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The Evening Blues - 10-24-25



eb1pt12


The day's news roundup + tonight's musical feature: Eddy Clearwater

Hey! Good Evening!

This evening's music features Chicago blues guitarist Eddy Clearwater. Enjoy!

Eddy Clearwater – All About The Blues

"Israel cannot stop murdering and abusing and sowing chaos and destruction for even one fucking day and the western empire cannot stop supporting it for even an instant, but if you say anything about this people start making up weird stories about you hating the religion of Judaism."

-- Caitlin Johnstone


News and Opinion

Yellow Zone Madness

Whenever I talk about the IDF massacring civilians for inadvertently traveling into zones Israel has banned them from in Gaza I’ve been getting Israel apologists bleating “but they crossed the Yellow Line!” at me, which I guess is the new hasbara narrative.

Imagine thinking this is a good argument. Imagine thinking it’s perfectly reasonable to blow up a car full of children if they cross a made-up invisible line.

Think about how dehumanized Palestinians would have to be in your mind to believe this is a sane and reasonable position to have. To feel that deadly force via heavy war machinery is a perfectly fine way of administering crowd control.

Imagine if that was happening in your country. If police just blew up your vehicle if you accidentally turned onto a one-way street or made an unauthorized U-turn. If they could send a drone to go pick you off if you were walking down a street they didn’t think you should be on.

You’d never stand for it. You’d demand they find other ways to direct traffic besides deadly force.

“How about some signs?” you would say. “How about using verbal warnings and loudspeakers? How about road blocks? How about just not fucking murdering a vehicle full of kids for moving in an unauthorized way?”

But because it’s Palestinians, it never occurs to them that this should be the expectation. Palestinians deserve to be executed for the slightest transgression against the most arbitrary restriction.

Israel does this all the time, and its defenders are fine with it. During the aid distribution at GHF sites Israeli soldiers have told the Israeli press that they were ordered to fire upon anyone who moved in an unauthorized way, killing starving civilians every single day for seeking food. During the last “ceasefire” at the beginning of the year civilians would routinely get murdered for taking a donkey cart down the wrong road or whatever.

That’s the sort of thing people support of they stand by Israel. Supporting Israel is an innately racist and murderous position, because you support murdering Palestinian civilians for reasons you would never accept your own people being killed for.

A short history of Israel breaking ceasefires w/Max Blumenthal

‘Bibi-sitting’: US heavy-hitters take turns to supervise Israeli prime minister

The parade of senior US officials travelling to the Middle East in recent weeks is a clear warning from the White House to Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli political factions to not disrupt the recent Gaza ceasefire – including by an annexation of the West Bank – or face a serious rift in relations with the US.

As the shaky ceasefire came into effect last week, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner quickly rushed to the region for consultations. Now they have been followed by secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and the vice-president, JD Vance, as Trump deploys his top allies to tamp down on internal strife within Israel’s fractious Knesset.

One of two bills recently passed by rightwing MPs, despite the objections of Netanyahu and most of his Likud party, would establish Israeli “sovereignty” over the occupied territories in the West Bank – effectively ending the prospect of a two-state solution. They are unlikely to ever become law, especially given Trump’s vocal opposition to an annexation of the West Bank. But the votes have unsettled US officials, who took the unusual step of publicly chastising Israeli lawmakers for supporting the inflammatory legislation.

The moves to legitimise a potential annexation of the West Bank have already angered Arab states crucial to negotiating and maintaining the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. In a joint statement, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Egypt and other regional powers “condemned in the strongest terms” the passage of the bills. ...

Trump has repeatedly told the Arab states that he can restrain Netanyahu, but as their concern has risen, the White House has dispatched senior officials to Israel to prevent a flare-up in the fighting. The Israeli press have jokingly described it as “Bibi-sitting” – near-constant supervision of the Israeli prime minister to prevent him or his rightwing allies from taking drastic action to undermine the ceasefire or declare an annexation of the West Bank.

Hind Rajab's killers named in ICC filing

As Israel Pushes to Annex West Bank, Norwegian Refugee Council Condemns Growing Settler Violence

UN Expert Says All Nations With Ties to Israel 'Responsible in Some Measure' for Gaza Genocide

A report by one of the United Nations’ leading experts on Israel-Palestine describes the more than two years of genocide in Gaza as a “collective crime,” for which all nations with financial, diplomatic, and military ties with Israel are culpable.

The draft report, published Monday, was written by Francesca Albanese, the UN’s special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, who is expected to speak at length on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza this weekend as part of the Nelson Mandela Foundation’s lecture series in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Her report names more than 60 countries, without which she says the systematic destruction of Gaza—which has killed or injured more than 10% of the strip’s population and displaced nearly everyone there—would not have been possible.

“Framed by colonial narratives that dehumanize the Palestinians, this livestreamed atrocity has been facilitated through third states’ direct support, material aid, diplomatic protection, and, in some cases, active participation,” Albanese wrote. “The world now stands on a knife-edge between the collapse of the international rule of law and hope for renewal. Renewal is only possible if complicity is confronted, responsibilities are met, and justice is upheld.”


Her report says that the states most responsible are “primarily Western ones,” the United States being chief among them.

The US accounts for two-thirds of Israel’s annual arms imports. And according to a report out this week from the Center for International Policy, it has spent over $38 billion since October 2023, both directly arming Israel through military grant programs and waging war against its enemies in Iran, Lebanon, and other nations across the Middle East.

Under both a Democratic and Republican administration, the US has also provided critical diplomatic cover for Israel, proposing temporary “pauses” and “truces” to the conflict before international bodies, “sidestepping a permanent ceasefire and ensuring a continuation of the violence.”

On several occasions, the US has used its veto power to block unanimous votes in favor of a binding ceasefire resolution by the UN Security Council. In September, it did so for the fifth time, vetoing a 14-1 resolution that would have required both parties to halt the violence and release all hostages.

The US has sanctioned the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Trump administration also placed Albanese herself under sanctions in July for her support of the ICC’s efforts.

American non-governmental organizations supported by US President Donald Trump were also directly involved with the creation and administration of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which administered aid sites after humanitarian organizations like the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) were pushed out. In just over three months, more than 1,000 Palestinian aid seekers were killed in routine massacres by Israeli troops, who have described the GHF sites as “killing fields.”

Many senior US politicians, Albanese said, have helped to prolong the genocide through rhetoric that frames Israeli lives as more important and worthy of protection than Palestinian ones.

“Israelis were depicted as ‘civilians’ and ‘hostages,’ and Palestinians as ‘Hamas terrorists,’ ‘legitimate’ or ‘collateral’ targets,’ ‘human shields’ or lawfully detained ‘prisoners,’” she wrote.

Albanese also singled out many European nations as particularly culpable. These include Germany, which provided Israel with over $565 million worth of weapons, making it the second-largest exporter behind the US; and the United Kingdom, which has participated in hundreds of surveillance missions over Gaza and whose prime minister, Keir Starmer, defended Israel’s right to cut off water and power to civilians at the war’s outset.

She also called out others that increased trade with Israel during the two years of genocide—Germany, Poland, Greece, Italy, Denmark, and France—as well as Arab countries like the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, and Morocco. She said their continued economic support not only “legitimizes and sustains the Israeli apartheid regime” but “countered the trade decline Israel might otherwise have faced” as a result of its increasing global isolation.

Albanese wrote that for helping Israel, which she described as a “genocidal apartheid state,” these nations “could and should be held liable for aiding, assisting, or jointly participating in internationally wrongful acts.”

Though a ceasefire is now in effect between Israel and Gaza, Albanese said on Wednesday that the plan, which currently has Israel occupying more than half the Gaza Strip, was “absolutely inadequate and it doesn’t comply with international law.”

She said that the recognition of a Palestinian state by several Western nations in recent months has “been a pretense of doing something while the emergency was to discuss... how we stop the genocide.”

Albanese said that the states “who still have ties with Israel, diplomatic, but especially economic, political, and military ties, are all responsible in some measure.”

"Russian Pilots Will Fly For Iran": Why Israel Backed Down | Lawrence Wilkerson & Dennis Fritz

Zelensky BEGS as Putin SHATTERS Trump’s Ukraine Escalation | Alexander Mercouris

Putin says he will never bow to US but concedes sanctions may cause ‘some losses’

Vladimir Putin has said Russia will never bow to US pressure but conceded new sanctions could cause some economic pain, as China and India were reported to be scaling back Russian oil imports after Washington targeted Moscow’s two largest producers.

The US on Wednesday imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, as well as nearly three dozen of their subsidiaries, as the Trump administration increased pressure on the Kremlin to negotiate an end to its war against Ukraine. The EU separately agreed to a phased ban on the import of Russian liquefied natural gas.

The measures against Rosneft and Lukoil – which together account for just under half of Russia’s crude exports, and follow UK sanctions last week on the companies – were the first sanctions imposed on Moscow since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January and are aimed at choking off the vital oil revenues that fund the Kremlin’s war machine.

The Russian leader on Thursday described the US sanctions as an “unfriendly act that does nothing to strengthen Russian-American relations” and “an attempt to put pressure on Russia”, which he said was futile. “No self-respecting country ever does anything under pressure,” Putin added in comments to Russian journalists. While he said the new sanctions would not have a significant impact on Russia, he acknowledged that “some losses are expected”.

He also suggested that Trump should “think about who his administration is really working for” when advisers urge him to impose sanctions on Russian oil, and warned that the measures will lead to a rise in prices.

Larry C. Johnson & Col. Larry Wilkerson: The world is on the BRINK of WORLD WAR III

Putin Warns Massive Response Missile Strikes; Kiev Pokrovsk Troops Given Ultimatum; Starmer Crushed

Colombia urges US to halt strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats: ‘It is murder’

Colombia has condemned US airstrikes on vessels allegedly involved in drug-smuggling off the coast of South America, urging Washington to immediately halt further attacks in the Pacific and Caribbean. The plea came after Pete Hegseth, the US secretary of defense, announced two new strikes on Wednesday, which were the first to hit the Pacific and left at least five people dead. According to US figures, at least nine attacks have now been carried out since early September, killing 37 people. A broad range of experts have said the campaign is illegal.

“Colombia calls on the US government to cease these attacks and urges it to respect the norms dictated by international law,” the foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday evening. Gustavo Petro, the president, was more blunt, writing on social media: “It is murder. Whether in the Caribbean or Pacific, the US government strategy breaks the norms of international law.” ...

Trump responded to Petro’s comments by describing his Colombian counterpart as a “thug”, “a bad guy” and an “illegal drug trafficker”.

And the attacks have also drawn criticism from another Latin leader with uneasy relations with the US: Claudia Sheinbaum, the Mexican president who has worked with the Trump administration over border security and trade, also criticised the operations on Thursday. “Obviously we do not agree,” Sheinbaum said. “There are international laws on how to operate when dealing with the alleged illegal transport of drugs or guns on international waters.”

Trump plans land strikes against alleged drug traffickers from Venezuela

Donald Trump said on Thursday that his administration could soon expand its military attacks on alleged drug smugglers from Venezuela and also begin pursuing them on land. Trump, who has faced questions over whether he has the legal authority to use lethal force against the people in boats from Venezuela, said during a press conference he was not sure whether the administration would seek approval from Congress to attack people from the South American country over land.

“The land is going to be next,” Trump said during a press conference after a roundtable with members of his administration. “And we may go to the Senate; we may go to the Congress and tell them about it, but I can’t imagine they’d have any problem with it.”

Trump and the US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, have justified the nine strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific side of South America, which have killed at least 37 people, by describing the alleged drug traffickers as terrorists. “Just as al-Qaida waged war on our homeland, these cartels are waging war on our border and our people,” Hegseth posted on social media Wednesday, adding that “there will be no refuge or forgiveness – only justice”.

Ex-CIA Director John Brennan referred to Justice Department for prosecution by House Judiciary committee

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) referred ex-CIA Director John Brennan to the Justice Department Tuesday for criminal prosecution over false statements he allegedly made to Congress related to the 2016 Trump-Russia collusion probe.

Jordan, in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, indicated there is “significant evidence” the Obama-era spy chief made “numerous willfully and intentionally false statements” during his May 11, 2023 testimony before the Judiciary Committee about the CIA’s reliance on the discredited Steele dossier in assessing claims President Trump’s 2016 campaign was colluding with Russia.

“John Brennan lied to Congress,” Jordan wrote on X, sharing the full referral. “Today, we referred him to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution.” 

The Ohio Republican specifically cited discrepancies between Brennan’s sworn testimony and his written orders to subordinates, demanding the inclusion of material from ex-British spy Christopher Steele’s salacious dossier in an Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) on Russia’s efforts to meddle in the 2016 presidential election. 

“Brennan testified that ‘the CIA was very much opposed to having any reference or inclusion of the Steele dossier in the Intelligence Community Assessment,’” the letter stated. “This claim is contradicted by multiple sources that reveal Brennan’s support for including the dossier in the ICA.”

US Senate fails to pass bill to pay federal essential workers and troops through shutdown

The Senate failed on Thursday to pass legislation that would keep federal workers deemed essential and troops paid throughout the ongoing government shutdown, which stretched into its 23rd day with no end in sight. The upper chamber held a vote on Republican senator Ron Johnson’s “shutdown fairness act”, which would guarantee pay for certain federal employees even when government funding lapses.

“With Democrats continuing the Schumer shutdown, they should at least agree to pay all the federal employees that are forced to continue working,” Johnson said when he introduced the bill last week. But Democrats opposed the legislation, arguing that it would just give Donald Trump more power by letting the president choose which employees receive pay.

“The bill, the Republican bill, is a ruse. It’s nothing more than another tool for Trump to hurt federal workers and American families and to keep this shutdown going for as long as he wants,” Schumer, the Democratic Senate minority leader, said. The bill did not receive the 60 votes necessary to advance, with only three Democratic senators – John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, and the Georgia senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff – breaking with their party to support it.

Congress has been paralyzed since the start of the month, after Democrats and Republicans failed to reach an agreement on extending government funding beyond the end of September. The ensuing shutdown has led to an estimated 700,000 federal workers being furloughed, while hundreds of thousands of others are working without pay.

Last week, Donald Trump authorized the defense department to pay US military personnel, using funds meant for research and development. Budget experts who spoke to the Guardian have described the move as likely illegal.

Illinois warns immigration officers tampering with license plates is illegal

Illinois officials have issued a warning to federal immigration agents that tampering with or swapping license plates is against state law and will not be tolerated. On Wednesday, the Illinois secretary of state, Alexi Giannoulias, unveiled a new initiative called the “Plate Watch” hotline, encouraging residents to report cases in which law enforcement vehicles appear to be using invalid or altered plates to evade identification during federal immigration raids.

In a video statement online, Giannoulias pointed to a viral video in which a federal immigration officer can be seen telling a protester next to his car that he can record him all he wants since “we change the plates out everyday”.

“I have a big problem with that … Swapping out Illinois license plates on Illinois-registered vehicles is illegal and as secretary of state, I have zero tolerance for this type of illegal activity. We are investigating these allegations as we speak,” Giannoulias said. “No one, including federal agents, is above the law, and we intend to hold them accountable, especially while driving on our roadways. This is a matter of public safety and protecting the wellbeing of our communities,” he added.

Under Illinois state law, penalties for displaying an unauthorized license plate, obscuring or modifying license plates in any way include fines and potential jail time. The Illinois secretary of state’s office also has the authority to suspend or revoke the vehicle’s license plates in such instances. Additionally, Illinois-registered vehicles must display license plates in both the front and the back. Vehicles registered in other states may only require a rear license plate and all vehicles driving on Illinois roads must have proper licensing in accordance with laws of their state, the Illinois secretary of state’s office said.

Earlier this month, a US district judge ordered federal immigration officers in the Chicago area to wear body cameras following repeated deployments of pepper balls, smoke grenades and teargas against protesters and even local police.

Trump backs down on sending federal troops to San Francisco for immigration crackdown

Donald Trump canceled plans for a deployment of federal troops to San Francisco that had sparked widespread condemnation from California leaders and sent protesters flooding into the streets.

The Bay Area region had been on edge after reports emerged on Wednesday that the Trump administration was poised to send more than 100 Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and other federal agents to the US Coast Guard base in Alameda, a city in the East Bay, as part of a large-scale immigration-enforcement plan. By early Thursday morning, hundreds of protesters had gathered outside the Coast Guard base, holding signs with slogans such as “No ICE or Troops in the Bay!”.

But just hours later, the president said he would not move forward with a “surge” of federal forces in the area after speaking with the mayor, Daniel Lurie, and Silicon Valley leaders including Marc Benioff, the Salesforce CEO who recently apologized for saying Trump should send national guard troops, and Jensen Huang, the chief executive of Nvidia.

Lurie said he spoke with the president on Wednesday night, and that Trump told him he would call off the deployment. “In that conversation, the president told me clearly that he was calling off any plans for a federal deployment in San Francisco. Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, reaffirmed that direction in our conversation this morning,” Lurie said in a statement.

Trump confirmed the conversation on his Truth Social platform, saying: “I spoke to Mayor Lurie last night and he asked, very nicely, that I give him a chance to see if he can turn it around.”

DC man who played Darth Vader theme at national guard troops sues over arrest

A Washington DC resident who was detained last month for following a national guard patrol while playing Darth Vader’s theme from the Star Wars films has filed a lawsuit alleging that his constitutional rights were violated. Sam O’Hara, represented by an American Civil Liberties Union attorney, filed the complaint against four local police officers, a member of the Ohio national guard and the District of Columbia.

O’Hara was protesting against the Trump administration’s deployment of national guard troops by walking behind them and playing The Imperial March, the song used in Star Wars as a theme for Darth Vader and other figures of the hated Galactic Empire. O’Hara shared his efforts over TikTok.

Before he was detained, one of the national guard members, Devon Beck, said: “Hey, man, If you’re going to keep following us, we can contact Metro PD and they can come handle you if that’s what you want to do. Is that what you want to do?” Beck then called the police, who handcuffed O’Hara, “preventing him from continuing his peaceful protest”, the lawsuit states.

“The law might have tolerated government conduct of this sort a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away,” the suit states, quoting Star Wars. “But in the here and now, the First Amendment bars government officials from shutting down peaceful protests, and the Fourth Amendment (along with the District’s prohibition on false arrest) bars groundless seizures.”



the horse race



Eric Adams to endorse Andrew Cuomo in New York City mayoral race

The New York City mayor, Eric Adams, will endorse Andrew Cuomo in the city’s mayoral race, following months of tension between the two Democrats turned independents.

Adams revealed his intention in an interview with the New York Times a month after he ended his own re-election campaign which saw him register poor polling numbers. ...

Just last month, Adams lashed out at Cuomo, calling him a “snake and a liar”, and accusing him of having “a career of pushing Black candidates out of races”. Despite that, Adams reversed course on Thursday, telling the New York Times that he now plans to campaign alongside Cuomo in neighborhoods where he maintains strong support.

“I think that it is imperative to really wake up the Black and brown communities that have suffered from gentrification on how important this race is,” Adams told the newspaper.

“They have watched their rents increase in terms of gentrification and they have been disregarded in those neighborhoods, and I’m going to go to those neighborhoods and speak one on one with organizers and groups and I’m going to walk with the governor in those neighborhoods and get them engaged,” he added.

Sliwa, Cuomo, Moderator Go FULL RACIST Against Mamdani

Most voters in swing House districts fault Trump trade moves for high prices

As Donald Trump continues to slap tariffs on major trading partners, polling from a Democratic campaign arm finds that a majority of voters in districts likely to decide the majority in the House of Representatives blame the president’s trade policies for increasing their cost of living.

The survey, shared exclusively with the Guardian, also confirms that many voters are sour on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the GOP’s signature legislative accomplishment passed earlier this year that enacts Trump’s tax policies, pays for his immigration crackdown, and downsizes the Medicaid health insurance program for poor and disabled Americans. ...

The committee surveyed 1,000 likely voters earlier this month in 61 battleground districts, and found that 61% of respondents blamed Trump’s tariffs for raising prices, while a 52% majority of voters opposed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Trump last year won the districts surveyed by an average of 4%, but Democrats nonetheless led on the generic ballot ahead of the 2026 midterm elections by 47%, to the GOP’s 43%. The DCCC said the four-point split is higher than a similar poll of battleground districts it conducted in November 2017, ahead of the 2018 midterms in which Democrats gained 41 seats in the House and retook the majority.



the evening greens


White House approves increased oil and gas drilling in Alaska’s national wildlife refuge

The Trump administration has approved more oil and gas drilling across Alaska’s Arctic national wildlife refuge (ANWR), prompting widespread criticism from environmental conservation organizations. On Thursday, the interior secretary announced the opening of 1.56m acres across ANWR’s coastal plains, which is home to various wildlife including polar bears, caribou and moose, as well as whales and seals.

In addition, the department reissued necessary permits to establish the Ambler Road Project, a controversial proposal for a 211-mile gravel road, part of which will be built through south-western Alaska’s Izembek national wildlife refuge. Once built, the road would endanger more than 200,000 migratory birds that cross through the refuge annually, among other wildlife, according to the National Wildlife Refuge Association. The project would also threaten multiple Indigenous tribes that rely on the area for hunting and fishing. At least 39 of Alaska’s interior villages and 37 tribes oppose the road.

Meanwhile, proponents of the project include Alaska’s congressional representatives, who have said that the road is necessary to access a $7bn copper deposit, as well as other manufacturing minerals including cobalt and zinc.

Environmental groups have sounded the alarm, with the Alaska Wilderness League saying: “The Arctic refuge is the crown jewel of our public lands system. During a government shutdown, when everyday Americans are left without basic services, President Trump has chosen to double down on failed policies that prioritize oil corporations over people.”

Marine heatwave over Pacific Ocean could lead to flooding in north-west

A marine heatwave known as a blob was especially severe this year in the north-western and central Pacific Ocean, which could lead in the coming months to increased flooding in the US Pacific north-west and especially wintery weather in eastern North America, according to climate scientists. The temperature in August in the northern Pacific was 2.5C above preindustrial levels, according to Berkeley Earth, a non-profit that studies global warming.

That spike can lead to more thunder storms and affect marine species, according to Zeke Hausfather, a research scientist with Berkeley Earth. “I kind of wonder, is this going to be a permanent feature?” said Nick Bond, a climatologist with the state of Washington and the University of Washington, who coined the term “blob” for the phenomenon.

Bond added: “A storm can come along and cool off the ocean some. You might have a sunny summer and it will warm up a little bit more than usual, so there are those kinds of fluctuations. But boy, what is out there in the central north Pacific? That is not going away anytime soon.” Bond said he started calling such a heatwave a blob because “they are not static. They are kind of amorphous. They move around and evolve with time as the weather changes.” ...

Some news organizations recently reported that the blob could cause Chicago to have the “coldest, snowiest” winter in years. While Bond said the blob could play a role in the weather so far inland, it would probably only be a “secondary player”.

“If the air coming in off the ocean here in western Washington state is warmer than normal, then we will have less snow, all other things being equal. That effect doesn’t extend that far inland,” Bond said. “For it to impact snowfall in Chicago, it has to be causing a disruption in the weather patterns … It doesn’t mean that it has no influence whatsoever, but there are other factors that are going to be more important to how snowy it is in the midwestern US.”


Also of Interest

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

Due Process & Trump-Ordered Murder

ICJ Exposes Israeli Lies About UNRWA

Palestinians in Gaza Struggle to Retrieve Their Dead With Little More Than Hammers

Trump Fails To End His Proxy War With Russia

Top House Democrats accuse Trump of illegal scheme to pilfer $230m in taxpayer money

Comedy Wildlife Awards 2025 – in pictures

Trump says he's ending trade talks with Canada over TV ads on tariffs

Cracks Grow in MAGA Coalition over Epstein Files, Healthcare & Racist Group Texts: Ex-GOP Adviser

Krystal GOES TO WAR Over Vile Graham Platner Smear Campaign

Judge Nap & Larry Johnson chat with Maria Zakharova : Moscow, Russia


A Little Night Music

Clear Waters (Eddie Clearwater) - Boogie Woogie Baby

Eddy Clearwater - You Don't Have to Go

Eddy ''The Chief'' Clearwater ~ Hard Way to Make an Easy Living

Eddy ''The Chief'' Clearwater ~ Messed Up World

Eddy Clearwater - A Good Leavin' Alone

Eddy Clearwater - A Real Good Time

Eddy Clearwater – Sail The Ship

Eddy Clearwater - Gotta Move On

Eddy Clearwater - Mean Case of the Blues

Eddy Clearwater - I Wouldn't Lay My Guitar Down

Eddy The Chief Clearwater Rawa Blues Festival


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Comments

Pluto's Republic's picture

.
... That moment when the Chinese suddenly realize that their 'besties' in Africa can sing in Manderin — and make it sound better than they can. FAFO

.

Finally, something that Americans discovered, before the Chinese did!

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joe shikspack's picture

@Pluto's Republic

i guess it's not surprising, after all, africans sing quite compellingly (is that a word?) in english, so why not in mandarin? looks like china's interest in africa is bearing cultural fruit as well as economic fruit.

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Pluto's Republic's picture

@joe shikspack

...regularly out-sell the Chinese music originals?

I hope we don't have to listen to endless Chinese bitching about "IP Theft." Smile

Comes around, goes around.

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joe shikspack's picture

@Pluto's Republic

or worse, "cultural appropriation."

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janis b's picture

@joe shikspack

Interesting concept, cultural appropriation. I guess the question is one of intention. I think we have all heard and watched, fine and respectful representations of other cultures, but I don't think this group is one of them.

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joe shikspack's picture

@janis b

well, in my view (and this is not my full view of the topic) there are levels in this cultural appropriation thing. to illustrate, there is pat boone doing a version of little richard's "tutti frutti," which ironically charted higher than little richards' original. this is what boone had to say about it:

Boone himself admitted that he did not wish to do a cover of "Tutti Frutti" because "it didn't make sense" to him; however, the producers persuaded him into making a different version by claiming that the record would generate attention and money.

in my view, this indicates that boone had no interest in the music other than its commercial potential, he didn't like it and didn't have any particular respect for it.

i would call it an odious act of cultural appropriation.

then there's jimi hendrix performing the "star spangled banner." his reason for performing it probably wasn't for strictly commercial reasons, he had something to say, some of which may not have been pleasant to the ears of the fellow who wrote it and the people whose sentiments that the song came to represent.

hendrix's performance to my mind seems like an opposite pole of boone's use of little richard's song.

there's .02 worth.

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@joe shikspack

Hendrix version of 'Star Spangled Banner' the official one at least we'd be spared the atrocious singing of it that we're so often subjected to.

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@joe shikspack
I'm all for it:

Japanese jeans.

African country:

British ska:

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QMS's picture

@Blue Republic

of cajun music
thanks for posting these
for us culturally challenged
observers

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Zionism is a social disease

janis b's picture

@Pluto's Republic

Do you know if it is a song the afro american singers composed and translated into Mandarin, or is it a mandarin song translated to include their style? Anyway, it has the sound and rhythm of both cultures, interesting.

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Pluto's Republic's picture

@janis b

...developing like crazy — ending hunger, scarcity, and local wars once and for all. Even if they have to spend their own money to get the job done.

There are no African-Americans involved in this particular acculturation. This is a key example of China's "soft power" that the DC Neocons are braying about while preparing to bomb China.

The American Imperialists has declared 'dibs' on asset-stripping the African continent for Capitalist profit. But now the Chinese are in Africa ruining USian's god-given rights by making Africa independent (again).

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janis b's picture

@Pluto's Republic

I hope and trust all is well in your world.

I’ll have a chance soon to talk with a Kenyan woman I know, and ask her about her interactions and experiences with the Chinese.

Similar, on a much smaller scale the same is happening in parts of the South Pacific.

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Pluto's Republic's picture

@janis b

...the same is happening in parts of the South Pacific.

.

I'm very proud of the Solomon Islands.

Joint statement on establishing a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Solomon Islands

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@Pluto's Republic @Pluto's Republic
(the Chinese, that is)
Burkina Faso.

Where they have kicked out the: French, Americans, Chinese, Israelis (but have good relations with Russia).

Told the IMF to FRO.

Banned the import of plastic trash, electronic waste, used clothing - all of which have been ecologically disastrous in other African countries.

Banned single use plastic bags. And are promoting food and fiscal sovereignty.

And are in the process of forming local defense units in all regions of the country to aid in fighting off terrorist attacks.

Ibrahim Traore:

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soryang's picture

@Pluto's Republic

Thanks PR! Found this article. I am still looking for a printed copy of the Mandarin lyrics. But this is what I found so far.

September 30, 2025, 3:34:04 PM Source: Beijing Youth Daily computer translation.

As the National Day holiday approaches, anticipation for the long holiday and enthusiasm for travel continue to rise. Coincidentally, renowned musician Qi Long's new single , "I Want to Go Somewhere," with its free and dynamic melody, serves as the background music for this "National Day Getaway Plan." The music video for the same name officially launched on September 29th. This song not only represents a bold breakthrough in Qi Long's musical style, but also serves as an "invitation to escape" painted with melody, extending a sincere invitation to all those entangled in the daily grind to "set off now."

Unlike the soulful, soothing "Qi-style love songs" of the past, "I Want to Go Somewhere" is more of a stark declaration of departure. Built on a light, European and American arrangement, the song skillfully blends the unique charm of Chinese pop music, creating a richly layered auditory experience...

...As the perfect pre-National Day travel song, "I Want to Go Somewhere" quickly garnered attention across music platforms upon its release. It immediately topped major charts like Tencent Music's You Chart, Kugou Music's Rising Chart, and Kuwo Music's Rising Chart, and its play and collection counts continue to climb. The lyrics' longing to "nest beside verdant mountains and clear waters," to "avoid the mundane obstacles, escape the hustle and bustle of conflict," resonate with the underlying message of National Day, which celebrates peace and prosperity for the nation. As travelers embark on holiday journeys, witnessing the surging rivers of the motherland, the curling smoke from rural villages, and the dazzling lights of cities, they discover that the song's yearning for "a place" embodies the very beauty of this land and serves as a vivid illustration of the nation's prosperity.

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Pluto's Republic's picture

@soryang

I had no idea how to look this up. Although I really wanted to, to satisfy my own curiosity.

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soryang's picture

@Pluto's Republic

不用谢 No need to thank, I appreciate you posting that song. It's very catchy. That kind of song goes a long way to teaching the words and sounds of a language. They should have printed out the lyrics somewhere so I can copy them. It's takes too long to search for the words I don't know one by one without the mandarin in a copiable font. I saw he also mentioned going back to his home town on the holiday, which is also the South Korean custom on major holidays.

I didn't post the link to the source I used. In case there's some kind of malware or something.

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QMS's picture

is amazing

an in depth understanding of a foreign culture
is light light at the end of a long dark tunnel.

Thanks joe!

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Zionism is a social disease

janis b's picture

@QMS

Please let me know where in the EBs I find that interview.

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joe shikspack's picture

@janis b

last link in the blog posts of interest section.

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janis b's picture

@joe shikspack

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