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This evening's music features blues piano player and singer Henry Gray. Enjoy!

“The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The new order is
Rapidly fadin'.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'.”

-- Bob Dylan

News and Opinion

BREAKING- Pentagon: At the direction of the President, the U.S. military has taken decisive defensive action to protect U.S. personnel abroad by killing Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Org (cont)

— Shannon Bream (@ShannonBream) January 3, 2020

Baghdad airport attack: Iran general Qassem Suleimani killed amid US tensions

The powerful Iranian general Qassem Suleimani has been killed in a drone strike in the Iraqi capital in the early hours of Friday, according to Iraqi state television and three senior officials in Baghdad.

If confirmed, the assassination will amount to an extraordinary escalation in a cold war between Tehran and Washington, which has largely been directed on the Iranian side by Suleimani – one of the most influential figures in the Middle East for more than a decade.

Also believed dead is the deputy head of the Popular Mobilisation Units (PMUs) in Iraq, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandes, a close ally of Suleimani and one of the main arms of Iranian aegis in Iraq.

But the Iranian general’s apparent death carries even more weight; he is the second most powerful person in Iran, behind the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamanei, and, through a mix of security operations and diplomatic coercion, has been more responsible than anyone else for projecting Iran’s influence in the region.

Two senior figure in the PMUs confirmed Suleimani had been assassinated. Neither immediately blamed the US. However, the Trump administration had vowed to retaliate against the storming of the US embassy in Baghdad on New Year’s Day, which was led by Iranian proxies, in response to US airstrikes on their positions in the days earlier.

U.S. Killing of Soleimani Is Major Escalation, Could Spark “Another Round of Civil War” in Iraq

Soleimani was an enemy of the United States. That’s not a question.

The question is this - as reports suggest, did America just assassinate, without any congressional authorization, the second most powerful person in Iran, knowingly setting off a potential massive regional war?

— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) January 3, 2020

With Suleimani killed by the US, it is extremely difficult to see how this will not escalate into full scale war.

Very hard seeing Iran not retaliating, whether directly or indirectly, whether now or later.

This is going to be inflame the region...
>>

— Trita Parsi (@tparsi) January 3, 2020

'An Explicit Act of War': US Kills Senior Iranian Military Official Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad Drone Strike

A drone strike believed to be from the U.S. military at or near the Baghdad airport reportedly killed Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Major General Qasem Soleimani, an act that observers warned could mark a significant step toward a hot war in the region.

The U.S. confirmed the strike an hour after the attack.

"The Trump administration just plunged the region into a likely massive sectarian and bloody crisis—and along with it, this country," tweeted Al Jazeera journalist Sana Saeed. "Cautious to overstate the potential but it's hard to ignore that targeting Soleimani is an explicit act of war."

How many American Democratic leaders or presidential candidates are going to stand against the actions of the Trump administration in escalating a conflict into a war, which will have rippling effects internationally?

— Sana Saeed (@SanaSaeed) January 3, 2020

JUST IN: U.S. forces killed Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani; the strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans - Pentagon pic.twitter.com/iXxKzmdyRQ

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 3, 2020

The strike came less than 24 hours after acting Secretary of Defense Mark Esper told reporters that the U.S. military was willing and ready to undertake pre-emptive strikes against Iranian-backed militants in Iraq, a reaction to protests Tuesday outside of the American embassy in Baghdad that paralyzed the 104-acre complex.

Most Americans won’t understand the gravity of this. Qasem Soleimani is head of the Iranian IRGC’s elite Quds Force, which conducts operations outside of Iran in both Iraq & Syria. He was credited with helping turn the tide in both countries against Al-Qaeda & ISIS... https://t.co/AQYMqqehMV

— Rania Khalek (@RaniaKhalek) January 3, 2020

To be clear, Qasem Soleimani is the head of Iran's elite Quds Force, who directs Tehran's operations across the Shia crescent of the Middle East (Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen).

It's like Iran killing the head of the CIA or the Mossad on foreign soil. This isn't just about Iraq.

— Jack Moore (@JFXM) January 3, 2020

Fear of a Major Mideast War

The U.S. assassination of Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps Commander Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani at Baghdad airport on Thursday night has increased fears of a major Middle East war breaking out between Iran and the United States. The Pentagon confirmed the attack and said President Donald Trump directed it. Trump ominously added to the extreme unease with Iran with a tweet after the U.S. airstrike on Suleimani’s car. ...

pic.twitter.com/VXeKiVzpTf

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2020

Suleimani had been head of the Quds Force for 23 years. The Pentagon allegation is that he directed attacks on U.S. military during the U.S. illegal occupation of Iraq after its 2003 invasion. Suleimani was one of the men most responsible for defeating ISIS in Iraq and Syria. ...

While Trump last year resisted neoconservatives in his administration, particularly then National Security Adviser John Bolton, in beginning a war with Iran (with just “ten minutes to go”) Trump’s calculus appears to have changed with the ordering of Suleimani’s assassination. ... What has changed politically was his impeachment and impending trial in the Senate ahead of November’s presidential election. Trump clearly understands the value of military conflict to shield a politician in trouble.

Soleimani killing: Countries around the world call for a "de-escalation" of tensions

America’s New War: Let’s Not Pretend That Iraqi Paramilitaries Drew First Blood

As the Trump administration would have it history began yesterday. On December 27 A rocket salvo struck a US base near Kirkuk killing a US contractor and wounding four US soldiers, as well as, according to the Americans, two Iraqi soldiers. ...

Unlike the Trump gang would have it, history did not begin on December 27th. Between July 19 and September 22 Iraqi paramilitaries were hit in their Iraqi bases on at least eight different occasions. In August the Israeli PM Netanyahu confirmed that Israel was carrying out these strikes “against Iranian consolidation”. (That was also just the latest escalation on top of Israeli strikes on Iraqi paramilitaries positioned against ISIS in eastern Syria.)

However, as Iraqis fully understand Israel does not have the capability to strike targets in Iraq (and eastern Syria) without US logistical and intelligence support and the political go-ahead. These were Israeli drone strikes but originating in US/Kurdish-controlled NE Syria and using US-controlled airspace. What is more, quite possibly the Americans were using their presence in Iraq to supply Israelis with intelligence on Kataib and other paramilitaries.

It is also around this time that small-scale artillery (mainly mortar) attacks on US facilities in Iraq started. The only thing new about the December 27 attack was that it resulted in a US fatality. So no, Iraqi paramilitaries did not all of a sudden, and out of the blue, started targeting Americans in Iraq because they are such obedient Iranian proxies, and on the behalf of Tehran, but because they were being killed in their own country (and in neighboring Syria) and the US was to blame.

There have been well over 50 Iraqi paramilitary fatalities in Iraq alone, before the first American died in a retaliatory attack. The blame here is not on Iran, the blame is on those who decided to pull Netanyahu’s chestnuts out of the fire even if it risked US troops in the region.

How can Iran retaliate?

Is Trump Trying To Start A War With Iran?

And maybe with Iraq, too. ...

Iranian sources are saying that there will be retaliation, no question. Iran has far more power and influence than America in Iraq, if a real war starts, it is very likely that it will be the US against Iran, Iraq and possibly Syria. Iran and Syria are, effectively, allies of Russia.

Iran, like everyone else who fears the US and has enough resources, has spent the last 20 years preparing specifically for war with the US. They have built a fearsome missile force, designed to hit US ships and bases, and to be too large to be shot down and stopped. They have stated that in war, they will shut down Gulf, meaning that oil prices around the world will soar, likely causing a financial crisis and severe recession: possible a depression.

Putin is determined, moreover, to not allow the US to destroy any more Russian allies. One of his huge regrets was allowing Libya to be destroyed. He will want to keep Iran from being defeated. ...

This is an amazing clusterfuck. The Iranians are in a bind: if they do not launch some sort of savage reprisal, then the message is clear: the US can kill any Iranian they want: if they can kill the second most powerful man in Iran, who’s off the table? Iraqi militias and the government face a similar quandry: if they do nothing, it is clear their independence is a complete sham and they are still ruled by America.

On the other hand, if they escalate at a symmetrical level, they will have to do so much damage that Americans will rally around Trump and scream for Trump to strike them again, and even harder. Various American Rambo-patriots are already flexing their muscles and making threats. ...

If Trump doesn’t walk this back, hard, there may well be the most serious war in decades. At the far end, though I think it’s unlikely, it certainly isn’t impossible for this to escalate into a war involving both Russia and the US, on opposite sides.

This is a profoundly dangerous moment.

(And remember that Obama normalized the idea, started by Bush Jr, that America had the right to kill foreigners anywhere, subject only to the President’s discretion. Not only an evil idea, but a profoundly dangerous one. America’s entire drone assassination program needs to be shut down, now and permanently.)

Hill's Editor-in-Chief: Did establishment Dems pave the way for Trump's Iran strike?

'Unqualified, dangerous': the oddball officials running Bolsonaro's Brazil

Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, and his gun-loving sons have hogged the headlines during his first year in power with their incendiary declarations, social media meltdowns and scandal-hit lives. Endless column inches have also been devoted to the eccentricities and extremist ideas of his top lieutenants, including the foreign minister who insists climate change is a Marxist plot and the education minister who enjoys tweeting about his dog’s habit of defecating on Brazil’s top newspapers.

But the lower ranks of Brazil’s government apparatus are also being populated with less well-known characters who trumpet white supremacist slogans and rage against the left.

“Say whatever you like about Bolsonaro, one has to recognize his rare talent of … choosing the most unqualified, lunatic and/or dangerous people for jobs,” the journalist Mauro Ventura wrote earlier this month. “As someone said, they seem to have been picked for their IQ: that’s to say their quotient of imbecility, inability, idiocy, incompetence, ineptitude or impiety.”

Brazil specialist Monica de Bolle said the hiring of such figures reflected the “totally nuts” nature of Bolsonaro’s “fundamentalist” administration. “They are not looking for people who have knowledge but people who are loyal,” said De Bolle, from the Peterson Institute for International Economics. “I hate the Trump comparisons because Brazil is Brazil and the US is the US. But it’s just like Trump has surrounded himself with yes men. They are all yes men - and for the most part they are all men.”

[See article for examples of Bolsonaro's exceptional choices for office. - js]

Israel supreme court dismisses 'premature' Netanyahu petition

The supreme court in Israel has declined to weigh in on whether Benjamin Netanyahu can return to his post as prime minister now that he has been indicted, postponing any ruling on his political future until after March elections. A three-judge panel said while the question of whether an indicted member of parliament could form a government was important, it would be premature to rule on the issue before the vote.

The court had been widely expected to delay any ruling. Declaring Netanyahu ineligible would have triggered a political crisis and exacerbated strained ties between the government and the judiciary.

There are no restrictions on Netanyahu running in the election on 2 March – the third in less than a year. But a petition, filed by governance groups, contended that having a prime minister under indictment would constitute a conflict of interest. Others have argued that voters have the right to know before the election if Netanyahu is eligible to be prime minister.

The court said the election campaign period was “a realm of uncertainty” and that it remained to be seen who the president would select to form a government. The judges said that in light of the “most sensitive and complicated period the state of Israel is in at this time”, it decided to “act with restraint and moderation” and dismiss the petition for the time being.

Facial recognition software biased against Asians and black people, major US government study finds

Facial recognition software has a higher rate of incorrect matches between two photos for Asian and black people relative to white people, a United States government study has found.

The evidence of bias against minorities in the software comes as its use is set to expand at airport security checkpoints in Asia, Europe and the United States.

The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have been testing facial recognition technology at airports across the US, expecting it will become the preferred method to verify a passenger’s identity.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology researchers studied the performance of 189 algorithms from 99 manufacturers representing most of the industry. Some algorithms performed better than others, they concluded, meaning that it’s likely the industry can correct the problems.

The idiot Dems joining the war on women are Reps. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) and Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.).

More than 200 members of Congress urge US supreme court to reconsider Roe v Wade

More than two hundred members of Congress have urged the US supreme court to reconsider the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade ruling which legalized abortion nationwide. The appeal came in an amicus brief in a Louisiana case, and was signed by 205 Republicans and two Democrats, and calls on the high court to revisit the ruling, which affirmed that access to safe abortion is a constitutional right.

It comes at a time when abortion rights in the US are increasingly under threat, and the issue is likely to become a point of fierce debate in the lead up to the 2020 US election. ...

In March, the supreme court is expected to hear oral arguments against the Louisiana law. If the high court upholds the challenge to the law, Louisiana could be left with a single abortion provider. Opponents of that law also see it as an immediate threat to the Roe v Wade ruling.

The case will also be the first time that the Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, both appointed by Donald Trump, hear an abortion case as members of the high court.

Schumer calls newly unredacted emails a 'devastating blow' to Trump's allies on impeachment

The Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, said in a tweet that newly unredacted emails about the freeze on Ukraine’s military aid are a “a devastating blow to Senator McConnell’s push to have a trial without the documents and witnesses we’ve requested”.

The newly-revealed unredacted emails are a devastating blow to Senator McConnell’s push to have a trial without the documents and witnesses we’ve requested.

The American people deserve a fair trial that gets to the truth, not a rigged process that enables a cover-up. pic.twitter.com/z851ch0mjE

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) January 2, 2020

Schumer argued the emails underscored the need to have Trump administration officials – including the acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, and former national security adviser John Bolton – testify in a Senate impeachment trial about efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden as the aid was held up.

US sends asylum seekers to Mexico to await hearings held 350 miles away

The US government has started sending asylum seekers back to Nogales, Mexico, to await court hearings that will be scheduled roughly 350 miles (563 kilometers) away in Ciudad Juárez. Authorities are expanding a program known as Remain in Mexico that requires tens of thousands of asylum seekers to wait out their immigration court hearings in Mexico. Until this week, the government was driving some asylum seekers from Nogales, Arizona, to El Paso, Texas, so they could be returned to Juárez.

Now, asylum seekers will have to find their own way through dangerous Mexican border roads. About 30 asylum seekers were sent to Nogales, Mexico, on Thursday, said Gilda Loureiro, the director of the San Juan Bosco migrant shelter in Nogales, Sonora. Loureiro said the migrants hadn’t made it to the shelter yet but that it was prepared and has a capacity of about 400. “We’re going to take up to the capacity we have,” she said.

Critics say the program, one of several Trump administration policies that have all but ended asylum in the US, puts migrants who fled their home countries back into dangerous Mexican border towns where they are often kidnapped, robbed or extorted.

Homeless People Keep Getting Murdered in Louisiana

One Louisiana city is warning its homeless population to avoid sleeping outdoors after three unsheltered people were killed last month. Two homeless people were shot and killed near an overpass in downtown Baton Rouge on December 13, and another homeless person was killed last week a few blocks from the site of the first shooting.

The city’s police chief, Murphy Paul, held a joint press conference Friday with East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore III to warn that the homicides could be connected, although city officials didn’t explain why and couldn’t yet confirm they were certainly related, according to The Advocate, a newspaper in Baton Rouge. A suspect has not been named.

“There is danger in sleeping outside,” Paul said during a press conference Friday, according to WAFB.

The Baton Rouge Police Department also noted it’s been in touch with the Louisiana State Police and the FBI as it investigates the homicides. The police department formed a task force to probe the killings and is also working with local homeless service providers to ensure homeless people are informed of potential dangers.

I was right about Vietnam.

I was right about Iraq.

I will do everything in my power to prevent a war with Iran.

I apologize to no one. pic.twitter.com/Lna3oBZMKB

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) May 24, 2019

Aaron Maté: Biden's Iran response highlights vulnerability

Democrat Marianne Williamson lays off campaign staff nationally, including NH

Marianne Williamson, who has been campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination on a message of love and has been urging voters to “join the evolution,” has laid off her entire staff in New Hampshire and nationally, sources close to the campaign confirmed to WMUR on Thursday.

The spiritual author and lecturer joined the race in January 2019 and campaigned aggressively throughout the year, making many visits to New Hampshire. The sources told WMUR she remains a candidate but has drastically scaled back her campaign.

As of Tuesday, the sources said, Williamson’s campaign, in fact, had no staffers on board. ...

Williamson later Thursday night confirmed the report in a fundraising email to supporters, which can be viewed in its entirety here.

"We've had a wonderful team, and I am deeply grateful for their energy and talents. But as of today, we cannot afford a traditional campaign staff," she wrote. "I am not suspending my candidacy, however; a campaign not having a huge war chest should not be what determines its fate."

"The conversation between candidate and voter is what matters," Williamson wrote. "As long as I feel a connection with voters that gets to the heart of things, bringing forth the conversation that would win the 2020 election and help transform this country, I will remain in the race."

Krystal Ball dismantles identity excuses for Julián's drop-out

'We Will Not Change a Damn Thing': Sanders Campaign Vows No Pivot to Big Money in General Election

Sen. Bernie Sanders has no plans to abandon his effective grassroots fundraising model and begin accepting billionaire cash if he makes it to the general election against President Donald Trump, the Vermont senator's campaign manager said Thursday.

"We will hold firm, we will not change a damn thing," Faiz Shakir told CNN's Ryan Nobles in an interview, hours after the Sanders campaign announced it raised $34.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. Trump's reelection campaign, which has been fueled in part by super PACs and corporate money, said Thursday it brought in $46 million during the final three months of 2019.

"It is working, and the reason it's working is the working class believes in Bernie Sanders to defeat Donald Trump," said Shakir. "You've got somebody who has built a vast grassroots network, has been fighting for the working class, has built his credibility on it. We're not gonna go into a general election... suddenly claiming that we're gonna need money from millionaires and billionaires. We don't need that money."

Shakir said the claim that Democrats must accept big donations from millionaires and billionaires in order to compete with Republicans—advanced most recently by Pete Buttigieg—is mistaken and damaging to progressive policy goals.

"If you have Pete Buttigieg, Joe Biden telling you that they need to kowtow at the altar of the rich to fundraise in the general election, they're wrong," said Shakir. "We're upending those notions. You can fund this totally in a grassroots way."

FULL INTERVIEW:@fshakir CM for @BernieSanders breaks down their big fundraising haul and promises, should Sanders become the nominee the campaign will not "change a damn thing" when it comes to raising money for the general election. pic.twitter.com/jKN2mPlW6U

— Ryan Nobles (@ryanobles) January 2, 2020

As Common Dreams reported Thursday, Sanders posted the largest single-quarter fundraising haul of any Democratic primary candidate so far, with an average donation of just over $18. The campaign said 99.9 percent of Sanders' donors have not maxed out, meaning they can contribute again.

Rising: Bernie unloads on Biden with one month to go till Iowa

The Russians are coming!

Cyber attacks and electronic voting errors threaten 2020 outcome, experts warn

Potential electronic voting equipment failures and cyber attacks from Russia and other countries pose persistent threats to the 2020 elections, election security analysts and key Democrats warn. In November significant electronic voting equipment problems occurred in an election in the vital battleground state of Pennsylvania, sparking a lawsuit by advocacy groups charging the state is using insecure electronic voting machines.

Other key states like Florida and North Carolina which experienced voting problems in 2016 and Georgia which had serious equipment problems in 2018, are being urged to take precautions to curb new difficulties in 2020, say election analysts. The Brennan Center’s electoral reform program last month released a study that stressed testing backup systems and electronic voting equipment before the primaries and next November’s general election was needed to reduce risks of cyber attacks and equipment failures, and offered guidance about ways to recover from attacks or malfunctions.

In response to these and other threats, Congress in December added $425m for election-related spending, including security measures, to a massive $1.4tn spending bill for 2020. But Democratic senators such as Mark Warner and Ron Wyden, who backed other election security bills that passed the House but were blocked by Republican Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, still see the need for more election security measures next year, including permanent security funding and other steps to ensure safe elections.

In advocating for more funding and legislation, Warner and other election security specialists cite intelligence warnings that the Kremlin will try to disrupt the election in 2020, as it did in 2016 when cyber attacks and social media campaigns sowed dissension and helped Donald Trump become president. “The intelligence community has warned us that Russia will try again in 2020, and we have to be prepared,” Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence panel, told the Guardian.

Amazon threatened to fire employees for speaking out on climate, workers say

Amazon has threatened to fire employees for speaking publicly about the company’s role in the climate crisis, tech workers at the retail giant have revealed. An email shared with the Guardian shows Amazon’s human resources department launched an “investigation” into one employee, Maren Costa, over comments made to the media that called for the company to do more to tackle the climate crisis.

In the email, Costa is told she will not face punishment at this point – but that any future comments unauthorized by Amazon “may result in formal corrective action, to and including termination of your employment with Amazon”. A group of Amazon employees who banded together to call for stronger climate action by the company said several members have been questioned by legal and HR representatives about their public comments. Some received follow-up emails similar to Costa’s that threaten dismissal for speaking out in the future.

Costa said four employees have been questioned and two have been threatened with termination if they continue speaking up about Amazon’s role in the climate crisis without seeking approval. ...

According to Amazon, it started updating its external communications policy for staff in spring last year. It said it was not aimed at any particular group of employees. A company spokeswoman said: “Our policy regarding external communications is not new and, we believe, is similar to other large companies. We recently updated the policy and related approval process to make it easier for employees to participate in external activities such as speeches, media interviews, and use of the company’s logo.

Germany cuts fares for long-distance rail travel in response to climate crisis

Fares for long-distance rail travel in Germany have dropped for the first time in 17 years, as climate protection measures aimed at making train travel more attractive came into effect with the new year. Travellers taking trips of more than 50km (31 miles) on Deutsche Bahn’s Intercity Express trains can look forward to fare decreases of 10%. The company is also cutting prices on special offers and additional services, such as transporting bicycles.

The trend in Germany stands in contrast to the situation in the UK, where millions of commuters face a 2.7% rise in ticket prices from 2 January.

The cheaper tickets are a result of Deutsche Bahn passing on to customers the government’s cut in value-added tax on rail travel, from 19% to 7%. The UK does not charge VAT on rail fares.

“This Country Is a Tinderbox”: Australia Braces for More Devastation as Gov’t Denies Climate Crisis

'Entire Species Are Being Wiped Out': Ecologists Say Half a Billion Animals May Have Been Killed by Australia Wildfires

Ecologists at the University of Sydney are estimating that nearly half a billion animals have been killed in Australia's unprecedented and catastrophic wildfires, which have sparked a continent-wide crisis and forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes in desperation.

News Corp Australia reported Wednesday that "there are real concerns entire species of plants and animals have been wiped out by bushfires following revelations almost 500 million animals have died since the crisis began."

"Ecologists from the University of Sydney now estimate 480 million mammals, birds, and reptiles have been lost since September," according to News Corp. "That figure is likely to soar following the devastating fires which have ripped through Victoria and the [New South Wales] South Coast over the past couple of days, leaving several people dead or unaccounted for, razing scores of homes and leaving thousands stranded."

The horrifying figures come as images and videos of animals suffering severe burns and dehydration continue to circulate on social media.

Mark Graham, an ecologist with the National Conservation Council, told the Australian parliament that "the fires have burned so hot and so fast that there has been significant mortality of animals in the trees, but there is such a big area now that is still on fire and still burning that we will probably never find the bodies." Koalas in particular have been devastated by the fires, Graham noted, because they "really have no capacity to move fast enough to get away."

As Reuters reported Tuesday, "Australia's bushland is home to a range of indigenous fauna, including kangaroos, koalas, wallabies, possums, wombats, and echidnas. Officials fear that 30 percent of just one koala colony on the country's northeast coast, or between 4,500 and 8,400, have been lost in the recent fires."

Australia's coal-touting Prime Minister Scott Morrison has faced growing scrutiny for refusing to take sufficient action to confront the wildfires and the climate crisis that is driving them. Since September, the fires have burned over 10 million acres of land, destroyed more than a thousand homes, and killed at least 17 people—including 9 since Christmas Day.

On Thursday, the government of New South Wales (NSW) declared a state of emergency set to take effect Friday morning as the wildfires are expected to intensify over the weekend. "We've got a lot of fire in the landscape that we will not contain," said Rob Rogers, deputy commissioner of the NSW Rural Fire Service. "We need to make sure that people are not in the path of these fires."

Australia fires: tens of thousands stranded while attempting to flee

Tens of thousands of people remained stranded on Thursday evening while attempting to flee bushfire-ravaged areas of the south-east Australian coast – having earlier been urged to leave before the return of extreme and dangerous weather conditions. The mass evacuation of communities in New South Wales and Victoria is among the largest ever emergency movements of people in Australia. The numbers fleeing the bushfire crisis remain unclear, but are expected to compare to the 60,000 people who were flown out of Darwin after Cyclone Tracy in 1974.

Visitors told to flee a vast evacuation area along the NSW south coast reported sitting in gridlock for up to 10 hours after responding to the order to evacuate, as further outbreaks of fire and sheer weight of traffic blocked escape routes north of Ulladulla and near Cooma in the Snowy Mountains.

The prime minister, Scott Morrison, urged people to be patient, as he again deflected criticism about his government’s policies to address the causes of climate change. On Thursday afternoon an angry protester told Morrison he should be “ashamed of himself” and that he had “left the country to burn” during a tour of the burnt out town of Cobargo.

Also of Interest

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

US Assassination Of Top Iranian Military Official May Ignite World War

Rising: Iran Expert Trita Parsi: We may already be at war with Iran

Chelsea Manning Spent Most of the Last Decade in Prison. The U.N. Says Her Latest Stint Is Tantamount to Torture.

Why Is Wall Street the Only Industry in America With Access to the Fed’s Endless Money Machine?

Ukrainian nationalists carry torches through Kiev in honor of Nazi collaborator Bandera

Authoritarian leaders thrive on fear. We need to help people feel safe

Can Merkel and Macron get Franco-German relations back on track?

Centrist Democrats need a 2020 reality check before it's too late

'The salt they pump back in kills everything': is the cost of Chile's fresh water too high?

The plastic polluters won 2019 – and we're running out of time to stop them

Our Revolution Executive Director: Impeachment doesn't matter in the midwest

Rising: Warren falls flat in fundraising

Saagar Enjeti: Trump could lose to Bernie if he doesn't wake-up

Useful Idiots: Ani DiFranco on Prison Music Project and Centrist Dems, Matt on Playing Pro Basketball in Mongolia

A Little Night Music

Little Henry Gray - Matchbox Blues

Henry Gray - You Messed Up

Henry Gray - I Declare That Ain't Right

Henry Gray - Lucky, Lucky Man

Henry Gray & the Cats - Little Red Rooster

Henry Gray - Mojo Boogie

Henry Gray, Bob Corritore & Bob Margolin - Blues Won't Let Me Take My Rest

Henry Gray - How Could You Do It

Henry Gray - Boogie In The Dark

Henry Gray with Terrance Simien & Li'l Buck Sinegal: full set, 2018 Crescent City Blues & BBQ Fest