency does not need to seek a warrant when it simply buys the data instead.

California Uber and Lyft drivers brace for shutdown over worker classification

Uber and Lyft drivers are bracing for a shutdown in California, one of the rideshare companies’ largest markets. For drivers it is a bittersweet moment. One that couldn’t come at a worse time and yet holds the promise of a better future. The coronavirus pandemic has hit so-called gig economy workers hard and ramped up local and state efforts to classify Uber and Lyft drivers as employees rather than contractors, a move that would improve minimum wages and benefits for drivers.

In May California attorney general Xavier Beccera filed a lawsuit over the companies’ classification of drivers as “independent contractors”, noting that due to the coronavirus pandemic “the vulnerability of Uber’s and Lyft’s drivers has become more apparent than ever”. Uber and Lyft threatened to shut down operations in California over a court ruling on the lawsuit issued on 10 August ordering them to abide by California’s Assembly Bill 5 law (AB5) – which extends employee status to gig workers – and to classify their drivers as employees by 20 August.

A spokesperson for Lyft affirmed in an email that if efforts to extend the stay on the order after 20 August are unsuccessful, Lyft will shut down operations in California.

Facebook restricts more than 10,000 QAnon and US militia groups

Facebook has taken down or restricted more than 10,000 groups, pages and Instagram accounts associated with QAnon, in the latest effort by a social media platform to combat the growth of the baseless rightwing conspiracy theory. The moves are the result of a shift in the company’s policy toward movements that have “demonstrated significant risks to public safety” but do not meet the criteria for an outright ban, such as terrorist and hate groups.

Facebook has already removed more than 790 groups and 100 pages linked to QAnon, the company said Wednesday. It also blocked 300 QAnon hashtags and took down 1,500 advertisements. ...

Facebook will still allow people to post content that supports QAnon, but “will restrict their ability to organize” on the platform by removing them from recommendation algorithms, reducing their ranking in news feed and search results, and prohibiting them from using features such as fundraising and advertising, the company said.

The move against QAnon comes one month after Twitter cracked down on content and accounts dedicated to the conspiracy theory, whose followers believe that Donald Trump is waging a secret battle against a Satanic “deep state” cabal of Democrats, celebrities, and powerful figures such as Bill Gates and George Soros who run the world while engaging in pedophilia, human trafficking and the harvesting of a supposedly life-extending chemical from the blood of abused children.

Postal Union Leaders Warn Removal of Mail Sorting Machines and Other DeJoy Damage May Be Difficult to Reverse

Postal workers and union leaders across the nation are warning this week that despite Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's suspension of mail operation changes until after the election, the damage inflicted by the removal of mail sorting machines and other policies may be difficult to reverse.

While he agreed to suspend actions some have labeled an attempt to sabotage the general election, DeJoy did not commit to replacing the mailboxes or sorting machines already removed from locations throughout the United States.

One local postal union president in Michigan told CNN that USPS workers in Michigan were instructed not to return a dozen previously removed machines at a distribution center there.

"As of today, they were told not to power them back up," Roscoe Woods, president of APWU Local 480-481, told CNN on Wednesday.

Paul Hogrogian, national president for the National Postal Mail Handlers Union, told CNN he doubts that machines impacted by DeJoy's changes be returned, "especially since some have already been scrapped."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Wednesday that she had spoken with DeJoy, who said he didn't plan on replacing the removed collection boxes and sorting machines. ...

Earlier today, I spoke with Postmaster General DeJoy regarding his alleged pause in operational changes. During our conversation, he admitted he has no intention of replacing the sorting machines, blue mailboxes and other infrastructure that have been removed.

— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) August 19, 2020

DeJoy is set to testify at a virtual Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on Friday, ahead of his scheduled appearance before the Democrat-controlled House Oversight Committee.

Florida's coronavirus death toll hits 10,000

Florida’s coronavirus death toll hit 10,000 on Wednesday as the state continues to struggle to get the ongoing pandemic under control.

Almost six months since Florida’s first case was identified, the state reported 174 deaths on Wednesday, bringing the total death toll to 10,067.

Florida now has the fifth highest death toll in the US. The only other states to have reached 10,000 deaths are New York, New Jersey, California and Texas.

Although Florida’s weekly death average and cases are declining, half of all deaths in the state were recorded in the last month alone. So far Florida has had 584,047 positive cases.

Austin’s Vote to “Reimagine” Policing Prompts Threats From State Officials

Ahead of the Austin City Council’s budget meeting in mid-August, Kathy Mitchell, a longtime community organizer and grassroots lobbyist, “basically spent the week in a deep and broad anxiety,” she said. “I was just anxious for seven days.” ... Mitchell, who had been working with city leaders to pass a block of police reforms, was optimistic but still uncertain as the budget session drew near. “Oh, man. I have a habit of never counting my votes until the day that people actually vote,” she said. In the end, the 10-member council voted unanimously to cut, “decouple,” and redistribute roughly $150 million of the APD’s $434 million budget. “There’s no question that this is a big moment in Austin,” Mitchell said. ...

The Austin council voted on a three-tiered package of cuts to APD. The first, totaling roughly $21 million, are direct, immediate budget cuts. The next three cadet classes have been canceled — unless and until the department can revamp its academy, which has been called out for instilling a warrior cop mentality that is out of step with public service. Vacant positions have been cut, overtime has been curtailed, various contracts (for things like office supplies) will be slashed, and funding for automatic license plate readers has been axed. The pot of funds is being reallocated to workforce development, housing for the homeless, and substance abuse treatment, as well as to address food insecurity and increase health care access.

The second pot of money, about $80 million, is the decoupling fund. Primarily civilian-led endeavors like the Austin crime lab (which under APD was so mired in scandal that it shuttered its operations in 2016), victim services, and the 911 call center will be removed from police control. City leaders are also aiming to change the way the police themselves are policed, by moving the APD’s Internal Affairs and Special Investigations Unit outside of the department. Details on how those transitions will happen, what revamped services will look like, and who will control them will be worked out in the coming months.

The third pot of money, roughly $49 million, is being put into a “reimagine safety” fund, with the goal of removing additional duties — like traffic enforcement and response to mental health crises — from police. That money will instead go “toward alternative forms of public safety and community support,” according to a document compiled by council members. ...

Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum, state officials and other lawmakers from outside Austin were quick to decry the cuts and pledge legislative action against such “short-sighted efforts,” as a Dallas-area state senator put it. Gov. Greg Abbott pledged to have state police “stand in the gap” to protect the city, while George P. Bush, the elected state land commissioner, took to Twitter. ... And state leaders have continued foaming at the mouth over the Austin council’s actions. On August 18, Abbott joined with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and state House Speaker Dennis Bonnen to suggest capping tax revenue for cities that dare “defund” police — though they did not respond to questions from the Houston Chronicle about exactly what that meant. “What they have done in Austin should never happen in any city in the state, and we’re going to pass legislation to be sure it never happens again,” Patrick said.

One Man Will Decide Who Fills Kamala Harris’s Senate Seat

Kamala Harris’s selection as Joe Biden’s running mate has set off a frenzy of speculation as to who could replace her in the Senate if Biden is elected president in November. Progressives like Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., immediately raised the possibility of left stalwart Rep. Barbara Lee filling the position, while others on the left have raised up California Reps. Karen Bass and Ro Khanna as possible candidates as well.

Under current California law, one man, Gov. Gavin Newsom, will have the power to decide. Newsom will likely make an appointment for two years without that candidate having to face the voters in a special election. Unlike in the House, where vacancies are filled only by special election, past practice has created a system such that governors are able to exercise sole control over temporary Senate appointments in many states, including California.

Those hoping that Newsom would appoint a woman or a progressive to replace Harris in the Senate seat could be facing strong headwinds. CalMatters reported last week that “prognosticators often name both California Secretary of State Alex Padilla and Attorney General Xavier Becerra as among the most likely to be appointed” because Newsom would be able to appoint their replacements as well, giving himself a twofer. Both Padilla and Becerra are solidly in the center of the Democratic Party.

AOC CALLS OUT NBC For Fake News, Trying To Spark Outrage Against Progressives

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accuses NBC of spreading misinformation after DNC speech

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accused NBC News of spreading an “incredible amount of damage and misinformation” overnight on Tuesday after the network construed a routine procedural speech by her as a snub of the Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden.

Speaking on the second night of the Democratic national convention (DNC), Ocasio-Cortez was assigned to second the nomination of Senator Bernie Sanders as president. Sanders ended his presidential bid and endorsed Biden last spring, but he was in line for a formal nomination as part of the process of transferring his delegates to Biden. ...

Soon after, NBC News sent a tweet that seemed to impute some intrigue to the fact that Ocasio-Cortez had not endorsed Biden for president. Such endorsements are not typically conferred in the convention setting and there was no reason or expectation for Ocasio-Cortez to do so. ...

Hours later, the tweet was deleted and an editor’s note was appended reading, “This tweet should have included more detail on the nominating process.”

'Immoral, Criminal, Inexcusable': Climate Groups Furious as DNC Drops Support for Ending Fossil Fuel Handouts From Platform

Environmentalists reacted with outrage late Tuesday to news that the Democratic National Committee this week quietly removed from the final party platform an amendment calling for an end to federal subsidies to the fossil fuel industry, a longstanding demand of climate activists that both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris supported during the primary.

HuffPost's Alexander Kaufman reported Tuesday that "on July 27, officials added an amendment to the Manager's Mark, a ledger of party demands voted on as one omnibus package, stating: 'Democrats support eliminating tax breaks and subsidies for fossil fuels, and will fight to defend and extend tax incentives for energy efficiency and clean energy.'"

But the amendment does not appear in a final version of the Democratic platform that began circulating Monday, according to Kaufman. In a statement to HuffPost, a DNC spokesperson said the amendment was "incorrectly included in the Manager's Mark" and removed from the document "after the error was discovered."

Annie Leonard, executive director of Greenpeace USA, denounced the decision to remove support for eliminating fossil fuel subsidies from the party platform as "immoral, criminal, inexcusable."

"We are nearing global tipping points on climate, fires and extreme weather are killing people and devastating the economy, and the DNC can't even accept an end to public subsidies for making it worse?" Leonard tweeted. ...

The move represents a step back from the Democratic Party's 2016 platform—which included language supporting an end to tax breaks and subsidies for fossil fuel companies—at a time when analysts say throwing taxpayer money at the flagging industry makes less sense than ever. In her HEATED newsletter, Emily Atkin noted that "taxpayers currently pay at least $20 billion a year to prop up the fossil fuel industry; though depending on how you calculate it, it could be as high as $649 billion."

As Sludge's Donald Shaw reported Tuesday, the DNC's reversal on fossil fuel subsidies comes after the body in August of 2018 "approved a resolution from Chair Tom Perez that reversed a DNC policy prohibiting it from accepting contributions from fossil fuel PACs."

"Shortly thereafter, donations from fossil fuel executives began flowing into DNC coffers," Shaw noted. "In August 2019, Sludge reported that the DNC had received at least $60,750 from owners and executives of fossil fuel companies including Krumme Oil, Duke Energy, and Southern Petroleum Resources. That figure has almost certainly increased dramatically since."

California wildfires force tens of thousands to flee their homes

'Lightning Siege' Sparks Hundreds of Fires in California as New Flames Overwhelm Resources

Authorities in California announced Wednesday evacuations for thousands of people as multiple wildfires left firefighters facing "depleted" resources and area residents dealt with rolling blackouts, high heat, poor air quality, and possible loss of homes—all as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to rage.

"This is bad," climate advocacy group Rainforest Action Network said of the situation in the state—which just days ago may have recorded the hottest temperature officially verified.

Those battling the blazes expressed concern about adequate capacity.

"Throughout the state of California right now, we are stretched thin for crews," state fire spokesperson Will Powers told the Associated Press.  "Air resources have been stretched thin throughout the whole state."

At a press conference Wednesday, Cal Fire spokesperson Jeremy Rahn said, "Over the past 72 hours, California has experienced a historic lightning siege." An estimated 11,000 lightning strikes sparked 367 new wildfires, he said, adding that over 300,000 acres have burned across the state.

The fires include the LNU Lightning Complex, which encompasses multiple fires spanning five northern California counties and has blamed for the loss of at least 50 homes. "Two other lightning-caused fire groups, the SCU Lightning Complex fires and the CZU August Lightning Complex fires, have similarly impacted residents and firefighters across the greater Bay Area," CBS San Francisco reported.

Also of Interest

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

Lawsuits Show the High Cost of NYPD Abuse in the Bronx

UK's lead role in 1953 Iran coup d'etat exposed

How the Israel-UAE deal puts the bogus peace industry back in business

Talks End, US and Russia Remain at Odds on Nuclear Deal

Not All Criticism of Kamala Harris Is Created Equal

Biden’s Philly Headquarters Rents a Fence to Stop the Poor People’s Army

Using Koch Money, Cato Institute Has Led the Drumbeat to Denigrate and Privatize the U.S. Postal Service

90 House Democrats Demand USPS Board of Governors Immediately Remove DeJoy Over Postal Service Sabotage

Masks blunt the spread of coronavirus – but not all are created equal

Is the way cattle are grazed the key to saving America's prairies?

Krystal and Saagar: Kamala, Obama, Hillary, And The No Good, Vapid, Identity Obsessed DNC

Krystal Ball: Sorry NYTimes, Sexism Has NOTHING To Do With Biden Beating HRC

A Little Night Music

Big Maybelle - I Ain't Mad at You

Big Maybelle - Ramblin' Blues

Big Maybelle - Ring Dang Dilly

Big Maybelle - Too Tight Mama

Big Maybelle - Don't Pass Me By

Big Maybelle - I Can't Wait Any Longer

Big Maybelle Smith - Maybelle's Blues

Big Maybelle Smith - Such A Cutie

Big Maybelle - One Monkey Don´t Stop No Show

Big Maybelle - That's A Pretty Good Love