The Evening Blues - 3-18-24
Hey! Good Evening!
This evening's music features blues singer and vaudeville performer Bertha "Chippie" Hill. Enjoy!
Bertha "Chippie" Hill - Pratt City Blues
"The true hypocrite is the one who ceases to perceive his deception, the one who lies with sincerity."
-- Andre Gide
News and Opinion
Genocidal Psychopaths Celebrate International Day To Combat Islamophobia
Well it’s International Day to Combat Islamophobia, which of course means Democrats are busy making the most hypocritical and morally dissonant public statements you can possibly imagine.
“We recognize the violence and hate that Muslims worldwide too often face because of their religious beliefs — and the ugly resurgence of Islamophobia in the wake of the devastating war in Gaza,” reads a statement from President Biden, referring to a US-backed genocide against a Muslim population that he is personally responsible for.
“Today, as millions continue to observe the holy month of Ramadan, Jill and I extend our best wishes to Muslims everywhere and continue to keep them in our prayers. And, we reaffirm our commitment to do all we can to put an end to the vicious hate of Islamophobia — here at home and around the world,” concludes the statement from the president now known internationally as Genocide Joe.
On the International Day to Combat Islamophobia, we recognize the hate that Muslims face because of their beliefs and the ugly resurgence of Islamophobia following the war in Gaza.
Let us rededicate ourselves to a world where people of all faiths are free to live without fear.
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 15, 2024
“On this International Day to Combat Islamophobia, we reaffirm our commitment to upholding the freedom of religion or belief of all and to speak out against acts of anti-Muslim hatred whenever and wherever they occur,” adds Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
“Islamophobia has no place in our nation and around the world. POTUS and I join the world in condemning Islamophobia and affirming the equal rights and dignity of all people,” tweets Vice President Kamala Harris.
This is so creepy. It’s one of those things where the more you look at it, the creepier it becomes. They’re condemning Islamophobia and denouncing hate crimes against Muslims at the exact same time as they are helping Israel create a mountain of Palestinian corpses in a genocidal onslaught whose entire premise is that Palestinians are the wrong race and the wrong religion. They are proclaiming their love for the Muslim while plunging a knife into his throat.
But that’s exactly who Democrats are. Their actions don’t matter, only their feelings matter. It didn’t matter that Obama expanded all of Bush’s most depraved wars and butchered Muslim populations using bombs and proxy militias throughout his entire administration, all that mattered was that he spoke eloquently and expressed compassion when the cameras were on. It doesn’t matter that Biden is directly backing a genocidal campaign which has probably killed far more people than the official death counts acknowledge, it matters that he condemns Islamophobia and that White House sources keep feeding the press stories about how privately “frustrated” he is with Benjamin Netanyahu. The whole thing’s just a vehicle through which the more progressively-minded half of the American public can support the murderous agendas of the US empire while still feeling nice about themselves.
Republicans are the openly fascistic thugs of the US empire, while Democrats are the the psychopathic PR managers running around photoshopping smiley faces on the fascism. Republicans are the dopey goon squad, while Democrats are the criminal mastermind. Republicans are the blunt instrument, while Democrats are the poison syringe. Republicans kill Muslims while saying they hate Muslims, while Democrats kill Muslims while saying they love them.
Democrats are the grinning plastic mask that sits on top of the snarling, blood-spattered face of the US empire. They purport to stand in solidarity with workers, with marginalized groups, with women and with the poor, and they claim to oppose racism, injustice and tyranny, but when it comes right down to it their real purpose is to put a nice face on the most murderous and tyrannical regime on this planet.
Alastair Crooke: The Resistance to Israel is Ready
Israeli Assurances on US Weapons and International Law Called 'Sick Joke'
In news that one policy expert said could have been ripped from the satirical newspaper The Onion, Israeli officials gave a written assurance to the Biden administration on Friday that it would use U.S. weapons in accordance with international law.
The assurance comes more than five months into Israel's bombardment of Gaza, in which the country's U.S.-backed military has killed at least 31,490 Palestinians, including more than 12,300 children, while claiming to be targeting Hamas members.
Assal Rad, research director at the National Iranian American Council, noted that Israel has also killed at least 95 journalists in Gaza, attacked healthcare facilities, and starved civilians by blocking humanitarian aid deliveries while explicitly calling on the Israel Defense Forces to commit genocidal acts.
After months of seeing Israel slaughter children, destroy and starve Gaza, kill civilians, aid workers & journalists at historic pace, attack hospitals and healthcare workers, blow up universities and homes, and use genocidal language, this headline looks like it’s from the Onion pic.twitter.com/5TiHwr6stl
— Assal Rad (@AssalRad) March 15, 2024
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant signed the letter to the Biden administration weeks after the White House released a national security memorandum (NSM-20) saying Secretary of State Antony Blinken must "obtain credible and reliable written assurances" from any country receiving U.S. weapons, stating that the country "will use any such defense articles in accordance with international humanitarian law."
In December, an Amnesty International investigation found that U.S.-made munitions had been used by the IDF in two illegal airstrikes on residential buildings, which killed more than 43 people, including 19 children.
NSM-20 also says a country receiving U.S. arms must "facilitate and not arbitrarily deny, restrict, or otherwise impede, directly or indirectly, the transport or delivery of United States humanitarian assistance and United States government-supported international efforts to provide humanitarian assistance."
"This is nonsense," Rohan Talbot, director of advocacy and campaigns for Medical Aid for Palestinians, said of Gallant's letter on Friday.
While relentlessly assaulting civilian targets in Gaza, Israel has allowed only a fraction of the humanitarian aid that's needed into the enclave. In recent weeks, the IDF has killed an estimated 400 Palestinians who were trying to access aid, according to officials in Gaza.
According to Axios, which first reported on Israel's communication, Blinken has until March 25 to certify that Gallant's assurances are credible.
Gallant is among the top Israeli officials who have used genocidal rhetoric regarding Palestinians since the country began its bombardment in retaliation for the October 7 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel. He said publicly in October that the IDF was fighting "human animals" in Gaza—home to about 2.3 million people, nearly half of whom are children.
The letter from the defense minister amounted to "a sick joke," said author and political analyst Josh Ruebner.
"Israel's assurances to President Joe Biden that it won't use U.S. weapons to violate international law and won't block U.S. aid from reaching starving Palestinians are clear and blatant lies," said the Institute for Middle East Understanding. "We know Israel won't comply so long as there are no consequences. The U.S. must cut off weapons now!"
Netanyahu vows to press ahead with assault on Rafah
Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to press ahead with sending Israeli troops into Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, rejecting deep international concerns over the risks to more than a million Palestinians who have sought shelter there. The prime minister said no amount of international pressure would stop Israel from realising all of its war aims. “On the diplomatic front, until now we have succeeded in allowing our forces to fight in an unprecedented manner for five full months. However, it is no secret that the international pressure is increasing,” Netanyahu said at the start of a cabinet meeting.
“Those who say that the action in Rafah will not occur are those who also said that we would not enter Gaza, or act in Shifa or in Khan Younis, and that we would not resume the fighting after the pause [in hostilities in November].”
Israeli military officials say Rafah is Hamas’s last stronghold in Gaza, claiming thousands of militants as well as senior leaders are based there. They say leaving Rafah untouched would allow Hamas to retain control of parts of Gaza, exploit tunnels to Egypt and quickly rebuild its forces in the future. ...
Israel has said it will create “humanitarian islands” to shelter the huge numbers now living in tented encampments or crowded shelters in Rafah. Speaking late on Sunday after a meeting with the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, Netanyahu said civilians would not be left trapped in the city during an assault. At a joint news conference in Jerusalem, Scholz stressed that comprehensive humanitarian aid for Gaza was essential and urgent. “We cannot stand by and watch Palestinians risk starvation,” he said. ...
On Sunday an Israeli delegation travelled to Qatar to resume indirect talks for a ceasefire in Gaza and hostage release deal. Negotiations have been continuing intermittently for months but hopes of a breakthrough before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which started on Monday, proved unfounded. Hamas has made at least one key concession, agreeing that a 40-day ceasefire and a hostage exchange could go ahead without an Israeli commitment to permanently ending the war.
Report from Rafah: Palestinian Poet Mohammed Abu Lebda on Daily Hardships Amid Israel's War
Severely injured patients trapped in Gaza’s hospitals as evacuations are halted
There have been no medical evacuations from northern Gaza for more than a month so severely injured people are trapped in damaged hospitals where they cannot get adequate treatment, a leading medical charity has warned. Ambulances need urgent access to take the most vulnerable patients for specialist care, said Patrick Münz, head of mission in Gaza for German medical charity Cadus.
There are no intensive care units operating in northern Gaza, so Palestinians most seriously injured in Israeli airstrikes and fighting on the ground have died. But dozens of patients in the two functioning hospitals in Gaza City have been stabilised after amputations or with severe burns, and could survive if they got treatment in Rafah or beyond Gaza.
Cadus is working with the World Health Organization trying to get ambulances into the north for evacuations, travelling with UN aid convoys bringing food or medical supplies. “The people we will transport at least at the beginning are critical care patients, but who are stable,” said Münz, adding that there had been no transports for over a month. “They should have been evacuated yesterday already.”
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) halted evacuations after staff on medical convoys came under repeated attack, were harassed and detained by Israeli forces.
Chuck Schumer SLAMS Netanyahu As Obstacle to Peace; Gaza Famine WIDENS
Van Hollen Says Netanyahu Spreading 'Flat Out Lies' About UNRWA
U.S. Senator for Maryland Chris Van Hollen continued his defense of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East and its work in Gaza in an appearance on CBS News' "Face the Nation" on Sunday.
"The claim that Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu and others are making that somehow UNRWA is a proxy for Hamas are just flat out lies, that's a flat out lie," he told journalist Margaret Brennan.
The U.S. was one of many Western countries that paused funding for UNRWA after the agency announced in January that it had fired 12 staffers over Israeli allegations that they had been involved in Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel. However, some countries including Canada, Sweden, the European Union, and Australia have since restored funding. A report has also emerged that Israel tortured UNRWA staffers into falsely confessing to involvement in the Hamas attack.
Van Hollen's remarks on Sunday come days after he argued for the restoration of UNRWA funds on the floor of the U.S. Senate and criticized Republican legislators who wanted to permanently end funds for the organization that supports some 6 million Palestinian refugees in countries across the Middle East, including around 2 million in Gaza.
During his speech, he pointed out that the Netanyahu government had not shared the underlying evidence that UNRWA staffers participated in October 7 with either UNRWA itself or the U.S. government. He also urged his colleagues to read a classified Director of National Intelligence report on Netanyahu's claims of UNRWA complicity with Hamas.
On "Face the Nation," Van Hollen said that the person in charge of operations on the ground in UNRWA was a 20-year U.S. Army veteran.
"You can be sure he is not in cahoots with Hamas," the senator told Brennan.
He also repeated claims that Netanyahu has wanted to eliminate UNRWA entirely since at least 2017.
"Netanyahu has wanted to get rid of UNRWA because he had seen them as a means to continue the hopes of the Palestinian people for a homeland of their own," Van Hollen said, adding that the right-wing Israeli leader's "primary objective" was preventing the formation of a Palestinian state.
However, the dismantling of UNRWA would be especially catastrophic amid Israel's ongoing bombardment and invasion of Gaza, which has killed more than 31,000 people and put the survivors at risk of famine. No other organization has the infrastructure in place to distribute the necessary aid.
"If you cut off funding for UNRWA in Gaza entirely, it means more people will starve, more people won't get the medial assistance they need, and so it would be a huge mistake," Van Hollen said.
He also said that only 14 of the agency's 13,000-strong staff in Gaza had been accused of participating in the October 7 attack.
"We should investigate it, we should hold all those people accountable, but for goodness' sake, let's not hold 2 million innocent Palestinian civilians who are dying of starvation... accountable for the bad acts of 14 people."
Van Hollen also repeated his call for President Joe Biden to condition the sale of offensive military weapons to Israel on the country obeying international law and allowing aid into Gaza. While Israel sent the U.S. a letter saying it was in compliance with the law, "the day it was signed, clearly the Netanyahu government is not in compliance, because we see that they're continuing to restrict humanitarian assistance," he told Brennan.
Also on "Face the Nation" Sunday, United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Chief Executive Catherine Russell described the impact that a lack of aid was having on the children of Gaza.
"We know now that children are dying of malnutrition in Gaza," she told Brennan.
Russell said that not enough aid was reaching those who needed it, calling both air drops and sea deliveries "a drop in the bucket."
She also called for greater transparency into what was actually happening in Gaza and the difficulties of delivering aid.
"The world should be able to see what's happening and make their own judgments about what's going on," Russell said.
Anya Parampil : Is Zionism Falling?
EU seals €7.4bn deal with Egypt in effort to avert another migration crisis
EU leaders have sealed a €7.4bn (£6.3bn) deal with Egypt to help boost the country’s faltering economy, in an attempt to bring stability to the “troubled” region and avert another migration crisis in Europe. The three-year EU-Egypt strategic partnership involves €5bn in soft loans to support economic changes, €1.8bn to support investments from the private sector and €600m in grants including €200m for migration management.
It comes just days after members of the European parliament accused Brussels of “bankrolling dictators” as a result of a similar deal with Tunisia last year.
The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, who led the delegation, said the deal underlined the “strategic location” of Egypt in a “very troubled neighbourhood” and the “vital role” it played in the “stability of the region”.
She used the occasion to renew a plea for a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages and urgent aid for Palestinians. “We are all extremely concerned about the war in Gaza and the unfolding catastrophic humanitarian situation. Gaza is facing famine and we cannot accept this. It is critical to achieve an agreement on a ceasefire rapidly now that frees the hostages and allows more humanitarian aid to reach Gaza,” she said.
Biden SHOUTING AND SWEARING At Aides Over Michigan, Georgia Polls
How the uncommitted movement rocked Biden over Gaza
People in Michigan, and across the country, had been protesting for months over the Gaza war and the US government’s role in it, marching in the streets, showing up at the president’s public events, and pressuring their elected officials to support a ceasefire. But it didn’t seem as though Joe Biden was listening to a groundswell of Democrats who opposed the war and US media coverage of the protests, and of the war itself, seems to be waning, too. ...
What then transpired in a series of primary votes shows the strength of a quick-moving group of voters whose decisions in November could decide the election and the fate of US intervention in Gaza. Their ability to swiftly and cheaply reach voters serves as a lesson in grassroots organizing – and underlines the discontent among Democrats over the war. ...
Already, it seems like the movement has jolted Biden – and other Democrats – on the issue. The White House’s language has changed, from seeking a “humanitarian pause” to a temporary ceasefire. Biden called for a port to be built to drop aid into Gaza. More Democrats have publicly started speaking out against the Biden administration on the issue. Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, one of Biden’s allies, called for ousting Netanyahu’s government.
Activists say the change in language and attention does not include enough of an underlying change in policy. Their message has been clear and consistent throughout the campaigns: they want to see a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and an end to US funding and support of the war. ...
Campaigners are hopeful to increase the number of uncommitted delegates to make their DNC power grow, and they have plans to keep up the pressure through the summer as the primaries end.
Ukraine hits oil and electricity facilities with drone attacks across Russia
Ukraine launched 35 drones at targets across Russia including in the capital region, sparking a fire at an oil refinery and disrupting electricity supplies in several border areas but causing no direct casualties, the defence ministry in Moscow has said. As Russians cast their ballots in the final day of voting for the country’s presidential election, the ministry accused Kyiv of seeking to sabotage the vote after one of the biggest air operations on Russian territory since the invasion two years ago.
Moscow’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said one drone was shot down near the capital’s Domodedovo airport early on Sunday after two were downed over Kaluga, just south of the Russian capital, and four in the Yaroslavl region, northeast of Moscow. The attacks on Yaroslavl, about 500 miles (800km) from the Ukrainian border, were some of the farthest launched by Ukraine so far. More drones were downed over the Belgorod, Kursk and Rostov regions bordering Ukraine, the defence ministry said.
Russian authorities also said shelling of the Belgorod region on Sunday morning killed a 16-year-old girl and injured her father, while an attack later in the day killed one man and injured 11. Russian forces shot down 12 rockets launched from Ukraine towards the region, the defence ministry said, as well as a Ukrainian Mi-8 military helicopter that was heading towards Belgorod and was reportedly downed in Ukraine’s Sumy region.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, thanked his military forces and intelligence for new “long-range capabilities” in his nightly video address, but made no reference to the intensified attacks reported by Moscow.
Niger junta repudiates deal allowing US military bases on its soil
Niger’s ruling military junta says it has revoked with immediate effect a military accord that allows US military personnel and civilian staff on its soil. As of 2023 there were about 1,100 US troops in Niger, where the US military operates out of two bases including a drone base known as airbase 201, built near Agadez in central Niger at a cost of more than US $100m. Since 2018 the base has been used to target Islamic State militants and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), an al-Qaida affiliate, in the Sahel region.
The junta’s announcement follows a visit by US officials this week which was led by assistant secretary of state for African affairs Molly Phee and included Gen Michael Langley, commander of the US Africa command. Col Amadou Abdramane said on Niger television on Saturday that the US delegation did not follow diplomatic protocol, and that Niger was not informed about the composition of the delegation, the date of its arrival or the agenda. He added that the discussions were around the current military transition in Niger, military cooperation between the two countries and Niger’s choice of partners in the fight against militants linked to al-Qaida and Islamic State.
Since seizing power in July 2023, the Niger junta, like the military rulers in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso, have kicked out French and other European forces, and turned to Russia for support. “Niger regrets the intention of the American delegation to deny the sovereign Nigerien people the right to choose their partners and types of partnerships capable of truly helping them fight against terrorism,” Abdramane said.
“Also, the government of Niger forcefully denounces the condescending attitude accompanied by the threat of retaliation from the head of the American delegation towards the Nigerien government and people.”
Proof January 6 Committee HID EVIDENCE Exonerating Trump!
Click the link and read the whole thing, there's a lot more good stuff here than can be fairly extracted..
Chris Hedges: Joe Biden’s Parting Gift to America Will be Christian Fascism
Joe Biden and the Democratic Party made a Trump presidency possible once and look set to make it possible again. If Trump returns to power, it will not be due to Russian interference, voter suppression or because the working class is filled with irredeemable bigots and racists. It will be because the Democrats are as indifferent to the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza as they are to immigrants, the poor in our impoverished inner cities, those driven into bankruptcy by medical bills, credit card debt and usurious mortgages, those discarded, especially in rural America, by waves of mass layoffs and workers, trapped in the serfdom of the gig economy, with its job instability and suppressed wages.
Biden and the Democrats, along with the Republican Party, gutted antitrust enforcement and deregulated banks and corporations, allowing them to cannibalize the nation. They backed legislation in 1982 to green light the manipulation of stocks through massive buybacks and the “harvesting” of companies by private equity firms that resulted in mass layoffs. They pushed through onerous trade deals, including the North American Free Trade Agreement, the greatest betrayal of the working class since the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act, which crippled union organizing. They were full partners in the construction of the vast archipelagos of the U.S. prison system — the largest in the world — and the militarization of police to turn them into internal armies of occupation. They fund the endless wars.
The Democrats dutifully serve their corporate masters, without whom most of them, including Biden, would not have a political career. This is why Biden and the Democrats will not turn on those who are destroying our economy and extinguishing our democracy. The slops in the trough would dry up. Advocating reforms jeopardize their fiefdoms of privilege and power. They fancy themselves as “captains of the ship,” labor journalist Hamilton Nolan writes, but they are “actually the wood-eating shipworms who are consuming the thing from inside until it sinks.”
Authoritarianism is nurtured in the fertile soil of a bankrupt liberalism. This was true in Weimar Germany. It was true in the former Yugoslavia. And it is true now. The Democrats had four years to institute New Deal reforms. They failed. Now we will pay.
A second Trump term will not be like the first. It will be about vengeance. Vengeance against the institutions that targeted Trump – the press, the courts, the intelligence agencies, disloyal Republicans, artists, intellectuals, the federal bureaucracy and the Democratic Party. ...
Fear — fear of the return of Trump and Christian fascism — is the only card the Democrats have left to play. This will work in urban, liberal enclaves where college educated technocrats, part of the globalized knowledge economy, are busy scolding and demonizing the working class for their ingratitude. ...
Fear has no hold in deindustrialized urban landscapes and the neglected wastelands of rural America, where families struggle without sustainable work, an opioid crisis, food deserts, personal bankruptcies, evictions, crippling debt and profound despair.
They want what Trump wants. Vengeance. Who can blame them?
Fani Willis Lover RESIGNS As Trump Legal Wins Continue
Fani Willis accepts resignation of deputy Nathan Wade in Trump Georgia case
The Fulton county district attorney on Friday formally accepted the resignation of her top deputy with whom she had a romantic relationship, ensuring she would continue to prosecute the criminal case against Donald Trump over efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.
The move by Fani Willis came shortly after the judge overseeing the case ruled that the relationship had created enough of a distraction that either Willis or the deputy, Nathan Wade, needed to step down.
The choice to step down was straightforward and expected, and Wade submitted his resignation to allow Willis to stay on as lead prosecutor against Trump and dozens of allies indicted on charges of violating Georgia’s state racketeering statute. ...
The ruling by the Fulton county superior court judge Scott McAfee stopped short of disqualifying Willis, which Trump and his co-defendants had sought over allegations that the relationship was a conflict of interest.
The decision avoided catastrophe for Willis. An order removing her and her office from the case would have almost certainly delayed the prosecution significantly during reassignment to another prosecutor in Georgia, who might have opted to toss the charges altogether.
FACTS VS FICTION: Media Pushes Trump 'Bloodbath' HOAX
LAUGHABLE: Israelis Say They NEVER Meddle In US Politics
Climate activists across Europe block access to North Sea oil infrastructure
Climate activists in four countries are blocking access to North Sea oil infrastructure as part of a coordinated pan-European civil disobedience protest. Blockades have been taking place at oil and gas terminals, refineries and ports in Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, in protest at the continued exploitation of North Sea fossil fuel deposits.
Further actions were expected in Denmark, while in Scotland activists staged banner drops calling for an end to the exploitation of North Sea oil and gas.
The protest comes in the same week a report found none of the big fossil fuel producing countries in the region had plans to stop drilling soon enough to meet the 1.5C (2.7F) global heating target set by the Paris climate accords.
“Under the campaign North Sea Fossil Free acts of civil disobedience are happening all around the North Sea,” Extinction Rebellion said. “The governments of these six countries are permitting new fossil extraction infrastructure, harming not only the North Sea ecosystem, but also committing the whole world to dangerous levels of warming.
“Activists have come together today in a series of actions – unfolding across the day – to demand all North Sea oil countries align their drilling plans with the Paris agreement now.”
Scientists divided over whether record heat is acceleration of climate crisis
Record temperatures in 2024 on land and at sea have prompted scientists to question whether these anomalies are in line with predicted global heating patterns or if they represent a concerning acceleration of climate breakdown.
Heat above the oceans remains persistently, freakishly high, despite a weakening of El Niño, which has been one of the major drivers of record global temperatures over the past year.
Scientists are divided about the extraordinary temperatures of marine air. Some stress that current trends are within climate model projections of how the world will warm as a result of human burning of fossil fuels and forests. Others are perplexed and worried by the speed of change because the seas are the Earth’s great heat moderator and absorb more than 90% of anthropogenic warming.
Earlier this month, the World Meteorological Organization announced that El Niño, a naturally occurring climate pattern associated with the warming of the Pacific Ocean, had peaked and there was an 80% chance of it fading completely between April and June, although its knock-on effects would continue.
The WMO secretary general, Celeste Saulo, said El Niño contributed to making 2023 easily the warmest year on record, although the main culprit was emissions from fossil fuels. When it came to oceans, she said, the picture was murkier and more disturbing: “The January 2024 sea surface temperature was by far the highest on record for January. This is worrying and can not be explained by El Niño alone.”
Sea surface temperatures in February were also hotter than any month in history, breaking the record set last August, according to Europe’s Copernicus satellite monitoring programme. Worldwide, the heat above the land and sea was remarkable. Between 8 and 11 February, global temperatures were more than 2C above the 1850-1900 average. Over the month as a whole, Europe experienced heat that was 3.3C above that benchmark.
Massachusetts town grapples with sea rise after sand barrier fails
On the border with New Hampshire and Massachusetts – about 35 miles north of Boston – is Salisbury, a coastal town and popular summer destination for tourists. ... Last month, after a series of storms battered the area, local citizens came together to take the necessary steps to protect their homes. Volunteer organization Salisbury Beach Citizens for Change raised more than $500,000 to erect a 15,000-ton sand dune – a formidable barrier that would hopefully protect at least 15 beach houses from destruction.
Or so they thought. The sand dune was completed after one month in early March, but just three days later, the dune – and nearly half a million dollars – was wiped away. The tragic incident made the project a laughingstock to some and angered others.
But Tom Saab, the president of the organization, doubled down on the dune. “The dunes we built were sacrificial. They sacrificed themselves to protect the properties. Water didn’t go into people’s living rooms, destroy houses, destroy decks, patios and so on. So the dunes worked,” Saab said. “However, now we’re vulnerable to another nor’easter because we need to somehow replenish what we lost.”
On the Salisbury Beach Citizens for Change’s Facebook page, one person commented on a post about the sand dune debacle: “Your houses sit right on an ever rising and ever violent sea. Do you really think any amount of money will stop what’s inevitable?”
Also of Interest
Here are some articles of interest, some which defied fair-use abstraction.
Torture, executions, babies left to die, sexual abuse… These are Israel’s crimes
They’re Really Going To Try To Lay All The Blame For Gaza On Netanyahu
One-Third of Children Under 2 in Northern Gaza Now Acutely Malnourished
US Considering Giving Israel More Military Aid as Leverage
Ukraine - France Already Lost In Odessa
Last Days of Julian Assange in the United States
The frenzy to ban TikTok is another National Security State scam
What Might the US Owe the World for Covid-19?
CATL, the little-known Chinese battery maker that has the US worried
Rachel Corrie: Parents & Friend Remember U.S. Activist Crushed by Israeli Bulldozer in Rafah in 2003
Vladimir Putin's election victory
A Little Night Music
Bertha "Chippie" Hill - Low Land Blues
Bertha "Chippie" Hill - Some Cold Rainy Day
Bertha "Chippie" Hill - Darktown Strutters Ball
Bertha "Chippie" Hill - How Long Blues
Bertha "Chippie" Hill - Hard Time Blues
Bertha "Chippie" Hill - Charleston Blues
Bertha "Chippie" Hill - Mess, Katie, Mess
Chippie Hill - Around The Clock Blues
Bertha Chippie Hill - Trouble In Mind
Comments
There are ALWAYS receipts
.
Trump supporters are violent….
This is brilliant!
A good feeling story
Anyone ever heard about one like this?
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...
superb collection! i saw the headline about the bloodbath this morning and i passed it by. then i saw the piece on breaking points and they played the whole clip and i was glad i passed by the headline.
cool tweet about the crow!
Hi snoopy
Thanks for the 'brilliant' and 'good feeling' tweets. They made my day ; ).
Otto and Russell, what magic.
Otto and Russell
What a fabulous story huh? I’m amazed that a bird could bond with a human like Russell has bonded with Otto. Otto will always have the memories of his good friend Otto to look back on. I wonder how long Russell will live?
I vaguely remember the parakeet my grandma had, but he was friendly with us kids.
Glad you enjoyed the video.
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
It would be a treat to follow their relationship
Thanks again snoopy.
A bloodbath sounds uncomfortable
Won't the stuff just clot while you're bathing?
“The loyal Left cannot act decisively. Their devotion to the system is a built-in kill switch limiting dissent.” - Richard Moser
That Crow story is literally heartwarming
I have explain the circumstance of a situation first but hang in there this part of the story is about crows.
A number of years ago when I was living in Vancouver BC my girlfriend got a teaching job but the post turned out to be on a Cree Reservation in the Northwest Territory above Alberta at Slave Lake. I was on the 'Spare board' as a brakeman on CPR Rlwy but I got it worked out to take time off to drive her to her new job.
A mutual friend came along for the ride and in the NWT in a very small town we stocked up on booze and food at the last store we'd see between there and around a hundred mile dirt road to her trailer parked next to the only school anywhere.
When we got close and were going up the hill to her trailer a crow was flying fairly close to the van all the way and when we got there and unpacked things the crow was still hanging around so we figured out something to feed the Crow, and I still have a photo of me feeding him something on a ladle, something the Crow repeatedly wanted.
I spoke about the pesky bird to the Native guy who was turning on the water and electricity for the trailer and he laughed telling me they always hit on White people because they know they'll get something out of it and suggested that whenever I heard any vehicle coming up the road to just look and if you see any crow hanging with the vehicle you know there are White people in it.
He knew about the teacher coming and knew it had to be her because of the Crow flying along with the van. He said if we see no crows you know it's a Native coming because we never feed them. Over the next few days we saw he was right about the Crows.
The Native man said as far as he knew it had always been that way and I couldn't help but wonder if this behavior was the goal long ago, that of creating a warning signal.
Loved that tweet...
about the little boy and his crow. Very uplifting! Thanks
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Revenge Served Cold?
Trump faces 'insurmountable difficulties' in securing $464M bond in civil fraud case
That's because no surety bond provider ever accepts real estate collateral for an appeal bond. SOP, not personal to Trump.
Financial Times
There aren't thirty surety companies that have the legal capacity to write any bond of this size. There are Thirty Insurance Companie that routinely issue surety bonds, but the combined capacity of #11-30 may not reach half a billion dollars. Did Trump's broker really approach thirty companies are did he like Trump just lie about that?
David Cay Johnston, a long-time Trump critic, but solid financial reporter, penned a summary of the Trump ruling It's good enough to give any company pause in considering a business deal with Trump. However, many companies, particularly bank, have long memories of having been stiffed by Trump. The surety bond companies aren't Trump's appeal bond roadblock, but the banks.
Trump has played so many financial games that it's impossible to evaluate his true net worth and he has no ability to offer satisfactory collateral to a bank for a half billion dollar letter of credit. Absent a sugar daddy that can put up half a billion in cash, he will have no choice but to liquidate quickly enough of his holdings to generate his cash needs. This may be fun to watch.
I disagree with everything about this case
First off because there were no victims and Trump repaid the loans. The banks said that many people do what Trump did because that’s how business works.
The judge lowballed how much his estate was worth. Did he consult with people who know how things work? And he was too friendly with the AG and biased against Trump. That was obvious from the beginning.
And the 8th amendment should come into play in the amount that the judge said Trump has to pay. I’m betting that this would be overturned on appeal, but he has to put up half a billion before he can file it?
And the Carroll rape trial was absolutely ridiculous. Statute of limitations expired decades ago and she couldn’t name what year it happened. It was a he said she said, but she won the case in a city that has a severe case of TDS.
Anything that is being done to Trump can be done by anyone else if this crap sets precedent.
Fan I Willis will probably be charged with perjury and maybe disbarred. The case is tainted and she should have stepped down long before the dirty laundry was aired.
And as for the classified documents case…give me a break. Biden’s not being charged nor is Pence for doing the same thing, but without being able to unclassify documents.
Biden is running on not being Trump again, but he’s actually doing many of the same things Trump did, but….
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
So, Trump wasn't allowed to mount
a defense in this case? Perhaps he should have called on you as an expert witness considering those he did call were laughing stocks on the witness stand.
No real victims? The same could be said of every fine imposed by the SEC on banks and financial institutions when the fine isn't distributed to identified victims. In the UK, a portion the LIBOR fine was distributed to the 2014 London Invictus Games to get this thing off the ground. (No, I don't think IG is a good idea. It's another expensive sporting spectacle with little public appeal that glorifies war and a dimwit prince. The quieter and more discreet (and low cost) USG Warrior Games seems to serve a rehabilitation through sports purpose; so, not inclined to criticize it.)
If Trump were an honest businessman, banks would be happy to do business with him. And, assuming that he has a few billions in tangible net worth, he'd have no difficulty securing a huge appeal bond. (btw, bankers and surety underwriters make their decisions based on financial information. They're smart enough not to make their own assessment as to the odds of winning a lawsuit or an appeal.)
An assessment from Jonathan Turley
written Feb. 16, 2024, in The Hill:
"New York is one of our oldest and most distinguished bars. It has long resisted those who sought to use the law to pursue political opponents and unpopular figures. It will now be tested to see if those values transcend even Trump."
Jonathan Turley is the J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at the George Washington University Law School.
Businessmen will flee NY for years to come because of this case.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Turley has another one that basically backs up
my comment.
https://jonathanturley.org/2024/03/18/the-odor-of-mendacity-2024-could-t...
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
Apples and oranges
Yes banks should be fined, but Trump isn’t a bank. Turley on the rotten smell coming out of NYC.
https://jonathanturley.org/2024/03/18/the-odor-of-mendacity-2024-could-t...
Don’t be silly. But I would have loved to have been on the jury. The judge was obviously biased against Trump.
As to the laughable witnesses:
https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/trump-makes-another-bid-to-lower-imposs...
Both links are worth reading.
Trump had to prove his innocence because the judge already said that he was guilty which is not the way our justice system is supposed to work. Strange how this needs to be spelled out.
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
I would call you to the witness
stand as an expert.
Of course, it would be a case about entertaining dawgs with socks and toilet paper rolls, not real estate.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Lol…
Yep. I’d win the case for you paws down.
I threw another roll in the trash so much laughter will be coming from my abode today. It’s so funny to see her prance in and being so proud of herself for finding it.
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 marie...
this is certainly becoming amusing to watch, but i think that the lawfare waged against trump risks making him a sympathetic figure.
Ha….
.
A comment on the Tracey article.
Then there are all the companies that offshored their business to China….oops don’t mention that. Plus they’re doing it to keep a foreign government from influencing us because of national security, but the main reason is because of the foreign government of Israel can’t get people to stop accusing them of genocide. When Israel says JUMP, congress asks how high. Funny how they won’t admit that.
Cook's article was a difficult read. It’s just unimaginable that world leaders are not saying anything about the inhumane acts that Israel’s government and its soldiers are committing. Burrell though is telling leaders to admit that Israel is deliberately starving Palestinians. I run into Israel supporters who say that there is no evidence that Israel is committing genocide and I tell them that South Africa detailed how they are doing it and that the court agreed with them. Silence….
And Hedges of course is spot on again. Democrats know what they should do if they want Biden to win. I’m still seeing shitlibs saying that Biden really is the reincarnation of FDR and that the economy is going swimmingly well now that he’s gotten inflation under control. What planet are they living on?
The whole Kennedy clan sans Bobby visited Biden on St. Pat's day so I guess they don’t have a problem with the genocide just like the wayward RFK, jr.
Guess I’ll watch the crow video again. I need some cheering up. That’s really amazing how it bonded with the kid. I’m happy the family brought it home and lets it inside. Who’d of thought that would turn out like that?
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 guess the kennedys couldn't find an open bar with an empty stool to hang out in for st patty's day and had to go to biden's place.
i think i'll watch the crow video again, too.
From his Newsweek article
.
Seems like a rerun of the Russia $1,000 Facebook ads that cost HerHeinous the election.
The Supremes are hearing opening arguments in the Biden nullification of the 1st amendment today and if the case goes against him I wonder if they would strike down the tik tok bill? 2 courts have already ruled against Biden and I hope the decision to uphold them is 9-0. Tracey says the bill gives the FBI (more?) power to censor we the people. I remember the days when both parties were against the imperial presidency.
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 guess that the first amendment was just fine and suited america for hundreds of years until the state of israel came along.
Yup
Look at how many states have signed the anti BDS into law. Another attack on the 1st amendment ordered by Israel. DeSantis went to Israel to sign it. Maybe with the extended power given to the presidency Trump will sigh an executive order making it the law of the land.
I started noticing the censorship during Russia gate, but it was Biden who put the attack on it on steroids as the Twit files. showed. Trump of course isn’t innocent either. I just can’t believe how many people are okay with it. Taibbi has a good article on how the NYT is attacking him and the courts for reigniting in Biden. I can’t remember where I saw the link.
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
What’s gas in your area?
.
Yesterday it was $3.39 and a few days ago it was $3.29 which held for a few weeks, but today it’s $3.59. That’s20 cents raise in one day. I found a station that still had it at $3.39, but mid grade was $3.89 which is higher than what the $3.59 was selling at for. The Ukraine idiots have bombed 12 Russian oil refineries which has taken 600,000 barrels a day of oil off the market and probably with help from the CIA and NATO which is a direct attack on Russia. I would think that Biden would tell them to knock it off because high gas prices will affect his re-election unless he thinks he can get it lowered before then and Americans will forget about how they’re being screwed 6 ways to Sunday. I’m tired of paying more for less at the store which Biden said he would address for things like snack food…how about essentials, Joe?
Anyhoo a report from my neck of the woods.
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
well...
a couple of weeks ago hi-test was $3.77/gallon and then pretty much overnight it went up to $3.99/gallon - mind you that's at the cheapest station in my area, there are much higher priced gas stations near me.
food prices here are getting pretty ridiculous, too. pretty soon we'll have to take a wheelbarrow full of cash in to take a small bag of groceries out. lottery tickets are pretty much the only thing at the grocery store that appears to be unaffected by inflation.
Tic Tok: any excuse will do
The interesting thing is that this national security tik tok fear mongering to justify granting powers to arbitrarily ban any platform or app with a foreign adversary determination is a prospective impediment to free speech and free association. Yet, there is no public proof of the alleged factual foundation wrt to the dangers allegedly posed by Tic Tok. The secret committee briefings are like star chamber proceedings, no need to present facts.
I've seen allegations that the ban is "content neutral," in support of its alleged constitutionality. Yet, the arguments in support of the ban, are in fact, emphasizing political content the government doesn't like which is for whatever reason present among some of the millions of users. What is being interfered with directly is the so called "marketplace of ideas" itself and also the right of the users to network with those they choose in a virtual forum. So there is a freedom of association issue as well.
But the underlying problem is that the US monopoly hi tech capitalists have a competitor. Ben Norton has that right, as do Michael Hudson and Rhadhika Desai in another video What is China's future?. With all the "free trade" bs we've heard for years, the US is effectively a mercantilist economy attempting to use the coercive powers of the state, bans, tariffs, and sanctions, to eliminate high tech competition. With all the projections in the US, that the Chinese economy will crash, that actually doesn't appear to be the case, so these government controlling measures haven't seen their limit by any means.
語必忠信 行必正直
evening soryang...
yep, this is the government that they warned us about in civics class, but they told us to expect it to be a government from overseas.
i am guessing that this time the people might have to step in and put the government in its place.
Evening joe and bluesters
Thank you joe for informing us with the news and blues.
You chose an interesting quote to introduce Caitlin’s piece, which is spot on as usual. It made me wonder how can one lie with sincerity? Lying and sincerity don’t match. I always thought that sincerity was fundamental to being true to oneself and others. These psychopaths effortlessly deceive others, and in the process lose themselves. When so detached from themselves they become dangerous.
Chris Hedges is always a good read.
It’s deeply repulsive that psychopaths are responsible for creating the conditions humanity live in. They fail, full stop.
Good work by the climate activists in the North Sea.
I guess the house owners in Salisbury learned a lesson. I feel badly about their predicament if it is their family home, and all their assets are in the home. If it’s just a business investment like an Airbnb, then they’ll just have to suck it up.
evening janis...
yep, sincerity and lying do seem to be mutually exclusive, but i guess if you believe the lie it makes appearing to be sincere easier.
I wonder what Gide would think of Burns
Nevermind, I think I'll just laugh at it all ; ).
Did you watch the video?
It's a humorously visual rendition of a familiar song.
sorry, i missed this the other night...
yep, i saw it. i enjoyed watching robin williams get in touch with his inner goofus.
Putin is a dictator….
.
Yet here he is appearing with the 3 other candidates that ran against him.
Hey does anyone remember when Hillary was on stage ready to accept that she won the presidency, but then found out that Trump beat her and she left without giving her victory speech? Or something like that? Hillary will go down in history as the sorest loser ever. 6 years after she lost she is still blaming Putin for it.
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
yep...
i don't get how the propagandists expect us to believe that there was something hinky about the russian election when putin's approval ratings are consistently in the 80's (something no american president in living memory has achieved) and even the west's favorite opponent (now deceased) navalni never polled out of the single digits.
US Government-Funded Polling Validates 2024 Russian Elections -
“The loyal Left cannot act decisively. Their devotion to the system is a built-in kill switch limiting dissent.” - Richard Moser