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This evening's music features delta blues singer Skip James. Enjoy!

"It is a bit hilarious that humans rapidly evolved these massive brains only to become the first species to go extinct due to stupidity."

-- Caitlin Johnstone

News and Opinion

Russia Continues Missile Strikes, Targets Ukraine Energy System; Collective West Out of Options

According to Western media pic.twitter.com/Qtef9zYg04

— sarah (@sahouraxo) October 10, 2022

Mike Mullen Says US Should Push for Negotiations to End the War in Ukraine

Retired Adm. Mike Mullen said Sunday that the US should work quickly to bring Ukraine and Russia to the negotiating table to help bring an end to the war in Ukraine.

Mullen, who served as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff for George W. Bush and Barack Obama, told ABC that President Biden should “back off” his talk of nuclear armageddon and work to end the war.

“President Biden’s language — we’re about at the top of the language scale, if you will. And I think we need to back off that a little bit and do everything we possibly can to try to get to the table to resolve this thing,” Mullen said.

Former Top General STUNS ABC News With Call For Ukraine Diplomacy

Wow, Russia shoots off a couple of hundred cruise missiles and only kills 11 people? The U.S. often kills more innocent people than that in a single drone murder.

Eleven Killed, 64 Hurt in Russian Attacks - Ukrainian State Emergency Service

At least 11 people were killed and 64 wounded in Russian missile strikes across Ukraine on Monday, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said.

More missiles strike Ukraine before G7 meeting

NATO launched more than 10,000 air raids on Libya in 2011 with over 500,000 Civilian Casualities. When they were questioned about civilian Casualities they insisted that it was collateral damages and that it happens in wars. pic.twitter.com/BZrVoIaRR4

— Africa Archives (@Africa_Archives) October 10, 2022

Russia Now Devastating Ukraine In Latest Escalation

A few bits plucked from the Guardian's propaganda:

Ukraine to demand step-change in western aid after Russian missile blitz

Volodymyr Zelenskiy will address G7 leaders on Tuesday to demand a significant increase in their military and diplomatic support after the biggest Russian missile attack on Ukrainian cities since the start of the war.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, described the attack, in which cruise missiles and armed drones rained down on parks, playgrounds, power stations and other civilian targets, as “a profound change in the nature of this war”.

When he speaks to a virtual G7 summit on Tuesday, Zelenskiy will be seeking an equally profound change in western backing, which Kyiv complains has consistently lagged behind Ukraine’s requirements to defend its territory and people. ...

Zelenskiy’s wishlist will emphasise anti-aircraft systems, and repeat the longstanding demand for longer-range missiles. Diplomatically, Ukraine wants Russia declared a state sponsor of terrorism, and its isolation underlined in a UN general assembly debate beginning on Monday. The assembly is due to debate Russia’s land-grab in the east and south of Ukraine, which the UK ambassador, Barbara Woodward, described as “the largest forcible annexation attempt since the second world war”.

Remember how cool it was when NATO bombed Serbian civilian infrastructure for 78 days straight with all the accompanying "collateral damage"?

— Vagabundo (@libertadorzn) October 10, 2022

Lt. Col. Daniel Davis: Biden MUST Reverse On Ukraine, Threat Of Nuclear War Has NEVER BEEN HIGHER

Lukashenko Says Belarus and Russia Will Deploy Joint Military Group

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Monday said that Belarus and Russia agreed to deploy a joint military force in response to tensions on the western borders of the “Union State,” which refers to the combined territories of the two nations. ...

The Belarusian leader claimed that Ukraine is discussing plans to launch attacks on Belarus. “I have already said that Ukraine today it is not just discussing but planning strikes on Belarusian territory,” he said.

Lukashenko said it would be “madness” for Ukraine to open a second front but that “nevertheless, the process has begun.” He claimed that Ukraine’s Western backers are pushing for an attack on Belarus.

A Good And Righteous Proxy War Wouldn’t Need Such Cartoonish PR

Star Wars megastar Mark Hamill was recently named an ambassador for United24, the fundraising platform of the Ukrainian government, where according to The Times his attention will center on “the procurement, repair and replacement of drones as well as pilot training.”

From The Times:

“In this long and unequal fight, Ukraine needs continuous additional support. That’s why I was honoured President Zelensky asked me to become an ambassador for the Army of Drones,” Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker, said in a statement. “I know for certain that Ukrainians need drones to protect their land, their freedom and the values of the entire democratic world. Right now is the best time for everyone to come together and help Ukraine stand up in this war with the evil empire.”

In a statement thanking Hamill for his support, Zelensky said: “The light will win over darkness. I believe in this, our people believe in this. Thank you for taking on this difficult mission of being the first ambassador to help Ukraine raise funds for the Army of Drones to support our defenders. It is really important!”

Hamill, 71, is among an expanding list of celebrities who have lent their support to United24, which Zelensky launched in May. The website is reported to have raised nearly $188 million in donations, including a recent $5 million contribution from the Pfizer Foundation to support Ukraine’s medical needs.

Last week Barbra Streisand announced that she would also serve as an ambassador, hailing the “capability and courage” of the Ukrainian people as an “inspiration for all those worldwide who promote democracy and fight authoritarianism”.

So for the record if you were under the impression that this proxy war could not possibly get any more Disneyfied, you were wrong.

Hamill celebrated his new position by tweeting a graphic showing a Star Wars spaceship wearing the Ukrainian flag colors, which the actor captioned in Polish because Hollywood is brain poison.

Other recent Twitter PR shenanigans for this proxy war includes the Ukrainian government account talking to its “Crimea” account in the cringiest imitation of viral brand tweets you could possibly imagine.

"hey @Crimea" what’s new?” tweeted the Ukraine account in lowercase letters just like the cool kids do.

“@Ukraine getting unchained, on my way home,” the Ukrainian government’s “Crimea” account replied.

Both of these accounts would of course be run by the same person, who would have been hired specifically for their understanding of social media, internet memes, and marketing. Because this is the most phony, PR-intensive proxy war of all time.

The face of this war is after all Volodymyr Zelensky, a well-known Ukrainian actor, who has been drumming up western support for this war by modeling on Vogue, making video appearances for the Grammy Awards, the Cannes Film Festival, the Venice Film Festival, the New York Stock Exchange, the World Economic Forum and probably the Bilderberg group as well, and having meetings with celebrities like Ben Stiller, Sean Penn, and Bono and the Edge from U2.

Since this war began the western media have been blanketing the airwaves with astonishingly biased coverage like nothing we’ve ever seen before. Russian media are purged from the airwaves while censorship of dissident voices has drastically escalated online with regard to this war. Social media algorithms artificially boost corrupt propaganda outlets which aggressively push the imperial line. Anti-Russia trolling operations are loudly praised and amplified by corporate media, government agencies, warmongering think tanks funded by western governments and the war industry, and branches of the US military explicitly dedicated to cyberspace operations, despite all we know about the US and UK militaries secretly using trolling operations online.

This is a proxy war that simply could not happen if it wasn’t backed to the hilt by the most powerful government on earth. And before anyone objects, yes, this is indisputably a proxy war. If it isn’t a proxy war when you’re sending billions of dollars of weapons to be used by CIA-trained fighters aided by US military intelligence and US special forces and CIA operatives on the ground, then there has never been a proxy war. That’s why US officials and the mass media have been openly calling it a proxy war.

None of this would be happening if this proxy war was as just and righteous as its proponents are pretending. If your proxy war demands nonstop perception management at maximum aggression to manufacture public consent for it, your proxy war is probably immoral and bad. If maintaining public support for a proxy war requires nonstop PR spin, aggressive propaganda from the mainstream news media, banning of Russian media, and giant troll information ops amplified by think tanks and government agencies, it probably shouldn’t have public support.

If you need to aggressively psychologically manipulate a population to get them to support your agenda, censor their speech, and disrupt their online discourse with astroturf trolling ops, it’s because you know your agenda is not something they’d choose to support on their own. If you need to manipulate people into supporting something, it’s because it’s not worthy of their support, and you know it.

If people really understood how much is being risked in escalating this proxy war, and at what extraordinary cost, and to no benefit to the common citizen, Washington would be a steaming pile of rubble right now. Nothing could protect our rulers from the rage of the citizenry if they really understood that their bank accounts are being plundered and their lives risked solely to advance the geostrategic goals of a few corrupt imperialists.

They work to manufacture our consent because they know we wouldn’t give it to them of our own volition. It’s about as despicable a subversion of democracy as you could possibly come up with.

Democratic senator threatens to freeze weapons sales to Saudi Arabia over support of Russia

The congressional backlash against Saudi Arabia escalated sharply on Monday as a powerful Democratic senator threatened to freeze weapons sales and security cooperation with the kingdom after its decision to support Russia over the interests of the US.

Washington’s anger with its Saudi allies has intensified since last week’s Opec+ decision to cut oil production by 2m barrels, which was seen as a slight to the Biden administration weeks ahead of critical midterm elections, and an important boost to Russia. But the remarks by Senator Robert Menendez, who serves as chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, indicated a serious possible sea change in US policy.

Hitting out at Mohammed bin Salman’s decision to “help underwrite Putin’s war through the OPEC+ cartel”, Menendez said there was “simply is no room to play both sides of this conflict”.

“I will not green-light any cooperation with Riyadh until the Kingdom reassesses its position with respect to the war in Ukraine. Enough is enough,” he said.

Fox News The ONLY US Mainstream Outlet To Report On Free Assange Rally

Julian Assange tests positive for COVID-19

Julian Assange has contracted COVID-19. He received the test result Saturday, on the day several thousand people formed a human chain around Parliament in London to protest his persecution.

His wife, Stella, told the press, “I am obviously worried about him and the next few days will be crucial for his general health. He is now locked in his cell for 24 hours a day.” She said Assange had been feeling ill throughout the week and developed a fever and cough on Friday.

Assange’s infection confirms the repeated warnings of medical professionals and his legal team that his health and life are endangered by his wrongful imprisonment. It must lend renewed urgency to the demand for his immediate release.

Paypal Floats FINES For 'Misinformation' As Financial Censorship Escalates

Top Fed Official Says Corporate Price Hikes Are Fueling Inflation

Progressives on Monday pointed to remarks by Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard acknowledging the role of corporate profiteering in exacerbating inflation to underscore their opposition to interest rate hikes and other monetary tightening that favors Big Business over workers.

While attributing high inflation to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Brainard—who was addressing a meeting of the National Association for Business Economics in Chicago—asserted that "there is ample room for margin recompression to help reduce goods inflation" in the retail economy.

"Retail margins have increased 20% since the onset of the pandemic, roughly double the 9% increase in average hourly earnings by employees in that sector," she noted. "In the auto sector, where the real inventory-to-sales ratio is 20% below its pre-pandemic level, the retail margin for motor vehicles sold at dealerships has increased by more than 180% since February 2020, 10 times the rise in average hourly earnings within that sector."

Brainard's nod to what one observer called "the elephant in the room" was secondary to her insistence that monetary tightening in the form of higher interest rates is the best way to tackle inflation.

"It will take time for the cumulative effect of tighter monetary policy to work through the economy broadly and to bring inflation down," she said. "In light of elevated global economic and financial uncertainty, moving forward deliberately and in a data-dependent manner will enable us to learn how economic activity, employment, and inflation are adjusting to cumulative tightening in order to inform our assessments of the path of the policy rate."

Noting that "the labor market's recovery from the pandemic-induced recession was a historic rebound," the progressive podcast "Pitchfork Economics" warned that "if the Fed keeps pursuing outdated, harmful solutions, they will push us into a longer, deeper recession with consequences that reverberate for years to come." ...

Members of the Fed's board of governors are widely expected to raise interest rates by 0.75% for the fourth consecutive time when they meet next month.

Last month, a trio of progressive political economists told members of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform that the most effective way to curb rising prices is to take on the corporate profiteering fueling inflation.

"Even as input costs come down, corporate executives are gleefully reporting how they plan on keeping prices high," one of the economists, Rakeen Mabud of the Groundwork Collaborative, told the lawmakers. "Megacorporations are taking advantage of recent crises to make record profits for themselves and their shareholders."

US railroad union rejects contract with employers, raising strike concerns

The US’s third-largest railroad union rejected a deal with employers Monday, renewing the possibility of a strike that could cripple the economy. Both sides will return to the bargaining table before that happens.

Over half of track maintenance workers represented by the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division who voted opposed the five-year contract, which contained 24% raises and $5,000 in bonuses. Union President Tony Cardwell said the railroads didn’t do enough to address the lack of paid time off – particularly sick time – and working conditions after the major railroads eliminated nearly one-third of their jobs over the past six years.

“Railroaders are discouraged and upset with working conditions and compensation and hold their employer in low regard. Railroaders do not feel valued,” Cardwell said in a statement. “They resent the fact that management holds no regard for their quality of life, illustrated by their stubborn reluctance to provide a higher quantity of paid time off, especially for sickness.”

The group that represents the railroads in negotiations said they were disappointed the union rejected the agreement, but emphasized that no immediate threat of a strike existed because the union had agreed to keep working for now.

Four other railroad unions have approved their agreements with freight railroads including BNSF, Union Pacific, Kansas City Southern, CSX and Norfolk Southern, but all 12 unions representing 115,000 workers must ratify their contracts to prevent a strike. Another union, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, initially rejected its deal but has since renegotiated a new contract. Voting will be completed in mid-November.

Black & Indigenous Activists Call for Latinx L.A. City Councilmembers to Resign over Racist Remarks

Los Angeles city council president resigns from post over racist comments

The president of the Los Angeles city council has stepped down after a series of bombshell audio clips captured her calling a colleague’s Black son “a little monkey”, among other racist and disparaging remarks.

Nury Martinez apologized for the October 2021 remarks during a meeting over redistricting with fellow council members Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo and labor leader Ron Herrera, and stepped down as city council president on Monday. ...

The leak of the audio had thrown LA city politics in turmoil on Sunday, providing a rare look inside the political process in America’s second largest city ahead of November’s mayoral election. In the leaked audio, the Latino leaders can be heard denigrating various groups of constituents as they try to determine how to use the redistricting process to secure more political power for Latinos and keep political rivals from making perceived gains. All the politicians involved are Democrats.

It wasn’t immediately clear who made the recording. The audio was leaked on Reddit by a user who has since been suspended, the LA Times reported. The series of clips has been published by Knock LA, a non-profit community news platform. ...

After the release of the tape on Sunday, politicians and civil rights groups called on the council members to resign.

Mississippi police shoot Black teenager in the head outside store

A Black teenager in Mississippi was taken off life support days after Gulfport police shot him in the head outside a discount store, and his relatives are questioning officers’ actions.

Jaheim McMillan, 15, was shot on Thursday. The Harrison county coroner, Brian Switzer, confirmed to the Sun Herald that the Gulfport High School freshman died on Saturday after he was taken off life support at USA University Hospital in Mobile, Alabama. An autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday, Switzer said. ...

Gulfport police said in a news release that the shooting occurred after they responded to a 911 call about several minors waving guns at other motorists. Officers pulled the youth over in the parking lot of a Family Dollar store. ...

McMillan’s family doesn’t believe he was armed, and their supporters are calling for the release of camera footage of the shooting.

Bernie TRASHES Dems for Abortion OBSESSION

Nevada secretary of state contender pledges to secure Trump victory in 2024

The head of a US coalition of election deniers standing for secretary of state positions in key battleground states has made the most explicit threat yet that they will use their powers, should they win in November, to subvert democracy and force a return of Donald Trump to the White House.

Jim Marchant, who is running in the midterms as the Republican candidate for secretary of state in Nevada, has vowed publicly that he and his fellow coalition members will strive to make Trump president again. ...

“When I’m secretary of state of Nevada, we are going to fix it, and when my coalition of secretary of state candidates around the country get elected we’re going to fix the whole country, and President Trump is going to be president again in 2024,” he said.

Tulsi Gabbard: I'm LEAVING The Democratic Party, Nothing But A Cabal Of Woke 'WARMONGERS'

Good article, much more at the link. Here's a bit to get you started:

How fossil fuel firms use Black leaders to ‘deceive’ their communities

Pastor Geoffrey Guns was sceptical when asked to join the community advisory board for a gas pipeline, but decided it was his duty to advocate for the Black communities that would be affected by the fossil fuel expansion project. The Virginia Reliability Project (VRP) is a proposal by the Canadian fossil fuel company behind the Keystone XL pipeline to expand and upgrade gas infrastructure through tribal lands, fragile waterways and underserved neighbourhoods in south-east Virginia.

Almost 50% of the population along the VRP route live below the poverty line and more than half are people of colour. TC Energy claims the expansion will create thousands of local jobs and that community engagement is core to the company’s mission. For this reason, Guns, a senior pastor at the Second Calvary Baptist church in Norfolk, joined the advisory board along with several other local Black religious leaders.

“If they’re asking us to rubber-stamp this, then there should be economic benefits for Black folks and minorities. But all we heard was talk without any actual commitment to equity in contracts for minorities,” said Guns.

On the VRP website, under a tab labelled community voices, TC Energy lists endorsements from influential figures, including Black state-elected officials who praise the economic benefits promised by the company for communities of colour. Several of the community voices received financial contributions from the company and its registered lobbying firm, which is legal but not mentioned. The views of the community advisers are not listed.

“The whole thing feels very disingenuous, as clearly the company is not really interested in our advice on safety or guaranteeing opportunities for minority businesses. I am very disappointed. This is a bunch of white people with some Black faces sprinkled in. I feel absolutely used and violated,” said Guns.

Antigua and Barbuda: How sand mining is contributing to eroding coastlines

California migration of millions of birds brings ‘unprecedented’ avian flu threat

Ever year during the fall migration season, 5.4 million waterfowl descend on California, as birds from Canada and Alaska make their way south on an aerial transnational highway known as the Pacific Flyway. This year, the arrival of the birds also brings concern. A new avian influenza is circulating, and that means trouble for domestic chickens, wild birds and even mammals. ...

This year’s flu, known as H5N1, came from Europe, scientists say. Since its first detection in the US in January, in a wild duck in North Carolina, the high-pathogenic virus has spread rapidly across the country. In California, the strain was first recognized in geese and pelicans in the Central Valley in July of this year. Since then, more than 10 counties in the state have documented cases. ...

The most recent bad flu year for birds in North America was 2014-15, when 50 million chickens and turkeys were killed, either from the virus itself or culled to stop the flu from advancing – something known in the poultry industry as depopulation. Compared with that year, this flu is already shaping up to be worse: then 15 US states were impacted, but already 41 states and 47 million poultry have been affected.

The US is a major producer and exporter of chickens, so losing birds this fall will have an impact on food prices, Maurice Pitesky, who monitors and forecasts bird viruses at the University of California, Davis said. “Food inflation is already an issue, and this will act as an additional pressure on the supply chain.”

In addition to affecting wild birds and chickens, the H5N1 virus is a danger to wild species as well. Bobcats, raccoons, foxes and even harbor seals and dolphins are turning up sick. “There is so much virus in the environment that it’s just spilling over everywhere,” said Pitesky.

Also of Interest

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

Russia, Having 'Run Out Of Missiles', Launches Barrage On Ukraine

Evolving Big Brains Only To Go Extinct From Stupidity: Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix

Before Ukraine blew up Kerch Bridge, British spies plotted it

Ukraine Is The First Major War Of The “Age of War and Revolution”

GOP Govs Reject Cannabis Pardons After Getting Private Prison Cash

Venezuelans create affordable electric vehicles as necessity drives ingenuity

Ancient Mars could have been teeming with microbial life, researchers find

A Little Night Music

Skip James - I'm So Glad

Skip James - Cypress Grove Blues

Skip James - Look Down The Road

Skip James - Crow Jane

Skip James - How Long "Buck"

Skip James - Cherryball

Skip James - My Gal

Skip James - Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burning

Skip James - Catfish Blues

Skip James - Lazy Bones

Alvin Youngblood Hart plays Skip James' Illinois Blues at the New York Guitar Festival