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“Do you think it's possible for an entire nation to be insane?”

-- Terry Pratchett

News and Opinion

Yemen: two-month ceasefire begins with hopes for peace talks

A UN-brokered two-month ceasefire in Yemen was broadly holding on its first full day with oil shipments reaching the port of Hodeida, including some ships that have been barred from entering for 88 days.

The ceasefire is the biggest step forward in the six-year war and is intended to apply inside and outside the country’s borders.

In a statement, the UN special envoy Hans Grundberg stressed the importance of building on the agreement to restore trust between the warring parties and resume a political process aimed at ending the conflict.

He hopes such a relatively long ceasefire provides an opportunity to develop full peace talks, and to start to address some of the underlying economic problems prolonging the conflict. ...

The terms of the truce include facilitating the entry of 18 fuel ships into the ports of Hodeida and allowing two commercial flights a week to and from Sana’a airport to predetermined destinations. The terms also include convening a meeting between the parties to agree on opening roads in the city of Taiz and elsewhere to improve civilians’ freedom of movement inside Yemen.

Progressive Lawmakers in US and Japan Call on Biden to Clarify 'No-First-Use Nuclear Policy'

Dozens of progressive lawmakers in the United States and Japan are urging President Joe Biden to make a "sensible" shift and commit the U.S. to a policy of no-first-use of nuclear weapons "at any time or under any circumstances."

The demand, which is also directed at Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, came in a letter dated Friday.

The effort was led by lawmakers including Congressional Progressive Caucus chair U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) as well as Progressive Caucus of Japan chair and Diet House of Representatives member Masaharu Nakagawa.

The group's call comes as Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine has escalated fears of atomic warfare, especially as Russian President Vladimir Putin has waved a "nuclear saber" with recent declarations.

Biden last month signed off on his administration's Nuclear Posture Review, a policy which, to the disappointment of nonproliferation advocates, walks back his 2020 campaign promise of no-first-use. The NPR, according to U.S. officials, instead leaves open the possible use of nuclear weapons in response to non-nuclear warfare.

But, the lawmakers stressed in their letter, "it is never too late to commit to a no-first-use policy."

Addressing the "nuclear umbrella" security alliance between the two nations, the letter states: "A no-first-use policy would not weaken the U.S. ability to protect Japan and itself from a nuclear attack. That protection is based on the promise of U.S. nuclear retaliation, not on the ability to strike first. In fact, a no-first-use policy would increase protection against a nuclear attack by reducing doubt, miscalculation, and the possibility of an accidental nuclear launch."

Additionally, "a U.S. declaration stating that it would never start a nuclear war, supported by Japan, would breathe new life into international efforts to reduce and eventually eliminate the danger of nuclear war," the lawmakers assert. "This is especially important at a time when tensions between the nuclear-weapons-possessing states, especially between the United States and China, are increasing."

As The Associated Press reported Saturday, Russia's attack on Ukraine has added new fears of a nuclear exchange.

"For U.S. officials and world leaders, discussions of how to respond to a limited nuclear attack are no longer theoretical," AP reported.

The first casualty of War is Truth (Live w/Scott Ritter)

The US and its allies are weighing security guarantees for Ukraine, but they're unlikely to give Kyiv what it wants

The US and its allies have been weighing how the West could provide Ukraine with alternative security guarantees should it forgo its NATO membership bid as a concession to Russia to end the war, multiple sources familiar with the matter tell CNN. ...

In peace talks with Russia in Istanbul this week, Ukrainian negotiators proposed that Ukraine might be willing to commit to neutrality when it comes to NATO. But at the same time, they want Western countries, including the US and UK, to guarantee via ratified treaties that they would protect Ukraine should Russia invade again in the future. Such an agreement would mirror NATO's Article V, which states that an attack on one member of the alliance is an attack on all members. A main impetus for Russia's invasion was a desire to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO; it's unclear whether another collective security agreement would be any more palatable to Moscow. ...

A number of US and Western officials have taken a skeptical approach to potential security guarantees, with many saying it is still premature to discuss any contingencies as the negotiations proceed. Some US officials were surprised by the declaration from Ukraine after the Istanbul talks that Western security guarantees could be on the table. "We are in constant discussion with Ukrainians about ways that we can help ensure that they are sovereign and secure," White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said this week. "But there is nothing specific about security guarantees that I can speak to at this time."

Other European officials said they were similarly waiting to hear more from the Ukrainians before committing to anything publicly. And a US official said talks were still in their earliest stages with Ukraine on the contours of what a security arrangement might look like. An Article V-type commitment, however, is unlikely given that the US and many of its allies, including the UK, are still not willing to put their troops in direct confrontation with Russian forces. The theory that Russia would not attack Ukraine if it had Western security guarantees appears to still be a bigger risk than the US and its allies are willing to take.

China accuses the US of being the ‘instigator’ of Russia’s war in Ukraine at EU summit

China has blamed the US as the “leading instigator” of Russia’s war against Ukraine, saying Beijing would not be forced to “choose a side” in the conflict.

Speaking at a virtual summit with EU leaders on Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian blamed the US for initiating the invasion. “As the culprit and leading instigator of the Ukraine crisis, the US has led NATO to engage in five rounds of eastward expansion in the last two decades after 1999,” he said.

Nato’s membership has grown from 16 to 30 countries which has pushed “Russia to the wall step by step” and Beijing would not be forced to “choose a side or adopt a simplistic friend-or-foe approach,” he said. “We should, in particular, resist the Cold War thinking and bloc confrontation,” he added.

The comments came as European Council President Charles Michel, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell sought signs that Chinese President and Communist Party leader Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang would help to end the war in Ukraine amid fears that China is undermining Western efforts to isolate Russia through sanctions and diplomatic measures. “China disapproves of solving problems through sanctions, and we are even more opposed to unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction that have no basis in international law,” Mr Zhao said.

Gosh, it's a shame that U.S. war crimes weren't so assiduously documented in their many wars.

Blinken: growing evidence of Russian atrocities in Ukraine a ‘punch to the gut’

Growing evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine are “a punch to the gut”, the US secretary of state Antony Blinken said on Sunday, promising that America would join its allies in documenting the atrocities to hold the perpetrators accountable.

A retreat of Russian forces around Kyiv has revealed evidence of atrocities against civilians as Ukrainian troops and journalists have moved back into a broad swathe of suburbs and towns around the capital.

“We can’t become numb to this. We can’t normalize this. This is the reality of what’s going on every single day as long as Russia’s brutality against Ukraine continues,” Blinken said on CNN’s State of the Union.

“You can’t help but see these images as a punch to the gut. We said before Russia’s aggression we thought it was likely that they would commit atrocities. Since the aggression we’ve come out and said we believe that Russian forces have committed war crimes, and we’ve been working to document that to provide the information that we have to relevant institutions and organizations that will put all of this together.

Gas Companies Use Ukraine War For RECORD PROFITS

Viktor Orbán wins fourth consecutive term as Hungary’s prime minister

Viktor Orbán has won a fourth successive term as Hungary’s prime minister, capping a campaign dominated by his controversial stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with a speech that appeared to mock Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian leader. Ecstatic chants of “Viktor, Viktor” greeted Orbán as he addressed supporters of his Fidesz party outside its election headquarters on the banks of the Danube in Budapest as results made the scale of his victory apparent.

With nearly 86% of the vote counted on Sunday night, Fidesz was on course to increase its parliamentary majority by winning 135 seats in the 199-member parliament, crushing a six-party opposition bloc that united to form a common front aimed at unseating Orbán. Instead, the ruling party has retained its two-thirds super majority, which has enabled it to reshape Hungarian politics and social policy during its 12 years in power.

The popular vote margin was 53.7% for Fidesz to 34.4% for the United for Hungary opposition grouping, fronted by Péter Márki-Zay, who conceded defeat on Sunday night.

“The entire world can see that our brand of Christian democratic, conservative, patriotic politics has won,” a smiling, swaggering Orbán – with members of his cabinet behind him – told the crowd, standing in frigid temperatures. “We are sending Europe a message that this is not the past – this is the future.” ...

“This victory is one to remember, maybe even for the rest of our lives, because we had the biggest [range of opponents to] overpower. The left at home, the international left, the bureaucrats in Brussels, the money of the Soros empire, the international media and even the Ukrainian president in the end,” he said to laughter from the crowd.

Pakistan’s PM calls for early election after vote of no confidence thrown out

Pakistan is on the brink of a constitutional crisis and the prime minister, Imran Khan, is facing accusations of treason after he dissolved parliament and called fresh elections in order to block a no-confidence vote that was expected to remove him from power. ...

Khan has alleged that the no-confidence vote was a “foreign conspiracy”, citing an alleged “threat letter” from the US about his removal. The US has denied any involvement.

Khan, 69, instructed the deputy speaker of the house, a close ally, to suspend the vote and asked the president to dissolve parliament on Sunday morning, hours before the vote was due to take place. In his address, soon after the session was adjourned, Khan said: “I congratulate the nation, a foreign conspiracy against the government has been defeated.”

The information minister, Fawad Chaudry, confirmed that Khan would remain as prime minister until elections were held in the next 90 days, despite parliament and his cabinet having been dissolved.

“We Just Unionized Amazon”: How Two Best Friends Beat the Retail Giant’s Union-Busting Campaign

Democratic-Aligned Firm Slammed for Working on Amazon's Failed Anti-Union Effort

Amazon was not able to prevent Staten Island warehouse workers from securing a historic union election victory on Friday despite pulling out all the stops—including hiring a Democratic Party-aligned pollster whose effort to help kill the unionization effort was decried by progressive critics.

Amazon "tapped an influential consulting and polling firm with close ties to Democratic political groups" to help the retail giant defeat a union drive at the JFK8 fulfillment center in New York City, CNBC reported Thursday night.

"Global Strategy Group, which served as a polling partner for a pro-Biden super PAC ahead of the 2020 election, has been working for Amazon since at least late last year to produce anti-union materials," noted the news outlet, which obtained internal documents.

According to CNBC, Barbara Russell, Amazon's global director of employee relations, helped oversee Global Strategy Group's (GSG) union-busting effort, during which staffers from the firm's offices in New York, Connecticut, and Washington, D.C. engaged in numerous intimidation tactics:

At JFK8, Amazon's largest warehouse in New York City, and three other facilities on Staten Island, GSG has put together videos featuring Amazon managers and executives, and has distributed flyers to staffers. Amazon has delivered anti-union presentations that workers have been required to sit through at meetings, which were often attended by representatives from GSG, according to a person familiar with the matter.

GSG employees have also been monitoring the social media accounts of Amazon Labor Union organizers, said the person, who asked not to be named due to confidentiality...

The videos and printed materials distributed by GSG attempt to discourage employees from voting to join a union. They use phrases like "One team, working together" and "Unpack it: Get the facts about unions," a slogan repeated on Amazon's anti-union website—unpackjfk8.com. Some of the materials tout the many benefits that Amazon already provides, including healthcare, vacation time, and opportunities for improving job skills.

In the wake of the Amazon Labor Union's landmark win, progressives reveled in the fact that GSG's blatantly anti-union campaign was unsuccessful.

Some observers likened ALU's victory to "David beats Goliath," given that the group, led by former and current Amazon warehouse workers and not affiliated with an established union, challenged one of the world's most powerful corporations and won—less than a year after it was created.

GSG "failed and it's wonderful that Democrats weren't able to stop the first union at Amazon," journalist Kevin Gosztola wrote on social media.

Before the Staten Island Amazon workers' votes had been counted and the formation of the e-commerce giant's first-ever union in the United States confirmed, commentator Krystal Ball denounced GSG's collaboration with Amazon, calling it "disgusting."

"Heavy hitter Dem pollster can do union-busting for Amazon but you get blacklisted by [the] DCCC if you work for a left challenger?" she asked. "These people are shameless."

Three years ago, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee threatened to cut off funds to firms and strategists that support primary challengers against incumbents—an ostensibly neutral rule that critics argued would disproportionately hurt progressive organizations seeking to replace corporate Democrats with left-leaning lawmakers, as Common Dreams reported at the time.

Amazon, which spent $4.3 million on anti-union consultants in 2021 alone, tried mightily to crush the union drive at JFK8, forcing workers to attend hundreds of captive-audience meetings and threatening workers with pay cuts and other potential consequences.

It wasn't enough to defeat ALU, however, though Amazon has already said that it is considering filing official objections claiming "undue influence" by the National Labor Relations Board, which still has to certify the election.

During a press conference after the union victory was announced, ALU president Christian Smalls—who was fired by Amazon in 2020 after he organized a walkout to protest the company's refusal to adequately protect workers during the early weeks of the Covid-19 pandemic—said that "we want to thank Jeff Bezos for going to space because when he was up there, we were signing people up."

Wall Street Bankers CAUGHT Rigging Big Stock Sales

House Passes Bill to Decriminalize Marijuana, Expunge Convictions

Drug policy reform advocates and progressive lawmakers on Friday celebrated the U.S. House of Representatives' approval of a bill to decriminalize marijuana nationwide, expunge federal cannabis convictions and arrests, and provide resources for communities targeted by the war on drugs.

"We did it," said Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) after announcing the 220-204 vote, which was mostly along party lines, with just three Republicans joining all but two Democrats in supporting the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act (H.R. 3617). ...

The MORE Act faces an uphill battle in the evenly split Senate, where the filibuster enables the GOP to block many bills and at least two Democrats—Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire—"have expressed skepticism about the proposal," as The Hill noted Friday.

DoorDash driver’s video shows officer firing stun gun in Tennessee traffic stop

A Tennessee police officer who used his stun gun on a DoorDash driver wrote an arrest report saying the man had become argumentative while denying he was speeding, refused to hand over identifying information, demanded to see a supervisor and stayed in his car when ordered to get out.

The driver – who faces charges of speeding, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct based on the officer’s sworn affidavit – pressed record on his phone after he was pulled over. That recording, made public by the driver’s attorney, tells a different story.

It shows Delane Gordon holding his driver’s license as the Collegedale police officer Evan Driskill stands with his Taser in a firing position. “He said he pulled me over for a traffic violation and he’s gonna Tase me. You can’t do that officer because I called for your supervisor,” Gordon says. ...

Gordon’s attorney, Ryan Wheeler, said Gordon “did respectfully question the officer on exactly why he was pulled over” down the block from where he was delivering food for DoorDash, and the “given reason“ was speeding.

Hillary T. Loser is keen to tell her fellow Democrats how to win.

Hillary Clinton urges Democrats to ‘do a better job’ of telling voters of successes

Hillary Clinton has called on Democrats “to do a better job” of selling themselves to America’s voters to avoid humiliation in this year’s midterm elections where Republicans are widely expected to perform strongly and likely grab control of Congress.

The former Democratic presidential candidate was speaking frankly on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, saying she thought last summer’s chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan was harmful to Joe Biden. The US president’s approval ratings have slumped in recent weeks to the lowest level since he took office. ...

“But there are a lot of good accomplishments to be putting up on the board. And the Democrats in office and out need to be doing a better job of making the case.”

“The best politics is doing the best job that you can do. And there’s a lot that Democrats can talk about in these upcoming midterms. We’ve got a great story to tell. And we need to get out there and do a better job of telling it.”

Sarah Palin announces run for US Congress in Alaska

Sarah Palin has announced her run for Alaska’s only seat in the US House of Representatives, marking her first run for public office in over a decade.

“America is at a tipping point,” Palin said in a statement released on her Twitter account announcing her candidacy. “As I’ve watched the far left destroy the country, I knew I had to step up and join the fight. ...

It will be Palin’s first political campaign since serving as John McCain’s running mate in a campaign that saw Barack Obama elected president in November 2008. ...

Alaska’s House seat became vacant after the Republican Don Young died suddenly last month at age 88 after serving for more than four decades. Young had held Alaska’s House seat since 1973 and was seeking re-election at the time of his death.

Palin is shaking up an already unpredictable race for Alaska’s lone US House seat, where she joins a field of at least 40 candidates. The field includes current and former state legislators and a North Pole city council member named Santa Claus. ... Claus, who said he had a “strong affinity” for Bernie Sanders, is running as an independent.

Scientists urge end to fossil fuel use as landmark IPCC report readied

The world must abandon fossil fuels as a matter of urgency, rather than entrusting the future climate to untried “techno-fixes” such as sucking carbon out of the air, scientists and campaigners have urged, as governments wrangled over last-minute changes to a landmark scientific report.

Talks on the final draft of the latest comprehensive assessment of climate science, from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), stretched hours past their deadline on Sunday.

Scientists and governments were locked in disagreement on questions such as how much funding was likely to be needed for developing countries to tackle the climate crisis, and what emphasis to give policies such as phasing out fossil fuel subsidies.

Governments have been accused of trying to water down the scientists’ findings, originally due to be published early on Monday but – after delays and disagreements on Sunday – postponed by six hours to later the same day.

The Guardian understands that India has demanded key changes on issues including finance, along with Saudi Arabia which wants to see affirmation of a continued role for fossil fuels, while other countries including China and Ecuador also held out on some points. Russia has played a more muted role than some feared.

UN Weather Agency Sounds Alarm on Extreme Events in Antarctica

Scientists with the United Nations weather agency on Friday expressed fresh concern over the climate crisis following recent extreme events in Antarctica—an area they say should not be taken "for granted."

The remarks from climate experts with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)—delivered just ahead of a key report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change—follow last month's collapse of East Antarctica's Conger Ice Shelf, record warm temperatures, and rare rainfall.

"Antarctica has often been referred to as a 'sleeping giant,'" said Mike Sparrow, head of the WMO co-sponsored World Climate Research Program, in a statement noting it's "the coldest, windiest, and driest continent and often thought of as being relatively stable."

"However," he continued, "recent temperature extremes and ice shelf collapses have reminded us that we shouldn't take Antarctica for granted."

"The Antarctic ice sheets hold almost 60 meters of potential sea-level rise. Understanding and properly monitoring the continent is therefore crucial for society's future well-being," said Sparrow.

Catherine Walker, an Earth and planetary scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and NASA, made a similar point about East Antarctica.

"All of the previous collapses have taken place in West Antarctica, not East Antarctica, which until recently has been thought of as relatively stable," Walker said to NASA's Earth Observatory.

"This is something like a dress rehearsal for what we could expect from other, more massive ice shelves if they continue to melt and destabilize," she said. "Then we'll really be past the turnaround point in terms of slowing sea-level rise."

'Unscientific and Unlawful': Biden EPA Will Not Regulate Rocket Fuel Chemical in Water

Public health advocates said Thursday that they plan to resume litigation against the Environmental Protection Agency after the Biden administration announced it would uphold former President Donald Trump's decision to not regulate drinking water levels of a chemical used to make rocket fuel and explosives.

Former President Barack Obama's administration proposed limits for perchlorate after finding in 2011 that drinking water for 16 million people may have unsafe levels of the contaminant, which poses a risk to the development of children and fetuses.

Groups including the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) were outraged when Trump refused to impose the limits, claiming regulation was "not in the public interest." The EPA's announcement this week sparked renewed criticism, with the NRDC calling the decision "unscientific and unlawful."

"The Trump EPA gave perchlorate a pass; it was a bad decision then, and it's a bad decision now," said Erik D. Olson, senior strategic director for health at the organization. "Tap water across America will remain contaminated by this toxic chemical, which threatens the brain development of babies in the womb, infants, and young children at extremely low levels."

The Trump administration claimed that 56 parts per billion (ppb) was an acceptable level of perchlorate in drinking water—far higher than limits that Massachusetts and California have imposed at the state level, requiring water to contain no more than two ppb and six ppb, respectively.

Before Thursday's announcement, the American Academy of Pediatrics had called on the EPA to establish the "strongest possible" limits on the chemical.

Exposure to perchlorate has been linked to measurable decreases in IQ in newborns; the chemical interferes with the thyroid gland and stunts the production of hormones needed for proper child development.

High concentrations of perchlorate have been found in at least 26 states, with communities near military bases at high risk for exposure because the chemical is a component in munitions.

Also of Interest

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

Russia, Ukraine and the Law of War: War Crimes

New witness testimony about Mariupol maternity hospital ‘airstrike’ follows pattern of Ukrainian deceptions, media malpractice

US quietly releases new report on civilian casualties

Joe Biden Has Confirmed to Russia That the US Really Wants Regime Change

Thousands of Russia-linked shipping containers are causing a 'nightmare' situation in the Port of Rotterdam

Your Top Priority is The Emotional Comfort of the Most Powerful Elites, Which You Fulfill by Never Criticizing Them.

Jimmy Dore: Snowflake Journo Taylor Lorenz Cries “Victim” To Silence Critics

Watergate whistleblower finally gets her due

Senate Dems Demand Biden Stop Crushing Student Debtors

Housing Is a Human Right—Here’s How to Make It a Reality

Macron seeks to fire up voters, coax leftists onside amid far-right challenge

AOC CALLED OUT By Amazon Workers & Krystal Ball

A Little Night Music

J.B. Lenoir - Mojo Boogie

J.B. Lenoir - Alabama Blues

J.B. Lenoir - Talk to Your Daughter

J.B. Lenoir - Mississippi Road

J.B. Lenoir - Vietnam Blues

J.B. Lenoir - Eisenhower Blues

J.B Lenoir - J.B 's Rock

J.B Lenoir - When I Am Drinking

J B Lenoir - I Feel So Good