The Evening Blues - 3-20-23
Hey! Good Evening!
This evening's music features boogie woogie piano player Albert Ammons. Enjoy!
Albert Ammons - Monday Struggle
“Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it.”
-- Salvador Dali
News and Opinion
Stop Calling The Iraq War A ‘Mistake’
Stop calling the Iraq War a “mistake”. When you make a mistake, you make changes to ensure that mistake is not repeated. Nobody responsible for that invasion suffered any consequences of any kind, zero policy changes were made, and the unipolarist ideology which led to it has become more entrenched than ever.
If the invasion of Iraq was a “mistake”, western government officials would be residing in prison cells at The Hague, countless pundits and journalists would now be working behind cash registers in retail shops, and US foreign policy would have undergone a massive, dramatic overhaul. Instead the exact opposite has happened — the western officials who launched the Iraq War are esteemed members of elite society, the pundits and journalists who manufactured consent for it are at the top of their field, and securing US unipolar hegemony by any means necessary is the accepted status quo norm in mainstream politics.
This is because the Iraq War was not a “mistake”. It was a cold, calculated decision which had precisely the effects it was intended to have: the advancement of western energy interests, greater geostrategic control, and the expansion of the US war machine in key geostrategic regions. Someone who makes a “mistake” doesn’t get everything they always wanted as a result and suffer zero consequences for the damage it caused. That’s what happens to someone who took a deliberate, calculated action in their own interests.
You can only pretend the Iraq War was a “mistake” if you accept the official reasons for starting it: getting those WMDs, spreading freedom and democracy to those poor Iraqis who we love, and making the Middle East a safer and more peaceful place for everyone. It’s not okay for grown adults in the year 2023 to believe those were the real intentions behind the invasion of Iraq.
If the invasion of Iraq was a mistake there would have been changes put in place to make sure nothing like it ever happens again. Those changes were never made because they thoroughly intend to do similar things in the future.
ICC issues arrest warrant against Putin as part of US-NATO propaganda campaign for regime change
On Friday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, for alleged war crimes. The move is transparently political. It takes place as the US and NATO powers are orchestrating a massive escalation of the war against Russia over Ukraine, and amidst ever more open statements from government officials that the aim of the war is regime change in Moscow.
The specific allegations filed against Putin and Lvova-Belova are listed under Article 8 of the Rome Statute, adopted in 1998, which includes “grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions” and “other serious violations” of international law. The arrest warrants specifically allege “the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.” ... While the existence of the warrants was made public, the supposed evidence underlying them was not. The specific claims of the “unlawful deportation” of children have been promoted in the US media, including the New York Times, based on unsubstantiated allegations by the Biden administration and the Ukrainian government. ...
For its part, Russia has acknowledged the movement of populations from the war-ravaged eastern portions of Ukraine to Russia, including children primarily from orphanages. It has noted that anyone—including teachers and childcare workers—who continues to work in areas under Russian control are in danger of being accused as collaborators and killed by far-right Ukrainian forces.
As with the previous charges of war crimes, the US-led campaign is characterized by a staggering level of hypocrisy. By any objective standard, every US administration in recent memory is guilty of crimes far worse than any that have been alleged against Putin: From the nuclear obliteration of two Japanese cities at the end of the Second World War; to the leveling of North Korea between 1950-1953, to the point where not a single building was left standing; to the mass slaughter and pyrochemical incineration that was the US-led Vietnam War; through the thirty years of unending and expanding war that followed the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The state leading the campaign for war crimes charges against Putin is responsible for torture at Abu Ghraib in Iraq, the bombing of wedding parties and other civilian gatherings in Afghanistan, the Guantanamo Bay prison, and drone assassination.
Since the issue of the mistreatment of children is raised in the arrest warrants, we should recall the infamous statement by then US ambassador to the United Nations, Madeleine Albright, who declared in 1996, in reference to half a million dead children from US-backed sanctions against Iraq, “We think the price is worth it.”
Breaking News: The Pentagon is blocking the U.S. from sharing evidence on Russian atrocities in Ukraine with the International Criminal Court, officials said. Military leaders fear setting a precedent that might pave the way for it to prosecute Americans. https://t.co/xnHCjkkZnK
— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 8, 2023
Vladimir Putin pays surprise visit to occupied Mariupol in Ukraine
Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to the occupied Ukrainian port city of Mariupol on Saturday night in a show of defiance after the international criminal court issued an arrest warrant for him on war crimes charges.
Russian state media released footage showing the president on his first trip to Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine’s Donbas region since he launched a full-scale invasion last year.
The Tass news agency said Putin flew by helicopter to Mariupol on Saturday and took a tour of the city, at times driving his own car. He visited several sites, spoke to residents and was presented with a report on reconstruction work in the city. ...
On Saturday Putin had travelled to Crimea, a short distance south-west of Mariupol, to mark the ninth anniversary of Russia’s annexation of the peninsula from Ukraine. Russian state TV showed him visiting the Black Sea port city of Sevastopol, accompanied by the local Moscow-appointed governor, Mikhail Razvozhayev.
Putin visited an art school and a children’s centre there – locations that appear to have been chosen in response to the ICC’s arrest warrant, which came about after a panel of judges agreed that there were “reasonable grounds” to believe Putin and his children’s rights commissioner, Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, bore responsibility for the “unlawful deportation” of Ukrainian children.
Xi Jinping meets Putin. AUKUS, preparing for conflict
Putin welcomes China’s willingness to play ‘constructive role’ in solving ‘Ukraine crisis’
Vladimir Putin has welcomed China’s willingness to play a “constructive role” in solving in what he called the Ukraine “crisis”, in an article released on the eve of a visit by his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
In what the Kremlin said was an article written for a Chinese newspaper on Sunday, the Russian president called Xi his “good old friend” and said Russia had high hopes for his visit, the Chinese leader’s first to Russia since Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine last year. ...
In the article, Putin said: “We are grateful for the balanced line of [China] in connection with the events taking place in Ukraine, for understanding their background and true causes. We welcome China’s willingness to play a constructive role in resolving the crisis.”
Xi and Putin signed a “no limits” partnership agreement weeks before the invasion last year. China has publicly remained neutral in the conflict, while criticising western sanctions against Russia and reaffirming its close ties with Moscow.
US LOSES IT At China's Ukraine Peace Deal
As Xi Heads to Russia, U.S. Says No to Any China-Led Ceasefire in Ukraine
As Chinese President Xi Jinping prepared to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for the first time since weeks before war erupted in Ukraine, the White House has expressed opposition to any effort by Beijing to broker a ceasefire in the conflict. ...
But just one week after China managed to broker a surprise deal for Middle Eastern rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia to reestablish ties, National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby argued that such a cessation of hostilities would not be the positive development it may seem.
Such a move, Kirby asserted during a virtual press call on Friday, "would, in effect, recognize Russia's gains, and its attempt to conquer his neighbor's territory by force, allowing Russian troops to continue to occupy sovereign Ukrainian territory and, of course, it would be another continued violation of the U.N. Charter."
He stated that a ceasefire would also serve as opportunity for Russian troops "to only further entrench their positions in Ukraine" and "to rebuild, refit and refresh their forces so that they can restart attacks on Ukraine at a time of their choosing."
"We do not believe that this is a step towards a just and durable peace and, as we've all talked about, a just and durable, a sustainable peace has got to be one that is not one- sided," Kirby said, "and that fully incorporates Ukrainian perspectives and respects the basic idea of solid Ukrainian sovereignty in this case, which the Chinese say that they do want to respect."
"We all want to see the war end and we remain committed to that goal, but, as I said, for it to end, it's got to end in a just way that respects Ukrainian prerogatives and fully respects Ukrainian sovereignty," he added. "And a ceasefire, at this time, while that may sound good, we do not believe would have that effect."
Ukraine Soldiers Kidnapping New “Recruits” In Broad Daylight!
Australia has ‘absolutely not’ committed to join US in event of war over Taiwan, Marles says
Australia has “absolutely not” given the US any commitment as part of the Aukus negotiations that it would join its top security ally in a potential future war over the status of Taiwan, the deputy prime minister has said.
Richard Marles made the comment as he continued to defend Australia’s multi-decade plan to acquire nuclear-powered submarines, with help from the US and the UK, at a total cost of up to $368bn between now and the mid-2050s.
Marles, who is also the defence minister, said on Sunday that China’s rapid military buildup “shapes the strategic landscape in which we live”.
He told the ABC’s Insiders program the Aukus submarines would back up Australia’s interest in protecting trade and freedom of navigation and flight in the South China Sea.
Marles said he would not speculate about a future conflict over Taiwan – a self-governed democracy of 24 million people that China has not ruled out taking by force – but argued it was “a completely separate question”.
Anti-China Propaganda DISMANTLED On BBC!
North Korea continues run of weapons tests with ballistic missile launch
North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile, Seoul’s military has said, in the fourth such weapons test in a week, which comes as South Korea and the United States stage major military drills.
“Our military detected one short-range ballistic missile fired from around the Tongchang-ri area in North Pyongan province at 11.05 am towards the East Sea,” South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said on Sunday, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.
Seoul and Washington have ramped up defence cooperation in the face of growing military and nuclear threats from the North, which has conducted a series of increasingly provocative banned weapons tests in recent months.
South Korea and the US are currently in the middle of 11-day joint drills known as Freedom Shield, their largest in five years. North Korea views all such exercises as rehearsals for invasion and has repeatedly warned it would take “overwhelming” action in response.
On Thursday, Pyongyang test-fired its largest and most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile, a Hwasong-17, its second ICBM test this year.
France pension reform: Govt faces no-confidence vote, debate underway
French government to face no-confidence vote over pension age rise
The French government will face a no-confidence vote on Monday, as MPs said they feared for their safety, strike action intensified and police banned demonstrators from parts of central Paris after Emmanuel Macron’s decision to push through an unpopular rise in the pension age without a parliament vote. ...
After two months of protests against the pensions changes and on-off strikes headed by a rare united front of all trade unions, anger continued to mount during the weekend, with demonstrations in many towns. More rail, air and school strikes are planned over the next week.
The two no-confidence motions are seen as unlikely to pass, as they would require an unprecedented grouping together of all the warring opposition parties. There would have to be a united front across the political spectrum – from the radical left to Marine Le Pen’s far-right and Nicolas Sarkozy’s rightwing Les Républicains – in order to meet the high threshold of an absolute majority of 287 votes. ...
The only way a no-confidence vote would pass would be with the support of a large number of MPs from Les Républicains. But the party’s leader, Éric Ciotti, has ordered his MPs not to vote against the government on the grounds it could lead to “chaos”.
France Protests. Macron's exit strategy
Credit Suisse RESCUED On Brink
Elizabeth Warren says Fed chair ‘failed’ and calls for inquiry into bank collapse
Political fall-out in the US from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank continued on Sunday when leftwing Senator Elizabeth Warren hit the morning talk shows and repeatedly called for an independent investigation into US bank failures and strongly criticised Federal Reserve finance officials.
The progressive Democrat from Massachusetts, who has positioned herself as a consumer protection advocate and trenchant critic of the US banking system, told CBS’s Face the Nation that she did not have faith in San Francisco Federal Reserve president Mary Daly or Fed chairman Jerome Powell.
“We need accountability for our regulators who clearly fell down on the job,” Warren said, adding that it “starts with” Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who she said “was a dangerous man to have in this position”.
“Remember the Federal Reserve Bank and Jerome Powell are ultimately responsible for the oversight and supervision of these banks. And they have made clear that they think their job is to lighten regulations on these banks. We’ve now seen the consequences,” Warren added. Asked if she had “faith” in Daly, under whose jurisdiction SVB fell, Warren said flatly: “No, I do not.”
In the wake of the collapse of Silicon Valley and Signature banks, the one-time presidential candidate has in recent days launched a broad offensive on politicians on both the left and the right who supported Trump-era deregulation of smaller US banks.
Biden Sec CONFIRMS Small Banks SCREWED In Bailout
Wyoming becomes first US state to outlaw use of abortion pills
Wyoming has become the first US state to outlaw the use or prescription of medication abortion pills after the governor, Mark Gordon, signed into law a bill that was passed by the state’s Republican-controlled legislature earlier this month.
The crux of the two-page Wyoming bill is a provision making it illegal to “prescribe, dispense, distribute, sell or use any drug for the purpose of procuring or performing an abortion”.
So-called “morning-after” pills, prescription contraceptive medication used after sex but before a pregnancy can be confirmed, are exempted from the ban.
The measure also includes an exemption for any treatment necessary to protect a woman “from an imminent peril that substantially endangers her life or health”, as well as any treatment of a “natural miscarriage according to currently accepted medical guidelines”.
Violation of the ban is to be treated as a criminal misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $9,000. The measure stipulates that a woman “upon whom a chemical abortion is performed or attempted shall not be criminally prosecuted”.
Police stopped a Black couple in Tennessee – and took their children
Nearly a month ago, Bianca Clayborne, Deonte Williams, and their five children were on their way from Georgia to Chicago for Clayborne’s uncle’s funeral when a highway patrol officer stopped them in Manchester, Tennessee.
That moment – about 60 miles outside Nashville – has since upended their lives as Clayborne and Williams try to regain custody of their children after they say state authorities “kidnapped” them on account of a minuscule amount of marijuana in the car, the Tennessee Lookout first reported.
The separation described by Clayborne and Williams fits into a historical pattern of US child welfare services dividing poor, Black and Indigenous families in particular on the grounds of alleged neglect and abuse, fueling disparities in who gets to remain a family and who doesn’t.
“I just have to believe if my clients looked different or had a different background, they would have just been given a citation and told you just keep this stuff away from the kids while you’re in this state and they’d be on their way,” said Jamaal Boykin, one of the family’s attorneys, according to the Tennessee Lookout.
LAWYER Pressed On Legality Of Trump Charges
Trump in panic mode as he braces for likely charges in Stormy Daniels case
Donald Trump is bracing for his most legally perilous week since he left the White House, with the Manhattan district attorney likely to bring criminal charges against him over his role in paying hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels, as he huddled this weekend to strategize his legal and political responses.
The former US president has posted in all-caps on his Truth Social platform that he expected to be “ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK” and called for his supporters to engage in protests – an ominous echo of his tweets urging protests in the lead-up to the January 6 US Capitol attack.
Trump’s post was nothing more than guesswork about when Alvin Bragg might bring charges, sources close to Trump said, after he saw media reporting that the district attorney’s office had contacted the US secret service about security in the event of an indictment.
The grand jury in New York hearing evidence in the resurrected 2016 hush money case is now expected to hear from one more witness on Monday, making it unlikely that an arrest would come the following day because it could take additional hours to draft charging papers.
That witness is reportedly Robert J Costello who is appearing at the request of Trump’s legal team. Costello was once a legal adviser to Cohen but the two have since fallen out. Costello’s testimony is likely to be aimed at undermining Cohen’s.
It’s NEVER OK To Vote Third Party!
Big oil firms touted algae as climate solution. Now all have pulled funding
One by one, big oil firms have touted their investments in algae biofuels as the future of low-carbon transportation – and one by one, they have all dropped out. Now in the wake of the last remaining algae proponent, ExxonMobil, announcing its withdrawal, insiders say they are disappointed but not surprised. Algae research was central to Exxon’s green marketing campaigns for years, and frequently criticized as greenwashing rather than a genuine research effort.
But several of its former research partners told the Guardian that it was serious about the potential of algae biofuels – explaining why it stayed in the field long past the point at which other oil companies dropped out – but not serious enough. In its 12 years in the space, Exxon invested $350m in algae biofuels, according to spokesperson Casey Norton. (Norton says that’s more than double what the company spent on touting this research in ads.)
Even so, every algae researcher who spoke to the Guardian said a real effort to commercialize biofuels, algal or otherwise, requires several billion dollars, and a long-term dedication to overcoming seemingly fundamental biological limitations of wild organisms. And no oil company was willing to go that far.
“It’s very challenging and very expensive to bring these technologies to market,” said George Huber, whose biofuels research at the University of Wisconsin at Madison was funded by Exxon for years. “It’s not gonna happen overnight. It’s great they make these commitments, but you know they need to start putting more capital into these projects.” He added: “They’re driven by Wall Street and they have to keep their stock prices high and keep their shareholders happy. And usually that’s making a large amount of money. All the oil companies have been talking about the need to get into more sustainable things, but it’s hard to make money with. And most of their money comes from oil.”
‘A wake-up call’: total weight of wild mammals less than 10% of humanity’s
The total weight of Earth’s wild land mammals – from elephants to bisons and from deer to tigers – is now less than 10% of the combined tonnage of men, women and children living on the planet.
A study by scientists at Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science, published this month, concludes that wild land mammals alive today have a total mass of 22m tonnes. By comparison, humanity now weighs in at a total of around 390m tonnes.
At the same time, the species we have domesticated, such as sheep and cattle, in addition to other hangers-on such as urban rodents, add a further 630m tonnes to the total mass of creatures that are now competing with wild mammals for Earth’s resources. The biomass of pigs alone is nearly double that of all wild land mammals.
The figures demonstrate starkly that humanity’s transformation of the planet’s wildernesses and natural habitats into a vast global plantation is now well under way – with devastating consequences for its wild creatures. As the study authors emphasise, the idea that Earth is a planet that still possesses great plains and jungles that are teeming with wild animals is now seriously out of kilter with reality. The natural world and its wild animals are vanishing as humanity’s population of almost eight billion individuals continues to grow.
Also of Interest
Here are some articles of interest, some which defied fair-use abstraction.
IRAQ 20 YEARS: Scott Ritter — Disarmament, the Fundamental Lie
US Officials Think Ukraine’s Ammunition Use Is Unsustainable
Slovakia Joins Poland in Sending Soviet-Made MiG-29 Fighter Jets to Ukraine
Turkey Announces Plans To Approve Finland’s NATO Bid
Backlash Of Sanction On Russia Must Not Lead To Sanctions On Everyone
The Tragic Reality of Rachel Corrie’s Death
US utility firms spent big preparing power grid for storms – and still failed
Shroom boom: the hunt is on as California rains fuel a mushroom explosion
POISONED East Palestine Resident Had to BEG Norfolk Southern for Money: “People Are Going to Die”
Hunter Biden SUES Laptop Repair Shop Owner, Media Forced to CONCEDE Laptop Is REAL?
Joe Rogan BLASTS The Left As The NEW AUTHORITARIAN PARTY
A Little Night Music
Albert Ammons - Swanee River Boogie
Albert Ammons - Boogie Woogie Blues
Albert Ammons - Shout For Joy
Albert Ammons - The Boogie Rocks
Albert Ammons & Pete Johnson - Boogie Woogie Dream
Pete Johnson & Albert Ammons - Barrel House Boogie
Albert Ammons - Untitled Ammons Original
Albert Ammons - Suitcase Blues
Albert Ammons - Boogie Woogie Stomp
Comments
Hey Joe and C99
Great round up and music as always!
I found this 20 min discussion worthwhile. YMMV.
Brian Berletic came on to discuss China's rising diplomatic strength worldwide as Xi and Putin meet in Moscow for a highly anticipated gathering of the two rising powers to the East.
It is amazing to me how the balance has shifted and the US like a chicken with its head cut off doesn't realize it's dead. Garland compares the US to someone drowning reaching for anything and everyone.
I appreciate your excellent work. Thanks for bringing the eb!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
evening lookout...
great to see you. hope everything is going well on the homestead and the cold snap hasn't messed with your crops.
heh, it's pretty funny that the u.s. seems to think that it can still determine global outcomes all by its little bullying self. it appears that those days are drawing to a close - and if china manages to make peace in ukraine, it looks like the u.s. will find itself quite isolated.
Hi bluesters
Hi all, Hey Joe, Hope it's all good!
Still winter here today but we got some rain a couple days ago, if you heard that sucking sound, it was the ground here.
So,
At least we now know what species weighs the heaviest on the planet. The only question is where the line is drawn to define the anthropocene? Which unfortunately will one day be known as being as destructive to the planet and humanity, as the great meteor or ice ages were for dinosaurs.
Can someone ask Clapper, Comey and 18 Intelligence agencies about Hunter's lawsuit? And oh yeah, on camera. Really like to see that.
Thanks for the great soundscapes!
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein
evening dystopian...
perhaps we need to redefine the anthropocene as the era when the smartest animal on the planet, capable of collective, cooperative action decided to destroy its own habitat. go figure.
heh, if the computer shop owner can find an angle to drag the intel agencies and/or the 50 people who signed on to that russian influence operation thing into court, it would be a serious public service if they could be compelled to testify.
Pfft….
.
Except that Obama and Hillary both just paid fines for when they did what Trump is accused of doing. But besides that…
Some replies to her tweet
- Nancy Pelosi is worth 200 million dollars because of illegal insider trading- her husband is on video so drunk in a DUI stop that he couldn’t even let go of the cop car to do a field sobriety test without falling down - he got a slap on the wrist.
Take your pick on a number of things Hunter could be charged with.
- Hunter Biden still not been arrested.
Lots of smoke…
- What about the current president and his son???
Mine
- Hillary used a private email server and when congress subpoenaed the ones that she was supposed to have turned in when her tenure was over she not only destroyed 30,000 of them, but she also destroyed the phones and computers that they were stored on. But since she didn’t mean to do anything wrong she wasn’t charged under the espionage act like any other American would have been. Like the sailor who had a picture of the inside his submarine.
Yay another 2 inches of snow with more on the way.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
evening snoopy...
yep, that nancy pelosi speaks like a true war criminal that has impunity.
i hope that you guys are still enjoying the snow that keeps coming.
Many people certainly are enjoying it
Utah ski resort reaches 700 inches of snow in 'historic' season. Hopefully it will melt slowly and won’t cause the problems we had 40 years ago. Lots of cities have run over budget for snow removal. Hopefully they saved up from years past.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
In case anyone here forgets how we've come to where we
are here are 2 nice articles articulating just how
https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/the-lords-of-chaos?publication_id=778...
The Lords of Chaos
The politicians and shills in the media who orchestrated 20 years of military debacles in the Middle East, and who seek a world dominated by U.S. power, must be held accountable for their crimes.
https://thecradle.co/article-view/22737/multipolarity-was-triggered-by-t...
Multipolarity was triggered by the 2003 US invasion of Iraq
Twenty years after the unlawful and destabilizing US-led invasion of Iraq, Washington must face the ultimate consequence of that war: UNSC powers China and Russia laying the foundation for a genuine, UN Charter-based system of multipolarism.
Thanks for the EB's Joe!
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
evening ggersh...
thanks for the links! i'll be running the hedges article in tomorrow's eb, it's really great.
have a great evening!
The class war will continue until morale improves
.
My uncle is in France and besides having to make sure that his scooter gets on board and the trains are running on time he hasn’t had too much trouble getting from there to there and he’s not saying much about the strikes. His pictures have shown lots of military at train stations, but other than that life seems fine there.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
heh...
i hope that the people of france will set an example for the world, demonstrating to the elites that you indeed cannot piss all over the social contract without a very unpleasant backlash.
Jon Stewart in 2004 knew it was not a mistake
Wolf Blitzer was on and he said when people make 'mistakes' there are consequences. There have been none.
https://www.cc.com/video/wd4vbo/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-wolf-bli...
evening mickt...
i watched the clip and i was impressed by how well wolf blitzer smiled and said some words but they really didn't amount to much of a statement. stewart certainly seemed to be aware that iraq was not a mistake but danced around it and didn't seem to want to make that explicit.
They got what they paid for.
RIA News
evening humphrey...
they certainly have gotten what they've paid for. they have an outward-looking western institution that focuses on western priorities and ignores western criminal behavior. i guess you could say that at least they've accomplished transparency, as in transparently corrupt.
Good evening Joe, thanks for the Evening Blues.
How is it that ostensibly informed and educated people cannot cease confusing the Democratic Party with "the left" and the Republicans with "the right". Behaviorally they are both right wing corporate actors comprised primarily of right wing individual actors. How also is everybody so focused on what all those assholes say and not on what they do? Somehow we really need to put an end to this and get public discourse to focus on what these people have done, are doing and more likely that not will do, and what that will result in. It is just so damn tiring. It's hard to see how we can ever make any progress when we keep identifying real actors and their real behaviors in terms of innapropriate and irrelevant archetypes that have not applied to any real actors or their actions in at least 60 years.
Sorry about the rant.
be well and have a good one
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 --
Don't apologize, EL.
Keep speakin' TRUTH.
The fascist bastards need to understand some of us see what they are doing to us, and as long as we are here, truth telling, they should damn well know we are on to their scam.
Oh, and be well and have a good one, and I hope your blood pressure returns to normal asap!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
evening el...
heh, i'm pretty sure that in identifying the feckless corporate democrats with "the left" our propaganda ministers are continuing their project of destroying the left and any credibility that it might attain with the public.
they have continuously destroyed the terminologies that are associated with left-leaning people - "liberal," "progressive" and "democratic socialist" have been attacked and the meaning has been sucked out of them by representatives of both corporate parties and the corporate media.
whatever new label comes up for left leaning people, it will similarly be destroyed.
have a great evening!
I wouldn't call it a rant but rather simply stating the truth.
It is depressing that those who get their information from the MSM cant see the forest for
the trees.
Not exactly a new tweet but it still could come in handy. LOL
heh!
good one!
Dammit!
Thanks for that!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Not sure how voting Finland into NATO
furthers the meeting of the minds and hearts and financial interests of Russia and Turkey. Hmmm...
Oh, well, Erdogan must be counting on Hungary to spoil the fun.
Such interesting news, interesting time, joe.
Thanks for the ebs and for all you do.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
evening otc...
i think that erdogan is still walking the tightrope between the u.s./nato and russia. perhaps he's thinking that he can let finland through and remain implacable about the pound of flesh he requires from sweden (which it is unlikely to give up) and that will split the difference between the camps allowing him to do business with both. i am guessing that letting finland squeak by will not harm his accession into brics. russia does not seem particularly perturbed by finland joining nato, saying that a they will make no changes along the borderline unless the west plants weaponry there.
oh, indeed, these are interesting times in the sense of the jewish curse.
have a great evening!
Great evening yet again, joe!
Around here, it is pretty much a given.
Hope you have tickets to a movie or concert in your future.
Take good care, friend!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
heh...
sometime this week or next, i am going to take a day for a ramble around a really nice botanical conservatory and gardens and check out the spring growth shooting up. one warmish sunny day ...
lol..Bolton
.
A few articles I read on the arrest warrant pointed out that was one of the reasons why it was done. With China having made a plan for peace and Xi going to talk to Z it was a way to make sure that peace wouldn’t happen. And Kirby said that America would not accept a peace treaty anyway. Funny how Americans say that it’s up to Ukraine to decide on peace until there’s an offer on the table. Bunch of effing hypocrites.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
Guardian article on North Korea
I only need to cite one sentence in the Guardian article to evaluate it:
North Korean missile tests are a "flurry of aggression." What are US-ROK air operations involving hundreds of aircraft and either B-52s or B-1s? What are the "freedom shield" joint ground army maneuvers? Defense against a North Korean invasion or practice for an invasion of North Korea? When the US and South Korea fire ballistic missiles in South Korea, it's a test, an exercise, or a response to North Korean missile testing. When the North responds to US-ROK military maneuvers or the presence of strategic assets on the peninsula, it's "aggression."
As far as the alleged "mending of fences" between South Korean and Japan, this is just public relations nonsense. Yoon completely capitulated to US and Japanese demands, mostly because he wanted to. He has no meaningful diplomatic experience, no domestic policy beyond repression of the opposition in the National Assembly and throughout civil society, no economic policy, so exacerbating relations with North Korea, is his only card. After all, if he has the "support of the US" and ostensibly Japan, what need has he of the Korean public? They can all continue to suffer from the economic meltdown and increased threat of nuclear war. It's interesting that someone who talks about freedom and shared values, unilaterally overruled a final judgement of South Korea's judiciary, and failed to consult with the National Assembly, or the many civic organizations representing the interest of historical truth and the victims themselves of Japan's WWII crimes against humanity.
The summit with Japan by all accounts was a complete one sided farce. It was a diplomatic disaster. There wasn't even a token apology from Prime Minister Kishida who seems to have embraced Abe's historical revisionism in whole cloth.
Yoon returns home from Japan to backlash over summit
Mar 20 Hankyoreh
https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_international/1084359....
Yoon and "his party" have nose dived in the polls. 59-60 percent disapprove of Yoon's actions in Japan. One of Yoon's critical demographics is that of the youngest voters. His 69 hour work week proposal bombed with that audience before he left for the summit. In addition to that major blunder, his attempt to sell his sell out in Japan to the younger audience with a proposed joint foundation to finance education for young scholars for the future of Japan-Korean relations is regarded as a cynical ploy. Scores of student groups came out against it. Fool me once...
This is from a Korean Gallop poll. It reflects opinion surveyed among 18-29 year olds. The blue line on the graph shows Yoon's support and the brown line shows support for the so called People's Power Party. Due to his innately authoritarian and pro-Japanese tendencies, Yoon is getting further and further out of touch with political reality in South Korea, and the world.
In a speech Yoon gave to an audience at a Japanese University last weekend, he actually quoted a Meiji era, pan-Asian cultural philosopher, Okakura Kakuzō, whose views provided a rationalization Japan's conquest of its neighbors, so they could compete with western imperialist powers from the west, like Britain, the US, and Russia. Yoon and his advisers are absolutely tone deaf to their own national history, so are those advising on the so called Trilateral Alliance in the US. They are simply ignoring history, and reality on the ground in Northeast Asia.
Speaking of tone deaf, I heard that former Ambassador Harris did an interview with a South Korean media source, and was gushing about the summit and the prospects for trilateral cooperation among Japan, South Korea and the US. He said his experience in South Korea was "the highlight of his life." Harris played the role of ugly American in South Korea as ambassador and was generally not well regarded there. He appeared to have no hesitation in interfering with South Korean domestic politics. At one point college students who objected to his actions and statements while he was ambassador broke into his official residence grounds. Admiral Harry Harris was the former PACCOM commander before he became ambassador.
Yoon appears in the regalia of a Meiji era Japanese Imperial collaborator (right). The graphic on the left has a small image of Okakura Kakuzō and states that Okakura believed that Korea was originally Japanese territory, that he held Koreans in contempt, and provided justification for invading Korea. Yoon's quoted Okakura as saying "Courage is life's key," at Keio University in Tokyo. No doubt advocates of the Greater East Asian Co-prosperity Sphere felt the same way.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched past the Japanese embassy in Seoul to voice their opposition to the summit agreement on Saturday. Even the Catholic Church in South Korea staged demonstrations against the summit agreement. Large demonstrations are expected again this coming weekend.
70 years of armistice and joint S. Korea-US drills
Posted on : Mar.20,2023
By Kim Yeon-chul, former minister of unification
https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_editorial/1084356.html
Thanks Joe for the OT!
語必忠信 行必正直
evening soryang...
heh, when i read that guardian piece i "heard" you in my head, your objections to it are completely in line with what i was thinking. thanks for your continued reportage on korea and it's neighborhood.
sounds like yoon is not only pissing off his political rivals, but making a serious dent in pissing off the populace. with any luck this will be his undoing.
have a great evening!
Joe
Thanks so much for you and the community here. I would literally have no other place where I would be welcomed.
As far as my commentary being foreseeable, I will attribute that to two things: the trends in South Korea and North Korea to a much more limited degree are are predictable in at least the short term; based on (2) the historical context which is known by people who examine it, and don't work for the usual suspects, who's role is to camouflage and hide that history.
From time to time, I avoid reading TK Park's The Blue Roof, (.com and twitter feed) to make sure I am forming my own independent perspective and analysis of Korea affairs and US, Japanese policies in northeast Asia. I did that again for several weeks until today, when I got his weekly TBR Weekly Update in my inbox this morning. Except for TK's output being better written, edited and packaged than my own, (I am an amateur) his analysis and reporting this week was almost on all fours with my own. TK imo is actually quite a conservative guy. For example, it took him longer to recognize how problematic Yoon is for South Korea's future.
TK offered a particular insight into Kim Tae-hyo this week in his Dig Deeper analysis- I had not realized his pivotal role. His advanced degree credentials come from the US:
Kim Tae-hyo: the No-Holds-Barred Ideologue Behind Yoon Administration’s Foreign Policy
I won't steal TK's thunder, he deserves a great deal of credit for his English language reporting and analysis. He's among the best. Anyone can access his web site for free if they register.
https://www.blueroofpolitics.com/
Your reference to Salvador Dali reminded me of younger days, when I studied art and had the good fortune to visit museums in western Europe (on 5 dollars a day). I remember in particular the Dali pieces at the Prado in Madrid, among them the cubist crucifixion and some of his other great works. Later in life, I had the good fortune to live and work near St. Petersburg FL, where there is a museum dedicated to Dali. I also remembered a copy of Dali's crucifixion in perspective which hung on a wall in our family home when I was a child. I went through a list of Dali's works this morning, over a thousand, and was amazed at how prolific he was. I don't even think the list was complete. Like Picasso, the historical scope of his work and his genius is amazing. Another thing that amazed was the awesome honesty of his work.
語必忠信 行必正直
Input from those with various interests or expertise make
for a better experience for the members.
Thanks Humphrey
Just saw this while browsing-
Taiwan’s President to transit US on Central America trip, but no word on meeting with Speaker McCarthy
https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/21/asia/taiwan-tsai-ing-wen-us-central-ameri...
語必忠信 行必正直
afternoon soryang...
heh, i'll add a third... the guardian is a well known western propaganda rag.
i have objections to a lot of things that the guardian prints, sometimes i flag them, sometimes i don't because i expect others to give a better response than i can.
thanks again for your continued reportage.
Hi joe and bluesters
How could you not love the Salvador Dali quote
I think he revelled in imperfection ; ).
What a revealing measurement illustrated by the contrasting of human and animal weight that lives on earth today. What an impossibly irreparable imbalance we’ve created. Shame on us.
At least there's always great piano music to listen to.
evening janis...
yep, animal life certainly seems to be headed for the sixth extinction with humans following behind.
hmmm... now i wonder whether the collective weight of pianos is greater than the collective weight of guitars.
Too funny, joe
If I had extra energy at the moment I'd look for and post a great example of each to be weighed.