The Evening Blues - 1-5-23



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The day's news roundup + tonight's musical feature: Willie Nix

Hey! Good Evening!

This evening's music features Memphis blues singer and drummer Willie Nix. Enjoy!

Willie Nix - Try Me One More Time

"If the time comes when our culture tires of the endless homicidal feuds, despairs of the use of force and war as a means of bringing peace, becomes discontent with the half-lives that its members are living - only then will our culture seriously look for alternatives."

-- Carl Rogers


News and Opinion

101st Airborne Still Deployed in Romania Simulating War With Russia

About 4,000 members of the US Army’s 101st Airborne Division are still deployed in Romania as part of a military buildup in Eastern Europe that President Biden ordered last year, as the Pentagon is still deciding whether to maintain current troop levels.

The New York Times reported Tuesday that some 101st soldiers are stationed at a base near the Romanian city of Constanta on the Black Sea while others are further north, just a few miles from the Ukrainian border, and are simulating fighting Russia in Ukraine.

The military buildup in Eastern Europe has brought US troop levels on the continent to over 100,000 for the first time since 2005. The Pentagon is expected to decide soon if it will maintain the current levels for the long term or reduce or increase them. ...

The over $100 billion that has been authorized to spend on the war in Ukraine includes money to fund troop deployments in Europe. The latest Ukraine aid bill that was passed by Congress includes $6.98 billion for US European Command, which will likely fund the training of Ukrainian troops, other types of support for Kyiv, and US deployments in the region.

US Admits Russia Bakhmut Advance, Russia Claims Solidar Gains, US France To Provide Light Armour

The Crucial Next 6 Months in Ukraine — What Comes After?

American military planning was once world class. But who would plan a proxy war against Russia, one of the acknowledged masters of artillery with far better air defense technology than any in the West, and then equip our puppet Ukraine with inferior weapons and only enough ammunition to last six months? And surely American planners couldn’t help knowing that there was no longer a manufacturing base for resupply, and NATO warehouses were practically empty? ...

But the United States current leadership is a bunch of total idiots, blinded by ideology, arrogance and illusions of pursuing a “rule-based” global hegemony, an opportunity long passed, as our performance in this proxy war shows. The United States may have won the Cold War but it lost the peace. Its strategic thinking and its military is obsolete and configuration of both forces and equipment is based on assumptions from the past millennium. The battle for a Great Global Reset under a unipolar American hegemony has been lost as well. The World Economic Forum is now about as relevant as the Holy Roman Empire. All they can continue to do is terrorize the increasingly authoritarian states of the West with asinine policy proposals.

The attempt to destroy Russia prodded it to a burst of brilliant diplomacy and leadership by Putin and his team that has quietly established that the rest of the world prefers sovereignty and a multi-polar world. The post Cold War “Pox Americana” as Larry Johnson has called it, is over. Historians of the future will study this period of history with fascination. Few times in history has such immense change happened so fast.

But how will the idiots in Washington react? Will they resort to some attempt to implement Petraeus’ “coalition of the willing” fabricated from some NATO troops and some of our own? ... There is a possible important tell and it comes from Putin’s tactics in the Donbas. Why, if a great offensive to take the Donbas and breakout is about to begin, would the Russians be intensely fortifying the line they already hold? Could it be after the absurd Parthian shot pinpricks the CIA has been inflicting within Russia itself, the Russians have decided the US/NATO are just out of control enough to try a tactical nuke as well as a NATO force attack?

Will the International Court of Justice Finally Condemn Israel’s Illegal Squatting in Palestine?

Al-Quds [Jerusalem] reports the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a resolution entitled “Israeli Practices that affect the Human Rights of the Palestinian People in Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.” It depended on Chapter XIV, Article 96 of the U.N. Charter, which specifies that “The General Assembly or the Security Council may request the International Court of Justice to give an advisory opinion on any legal question.”

Al-Quds says that the wording of the UNGA resolution demonstrates a sea change in that body’s discourse about the Palestinians and a new, severe anxiety about the long-term deprivation of their basic human rights under international law. ...

Israel occupied Gaza and the West Bank in 1967 after having angled to do so for a decade. The Geneva Convention and the Rome Statute forbid occupying powers to alter the ways of life of the occupied population, or to annex that territory, or to settle their own citizens in the occupied territory. The laws of occupation also envisage it as being brief, lasting during war time, not stretching to decades. These strictures were reactions against war crimes during WW II, such as when Germany occupied Poland and attempted to replace the Poles with ethnic Germans and to annex Polish territory to Germany. Some 6 million Poles were killed during the war and occupation.

The OHCHR had asked the General Assembly in October to take up the question of whether Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza had lasted so long and been characterized by such brazen disregard for the laws of occupation as to now be unlawful. ...

The United States condemned the step, even though it has asked international courts to take up the illegality of the Russian occupation of eastern Ukraine and has cited the same corpus of international law against Russian practices as UN members cited against Israel’s. US spokesman Richard M. Mills said that a two-state solution was the best resolution. You wonder in which universe Mr. Mills lives, that he thinks a Palestinian state is still viable, when Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has pledged to annex the entirety of the West Bank. He pointed to the Abraham Accords as a reason for which no International Court of Justice verdict is needed. Again, which universe does he live in? The issue isn’t whether Dubai can make money off Israeli business deals but whether the 5 million Palestinians under permanent Israeli military occupation will ever have their basic human rights recognized.

Diana Buttu & Gideon Levy: Israel's New Far-Right Gov't Entrenches Apartheid System with US Support

Israel unveils controversial plans to overhaul judicial system

Benjamin Netanyahu’s justice minister has unveiled the new government’s long-promised overhaul of the judicial system that aims to weaken the supreme court. Critics say the plan will undermine Israel’s democracy by giving absolute power to the most rightwing coalition in the country’s history.

The justice minister, Yariv Levin, a confidant of Netanyahu’s and a longtime critic of the supreme court, presented his plan a day before the justices debate a new law passed by the government allowing a politician convicted of tax offences to serve as a cabinet minister. “The time has come to act,” Levin said.

He proposed a series of changes aimed at curbing the powers of the judiciary, including allowing lawmakers to pass laws that the high court has struck down and in effect deemed unconstitutional.

Levin laid out a law that would empower the country’s 120-seat Knesset to override supreme court decisions with a simple majority of 61 votes. ... Levin argued that the public’s faith in the judicial system had plummeted to a historic low, and he said he planned to restore power to elected officials that now lay in the hands of overly interventionist judges.

Twitter Obeyed Gov Orders To Censor Critics As “Russian Disinformation” w/Matt Taibbi

FDA broadens availability of abortion pills to more US pharmacies

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday finalized a rule change that broadens availability of abortion pills to many more pharmacies including large chains and mail-order companies.

The Biden administration partially implemented the change last year, announcing it would no longer enforce a requirement that women pick up the medicine in person.

The new action formally updates drug labeling to allow many more retail pharmacies to dispense the pills, so long as they complete a certification process.

The change could expand access at brick-and-mortar stores and online pharmacies. Where permitted by law, women can get a prescription via telehealth consultation with a health professional then receive the pills through the mail. ...

The change has, however, been blunted by state laws limiting abortion broadly and pills specifically. Legal experts foresee years of court battles over access to the pills, as abortion-rights proponents bring test cases to challenge state restrictions.

AOC Floats House Speaker COMPROMISE

GOP House Speaker Drama Sparks Fears About Debt Ceiling Fight

The refusal by U.S. House Republicans to collectively get behind a speaker candidate in six rounds of voting so far this week has renewed concerns about the coming fight over raising the debt ceiling to prevent an unprecedented government default.

After the GOP won a narrow House majority in the November midterm elections, economists and progressives in Congress called for raising the federal borrowing limit during the lame-duck session. However, Democrats failed to pass standalone legislation or include a provision in the omnibus package President Joe Biden signed last week, setting up the battle for this year.

The arbitrary cap was last increased by $2.5 trillion to $31.381 trillion in December 2021 and is expected to be reached no sooner than the summer. Although that means lawmakers likely have months to act, some Republicans have signaled that they intend to use the threat of a potential default—which could cause a global economic crisis—to force concessions.

Specifically, GOP lawmakers have set their sights on cuts to Medicare and Social Security. While Biden vowed in November that "under no circumstances" would he go along with GOP attacks on such programs, the political theater in the House on Tuesday and Wednesday has fueled fears that some Republicans would be willing to force the first-ever default. ...

Appearing on a Bloomberg Radio program Wednesday, Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) floated the possibility of trading Democratic voters in favor of McCarthy for a debt limit deal.

"Eventually, he's going to have to cut a deal with Democrats, because it's going to be easier to get a deal with us than with his 20-headed monster he has over there," Sherman said. "He's going to have to agree with Democrats to not hold hostage the full faith and credit of the United States, to not put us in a position where we're going to shut down the government. And eventually, I think Americans will benefit from this ugly picture of chaos."

The New York Daily News reported Wednesday that though Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) "emphatically ruled out supporting embattled" McCarthy, the progressive congresswoman suggested to journalists that there was potential for a compromise speaker who agreed to raise the debt ceiling along with "a combination of" other concessions.

Meanwhile, some critics of the Republican Party used the ongoing speakership drama to remind Americans that no matter who ultimately ends up at the helm, "they all want to cut your Social Security" and protect wealthy tax dodgers.

Chaos in the House: Is This Just the Start of a Far-Right Attempt to Make Congress Dysfunctional?

House adjourned after McCarthy fails to win speakership on second day of voting

The House remained paralyzed on Wednesday, after Republican leader Kevin McCarthy failed for the sixth time to capture the speaker’s gavel as his critics stood firm in their opposition to his candidacy. After the House adjourned for a few hours, McCarthy and his allies went into negotiations with the Republican holdouts without a clear path forward to end the standoff.

The House held another three inconclusive votes in the speakership election on Wednesday, mirroring the three votes held a day earlier. Across all six ballots, no speaker candidate successfully captured the 218 votes expected to be needed for a victory. The stalemate marked the first time in a century that a House speaker was not chosen in the initial vote. After the sixth vote on Wednesday evening, the House moved to adjourn until at least 8pm ET, giving Republicans more time to reach a solution. ...

With no resolution in sight, Republicans held animated discussions on the chamber floor as Democrats looked on. All House business, including the swearing-in of new members, has come to a halt until the speakership is determined.

Briahna Joy Gray: AOC Tears Expose Progressive INCOMPETENCE; Planning A Right/Left Alliance?



the evening greens


US government approves use of world’s first vaccine for honeybees

The world’s first vaccine for honeybees has been approved for use by the US government, raising hopes of a new weapon against diseases that routinely ravage colonies that are relied upon for food pollination.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has granted a conditional license for a vaccine created by Dalan Animal Health, a US biotech company, to help protect honeybees from American foulbrood disease.

“Our vaccine is a breakthrough in protecting honeybees,” said Annette Kleiser, chief executive of Dalan Animal Health. “We are ready to change how we care for insects, impacting food production on a global scale.”

The vaccine, which will initially be available to commercial beekeepers, aims to curb foulbrood, a serious disease caused by the bacterium Paenibacillus larvae that can weaken and kill hives. There is currently no cure for the disease, which in parts of the US has been found in a quarter of hives, requiring beekeepers to destroy and burn any infected colonies and administer antibiotics to prevent further spread. ...

The vaccine works by incorporating some of the bacteria into the royal jelly fed by worker bees to the queen, which then ingests it and gains some of the vaccine in the ovaries. The developing bee larvae then have immunity to foulbrood as they hatch, with studies by Dalan suggesting this will reduce death rates from the disease.

California declares state of emergency over ‘truly brutal’ storm

Millions of Californians are being lashed by yet another destructive winter storm that arrived on Wednesday, with meteorologists warning the “truly brutal” weather system would bring flooding, strong winds and power outages over the coming days.

California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, declared a state of emergency in response to the extreme weather, authorizing California’s national guard to support with the anticipated damage. Powerful winds from the incoming “bomb cyclone” whipped across northern California ahead of the storm’s arrival, toppling trees and blocking roads as crews rushed to clear storm drains and people fortified their homes.

“We anticipate that this may be one of the most challenging and impactful series of storms to touch down in California in the last five years,” said Nancy Ward, the new director of the California governor’s office of emergency services.

Rain and winds began lashing the San Francisco Bay Area and the surrounding region on Wednesday, and are expected to intensify throughout the day before sweeping south. Forecasts warned that up to 10in of rain is possible in coastal mountain regions. The heavy downpours are expected to be accompanied by winds with gusts of up to 60 mph (96 km/h). ...

The incoming system is threatening to wreak more havoc as the state reels from major storms that have arrived almost back-to-back throughout the end of December and early January. The storm is one of three so-called atmospheric river storms in the last week to reach the state. A New Year’s Eve downpour gave San Francisco its second wettest day on record, and caused widespread flooding and damage.


Also of Interest

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

Ukraine - The Big Push To End The War

Nord Stream Who?

Patrick Lawrence: The Sino-Russian Summit You Didn’t Read About

Worst of Europe’s Energy Crisis May Be Yet To Come

In 2022 the U.S.-Led Unipolar Order Was More Unstable Than Ever

'Congress Must Stop Funding Apartheid,' Tlaib Says as Israel Razes West Bank Homes

The Murder of Nature

Potato-shaped stones are better for skimming, say experts

Glenn Greenwald & Jimmy Dore Talk McCarthy Speakership & #ForceTheVote

CAUGHT! Dem Congressman DEMANDED Twitter Ban Journalists! w/Matt Taibbi

McCarthy Speaker Fight Proves Jimmy Dore RIGHT About #ForceTheVote!

Brie & Batya Press Rep. Ro Khanna On FORCE THE VOTE, Hakeem Jeffries Speakership


A Little Night Music

Willie Nix - Just Can't Stay

Willie Nix - Prison Bound Blues

Willie Nix - No More Love

Willie Nix -Truckin' little woman

Willie Nix - Nervous Wreck

Willie Nix - Seems Like A Million Years

Willie Nix - Lonesome Bedroom Blues

Willie Nix - Riding In The Moonlight

Willie Nix - Midnight Showers Of Rain

Willie Nix The Memphis Blues Boy - Baker Shop Boogie


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17 users have voted.

Comments

ggersh's picture

sticks to the Ukraine-russia conflict goes out of his comfort
zone to discuss "Gene Therapy". He tells of it being successful
and how it's then suppressed allowing Big Pharma to profit hugely
from this relatively cheap process.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTELoyugsOc&t=1s]

And he did a follow up

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFYrDiTY6NA&t=136s]

This is well worth the watch and an essay all of it's own imho.

Thanks again for the EB's Joe!

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11 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 @ggersh

where is informed consent in the hive?
Did the queen sell out the drones?

While the bees are making honey
let your ass be making money ..

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10 users have voted.
joe shikspack's picture

@ggersh

interesting vid, thanks! not surprising that big pharma is taking taxpayer-funded research and spinning it into gold.

have a great evening!

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6 users have voted.

Thanks to all your hard work each and every day bringing us new we might/never will get on the regular news sources!

Hate the read and watch the Democrats starting to cave and offer compromises to the Republicans as they try to elect a Speaker. A whole lot of truth is coming out I am afraid if anyone is watching.

Back in Texas and and enjoying the mild weather but worrying about relatives on the West Coast in the Bay Area.

Hope all is well with you and hope you have a good evening and on to the weekend!

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9 users have voted.

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

This ain't no dress rehearsal!

enhydra lutris's picture

@jakkalbessie
Bomb cyclone and rain = Scattered power outages and downed trees in Berkeley,
yesterday, I think, power largely restored now. No serious flooding that I've heard of.

https://www.berkeleyside.org/2023/01/05/berkeley-atmospheric-river-storm

be well and have a good one

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8 users have voted.

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 Thanks for your update! They are fine and by their fire in Berkeley flat.

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7 users have voted.

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

This ain't no dress rehearsal!

joe shikspack's picture

@jakkalbessie

heh, yeah, there seems to be the potential for a deal between the demlicans that is far worse than the usual gridlock since the vast majority of the republicrats just want to lick the boots of the rich and their corporations. i guess we'll see what happens.

glad to hear that you're safe and warm at home. ms. shikspack has some relatives in berkeley that seem to be doing fine so far.

have a great evening!

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7 users have voted.
enhydra lutris's picture

I hate to quibble, but shouldn't this say MORE dysfunctional?

Chaos in the House: Is This Just the Start of a Far-Right Attempt to Make Congress Dysfunctional?

I mean, shipping shitloads of arms and money to the Ukronazis is pretty damn dysfunctional to start with, and then there's all the metric boatloads of doing nothing for the people and perpetuating Russiagate, etc. Then toss in all the attacks on free speech and press and what have you?

be well and have a good one

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10 users have voted.

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

heh, i've been trying to figure out if the american people are better off when the congressworms are so busy fighting amongst themselves that they have no time to do "the people's" bidness or if we are better off when they are not quite as busy fighting amongst themselves and have time to process their graft into votes and legislation.

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7 users have voted.

regards to it.

McCarthy's clown show has now reached 11 failures. This comment from that jerk Gaetz tickled my funny bone.

The article by Larry Johnson is spot on.

https://sonar21.com/is-the-united-states-poised-to-lose-the-second-cold-...

The is no possibility of peace in Palestine with the zionist cabal in Washington led by Blinken calling the shots.

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5 users have voted.
joe shikspack's picture

@humphrey

this is a pretty amusing standoff in congress. apparently the republicans aren't as good at twisting arms as the democrats.

have a good one!

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6 users have voted.

these bombs but the impact could be significant.

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5 users have voted.