The Evening Blues - 4-28-22



eb1pt12


The day's news roundup + tonight's musical feature: Clarence "Frogman" Henry

Hey! Good Evening!

This evening's music features New Orleans r&b singer and piano player Clarence "Frogman" Henry. Enjoy!

Clarence "Frogman" Henry - Ain't Got No Home

"People who promote a US/NATO war with Russia are more dangerous and depraved than racists, homophobes, transphobes and antisemites, and they should be treated accordingly. They are the most dangerous extremists on earth. This should be completely uncontroversial and obvious to literally everyone."

-- Caitlin Johnstone


News and Opinion

The Guns of April

The United States and the NATO powers of Europe have set into motion a chain of events that is leading to World War III. In her famed work on the outbreak of World War I, The Guns of August, Barbara Tuchman detailed how miscalculations, the ubiquitous belief in a brief and winnable conflict, and irreversible tactical maneuvers—the “ifs, errors, and commitments”—accumulated as the imperialist powers dragged the workers of Europe into the snarl of the trenches and the slaughter of the Great War.

A similar dynamic is unfolding in the US-NATO conflict with Russia. The US-supplied howitzers and massive deployment of weapons into Ukraine are sounding the Guns of April. In mid-March, US President Joe Biden repeatedly stated that he would not allow direct conflict between the United States and Russia, because “that would mean World War III.” A month later, this is precisely what the Biden administration is doing.

On Tuesday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin presided over a meeting of the representatives of forty nations in a council of war assembled by Washington on its Ramstein Air Base in Germany, the headquarters for the US Air Force in Europe and the NATO Air Command. Austin, fresh from a visit to war-torn Kiev, confirmed that the war in Ukraine is a war between US and NATO, on the one hand, and Russia, on the other. He announced that Washington would be assembling every month going forward a comparable international gathering of high-ranking military figures—which he termed the Ukrainian Contact Group—to “focus on winning” the conflict with Russia.

The aims of the war are now clear. The bloodshed in Ukraine was not provoked to defend its technical right to join NATO, but rather was prepared, instigated and massively escalated in order to destroy Russia as a significant military force and to overthrow its government. Ukraine is a pawn in this conflict, and its population is cannon fodder. The Ramstein war council was organized to plot the next stage in this scheme. Prior to and in the aftermath of the meeting, the US and other NATO powers announced the deployment of advanced weaponry to Ukraine, including anti-tank missiles, tanks and tactical drones.

The Contact Group, Austin declared, must “move at the speed of war.” In accordance with this direction, Germany announced Tuesday that it would deliver an unspecified number of Flakpanzer Gepard “anti-aircraft cannon tanks,” while Canada reported that it would be sending M777 howitzers, anti-tank munitions and armored vehicles. “The distinction limiting escalatory weapons,” which existed in the first weeks of the war, Air Force Magazine noted, “appears to have melted away.” The pretense that the US and NATO are not at war with Russia has also “melted away.” ...

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov responded, accusing the United States of pressuring the Ukrainian government to sabotage peace talks and of conducting a proxy war in Ukraine. He warned that there was a “serious, real” danger of nuclear war. Austin dismissed Lavrov’s warning as “dangerous and unhelpful.” ... Washington is determined to win the war, the Putin government is determined to prevent that from happening. There is no way out for either side but escalation.

Troll on Democracy Now admits that Ukraine is a proxy war against Russia.

Is the U.S. Treating the Ukraine Conflict as a Proxy War Against Russia?

UK propaganda rag The Guardian admits that Ukraine is a NATO proxy war with Russia:

Western war aims are growing. But how much more will Nato commit to Ukraine?

Step by step, the west’s war aims are expanding. What began as an effort to supply “defensive weapons” to Ukraine has evolved into an attempt to provide heavier weaponry. This week Germany and the UK agreed to supply armoured anti-aircraft artillery vehicles to keep Russia’s air force at bay.

On Monday Lloyd Austin, the US defence secretary, said the west’s goal was to “weaken Russia” to the point where it could no longer invade or threaten its neighbours. A day later the British junior defence minister James Heappey said it would be “completely legitimate” for Ukraine to use western weapons to strike inside Russia if need be.

These are different, more specific, statements, compared with some of the broad-brush rhetoric used in the early phase of the war when Russian forces were menacing Kyiv, and Ukraine’s crisis seemed existential. ...

Meanwhile, the Kremlin has seized on the slowly enhanced weapon supply to sound off. On Monday, Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, said that Nato was “in essence … engaged in a war with Russia through a proxy and is arming that proxy” in an interview where he also warned of the risks of a third world war and even nuclear conflict.

Nato is not at war with Russia, but it is hard not to conclude that the west is engaged in a proxy fight because of the ongoing arms supply. Nevertheless, western officials reject Lavrov’s proxy war description, because they do not want to lend legitimacy to any Russian reprisals beyond Ukraine’s territory.

New Yorkers Chant Support For Nazis In Ukraine

US vows to move ‘Heaven and Earth’ on bolstering Ukraine defence

The United States has pledged to move “Heaven and Earth” to help Ukraine win its battle against Russia’s unprovoked invasion, as allies from 40 nations met at a US base in Germany to bolster Kyiv’s defence against Moscow.

The meeting called by the US at its Ramstein airbase in southwestern Germany aims “to help Ukraine win the fight against Russia’s unjust invasion and to build up Ukraine’s defences for tomorrow’s challenges”, said defence secretary Lloyd Austin as he opened the talks.

“As we see this morning, nations from around the world stand united in our resolve to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s imperial aggression.

“Ukraine clearly believes that it can win and so does everyone here,” he added.

The US is already the biggest supplier of international military aid to Ukraine and Austin said Washington is “going to keep moving Heaven and Earth so that we can meet” Kyiv’s needs.

Boris Johnson ‘tempting evil’ by revealing Ukrainian soldiers trained in Poland

A former head of the Polish army has accused Boris Johnson of “tempting evil” by revealing that Ukrainian soldiers were being trained in Poland in how to use British anti-aircraft missiles before returning with them to Ukraine.

Gen Waldemar Skrzypczak, also a former junior defence minister, complained that a loose-lipped prime minister had revealed too much to the Russians and that his remarks risked the safety of the soldiers involved.

Speaking to Polish tabloid Fakt, Skrzypczak said that Johnson had revealed “a military secret” and that “bad words are on the lips” when he gave details of the Ukrainian training plan on a trip to India last week.

“Military training is a matter of the army, in such a situation secret. Let a man restrain himself and think before he says such things,” said the former general to the newspaper, which described his tone as irritated in an article from Friday.

“The prime minister may not be aware of it, but with such statements he puts the success of the entire military operation at risk, as well as the safety of the soldiers,” Skrzypczak said. “Such statements are tempting evil.”

Blackmail, Sanctions & Gas for Rubles (Live)

Russia doubles fossil fuel revenues since invasion of Ukraine began

Russia has nearly doubled its revenues from selling fossil fuels to the EU during the two months of war in Ukraine, benefiting from soaring prices even as volumes have been reduced. Russia has received about €62bn from exports of oil, gas and coal in the two months since the invasion began, according to an analysis of shipping movements and cargos by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.

For the EU, imports were about €44bn for the past two months, compared with about €140bn for the whole of last year, or roughly €12bn a month.

The findings demonstrate how Russia has continued to benefit from its stranglehold over Europe’s energy supply, even while governments have frantically sought to prevent Vladimir Putin using oil and gas as an economic weapon.

Even though exports from Russia have been reduced by the war and sanctions, the country’s dominance as a source of gas has meant cutting off supplies has only increased prices, which were already high because of tight supply as global economies recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic. Crude oil shipments from Russia to foreign ports fell by 30% in the first three weeks of April, compared with rates in January and February, before the invasion, according to the CREA data.

But the higher prices Russia can now command for its oil and gas mean its revenues, which flow almost directly to the Russian government through state-dominated companies, have risen even while sanctions and export restrictions bite. Russia has effectively caught the EU in a trap where further restrictions will raise prices further, cushioning its revenues despite the best efforts of EU governments.

Mike Pompeo, the 13 million dollar man, and counting...

Blinken Claims That Iran Is Trying to Kill Mike Pompeo, Current US Officials

Secretary of State Antony Blinken claimed without evidence on Tuesday that attempts by Iran to kill former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other former and current US officials are real and ongoing.

Blinken told Congress he was confirming the details of a State Department report that was made public last month. According to the document, Blinken has decided to extend a taxpayer-funded security detail for Pompeo and Brian Hook, who served as a special envoy for Iran under Pompeo. ...

The State Department is spending $2 million a month to protect Pompeo and Hook and has spent a total of $13 million on the effort. According to the report, Blinken extended the security detail due to “a serious and credible threat from a foreign power or agent of a foreign power arising from duties performed by former Secretary Pompeo while employed by the department.”

Macron dodges tomatoes in post-election walkabout

Emmanuel Macron narrowly missed being hit by a bag of tomatoes during a surprise visit to a working-class area north of Paris, as he promised a new style of “listening to people” after his re-election as president. In his first public appearance since Sunday’s vote, Macron strolled around a food market in the town of Cergy, north-west of Paris, shaking hands and posing for selfies. Most people were friendly, some shouted congratulations and others asked for help in finding a job, dealing with health problems or making ends meet.

But at one point there were briefly boos, and a bag of tomatoes was thrown towards Macron’s back but missed. A bodyguard opened an umbrella to shield the president, who quickly sidestepped the projectile and continued to greet people and shake hands.

The Élysée Palace said the trip was Macron’s way of “listening to people’s concerns, expectations and needs”. He told local young people that he wanted to get out on the ground “from the start”. ... Macron said in Cergy: “I want to give a message of respect and consideration to these areas that are among the poorest in the country, right from the start of my mandate.” ...

Cergy is a leftwing area where the radical-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon topped the presidential vote’s first round. Mélenchon is attempting to strike alliances with other parties on the left to challenge Macron’s centrists in the parliamentary elections. Mélenchon’s party, La France Insoumise, which has 17 seats in parliament’s lower house, wants to expand by hundreds more to win a majority for the left. The Socialist party and the Greens (EELV) on Wednesday began talks on possible parliamentary alliances with Mélenchon to increase the number of seats on the left.

Spain got judicial approval to use Israeli spyware on Catalan separatists

Spain’s intelligence service CNI had court approval to spy on Catalan separatist figures, the El Pais newspaper said Tuesday, citing sources close to the agency.

The spying targeted selected individuals and was not “massive” as alleged, according to the unnamed sources cited by the paper. ...

Spain’s central government on Sunday said it would launch inquiries. The government has not denied nor confirmed whether it uses Pegasus or similar spyware, saying only that any surveillance is carried out under the supervision of judges.

Catalonia’s regional leader Pere Aragones has said the region will halt political collaboration with the Spanish government until Madrid clarifies its role.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s minority socialist coalition relies on Catalan and Basque separatist parties to pass legislation.

US Economy CONTRACTS! Here's Why.

Biden Has The Power To CANCEL Student Debt, Waging CLASS WAR With His INACTION: Briahna Joy Gray

GOP Accidentally Admits That Biden Has the Power to Cancel Student Debt

Republican lawmakers on Wednesday inadvertently acknowledged that President Joe Biden has the power to wipe out federal student loan debt with the stroke of a pen, a move the White House is considering amid sustained pressure from progressive advocates and congressional Democrats.

Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) unveiled a bill that would constrain the executive branch's ability to provide relief to federal borrowers by taking away the Secretary of Education's unilateral authority to cancel outstanding loan balances, limiting the amount of time a presidential administration can suspend payments while adding congressional oversight to the process, and excluding people above a certain income threshold from potential benefits.

Although the legislation has virtually no chance of passing and is intended to be a vehicle for the GOP's widely debunked talking point that reducing or eliminating student debt would be a "fiscally irresponsible... bailout [of] high-income earners," The American Prospect's David Dayen responded to its introduction by asking, "Aren't Republican senators admitting that student debt cancellation is within the authority of the president?"

Thune's bill, co-sponsored by Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy (La.), Richard Burr (N.C.), Mike Braun (Ind.), and Roger Marshall (Kan.), comes just one day after multiple news outlets reported that Biden is exploring options for canceling at least some federal student debt after he extended the repayment moratorium through August 31.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York recently estimated that the two-year pause on student loans held directly by the federal government, first enacted at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and extended multiple times by the Trump and Biden administrations, has saved nearly 37 million borrowers almost $200 billion collectively through April.

While welcoming Biden's fourth extension of the payment and interest rate freeze earlier this month, progressives stressed that it only postpones economic hardship for millions of borrowers—many of whom are struggling to make ends meet amid widespread price gouging and disappearing federal relief programs.

A new survey released last week found that over half of student loan borrowers in the U.S. would not currently be able to make a single monthly payment—the national average is estimated to be $460—if they were required to.

It has been more than a year since the Biden administration received a memo from the Department of Education (DOE) outlining the extent of his authority to broadly cancel federal student debt without legislation. Despite repeated demands from dozens of Democratic lawmakers, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has not yet made the concealed memo public.

Legal experts and Democratic lawmakers say the Higher Education Act of 1965 clearly empowers Cardona to wipe out roughly $1.6 trillion in student debt for all 45 million federal borrowers nationwide.

Section 432(a) of the law states that the education secretary has the authority to modify loan terms and "enforce, pay, compromise, waive, or release any right, title, claim, lien, or demand, however acquired, including any equity or any right of redemption"—a provision the DOE has invoked to unilaterally eliminate more than $17 billion in student debt for hundreds of thousands of borrowers in the past year.

The Debt Collective has drafted an executive order for the president directing Cardona to "cancel all obligations to repay federal student loans," which would save borrowers hundreds of dollars per month and boost the nation's gross domestic product by more than $173 billion in the first year alone.

Bernie DEMANDS Biden CANCEL Amazon Contract

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva threatens reporter for exposing cover-up of deputy violence

At a bizarre press conference Tuesday, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva announced he was opening a criminal investigation into Los Angeles Times reporter Alene Tchekmedyian for her articles accusing him of personal involvement in the cover-up of a surveillance video that shows a deputy kneeling for three minutes on the head of a handcuffed inmate, an image eerily reminiscent of the George Floyd murder.

Villanueva displayed a photo collage linking the supposed “theft” of the video to Max Huntsman, the inspector general who reports to the County Board of Supervisors, and Sheriff’s Commander Eli Vera, one of six candidates running to replace Villanueva, who faces a primary election on June 7 and, if necessary, a runoff in November. The Sheriff listed various felonies, including conspiracy, burglary and unauthorized use of a database, adding that “these three people have some important questions to answer.”

Tchekmedyian is not the first reporter targeted by Villanueva. In September 2020, Josie Huang, a reporter for a local National Public Radio station, was attacked by multiple deputies, pinned to the asphalt, handcuffed and arrested in a parking lot outside a Villanueva news conference. The charges against her were dismissed.

The Los Angeles Times has been the voice of the Southern California capitalist ruling elite since the turn of the 19th century, particularly infamous for publisher Harry Chandler’s vicious campaigns against socialist candidates, unionization and left-wing lawyer Clarence Darrow. But Villanueva’s latest attack is a bridge too far. The Times’ executive editor Kevin Merida protested that Villanueva’s “attempt to criminalize news reporting goes against well-established constitutional law,” pledging, “We will vigorously defend Tchekmedyian’s and the Los Angeles Times’ rights in any proceeding or investigation brought by authorities.”

The Times has not been “vigorous,” however, when it comes to defending Julian Assange’s rights to report on the crimes of United States imperialism. Like the so-called mainstream media as a whole, aside from sporadic and perfunctory news articles the paper has been silent regarding the extradition of Assange to the United States to face bogus Espionage Act charges that threaten life imprisonment.

I am shocked to hear that there is racism in the Minneapolis Police Department.

Minneapolis police engaged in pattern of racial discrimination, inquiry finds

The Minneapolis police department has engaged in a pattern of racial discrimination for at least a decade, including stopping and arresting Black people at a higher rate than white people, using force more often on people of color and maintaining a culture where racist language is tolerated, a state investigation launched after George Floyd’s murder by an officer found.

The report released Wednesday by the Minnesota department of human rights, following a nearly two-year investigation, said the agency and the city would negotiate a court-enforceable agreement to address the long list of problems identified in the report.

This would include input from residents, officers, city staff and others.

The report said police department data “demonstrates significant racial disparities with respect to officers’ use of force, traffic stops, searches, citations and arrests”.

And it said officers “used covert social media to surveil Black individuals and Black organizations, unrelated to criminal activity, and maintain an organizational culture where some officers and supervisors use racist, misogynistic and disrespectful language with impunity”.



the horse race



Trump appeals against judge’s contempt order and $10,000-a-day fine

Donald Trump is appealing the contempt of court order he received from a Manhattan judge that fines him $10,000 a day for failing to comply with a subpoena, according to documents filed Wednesday.

The contempt order was issued in the civil investigation by New York state attorney Letitia James into the former president’s business practices. On 7 April, James asked Judge Arthur Engoron to hold Trump in contempt of court for not turning over documents and information she had subpoenaed as part of the investigation.

Trump had promised to comply “in full” by 31 March, but did not, James said. Engoron granted James’s request, fining him $10,000 a day.

Nina Turner Defends Party That Shuns Her

Proud Boys member pleads guilty for role in US Capitol attack

A member of the far-right Proud Boys group on Wednesday pleaded guilty to obstructing police officers when he joined the 6 January 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol by supporters of then-president Donald Trump, in their attempt to overturn his election defeat.

The plea agreement filed in federal court in Washington, DC, calls for Louis Enrique Colon of Missouri to admit to a single felony charge and cooperate with prosecutors.

Colon admitted to crossing police barricades during the riot before climbing a wall to gain access to a higher level of the Capitol.

While inside the Capitol building, Colon used his hands and a chair to obstruct police officers who were trying to lower retractable doors to stop rioters from streaming into the building. ...

Colon, 45, was charged in February 2021, along with four other members of the Kansas City metro chapter of the Proud Boys group. He is the first defendant in that case to plead guilty.



the evening greens


UN says up to 40% of world’s land now degraded

Human damage to the planet’s land is accelerating, with up to 40% now classed as degraded, while half of the world’s people are suffering the impacts, UN data has shown. The world’s ability to feed a growing population is being put at risk by the rising damage, most of which is caused by food production. Women in the developing world are particularly badly affected as they often lack legal titles to land and can be thrown off it if conditions are tough.

Degraded land – which has been depleted of natural resources, soil fertility, water, biodiversity, trees or native vegetation – is found all over our planet. Many people think of degraded land as arid desert, rainforests maimed by loggers or areas covered in urban sprawl, but it also includes apparently “green” areas that are intensely farmed or stripped of natural vegetation.

Growing food on degraded land becomes progressively harder as soils rapidly reach exhaustion and water resources are depleted. Degradation also contributes to the loss of plant and animal species and can exacerbate the climate crisis by reducing the Earth’s ability to absorb and store carbon.

Most of the damage by people has come from food production, but consumption of other goods such as clothes also makes a big contribution. Much of the degradation is most visible in developing countries, but the root cause of overconsumption happens in the rich world, for instance in the increasing consumption of meat, which takes far more resources than growing vegetables, and fast fashion, which is worn briefly then thrown away.

Without urgent action, degradation will spread further. By 2050, an area the size of South America will be added to the toll if current rates of harm continue, according to the Global Land Outlook 2 report.

One in five reptiles faces extinction in what would be a ‘devastating’ blow

More than a fifth of all reptile species are threatened with extinction, which could have a “devastating” impact on the planet, a new study warns. The largest ever analysis of the state of the world’s reptiles, published in Nature, found that 21% of reptile species are facing extinction. From lizards to snakes, such a loss could have disastrous impacts on ecosystems around the world, the study says.

“We would lose a combined 15.6bn years of evolutionary history if each of the 1,829 threatened reptiles became extinct,” said Neil Cox, co-leader of the study and manager of the biodiversity assessment unit at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Conservation International. “This is evolution that we could never get back. It would be a devastating loss.

“If we remove reptiles, it could change ecosystems radically, with unfortunate knock-on effects, such as increases in pest insects,” he added. “Biodiversity, including reptiles, underpins the ecosystem services that provide a healthy environment for people.”

Fifty-two experts analysed data from the Global Reptile Assessment, which has received contributions from more than 900 scientists across six continents in the past 17 years. While 1,829 of 10,196 species are known to be threatened, the status of 1,489 could not be determined. Allowing for these data deficient species, the authors estimate that, in total, 21% are threatened.

Biden Admin Moves to Appeal Gray Wolf Protections

As the Biden administration on Wednesday insisted a final decision has not been made, conservation groups responded with alarm to a move that could lead to the U.S. government challenging a federal court ruling that restored protections for gray wolves in much of the United States.

"The U.S. Department of Justice filed a protective notice regarding the recent decision by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on federal protections for gray wolves," the Interior Department told the Duluth News Tribune. "This action is a procedural step that will provide the federal government the time needed to assess its path forward and does not signal that the federal government has determined that an appeal will be pursued."

Jamie Rappaport Clark, CEO and president at Defenders of Wildlife, was among the conservationists who expressed concern about this week's filing, framing it as a potential betrayal by President Joe Biden after the Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves were stripped away under his predecessor.

"This announcement marks a stunning and supremely disappointing reversal by the administration," she said in a statement. "Despite President Biden's warnings about the looming threat of biodiversity loss, his administration is attempting to quash a significant ecological victory."

The February decision that restored protections—which Clark had called "a significant victory for gray wolves and for all those who value nature and the public's role in protecting these amazing creatures"—is already under attack from hunting and ranching groups.

Collette Adkins, carnivore conservation director at the Center for Biological Diversity, vowed to the News Tribune that "no matter who appeals, we're prepared to defend the well-reasoned court order that returned lifesaving federal protections to wolves."

How Texas voter suppression helps keep climate action off the table

In more ways than one, Texas is ground zero for the climate emergency. The state is home to many of the biggest names in fossil fuels, corporations that have helped power the nation and world for decades – but have also knowingly lied about the dangers of burning those fossil fuels. Now, along with supercharged hurricanes, the climate crisis threatens Texans with extreme heat, drought, wildfires and sea-level rise on the Gulf coast. The non-profit Trust for America’s Health rates Texas among the states that are simultaneously most vulnerable to climate effects and the least prepared.

In 2021 polling by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, 65% of Texans said they are worried about global warming – on par with the nationwide average – and clear majorities said they want politicians to do more about it. But Texas is also the site of broadscale voter suppression efforts, which contribute to leaders being unresponsive to voters’ concerns, experts and advocates say.

“If the attitudes of our communities were proportionally represented, I think we would see more climate action,” said Alán de León, who serves as policy and advocacy manager for MOVE Texas, a nonpartisan grassroots group that specializes in voter mobilization. “We’re not seeing that, though, and the reason, in part, is we have this democracy problem.”

Harvey was responsible for 103 deaths in Texas, and Uri killed 246, according to official figures, though for Uri the actual toll was probably higher. Today, de León said, the psychological impact of those storms is unmistakable. When it rains, many in his community are afraid to go outside. This past winter, a forecasted cold front prompted anxiety and panic buying in stores. The weather passed without incident, but to de León it was a grim sign of the times. “If there’s a natural disaster now, the mindset is you’re on your own,” he said. “Help isn’t going to come. That’s how little faith we have that our public officials will keep us safe.”

An anti-climate tack might not surprise in a state where Republicans boast the governorship, both US senate seats, and significant majorities in the state house and senate – not to mention the fossil fuel ties that permeate the halls of power in Austin. “There are politicians in Texas who would consider climate action an explicit threat to the industry they’re in government to promote,” said Adrian Shelley, who directs the Texas office of Public Citizen, a non-profit consumer advocacy group. But party control and fossil fuels’ influence alone don’t explain the Lone Star state’s slow roll on climate. Due to partisan gerrymandering, political representation at both the state and federal level is skewed away from Democrats, who more often favor climate action. In the 2020 general election, Republican congressional candidates received 53% of the popular vote – yet they were awarded 64% of seats, accounting for 23 of Texas’s 36-member congressional delegation in Washington.


Also of Interest

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

Madeleine Albright’s funeral buried her legacy of war-making and extraordinary deceit

PATRICK LAWRENCE: Ukraine & the Strength of Nonalignment

Siding With The US Empire Is Always Wrong: Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix

Politico: "Germany approves tank sales to Ukraine, bowing to pressure"

DIANA JOHNSTONE: France Stuck in the Extreme Center

Controversy grows after Musk engages with tweets criticizing Twitter staff

North American Wildfires Could Use Up 'Sizable Amount' of Global Carbon Budget: Study

Canada’s attempt to phase out open-pen salmon farms faces setback

Sarah Palin faces formidable opponent in Congress run: Santa Claus

Giant ichthyosaur’s huge tooth points to sea creatures with robust bite

Brian Jackson, Gil Scott-Heron’s brilliant, badly wronged partner

Klaus Schulze, German electronic music pioneer, dies aged 74

Saagar Enjeti: Elon Musk Replied To Me, MSM LOST THEIR MINDS

Market Rigging On Wall Street Revealed

LEAKED AUDIO: Twitter Execs FREAK, CRY Over Musk Takeover

Trump Ruined Lying! Says NBC Policy Expert

Democrats Have ABANDONED The Working Class, Left Workers WITHOUT A Party: Union Tradesman

EU Companies Agree to Gas for Roubles, Putin Warns West, Russia Claims Ukraine Defences Cracking

Russia says Poland plans to occupy west Ukraine. Biden, Trudeau plan to seize assets.


A Little Night Music

Clarence 'Frogman' Henry - Keep Your Hands Off Her

Clarence "Frogman" Henry - Lonely Tramp

Clarence "Frogman" Henry - This Time

Clarence Frogman Henry - A little too much

Clarence "Frogman" Henry - It Won't Be Long

Clarence "Frogman" Henry - Shake Your Money Maker

Clarence 'Frogman' Henry - Little Green Frog

Clarence 'Frogman' Henry - Hummin' A Heartache

Clarence 'Frogman' Henry - Troubles, Troubles

Clarence 'Frogman' Henry - Standing in the Need of Love


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Comments

Lookout's picture

I think we're in WWIII, and so far we're losing. The sanctions absolutely backfired, strengthening Russia and devastating the EU and US economies. Militarily Russia is winning too. All we are winning is the propaganda battle among the 12% or so of the world's people that comprise the collective west. I see us (the west) as arrogant and ignorant at almost every level or dimension. A narrative based on lies, deceit, and misinformation will eventually come back to bite TPTB. If nothing else it should erode the sheeples trust in the system. We'll have to wait and see.

Russia says Poland plans to occupy west Ukraine. Biden, Trudeau plan to seize assets.

Have a nice evening. Thanks as always for the news and blues....much appreciated!

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15 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

joe shikspack's picture

@Lookout

i guess we should name this war the, "fake it until you make it," war.

have a great evening!

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7 users have voted.
mimi's picture

and ran into this:

So, I conclude, Joe Shikspack, that you started collecting musical records when you were still in pampers?

lyrics would be great to have, I wanna know what he says, because 'I got no home' rings a bell with me.

Thanks and kudos. (BTW why are so many USians are named Joe, really designed to confuse the hell out of me, so many Joes to love and so many Joes to hate. That's not fair, Lord. You could have had Mercy with us Joe-ian fans).

Good NIght from here.

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9 users have voted.
joe shikspack's picture

@mimi

heh, they didn't have pampers when i was a kid. we only had cloth. i got my first few records in the 60's and in the 70's became a collector. radio was the culprit that got me going and i started listening to a variety of stations in the early 60's. even as an infant, i was apparently fascinated with the bulky radio in our living room and spent hours listening to it.

thanks for the video!

i dunno about the joe conspiracy. i'm just a regular joe. Smile

have a great evening!

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7 users have voted.
ggersh's picture

https://www.theautomaticearth.com/2022/04/debt-rattle-april-28-2022/

Then I'm not sure this isn't even scarier. Joementia and company are doing
all of this on purpose? The culling of the herd(sheeple) is under WEF, way!

https://journal-neo.org/2022/04/26/biden-cynically-uses-ukraine-to-cover...

Biden Cynically Uses Ukraine to Cover Food Sabotage

Stay safe out there everyone, as tshf is underway

and as usual thanks for the EB's Joe!

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10 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

joe shikspack's picture

@ggersh

heh, i am going to have to dig into the phrase, "the meek shall inherit the earth," to see if it was propaganda placed by rich people when the king james translation was created. Smile

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5 users have voted.
snoopydawg's picture

@ggersh

Well Union Pacific has quite a Vanguard/Black Rock holding on the Share Register........just as at CF Industries.......funny that !

Posted by: Paul Greenwood | Apr 28 2022 14:23 utc | 31

Hopefully if the screws continue to get tighter Americans will finally get off their duffs and start telling congress to turn their eyes back to what the country needs instead of sending billions overseas. But then maybe they are turning up the water faster so that we start getting uppity and all that money and military equipment that congress sent to the cops comes into play and government can crack down more. Gawd knows that Biden’s DHS has written enough laws that are just waiting to go into effect. Hey weren’t democrats afraid that Trump would declare marshal martial law?

Just read that California is going to raise their gas tax soon. They have days to pass legislation to block it, but it hasn’t been written yet. Newcomer has said that he was going to send people money to offset the high gas prices, but….

I’d settle for Biden to send us that $600 he robbed us of. Maybe he just forgot? Smile

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The Liberal Moonbat's picture

The literal fucking Ministry of Truth has finally arrived:
https://thepostmillennial.com/breaking-biden-administration-creates-disi...

Interesting that one of their focuses is Ukraine (WHAT?!? No mention of COVID?), when Americans' opinions aren't their biggest dilemma:
https://original.antiwar.com/john-v-walsh/2022/04/27/on-ukraine-the-worl...

What next? Are they going to cordon off our Internet like China/Cuba/NK...?

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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!

joe shikspack's picture

@The Liberal Moonbat

i saw some things about the new disinformation governance bureaucracy and its first official leader today. thanks for the story. i guess they are the intellectual heirs of the spook bill casey:

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

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Can’t say there is much good about the news but did enjoy the story about Santa Claus giving Sarah Palin someone to run against in Alaska.

Biden was never my choice for president and now even more so. The possible de-listing of the wolf is terrible to consider. Was hoping that Harland would bring more to the table to expand the protection of the wolf and more protection of lands in the West. Hope her heart is still with people here.

Texas is in such a sad state of being. My place is in extreme drought conditions at present and red flag warnings, burn ban and water restrictions soon to come. Trying to keep an optimistic outlook where I possibly can. Did see a brilliant indigo bunting in Austin yesterday but no picture.

Have a good evening. Must make plans for watering my pecan trees while I am off with my aunt for her “last” trip to Europe.

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Life is what you make it, so make it something worthwhile.

This ain't no dress rehearsal!

joe shikspack's picture

@jakkalbessie

go santa! Smile

i am actually more disgusted by biden than i expected to be. i am having trouble coming up with any redeeming value to his presidency.

i hope that some environmental groups can light a fire under biden's ass about delisting the wolf, but i recognize that even if they are successful it may be a pyrrhic victory as biden is on track to destroy the habitability of the planet as a whole.

stay safe down there in texas, i hear that the weather has gone rogue. Smile

have a great european vacation and check in when you can!

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snoopydawg's picture

Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Right on!
Thank you
Exactly

Thank you

Shitlibs are so stupid!

Plus, to keep things in perspective, the percent of income a median [US] family driving a typical car spend on gas today is approximately the same as 20 years ago...

Lol… Jimmy did a great segment on this.

Lied during his 1st run
Plagiarized during his 2nd run
Yelled at people during his 3rd run.

Should have known Biden was going to crack down on free speech after this train wreck.

Obama goes full Orwell in scary Stanford speech

A week ago Barack Obama let loose his inner fascist and gave an hour-long speech at Stanford University that deserved more attention than it got.

"I'm pretty close to a First Amendment absolutist," Obama told his audience and then spent the rest of the hour proving he is anything but. In fact, the Obama that emerges in this speech is one scary dude.

The one sentence that most alarmed me began thusly, "The way I'm going to evaluate any proposal touching on social media and the internet is whether it strengthens or weakens the prospects for a healthy, inclusive democracy."

"The way I'm going to evaluate?" Obama failed to explain in what capacity he gets to evaluate anything. Does he expect to head the FCC or get appointed to the Supreme Court? Does he plan to engineer a Michelle Obama presidential bid? If any of these happens, God help us all.

The thrust of his speech was that "regulation has to be part of the answer" in combating online "disinformation." As Obama made much too clear he and his pals get to determine what is and is not disinformation.

The former president makes almost no attempt to hide his biases. A sentence that reads, "People like Putin and Steve Bannon, for that matter, understand it's not necessary for people to believe this information in order to weaken democratic institutions" does not inspire a whole lot of confidence in the deplorable half of America.

Nor does a sentence that reads, "There are still brand name newspapers and magazines, not to mention network news broadcasts, NPR [and] other outlets that have adapted to the new digital environment while maintaining the highest standards of journalistic integrity."

Those "highest standards" included sustaining for three years the fiction that Donald Trump conspired with the Russians to steal the 2016 election and salvaging Joe Biden's 2020 election victory, such as it was, by suppressing all news of Hunter Biden's laptop under the pretext it was Russian disinformation.

The source of Obama's greatest worry, of course, is the 2020 election. He repeatedly chastised Republicans, Trump most notably, for "saying an election was stolen without a shred of evidence." The stolen-election gambit, argued Obama, allowed Republicans to "target black and brown communities" with "voter suppression" schemes.

Gawd what a kicker after Hillary and the democrats told us that Russia helped Trump steal the presidency away from her. That’s the funniest part of democrats bitching about the big lie. Hey guys you started it so buy a damn mirror!

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joe shikspack's picture

@snoopydawg

jimmy did a great segment on obama's orwellian speech at stanford, too. if you didn't catch it, it's worth checking out.

heh, brandon lifted america out of the dumpster and carefully placed it in a handbasket.

have a great evening!

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snoopydawg's picture

@joe shikspack

on student debt. He garbled what he said, but he made it seem like nothing will change. But boy speaking of garbled speech. It’s not just his delivery of reading the teleprompter, but look at his eyes.

But he’s found billions to send to Ukraine for human aid that I’m sure will just go into someone’s pockets. Lots of someone’s. Countries are dumbing their decades old equipment and will replace it with brand spanking new stuff. Ka-ching for defense companies! But hey if it sticks it to Putin I’m good.

Home run on the Twitter meltdown the elite are throwing.

https://taibbi.substack.com/p/savor-the-great-musk-panic?token=eyJ1c2VyX...

This is the elite argument against free speech in a nutshell: “If you favor ‘all legal speech,’ you really just want to slander, threaten, and harass. Now please let me tiptoe up to libel myself, as I tell millions of New York Times readers I ‘assume’ you’re a racist itching to use the N-word.”

The hypocrisy of America’s self-appointed culture-protectors this week is breathtaking. They really seem not to realize that what they’ve been seeking for years isn’t an end to speech abuses, but a monopoly on them. They see Musk as a traitor to his class, threatening to upend what they see as a natural order that in recent years placed bluenose squads in deserved roles as vanguards and truth-arbiters. Whether or not Musk ever upends anything is a different question, but critics believe he will, and now they’re panicking, in tones of maximum sanctimony. They’re even pulling out “Who will protect the children?”-style language:

Jim Acosta kinda ambushed that Margery congress lady and insisted that he interviewed her. I wonder what Taylor Lorenz would think of that if it happened to her? But the people who are posting it think it’s just fine cuz Marg is kinda weird and says dumb things and she’s a republican. The harassment crap is just the other side of the free speech crap we’re getting. Rules for me, but not for thee..

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joe shikspack's picture

@snoopydawg

it looks like the bidenbot is having a glitch. they better send out a programmer to tweak it.

that taibbi piece looks really good. i hope that scheerpost will pick it up and print the whole thing later on.

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snoopydawg's picture

@joe shikspack

On one video he’s really in her face. It’s just the double standard like with who gets to decide what free speech is.

Hey remember all that talk about using the 25th amendment against Trump? Because he talked about injecting bleach? Actually that’s not what he meant, but his words were never as garbled as Biden’s are. After putting up with all of Biden’s arrogance for decades I’m glad that the karma guy caught up with him. Listening to him cruelly telling millions that they won’t get any debt relief, nah I don’t feel bad at all.

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joe shikspack's picture

@snoopydawg

it seems to me that acosta's behavior is not unusual or more aggressive than i have seen reporters get with other congressworms. it's a cat and mouse game that the two sides play with each other. it's not polite but i've never seen it devolve into violence, and it's probably a necessary thing in order to get some sort of accountability for congressworms.

it looks like biden chose well when he chose his veep. it may be a key barrier to the use of the 25th.

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lotlizard's picture

@joe shikspack  
https://vinyldistractions.com/firesign-theatre-i-think-were-all-bozos-on...

“Mr. Biden? Hello, this is Worker…”

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enhydra lutris's picture

@joe shikspack

Stanford.

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

enhydra lutris's picture

The news gets curiouser and curiouser as Alice would say, reminiscent of those old cartoons where the "protagonist" runs headlong from one catastrophe into yet another, endlessly jumping from the frying pan into the fire and then back in some nightmare of sisyphean futility. College humor mag dadaism.

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

joe shikspack's picture

@enhydra lutris

at least snidely whiplash is getting plenty of work. Smile

have a great evening!

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