The Evening Blues - 5-17-22



eb1pt12


The day's news roundup + tonight's musical feature: Juke Boy Bonner

Hey! Good Evening!

This evening's music features Texas blues musician Weldon "Juke Boy" Bonner. Enjoy!

Juke Boy Bonner - American Blues Festival 1969 (I'm Going Back to the Country Where They Don't Burn the Buildings Down)

“You can't hold a man down without staying down with him.”

-- Booker T. Washington


News and Opinion

Worth a full read:

Hedges: The Israeli Execution of Al Jazeera Reporter Shireen Abu Akleh

Shireen Abu Akleh, the Al Jazeera reporter with more than two decades of experience covering armed conflicts, knew the protocol. She and other reporters remained last Wednesday in the open, clearly visible to Israeli snipers about 650 feet away in a building. Her flak jacket and helmet were emblazoned with the word “PRESS.” There were three shots fired in her direction. The second bullet hit the Al Jazeera producer Ali al-Samoudi in the back. The third shot, al-Samoudi remembered, hit Abu Akleh in the face below the rim of her helmet.

There were a few seconds when the Israeli sniper saw profiled in his scope Abu Akleh, one of the most recognizable faces in the Middle East. The 5.56 mm bullet from the M-16, designed to spin end over end upon impact, would have obliterated most of Abu Akleh’s head. The accuracy of the M-16, especially the M16A4s equipped with the Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight (ACOG), a prismatic telescopic sight, is very high. In the fighting in Fallujah so many dead insurgents were found with head wounds that observers at first thought they had been executed. The bullet that killed Abu Akleh was deftly placed between the very slim opening separating her helmet and the collar of her flak jacket. I have been in combat, including in clashes between Israeli and Palestinian forces. Snipers are dreaded on a battlefield because each kill is calculated. The execution of Abu Akleh was not an accident. She was singled out for elimination. Whether this killing was ordered by commanding officers, or whether it was the whim of an Israeli sniper, I cannot answer. Israelis shoot so many Palestinians with impunity my guess is the sniper knew he or she could kill Abu Akleh and never face any consequences. ...

Her funeral attracted thousands of mourners, the largest in Jerusalem since the death in 2002 of the Palestinian leader Faisal Husseini. Israeli police in full riot gear disrupted the procession, confiscating and ripping down Palestinian flags. The police fired stun grenades and pushed, clubbed and beat mourners and pallbearers, causing them to lose their grip on the coffin. Thousands chanted: “We sacrifice our soul and blood for you, Shireen.” It was another example of the daily humiliation meted out to Palestinians by their Israeli occupiers. It was also a moving tribute to a reporter who understood that the role of journalism is to give a voice to those the powerful seek to silence. ...

When Israel is caught lying, as it was with the murder of Abu Akleh, it immediately promises an investigation. The narrative shifts from one of blaming the Palestinians to the outcome of an inquiry. Impartial investigations into the hundreds of killings by soldiers and Jewish settlers of Palestinians are rarely carried out. Perpetrators are almost never brought to trial or held accountable. The pattern of Israeli obfuscation is pathetically predictable. So is the collusion of much of the corporate media along with Republican and Democratic politicians. US politicians decried the murder of Abu Akleh and dutifully repeated the old mantra, calling for a “thorough investigation” by the army that carried out the crime. ...

The killing of Abu Akleh would have been treated very differently if she was killed by Russian soldiers in Ukraine. There would have been no equivocations about who carried out the murder. Her death would have been denounced as a war crime. No one would have acquiesced to let the Russian military carry out the investigation. The world is divided into worthy and unworthy victims, those who deserve our compassion and support and those who do not. Ukrainians are white and largely Christian. We see the struggle against the Russian occupier as a battle for freedom and democracy. We provide $40 billion in weapons and humanitarian aid. We impose punishing sanctions on Moscow. We make the Ukrainian cause our own. The 55-year-long fight for Palestinian freedom is no less just, no less worthy of our support. But Palestinians are occupied by our Israeli ally. They are not white. Most are not Christian, although Abu Akleh was Christian. They are not deemed worthy. They suffer and die alone. The war crimes carried out by Israel go unheeded and unpunished. The Palestinians doggedly refuse to give up. This makes them as heroic, maybe more heroic, than Ukrainian fighters. We are on the wrong side of history in Israel. Abu Akleh’s blood is on our hands.

In first, Russian military said to fire S-300 missiles at Israeli jets over Syria

Russian forces opened fire on Israeli jets with advanced S-300 anti-aircraft missiles as they allegedly attacked targets in northwestern Syria last week, Channel 13 news reported Monday, in what could signal a significant shift in Moscow’s attitude to Israel.

According to the unsourced report, the incident occurred on Friday as the Israeli air force bombed several targets near the city of Masyaf in northwestern Syria. ...

If confirmed, this would mark the first time such an incident has taken place and a concerning development for Israel which has carried out hundreds of airstrikes inside Syria in the course of the country’s civil war, targeting what it says are arms shipments bound for Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group.

Azovstal, UK Media calls it an 'evacuation' w/Gonzalo Lira

The Guardian's propaganda mill account:

Hundreds of Ukrainian troops evacuated from Azovstal steelworks after 82-day assault

More than 260 Ukrainian soldiers, many of them wounded, have been evacuated from the besieged Azovstal steel plant in the port city of Mariupol, appearing to cede control of the city to Russia after 82 days of bombardment.

Ukraine’s deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said late on Monday that 53 heavily wounded soldiers were evacuated to a hospital in the Russian-controlled town of Novoazovsk and that more than 200 others were transported through a corridor to Olenivka. ...

The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said that the soldiers defending the steel plant had fulfilled their combat mission. “The supreme military command ordered the commanders of the units stationed at Azovstal to save the lives of the personnel,” the General Staff said in a statement on its Facebook account. “Efforts to rescue defenders who remain on the territory of Azovstal continue.”

In a statement, the Azov regiment said that it was fulfilling orders to save the lives of its troops.

Trita Parsi: Will NATO Expansion Trigger NUCLEAR Brink With Russia?

Turkey says it will not approve Sweden and Finland joining Nato

Turkey has said it will not approve Sweden and Finland joining it as Nato members, hours after Stockholm followed Helsinki in a historic Nordic security policy shift by formally confirming that it intended to apply for membership of the alliance. Recep Tayyip Erdogan said diplomatic delegations from the two countries, which have reversed decades of military non-alignment in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, should not even bother coming to Ankara to discuss the move.

“We will not say yes to those [countries] that apply sanctions to Turkey to join the security organisation Nato,” Erdogan said. “They say they will come to Turkey on Monday. Will they come to persuade us? Excuse us, but they shouldn’t bother.” ...

Ankara first raised objections to Finnish and Swedish membership on Friday, citing their history of hosting members of Kurdish militant groups and Sweden’s suspension of arms sales to Turkey since 2019 over Ankara’s military operation in Syria. ...

The Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, has repeatedly said the two Nordic countries would be “welcomed with open arms”, but the process requires unanimity among the alliance’s 30 existing members. Turkey’s objections, even if aimed at extracting concessions, could delay the process.

New WH Press Sec BUNGLES Inflation Question. Biden, Dems See DOOM Polls Ahead Of Midterms

EU growth forecast cut as war in Ukraine fuels inflation

The growth prospects for the EU have been revised sharply downwards after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine put paid to hopes of a strong and sustained recovery from Covid-19 over the next two years. Rocketing energy prices as a result of the conflict have pushed up inflation and increased economic headwinds during a period when they were expected to subside, the European Commission said in its latest forecasts.

The commission now expects 2022 growth of 2.7% in the 19-nation euro area and the broader 27-country EU – down from a forecast of 4% three months ago. But it said a complete cut in supplies of Russian gas would shave a further 2.5 points off growth – bringing the economy to a virtual standstill this year.

With many European countries heavily dependent on Russian energy exports, growth is expected to slow further next year – to 2.3% in the EU and the euro area.

Inflation, already at its highest in the euro area since the creation of the single currency more than two decades ago, is expected to average 6.1% this year, up from 3.5% in the last set of commission predictions in February. EU-wide inflation is expected to average 6.8%. Inflation would average close to 10% in the event of a Russian gas ban, the commission said.

Biden reverses Trump withdrawal of US army trainers from Somalia

The US will send up to 500 soldiers back on full-time deployment to Somalia, to train the country’s army to combat the increasing threat posed by al-Shabaab militants.

The White House insisted that the move, deepening the US long-term military commitment in an intractable foreign conflict, did not contradict Joe Biden’s overall policy of disengaging from “forever wars”, which underlay the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The decision does not affect overall deployments in the region, officials said on Monday, but replaces a rotating deployment with a “persistent” presence – longer tours by the same special forces soldiers. They argued the deployment should not be called permanent, as that implied the soldiers would be there forever.

The move marks a reversal of Donald Trump’s abrupt decision, in the last weeks of his presidency, to withdraw 750 US troops who had been stationed in Somalia until then. A senior administration official called Trump’s decision “irrational”.

Senior Catholic in Israel condemns police actions at Shireen Abu Aqleh funeral

The top Catholic clergyman in the Holy Land has condemned the Israeli police beating of mourners carrying the casket of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh, accusing the authorities of violating human rights and disrespecting the Catholic church.

Latin patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa told reporters that Friday’s incident, broadcast around the world, was a “disproportionate use of force” against a large crowd of people waving Palestinian flags as they proceeded from the hospital to a nearby Catholic church in Jerusalem’s Old City. The attack drew worldwide condemnation and added to the shock and outrage over the death of Abu Akleh, who was killed during an Israel Defence Forces (IDF) operation in the occupied West Bank.

The police attack, Pizzaballa told reporters, “is a severe violation of international norms and regulations, including the fundamental human right of freedom of religion, which must be observed also in a public space.”

Chile finalises new draft constitution to replace Pinochet-era document

After 10 months of fraught negotiations, Chile has finalised the draft of a new constitution that could replace the document drawn up during Gen Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship. María Elisa Quinteros, the president of the gender-equal, 154-member assembly will formally present the draft at a ceremony in the port city of Antofagasta on Monday afternoon. “This is an ecological and equal constitution with social rights at its very core,” she said in an interview.

Among the long list of rights and freedoms the draft enshrines, the new constitution makes higher education free, ensures gender parity across government and makes the state responsible for preventing, adapting to and mitigating climate change.

The constitution will be put to a referendum on 4 September in which all Chileans aged 18 or older must vote. ...

The new document will for the first time offer constitutional recognition to Chile’s Indigenous population. ... The new document even includes a clause for the compensated restitution of historically Indigenous lands.

Among a host of other changes, it opts to eliminate the senate in favour of a single-chamber legislature, and paves the way for Chile’s deeply unpopular private water rights system to be replaced.

Abortion rights: how a governor’s veto can protect women’s freedoms

If the US supreme court follows through with its initial decision to overturn Roe v Wade next month, 26 states are certain or likely to ban abortion. For those who want to protect abortion rights, a governor’s veto pen is about to become all the more powerful. The probable end of Roe has raised the stakes in gubernatorial races across the country, particularly in states with Republican-led legislatures that would probably move to ban abortion unless a Democratic governor steps in.

Democratic gubernatorial candidates are now stressing the urgency of the moment to voters, portraying themselves as the last line of defense against an abortion ban in their states.

Four states with Republican-controlled legislatures and Democratic governors – Kansas, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – are holding gubernatorial races in November. Democrats are also paying close attention to gubernatorial elections in battleground states where Republicans currently control both the governor’s mansion and the state legislature, such as Georgia and Arizona.

If the supreme court overturns Roe and Republicans have full control of the state government, abortion bans in those states will become all but certain. Some of the toss-up states holding gubernatorial races this year – including Michigan, Wisconsin and Arizona – already have abortion bans on the books that predate Roe, and Republicans have called for their enforcement if the court reverses the landmark case.

In Kansas and Pennsylvania, the sitting Democratic governors have both previously vetoed bills restricting abortion access, and those proposals would probably be enacted if a Republican took control.

David Dayen on the Baby Formula Shortage & Monopolies in the Age of Corporate Power

Millions Could Soon Face Surging Health Insurance Premiums Unless Congress Acts

Millions of people across the United States who purchase health coverage on the Affordable Care Act exchanges could soon see their premiums soar if Congress doesn't extend subsidy programs that Democratic lawmakers enacted as part of their response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The nonprofit group Families USA estimates in an issue brief published Monday that "health insurance premiums are slated to shoot up by more than 53% next year for 14 million people who buy their own insurance from health insurance marketplaces."

"The total cost increase for struggling families in America will likely exceed a staggering $12 billion a year," the analysis warns. "Congress must act decisively to prevent huge increases in health insurance costs for families who already face serious challenges coping with rapidly rising living expenses."

Despite the potentially devastating implications for millions of households, the looming premium hike has largely flown under the radar on Capitol Hill. Back in March, journalist Jon Walker warned in The American Prospect that Democrats are "sleepwalking into a healthcare disaster that's entirely of their own making."

"Democrats are on the verge of dooming millions of Americans to huge new healthcare bills," Walker added, "which will in turn serve to ruin any hope Democrats have of winning the midterms."

The American Rescue Plan, a sprawling coronavirus relief package that President Joe Biden signed into law last year, included provisions that boosted ACA subsidies for low-income people and ended the income cap on subsidies. The latter measure ensures that no one is forced to pay more than 8.5% of their total income to buy health coverage on the ACA exchanges.

The issue is that the provisions were designed to last just two years, and legislation that many Democrats and advocates hoped would make the benefits permanent—the Build Back Better Act—is dead in the Senate thanks in large part to the opposition of Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.).

According to Families USA, the roughly 23,000 West Virginians who buy health insurance on the ACA exchanges will see their annual premiums rise by an average of $1,536—63%—if the American Rescue Plan provisions aren't extended beyond this year.

Arizonans will be hit with an average yearly premium hike of $828, Families USA noted.

Across the U.S., more than 3 million people will likely lose insurance coverage entirely if Congress doesn't re-up the subsidy enhancements.



the horse race



Did SCOTUS Just Legalize OUTRIGHT Bribery In Ted Cruz Case?

Supreme Court Kills Another Campaign Finance Rule

In a decision Monday that liberal Justice Elena Kagan warned will further corrupt the nation's money-dominated political system, the U.S. Supreme Court's right-wing majority struck down a campaign finance regulation limiting federal candidates' ability to use campaign funds to repay personal loans. ...

In her dissent, Kagan argued that the court's ruling will make even more common the kinds of "crooked exchanges" that have long sullied the U.S. political system, which is awash in money from corporations and ultra-wealthy individuals.

"Political contributions that will line a candidate's own pockets, given after his election to office, pose a special danger of corruption," Kagan argued, pointing to the issue of recouping personal loans. "The candidate has a more-than-usual interest in obtaining the money (to replenish his personal finances), and is now in a position to give something in return. The donors well understand his situation, and are eager to take advantage of it. In short, everyone's incentives are stacked to enhance the risk of dirty dealing."

Kagan went on to contend that quid pro quos—political favors carried out in exchange for money, in this case post-election donations—could become more rampant thanks to the Supreme Court's new ruling, which was authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, who helped orchestrate the high court's infamous Citizens United ruling and other attacks on campaign finance law.

"Post-election donors can be confident their money will enrich a candidate personally," Kagan wrote. "And those donors have of course learned which candidate won. When they give money to repay the victor's loan, they know—not merely hope—he will be in a position to perform official favors. The recipe for quid pro quo corruption is thus in place: a donation to enhance the candidate's own wealth (the quid), made when he has become able to use the power of public office to the donor's advantage (the quo)."

"The politician is happy; the donors are happy. The only loser is the public. It inevitably suffers from government corruption," she continued. "In allowing those payments to go forward unrestrained, today's decision can only bring this country's political system into further disrepute."

Will Pro-Israel Dark Money SABOTAGE Another Progressive?

CHAOS In PA GOP Primary: Oz, Barnette, McCormick OUT MAGA Each Other



the evening greens


Rejection of Arctic mine expansion bid offers hope for narwhal population

The expansion of an iron ore mine in the Arctic that would have increased shipping and led to the “complete extirpation of narwhal” from the region has been blocked.

After four years of consultations and deliberations, the Nunavut Impact Review Board rejected a request from Baffinland Iron Mines Corp asking to significantly increase mining on the northern tip of Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada. The area is home to one of the world’s richest iron ore deposits, and the densest narwhal population in the world. ...

The review board issued a statement on Friday saying that the Mary River mine expansion project carried potential for “significant and lasting negative effects on marine mammals, the marine environment, fish, caribou and other terrestrial wildlife, vegetation and freshwater”.

“In the Board’s view, these negative effects could also impact Inuit harvesting, culture, land use and food security,” it said.

Dan Vandal, Canada’s northern affairs minister, can now decide whether to side with the review board or with Baffinland. He is expected to make his decision within the next three months.


Also of Interest

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

Jailed Palestinian Lawyer Implores ICC to Probe Israeli 'Crimes Against Humanity' in East Jerusalem

Israel knows it will get away with the attack on Shireen Abu Aqleh’s funeral

Turkey Leaves the Arab World

Senate Advances $40 Billion Ukraine Aid Package

The Bizarre, Unanimous Dem Support for the $40b War Package to Raytheon and CIA: "For Ukraine"

The New Iron Curtain

Who Wins and Loses Because of the Ukraine War?

‘I cannot survive on $260 a week’: US retail and fast-food workers strike

‘We hurt those already hurting’: why Los Angeles is failing on homelessness

'Fueling the Flames': Model Shows Growing Risk of Wildfires in US

HIGHLIGHTS: GOP Senate, Gov Candidates Certifiably CRAZY

How WH Press Is SILENCING Outside Voices

Use Covid Relief Funds To Hire Cops Instead Of Relief!

60 Minutes Caught Promoting Fake Journalist Pushing War

NBC Fantasizes About Nuclear War With China


A Little Night Music

Weldon ''Juke Boy'' Bonner - Gimme Some Boone's Farm

Juke Boy Bonner - Houston, The Action Town

Weldon "Juke Boy" Bonner - Texas zydeco

Juke Boy Bonner - Mr Downchild

Juke Boy Bonner - Live My Trouble On Down

Juke Boy Bonner - I'm A Bluesman

Juke Boy Bonner - Call Me Juke Boy

Juke Boy Bonner - Nowhere To Run

Juke Boy Bonner - Running Shoes


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For over a minute, nothing happened and the girl simply walked around the room. Then, for no apparent reason, he ran up to her, grabbed her by the neck, and slammed her to the floor. What may have started out as a retaliation against the student ended up with the officer getting suspended without pay, and charged with felony child abuse — and eventually acquitted.

Despite the video and the facts in the case — and the fact that the officer turned off his body camera before body slamming the girl — a jury saw nothing wrong.

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11 users have voted.
joe shikspack's picture

@gjohnsit

florida is certainly an unusual place. while no place in america is free of the risk of becoming like florida, i'm still glad that i don't live there.

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9 users have voted.

link

Almost half of President Joe Biden's current 22.2 million followers on Twitter are fake accounts, according to an audit tool provided by software company SparkToro.

SparkToro's tool found that 49.3 percent of accounts following the official @POTUS Twitter account are "fake followers" based on analysis of a number of factors, including location issues, default profile images and new users.

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11 users have voted.
joe shikspack's picture

@gjohnsit

not.

i wonder if they have finally managed to fully automate a biden bot.

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6 users have voted.
snoopydawg's picture

@joe shikspack

Can’t explain how he can be so coherent some days. Sometimes it looks like he has more hair and less of a chin wattle.

Smile

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5 users have voted.

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

Pluto's Republic's picture

@snoopydawg

However, there are days when I think Donald Trump is still President.

Then I realize that the only way that Trump and Biden have identical foreign policies — is if the policy is being enacted by a Third Party. It smells like Pompeo and his circle of West Point friends.

There are also days when I think that the US is turning into Afghanistan. The US just feels like a War Lord state. And US politics feels like the Taliban is gaining power.

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8 users have voted.

____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
snoopydawg's picture

@Pluto's Republic

Putin once said that no matter which party gets control or who becomes president the US foreign policy stays the same. He’s right too. Remember when Trump pulled Brennan and Albright's security clearance because of something they did? It’s when we found out that every living Secretary of State meets with their predecessors to make sure that the same trains run on time. Lots of people think that Obama is pulling Biden’s strings. Others think it’s HerHeinous. I think it’s the Rand corporation and other think tanks. The CFR , Atlantic council and other people who we can never vote out.

Democrats rode Trump’s left buttock for 4 years because of what he did, but Biden has continued lots of the things Trump did and no one says a word about it. The Iran deal is probably dead because Biden wouldn’t roll back the sanctions Trump put on them. Plus Israel doesn’t want it passed.

EF8DBEB1-50EE-474A-BA23-9E4AC9D364FA.jpeg
059AE2EC-C0E4-4392-9220-F8C408B21F37.jpeg

The band might change, but the song remains the same.

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

Creosote.'s picture

@gjohnsit

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ggersh's picture

was because fairly soon all of Ukraine armed forces will be declaring victory surrendering.

https://www.theautomaticearth.com/2022/05/debt-rattle-may-17-2022/

The AZOV regiment in the Azovstal compound has surrendered to Russia. The MSM will tell you they were “evacuated”, “to save lives”. And of course it’s out of fashion to call them neo-nazis.

Russia has won, and on its own terms. But they won’t tell you that either. Zelensky’s message: “We hope to save the lives of our boys”. “I want to underline: Ukraine needs its Ukrainian heroes alive. This is our principle.”

Yes, the neo-nazis have become (inter-) national heroes. Oh, the irony.

The effect on the morale of Ukraine will be huge, with one part of the “regular” army -and civilians- so far looking to Azov as a symbol of strength, and another part too scared to surrender themselves for fear of Azov reprisals. Don’t be surprised if this means much more of Ukraine will soon surrender too, including Zelensky.

But, but, what about the $40 billion the US will send? Don’t worry, the remaining oligarchs -in the US AND Ukraine-know just what to do with that. Most will need to take it abroad though, they can’t wait until Russia might come after them.

All MSM has left are lies, lies and more lies

Enjoy the EB's everyone, the empire is running on fumes

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15 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

@ggersh

Ukraine needs its Ukrainian heroes alive.

A POST at MoA outlines the detailed sorting procedure those who surrender are ‘rescued’ will go through before their fate is determined. Some may not have an easy time of it. It is spelled out in great detail, and ranges from complete freedom to return home to facing formal war crimes accusations. Among the prisoners include some high value non-Ukrainians from the USA and its supporter nations. Negations for exchange of prisoners of war are on the table for some, but others will likely not see freedom again, if ever.

So that's the strict filtering regime. So have no fear that any of the "Rats of Azovstal" will escape their rightful fates. Even after another 1000-2000 surrenders, the exact same processing will be done to each and every one. The LDPR and Russian military jails are gunna be real full, real soon.

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14 users have voted.

Capitalism is the extraordinary belief that the nastiest of men for the nastiest of motives will somehow work for the benefit of all."
- John Maynard Keynes

joe shikspack's picture

@ggersh

a few more ukrainian "victories" like this and perhaps a ceasefire might break out. goodness only knows how the ukrainian-u.s. media might spin a total capitulation by all of the ukronazis.

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7 users have voted.
ggersh's picture

@joe shikspack why certainly, only so they could break it in the future.

The 4th Reich, the WEF takeover, whatever one wants to call it,
we are certainly deep into it

up
7 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

not to forget that the long-term u.s. strategy, prepared for by intensive cia activity in ukraine for many years is a long-running insurgency against whatever russia sets up there.

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3 users have voted.
snoopydawg's picture

@ggersh

I hope that the Russian trials get shown here. They are going to do a Nuremberg 2

Has this been reported yet?

https://www.newsweek.com/russia-opens-fire-israel-israeli-jets-syria-war...

I sure hope it means that Russia isn’t going to let Israel continue killing people in Syria. Their continued bombings there and our bombings in Afghanistan sure don’t get the same type of horrified outrage that the world has directed at Russia. Damn hypocrites.

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10 users have voted.

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

joe shikspack's picture

@snoopydawg

Has this been reported yet?

it's the second item in the post upstairs.

I sure hope it means that Russia isn’t going to let Israel continue killing people in Syria.

there is some ambiguity about what russia's activation of the s300's against israel means going forward.

it could be taken as a shot across the bow, since the system didn't lock its radars on the israeli jets. but there was no comment from russia, so at least in the public domain there is no conclusive information about russian intentions.

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5 users have voted.
snoopydawg's picture

@joe shikspack

I thought I saw it here somewhere…oh well you remember my brain has trouble with memory at times? Smile hey you ought to live with it.

Y’all still love me tho right? Right?

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3 users have voted.

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

joe shikspack's picture

@snoopydawg

Y’all still love me tho right? Right?

absolutely. especially if you deliver a scritch to sam. Smile

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4 users have voted.
snoopydawg's picture

@joe shikspack

Sam gets so many scritches it’s a wonder she has any hair left.

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3 users have voted.

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

ggersh's picture

Austin, Blinken, Joementia have been trying to get a ceasefire w/Russia Russia to capitulate. They realize that all is lost. Now as to what comes out about Avozstal, whether it be
NATO HQ, or a Fauci Biolab only time will tell.

It is also a reason why the MSM is starting to go silent about Ukraine and is now
focusing on China. It's all about creating warlike conditions, it's never about having
a real enemy they can beat.

The D's like america are running on fumes. I fully expect the D's as a party to no longer
exist as early as November. Will the 2 parties officially unite under one leader or will
the D's just take over everything? What will the MIC do? What will the CIA do?

I do wish I had the resources to get outta Dodge

up
13 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

i guess that now that the ukraine war is turning into a dud, the warmongers in washington need to find another expensive conflict so that their donors/owners in the mic can get their money fix right on time.

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7 users have voted.
snoopydawg's picture

“In America, evil will not win, I promise you,” Biden said. “Hate will not prevail and white supremacy will not have the last word.”

Biden has created lots of the conditions that booted America’s soul out of the country. How many congress members have done absolutely nothing to address the soul crushing poverty conditions all across America? Chicago elected a billionaire to run the state who has done nothing to address the crime and poverty in low income areas. Chicago sets the record every week for number of people killed and yet it rarely makes the news anywhere outside the city.

It also revealed the scale of the challenge facing Biden, who ran for president to restore “the soul of America” after his predecessor Donald Trump’s failure to denounce a deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and took office weeks after an assault on the US Capitol that included white nationalist groups.

Hypocrisy driving me nucking futz!

“White supremacy is a poison,” Biden said. “It’s a poison – it really is – running through our body politic, and it’s been allowed to fester and grow right in front of our eyes. No more. I mean, no more. We need to say as clearly and forcefully as we can that the ideology of white supremacy has no place in America. None. Look, failure to say that is going to be complicity. Silence is complicity. It’s complicity. We cannot remain silent.”

Wife of Azov Commander Hailed in West is Pictured Giving Nazi Salute

Azov, the neo-Nazi regiment whose insignia includes the Wolfsangel and Black Sun symbols used by the Waffen SS, was brought into the Ukrainian armed forces after the 2014 Maidan Square coup. But now the militants are trapped in a steel plant in the newly-liberated Donbass city of Mariupol.
The wife of a Ukrainian Azov Battalion commander trapped in the Donbass city of Mariupol has been exposed as a neo-Nazi in images discovered online.
Kateryna Prokopenko, the wife of Lieutenant Colonel Denis Prokopenko now trapped in the bowels of the ruined Azovstal steel mill complex in the port city, has been on a tour of European capitals with three other women whose husbands are under his command.

They even got to meet the pope! Guess their saluting habits escaped the notice of those who investigate people meeting with his holyness.

I’m wondering how far $40 billion fast tracked for Ukraine would have gone to fix America’s homeless problem?

Israel isn’t the only one who is never held accountable for its crimes.

Pentagon investigates itself, finds it did nothing wrong

Nobody will be held accountable for an airstrike that killed up to 64 civilians, a report states

An internal Pentagon investigation has found that a 2019 airstrike that killed up to 64 civilians in Syria did not violate US rules of engagement or the law of war, and was not carried out with “wanton disregard.” Some military officers considered the incident, which the Pentagon still maintains was necessary to take out ISIS fighters, a war crime.

On March 18, 2019, a US F-15E fighter jet dropped a bomb on “a large crowd of women and children huddled against a river bank” near the Syrian town of Baghuz and then proceeded to drop several more, killing survivors, according to a New York Times report published last November.

US Central Command admitted that the strike killed 80 people, of which only 16 were alleged Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) terrorists. The military admitted to killing four civilians, but insisted that the remaining 60 may have been terrorists, as “women and children in the Islamic State sometimes took up arms.”

Imagine the outrage if Russia had done that in Ukraine. We’ve already seen that America’s government will look the other way when Ukraine troops bomb their own citizens.

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joe shikspack's picture

@snoopydawg

heh:

Biden, who ran for president to restore “the soul of America”

two soulless septuagenarians ran for president, one ironically threatening to "restore" the soul of america, the other threatening to "restore" america to a greatness that it had never experienced and was wholly imaginary.

a nation of millions bought into the fever dreams and delusions of a couple of old men expressed through a multi-billion dollar propaganda machine.

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snoopydawg's picture

@joe shikspack

a nation of millions bought into the fever dreams and delusions of a couple of old men expressed through a multi-billion dollar propaganda machine.

Lots of people voted for Trump after Obama’s screwing them and being the owner’s puppet, but then voted for Biden whose 50 years of screwing them was forgotten and they said they would push him left. He was pretty adamant about the fact that nothing would change, but sure he was open to our suggestions. It sure doesn’t seem like any of the shitlibs are even trying to push him left. They just accept as truth that the parliamentarian could set policy and democrats were helpless to go around her. Or that if Biden would just lean on Manchin a tad then democrats could fulfill their promises.

Lesser evil voting has sure elected a lot of evil. Go figure.

You’ve probably heard that 20 republican AGs are going to sue Biden’s mistress of truth. Let’s hope they don’t forget about it. The mistress is something else.

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joe shikspack's picture

@snoopydawg

years of lesser evil voting has yielded a lot of evil lessers.

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Creosote.'s picture

@snoopydawg

per a recent urgent appeal for funds, is now the home of the Barack Obama Foundation.

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snoopydawg's picture

Cow towing to Israel.

Whitewashing an American's death so not to upset their owner. Those scenes from Shireen's funeral should haunt every congress member’s dreams. This is what they have been supporting for too long.

This better be snipped in the bud.

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joe shikspack's picture

@snoopydawg

i guess one's treatment as a journalist or a person depends entirely on whether one criticizes an empowered state or organization. presumably all of the decent people will be oppressed in life and misrepresented in death by the mainstream propaganda outlets.

that revolver piece was pretty good.

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ggersh's picture

@snoopydawg

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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

CB's picture

Video documents struggle in Mariupol and eventual victory against Azov militias.

"Their side shows a kind of inhuman cruelty towards the very population that they claim to be protecting. They drive them into basements with no evacuation... The troops hide behind civilian's backs..."

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrq-vJlpkv8]

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joe shikspack's picture

@CB

thanks for the videos! glad to see some rt content posted on youtube.

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CB's picture

Published by dreizinreport on May 17, 2022 (Video)

  • How did the Azov come about?
  • Why were they never a part of the Ukrainian army?
  • Why are almost all of them bearded?
  • What is their place in history?
  • What is the significance of their downfall?
  • And everything else you ever wanted to know about the Azov!
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enhydra lutris's picture

Azovstal finally surrendered, did anybody have 82 days in the pool? There was a pool, wasn't there? That was the least suspenseful combat since Floyd Patterson fought Muhammad Ali. The real question is how many Russian troops does that free up and where will they wind up.

The real issue is when will the credibility bomb go off? The article discussing who will be the winners and losers doesn't even discuss that aspect of things even though it might be the biggest long term plus or minus (depending upon for whom).

Ah well, time to go get work out some of the physiological crankiness that is setting in.

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

perhaps i'm missing something, but all of the reports that i've been reading say that there was a surrender, but when you read through the article it says that about 260 ukronazis surrendered. this is significantly less than the number of ukronazis that were said to be in the underground bunkers.

so, if a thousand or two ukronazis haven't surrendered yet, i guess that the russian force that is guarding the place still has to remain.

have a great evening!

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snoopydawg's picture

From MoA comments:

Looks like the Russians took the gloves off in Lvov.

Briefing by Russian Defence Ministry

The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation in Ukraine.

The surrender of fighters from the Azov nationalist unit and Ukrainian servicemen blocked at the Azovstal plant in Mariupol began yesterday.
Over the past 24 hours, 265 militants have laid down arms and surrendered, including 51 seriously wounded. All those in need of medical assistance were sent for treatment to a hospital in Novoazovsk, Donetsk People's Republic.

High-precision long-range sea-based Kalibr missiles near Starichi railway station in Lvov Region have destroyed the personnel of Ukrainian reserve formations, as well as shipments of foreign weapons and military equipment from the United States and European countries, prepared for shipment to Donbass.

High-precision air- and ground-based long-range missiles have destroyed enemy reserves that were completing their combat coordination at the training centers near Akhtyrka, Sumy Region, and Desna, Chernigov Region.

High-precision air-based missiles of the Russian Aerospace Forces have hit 2 command posts and 1 communications centre, including those of the 30th Mechanized Brigade near Bakhmut, 28 areas of AFU manpower and military equipment concentration, and 2 missile-artillery weapons and ammunition depots near Ugledar and Konstantinovka in Donetsk People's Republic.

The attacks have resulted in the elimination of more than 470 nationalists and up to 68 armoured and motor vehicles.

In addition, 1 traction power substation have been destroyed near Merefa railway station in Kharkov region, which was delivering weapons and military equipment from the United States and Western countries to Donbass.

Operational-tactical and army aviation have hit 9 command posts, 93 areas of AFU manpower and military equipment concentration, as well as 3 ammunition depots near Luparevo and Shevchenkovo in Nikolaev region.

Missile troops and artillery have hit 6 command posts, 224 areas of AFU manpower and military equipment concentration, 12 artillery and mortar batteries at firing positions, 4 BM-21 Grad MLRS batteries and 2 air target detection radar stations.

Russian air defence means have shot down 23 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over Pitomnik, Izyum, Snezhkovka, Olkhovatka, Dementievka, Russkaya Lozovaya, Bolshie Prokhody and Petrovskoe in Kharkov Region, Staromikhailovka, Novotamarovka, Novotroitskoe, Nevelskoe, Sverdlovo, Avdeevka and Vladimirovka in Donetsk People's Republic.

8 Smerch rockets have been intercepted near Chernobaevka, Kherson Region.

Yesterday between 10:00 and 11:00 a.m. Ukrainian nationalists used Smerch multiple rocket launchers to hit residential areas of Kherson. Russian air defence means have intercepted all 10 Ukrainian rockets.

I would like to stress that there are no units of Russian troops in Kherson. The Kiev regime is well informed about this. The strike was deliberately targeted at civilians in Kherson in retaliation for supporting the Russian Federation.

In total, 168 Ukrainian aircraft and 125 helicopters, 912 unmanned aerial vehicles, 309 anti-aircraft missile systems, 3,134 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 385 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,542 field artillery and mortars, as well as 2,983 units of special military vehicles were destroyed during the operation.

#MoD #Russia #Ukraine #Briefing
@mod_russia_en

Posted by: Kim | May 17 2022 11:06 utc | 22

That’s a lot of unnecessary deaths that are on Biden’s hands. Not that he or anyone supporting the continuing conflict will give a damn thing about it, but there’s a lot of women and children tonight whose world has just turned ugly. And for what? So that we can have the biggest duck in the pond? Whoopie! Being raised catholic it’s hard to give up every belief pounded in my brain for so long so I still have hope that hell is real. I wonder what the dead warmongers are doing right now? Is Albright dancing in the flames of hell with McCain or did she choose Powell as her dance partner?

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snoopydawg's picture

@snoopydawg

https://southfront.org/did-cia-train-ukrainian-torturers/

Good lord how can anyone treat their fellow humans so badly unless you are a psychopath or have some other mental deficiencies? It’s why I tell Sam daily that she’s lucky to be a dawg. Too many humans lack any form of humanity.

You might want to read this on the big fish that have possibly been caught by Russia.

https://iamamalaysian.com/2022/05/16/us-gen-eric-olson-british-ltc-john-...

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CB's picture

@snoopydawg
Damn! Captured Rtd US Navy Admiral Eric T. Olson a TACTICAL NUKE SPECIALIST


(Plus more information about Mariupol surrender)

On another front: Message from poorly supported/commanded Ukrainian battalion:
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj9lH00pK-M]

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MSNBC contributor deletes tweet of Russian plane being shot down after learning it was from video game

MSNBC contributor Barry R. McCaffrey, a retired four-star general, shared a video Monday of what he appeared to think was a Russian plane being shot down by Ukraine, but deleted the tweet after being informed it occurred in an animated video game.

According to images of the original tweet, McCaffrey tweeted an animated image from the video game "Arma 3."

Fox news video came up along with the above article reporting that the RF military is on the brink of collapse, etc. Would be nice if a "disinformation sticker" could be slapped on the lies promulgated by the US/UK MSM.

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joe shikspack's picture

@Marie

mccaffrey has always been a moron. he made a total ass out of himself as clinton's drug czar. it's not surprising to see that he's still at it and confusing video game footage with reality.

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snoopydawg's picture

@Marie

The zombie ghost keeps shooting down Russian jets in this year’s brilliant new video game. Come and get it while supplies last and for a limited time buy 2 for $1 more and just pay an additional arm and a leg for shipping. Act now or this deal is dead just like the ghost of Kiev is.

But you know people will be repeating that anyway.

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