The Evening Blues - 12-29-15
Hey! Good Evening!
This evening's music features r&b singer Roy Milton. Enjoy!
Roy Milton - Baby Don't You Know
“If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”-- George Washington
News and Opinion
Those Demanding Free Speech Limits to Fight ISIS Pose a Greater Threat to U.S. Than ISIS
There are now once again calls for restrictions on the First Amendment’s free speech protections, but they come not from far-right radicals in universally discredited neocon journals, but rather from the most mainstream voices, as highlighted this week by The New York Times.
The NYT article notes that “in response to the Islamic State’s success in grooming jihadists over the Internet, some legal scholars are asking whether it is time to reconsider” the long-standing “constitutional line” that “freedom of speech may not be curbed unless it poses a ‘clear and present danger’ — an actual, imminent threat, not the mere advocacy of harmful acts or ideas.”
The NYT cites two recent articles, one in Bloomberg by long-time Obama adviser Cass Sunstein and the other in Slate by Law Professor Eric Posner, that suggested limitations on the First Amendment in order to fight ISIS. It describes growing calls to ban the YouTube lectures and sermons of Anwar al-Awlaki, the American cleric whom the U.S. assassinated by drone in 2011 (and then, two weeks later, killed his 16-year-old American son). It also notes that the desire to restrict the internet as a means of fighting ISIS has seeped into the leadership of both parties: Donald Trump said the “internet should be closed up” to ISIS, while “Hillary Clinton said the government should work with host companies to shut jihadist websites and chat rooms,” a plan that would be unconstitutional “if the government exerted pressure on private firms to cooperate in censorship.”
All of these proposals take direct aim at a core constitutional principle that for decades has defined the First Amendment’s free speech protections. That speech cannot be banned even if it constitutes advocacy of violence has a long history in the U.S., but was firmly entrenched in the Supreme Court’s unanimous 1969 decision in Brandenburg v. Ohio, about which I’ve written many times. ...
There are millions of people in the world who believe and argue that the U.S. has been supporting tyranny and bringing violence to predominantly Muslim countries for decades as a means of dominating that region, and that return violence is not only justifiable but necessary to stop it (just as there are millions of westerners who believe and argue that they must bring more violence to the countries of that region). In particular, it’s astonishing to watch Americans – whose favorite political debate is deciding which country should be bombed next or which individuals should be next assassinated – propose changes to the First Amendment to make it a crime for others to justify (not engage in, but merely justify) the use of violence in what they argue is valid self-defense.
Baghdad Bob is back in Foggy Bottom!
State Department Claims It Brought Peace to Syria in 2015
State Department spokesperson John Kirby is raising eyebrows after he released a recap of 2015 "success stories" in which he credits the United States for bringing "peace" and "security" to Syria and "stepping up" to help the country's people at a difficult time.
"The United States and many members of the international community have stepped up to aid the Syrian people during their time of need," wrote Kirby in his laudatory year-in-review released late last week. He went on to claim that "the United States has led the world in humanitarian aid contributions since the crisis began in 2011."
"Led by Secretary Kerry, the United States also continues to push for a political transition in Syria, and under his stewardship, in December, the [United Nations] Security Council passed a U.S.-sponsored resolution that puts forward a roadmap that will facilitate a transition within Syria to a credible, inclusive, nonsectarian government that is responsive to the needs of the Syrian people," the report continued.
Using the hashtag #2015in5words to highlight last year's wins, Kirby boasted: "Bringing Peace, Security to Syria."
Is Increased Drone Warfare Inevitable?
Dem calls for temporary tax to pay for ISIS war
Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) is proposing a temporary surtax to pay for the war against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
In an op-ed Sunday in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Coons criticized Congress for not paying for the war.
The latest Pentagon statistics show that as of Nov. 30, the U.S. has spent nearly $5.4 billion on the war since August 2014, and the average daily cost is $11 million.
"One way to offset rising costs while allowing all Americans to contribute is a temporary war surtax that includes an exemption for our troops and their families," Coons wrote.
"As we pursue our goal of 'degrading and destroying' ISIS, we cannot write another blank check for war," said Coons, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee.
Coons said Congress has taken steps to pay for every major conflict, often through new taxes, since the War of 1812.
That practice ended with the post-9/11 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he said. The Iraq War would eventually cost $1.64 trillion and the Afghanistan War $715 billion.
U.S. sees bearable costs, key goals met for Russia in Syria so far
Three months into his military intervention in Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin has achieved his central goal of stabilizing the Assad government and, with the costs relatively low, could sustain military operations at this level for years, U.S. officials and military analysts say.
That assessment comes despite public assertions by President Barack Obama and top aides that Putin has embarked on an ill-conceived mission in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that it will struggle to afford and that will likely fail.
"I think it's indisputable that the Assad regime, with Russian military support, is probably in a safer position than it was," said a senior administration official, who requested anonymity. Five other U.S. officials interviewed by Reuters concurred with the view that the Russian mission has been mostly successful so far and is facing relatively low costs.
The U.S. officials stressed that Putin could face serious problems the longer his involvement in the more than four-year-old civil war drags on.
Yet since its campaign began on Sept. 30, Russia has suffered minimal casualties and, despite domestic fiscal woes, is handily covering the operation's cost, which analysts estimate at $1-2 billion a year. The war is being funded from Russia's regular annual defense budget of about $54 billion, a U.S. intelligence official said.
Retro Cold War Guff from the NY Times
A striking example of how dangerously Americans are misinformed and misled by the war party was featured in a major article in 24 December, New York Times.
In “Russia Rearms for a New Era,” the authors assert Russian military spending is growing and has risen $11 billion from 2014 to 2015. Lurid maps and diagrams of weapons make it seem that Stalin’s 210-division Red Army is again on the march – and headed into Europe.
A professor at Columbia’s Harriman Institute was actually quoted claiming that President Vladimir Putin is trying to “provoke the US and NATO into military action” to bolster his popularity.
What unbelievable rubbish. This dimwitted lady believes that Putin, whose popularity ratings rise over 82% in Russia, needs to court nuclear war to gain a few more points? Shame on the NY Times.
Let’s look at the true figures. The US so-called “defense budget”(it should be called “offense budget”) is in the range of $600 billion, 37% of total world military spending by a nation that only 5% of world population. Some studies put the true figure at $700 billion. ...
Russia defense spending is roughly $70 billion, and this in spite of plunging oil prices and US-led sanctions. France and Britain each spend almost as much; Saudi Arabia spends more. A French admiral ruefully told me the US Navy’s budget alone exceeded that of France’s total armed forces.
Iraqi PM visits Ramadi after declaring Isis will be 'terminated' in 2016
The Iraqi prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, has arrived in Ramadi a day after his government declared the city liberated from Islamic State.
Abadi kicked off his tour with meetings with security and provincial officials, reports said. The recapture of the city, where the Iraqi flag was raised on Monday over government buildings that had served as Isis’s base in Ramadi, marks a key victory against the jihadis.
The prime minister declared in a speech broadcast on state television that Isis would soon be cleared from the country. “2016 will be the year of the big and final victory, when Daesh’s presence in Iraq will be terminated,” he said, using an Arabic name for the group.
“We are coming to liberate Mosul and it will be the fatal and final blow to Daesh,” he added. Mosul, the main city in northern Iraq, is by far the largest population centre in territory held by Isis in Iraq and Syria.
Turkey blocks cartoonist’s website: 'This means I'm doing the right things'
Turkey prosecutor probes pro-Kurdish opposition head over 'self-rule' comments
A Turkish prosecutor has opened an investigation into the head of the pro-Kurdish political party over comments about Kurdish self-rule, Dogan news agency reported on Monday, a move likely to widen the divide between the government and opposition Kurds. ...
Violence in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast has flared up since the collapse of ceasefire in July. Fighting has been particularly intense in the last two weeks and the military says more than 210 Kurdish militants have been killed.
But the HDP and its head, Selahattin Demirtas, say that civilians are also dying, something the government denies. Demirtas, a charismatic lawyer turned politician, was one of the participants in a two-day congress of Kurdish groups this weekend that called for greater self-governance.
"There will be a Kurdistan reality in the next century. It will have autonomous regions, federal regions... and it may have an independent state," Demirtas told the congress on Saturday. ...
The prosecutor's office in the city of Diyarbakir in the southeast - where the congress was held - started an investigation into the meeting, sources in that office said.
As a member of parliament, Demirtas enjoys immunity from such cases, although he could be prosecuted and the sentence suspended until a time when he no longer has immunity.
Demirtas came under heavy criticism from the government after a visit to Moscow last week where he criticized Ankara for shooting down a Russian warplane last month. Prime Minister Davutoglu said the comments were treasonous.
Killed ISIS Commander’s Cell Phone Shows Direct Ties To Turkish Intelligence
An ISIS commander was killed in Salahuddin province and his body was searched. A cell phone retrieved from the corpse revealed messages from Turkish intelligence services proving the NATO country was providing security for ISIS militants when they traveled between Turkey and Iraq. This is the second NATO country implicated in assisting ISIS troops. The first was Canada.
The IS commander was killed by Hashd al-Shaabi, a loyalist volunteer force. Jabbar al-Ma’mouri, a leader within the force made the announcement. He said, “The mobile phone also contains other important information which cannot be disclosed now, and it has been delivered to the specialized security groups for further scrutiny.”
Syrian Journalist Who Documented ISIS Atrocities Is Killed in Turkey
A Syrian journalist and filmmaker who documented atrocities by the Islamic State in Syria and trained hundreds of citizen journalists has been killed in a Turkish town near the Syrian border, rights activists said Monday, calling the death an assassination.
The killing of the journalist, Naji Jerf, in Gaziantep, Turkey, happened Sunday, one day before he and his family were scheduled to fly to France, where they were seeking asylum. Unconfirmed news reports from Gaziantep said he had been shot to death.
Mr. Jerf recently posted on YouTube a documentary on the killing of Syrian activists during the Islamic State’s occupation of the Syrian city Aleppo in 2013 and 2014. It was recently broadcast by the television network Al Arabiya.
His death is the latest in a string of killings of activists and observers who have drawn attention to human rights abuses during the nearly five-year civil war in Syria.
IDF admits spraying herbicides inside the Gaza Strip
The army says aerial spraying was meant to ‘enable security operations.’ Palestinian farmers say hundreds of acres of crops were damaged or destroyed.
The Israel army has confirmed that it used crop-dusters to kill off vegetation — and perhaps inadvertently, agricultural crops — inside the Gaza Strip last week. According to Palestinian officials, over 420 acres of land were damaged by the spraying.
For years now, the IDF has unilaterally maintained a lethal “no-go zone” on the Palestinian side of the border with Gaza. Now, it seems, it has also implemented a “no-grow zone.” ...
Palestinian Agricultural Ministry officials told Ma’an news that farmers said Israeli planes had been spraying their agricultural lands adjacent to the border fence for several days straight. Spinach, pea, parsley and bean crops were reportedly destroyed around the al-Qarrara area in eastern Khan Younis and the Wadi al-Salqa area in central Gaza, according to the report.
The military spokesperson did not respond to a follow-up question about the destruction of agricultural crops.
The spraying of herbicides in Gaza was not reported in the Israeli media.
Israel Plans Another 55,000 West Bank Settlement Units
Israeli settler watchdog Peace Now is warning in a new report that the Israeli Housing Ministry is seeking a massive series of new settlement expansions cutting across all sections of the West Bank, totaling 55,548 new housing units, including two new settlements.
The new settlements would be in the E1 area, and would further divide the remaining Palestinian parts of the occupied West Bank. The possibility of building in the E1 has caused considerable concern that it would effectively prevent a contiguous Palestinian state.
No Rahm, you're doing it wrong. You need to take a very loooong vacation.
Chicago mayor cuts short vacation as pressure grows over police shootings
Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel has cut short his family vacation in Cuba as calls mounted for him to resign over the fatal police shootings of two black people at the weekend.
With the nation’s third-largest police department already facing a federal investigation over its use of deadly force, the latest shootings have heaped pressure on Emanuel.
“He is cutting his family trip short so that he can continue the ongoing work of restoring accountability and trust in the Chicago police department,” the mayor’s spokeswoman Kelley Quinn said on Monday. ...
On his return, the mayor will face renewed protests over the deaths of Bettie Jones, 55, and college student Quintonio LeGrier, 19, on Saturday. Police said Jones was killed by accident during the altercation with LeGrier.
‘Slap in the face’: Dozens protest in NYC against Tamir Rice case verdict
Nation Mourns Tamir Rice Case as a 'Catastrophic and Pernicious Miscarriage of Justice'
Outrage was palpable in Cleveland and beyond following Monday's shocking non-indictment of two police officers in the 2014 shooting death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice.
In a statement provided to New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow, Rice family attorney Jonathan Abady called the decision "a catastrophic and pernicious miscarriage of justice."
"All the family wanted was fairness and accountability," Abady said. "They got neither."
Heartbreaking. True.
A moving piece by @MurphyCartoons.
#TamirRice pic.twitter.com/M4Pr98Ayok
— Robin Mazumder (@RobinMazumder) December 29, 2015
By choosing not to indict Loehmann and Garmback, the grand jury "put an exclamation point on the statement that black lives don’t matter," Kirsten West Savali wrote at The Root on Monday. "That black children do not matter. That being young, black and free is a crime punishable immediately by death." ...
"I am reminded, again, that justice in this country looks like dead black children and the free white cops who kill them," Savali wrote. "It always has."
Five Big Banks Plead Guilty to Rigging Currency Markets and No One Goes to Jail
Obama Program That Hurt Homeowners and Helped Big Banks Is Ending
When President Obama announced the Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP, on February 18, 2009, in Mesa, Arizona, he promised it would assist 3 to 4 million homeowners to modify their loans to avoid foreclosure. Almost seven years later, less than 1 million have received ongoing assistance; nearly 1 in 3 re-defaulted after receiving inadequate modifications; and 6 million families lost their homes over the same time period.
Now the program is ending.
... Few noted its passage, but progressives should be happy to see it go. Perhaps no program of the Obama era did more significant — and possibly irreparable — damage to the promise of an activist government that can help solve the country’s problems.
You can excuse many of Obama’s accomplishments that failed to reach their goals by arguing that they sprung from a broken Congress, with supermajority hurdles ensuring Republican input. But HAMP, after being authorized by the legislation that gave us the bank bailout, was designed and implemented entirely by the White House. Congress authorized the executive branch to “prevent avoidable foreclosures,” and left the details to them. That HAMP became the result is the purest indication of how the Administration prioritized the health of financial institutions over homeowners.
It also unnecessarily reinforced the old Ronald Reagan dictum that the most dangerous words in the English language are “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” Families who sought out a government program to assist them in a time of need saw only a mortgage servicer who lost their paperwork, strung along their requests and injured their financial security. The millions who experienced this abuse will find it difficult to ever believe in government again.
Clinton Senior Adviser Authored Paper Arguing for Paid Leave Proposal She Now Opposes
Hillary Clinton’s campaign has assailed Bernie Sanders for supporting a small payroll tax increase to finance paid leave (the FAMILY Act) and universal health care. ...
O’Leary was offering a very different take just a few years back, however. In an issue brief co-authored with the Center for American Progress’s Heather Boushey and Alexandra Mitukiewicz, she wrote of the “economic benefits of family and leave insurance,” touting the FAMILY Act, saying it would “relieve the financial burden of taking unpaid time off for many families, particularly low-income families.” ... She concluded the brief by writing that there “is every reason to provide this critical protection to America’s workforce by passing and implementing the FAMILY Act – and no reason to delay.”
But for Hillary Clinton, this tiny increase in payroll taxes is not only a reason to delay, but a reason to oppose the legislation altogether – something O’Leary has apparently discarded her own previous advocacy for.
Martin O'Malley campaign event in snowy Iowa draws just one person
Martin O’Malley on Tuesday chose to put a brave face on a chastening campaign experience, after precisely one person showed up to his final event in Iowa the day before.
“By God he was glad to see me,” O’Malley said.
All other 2016 presidential candidates who were scheduled to be in Iowa on Monday cancelled their events, as the state was hit by heavy snowfall. ...
On MSNBC, the former mayor of Baltimore and governor of Maryland was asked if he had convinced his intrepid Iowan to vote for him in the state caucus, which kicks off the 2016 presidential contest on 1 February. Despite having had such valuable face time with such a key voter, he said he had not.
“I’m working on him,” O’Malley said. “He claims he’s still uncommitted.
It May Be 70 Degrees Fahrenheit Above Average This Week in the North Pole
As winter storms continue to wreak havoc in much of the United States, a system is building in the North Atlantic that some weather watchers say could push temperatures in the North Pole to 70 degrees Fahrenheit — or more — above average. The warm Arctic storm looks set to unleash powerful 100-mile-per-hour winds over Iceland and generate ocean swells of 30 feet along the coast of the United Kingdom, which is already coping with severe flooding. ...
Source of incredible North Pole “warmth” (35°F, >70° above normal):
925mb Greenland cyclone + 1048mb E Europe high pic.twitter.com/LQLnGC0GWL— Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) December 28, 2015
While El Niño conditions have played a role in causing the current record-breaking weather, warm Pacific waters are not the only factor at play in the United States. A large warm air mass from the Gulf of Mexico has moved inland across the southern part of the country, while warm air from the Pacific has entered the same region, stacked on top of the lower warm air mass, explained Hanson
While the National Weather Service warning map remains a color-by-number assortment of alerts, the storm is now set to shift north, towards the Arctic in what environmental blogger Robert Scribbler believes is an unprecedented shift that could push temperatures in the North Pole 70 degrees above average.
"We've probably never seen weather like what's being predicted for a vast region stretching from the North Atlantic to the North Pole and on into the broader Arctic this coming week," he wrote, adding that it all "reeks of a human-forced warming of the Earth's climate."
Floods predicted in Illinois after storms kill 43 in southern and midwestern US
Flood warnings were in effect across central and southern Illinois on Tuesday, a day after a winter storm brought sleet and icy rain to the state.
Much of the southern and midwestern US is still recovering after flooding and damage from storms and tornadoes in which at least 43 people died.
In Illinois, the National Weather Service (NWS) issued flood warnings on Tuesday for areas near Champaign, Charleston, Effingham, Taylorville and Salem. Major flooding was observed along the Kankakee, Illinois, Sangamon and Vermilion rivers. ...
The Mississippi River remained in danger of flooding, with waters approaching record levels.
Sure, sure, the guy who spent the last 7 years expanding oil drilling in the arctic and on the coasts of the lower 48, building oil and gas pipeline capacity while distracting environmentalists with the Keystone XL project and presiding over an EPA that has done little regulating of fracking and other climate dangers is now going to "save us from climate change" in his twilight months in office.
Obama to seek 'every opportunity' to push climate plans in 2016, experts say
Barack Obama will defend the Paris climate change agreement and forge ahead on his environmental agenda until his final days in the White House, according to analysts. And there is very little Obama’s opponents in Congress can do to stop him – unless they win the elections and install a Republican in the White House in 2017.
Republicans’ initial attempts to derail the Paris agreement fell flat, with Congress failing to deliver on threats to cut off climate aid to developing countries or block the deal. ...
After an epic year in 2015, with the Paris climate agreement in December and the final release of rules cutting carbon emissions from power plants in August, Obama is expected to keep pushing his climate agenda in 2016, racing to roll out new regulations on the oil and gas industry before leaving office.
Also of Interest
Here are some articles of interest, some which defied fair-use abstraction.
Bipartisan Bombers: Republican and Democratic Candidates Defend Killing Civilians in Terror War
Turkey: A Criminal State, a NATO State
Podemos, and the beginning of the end for Europe’s radical left
Hillary Clinton Now Says She Has “Concerns” about Deporting Migrant Children
Challenged About the First Amendment, Eric Posner Lies About It
Forces Backed by America and Russia Make Progress Against ISIS
A Little Night Music
Roy Milton - You Got Me Reeling and Rocking
Roy Milton + Mickey Champion - Rocking Pneumonia & The Boogie Woogie Flu
Roy Milton - True Blues
Roy Milton - One Zippy Zam
Roy Milton - Milton's Boogie
Roy Milton and his Solid Senders - T-Town Twist
Roy Milton - RM Blues
Roy Milton and his Solid Senders - Hop, Skip, and Jump
Roy Milton w/Mickey Champion - You're Gonna Suffer Baby
Roy Milton - Have It Your Way
Roy Milton - The Hucklebuck
Roy Milton - So Tired
Roy Milton - Baby, You Don't Know
Roy Milton - Keep a dollar in your pocket
Roy Milton - I Can't Go On
Roy Milton - Big Fat Mama
Roy Milton - Red Light
Roy Milton - Baby I'm Gone
Roy Milton - Oh Babe
Roy Milton - Fools Are Getting Scarcer
Roy Milton - Information Blues
Comments
Who is the Arch Racist: Trump or Clinton?
Finally someone says it
Someone braver than me should post this to the GOS.
Or, which political party murders more indigenous people?
Both parties have waged racists wars
This pushes up against American exceptionalism and our history
Here are some strange thoughts I am having
You posed the question in terms of personalities - which is a lot of what goes on for politics in this country (along with sex)
You also posed the question in terms of "racism" which is part of the frame of politics but seldom discusses well. More of a slogan than an imperative to do something about it.
So my wandering leads to say something like: you raise a question that fits the vapid political dialogue of the country,but our dialogue can't handle the question
It also makes the point that Bernie is brave to embrace Black Lives Matter
Well.......
If someone did post this over at GOS, they would be HR'd to Afghanistan and back. Every time her vote on the Iraq war is mentioned, the apologists come out in swarms. Still it needs to be said because the Republicans will say it if she gets the nom, and it will not be pretty. I have serious doubts that she can win the Presidency with her unfavorables over 50%. I know that I will not vote for her under any circumstances.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
Same here
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
Hey, good to see you back. Nice trip?
I disagree that the GOP will go after her on either her vote or what gj wrote. They spent 11 hours grilling her on Benghazi and the 4 deaths but they never questioned why or what they were doing there. The GOP knew that they CIA was running guns out of Benghazi and giving them to the Syrian Rebels (terrorists).
I love to see her supporters explain why they were against her because of her Iraq vote in 08, yet now it doesn't matter to them.
She's evolved. Obama trusted her. Yada yada and other bullshit sayings.
They need to really look into what she did during her time as SOS and the massive amounts of money that governments have to her foundation after she sold them weapons. Obama must have been ok with that.
The foundation has so many scandals attached to it and if it were any one but the Clintons the FBI would be all over it.
The HAMP bill was worthless to many people. Constant complaints about how they kept losing paperwork and no oversight or crack down as usual. When they bailed out the banks they could have made it a rule to rewrite mortgages, but noooooo! That would get in the way of profits. Can't have that now.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
they're both awful and unfit for public trust...
afternoon, gj.
sure this would cause a feeding frenzy at dkos, and that might be amusing, but ultimately pointless. i can guarantee that no deeper questioning will be caused by it.
IMHO, the liberal class is more dangerous because they
say this in a "kinder, gentler way" using code words etc, while being no less murderous. Hence more devious. Atleast with Repubs, we can see them for the evil they are.
The best analogy I heard for Dems vs Repubs is date rape vs straight rape.
Perfect song describing the Liberal Class :
The Donald can do no wrong
wow, failing upwards in graphical form!
this is surely what makes america great.
Israel/Zionists don't know when to stop
the world has figured out their genocide
calling land grab "settlements" makes it sound like the American settlements on "open land" (after Indians moved off or killed or died from disease)
attacking the soil - at a time when healing the earth can benefit from proper uses of the soil
American's standing in the world is linked to their actions and they could not continue without our support
I follow Max Blumenthal on twitter and he has an ongoing treatment of what is going on
in a video by Ray McGovern he said that Israel has had very little to say about Syria because it is one of the best borders they have so they are quiet
i sense that the Zionist project will collapse but I don't know when
It is sad to see the havoc as the status quo continues
evening don...
i suspect that both the us and israel will get their "bully's comeuppance" sooner or later, either through the concerted efforts of the oppressed or through the error of overreach. both have had a long run in the bully business and i presume the odds of failure increase over time.
No one over 35 gets this music trend
…says Forbes magazine, but the money it makes is flooding the world, bubbling up from social media and exploding in extravagant live perdormances. EDM is the global beat for its under-25 fan base, and for millions of Generation C — millennials from 25 to 35. The musical genre has been capitalized by the world's mega-corporations, who can't buy enough of it to market their brands. It's huge.
Kevin Watson, an EDM economist and owner of the Danceonomics website, explains this new music "business":
According to Forbes, the world’s top 10 EDM DJs earned $274 million last year. Most came from playing live, but many millions came from corporate tie-ups for such brands as 7Up, Smirnoff, Bud Light, Emporio Armani, T-Mobile, and Uber.
Sure, EMD (electronic dance music) has been around for awhile, but this isn't your Grand Pap's club mix or house music, says a fan. "There are so many genres and subgenres now, you can't keep track if you're older than 21." At live shows, the musical artists perform as DJs, but they are playing their signature compositions. Some add their own vocals. A few run their own record labels.
Scottish DJ, Calvin Harris, was this year's top earning EDM act, bringing in $66 million. Not bad for a guy who’s roughly a decade removed from being a supermarket stockboy in a remote town in Scotland. An American, Steve Aoki, is among the four top earning DJs in the world. Aoki has also collaborated with a number of corporations. Here's what a Steve Aoki EDM performance looks like:
.
Meanwhile, folks over 35 who read about the "new music" are less than enthusiastic:
:
After watching the live performance video, it dawned on me that these are the people who are going to save the world.
We should all stop worrying about it and have a lot more fun, instead.
____________________
The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
evening pluto...
i gotta say, i find it a little sterile, but the kids seem pretty blissed out.
They need it
with the future they are facing.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
so blissed out that they may follow their
leaderDJ to the end of the world. And if he says "kill yourself in the name of ..whatever..." they justwillmight do it.Mass hysterical blissfulness gives me the goosebumps and the willies.
Hmmm...
Intoxicating, but I wonder how well it will wear over time, like disco. Funny thing is that I immediately thought of Linkin Park, a band that I like. Sort of a similar sound, but with a big difference. The difference is that Linkin Park has words that have meaning and lead vocalist Chester Bennington along with the band's genius, Mike Shinoda give depth to the music. I think they have worked with Steve Aoki too.
Still, I am not going to knock anything that the millennial generation does. They are impressive IMHO and they need the escape that this music offers. And that is how I see this music. But then, I am an old lady who loves all kinds of music.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
evening gg...
funny you should mention it, the first thing i thought of when i started listening to the music was disco. though most disco that i heard seemed less mechanical. the music is coupled with pretty impressive spectacle, though.
Good evening Joe
I hope to be around more in the evenings this coming year.
Disco has the same intoxicating rhythm and there is nothing wrong with that. Sometimes we need escape. But IMHO, that is what this is. It will not have the staying power of the blues or jazz or classical music.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
Watched the entire show
And I have to say that Aoki works hard for the audience and he is in great physical condition too. Also, I googled him and he is over 35. I admit that I got sucked into the ambience of it.
It is not substantive, but it is a nice escape and very entertaining. Is it artistic? Musically, I do not think so. But it is a show, an entertaining one like a Superbowl halftime show.
IMHO, there is a place for everything and often art and entertainment offer an escape from the times.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
Will have to give it a listen.
OT, noticing your Cornel West quote and thinking of seeing a vid via a friend's post on FB of him at a Bernie Sanders Rally speaking and then introducing Bernie Sanders. Have always liked most of what I have heard him say and appreciated him critiquing Mr. Obama.
This speech reminded me of Howard Dean's fatal speech (as created by the corporate media) in that the sound was quite distorted. Interesting.
Then tonight I saw a headline that he and Jill Stein were in a state working to get the Green Party on the ballot.
Interesting guy, sorry for the random thoughts.
Hey, Jakkalbessie just asked me and I didn't know, what is GOS? From context it must mean dkos but wonder what it means?
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
GOS = Great Orang Satan or
Daily kos.
My sig line is from a speech that Dr. West gave to Occupy Tallahassee in 2012. I was a supporter of Occupy Tallahassee and saw him there when he gave that speech. We were a very small Occupy group, but he made a point to come by and visit with us before he gave a paid speech at Florida State University that evening. Wonderful and very warm man.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
Hahaha we both just had to laugh, OF COURSE that's
what it means. How could one ever forget?
Still will read it even if Hillary wins as long as Meteor-Blades posts there.
Great story about West, have never seen him in person.
BTW we were supporters of Occupy Santa Fe and marched/picketed even though we never camped. Swear it wasn't the snow or cold that kept us from it
Still post and follow Occupy Santa Fe, Occupy Austin, Occupy Wall Street on Facebook always some interesting to read there.
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
glad to hear that cornel west is working with greens...
long term, i think that the green party is going to be a more fertile ground for activism than the democratic party will ever be. there's just too much opposition to more radical change in the democratic party.
gos = great orange satan.
I posted over a year ago
that I believe that if Hillary Clinton is the Democratic nominee, dkos becomes irrelevant. I think the same goes for the Democratic party. The Greens are a third party, but with Independents out numbering both Democrats and Republicans, they may fill the void left by the Democratic party.
The fanboys at GOS keep talking about the demise of the Republicans, but the real demise is of the Democrats. And those same fanboys hate Cornel West so he must be doing something right.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
heh...
both major parties are irrelevant. they just haven't been able to admit their insignificance to themselves yet.
yeah. GOS keeps spouting the "demographic advantage"
nonsense. Nothing will help a party which is in a death spiral. Wonder what they are smoking.
heh...
corporate cash.
Guess that must be the tastiest thing evah they tried.
Swiss friend of ours went from being an anarchist to
working to help found the Green Party in SW. Though a lifelong Democrat and have never been to a Green Party meeting, but still identify with it to some extent .
Here's the link to West and Stein
http://atlantaprogressivenews.com/2015/11/29/jill-stein-cornell-west-vis...
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
Here's an excerpt
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
I proudly say that I have already voted for a woman president
- Jill Stein in 2012. The green party platform was so good. Besides Palestine liberation, the thing that most struck me was a truth & reconciliation commission on the genocide of Native Americans. Yup, that is how "we" get our country back - when Native Americans get their lands back.
i'm glad to see west supporting both sanders and stein...
it makes a lot of sense given the likelihood of the democrats finding some way of shoving bernie aside in favor of their corporate favorite candidate.
West is light-years away from demographics-worshipping Democrats
who try to steer discussions on dKos by awarding or denying cred strictly based on skin color, gender, and ethnicity.
A good idea
Why not?
Might as well cut to the chase.
____________________
The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
"Big Short" guy warns about negative interest rates
link
Hey joe, sitting here with Jakkalbessie having dinner,
drinking wine, and celebrating our 45th anniversary. She tells me that we got married in 1970 on a Tuesday. How can someone remember stuff like that. I CRS lol.
Best wishes to you and all !
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
Happy Anniversary
you two love birds.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
Haha thanks, we really are 'love birds' .
Not only that, we are 'birders ' as well.
The truth is we love all wildlife but not like our English friend who does not care about birds but mainly like things with 'big teeth.'
Happy holidays!
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
Ah.....
I am not what you would call a birder, but I do love feeding and watching the birds.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
:) We aren't real birders, don't have a life list. But we watch
what's there, be it bird or cat or snake with equal relish.
Madagascar had some very unique animals... this mother and child Brown Lemur were in a tree near our tent.
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
great shot - too cute with the baby ... :-) /nt
Thanks from me as well!
Life is what you make it, so make it something worthwhile.
This ain't no dress rehearsal!
Happy 45th...
do and Jb, may you have many many more! Prost!
JtC thanks!
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
Thanks and lifting my glass back to you
Life is what you make it, so make it something worthwhile.
This ain't no dress rehearsal!
....
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
congrats! That seems like a commitment.
shaz remembers our "getting together" date better than our wedding anniversary.
:) There have been some highs and lows, but mostly highs
and especially at this age we are glad we around still around to love, support, and have adventures with each other. Thanks!
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
And, want to add, all the best to you two.
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
hey! happy anniversary do & jb...
i was just sitting here being distracted by a tribute to allen toussaint that came on the teevee.
heh, i figure that if you remembered the day with fondness for 45 years, then you get a pass on not remembering which day of the week it was.
have a great night!
Thanks for the words of support joe! Yeah, do fondly
remember it even though not the day of the week. It was held at her parent's home, food all prepared by family, ceremony conducted by the parttime preacher who also worked for Xerox as his day job. Have never seen him again.
She even remembers we scheduled for Tuesday because my dad's day off from his position as a pumper in the oilfield was that day.
I rememember we couldn't afford a honeymoon trip, but never mind, we have made up for that over time.
Best to you and yours in the New Year.
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
Thanks...........
can't say why on this particular anniversary I remembered our wedding was on a Tuesday but this is how memories sometimes come back to me.
Must say glad our wedding was so low key looking at the expense of some of the weddings of today!
Life is what you make it, so make it something worthwhile.
This ain't no dress rehearsal!
heh...
i can see why modern weddings are so expensive. when my daughter got married, there was a whole industry that just wanted to be helpful and turn the kids' wedding into a profit center.
Yup, Wedding Industrial Complex.
45 years.
That's wonderful!
It is--Congrats do and jb! ;-)
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
Thanks Unabashed Liberal, hope all is well. :)
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
A number of our friends did not make it, but no shame, no
blame, marriage is 'not for sissies' ! Thanks
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
aw, reading all those lovely comments this morning
I can't stay out and add mine belatedly. You are so right with "marriage is not for sissies". I don't think I was one (a sissie), but didn't make it and knowing that it's not easy to live with that kind of
"failure"outcome, I just want to congratulate you both even more and wish you all the best for the next forty five or so years. I enjoy your travel diaries, photos and comments a lot. May there be always a beautiful trip and journey for you both ahead of you. Good luck.hey do and jb, very happy anniversary
and here's wishing you 45 more good ones!
Never be deceived that the rich will allow you to vote away their wealth.-Lucy Parsons
Thanks, sounds good to me!
Life is what you make it, so make it something worthwhile.
This ain't no dress rehearsal!
Thanks so much JayRaye, hope you are staying warm.
My sis and bro in law had planned to head out to Big Bend from Austin after Christmas, hope the weather didn't spoil their planned adventure. You get any snow?
Not getting out of the 20's here in Santa Fe the next few nights but sure is nice to have had so much snow after recent years of extreme drought.
Best to you and yours!
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
Hey DO &JB, happy 45th.Wishing you many more years of
joy & travels.
Sweet! Thanks!
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
good evening, joe. Lessee, war on brown people &
Turkey helping terrorists, war on black people at home and Israeli crimes against humanity. Must be Tuesday, sigh.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
evening el...
yep, it's tuesday alright. on the other hand, baghdad bob has a job again.
Greetings and Salutations! Wanted to post
an update on 'Mar' (the pitiful dog who was rescued from having to 'eat dirt'), but from some reason, his photo won't load. (It's from the rescuers' cell phone, so there may have been a setting that would hinder uploading it, I suppose. They sent it to my phone via text message, so that I could have photos made, to post at vet offices.) *Sigh* Anyhoo, if I figure it out, I'll post an update after the holidays.
Also, meant to mention yesterday that a relative traveling through Iowa (about 350 miles, going through Grand Falls and Grand Rapids) several days before Christmas saw NO yard signs, no billboards, and only "3" bumper stickers pertaining to the election--all three were Bernie stickers! That has me rather puzzled (this close to February). If nothing else, the caucuses should be very interesting to watch.
Fascinating spat between FSC and Trump on 'sexism.' If her campaign continues to try to pander to women, I have a feeling that they'll walk into a landmine. (If you recall, there were many charges of 'sexism' lodged against the PBO campaign. Some stuck, mostly because they--his campaign--were to cowed to fight back, IMO.)
Was going to post a photo of "Abuela Clinton" from a Tweet, but it won't load. [Oddly, another screenshot of FSC, did.] Anyhoo, she was handily flogged on Twitter for "hispandering." When I've got a bit more time, I'll find the original Tweet and post it. It was a hoot!
Hey, thanks for tonight's EB, Joe. Have a nice evening, Everyone!
Mollie
"Every time I lose a dog, he takes a piece of my heart. Every new dog gifts me with a piece of his. Someday, my heart will be total dog, and maybe then I will be just as generous, loving, and forgiving."--Author Unknown
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
evening mollie...
that's interesting that iowa is far from fired up. there aren't any lawn signs around here, either, though we're a ways away from the primaries here, yet.
the funny thing is that i would have expected to see support for o'malley here, but the only bumper stickers for democrats are bernie stickers. i've seen about 2 hillary stickers.
Jakkalbessie pointed out to me the first Bernie Sanders
sticker that I have seen,also had a 'Obamanos' sticker on it.
She said she had seen one in our condo parking lot as well. Anectdotal...
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
Oh yeah, just remembered I could link to Jill Stein here
and not get banned?
Got put on time out one time at dkos for linking to something Dr. Stein said.
Saw her on Democracy Now when she first announced another run, and she was less articulate than had heard her be in the past.
She's still my heroine for getting arrested three times during the last campaign. Role model imo.
I will probably vote for Sanders in the Primary, but may vote for her again in the General if Hillary is the winner.
http://www.jill2016.com/
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
Only one rule here
and that is DBAD. We want well reasoned discussion even when we do not agree.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
If Bernie is serious about income inequality
And the rest of what he is campaigning on it would make more sense for him to throw his support for Stein then Hillary, but we know that will never happen.
But her values are more in line with his then Hillary's.
I'm still concerned that he's sheep dogging. I hope I'm wrong about that.
Happy anniversary, do. 45 years is a great accomplishment.
And yes if you posted that link on the GOS there'd be a ton of flags.
All they care about is electing democrats and it doesn't matter how bad they are.
What good does it do to elect people who either keep voting with the GOP or won't stand up to them?
No filibusters and no holds or any of the things that the GOP does when they are the minority party.
And DWS seems to be helping to make sure that the GOP wins more elections when she wont either put a decent candidate up or won't back one.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
morning snoopy...
i guess we'll find out where bernie's sympathies are when and if he has to make such a choice. my guess is that he will say that he is honor bound to support hillary, the tool of corporate death.
I may be wrong
but I believe that all Democratic candidates for President were required to sign a loyalty oath. If Bernie does not get the nom, that will mean that he will be accused of sheepdogging. I personally believe that sheepdogging is not his purpose, but the two party system requires it just as it requires that candidates must run under either the Dem or Rep banner. Bernie had no choice but to run under a major party banner and they are still trying to render him irrelevant. What happened to Stein and her running mate in 2012 underscores the fact that third party candidates are completely cut out of the process.
I really would like to see a different system here in the US that allows for third party or minor party candidates to be a part of the national conversations. Perhaps if we had a parliamentary form of government, that would be possible.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
Poor O'Malley--he showed up to an event with only '1' attendee!
In fairness, most the other politicians cancelled their events the same day/evening due to inclement weather (in Iowa). O'Malley was interviewed about this earlier today on teevee.
Hot Off The Press (C-Span): An aide to Rahm Emanuel was punched and kicked when he attended a funeral (one of the two shot and killed a couple of days ago, I suppose).
^This^ is the reason that politicians are behind taking away so many civil liberties. It has nothing to do with public safety, in general (IMO).
Wonder if Rahm will take the hint, and finally take a hike . . .
I'm (we're) doing well, do. Thanks for asking.
Mollie
"Every time I lose a dog, he takes a piece of my heart. Every new dog gifts me with a piece of his. Someday, my heart will be total dog, and maybe then I will be just as generous, loving, and forgiving."--Author Unknown
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
Contrast the 'hispandering' with Sanders. He was introduced
with a rousing speech by Cornel West and came out and hugged him hugely with a massive grin on his face, but that was it. He also introduced his family but did not give folks much time to get into it, saying only that he was glad he was able to get their names right. Interesting contrast with the way the Obama family was featured in the campaign. Mr. No Nonsense Sanders, but still obviously full of compassion.
What a challenge it must be to be on the campaign trail so intensely like he is.
He has said he was going to let his wife go on the trail soon, and that Hillary should be worried. Will look forward to that.
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
I saw five yesterday in my neighborhood,
there will be six for sure in the next couple of days. I had hidden mine so far...
Evening Joe,c99%-ers. Hope you all had a good
holiday week-end.
For now, I am so glad that temperatures are closer to normal in our neck of the woods. Christmas was brown but that night we got some snow. And more snow since yesterday - this one looks like it might stay. Will be getting some more tonight/tomorrow. And hope it will be steadily snowy and keep us far far away from drought as it is now. The clouds make the night sky beautiful - twilight-ish.
evening funkygal...
i had a nice holiday, thanks! i hope yours has been warm and happy, too.
it's been really nice to be able to sleep in several days in a row. i could get used to this.
our weather here has been far warmer than usual, but we have been spared the extremes that many other areas have experienced. i'm glad to hear that your area is also doing well and experiencing something like normal weather.
Joe, mine was good & quiet - low key as always. Went out for
dinner with a friend's family after sleeping in lots during the day :-). It was snow/ice-free (snow from days before was gone) and could bike to the restaurant. 25F felt pretty comfy, esp with no wind.
Podemos - how many times have we seen the movie before?
Sigh.... Corbyn supporters better back him up against the Labor crabs-in-the-bucket and the obnoxious media and Tories.
Read something about Killary using Repub talking points to hit Sanders in the debate.
it looks like there has been a perfect storm...
of events that tend to favor hard right-wing politics backed by shameless neoliberal bastards breaking the back of leftwing movements in europe.
i think that we can look forward to clinton playing the right-wing "tax and spend liberal" bogeyman card on bernie. she's already quoted the wall street journals mendacious hit piece about sanders' medicare-for-all plan costing 18 trillion dollars in debate and has been let off the hook for it by the media.
The latest on Civil asset forfeiture - state police to get
"lesser" share of the seized assets. Read & puke at the language used - supposedly police need to snatch things from people unjustly to "fund programs" which will help the society! And the nonsense about "equity sharing" between feds and the state.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/12/23/the-feds-just-shu...
My head hurts & guess I need a drink - don't know why the reform groups are applauding. For a 6" stab in the chest instead of 9"? Help me !!!
i doubt that the shutdown of forfeiture sharing will last long..
it looks like one of those games that they play in washington where the executive claims that budget cuts are "forcing" them to put the squeeze on a powerful constituency (this time the cops, whom the republicans have a hard time saying "no" to) and hinting that things could change if the (rethug) legislature makes some "adjustments." my guess is that the actual negotiations (including the nature of the "prize" sought by the executive) are being carried out well below the attention of the media and will never be reported.
the tell is here: