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This evening's music features Chicago blues songwriter, singer and bass player Willie Dixon. Enjoy!

"Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups."

-- George Carlin

News and Opinion

Democrats pick apart Trump victory: ‘How do you spend $1bn and not win?’

Democrats across the country were left in disbelief and searching for answers as they confronted the reality of another Donald Trump presidency. Trump’s victory was announced early on Wednesday morning, marking a significant political comeback that has sent shockwaves around the world. As Kamala Harris’s chances of winning dwindled, the vice-president decided not to address her supporters gathered at Howard University in Washington DC on Tuesday night, instead scheduling an address for 4pm ET on Wednesday.

In the meantime, Democratic operatives and strategists and others filled the void, expressing their disappointment and already beginning to pick apart what went wrong for Harris and the Democratic party. The Democratic pollster Paul Maslin argued that Harris did as well as she could have, given the environment and circumstance. Harris “did a really good job”, Maslin told Politico, but ultimately “this race was unwinnable”.

“Trump, rightly or wrongly, his persona and his fundamental attack line against the condition of the country, the Biden-Harris administration and frankly the Democratic party, was in the end unbeatable,” he said.

CNN’s national political correspondent Alex Thompson noted that a former adviser to Joe Biden criticized the Harris campaign, asking: “How do you spend $1bn and not win?” ...

David Sirota, who was a senior adviser for Sanders’s 2020 presidential campaign, described Tuesday night as a “very bad night”.

“Some of us spent years warning Dems to take working-class politics more seriously & to not tout neocons,” he said. “We did so in hopes of avoiding this & yet we were vilified as traitors by Dem elites & liberal pundits.

“There’s a lesson here.”

Prof. Mohammad Marandi: Trump Wins 2024! Iran & Hezbollah Ready to Unleash Unthinkable Retaliation!

Netanyahu’s sacking of Gallant likely to precede a shake-up of Israel-US relations

Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to fire his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, removes one of the harshest critics from his own government and empowers members of the far-right and ultra-Orthodox interests in Israel to key positions in Netanyahu’s cabinet.

By all accounts, the key causes for Gallant’s departure lie in domestic Israeli politics: the two men’s disagreements over a hostage deal with Hamas, Gallant’s opposition to blanket exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jews from service in the IDF, and over a leaking scandal involving a close aide to Netanyahu.

But Gallant’s departure also comes at a crucial moment: the day of a US presidential election that will determine the nature of continued US support for Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon, as well as leniency toward Israeli policy in the West Bank and a potential escalation with Iran.

In many ways, Gallant’s sacking is the first step to clear the decks for an unclear new relationship with the US – either with a Kamala Harris administration that will probably continue support for Israel in an environment of deep distrust and growing criticism over the deaths of Palestinians, or a highly unpredictable Donald Trump administration that has vowed to back Israel to “finish the job” despite a fraught personal relationship between the two men.

And for the lame duck Biden administration, the firing also erases one of the strongest relationships between Israel and Washington further ensuring that the White House will struggle to restrain Netanyahu or secure a landmark cessation of hostilities before the US presidential inauguration in January. US officials were surprised by Netanyahu’s decision to fire Gallant, who has been one of the most important conduits to the US government via the defence secretary, Lloyd Austin. The two men are said to speak almost daily, and had helped repair some confidence in the relationship after Israel had surprised the US with the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah.

Netanyahu Replaces Fired Israeli Defense Minister With 'Another Genocidal Lunatic'

Palestine defenders on Tuesday accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of swapping one "genocidal lunatic" for another after the right-wing leader fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and replaced him with Israel Katz, who was serving as foreign minister.

"Israel just doubled down on prolonging its genocide of the Palestinians in Gaza," journalist and genocide scholar Samira Mohyeddin said on social media following Netanyahu's moves.

Netanyahu cited what he called a "crisis of trust" that "gradually deepened" as his reason for the changes, which came as Israel is waging war on Gaza and Lebanon while bracing for Iranian retaliation for recent Israeli attacks on the Middle East nation.

Israel Katz, a hardliner who wishes for Palestinians to starve to death has replaced Yoav Gallant. (The hardliner who wished for Palestinians to starve to death) https://t.co/7srmxkpXmP pic.twitter.com/z7sY71qxbO

— Abu Bakr Hussain (@KintsugiMuslim) November 5, 2024

"In the midst of a war, more than ever, full trust is required between the prime minister and the minister of defense," Netanyahu said Tuesday, according toThe Jerusalem Post. "This trust has cracked between myself and the defense minister."

Katz, a member of Netanyahu's Likud party, previously held several Cabinet posts, most recently as Israel's top diplomat. He was the minister of energy and infrastructure on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants launched a surprise attack on Israel that left more than 1,100 people dead—at least some killed by fratricidal fire—and over 240 others kidnapped and taken to Gaza.

Two days later, Katz issued an order to "immediately cut off the water supply from Israel to Gaza."

"Electricity and fuel were cut off yesterday," he said. "What was will not be. All the civilian population in Gaza is ordered to leave immediately. We will win. They will not receive a drop of water or a single battery until they leave."

Katz's directive followed Gallant's order for a "complete siege" of Gaza.

"There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed," Gallant said. "We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly."

These statements by Gallant and Katz are cited in the International Court of Justice's January 26 provisional order for Israel to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza. Israel—which is on trial for alleged genocide at the ICJ—has been accused of ignoring this and subsequent orders issued by the tribunal.

On Tuesday, Israeli state media reported that the Israel Defense Forces has completed its division of Gaza into two parts, and that "there is no intention to allow the residents of the northern Gaza Strip to return to their homes."

"There are no more civilians left north of Gaza City" thanks to deliberate Israeli policy/tactics, and "no intention" to allow them to return.

There's a phrase for clearing territory of all its people... https://t.co/iGhEJALAog

— Ishaan Tharoor (@ishaantharoor) November 5, 2024

Katz has also come under fire for declaring United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres "persona non grata in Israel" for criticizing the country's war on Gaza, which has left more than 155,000 Palestinians in Gaza dead, wounded, or missing and millions more starving and sick.

While serving as Israel's foreign minister, Katz was also condemned for threatening "severe consequences" for nations that officially recognize Palestinian statehood. Nearly 150 of the 193 United Nations member states recognize Palestine.

Katz also raised eyebrows in 2022 after he made a thinly veiled threat to ethnically cleanse Arab citizens of Israel. Responding to Israeli Arab students who displayed the Palestinian flag on college campuses, Katz said "remember '48," a reference to 1948, when Israel declared its independence amid an ethnic cleansing campaign in which more than 750,000 Arabs were expelled from Palestine to make way for Jewish settlement.

Palestinians call this mass dispossession and expulsion the Nakba, which means "catastrophe" in Arabic.

"Remember our independence war and your Nakba," Katz said. "Don't stretch the rope too much... If you don't calm down, we'll teach you a lesson that won't be forgotten."

"Ask your elders—your grandfathers, and grandmothers—and they will explain to you that in the end, the Jews awaken, they know to defend themselves and the idea of the Jewish state," he added.

In one of his final acts as foreign minister, Katz on Monday initiated the process of annulling a 1967 agreement between Israel and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, which Israel accuses of being "infiltrated" by Hamas. The U.N. strongly refutes Israel's accusation.

Prof. John Mearsheimer : Israel Shooting Itself in the Foot

Israel Imposed Evacuation in Much of East Lebanon, But Many Attacks Outside Those Zones

Last week, Israel imposed massive evacuation orders including a lot of heavily populated parts of eastern Lebanon, including an evacuation of the entire ancient city of Baalbek. People started fleeing, and within hours, the missiles started hitting the city and surrounding areas.

But where do the people go? With airstrikes having already damaged the border crossings into Syria, most people are having to go to towns and villages outside the evacuation zones. But are they any safer there?

Not so far they aren’t, as in recent Israeli airstrikes into eastern Lebanon, more are hitting areas outside the evacuation zones than the zones themselves. On Friday, 14 airstrikes were reported in eastern Lebanon, and fully 10 of them were outside of the designated zones.

Iran Says It Won’t Be Deterred by US Bomber Deployment to Middle East

On Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the new US B-52 bomber deployment to the Middle East wouldn’t deter Iran as Iranian officials are vowing there will be a response to Israel’s October 26 attack on Iranian territory.

The US heavy bombers arrived in the region on Saturday as part of a deployment meant as a threat to Iran. The Pentagon said the bombers and other US military assets were being sent to the region to “defend” Israel.

When asked about the US deployment, Baghaei said, “We have always believed that the presence of America in the region is a destabilizing presence” and added that it “will not deter [Iran’s] resolve to defend itself.”

Phil Giraldi : The US War On the Palestinians

Armed Israeli settlers torch Palestinian homes, cars and olive trees across West Bank

Armed Israeli settlers launched a wave of attacks on Palestinian properties in several areas of the occupied West Bank overnight, torching homes, vehicles and olive trees.

More than 20 vehicles were targeted in the central West Bank city of al-Bireh on Sunday night, in what has been described online as a "pogrom", with most set ablaze and left smouldering wrecks.

Video footage posted online showed Palestinians attempting to put out fires enveloping buildings and cars, and roads left charred the morning after.

According to local news agency Wafa, the settlers opened fire at civil defence search-and-rescue workers attempting to extinguish the flames.

Settlers later set fire to a parking lot and scrawled offensive graffiti on walls in the nearby town of Deir Dibwan, east of Ramallah, before fleeing.

BREAKING: A horrific night in Ramallah, in the West Bank.

Hundreds of Israeli terrorist settlers launched a brutal attack on the city of Ramallah, setting fire to numerous Palestinian homes and vehicles.

After setting Palestinian homes and cars on fire, they moved to the… pic.twitter.com/KZ6u37JZLh

— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) November 4, 2024

Yahya Sinwar autopsy reveals he had not eaten for 72 hours before his killing

Yahya Sinwar had not eaten for three days before he was killed on 16 October, according to an autopsy carried out by Israeli forensic doctors and carried by Israeli media. Chen Kugel, director of Israel's national forensic institute, revealed that one of Sinwar's fingers was amputated to obtain a DNA sample for verification as he had previously been imprisoned and had a medical record.

Kugel said that Sinwar had survived for several hours before succumbing to a bullet wound that caused severe brain damage. After the autopsy, Sinwar's body was reportedly moved to an undisclosed location, according to Israeli reports.

The details revealed from the autopsy had triggered widespread reactions, with many noting was prove that Israel had launched a "war of starvation" on Gaza and that Hamas members were not "stealing" humanitarian aid or food.

"Sinwar’s autopsy revealed that he and his men had not eaten in the 72 hours before their deaths. Dispelling the myth that the resistance "steals aid". Sinwar is still defeating 'Israel' even after his martyrdom" one social media user said on social media.

Linda Sarsour: Harris's Embrace of Pro-Israel Policies at Odds with Democratic Base

Much more at the link:

Israel, Blackmail & the Presidents

Just days before Election Day, WikiLeaks reported: “Author of book about the Trump White House, Michael Wolff, claims to have 100 hours of Epstein talking about Trump but releases only a one minute fragment.” More along these lines is now atop pages like The Daily Beast with journalistic scoops like “Epstein claiming Trump liked to ‘f—’ his friends’ wives.”

I didn’t realize until recently that Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s stepfather, Samuel Pisar — who Blinken has invoked at high profile events — was not only lawyer and confidant to media mogul and Mossad “super spy” Robert Maxwell but apparently to Jeffrey Epstein himself. Robert Maxwell was of course father of Ghislaine Maxwell who was Epstein’s partner in crime.

It has been largely kept from public view and understanding in numerous ways, but there is substantial evidence that the Epstein network was involved in gathering information on political figures from both parties which could be used for blackmail. The molesting of the girls was often apparently the insidious means, not the ultimate goal. The above referenced Daily Beast piece, to take the most recent example, does not contain the word “blackmail.” ...

Blinken has a very long relationship with U.S. President Joe Biden. In 2002, he was appointed staff director for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when Biden was the chair of the committee and played a critical role in ensuring the invasion. He was Biden’s national security adviser when Biden was vice president. Biden has repeatedly displayed a propensity for touching females — including young girls — inappropriately.
Many have argued that Biden and Blinken have been more supportive of Israeli criminality than any other U.S. administration. What other factors and mechanisms might be at play besides the power of the Israel lobby and alleged strategic imperatives?

Trump Wins, Zelensky Despondent, EU Shocked, Russia Confirms Continue SMO; Netanyahu Sacks Gallant

US Air Force’s Election-Night ICBM Test

Much of significance will happen at the end of Election Day, and a countdown will begin at 11:00 p.m. PDT on Tuesday.

While everyone’s attention will be on who the next U.S. president will be, the U.S. Air Force will test-launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with a dummy hydrogen bomb on the tip from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

The missile will cross the Pacific Ocean and 22 minutes later crash into the Marshall Islands.

The U.S. Air Force does this several times a year. The launches are always at night while Americans are sleeping.

This is what nightmares are made of. Between 1946 and 1958 the U.S. detonated 67 nuclear bombs in the Marshall Islands, and the result is that the Marshallese people have lost their pristine environment and face serious health problems.

The environment around Vandenberg is threatened as well. Not only did the indigenous Chumash people lose their sacred land to Vandenberg Air Force Base, but also America’s Heartland presently has around 400 ICBMs stored in underground silos equipped with nuclear warheads that are ready to launch at a hair trigger’s notice. Named “MinuteMen III,” after Revolutionary War soldiers who could reload and shoot a gun in less than a minute, ICBMs not only put Americans at risk of accident, but they put all life on Earth in danger.

ICBMs are not viable for national defense. They are a relic of a bygone era having been invented by Nazi Germany, and their presence only escalates the risk of nuclear accidents or conflicts.

Trump WINS Arab-Majority Dearborn; Muslims PUNISH Harris For Gaza BETRAYAL

Los Angeles Times owner cites Gaza war as a reason not to endorse Harris

The billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Times has cited the war in Gaza as a reason for vetoing the paper’s endorsement of Kamala Harris for president. In an email sent to the paper’s top editor, president and chief operating officer, Patrick Soon-Shiong identifies Harris’s support for Israel’s year-long offensive in the Palestinian coastal territory, which he terms as “genocide”, as a compelling reason to withhold support from the Democratic nominee.

The email, obtained by the Drop Site News website, confirms a previous suggestion by his daughter, Nika, who posted on social media that the issue reminded her father of his family background in apartheid South Africa and had shaped his decision on candidate endorsement. Soon-Shiong subsequently dismissed Gaza as a reason in an interview with the newspaper. But his email to his senior underlings appears to confirm it.

“Has there ever been a time in our history when our nation is knowingly providing arms to another nation using those weapons to kill children, women, innocent people and target the press, doctors and medical workers?” Soon-Shiong writes. “And policies enabling this are supported it seems by both candidates?” He adds: “We can and must acknowledge concerns for democracy and the Jan 6 episode and the horific [sic] [October 7] Hamas attacks. But how do we ignore the counter issues of the innocents being killed now? Do we accept that indeed genocide is happening and that we stand as a country of willing arms suppliers and yet remain silent?”

Soon-Shiong – a biotech entrepreneur who bought the paper for $500m in 2018 pledging to fight against fake news – also wrote that the publication was seeking to endorse Harris without having met her or her opponent, Donald Trump. “Why is a collection of 6 or so board members filled with such wisdom that we can endorse one candidate versus the other without meeting either face to face?” he wrote. “Are we group thinkers following the crowd? The fact that for the past 3 years we wrote negatives on one but nothing (since nobody knew her) of the other candidate, automatically means that the candidate for which we know little is the candidate we therefore endorse?”

"This Is a Collapse of the Democratic Party": Ralph Nader on Roots of Trump's Win Over Harris

‘Goodbye, America’: celebrities react to Donald Trump’s election win

Celebrities have shared their disappointment and anger over Donald Trump’s re-election as president. The Republican’s Tuesday victory over opponent Kamala Harris sent shock waves throughout Hollywood after the Democratic candidate ran a campaign filled with A-list names including Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, Bruce Springsteen and Julia Roberts.

The Don’t Look Up director Adam McKay expressed frustration with how the past year has been handled by the Democratic party. “Who would have guessed lying about Biden’s cognitive health for 2 yrs, refusing to do an open convention for a new nominee, never mentioning public healthcare & embracing fracking, the Cheneys & a yr long slaughter of children in Gaza wouldn’t be a winning strategy?” he wrote. He later added: “It is time to abandon the Dem Party.” ...

The British author Philip Pullman simply wrote: “Goodbye, America. It was nice knowing you.”

Nearly all of US states are facing droughts, an unprecedented number

Every US state except Alaska and Kentucky is facing drought, an unprecedented number, according to the US Drought Monitor. A little more than 45% of the US and Puerto Rico is in drought this week, according to the tracker. About 54% of land in the 48 contiguous US states is affected by droughts.

Even as the country experiences autumn and heads further away from a summer of record heat, the droughts continue to rise. More than 150 million people in the country – and 149.8 million in the 48 contiguous states – are in a drought this week. That is about a 34% increase since last week and an over 150% increase since last month. The drought is also affecting more than 318m acres of crops, a 57% increase since last month, according to the tracker.

That reality is only the latest illustration of global warming and the climate crisis, spurred primarily by humans’ burning of fossil fuels. Last month, it was reported that world’s water cycle was out of balance “for the first time in human history”. Nearly 3 billion people face water scarcity.

Drought conditions are not simply caused by a decrease in rain – but are driven and exacerbated by abnormally high temperatures that can quickly suck moisture from the atmosphere and the earth. The problem, however, is more complicated than simply counting rainy days. Droughts can occur even when there is slightly more rain than usual, depending on the frequency of rainfall. If there is a lot of rain all at once, it’s difficult for the water to be properly absorbed into the ground.

Also of Interest

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

State Department Spokesman Cracks Joke About Israel’s Starvation Blockade on Gaza

Fifty two nations call for global arms embargo on Israel

BRICS Summit Should End Neocon Delusions

Ukraine - North Korean Soldiers Are "Disguised As Buryats"

‘People do not want to believe it is true’: the photographer capturing the vanishing of glaciers

Rami Khouri: U.S. Voters Are Sick of Foreign Wars. Can Trump Strike a Grand Bargain in Middle East?

Trump Set For MASSIVE VICTORY In Michigan; Harris ABANDONED Catholics

GOP Takes Control Of U.S. Senate

A Little Night Music

Willie Dixon - I Love The Life I Live

Willie Dixon - I Don't Trust Nobody

Willie Dixon - You Shook Me

Willie Dixon - Bassology

Willie Dixon - The Little Red Rooster

Willie Dixon - Spoonful

Willie Dixon - Good Advice

Willie Dixon - I Can't Quit You, Baby

Willie Dixon - I Just Want to Make Love to You

Willie Dixon - My Babe