The Evening Blues - 1-3-18



eb1pt12


The day's news roundup + tonight's musical feature: William "Piano Red" Perryman

Hey! Good Evening!

This evening's music features barrelhouse piano player William "Piano Red" Perryman. Enjoy!

Piano Red - Red's Boogie

Said General Clay to General Gore
"Really must we fight this silly war
To kill and die is such a bore"
"I quite agree," said General Gore

Said General Gore to General Clay
"We could go to the beach today
And have some ice cream on the way"
"A grand idea," said General Clay

Said General Clay to General Gore
"We'll build sand castles on the shore"
Said General Gore, "We'll splash and play"
"Let's leave right now," said General Clay

Said General Gore to General Clay
"But what if the sea is closed today
And what if the sand's been blown away"
"A dreadful thought," said General Clay

Said General Gore to General Clay
"I've always feared the ocean's spray
And we may drown, it's true, we may"
"It chills my blood," said General Clay

Said General Clay to General Gore
"My bathin' suit is slightly tore
We better go on with our war"
"I quite agree," said General Gore

Then General Clay charged General Gore
As bullets flew and cannons roared
And now at last there is no more
Of General Clay or General Gore

-- Shel Silverstein


News and Opinion

Trump returns from golf trip to threaten nuclear annihilation

Sandwiched between South Korea proposing talks with North Korea Tuesday and Pyongyang responding with a call to Seoul a day later, Donald Trump posted a tweet threatening to start nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula.

The hotline between the North and South, dormant since December 2015 when Pyongyang ordered it closed, rang at 3.30 p.m. local time Wednesday (1:30 a.m ET) in the shared border village of Panmunjom. ... South Korea confirmed it received the call, labelling the move “very significant” for creating “an environment where communication will be possible at all times.”

Yet hours into the unexpected diplomatic thaw, Trump signaled the U.S. had little interest in easing tensions:


Trump, recently back from several days golfing in Florida, posted his tweet in response to Kim’s claim Monday that his nuclear forces are “completed” and “the button for nuclear weapons is on my desk.”

Kim Jong Un kicked off 2018 by pressing Trump’s buttons

When it comes to the prospect of nuclear war between the U.S. and North Korea, the good news is there is no “button,” the figurative missile launching mechanism that triggered the latest beef between Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump. But there’s also bad news: Both leaders do have the capability to unleash nuclear annihilation at a moment’s notice. ...

In his annual New Year’s address, Kim Jong Un boasted that a "nuclear button is on my office desk all the time.” He also said North Korea’s forces should be “ready for immediate nuclear counterattack to cope with the enemy’s maneuvers for a nuclear war.” But Joshua Pollack, a senior research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, said Kim wasn’t speaking literally about the button. “The button is a metaphor,” Pollack said. ... Trump clearly missed the metaphor.

The fallout quickly overshadowed other key aspects of Kim’s speech, most notably his surprise extension of an olive branch to South Korea. ... “His outreach to South Korea was a very deft political move,” said Abe Denmark, director of the Asia Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. “It exploits South Korean interest and enthusiasm for engagement with the North while also exploiting Seoul’s fears of disrupting the Olympics.”

Aside from the “button” comment and his usual bluster, Kim, a noted sports fanatic, struck a relatively warm tone in his address, “earnestly” wishing the upcoming games “a success.” At the same time, he made it clear that South Korea should “discontinue all the nuclear war drills they stage with outside forces,” and “desist from doing anything that might aggravate the situation.” Many experts read the latter comment as a request for Seoul to cancel or postpone its annual military exercises with the U.S. Scott Snyder, senior fellow for Korea Studies and director of the Program on U.S.-Korea Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, said calling off or rescheduling the drills is “not a prospect the Pentagon is not going to easily or willingly entertain.”

'Mine is bigger': Trump taunts Kim Jong-un about size... of nuclear button

Twitter Shrugs, But Atomic Scientists Warn Trump an "Existential Threat to Humanity"

Despite assurances from Twitter on Wednesday that President Donald Trump has not violated the company's terms of service, a top arms control expert argues the president's most recent tweet threatening nuclear war proves he remains "an existential threat to humanity."

The president's tweeted provocations "increase the probability that North Korea will misinterpret normal military exercises as an attack and respond with force," said John Mecklin, editor-in-chief of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. "This could result in a back-and-forth series of military actions that might—actually, really—lead to worldwide thermonuclear war and the end of the human experiment."

Mecklin's comments followed Trump's response to Kim's speech on Monday in which Kim reminded the president that North Korea's nuclear launch button is on his desk. The tweet prompted shocked reactions from political journalists and social media users, but Twitter responded to complaints about the president's threat with a brief statement saying it represented "no violation of the Twitter Rules against abusive behavior."

The company's Terms of Service specify that "You may not make specific threats of violence or wish for the serious physical harm, death, or disease of an individual or group of people," a rule that has prompted many to question its conclusion that Trump's latest threat was not an infraction.

Thousands of Iranians join counter-protests after week of unrest

Thousands of pro-government counter-protesters have taken to the streets of Iranian cities after nearly a week of unrest. Footage broadcast on national television and images published by state news agencies showed a high turnout in pro-establishment rallies, in cities that have seen turbulent scenes since Iran’s biggest demonstrations in nearly a decade began on 28 December.

State television aired a rally from Ahwaz, the capital of Khouzesan province, which showed thousands of people marching on a long bridge connecting two parts of the city, while holding up pro-regime placards and chanting in support of the establishment. It broadcast similar footage from Ilam, also in the west of the country, as well as from Arak, in the centre of Iran. ...

Iranian authorities have claimed that the protests, which began over economic grievances before taking a political turn, have been hijacked by the country’s foreign enemies. The theory has also been repeated by some figures within the reformist camp, who are critical of Iran’s rulers but wary of regime change. Anti-government protests continued for a sixth consecutive day in provincial cities on Tuesday evening, whilst Tehran was relatively calmer, with a heavy presence of riot police.

Trump’s Vow to Support Iran Opposition Carries “No Credibility” as Demonstrations Enter Sixth Day

Israel raises vote threshold to tighten grip on Jerusalem

Israel on Tuesday raised the number of votes needed for any future vote on ceding parts of Jerusalem to Palestine, in a move that could hamper the division of the city as part of a peace agreement.

The amendment to the legislation increased the number of votes required to approve proposals to hand over any section of the city to "a foreign party" from 61 to 80 in the 120-seat Knesset.

It comes less than a month after US President Donald Trump angered Palestinians, Middle East leaders and world powers by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

"We've ensured the unity of Jerusalem," Education Minister Naftali Bennett, who heads Jewish Home, said after the vote.

Dov Henin of the opposition's mainly Arab Joint List said the new law should be called "the law to prevent peace," while the head of the opposition Isaac Herzog said Jewish Home was leading Israel "toward a terrible disaster."

Netanyahu asks if African ‘infiltrators’ can be forcibly removed from Israel

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has reportedly asked officials to examine the feasibility of forcibly deporting thousands of African migrants, in the latest escalation of an anti-migrant campaign. According to a report in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Netanyahu instructed the national security adviser, Meir Ben Shabbat, to look into forced expulsion as his cabinet met to approve a plan to offer 40,000 people the choice of being deported with a cash payment or being incarcerated indefinitely. ...

Most of the migrants in question – largely Sudanese and Eritrean people – arrived in Israel in the second half of the last decade, crossing from Egypt before new security on the border sealed the route. Many people settled in poor neighbourhoods of south Tel Aviv, prompting a campaign against them by local Israeli residents, which attracted the support of Netanyahu despite at times being heavily coloured by racism.

The plan has been opposed by human rights groups including the Centre for Refugees and Migrants, Amnesty International Israel and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, who recently signed a letter demanding the deportations be halted. “Anyone who has a heart must oppose the expulsion of the refugees,” the letter says.

Referring to a widely reported deal to pay Rwanda $5,000 per person to accept the migrants, the groups added: “Rwanda is not a safe place. All the evidence indicates that anyone expelled from Israel to Rwanda finds himself there without status and without rights, exposed to threats, kidnappings, torture and trafficking.”

Trump "blackmailing" Palestinians with financial aid threat

Palestinian leaders claimed Wednesday Donald Trump is holding them hostage and using the U.S.’s financial muscle to force them into talks with Israel. “Trump won't vanquish us,” Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti said, hours after Trump threatened to cut hundreds of millions of dollars of aid to the Palestinian Authority for failing to enter negotiations with its neighbor.


The president’s outburst came hours after Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley told reporters the U.S. would be withholding all aid to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the body that deals with Palestinian refugees.


“President Trump has sabotaged our search for peace, freedom and justice,” Hanan Ashrawi said according to the PA’s official media outlet Wafa. “Now he dares to blame the Palestinians for the consequences of his own irresponsible actions.”

Gaza's health system close to collapse as electricity crisis threatens total blackout

Hospitals in Gaza will face an almost total power blackout by the end of February unless funding is secured to keep emergency generators running, the World Health Organization has warned. An ongoing electricity crisis in Gaza has left hospitals reliant on emergency generators for up to 20 hours a day, while medical staff have been forced to cut back on basic services such as equipment sterilisation and diagnostics. About 500,000 litres of fuel are required each month to sustain critical care in Gaza, but funding will only cover hospitals’ needs until the end of February.

Dr Mahmoud Daher, head of the WHO’s Gaza sub-office, said the health system is on “the edge of collapse”. Without urgent fundraising, hospitals will face a disastrous situation, he said. “There are at least 200 babies and people in intensive care units. It would be a really fatal situation for them. There are dozens of people who are going to surgical operations that would be affected.”

Fears over the humanitarian situation intensified following a series of tweets by Donald Trump on Tuesday, in which he threatened to cut funding for the Palestinian Authority unless it recommences peace talks. The US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, earlier said the US would cut funds to UNRWA, the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, unless the authority went back to the negotiating table.

The WHO’s latest figures show hospitals are experiencing severe shortages of drugs and medical disposables. Of 516 medications on the essential drug list, 223 (43%) were at zero stock levels in November, which means central supplies will be totally depleted in less than a month. At the end of November, drugs used in the emergency departments and intensive care units were at 48% zero stock, while power shortages have made it harder for hospitals to collect and store large quantities of blood.

There are also “dramatic decreases” in the proportion of people securing permits to access healthcare outside Gaza, said Daher. In October, 45% of patients who applied to the Israeli authorities for such treatment were unsuccessful. Figures are expected to show that there were fewer exit permits granted in 2017 than in any year since the WHO began monitoring applications. “Map knows of at least 30 patients who died in 2017 after being either prevented from exiting by Israel or unable to secure financial coverage for their referral from the Palestine Authority,” said Ferguson.

International Journalist Tells The Truth About Syria

Google faces new discrimination charge: paying female teachers less than men

Google, which has been accused of systematically underpaying female engineers and other workers, is now facing allegations that it discriminated against women who taught employees’ children at the company’s childcare center. A former employee, Heidi Lamar, is alleging in a complaint that female teachers were paid lower salaries than men with fewer qualifications doing the same job.

Lamar, who worked at Google for four years before quitting in 2017, alleged that the technology company employed roughly 147 women and three men as pre-school teachers, but that two of those men were granted higher starting salaries than nearly all of the women. ...

Lamar’s complaint, filed Wednesday in San Francisco, suggests that Google’s alleged pattern of denying women equal pay extends to one of the few female-dominated sectors of the Mountain View company. ... The suit, filed amid a wave of discrimination and sexual harassment scandals in the tech industry in 2017, followed an investigation by the US Department of Labor, which sued Google for pay records and alleged “extreme” pay discrimination.

Iceland Becomes First Country to Punish Companies for Paying Women Less Than Men

Iceland began the new year by becoming the first country in the world to mandate that all its companies must pay men and women equally. Following years of passing legislation promoting equal pay, employers that fail to ensure pay parity will now be subject to fines, thanks to a law passed last spring that went into effect Monday.

"We have had legislation saying that pay should be equal for men and women for decades now but we still have a pay gap," Dagny Osk Aradottir Pind of the Icelandic Women's Rights Association told Al Jazeera. "We have managed to raise awareness, and we have managed to get to the point that people realize that the legislation we have had in place is not working, and we need to do something more."

Under the new law, companies that employ more than 25 people will have to prove to the government that they're paying men and women equally. Officials hope the move will help Iceland to completely close its gender wage gap by 2020.

Iceland has long been admired by progressives as a model of gender equality, filling nearly 50 percent of its parliament seats with women. Supporters of the new law say it couldn't have been put into action without the strong presence of female lawmakers.

White supremacist suing antifa for allegedly framing him in Charlottesville

Christopher Cantwell, one of the white supremacists who marched in Charlottesville as part of the infamous “Unite the Right” rally in August, is facing up to 20 years in prison for allegedly attacking protesters with mace. But now he's trying to turn the tables on his accusers, claiming they used mace on themselves as part of an antifa plot to “maliciously punish, discredit, vex, and harass him.”

The complaint was filed Thursday by Cantwell’s lawyer Elmer Woodward. Cantwell’s complaint names two people who testified in court against him — Emily Gorcenski and Kristopher Goad — claiming they were part of a “cluster” of antifa who attempted to spray him with mace. The complaint describes Cantwell and his allies as “The Monumentals” who were simply protecting public property and exercising their First Amendment rights.

“Antifa was also enjoying rights guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and the Constitution of Virginia,” the document states. “As is their pattern and practice, antifa attacked the Monumentals. Two antifa subsequently swore out false and fraudulent criminal warrants against plaintiff, a Monumental slated to speak at the Aug. 12 rally.” ...

The complaint acknowledges that Cantwell used pepper spray to defend himself, but argued that he did not hit Gorcenski and Goad, contrary to what they testified in court. Cantwell is seeking more than $107,000 in damages from each defendant, as well as punitive damages in the amount of $350,000 from each defendant.

GOP Tax Bill Creates Deficits To Justify Cuts To Social Programs, Says Former Reagan Aide

Would Ronald Reagan approve of the tax bill that President Donald Trump signed this month work? In a podcast interview, Bruce Bartlett, a former economic adviser to the 40th president, tells International Business Times what the Republicans' strategy seems to have been, what the bill's repercussions might be, and what Reagan really thought about tax cuts.

Bartlett traced the history of Republicans’ views on taxes and budget issues, and argued that the tax legislation is designed not only to deliver big tax cuts to the wealthy, but also to create large budget deficits. Bartlett says that conservative champions of the bill want to create those deficits as a way to manufacture the budget conditions that will justify cutting larger social programs.

[See full article for excerpt transcript from the podcast. - js]

Erica Garner was “Unbought and Unbossed” in Push for Justice After Her Father Died in NYPD Chokehold

RIP Rick Hall of Muscle Shoals

In the music industry of the 1960s, Rick Hall was the epitome of the “record man”, capable of functioning as guitarist, songwriter, music publisher, recording studio proprietor, record label boss and, most significantly, record producer. What made Hall, who has died aged 85, stand out was his position at the confluence of the three key strands of black and white American popular music – gospel, country and R&B – which merged to provide the foundation of so much of significance in that and succeeding decades.

As a hands-on producer at his Fame studio in the small Alabama town of Muscle Shoals, Hall supervised classic recordings by Etta James, Wilson Pickett, Candi Staton and others. Using a hand-picked cadre of musicians, he established a soul-drenched sound and a relaxed ambience that attracted singers and producers from far and wide.



the horse race



Trump labels Justice Dept 'deep state'

President Donald Trump is accusing the Justice Department of being part of the "deep state" and suggesting it "must finally act" against a top aide to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former FBI director James Comey. ...

Trump tweeted Tuesday: "Crooked Hillary Clinton's top aid, Huma Abedin, has been accused of disregarding basic security protocols. She put Classified Passwords into the hands of foreign agents. Remember sailors pictures on submarine? Jail! Deep State Justice Dept must finally act? Also on Comey & others."

Trump appeared to be referring to a report in the conservative Daily Caller that Abedin sent government passwords to her Yahoo email before it was hacked.



the evening greens


Scientists Warn of Permanent Drought for 25% of Earth By 2050 If Paris Goals Not Reached

In a new study that adds to the lengthy and ever-growing list of potential consequences of global climate inaction, scientists warn that around a quarter of the Earth could end up in a permanent state of drought if the planet warms by two degrees Celsius by 2050.

"Our research predicts that aridification would emerge over about 20-30 percent of the world's land surface by the time the global mean temperature change reaches 2ºC," said Manoj Joshi, one of lead researchers of the study, which was published on Monday in the journal Nature.

Scientists have for years linked widespread and more intense droughts to human-caused climate change. The only way to avoid these conditions is to limit global warming to 1.5ºC, Joshi concluded.

"The world has already warmed by 1ºC," added Dr. Su-Jong Jeong, a researcher from China's Southern University of Science and Technology. "But by reducing greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere in order to keep global warming under 1.5ºC or 2ºC could reduce the likelihood of significant aridification emerging in many parts of the world," including Central America, Southern Europe, Southern Africa, Southern Australia, and Southeast Asia—home to more than 20 percent of the world's population.

Though the Paris climate accord has long been criticized by environmentalists and researchers as wholly inadequate to the task of confronting the climate crisis already wreaking havoc across the globe, the agreement's central objective is keeping average global temperatures from rising 2°C by the end of the century. Meeting that mark by taking "early action" would substantially "constrain" the spread of drought, the study concluded.

An excellent article, here's a teaser:

Environmental Justice Suffered Setbacks in 2017

Humvees with heavily armed county, state and federal agents rolled into what remained of the Oceti Sakowin protest camp in North Dakota in early 2017. With a U.S. Department of Homeland Security helicopter circling low overhead and heavy machinery preparing to topple anything in their path, the camp's last few holdouts torched their tipis and fled across the frozen Cannonball River to the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

The once-thriving camp had united thousands in their shared opposition to construction of a crude oil pipeline and raised hopes for a new era in tribal sovereignty. Its forced clearing on Feb. 23 came just two weeks after the Trump administration granted a final easement for the Dakota Access Pipeline to cross beneath the nearby Missouri River. It was a dark day in a troubling year that saw setbacks for environmental justice, from the Great Plains to America's island territories.

For many in the environmental justice movement, 2017 served as a wake-up call to a new era where no environmental protections are immune from attack—and where much of the harm is borne by the poor.

"There is a real war going on, and it's a war against health, against the environment and against human rights," said Robert Bullard, a professor of urban planning and environmental policy and administration of justice at Texas Southern University who is often referred to as the father of environmental justice. "We are reverting to a pre-1970 era where anything goes."

Also of interest today as
Mr. Polar Vortex visits Florida with snow and ice:

Ice Loss and the Polar Vortex: How a Warming Arctic Fuels Cold Snaps

When winter sets in, "polar vortex" becomes one of the most dreaded phrases in the Northern Hemisphere. It's enough to send shivers even before the first blast of bitter cold arrives. New research shows that some northern regions have been getting hit with these extreme cold spells more frequently over the past four decades, even as the planet as a whole has warmed. While it may seem counterintuitive, the scientists believe these bitter cold snaps are connected to the warming of the Arctic and the effects that that warming is having on the winds of the stratospheric polar vortex, high above the Earth's surface.

Here's what scientists involved in the research think is happening: The evidence is clear that the Arctic has been warming faster than the rest of the planet. That warming is reducing the amount of Arctic sea ice, allowing more heat to escape from the ocean. The scientists think that the ocean energy that is being released is causing a weakening of the polar vortex winds over the Arctic, which normally keep cold air centered over the polar region. That weakening is then allowing cold polar air to slip southward more often.

The polar vortex has always varied in strength, but the study found that the weaker phases are lasting longer and coinciding with cold winters in Northern Europe and Russia.


Also of Interest

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

A long, but very interesting read:

James Risen: My Life as a New York Times Reporter in the Shadow of the War on Terror

Intercepted Podcast

Corruption and inequality fuelling protests in Iran as Rouhani faces pressure to crack down

Nabi Saleh is where I lost my Zionism

How
Big Pharma Keeps Drug Prices High

Major security flaw found in Intel processors

Momentous Change in US Natural Gas, with Global Impact

The 'bomb cyclone' heading for the eastern US – is that even a thing?

Hat tip olinda:

Goodbye, Erica Garner


A Little Night Music

Piano Red - Rockin' With Red

Piano Red - She's Dynamite

Piano Red - Blues, Blues, Blues

Piano Red - The Right String, Baby, But the Wrong Yo-Yo

Piano Red - Whisky

Piano Red - Diggin' The Boogie

Dr Feelgood (aka Piano Red) - Mr Moonlight

Piano Red - Rock baby

Piano Red - Wild Fire

Piano Red - Big Rock Joe From Kokomo

Piano Red - I'm Nobody's Fool


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OLinda's picture

for the hat tip, and the additional video about Erica Garner. It is so sad, and so shocking; only 27 years old.

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joe shikspack's picture

@OLinda

her death is really quite tragic. thinking about all of the horrible things that her family has had to go through in the recent past, it's just more than one family should have to bear. sadly, there are thousands of families who have been through some similar tragedy at the hands of a cruel system and no let up in sight.

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Pricknick's picture

of people complaining about the cold unless they're homeless.
I continue my daily walks regardless if it's 32 or minus 12. It seems that more and more people can't understand why their smart phones won't fix things like a sweater can. Drove by bus stops in Ann Arbor and was amazed of how nobody was talking to anybody in person. Only on the phone. It also seems that nobody can drive a car without one anymore.
The human race seems to get dumber by the day.
Thanks as always joe.

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Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

snoopydawg's picture

@Pricknick

I'm out walking every day during the winter unless the wind is howling. I broke my ankle when I was walking in a huge storm. My dawgs tell me that I have a coat, hat and gloves so what's my problem? I can't imagine how anyone could be outside in these conditions. I feel so bad for them.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

joe shikspack's picture

@Pricknick

i salute your stolid commitment to your daily exertions. Smile

yeah, even though i have embraced the cellphone technology and have found it useful, i have difficulty sometimes dealing with people who have more fully embraced the technology to the point that it is impossible to have a meal or a conversation with them without them constantly attending to their machines demands.

it seems that the cellphone has finally put to rest the nagging question of a few decades ago, "how can you be in two places at once when you're not anywhere at all?"

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Bollox Ref's picture

@Pricknick

Thank goodness for my home-knitted balaclava helmet. Just wrap up and do the daily mile, even if wind chill is in the high -20F's.

Good times.

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Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

OLinda's picture

I mentioned the other evening about not liking to be in crowds. Well, I'd sure like to see the movie "The Post." Going to check out times, see if there's a matinee coming up nearby.

Looking at a trending hashtag for the movie, it seems Streep is on the bad side of a bunch of #metoo folks. She knew, they say. They are boycotting the movie. Also, Hanks and Streep are on the bad side of all conservatives, Trumpsters, even Bernie supporters, because Hanks and Streep are so vocal against Trump. More boycotters. Apparently, if you go to this movie, you are self-identifying as a Clinton supporter. Woaa.

I think it was Taibbi who commented that he couldn't enjoy everyday life, because Trump was in everything, and everywhere. Can't even enjoy a football game without Trump interfering and then being on your mind, he said.

I don't recall it being this bad even when I went to see Fahrenheit 9/11. Maybe Twitter gives louder voice to the naysayers and makes it feel worse than it is. I see from joe's excerpts you can be an existential threat to humanity and still be on Twitter.

For those interested in The Post movie, I read Katherine Graham's autobiography (Pulitzer Prize winner) years ago, and sure recommend it. I have always been interested in her life, The Post, its Watergate and Pentagon Papers coverage. Thus the draw to the movie.

===
This has been your Entertainment news. Please return to your original program.
===

Smile

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joe shikspack's picture

@OLinda

so much to think about when you choose your 2 hours of escapism! i hope that seeing star wars didn't mark me out as a supporter of hillary's resistance. maybe better to cheer for dark helmet man. Smile

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Lookout's picture

Thanks for the music and the news. Rick Hall, the swampers, and Muscle Shoals had a big effect on the sounds that go around the song. Here's the local take...
http://www.al.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2018/01/rick_hall_muscle_shoal...

I caught the Intercepted piece with James Risen. He and Jeremy had a good conversation on deep state reporting in the podcast. Saw you had some of the DN Greenwald interview in yesterday's edition. I found it interesting as well.

I hope your entry into the new year has been to your liking. I suspect like ours it's been chilly. I liked the piece tonight on the cold snap and loss of the vortex. Last year the southern and northern jet streams crossed tracks over the equator.
https://www.rt.com/viral/349034-jetstream-season-shift-equator/
I've been asking, as the arctic melts doesn't the cold air have to go somewhere?

Stay warm.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

joe shikspack's picture

@Lookout

thanks for the local piece on rick hall! i've gotten a ways into the interview with risen and it's quite good. i will probably finish it on the weekend when i can sit back and ponder it along with the transcript instead of pushing through it.

so far the new year has been pretty good other than, well, the usual stuff of the world going to hell in a handbasket. it has been pretty darned chilly here, down in the low single digits for the past couple of nights. we're having a heat wave today as it was up in the 20's much of the day. they say that there might be some snow on the way, though, coming up from your direction.

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OLinda's picture

James Risen's article at the top of the Also of Interest section is sure worth the long read.

I had heard a lot of it recently on The Intercepted podcast. Details his ongoing, lengthy fight to get the NYT to publish his story on govt. illegal spying. They finally published it, about 2 weeks before Risen's book which included the spying information was published. I doubt The Times would have published if it wasn't already coming out in the book. Risen was ready to be fired after his book came out if they still had not published.

The NYT admitted in the story when they published that they had been holding on to the story for more than a year. This is why, or at least one reason, Snowden did not give any info to the NYT.

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OLinda's picture

@OLinda

Oh, I see there's new Intercepted podcast (link in Also of Interest). I wasn't expecting an Intercepted this week. Jeremy had mentioned being on vacation during this period. This is a special edition for Risen's story. The podcast I mention above was awhile ago, and I'm sure a much briefer interview. Can't wait to listen to the new one tonight. Thanks, joe.

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joe shikspack's picture

@OLinda

"After the 911 attacks, the Bush administration began asking the press to kill stories more frequently. They did it so often that I became convinced the administration was invoking national security to quash stories that were merely politically embarrassing. ... By 2002, I was also starting to clash with the editors over our coverage of the Bush administration’s claims about pre-war intelligence on Iraq. My stories raising questions about the intelligence, particularly the administration’s claims of a link between Iraq and Al Qaeda, were being cut, buried, or held out of the paper altogether."

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mimi's picture

some of the time.

Trump Nails Bezos & Amazon On Corruption.

Are Amazon days as DC Darling are numbered?

I think Mr. Twitler ain't happy with the size of Mr. Bezos thingies. Who of the two have the bigger thingies? That's the question.

[video:https://youtu.be/XhnsLGPVXYU]
Isn't Jimmy Dore a darling?

All the while Mr. Thielster never nails Mr. Twitler for violating President Thielster's rules.

Twitter says Trump's North Korea tweet doesn't violate terms of service.

So ...
Why Twitter should ban President Trump.

Oh yes, why, indeed?

Among those who will have plenty to answer for are the powers that be at Twitter, which has allowed Mr. Trump to use the social media platform as his own bully pulpit from which he has harassed, threatened and used fear to silence voices of opposition in violation of the company's own code of conduct rules.

And on this front, Mr. Trump has been a multiple offender.
...
Twitter's policies designed to protect its users are laughable. They apply to everyone, it seems, except the most powerful person on earth. Yes, their guidelines state there may be "the rare occasion when we allow controversial content or behaviour which may otherwise violate our rules to remain on our service because we believe there is a legitimate public interest in its availability. Each situation is evaluated on a case by case basis."

But the company has never censored the President, not once. There is no such thing as a "rare occasion" in his case.

Red Alert! Red Alert!

A Twitler-Thielster conspiracy attack incoming. Go to your bunkers NOW.

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joe shikspack's picture

@mimi

i'm sure that mr. bezos will find a way to remain the darling of washington. after all, he has vast amounts of what washington runs on, and politicians only ask for chump change.

i'd be amused to see what would happen if twitter took away trump's account or deleted some of his offensive postings. i'd guess that it would be the first official category 6 shitstorm.

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@mimi

I wonder if the sales tax Amazon collects forms that 9% of tax which, according to the information in the video, Amazon actually pays? Sounds about the right amount for that, and would allow them to claim that they do pay some tax, via their customers, rather than none...

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Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

snoopydawg's picture

to the people there. Sanctions always effect the citizens of the country they are put on. 500,000 Iraqi children died from Clinton's, but how many adults were also killed by them? And it's not just food that is harder for people to get. Many Iranian women died from breast cancer because they couldn't get their drugs imported. Again this country has its priorities wrong. Kill people from starvation and diseases, but also kill them because we sold other countries weapons of destruction. SMDH.

I think they've gone past the point of sanity. Ya think? Yes it's insane to take money from the poor people's safety programs and give it to people who have more than what they know what to do with it. And cruel, not to mention unchristian for those who keep saying that they are one.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

joe shikspack's picture

@snoopydawg

yep, martin luther king jr. nailed it:

"As I have walked among the desperate, rejected, and angry young men, I have told them that Molotov cocktails and rifles would not solve their problems. I have tried to offer them my deepest compassion while maintaining my conviction that social change comes most meaningfully through nonviolent action. But they asked, and rightly so, “What about Vietnam?” They asked if our own nation wasn’t using massive doses of violence to solve its problems, to bring about the changes it wanted. Their questions hit home, and I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today: my own government. For the sake of those boys, for the sake of this government, for the sake of the hundreds of thousands trembling under our violence, I cannot be silent."

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janis b's picture

@joe shikspack

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enhydra lutris's picture

Sorry hearing about all the ugly weather back there hope everybody stays warm and healthy.

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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 --

joe shikspack's picture

@enhydra lutris

i guess it wouldn't be winter if we didn't have some weather to complain about. Smile

have a great evening!

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snoopydawg's picture

The United States Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States which was created for the purpose of protecting human health and the environment by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress.[2] President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA and it began operation on December 2, 1970, after Nixon signed an executive order. The order establishing the EPA was ratified by committee hearings in the House and Senate.

Since congress wrote the legislation of what is covered under it, how can an administration just decide to not enforce the regulations? I realize this was back before congress lost their souls, but what Pruitt is doing has to concern some of them. They have grandkids and great grandkids so I'd
think they wouldn't want this country's air quality go back to the way it was in the 70's.

Someone here noted that not all of Trump's EO have been put in play yet because some of them are being held up in courts. Anyone know if what Pruitt is doing is being contested? Gawd I hope so. The all out assault from this administration is horrifying.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

joe shikspack's picture

@snoopydawg

are doing to gut the regulatory structures of government will be challenged in court, but it will take time. court processes often take decades. the trumpsters know this and they are going to do their best to damage the infrastructure that places any sort of brake against unfettered capitalist extraction and exploitation.

it's an ugly time.

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divineorder's picture

Brrrrr, Mr. Polar Vortex coming to a humid coastal area is not my idea of a good time.

From Santa Fe we head down soon to the TX Hill Country. Even though the humidity is often lower there than the TX coast it still seems colder than here in the desert mountains. But when it gets in the 30's in Houston/Galveston bigawd you know it, bad to the bone !

After a few weeks in TX we will head back to Costa Rica. They had a couple of big storms year there last year, most recently in December with high winds . And of course the volcanos have been acting up as well. Have not read anything about predictions specific to Costa Rica for earthquake uptick but they have some type of tremors there somewhere everyday. Heh.

Hey, jb and I rely on this clothing item to protect us when it gets cold. Highly rec them! We take them with us traveling where cold weather might be an issue, wear them under windbreaker and good to go!

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313.TR...

###

Thought would share this good news from Mr. Bill.

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A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.

joe shikspack's picture

@divineorder

yeah, i'm not too pleased when mr. polar vortex drops by for a visit, but at least he doesn't tweet nasty things or stay more than a few days at a time. Smile

heh, for cold weather, i like to layer with duofold long undies, regular jeans, t-shirt and fleece liner under my goose down coat. i can stay pretty toasty outside in that down to about 20-30 below and the long undies do a pretty good job of wicking moisture away. fortunately, it almost never gets cold enough in maryland that i need to unpack my serious winter hiking clothes.

i'm glad to see that new york is going to protect its retireee's fund by divesting from fossil fuel stocks. i guess that they will fare better than states that get out later.

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Pluto's Republic's picture

President Donald Trump is accusing the Justice Department of being part of the "deep state" and suggesting it "must finally act" against a top aide to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former FBI director James Comey.

The DOJ has their Neocons, but the place gets flushed out from time-to-time, unlike the Pentagon and the State Department.

If he wants to fumigate the Deep State, he should start with his own hand-picked cabinet and advisors.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
joe shikspack's picture

@Pluto's Republic

like just about everything that the donald does, this latest fusillade against the deep state is a distraction. i'm sure that the real deep state is quite pleased that trump has launched a propaganda attack that locates the nexus of the deep state within the justice department.

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janis b's picture

Thanks joe for the evening news and blues. So far I’ve only looked at headlines and read comments while listening to Piano Red, who sounds like the inspiration for Elvis. Reading the comments are equally entertaining. And your responses are priceless. Thanks.

Goodbye Erica

[video:https://youtu.be/XCvwDjgKPoc]

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joe shikspack's picture

@janis b

good to see you!

i hope that your summer is going well down there in upside down land. Smile

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janis b's picture

@joe shikspack

Cheers!

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joe shikspack's picture

@janis b

hell, i never can tell anymore. Smile

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janis b's picture

@joe shikspack

for living in an upside down place ; ).

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