The Evening Blues - 10-3-22



eb1pt12


The day's news roundup + tonight's musical feature: Dale Hawkins

Hey! Good Evening!

This evening's music features early rock n roll musician Dale Hawkins. Enjoy!

Dale Hawkins/Roy Buchanan - My Babe

“History is a set of lies agreed upon.”

-- Napoleon Bonaparte


News and Opinion

The Narrative That This War Was “Unprovoked” Prevents Peace

Vladimir Putin has approved the annexation of four territories in eastern Ukraine, whose addition to the Russian Federation now await authorization from Russia’s other branches of government.

The Zelensky government responded to the move by applying to join NATO, only to be immediately shut down by US and NATO officials. Can’t have sacrificial pawns trying to rise above their station on the grand chessboard, after all.

But the empire’s proxy war against Russia continues, and the Ukrainian government has announced its intentions to drive out Russia from all of the Ukrainian territories it has claimed as its own.

“For our plans, [Russia’s annexation] doesn’t matter,” Zelensky advisor Mykhailo Podolyak told Politico, adding that Ukraine will “protect our land using all our forces” and “should liberate all its territories.”

The plan to reclaim territories annexed by Russia will according to Zelensky also include Crimea, which was annexed in 2014.

All this talk about preparing a massive western-backed counter-offensive to recapture annexed territories from Russia — whose ranks are being reinforced with an additional 300,000 reservists — comes as Putin suggests that nuclear weapons may be used to protect what Moscow considers parts of Russia. Russia, like the United States, is one of the nuclear-armed nations without a No First Use policy.

So we appear to be on a collision course toward a massive escalation between two nuclear-armed powers. The more things escalate the more likely it is that a nuclear weapon may be used, either deliberately or as a result of miscommunication or malfunction as nearly happened many times during the last cold war. Once one nuke is used the odds go up astronomically that a great many more will immediately follow, with variables on this outcome including the location where it detonates and how cool all the relevant heads happen to be at that particular historic moment.

It is therefore no exaggeration to say that the human species has a vested interest in de-escalation and detente right away. Avoiding nuclear war is the single most important agenda in the entire world, without exception. It is the single most important agenda that has ever existed in all of history.

But whenever you advocate for this supremely important agenda in any kind of public forum, you get a bunch of brainwashed empire automatons bleating about “appeasement” and accusing you of supporting a monstrous madman. And they do this because that’s what they were trained to do.

As Noam Chomsky has been pointing out repeatedly, the political/media class have been continually indoctrinating the public with the completely false narrative that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was “unprovoked”. Every time the war comes up the imperial spinmeisters utter that slogan, in much the same way Michael Jackson had a quota for how often MTV hosts were obligated to refer to him as “The King of Pop Michael Jackson” when his name was mentioned.

But what does it mean if the war is “unprovoked”? It means Putin didn’t invade Ukraine because of anything the western empire was doing, so it couldn’t have been prevented by the western empire behaving less aggressively on Russia’s borders. It means Putin necessarily invaded because he is some kind of evil lunatic who loves to commit war crimes, or a megalomaniacal tyrant who wants to conquer the world because he hates freedom and democracy. Which means he will keep attacking and invading other countries unless he can be stopped. Which means the only answer to the Putin problem is more war.

This is why empire apologists get angry at those who advocate the only sane and rational position toward nuclear brinkmanship by calling for de-escalation and detente. It’s because they’ve been aggressively indoctrinated into the belief that war is the only answer.

The moronic narrative that the invasion of Ukraine was “unprovoked” poses a massive obstacle to peace, because if Putin is just attacking and invading countries solely because he’s crazy and evil it means detente is impossible and he won’t stop until he’s decisively crushed. If it’s accepted that the US empire has played no role in provoking Putin’s actions, that means there’s nothing the empire could do to make continued Russian aggression less likely apart from regime change, or at least severely crippling and punishing Russia militarily.

As long as the fact that this war was provoked remains unacknowledged by the side that provoked it, the sane path of de-escalation and detente will look like reckless appeasement of an irrational madman, and aggressive escalations of nuclear brinkmanship will look like sanity. The absurd position that Putin is an irrational actor with some kind of weird sexual fetish for war crimes is a one-way ticket to endlessly escalating war and eventual nuclear annihilation, because it leaves you with no options but continually intensifying military confrontation.

The claim that peace is impossible and Putin must be crushed imperils the whole world. Even to deliver total victory in Ukraine (pushing Russia back to pre-2014 borders) could easily end up costing millions of lives and trillions of dollars and exponentially increase the risk of nuclear war, with no guarantee of success at all. But even if you did push Putin all the way out of Ukraine, what then? He’ll still be a crazy madman who wants to invade countries because he’s evil and hates freedom. The internal logic of your narrative says the attacks on Russia must continue until you get regime change. There’s no stopping point on your line of thinking until there’s a direct hot confrontation between nuclear superpowers.

Be an adult and engage your critical thinking. Does a madman who goes around invading countries solely because he’s evil and hates freedom sound like a real-life human being to you? Or does it sound made up? Like something you’d see in a Hollywood movie? Like something that was concocted by people responsible for controlling the dominant narratives of our society and funneled into your mind using media?

Marvel supervillains have more depth and complexity than the one-dimensional characters the imperial spin machine concocts to represent its official enemies. Thanos was a more believable character with more understandable and nuanced motivations than the propaganda machine’s fictional representation of Putin. That representation has been overlaid on top of the actual government official who you might not necessarily agree with, but can definitely understand and engage in diplomacy and negotiation.

People who believe the empire’s narratives about its official enemies have fewer critical thinking skills than your average Marvel movie viewer. Think. Be a grown up and think. Someone’s benefitting from the aggressively promulgated narrative that peace is impossible and war is the only solution. And that someone isn’t you.

SMO coming to an end, conflict paradigm shift. Lavrov, Russian diplomacy success

The US Military’s Culture of Lies

As a military professor for six years at the U.S. Air Force Academy in the 1990s, I often walked past the honor code prominently displayed for all cadets to see. Its message was simple and clear: they were not to tolerate lying, cheating, stealing, or similar dishonorable acts. Yet that’s exactly what the U.S. military and many of America’s senior civilian leaders have been doing from the Vietnam War era to this very day: lying and cooking the books, while cheating and stealing from the American people. And yet the most remarkable thing may be that no honor code turns out to apply to them, so they’ve suffered no consequences for their mendacity and malfeasance. ...

Considering the revelations of the Pentagon Papers, leaked by Daniel Ellsberg in 1971; the Afghan War papers, first revealed by The Washington Post in 2019; and the lack of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, among other evidence of the lying and deception that led to the invasion and occupation of that country, you’ll excuse me for assuming that, for decades now when it comes to war, “integrity optional” has been the true core value of our senior military leaders and top government officials.

Like many other institutions, the U.S. military carries with it the seeds of its own destruction. After all, despite being funded in a fashion beyond compare and spreading its peculiar brand of destruction around the globe, its system of war hasn’t triumphed in a significant conflict since World War II (with the war in Korea remaining, almost three-quarters of a century later, in a painful and festering stalemate). Even the ending of the Cold War, allegedly won when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, only led to further wanton military adventurism and, finally, defeat at an unsustainable cost — ;more than $8 trillion — in Washington’s ill-fated Global War on Terror. And yet, years later, that military still has a stranglehold on the national budget.

[Lots more at the link. -js]

Squad Member Confronted Over Supporting Ukrainian N@zis

The now retired philandering moron who inappropriately shared highly classified documents with a journalist providing him with sexual favors hasn't spoken with anybody in a position to direct a military response against Russia, but apparently knows for certain just what the U.S. government would do if Russia used nuclear weapons in the Ukraine:

Petraeus: US would destroy Russia’s troops if Putin uses nuclear weapons in Ukraine

The US and its allies would destroy Russia’s troops and equipment in Ukraine – as well as sink its Black Sea fleet – if Russian president Vladimir Putin uses nuclear weapons in the country, former CIA director and retired four-star army general David Petraeus warned on Sunday.

Petreaus said that he had not spoken to national security adviser Jake Sullivan on the likely US response to nuclear escalation from Russia, which administration officials have said has been repeatedly communicated to Moscow.

He told ABC News: “Just to give you a hypothetical, we would respond by leading a Nato – a collective – effort that would take out every Russian conventional force that we can see and identify on the battlefield in Ukraine and also in Crimea and every ship in the Black Sea.” ...

Asked if the use of nuclear weapons by Russia in Ukraine would bring America and Nato into the war, Petreaus said that it would not be a situation triggering the alliance’s Article 5, which calls for a collective defense. That is because Ukraine is not part of Nato – nonetheless, a “US and Nato response” would be in order, Petreaus said.


Noam Chomsky & Vijay Prashad on Ukraine, Why U.S. Must Negotiate with Russia & What Media Gets Wrong

Pfffftttt!!!

Gas-hungry Germany approves arms deal with Saudi Arabia

German media reported on 29 September that Berlin has approved a number of new weapons export deals with Saudi Arabia, in defiance of a 2018 ban over Riyadh’s brutal war in Yemen. In a letter to the Bundestag, the country’s Economy Minister, Robert Habeck, said that the deals were approved by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz just before his recent visit to Saudi Arabia. ...

Germany, whose arms exports to Saudi Arabia stood at around $1.22 billion in 2012, banned exporting weapons to the kingdom in 2018 as part of a broader ban against countries involved in the war on Yemen, despite some exceptions. However, a complete ban was enforced the following year after the murder of columnist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi embassy in Istanbul.

The weapons export deals come at a time when Germany is scrambling to boost relations with energy exporting countries, as the country faces a major economic catastrophe after losing access to Russian fuel.

Glenn Greenwald: CATASTROPHIC Polling Miss In Brazil Election

Brazil Votes Live: Lula Wins the First Round Over Far-Right Bolsonaro; Run-Off Oct. 30

Brazil’s presidential race will need to go to a October 30th second round after former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva fell short of the 50%+1 he needed to avoid a run-off with extremist incumbent Jair Bolsonaro.

Brazilians voted Sunday in a historic presidential election, with leftist front-runner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who led in the pre-election polls, winning but still short of the 50% he needed to avoid a runoff election. ...

With 98.04% of the vote counted at 8:45pm EDT, Lula had 48.02% of the vote to Bolsonaro's 43.55%.

Tax Cuts for Rich DECIMATE UK Economy

‘Huge turnouts’ reported at UK cost of living protests

Thousands have gathered in dozens of towns and cities across the UK to register their anger at the cost of living crisis in what organisers describe as the largest wave of simultaneous protests seen in Britain for years.

From Eastbourne to Edinburgh, Newcastle to Norwich, “huge turnouts” were described throughout the UK at protests timed to coincide with the jump in gas and electricity unit prices that will cause bills to soar.

Coordinated between multiple community organisations and trade unions to maximise their impact, Saturday’s protests were staged against a backdrop of the biggest rail strike in Britain for decades. ...

Across the UK reports of householders setting fire to their utility bills emerged, a symbolic gesture promoted by Don’t Pay UK, a grassroots movement that has received almost 200,000 pledges from householders who are prepared to cancel their direct debits if a million Britons commit to not paying.

'Their Price Strategies Are Bearing Fruit': Oil and Coal Profits Surge 340%

Progressive demands for congressional action to curb corporate monopoly power were renewed Friday after federal data confirmed that certain heavily consolidated industries are continuing to rake in massive profits while working households struggle under the weight of high prices.

The latest figures from the Bureau for Economic Analysis show that the profits of the U.S. coal and oil industry increased 340% between the first and second quarters of 2022. Companies selling petroleum and coal products made an estimated $49.7 billion in profits from April to June, compared with $11.3 billion from January to March.

Meanwhile, executives in the nation's transportation and warehousing sector enjoyed a nearly 40% increase in profits during the same time period, pocketing $124.4 billion in the second quarter after taking home $89.4 billion over the first three months of the year.

"We've heard directly from executives in the sectors that families depend on—from oil, to auto shops, to airlines—that inflation has been good for business," Rakeen Mabud, chief economist and managing director of policy and research at the Groundwork Collaborative, said in a statement.

"The latest corporate profit data shows their price strategies are bearing fruit," she added.

Exxon Tells U.S. Administration Fuel Export Curbs Will Raise Gasoline Prices

The Biden Administration’s calls for U.S. refiners to limit their fuel exports would only lead to a more severe crunch overseas which will push crude oil prices and gasoline prices in America higher, U.S. supermajor ExxonMobil has warned.

In August, amid low inventories at home, the Biden Administration urged American refiners to limit their fuel exports, according to a letter U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm had sent to seven big refiners obtained by The Wall Street Journal.

“Given the historic level of U.S. refined product exports, I again urge you to focus in the near term on building inventories in the United States, rather than selling down current stocks and further increasing exports,” Secretary Granholm wrote in the letter, according to the Journal.

Commenting on the Administration’s calls for lower fuel exports, Exxon’s chief executive Darren Woods wrote this week in a letter to the U.S. Department of Energy reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, “Continuing current Gulf Coast exports is essential to efficiently rebalance markets—particularly with diverted Russian supplies.” ...

Referring to low inventories in the United States, Woods wrote in the letter, “Free market incentives remain the most efficient way for the industry to address these problems.”

Spain Approves 'Solidarity' Tax to Make Nation's Top 0.1% Pay a Fairer Share

Spain's leftist coalition government on Thursday announced a series of downwardly redistributive fiscal reforms—including a temporary "solidarity" tax on the nation's 23,000 wealthiest residents—that lawmakers hope will ease the cost-of-living crisis hurting millions of working people.

In 2023 and 2024, the 0.1% of Spanish taxpayers who own more than €3 million ($2.9 million) in assets will be subject to a new wealth tax.

According to The Associated Press: "People with holdings of €3 million to €5 million ($2.9 million to $4.9 million) will be taxed 1.7% and those whose personal worth is €5 million to €10 million ($4.9 million to $9.8 million) will be taxed at 2.1%. Individuals with fortunes above €10 million will pay 3.5%."

This levy on 1 out of every 1,000 citizens, which Finance Minister María Jesús Montero described as a "solidarity" tax, is one of many changes to Spain's upcoming budget that are intended to mitigate economic hardship as the prices of energy, food, and other essential goods continue to soar due to corporate profiteering and the destabilizing effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and the climate crisis on global supply chains.

As AP reported: "The government also plans to increase the income tax rate from 26% to 27% for people earning more than €200,000 ($196,000). The capital gains tax for incomes above €300,000 ($294,000) will go up to 28%, an increase of two percentage points."

These measures—agreed upon by the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party and its junior coalition partner, Unidas Podemos—are expected to raise €3.14 billion ($3.08 billion) over the next two years. The government plans to use this revenue to fund programs that are designed to assist those with modest incomes.

In addition to hiking taxes on its richest citizens, Spain is also poised to offer working people and small businesses more relief by trimming the levies they owe by an estimated €1.9 billion.

"The government plans to reduce the income tax on annual wages of up to €21,000 ($20,584)," AP noted. "Montero said this will benefit some 50% of the workforce given that the average annual salary in Spain is €21,000."

Moreover, the government agreed to slash the sales tax on feminine hygiene products and contraceptives from 10% to 4%.

"We have to make this adjustment at this time to combat the effects of inflation," Montero told reporters. Although the country's inflation rate fell from 10.5% in August to 9% in September as energy prices declined, it remains high.

"There is the need to ask for a greater effort from those who are benefiting from energy prices and interest rates," she added, referring to taxes on utilities and banks that are being prepared.

These changes to Spain's tax code, said Montero, are bound to make it "more progressive, efficient, fair, and also enough to guarantee social justice and economic efficiency."

Dems BLAST Pelosi For Killing Stock Trading Ban



the evening greens



Hurricane Ian: Americans urged to weigh risks of rebuilding in vulnerable areas

US Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) administrator Deanne Criswell asked Americans on Sunday “to make informed decisions” about rebuilding in vulnerable areas hit by natural disasters intensified by climate change.

“People need to understand what their potential risk my be whether it’s along the coast, inland along a riverbed or in tornado alley,” Criswell told CNN’s Face the Nation. “People need to make informed decisions about what their risk is and if they choose to rebuild there they do so in a way that’s going to reduce their threat.” Criswell’s comments came four days after Hurricane Ian devastated barrier islands and coastal communities around Fort Myers Beach, Florida, with estimates for rebuilding running into the tens of billions. ...

The latest natural disaster to hit the US comes after a series of floods, tornadoes, fires and hurricanes, has laid bare the rising costs of devastation associated with a warming climate.

It has been widely reported that only about 18% of Fort Myers residents had purchased flood insurance. “If you live near water or where it rains it can certainly flood, and we have seen that in multiple storms this year,” Criswell said. “If you live near water – anywhere near water – you should certainly purchase flood insurance.”

Insurers say they are anticipating between $28bn and $47bn in claims from what could amount to the costliest Florida storm since Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

Boston bans artificial turf in parks due to toxic ‘forever chemicals’

Boston’s mayor, Michelle Wu, has ordered no new artificial turf to be installed in city parks, making Boston the largest municipality in a small but growing number around the nation to limit use of the product because it contains dangerous chemicals.

All artificial turf is made with toxic PFAS compounds and some is still produced with ground-up tires that can contain heavy metals, benzene, VOCs and other carcinogens that can present a health threat. The material also emits high levels of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and sheds microplastics and other chemicals into waterways.

“We already know there are toxic chemicals in the products, so why would we continue to utilize them and have children roll around on them when we have a safe alternative, which is natural grass?” asked Sarah Evans, an environmental health professor for the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Beyond chemical risks, the fields can act as heat islands that increase playing field temperatures to as much as 93C (200F), Evans noted. National Football League players are pressuring the league to ban artificial turf because of injuries, while the US national soccer teams will only play on natural grass for the same reason.

The federal government estimates 12,000 synthetic turf fields exist in the US, and at least 1,200 more are installed annually. Proponents say they are easier to maintain than grass fields and are not prone to “flooding”, though they do also require significant maintenance. The product is also increasingly used on playgrounds or as alternatives to lawns in drought-plagued regions.

California Gov. Newsom Proposes Windfall Profits Tax on Big Oil

California Gov. Gavin Newsom called Friday for a windfall profits tax on oil companies that would go directly back to California residents.

While crude oil prices are down nationally, big oil companies have increased gas prices in California by a record 84 cents per gallon in just the last 10 days.

“Crude oil prices are down but oil and gas companies have jacked up prices at the pump in California. This doesn’t add up,” said Newsom. “I’m calling for a windfall tax to ensure excess oil profits go back to help millions of Californians who are getting ripped off.”

California lawmakers are not due back in session until January 2023, which would be the earliest Californians could see any movement on this.

Calls for windfall profits taxes have increased globally in recent weeks.

On Friday, the European Union agreed to impose a new windfall profits tax on fossil fuel companies reaping massive profits from the high price of oil and natural gas.


Also of Interest

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

US supreme court to decide cases with ‘monumental’ impact on democracy

This Would Be A Wise Stopping Point For This War: Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix

How To Defeat Putin

Text of Putin’s Speech Blasting ‘Neo-Colonial’ West

Scott Ritter: The Onus Is on Biden & Putin

U.S. Has Not Seen Acts Indicating Russia Contemplating Nuclear Attack

Michael Hudson on The Euro Without Germany

More Fallout From the Nord Stream Pipeline Attacks

Archaeologists hail ‘dream discovery’ as sarcophagus is unearthed near Cairo

LA Politician Actually DOING SOMETHING About Homelessness

NEW Rikers' Photos Showing HORRIFIC Conditions Released, Cash-Bail WEAPONIZES Poor: Olayemi Olurin


A Little Night Music

Dale Hawkins - Tornado

Dale Hawkins - Teenage Dolly

Dale Hawkins - Little Pig

Dale Hawkins - La-Do-Dada

Dale Hawkins - Number Nine Train

Dale Hawkins - Little Rain Cloud

Dale Hawkins - Lovin` Bug

Dale Hawkins - Baby Baby

Dale Hawkins - Lifeguard Man

Dale Hawkins - Boogie Chillen'

Dale Hawkins - Susie-Q


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20 users have voted.

Comments

Hey joe and bluesers -

Some reason to hope?

3 items pointing to progressive taxation:

Spain - raising tax rates on the wealthy
California - windfall taxes on oil and gas prices
EU - also windfall taxes on oil and gas

I like the direction it is going anyway.

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16 users have voted.
usefewersyllables's picture

@QMS

I don't think I'll live long enough to see the wholly-owned patsies vote against their owners' greed, though. The were purchased in utero, these days, and aren't too likely to buck the current.

Which brings up the great, though conflicted, song:

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0zaebtU-CA width:400 height:300]

It addresses the quandaries of the rich-but-not-rich-enough-to-escape class. It may be that the actual way to make something happen is to tax the fuck out of the ranks of *those* folks: Beatles-rich, but not Madoff- or Gates- rich. The second-tier rich.

You see, the merely-rich don't own enough politicians to duck out of all the tax bills like the really rich do, so that might stick. Maybe some of *them* can band together enough to attack the truly obscenely rich Owners. Since the merely-rich have pockets that are still sewed closed at the bottom and might still hold some coin, they might be willing to take this on.

Only the ones whose "wealth" is actually not theirs, but magically derived from completely imaginary mathematical instruments, can really afford to own more than just one or two politicians. Even better if their "wealth" is derived from shaving some squeeze off the top of other peoples' work, instead of by manufacturing an actual product that might provide actual value worth paying for to an actual member of the hoi-polloi. Clean them all out.

I sure can't help much- there ain't been much thread down there in my pocket fabric in a lot of years, and it ain't going to get better soon. Ahh, well- if I can still afford some Adult Beverage and some jerky, I can sit back and watch the fireworks. Ought to start pretty much any time now.

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14 users have voted.

Twice bitten, permanently shy.

enhydra lutris's picture

@usefewersyllables

an annual income tax, but also a wealth tax, so that your yacht, rolls and getaway cottage in Minorca were subject to a tax too.

be well and have a good one

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8 users have voted.

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

@QMS

that would be good news if it is a trend with staying power. polling seems to show that it's popular with us rabble, but that doesn't usually seem to matter when it comes to legislation.

i guess we can hope.

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7 users have voted.
mimi's picture

an "only good news EB"
Just for the fun of it.

Take care and survive a little bit longer... Wink

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10 users have voted.
joe shikspack's picture

@mimi

if you can find enough good news to fill up an eb, pm it to me and i'll take a night off. Smile

have a great evening!

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6 users have voted.

responds in their normal manner.

The response with a little help from Ukrainian bots.

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7 users have voted.

@humphrey

Sounds easy, but since when has empire been beholden to UN supervision?

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10 users have voted.
joe shikspack's picture

@humphrey

i suspect that the last thing that ukraine wants is an honest referendum in the east. and the u.s./uk tandem won't stand for it.

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9 users have voted.

The volume is better on the second video at least for me.

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13 users have voted.

@humphrey

Who stands most to gain from this incident?
Plausible deniability is carefully built in to the deed.
The damage control fed to the media has not yet surfaced.
So the machinations of the intelligence / military blob are
awaiting exposure before making countering statements.

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9 users have voted.
joe shikspack's picture

@humphrey

wow, he said the obvious aloud on u.s. media. i guess he's going to disappear from the msm.

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11 users have voted.

a lesson.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/10/04/national/north-korea-appear...

North Korea launched a ballistic missile over Japan for the first time since 2017 on Tuesday, a dramatic escalation that prompted Tokyo to issue a rare alert for residents to take cover.

The Defense Ministry in Tokyo later said the missile was believed to have landed in the Pacific Ocean after the country's J-Alert warning system was activated for Tokyo’s Izu Islands, Hokkaido and Aomori Prefecture.

The weapon appeared to have been a longer-range missile, with the government estimating that it traveled 4,600 kilometers, hitting a maximum altitude of 1,000 km. Local media reported that it landed in waters about 3,000 km from Japan.

Donbass Devushka

The DPRK Foreign Ministry welcomed the entry of new regions into Russia and declared respect for the will of their inhabitants. Pyongyang believes that the referendums were held in accordance with the UN Charter.

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12 users have voted.
enhydra lutris's picture

Thanks for the Dale Hawkins. It's good to take a decent dive into his output instead of just Suzy-Q and Teenage Dolly.

I would say that the MIC has been lying and cooking the books since the end of WWII (if not a bit before) and certainly not merely since Vietnam.

The US response to Germany's dealings with the Saudis will be interesting to watch, as will be whatever comes about on the Ukraine battlefront now.

be well and have a good one

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9 users have voted.

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

yep, certainly the us government and the mic's cozying up to nazis instead of prosecuting them in the aftermath of wwii should impeach their alleged honor.

yep, scholz is pretty desperate at this point since his country is going down the tubes rapidly. i am guessing that for the u.s. this is a feature not a bug, as they would like to steal germany's industry to replace the manufacturing that the u.s. foolishly allowed its greedy rich people to offshore to get cheap labor.

i would not be surprised to see the u.s. do what it can to impede scholz' progress, should he make any.

have a great evening!

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9 users have voted.
dystopian's picture

Hi all, Hey Joe! Hope it's all good out there!

I should have known better than to question... When I saw Dale Hawkins immediately I wondered, is he gonna put that first Roy B. recording in there? Then I clicked. Good job maestro. And James Burton on that Suzy Q... Dale knew a good player when he heard one. Can't believe he produced 'Western Union'.

Gas-hungry Germany approves arms deal with Saudi Arabia

So this isn't seeming like a vicious cycle negative feedback loop by anyone yet?

then...

Exxon Tells U.S. Administration Fuel Export Curbs Will Raise Gasoline Prices

My solution is that we can ONLY export gas when everyone in America has all they want at $1.00 a gallon. Economy would be a world better. Once America's needs are met, reasonably, then and only then, can the profit mongers go screw the rest of the world any way they see fit exporting the excess. Allowing the export to create the 'shortage' here is evil and greedy as it is anti-American.

IF FEMA would quit under-writing people's ability to rebuild where they should never have allowed building in the first place, on barrier islands, obvious flood zones, they would quit building there. If a city wants to zone some flood zone habitible, they should have to be FEMA for it. I guess we quit teaching geography and what barrier islands (or mangroves), are, do, and are for a long time ago...

Thanks for the Dale Hawkins Joe!

be well all!

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11 users have voted.

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

joe shikspack's picture

@dystopian

exxon sounds pretty sure that all it has to do is spout some free market incantations and everybody will be just pleased as punch to export all of our energy to wherever they can get the highest price.

i hope that they have a sad awakening, but i doubt that our government is capable of acting for the people rather than our largest corporate interests.

i expect that there is going to be increasing pressure for people to abandon areas that clearly will have "thousand year events" every couple of years. it already looks like parts of california are facing an inability to get home insurance from private insurers. i suspect that this response to increased risk is going to spread as climate change worsens.

have a great evening!

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7 users have voted.

Translation:

The Armed Forces of Ukraine showed an important technology for working with NATO intelligence: all objects of the troops of Russia and Donbass are entered on an interactive
map and much more".
There is much to learn from the enemy.
Earlier it was officially reported that the United States and other NATO countries are very actively sharing intelligence information with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, incl. using satellites and radio intercepts

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10 users have voted.
lotlizard's picture

@humphrey  
“Uh, don’t pay us no mind, we’re just ‘advisors’ here…”

LBJ: “We are not about to send American boys 9 or 10 thousand miles away from home to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves.”

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10 users have voted.
CB's picture

@humphrey
military assets with their coded GPS location and sends this information in real time to the units on the battlefield. The Ukrainians are taking advantage of this by marking their tanks and other fighting vehicles with a "V" or "O" in an attempt to prevent the Russians from destroying them. This can disrupt front line troop movements by the Russians. They will have no idea if it is friend or foe until it is too late. Maybe this is why the Russian forces withdrew from the entire Kryvyi Rih front today. BTW, I'm not sure if the Russians have this same technology.

Meanwhile, Putin is still pussy-footing around, crossing his "T's" and dotting his "I's". He is supposed to finalize the annexation of the Ukrainian territories on the 5th of October. 2/3 of the military call-up has been accomplished and the two week training period has been started. I'm worried that it is too little, too late. He should have did this back in June when his negotiations with Zelensky were kiboshed by Boris Johnson and the US. This has caused a lot of unnecessary deaths of Russian, LDPR and Wagner troops in the preceding four months. It is now going to cause a hell of lot more deaths in the coming months to gain back the territory. It may even cause the downfall of Putin himself. Putin didn't understand that the US was intent of dismembering Russia until the last month. He still naively thought he could negotiate with them.

But even Xi knew better. He had been strengthening China's military since the Obama years - something that Putin failed to do except for missile defence. Xi has upped the ante by putting his entire military on a war footing and accelerating de-dollarization because he knows China is next in line on the chopping block.

What worries me the most is the neocons, who have taken over the deep state in control of Washington, would rather the entire world go up in flames rather than the US lose it's global hegemony. Right now the citizen's of Ukraine and Europe are just disposable pawns in their attempt to prevent that from happening.

BTW, this all dovetails with Klaus Schwab's Great Reset depopulation program under the New World Order. These people are completely immune from the consequences of these policies. Starvation, pestilence and war - classical Malthusian control mechanisms.

I'm now not sure if Putin is an accomplice or if he is also being played as a tool.

Russian President Putin’s Speech At The World Economic Forum: Complete English Translation
January 28, 2021

President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

“Mr. Schwab, dear Klaus, Colleagues,

I have been to Davos many times, attending the events organized by Mr. Schwab, even back in the 1990s. Klaus just recalled that we met in 1992. Indeed, during my time in St Petersburg, I visited this important forum many times. I would like to thank you for this opportunity today to convey my point of view to the expert community that gathers at this world-renowned platform thanks to the efforts of Mr. Schwab.

First of all, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to greet all the World Economic Forum participants.

It is gratifying that this year, despite the pandemic, despite all the restrictions, the forum is still continuing its work. Although it is limited to online participation, the forum is taking place anyway, providing an opportunity for participants to exchange their assessments and forecasts during an open and free discussion, partially compensating for the increasing lack of in-person meetings between leaders of states, representatives of international business and the public in recent months. All this is very important now when we have so many difficult questions to answer.
...
We are seeing a crisis of the previous models and instruments of economic development. Social stratification is growing stronger both globally and in individual countries. We have spoken about this before as well. But this, in turn, is causing today a sharp polarization of public views, provoking the growth of populism, right- and left-wing radicalism and other extremes, and the exacerbation of domestic political processes including in the leading countries.

All this is inevitably affecting the nature of international relations and is not making them more stable or predictable. International institutions are becoming weaker, regional conflicts are emerging one after another, and the system of global security is deteriorating.

Klaus has mentioned the conversation I had yesterday with the US President on extending the New START. This is, without a doubt, a step in the right direction. Nevertheless, the differences are leading to a downward spiral. As you are aware, the inability and unwillingness to find substantive solutions to problems like this in the 20th century led to the WWII catastrophe.
...

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8 users have voted.

@CB

Davos, for all their high flying rhetoric, are not much interested in anything
other than a singular world wide web under the elite control. All of this
multinational noise goes against their agenda. Silk Road, Shanghai group,
RU/CH/IR/VZ collaboration does not fit into a singular hegemony.

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6 users have voted.

Mah people...

Trump gets a shout out in Prague from AfD MP Petr Bystron.

And 100,000 Czechs respond:

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-1pQO1L578]

Next up, Defenestration 2.0? Peace in our time?

More at Gateway Pundit:

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/10/german-mp-petr-bystron-speaks-1...

Freiheit, Freiheit...

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6 users have voted.