The Evening Blues - 3-30-26
Hey! Good Evening!
This evening's music features country blues guitarist Son Bonds. Enjoy!
Son Bonds - A Hard Pill To Swallow
"At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed."
-- Frederick Douglass
News and Opinion
The US-Israel Alliance Exists To Fix The Problems Created By Its Existence
The US-Israel alliance exists to fix the problems created by its existence.
The US and Israel have sown death and destruction throughout the middle east for generations, creating generation after generation of survivors who hate them and want them gone, and then it cites the existence of people who hate them and want them gone as the reason why the US needs to keep supporting Israel.
The US needs to help Israel harm people or else the people who are mad about being harmed might harm Israelis. It’s circular reasoning all the way through.
Ask an American Israel supporter why it benefits the US to defend Israel, and they’ll tell you it advances American interests in the middle east.
Ask them what American interests it helps advance in the middle east and they’ll tell you it counters the malign influence of Iran and terrorist groups.
Ask them to describe exactly what Iran and the terrorist groups are doing which directly harms American interests, and they’ll tell you they threaten American troops in the region.
Ask them why American troops can’t just leave the region to remove the threat, and they’ll tell you they can’t because that would be abandoning Israel.
Ask them why the US can’t simply abandon Israel, and they’ll tell you it’s an important US ally.
Ask them to explain why Israel is an important US ally, and they’ll tell you it’s because it advances American interests in the middle east.
The official narrative about the importance of the US-Israel alliance is self-justifying circular logic the whole way through, no matter what point you start examining it from.
They’ll tell you the west needs to support the poor innocent nation of Israel because it gets attacked by evildoers who want to destroy it for no reason. In reality Israel is despised by middle eastern populations because the west dropped a brand new ethnostate on top of a pre-existing civilization and has forced it into being through continuous brute military force ever since, and that violence is all Israel’s opponents are ever responding to. The west created the violence it claims to be countering.
The only argument Israel’s defenders in America make which does not rely on circular reasoning and dishonest obfuscation is “The Bible says we gotta give JDAMs to Benjamin Netanyahu.” But the argument that permanent war is justified because you think that some book of made-up stories commands you to give military support to a nation that’s younger than Dolly Parton does not deserve to be taken seriously.
If they were honest they’d just admit that it benefits the US empire’s ambitions of total global domination to have a ton of military bases and sympathetic partners in the middle east, which is rich in fossil fuels and critical trade routes. If you knew absolutely nothing about the middle east but understood global military conquest you’d be able to tell that west Asia would be a critical point of geostrategic control just by looking at a globe, since it’s the only region on our planet which joins three continents.
But they can’t admit that, because it would be admitting that all this violence and suffering isn’t about promoting the interests of Americans or defending Jews or fighting terrorism or spreading freedom and democracy, and is instead about advancing the interests of a few oligarchs and empire managers with the facilitation of crazy religious beliefs held by Jewish Zionists and Christian Zionists.
So they lie and make up stories about why it makes perfect sense for American soldiers to be headed to Iran right now, and why it was entirely reasonable for the US to send genocide weapons to Israel throughout the incineration of the Gaza Strip. It smells like bullshit because that’s what it is.
Theodore Postol: Iran Already Has Nuclear Deterrent to Israeli Nuclear Strike
Larry Johnson : Trump's Suicide Mission of Boots on the Ground
Iran accuses US of plotting ground assault while publicly seeking talks
Iran has warned the US that it is prepared to confront any ground assault, accusing Washington of secretly planning a land attack while publicly seeking talks, as the war that has killed thousands of people and caused the biggest ever disruption to global energy supplies entered its second month. As efforts to find a negotiated conclusion to hostilities inched forward with a meeting of regional powers in Pakistan, there were signs of further escalation over the weekend as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis entered the conflict for the first time and the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said his country was widening its invasion of southern Lebanon.
In a message published to mark 30 days since the start of the war, the Iranian parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said: “The enemy signals negotiation in public, while in secret it plots a ground attack. Our firing continues,” Ghalibaf said. “Our missiles are in place. Our determination and faith have increased.” He said Iranian forces were “waiting for the arrival of American troops on the ground to set them on fire and punish their regional partners for ever”.
The Pentagon is preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran, US officials have told the Washington Post, as thousands of American soldiers and marines arrive in the Middle East. Any US ground operation would probably stop short of a full-scale invasion, instead relying on raids by special operations forces and conventional infantry, according to reports on contingency planning. But even a limited mission could expose American troops to Iranian drones, missiles, ground fire and improvised explosives.
Among the options reportedly being discussed are the seizure of Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export hub, and raids on coastal sites near the strait of Hormuz to destroy weapons threatening commercial and military shipping. Axios and the Wall Street Journal have reported that the Pentagon is also considering sending another 10,000 troops to the region, alongside a broader bombing campaign. The White House has sent mixed signals, alternating between talk of de-escalation and threats of a wider war. Karoline Leavitt, the press secretary, said Pentagon planning was intended to give Donald Trump “maximum optionality”, not to signal a final decision.
In an apparent rebuke of the Trump administration on Sunday, Pope Leo said God ignored the prayers of leaders who waged war and had “hands full of blood”. The pontiff made the comments days after the US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, prayed for violence against enemies who deserved “no mercy”.
Iran Strikes US Base Destroys US AWACS; Defiant Over US Ground Op; Russian Intel Helps Iran Prepare
What the Houthis’ entry into the Iran war means for the conflict and the wider region
The true significance of the long-awaited entry of Yemen’s Houthis into the Iran war depends on whether the Tehran-backed proxy group is intending to send a few missiles and drones from a distance towards Israel or will instead capitalise on its proximity to the narrow Bab al-Mandab strait to effectively close off the Red Sea to shipping, just as Iran has in effect shut the strait of Hormuz. The combined effect of both waterways being shut to commercial traffic from countries that neither the Iranians nor Houthis favour would be devastating. Napoleon Bonaparte’s remark that “the policy of a state lies in its geography” has never seemed more apt.
The Bab al-Mandab, between Yemen and the Horn of Africa, has always been vulnerable to Houthis attacks by drones missiles and small boats. Farea Al-Muslimi, Middle East specialist at the London thinktank Chatham House, warned any sustained disruption will drive up shipping costs, increase oil prices and place additional strain on an already fragile global economy reeling from the situation in the strait of Hormuz.
The Houthis may act with caution, partly because they are looking for rewards in the form of cash from Saudi Arabia. In the south of Yemen, the Saudis have for the moment trounced the southern separatist cause, advanced by the Southern Transitional Council. The United Arab Emirates, which backed the STC at the turn of the year under pressure from Riyadh, has also left Yemen, meaning Saudi Arabia is now in sole charge of Yemen’s future – an onerous task that requires Riyadh to reach deals not just with the former STC supporters but also the Houthis.
The STC formally disbanded, but is still in existence and is waiting for Riyadh and the UN-recognised government in the south to fail, insisting the southern cause is as strong as ever. Riyadh cannot afford to fight on too many fronts, so if necessary it will try to find backdoor methods to strike a deal with the Houthis and minimise the threat of attacks in the Red Sea.
Iran BLOWS UP Critical US Aircraft As Trump Desperate For Exit
Lawmakers react to reports Pentagon preparing for ground operations in Iran
US lawmakers responded to reports that the Pentagon is preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran, as thousands of US troops assemble in the Middle East and the conflict showed signs of entering a new, more dangerous phase. James Lankford, a Republican senator, told NBC’s Meet the Press that he had not ruled out supporting troops on the ground but that “we’ve got to be able to know what the objectives are and what they’re actually carrying out.”
Senate Republicans have previously rejected multiple war powers resolutions aimed at limiting Trump’s ability to launch further military action against Iran without congressional approval. The Pentagon has reportedly requested an additional $200bn for the war, in addition to its annual $1tn budget. Trump has said the additional funds were being requested “for a lot of reasons, beyond even what we’re talking about in Iran”.
Democrats reacted on Sunday to signs that the conflict could be entering a more dangerous phase. Cory Booker said that the Trump administration had “gotten us into what will be looked at as one of the greatest blunders, presidential blunders of our time”. The New Jersey senator said that by not seeking congressional approval, Trump was “pushing us further and further into a conflict with no foreseeable off-ramp and thousands of more troops moving into that region”.
Maryland senator Chris Van Hollen told ABC’s This Week he hoped an additional Pentagon budget request would not pass in Congress. “I don’t think we should be providing more money for an illegal war of choice to a president who promised during the campaign that he would not drag America into new wars, especially in the Middle East and a war that is now making us less, not more safe and has already cost American lives, is costing billions of dollars every day, oil and gas prices are going up.”
Van Hollen added that a president who campaigned on lowering prices and ending foreign wars “has started foreign wars along with Prime Minister Netanyahu and prices are going through the roof. So no, we should not keep funding an illegal war of choice that’s making us less safe.”
Israeli Army On The Brink Of Collapse Under Attacks From Iran, Lebanon, Yemen
Prof. Jeffrey Sachs : What is There to Negotiate?
As Trump Prepares Iran Ground Assault, Expert Warns He’s ‘Run Out of Options’ for Victory
President Donald Trump is reportedly preparing to launch some kind of ground assault on Iran in the coming weeks, but one prominent military strategy expert believes he’s heading straight for defeat. ...
Michael Eisenstadt, director of the Military and Security Studies Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told the Post that taking over Kharg Island would be a highly risky operation for American troops, even if initially successful.
“I just wouldn’t want to be in that small place with Iran’s ability to rain down drones and maybe artillery,” said Eisenstadt.
Eisenstadt’s analysis was echoed by Ret. Gen. Joseph Votel, former head of US Central Command, who told ABC News that seizing and occupying Kharg Island would put US troops in a state of constant danger, warning they could be “very, very vulnerable” to drones and missiles launched from the shore.
Lawrence Freedman, professor emeritus of war studies at King’s College London, believes that the president has already checkmated himself regardless of what shape any ground operation takes.
In an analysis published Sunday, Freedman declared Trump had run “out of options” for victory, as there have been no signs of the Iranian regime crumbling due to US-Israeli attacks.
Freedman wrote that Trump now “appears to inhabit an alternative reality,” noting that “his utterances have become increasingly incoherent, with contradictory statements following quickly one after the other, and frankly delusional claims.”
Trump’s lone real option at this point, Freedman continued, would to simply declare that he had achieved an unprecedented victory and just walk away. But even in that case, wrote Freedman, “this would mean leaving behind a mess in the Gulf” with no guarantee that Iran would re-open the Strait of Hormuz.
“Success in war is judged not by damage caused but by political objectives realized,” Freedman wrote in his conclusion. “Here the objective was regime change, or at least the emergence of a new compliant leader... Trump’s problem is that whatever the claims he might make about the damage to Iran’s nuclear and military capacity, which is substantial, the regime survives, the international economy has been severely disrupted, and the bills keep on coming in.”
Report from Beirut: Israeli Strikes Target Journalists, Medics
Funeral held for three journalists killed by Israeli strike in Lebanon
A funeral has taken place in Lebanon for three journalists killed by an Israeli strike on Saturday, after the Lebanese government called the killings a “blatant war crime”. Ali Shoeib, of the Hezbollah-owned al-Manar television station, and Fatima Ftouni and her brother and cameraman Mohammed Ftouni, of the pro-Hezbollah outlet al-Mayadeen, were killed in the strike targeting their car.
Israel claimed the attack shortly afterwards, saying the target was Shoeib, whom it accused of being a Hezbollah “terrorist” in an intelligence unit who had reported on the locations of Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military provided no further evidence to support the claim and made no comment on the deaths of the other journalists.Shoeib was a well-known war correspondent in Lebanon, where he reported for al-Manar for nearly three decades. His death was met with a wave of condolences from audiences and journalists in Lebanon, many of whom said he was considered a mentor figure in Lebanese journalism.
Fatima Ftouni had also been reporting from the frontlines of the Israel-Hezbollah war in recent days, filming in front of battles in the town of Taybeh, south Lebanon. Her own family had been killed in Israeli strikes weeks earlier. Eighteen months earlier, she and her colleagues were struck by an Israeli bomb while they were sleeping in a hotel in south Lebanon. Ftouni survived but two of her colleagues did not. Commenting on the deaths of her colleagues at the time, Ftouni said: “It is the silence of the international community that let this happen.”
The three journalists were struck as they were driving in Jezzine, a district in south Lebanon far from the frontlines. Local television showed at least four missiles were shot at the car, and footage appeared to show a missile being fired between the journalists’ car and bystanders as the latter tried to approach and help. Video of the aftermath showed singed press jackets and helmets, as well as tripods and microphones that had been pulled from the car.
The Israeli military claimed Shoeib was a member of Hezbollah’s Radwan force, the most elite unit of the pro-Iran armed group, which specialises in cross-border raids. It said Shoeib’s contact with senior members of Hezbollah and his work documenting the location of Israeli forces was evidence he was a military member of the group. International law says that regardless of political affiliation, journalists are considered civilians and targeting them is a war crime.
Israel Wants to Annex South Lebanon — But Hezbollah Isn’t Defeated, w/ Karim Makdisi
Oil Analysts WARN Global Depression Incoming
Oil on track for record monthly surge as Iran war disrupts markets
The Brent crude oil price is on track for its biggest monthly gain on record in March after the Iran war caused mayhem in the markets. Brent crude, the international benchmark, has climbed by 51% since the start of March, LSEG data shows, beating the previous monthly record of 46% in September 1990 after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, leading to the first Gulf war.
Brent closed at $112.57 a barrel on Friday, up from $72.48 a barrel on 27 February, the day before the US-Israeli war on Iran began. Brent traded as high as $119.50 a barrel during March, its highest level since June 2022, after Iran all but closed the strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil and gas would normally pass.
US crude prices also rose during March; West Texas Intermediate has gained 48%, on track for its strongest month since May 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic was disrupting the world economy.
Donald Trump appeared to lose his ability to talk down the oil price as the war continued. Earlier in the month, the president’s claims of progress in negotiations pushed down crude prices, but by late March his declaration of a 10-day extension for Iran to reopen the strait of Hormuz was followed by a rising oil price and falling stock markets.
We Refuse to Be a US 'Neocolony': Cuba's Deputy FM Fires Back
US will reportedly allow Russian oil tanker to reach Cuba amid blockade
The US is allowing a Russian tanker full of crude oil to reach Cuba, the New York Times reported on Sunday, possibly granting a lifeline to the Caribbean island amid a de facto oil blockade imposed by Washington. Ship tracking data showed the Russian-flagged tanker Anatoly Kolodkin on Sunday was just off the eastern tip of Cuba.
Anatoly Kolodkin, which departed from Primorsk after loading some 650,000 barrels of Urals crude, could soon discharge at Cuba’s Matanzas port if it does not change its current course, according to tracking services MarineTraffic and LSEG.
Donald Trump has effectively blocked all oil shipments to Cuba in an attempt to pressure the government in Havana. Meanwhile, the US has temporarily lifted sanctions on Russia to help improve the flow of oil that has been restricted by the US and Israeli military strikes on Iran.
The New York Times on Sunday confirmed that the Russian tanker was headed for Cuba, citing a US official who had been briefed on the matter. The Times report said it was unclear why the Trump administration was allowing the shipment to go through. A move by Washington to block the tanker by force, however, could have raised tensions at sea with Russia.
Cory Booker says Democrats have ‘failed this moment’ and calls for new leaders
Cory Booker, the Democratic senator from New Jersey, renewed his calls for new leadership of the Democratic party, saying the party has “failed this moment”.
“As a whole, our party has failed this moment,” Booker said on Sunday. “I’ve called for a generational renewal, because this left-right divide is killing our country and our adversaries know it.” He also said that “purity tests” within the party have led to more division in the US. During an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press, Booker also said the Democratic party has “too small of a coalition”, especially as the party seeks to confront “new challenges”, including Trump administration policies and the expansion of artificial intelligence and technology.
Booker’s comments come amid growing divisions within the party, as frustration with Democratic senator Chuck Schumer grows. Some Democrats, specifically on the more progressive wing of the party, have discussed replacing Schumer, the minority leader, as midterm elections approach. Progressive senators reportedly see Schumer as an impediment to change for the party, due to his centrist politics, and as an obstacle to standing up to Donald Trump.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that some senators, including Chris Murphy from Connecticut, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Tina Smith of Minnesota have been having conversations with colleagues, expressing frustration with Schumer and discussing strategies to remove him from his leadership position. The Journal reported that some lawmakers had been doing informal counts to see whether there may be enough votes to remove Schumer from his role.Concern and frustration with Schumer is, according to the report, widespread within the party, with many speculating on how to pressure him to step aside. Some Senate Democrats have pushed Schumer to commit to retiring in 2028.
Last fall, the New York Times reported that a group of progressive senators, including Smith, Murphy and Warren and others, are in a Signal chat dubbed the “Fight Club”, seeking to counter centrist candidates favored by Schumer in the lead-up to this year’s midterm elections.
Toxic Pfas residue identified on 37% of California produce
A first-of-its-kind analysis has identified Pfas pesticide residues on 37% of conventional California produce, with peaches, strawberries and grapes almost always found to be contaminated with the toxic “forever chemicals”. The analysis coincided with the introduction of California legislation that would by 2035 fully ban Pfas from being used as active ingredients in pesticides, and require warning labels and other restrictions in the meantime.
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) non-profit conducted the analysis of California department of pesticide regulation residue testing records. It found about 90% of peaches, plums and nectarines contained Pfas residues, while 80% of strawberries and grapes showed them. Those levels are especially alarming because children commonly eat fruits like grapes and strawberries, and children are most at risk from the chemicals’ toxic effects, said Bernadette Del Chiaro, senior vice-president of EWG’s California operations. “Most consumers don’t expect to find Pfas ‘forever chemicals’ on their strawberries – I think this information is shocking to most people,” Del Chiaro added.
Advocates began sounding the alarm over Pfas in pesticides in 2023. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under Joe Biden attempted to discredit the author of one study that identified the chemicals in pesticides, while, under Donald Trump, the EPA has increased the number of Pfas proposed for use on crops. At least 60% of active ingredients federally approved to be used in common pesticides in recent years fit the most widely accepted definition of Pfas, a 2023 analysis of EPA data found. The chemicals are added as an active ingredient to crop pesticides to kill weeds or pests.
EWG analyzed records for 930 samples across 78 types of non-organic, California-grown fruits and vegetables. It found 348 samples, or 37%, showed Pfas residues. About 40 individual types of fruits and vegetables contained residues, meaning at least half of all produce varieties were treated with Pfas pesticides. The chemicals are not just a problem for food – they persist in the environment and pollute drinking water supplies. The city of Fresno, in an agricultural region, recently sued Pfas makers over pollution of groundwater, which exceeded federal limits by 600%. The contamination impacts more than 120,000 homes.
A previous EWG analysis of state records found 2.5m pounds of Pfas are spread on California cropland annually. “Here’s a chemical that we in society at large are trying to get out of our environment and drinking water … and yet here on the flip side there is a regulatory agency permitting its use on crops,” Del Chiaro said.
Trump EPA relied on industry science to weaken formaldehyde cancer rules
A new trove of chemical producer and US Environmental Protection Agency documents reveal an elaborate industry operation that killed strong regulations around formaldehyde, a highly toxic carcinogen widely used in everyday goods from cosmetics to furniture to craft supplies. The Biden EPA in late 2024 determined any exposure to formaldehyde increased the risk of cancer and other health problems. The Trump EPA in late 2025 moved to undo those findings and replace them with less protective figures.
The newly released documents show the industry and the Trump EPA’s scientific justification for weakening the protections largely relied on, or aligned with, a small number of studies led by a chemical industry scientist, Rory Conolly, who argued that some exposure to formaldehyde is safe. The Conolly studies were funded by chemical trade groups. Between 2008 and 2024, the EPA had concluded the research was out of date or unreliable, documents show.
Once the Trump administration took over the EPA, it changed formaldehyde risk levels to align with the level Conolly found was safe. It relied in part on his assessments, limited data from other researchers, or studies the EPA previously found to be out of date. Advocates say the documents show the Trump EPA often “cherrypicked” data.
The documents, obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), a non-profit, also show an unusual three-day meeting in 2023 among the EPA and top formaldehyde producers, users and trade groups. Among the presenters was Conolly. Much of industry and the Trump EPA claims and justification were “based on what Conolly did”, said Maria Doa, a former EPA scientist now with EDF. The documents shine a light on the ferocity with which the powerful chemical lobby attacks regulations to protect its profits. “The bottom line is money – and that they want limited regulations on the chemicals they are making,” Doa told the Guardian.
Also of Interest
Here are some articles of interest, some of which defied fair-use abstraction.
Assault on Journalists Shows How Israeli Military Acts ‘In Service of The Settler Movement’
Exhausted Palestinians struggle to put lives back together as world’s gaze fixes on Iran
On The Failure Of Shock And Awe In Iran
Does the Tail Wag the Dog? How Both Sides Are Missing the Bigger Picture
Getting Real About The Second Iranian War
‘Burn the lawn’: Israel pursues ‘Rafah model’ in southern Lebanon
Iran War: More Signs of a Long Conflict and Resulting Severe Economic Damage
Hawaii’s small farmers begin recovery after catastrophic flooding
A Little Night Music
The Delta Boys (Sleepy John Estes & Son Bonds) You Shouldn't Say That
Son Bonds - 80 Highway Blues
Son Bonds & Hammie Nixon - All Night Long
The Delta Boys - Black Gal Swing
Brother Son Bonds - Ain't That News?
Hammie Nixon & Son Bonds - Trouble Trouble Blues
Son Bonds - Old Bachelor Blues
Hammie Nixon & Son Bonds - Weary Worried Blues
The Delta Boys (Sleepy John Estes & Son Bonds) - Don't You Want To Know
Comments
This whole concept of US 'allowing'
freedom of navigation for foreign vessels is absurd.
What gives the empire the right to control foreign ports
and international seas? It makes no legal sense. Because
of unilateral sanctions? The hubris is astounding.
Zionism is a social disease
evening qms...
it's that world policeman b.s. that has infected politicians since at least 1947.
Ah, but the USofA has officially renounced and rejected
international law in all of its forms.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
evening el...
heh, i think that the confusion is that the u.s. can't seem to decide whether a) there is no law which applies to itself - only to others, or, b) it is the law.
have a great evening!
Good evening Joe, thanks for the EBs. According to RT,
exorcisms and the demand for same are way, way up, several hundred percent. At first I thought that all those exorcisms would eliminate all the UFO's since Vance says that the aliens are demons, but it turns out that 99% of them are the result of mental illness (per one of the exorcists, who really ought to know, dontcha think. I figure that the remaining 1% are probably the result is misconjugated priestly blessings gone awry, definitely not little green men.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
heh...
i think that it's about time for an exorcism at the white house. it couldn't hurt.
How sick and cynically vengeful can this administration get?
.
“…we will conclude our lovely “stay” in Iran by blowing up and completely
obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island
(and possibly all desalinization plants!)…” DJT
Zionism is a social disease
erm...
sad to say, but there may be a way to go up the escalation ladder. after trump feeds a bunch of american troops into the shredder and faces an even more angry public, he could predictably choose to go nuclear. he's a psychopath, there's nothing restraining him. i don't believe that he has any moral sense such as he claims acts as the sole restraint on his action.