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This evening's music features slide guitarist Sonny Landreth. Enjoy!

"Washington: Russia’s gonna invade Ukraine.

Moscow: We’re not gonna invade Ukraine.

Kyiv: Yeah Russia’s not gonna invade Ukraine.

Washington: Russia’s definitely about to invade Ukraine.

Entirety of western media: RUSSIA 100% CERTAIN TO INVADE UKRAINE ANY SECOND NOW"

-- Caitlin Johnstone

News and Opinion

It Sure Looks Like the US Corporate Media Wants a War With Russia

The corporate media always carry water for the state, and they are never more dangerous than when the nation is on a war footing. Right now the United States government is sending weapons to Ukraine. One wouldn’t know that because of constant references to “lethal aid.” The euphemisms and subterfuge are necessary for a very simple reason. Everyone except the Washington war party knows that provoking war with Russia is extremely dangerous.

Joe Biden is picking up where he left off, as Barack Obama’s Ukraine viceroy. He and his incompetent foreign policy team have spun a tale about a pending Russian attack on Ukraine. In reality, it is the U.S. that is ginning up war by provoking the Ukrainians to start a fight that they can’t win. In 2014 a U.S. backed coup put a far-right clique in power. The people of the Donbass region in the east, largely ethnic Russians, wanted no part of the new anti-Russian government and sought autonomy. The resulting war has killed some 30,000 people.

Now the Biden team who publicly insulted the Chinese government and withdrew from Afghanistan without even being able to secure a major airport, have moved on to opening the proverbial can of whoopass with the world’s other major nuclear power. They are using Ukraine in an ill-advised effort to instigate what could lead to disaster. ...

No one should be fooled by these people. Russia and China are very close, “better than allies ,” as Xi Jinping said. Why shouldn’t they be? Both countries want to protect themselves from American aggression. People in this country had better hope for Russian and Chinese wisdom and experience. If the U.S. is allowed to do what it wants then the whole world is at risk. That statement is not hyperbole. The U.S. has withdrawn from decades old nuclear weapons agreements and now pushes the world toward the precipice.

The New York Times and Washington Post will play the role they did in 2003 when the U.S. invaded Iraq. They will repeat what spokespeople tell them to say and be a party to warfare. If ever there was a moment to break free from media disinformation this is it. They have nothing to offer except war propaganda and possibly war itself.

Ukraine crisis: Gas pipeline becomes bargaining chip against Russia

Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will not open if Russia invades Ukraine, says US

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline between Russia and Germany will not move forward if Russia invades Ukraine, the US state department has said, in a significant strengthening of the west’s previous position on the strategically vital gas supply. As tension ratcheted up over Russia’s military buildup on its neighbour’s eastern border, state department spokesperson Ned Price said on Wednesday night that the Biden administration was “working with Germany” to ensure it could withstand the loss of the pipeline.

“I want to be very clear: if Russia invades Ukraine one way or another, Nord Stream 2 will not move forward,” Price told National Public Radio. “I’m not going to get into the specifics. We will work with Germany to ensure it does not move forward.”

Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, who has previously argued in favour of imposing energy sanctions in response to aggression from Moscow, said the future of Nord Stream 2 could be up for discussion as part of a “broad range” of possible responses to Russian aggression. “In the case of a new act of aggression, we have a broad bandwidth of responses at our disposal, including Nord Stream 2,” she told the Bundestag on Thursday.

Emily Haber, Germany’s ambassador to Washington, appeared to endorse a hardening of the position in comments on Thursday. She noted on Twitter that “the US and Germany jointly declared last summer: if Russia uses energy as a weapon or if there is another violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty, Russia will have to pay a high price”.

Ukraine leader urges West not to stir 'panic' over Russia tensions

This is not true. President Biden said that there is a distinct possibility that the Russians could invade Ukraine in February. He has previously said this publicly & we have been warning about this for months. Reports of anything more or different than that are completely false. https://t.co/chkFOhwWHn

— Emily Horne (@emilyhorne46) January 27, 2022

US calls for UN security council meeting to discuss Ukraine crisis

The US has asked the UN security council to meet and discuss Russia’s threats to Ukraine.

“The members of the security council must squarely examine the facts and consider what is at stake for Ukraine, for Russia, for Europe, and for the core obligations and principles of the international order should Russia further invade Ukraine,” said Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN.

Russia sends 20 warships to the Black Sea to contain NATO

A group of more than 20 Russian warships is currently traveling in the waters of the Black Sea. In all likelihood, the Russian warships will show their readiness to oppose the West should NATO continue its provocations against Russia.

From Ukraine to Yemen, US arms industry reaps the spoils of war

Poland starts building wall through protected forest at Belarus border

Poland has started building a wall along its frontier with Belarus aimed at preventing asylum seekers from entering the country, which cuts through a protected forest and Unesco world heritage site.

The Polish border guard said the barrier would measure 186km (115 miles), almost half the length of the border shared by the two countries, reach up to 5.5 metres (18ft) and cost €353m (£293m). It will be equipped with motion detectors and thermal cameras.

Poland has accused Belarus’s president, Alexander Lukashenko, of deliberately provoking a new refugee crisis in Europe by organising the movement of people from the Middle East to Minsk and promising them a safe passage to the EU in revenge for the sanctions Brussels has imposed on his authoritarian regime.

Thousands of asylum seekers, mainly from Syria, Iraqi Kurdistan and Afghanistan, were caught attempting to cross the frontier and were violently pushed back to Belarus by Poland’s border guards, and hundreds of families were trapped in the forest between the two countries in the midst of a frigid winter.

At least 19 people have died since the beginning of the border standoff between Poland and Belarus. Most of them died of exposure to freezing temperatures.

Home Demolition in Sheikh Jarrah Seen as Part of Broader Israeli Effort to Dispossess Palestinians

‘Trying to disappear the poor’: California clears homeless camp near Super Bowl

Officials in Los Angeles have cleared a homeless encampment near SoFi stadium, where the Super Bowl will take place in three weeks, drawing backlash from human rights groups and the unhoused residents who have been displaced.

On Monday and Tuesday, the state transit agency Caltrans shut down the tent community, which visitors would probably have passed on their way to the big game, calling it a “safety issue”.

But some have accused authorities of forcing people out of sight without providing housing or services.

“They are just trying to survive,” said Sofi Villalpando, who works with some of the displaced residents. “It feels like [authorities] are removing people so they won’t be seen.” ...

The controversial sweep comes as elected officials in LA have increasingly launched high-profile encampment shutdowns in response to a worsening humanitarian crisis. There were an estimated 48,000 people living on the streets in LA county at the start of the pandemic, the latest count. The strategy of sweeps, critics say, has prioritized aesthetics and the complaints of neighbors, leading people in established tent communities to be scattered into more dangerous living conditions.

Retiring Liberal Justice's Pro Corporate Record

'Utterly Shameless': Former Democratic Senators Join Fossil Fuel Lobby Group

Environmentalists on Thursday excoriated two former Democratic U.S. senators who announced they are joining a pro-fossil fuel group that falsely promotes fracked gas as a "solution" to the climate emergency.

Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future—a self-described "coalition of interested stakeholders that recognize the vital role natural gas and its infrastructure must play in the energy mix"—said Wednesday that former Sens. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) and Mary Landrieu (D-La.) are joining its leadership council.

This is climate denial and shameful bullshit. Also the future for Manchin and Sinema.

Former Democratic senators Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.) and Mary Landrieu (La.) are joining a group that promotes natural gas https://t.co/kpsT2PLkFW

— Dr. Sandra Steingraber (@ssteingraber1) January 27, 2022

Biologist and author Sandra Steingraber reacted to the senators' move by tweeting: "This is climate denial and shameful bullshit. Also the future for Manchin and Sinema," a reference to Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), two leading Democratic recipients of Big Oil campaign contributions. 

David Roberts, publisher of the clean energy newsletter Volts, called Heitkamp an "utterly shameless corporate shill" who is "fresh from defending corporations against higher taxes."

Heitkamp and Landrieu both represented states whose economies are heavily dependent upon fossil fuel production. Both senators also supported controversial fossil fuel projects—including the Keystone XL Pipeline—during their congressional careers.

"Sen. Landrieu and I believe that it is time to make real climate progress. That real progress will not be achieved unless forward-thinking partners in the natural gas industry are at the table and embraced as part of the solution," Heitkamp claimed in a Natural Allies press release.

Climate and environmental campaigners strongly argue that gas is an insidious and false climate "solution."

As the Sierra Club noted last month: 

Oil and gas companies are rebranding their climate-warming products to make them sound "clean" and "green"... Natural gas is a fossil fuel, and its production leaks methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from well-source to pipeline to power plant. Burning natural gas creates carbon dioxide... This will not reduce our carbon footprint.

In an interview with The Hill, Heitkamp said will be working toward "changing hearts and minds of people in the climate movement."

Landrieu added that "we're not lobbying for any federal or state or local policy, just touting the science and the benefits of this really remarkable asset."

Roberts added, "I don't understand how these people sleep at night."

Sioux Tribe Withdraws as Cooperating Agency Over Dakota Access Pipeline Threat

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe on Thursday confirmed that it is no longer a "cooperating agency" for the Dakota Access oil pipeline and demanded federal action to address concerns that a leak could affect Lake Oahe, the tribe's only source of fresh drinking water.

Janet Alkire, the tribe's newly elected chairperson, warned in a statement that low water levels resulting from "misplaced priorities in the operation of Oahe and the other dams on the Missouri River" could affect cleanup plans in the event of a Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL) spill.

"If an oil spill were to occur today, the plans submitted for remediation at Lake Oahe probably couldn't be implemented," Alkire said. "Equipment required for the containment of a spill, even if deployed in a timely manner, could not reach the response zone."

Doug Crow Ghost, administrator of the tribe's Water Resources Department, explained that "roads leading to the river and most access points on the reservation in the vicinity of the pipeline are not usable at the present time."

The Standing Rock Indian Reservation, which straddles the Dakotas, has long served as a home base for Indigenous-led protests against the controversial oil pipeline that spans 1,172 miles from North Dakota, through South Dakota and Iowa, to a terminal in Illinois.

As Indigenous and climate activists along with progressive lawmakers continue to pressure President Joe Biden to shut down DAPL—which began operating in 2017—the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is conducting a court-ordered environmental assessment expected to be finished this March.

Crow Ghost pointed out Thursday that "Lake Oahe's elevation is 12 feet below what it was two years ago today, but the Corps continues to release water at Oahe as if it is business as usual."

"The prospect of an oil spill during such low water is truly scary," he said.

Alkire called on the Corps to take urgent action to protect the lake.

"The Army Corps must raise Lake Oahe to safe levels or shut down the Dakota Access pipeline immediately," she said. "Our way of life at Standing Rock relies on our water, and we have to protect it."

Don Holmstrom, the tribe's emergency planning consultant and a retired director of the U.S. Chemical Safety Board's Denver office, echoed the tribal leaders' criticism of Energy Transfer Partners' emergency plans for containing an oil spill.

"As the tribe's technical reports have detailed, existing plans are inconsistent with Energy Transfer's own spill model, which seriously impairs effective oil spill mitigation," he said. "Spill response under adverse conditions such as a low Lake Oahe water level or the harsh winter environment of North Dakota, including an oil spill under ice, are seriously lacking."

Holmstrom also addressed the tribe's withdrawal as a cooperating agency in the midst of the Corps' forthcoming assessment of the pipeline, highlighting that the Tribal Emergency Response Commission (TERC) has never seen a full version of DAPL's emergency plans.

"The Corps has failed to provide the Standing Rock TERC the most recent, unredacted response plans," he said. "Coordination and transparency with the TERC have been nonexistent."

Holmstrom emphasized the importance of accurately estimating how much DAPL oil could spill into the Missouri River if the pipeline ruptured or leaked, saying that "Energy Transfer's worst-case discharge calculations are grossly understated."

"All these flaws weaken an effective oil spill response and place emergency responders and tribal members in harm's way," the consultant warned, adding that "there are many unresolved issues, but the oil continues to flow."

Rocketing demand for fossil fuels could deal blow to climate goals, report says

Global oil prices have climbed to $90 a barrel, which could tempt investors to pile more cash into long-term fossil fuel projects, dashing the world’s hopes to limit carbon emissions in line with climate targets and wasting billions in investment, according to a report.

Recent price rises could mean more potential projects appear to be lucrative investments in the short-term, the report by the financial thinktank Carbon Tracker says. But the analysis suggests demand for fossil fuels could begin to dwindle by the time these projects begin, creating “a nightmare scenario” for investors and climate campaigners.

Demand for oil and gas has rebounded strongly as the global economy bounces back from the economic slowdown triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, leading to a global gas supply crunch and rocketing energy market prices.

The international oil price climbed from lows of about $20 a barrel in April 2020 to seven-year highs of $90 a barrel on Wednesday, and may reach $100 by the end of the year. Meanwhile gas prices have reached all-time highs in markets across Europe and Asia, fuelling a cost of living crisis.

But the increase was unlikely to last over the lifetime of a long-term fossil fuel investment, Carbon Tracker said, because government climate commitments combined with the rapid switch to electric vehicles and renewable energy would drive down demand for oil sharply from the late 2020s to 2040.

Living near fracking sites raises risk of premature death for elderly, US study finds

Elderly people living near or downwind from unconventional oil and gas wells such as fracking sites are more likely to die prematurely, according to a major new US study.

Extracting oil and gas through newer or unconventional methods like fracking has expanded rapidly across America over the past two decades with at least 17.6 million people now living within one kilometer of an active well.

Compared with traditional drilling, unconventional oil and gas development (UOGD) is linked to higher levels of exposure to toxic air pollution and poor water quality, as well as noise and light pollution which can be harmful to human health. The impact of fossil fuel extraction – including by unconventional methods – has disproportionately affected low income communities and people of color.

Researchers from the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health studied the health records of 15 million people on Medicare, the health insurance program that includes at least 95% of Americans aged 65 and older, living in all significant drilling regions from 2001 to 2015. They also gathered data on about 2.5m oil and gas wells covering leading exploration states, from Montana to Texas and Pennsylvania.

The closer people live to an oil and gas operation, the higher the risk of dying prematurely, even after accounting for socioeconomic, environmental and demographic factors such as gender and race, according to the study published in Nature Energy. Residents most adversely affected are those living nearby and downwind, suggesting toxic airborne contaminants emitted from UOGD sites probably contributed to higher mortality rates. Exposure to toxins associated with unconventional drilling such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides and radioactive materials are linked to a wide range of life-threatening medical conditions.

America’s hottest city is nearly unlivable in summer.

A surge in heat-related deaths amid record-breaking summer temperatures offers a “glimpse into the future” and a stark warning that one of America’s largest cities is already unlivable for some, according to its new heat tsar. Almost 200 people died from extreme heat in Phoenix in 2020 – the hottest, driest and deadliest summer on record with 53 days topping 110F (43C) compared with a previous high of 33 days. Last year there were fewer scorching days, but the death toll remained staggeringly high, with people experiencing homelessness and addictions dying disproportionately.

Phoenix, the capital of Arizona, is accustomed to a hot desert climate, but day and night temperatures have been rising due to global heating and the city’s unchecked development, which has created a sprawling urban heat island. Scorching temperatures have made summers increasingly perilous for the city’s 1.4 million people, with mortality and morbidity rates creeping up over the past two decades, but 2020 was a gamechanger when heat related deaths jumped by about 60%.

Last year, after another deadly summer, the mayor announced the region’s first dedicated unit to tackle the growing hazard of urban heat, which also threatens the city’s economic viability. “Phoenix is already unlivable in summer for far too many of our residents, who literally didn’t live because it was too hot. Every death is preventable and shows that there’s much much more for us to do to make the city livable and comfortable for everyone,” said David Hondula, the recently appointed director of Phoenix’s heat response and mitigation office.

“2020 was a glimpse into the future – it’s the type of summer that could be normal by 2050 or 2080, so that’s what we need to be prepared for so that Phoenix is livable and thriving.”

Also of Interest

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

All Of Us Remain Hostages to the Military-Industrial Complex

Washington Thinks US Borders End At Neptune: Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix

Putin tells Macron that West 'ignored' Russia's security concerns

ICAO Report - Ryanair Plane That Landed in Minsk Was NOT Forced Down

US charged with war crimes in Syria prison siege

Yemen’s Houthis Threaten Dubai Expo If War Doesn’t End

Human Rights Watch targeted by Israeli spyware

The Saker Interviews Michael Hudson

Kroger Goes To Washington

A Government Study Shows that Wall Street Megabanks Have Dramatically Shifted their Derivative Exposure to Corporations

Tennessee school board bans Pulitzer prize-winning Holocaust novel, Maus

US Crop Losses Have More Than Tripled Since 1995

Gas Stoves Even Worse for Climate, Health Than Previously Thought

U.S.-Backed Drug War Fuels Murders of Journalists in Mexico, Most Dangerous Country for Media

Arizona Bill Would Allow Legislature To Overturn Election Results

A Little Night Music

Sonny Landreth - Blues Attack

Sonny Landreth - Taylor's Rock

Sonny Landreth - Next of Kindred Spirits

Sonny Landreth - Back To Bayou Teche

Sonny Landreth - Key To The Highway

Sonny Landreth - Louisiana 1927

Gov't Mule with Sonny Landreth & Ron Holloway - ScoMule

Sonny Landreth - High Side

Sonny Landreth & Eric Clapton - Promise Land

Sonny Landreth - Full set - Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival