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The day's news roundup + tonight's musical feature: Bobby Radcliff

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Hey! Good Evening!

This evening's music features guitarist Bobby Radcliff. Enjoy!

^{Bobby Radcliff & The Mighty Reapers - Ugh!}

“In politics stupidity is not a handicap.”

-- Napoleon Bonaparte

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News and Opinion

DOJ Deploys ‘Antisemitism Task Force’ to Four US Cities as Part of Crackdown on Pro-Palestine Protests

The US Department of Justice said Thursday that its recently created “Federal Task Force to Combat Antisemitism” will be heading to four US cities as part of the Trump administration’s broad crackdown on college protests critical of Israel.

The DOJ said the task force, led by attorney Leo Terrell, will be visiting the leadership of New York, Boston, Chicago, and Los Angeles to discuss “their responses to incidents of antisemitism at schools and on college campuses in their cities over the last two years.”

While the pro-Palestine protests that swept college campuses have been labeled “antisemitic,” many Jewish students and organizations have participated. The DOJ said that Terrell informed city leaders that he “was aware of allegations that the schools in their respective cities may have failed to protect Jewish students from unlawful discrimination, in potential violation of federal law.” ...

Back in 2019, President Trump signed an executive order directing all executive departments to consider the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism and the organization’s list of examples of “contemporary antisemitism” when enforcing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.

The IHRA’s examples of “contemporary antisemitism” includes “drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.” It also lists applying “double standards” to Israel by “requiring of it a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation” and “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination” by “claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.”

COL. Lawrence Wilkerson : Russia/Gaza: Is the US a Trusted Neutral?

Israeli attacks on Gaza maternity wards and IVF clinic ‘genocidal acts’, says UN

Israel’s systemic attacks on women’s healthcare in Gaza amount to “genocidal acts”, and Israeli security forces have used sexual violence as a weapon of war to “dominate and destroy the Palestinian people”, a UN report states. The 49-page report on sexual and gender-based violence was drawn up by the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Including East Jerusalem, and presented to the UN human rights council.

It details attacks on maternity wards and other healthcare facilities for women, the destruction of an IVF clinic and controls on the entry of food and medical supplies into Gaza that together “destroyed in part the reproductive capacity of Palestinians in Gaza as a group”.

Israel’s actions amounted to “two categories of genocidal acts in the Rome statute and the genocide convention, including deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians and imposing measures intended to prevent births”, the human rights council said.

The report found that Israel’s security forces had made certain forms of sexual and gender-based violence part of “standard operating procedures”, including forced public stripping and nudity, sexual harassment including threats of rape, and sexual assault. The “pattern of sexual violence” that Israeli forces used, including cases of rape and sexualised torture, constituted war crimes and crimes against humanity, the UN said.

“The frequency, prevalence and severity of sexual and gender-based crimes perpetrated across the Occupied Palestinian Territory leads the commission to conclude that sexual and gender-based violence is increasingly used as a method of war by Israel to destabilise, dominate, oppress and destroy the Palestinian people.” Israel’s civilian and military leadership provided “either explicit orders or implicit encouragement” to carry out sexual violence including rape and attacks on genitals, the UN said.

The zionist enemies of free speech are at it again:

Florida mayor seeks to evict cinema for showing Oscar-winning No Other Land

The mayor of Miami Beach is attempting to evict an independent cinema from city-owned property after it screened No Other Land, the film about Palestinian displacement in the West Bank that just won the Oscar for best documentary.

Steven Meiner’s proposal would terminate O Cinema’s lease and withdraw $40,000 in promised grant funding. In a newsletter sent to residents on Tuesday, Meiner condemned the film as “a false one-sided propaganda attack on the Jewish people that is not consistent with the values of our City and residents”.

Meiner had previously urged the O Cinema to cancel scheduled screenings of the documentary, citing criticism from Israeli and German officials. According to the mayor’s newsletter, O Cinema’s CEO, Vivian Marthell, allegedly agreed to withdraw the film from programming, citing “concerns of antisemitic rhetoric”, but Meiner claimed she reversed her decision the following day. The screenings sold out and the cinema added additional dates in March.

“Our decision to screen NO OTHER LAND is not a declaration of political alignment. It is, however, a bold reaffirmation of our fundamental belief that every voice deserves to be heard,” Marthell told the Miami Herald. ...

The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida has called the mayor’s retaliation against O Cinema unconstitutional. “The government does not get to pick and choose which viewpoints the public is allowed to hear, however controversial some might find them,” Daniel Tilley, the branch’s legal director, told Axios.

Columbia Yanks Degrees From Pro-Palestine Protesters Amid Outrage Over Khalil Arrest

As the Trump administration's effort to deport Mahmoud Khalil sparks legal battles and demonstrations, Columbia University announced Thursday that it has revoked degrees from some other pro-Palestinian campus protesters.

A campuswide email reported by The Associated Press and shared on social media by Drop Site News says that "the Columbia University Judicial Board determined findings and issued sanctions to students ranging from multiyear suspensions, temporary degree revocations, and expulsions related to the occupation of Hamilton Hall last spring."

According to both news outlets, the university's email did not say how many students and graduates were impacted by each action.

BREAKING: Columbia University has expelled, suspended, and temporarily revoked the diplomas of dozens of students who occupied ‘Hind’s Hall’ during pro-Palestinian protests last spring,

In a campus-wide email sent Thursday, the university said its judicial board had issued its… pic.twitter.com/efguhSnhO6

— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) March 13, 2025

As part of nationwide protests over the U.S. government and educational institutions' complicity in Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip, Columbia students took over the building last April and renamed it Hind's Hall, in honor of a young Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces. With support from the university's leadership, New York Police Department officers stormed the campus.

Columbia's new sanctions against protesters were widely condemned on social media. Iowa-based writer Gavin Aronsen quipped, "This is a great PR strategy, come to Columbia where you'll get a solid education as long as you never speak your mind."

News of the university's latest action on Thursday came after over 100 people were arrested outside Trump Tower in New York City during a Jewish-led protest over the government's attempt to deport Khalil, a green-card holder who finished his studies at Columbia in December.

"The Trump administration's outrageous detention of Mahmoud Khalil is designed to sow terror and stop people of conscience from calling for Palestinian freedom," said Ros Petchesky, an 82-year-old MacArthur fellow and Columbia alumna. "We are Jewish New Yorkers and we remain steadfast in our commitment to Palestinian freedom, to protecting free speech and the right to protest, and to defending immigrants and all under attack by the Trump regime."

Meanwhile, during a Thursday interview with NPR about Khalil's detention, Troy Edgar, deputy homeland security secretary, equated protesting and terrorism.

DHS deputy secretary Troy Edgar compares protesting to terrorist activity on NPR today.https://t.co/bQ2aBLtDHX pic.twitter.com/QyQxzPwYZ2

— Yonah Lieberman (@YonahLieberman) March 13, 2025

“Never Again for Anyone”: Jewish Activists Arrested at Trump Tower Protesting Mahmoud Khalil Arrest

Almost 100 arrested during protest occupying Trump Tower over Mahmoud Khalil

Protesters organized by a progressive Jewish group occupied the lobby of Trump Tower in New York City on Thursday to demand the release of Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian Columbia University student held by US immigration authorities. About 100 were arrested. At a news briefing on Thursday afternoon, a police official said those arrested faced charges including trespassing, obstruction and resisting arrest.

Many of the protesters in a group organizers said was more than 250-strong wore red T-shirts bearing the message “Jews say stop arming Israel”. By early afternoon, footage was posted showing officers from the New York police department beginning to arrest protesters.

Happening now: demonstrators invade Trump Tower.and call for release of student pro-Palestinian organizer Mahmoud Khalil. pic.twitter.com/hlb1WEMvN8

— Kristen Saloomey (@KSaloomey) March 13, 2025

The protest in the gold-coloured lobby of Donald Trump’s signature Fifth Avenue building, the US president’s New York home, was organized by Jewish Voice for Peace, which describes itself as “the largest progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the world” and has staged protests at New York landmarks including Grand Central Station.

In a statement, the group said: “The detention of Mahmoud is further proof that we are on the brink of a full takeover by a repressive, authoritarian regime. “As Jews of conscience, we know our history and we know where this leads. It’s on all of us to stand up now. Many of us are the descendants of people who resisted European fascism and far too many of our ancestors lost their lives in that struggle. We call on the strength of our ancestors and we call on our tradition, which teaches us we must never stand idly by.”

We have confirmation from DHS Deputy Secretary Troy Edgar. Mahmoud Khalil's arrest has no basis. He claims that Khalil is a "terrorist" but struggles to offer evidence beyond the fact he "protested." This is one of the most chilling things I've heard a senior U.S. official say. pic.twitter.com/RT1NE9pdmT

— Shadi Hamid (@shadihamid) March 13, 2025

“Rampage in Syria” – Dennis Kucinich and Joshua Landis on Massacres Under New Al Qaeda Gov’t

Putin questions Ukraine ceasefire plan and sets out string of conditions

Vladimir Putin has said he has many questions about the proposed US-brokered ceasefire with Ukraine and appeared to set out a series of sweeping conditions that would need to be met before Russia would agree to such a truce. Speaking at a press conference at the Kremlin alongside the Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, Putin said he agreed in principle with US proposals to halt the fighting but said he wanted to address the “root causes of the conflict”.

“The idea itself is correct, and we certainly support it,” Putin said. But he suggested that Ukraine should neither rearm nor mobilise and that western military aid to Kyiv be halted during the 30-day ceasefire. ... Putin claimed Ukraine was seeking a ceasefire because of the battlefield situation, asserting that Russian forces were “advancing almost everywhere” and nearing full control of the Kursk region, where Kyiv launched a surprise incursion last year.

“How will these 30 days of [ceasefire] be used? To continue forced mobilisation in Ukraine? To supply weapons to Ukraine? … These are legitimate questions,” he said.

Ukraine has previously indicated it would continue its mobilisation efforts during any ceasefire.

Putin's Polite No; Truce Won't Work; Kiev/EU To Violate Terms; Final Agreement Needed; Trump Agrees

Russian forces make major advances in Kursk amid ceasefire talks

Russian troops are on the verge of recapturing all the territory seized by Ukraine in an offensive in Kursk last summer, imparting an air of crisis to calls by US President Donald Trump for a 30-day ceasefire in the US-NATO war against Russia in Ukraine. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced Thursday that Russian forces have seized the town of Sudzha, the largest settlement in the Kursk region, alongside the settlements of Melovoy and Podol.

Russian forces have recaptured 86 percent of the territory in Kursk occupied in last year’s offensive, Valery Gerasimov, the head of the Russian General Staff General, said. He claimed that Ukraine’s remaining forces were largely “encircled” and “isolated.” “Russian troops appear close to driving Ukraine from all the territory it seized in the Kursk region of Russia last year,” the New York Times commented, “a battlefield success that would deny President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine a significant bargaining chip in any negotiations.”

Ukrainian forces are now pinned down and encircled on three sides and are being forced to retreat across the border on foot or in single vehicles, as Russian forces appear to have gained local air superiority. ... The looming Russian reconquest of the Kursk region forms the backdrop of ongoing negotiations over a possible ceasefire.

Pepe Escobar : The Ceasefire Kabuki

Heh, makes you wonder how many gullible foreign leaders Zelensky has promised Ukraine's resources to.

Britain Wants Ukraine’s Minerals Too

When U.K. officials signed a 100-year partnership with Ukraine in mid-January, they claimed to be Ukraine’s “preferred partner” in developing the country’s “critical minerals strategy.”

Yet within a month, U.S. President Donald Trump had presented a proposal to Ukraine’s President Volodymr Zelensky to access the country’s vast mineral resources as “compensation” for U.S. support to Ukraine in the war against Russia.

Whitehall was none too pleased about Washington muscling in.

When Foreign Secretary David Lammy met Zelensky in Kyiv last month he reportedly raised the issue of minerals, “a sign that [Keir] Starmer’s government is still keen to get access to Ukraine’s riches”, the iPaper reported.

S&P 500 slides into correction territory as Trump trade wars spook investors

The S&P 500, a key US stock market index, closed in correction territory on Thursday as the volatility of Donald Trump’s trade wars rattled investors. The index closed more than 10% down from its 19 February peak as Wall Street approaches the end of a second week of pressure. The technology-focused Nasdaq Composite also closed in correction last Thursday, while the Dow is over 9% down from its peak in December.

On Thursday, after Canadian and EU leaders hit back on American tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, the US president threatened a new 200% tariff on European alcohol, in response to a 50% EU tariff on American bourbon imports. “This will be great for the Wine and Champagne businesses in the US,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

It was the latest in the back-and-forth between the US and its key trading partners after a 25% US tariff on all steel and aluminum imports went into effect Wednesday. In response, Canada and the EU have put tariffs on American exports worth a total of over $40bn goods.

Trump VS Massie: Another MAGA War

A Democrat stand and fight? Not while there's a Republican ass to kiss.

Schumer indicates Democrats will vote to keep government open

In remarks on the Senate floor, Chuck Schumer, the Democratic minority leader, just indicated that he and other Democrats will vote for the continuing resolution passed by House Republicans, without Democratic input, to avoid a government shutdown.

“Republicans’ nihilism has brought us to the brink of disaster,” Schumer said. “The most vulnerable Americans,” he added, would suffer most from a government shutdown.

Schumer condemned the Republicans for refusing to work together on a funding bill, but said that: “It’s not really a decision. It’s a Hobson’s choice.”

'People Will Not Forget': Fury as Schumer Caves to Trump-Musk Destruction

Despite loud opposition from constituents and progressive lawmakers against such a move, Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York took to the Senate floor Thursday evening to announce he would vote to advance a Republican spending bill that critics say would "sacrifice the needs of working people at the altar of the ultra-wealthy" and greenlight further chaos and destruction by President Donald Trump and his Oligarch-in-Chief Elon Musk.

"The Republican bill is a terrible option," Schumer said in his remarks. "It is deeply partisan. It doesn't address far too many of this country's needs. But I believe allowing Donald Trump to take even much more power via a government shutdown is a far worse option."

Before his address on the Senate floor, Schumer had said the Senate Democrats would hold the line against the continuing resolution which Republicans in the House passed earlier this week. A procedural cloture vote for the resolution needs 60 votes for passage, and Schumer's acquiescence will likely open the door for other Democrats to follow. If cloture passes, the Democrats give away any leverage they had as the Republicans will only need a simple majority to pass the bill.

"Chuck Schumer caving and saying he’ll vote for a blank check for Trump and Musk is demonstrative of why Democrats lose," lamented progressive activist and writer Jonathan Cohn. "Voters so often don’t believe what they say because they don’t believe what they say."

Strikingly, progressives in the House—including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Schumer's fellow New Yorker—have been the most vocal in their opposition to the bill.

"Senate Democrats should not allow this chaos to continue," Ocasio-Cortez declared in a social media post following Schumer's u-turn on resolution. She urged constituents to keep fighting by putting pressure on their senators ahead of a vote that is now expected Friday. "Call your Senator and ask to vote NO on cloture and NO on the Republican spending bill."

Working people are done with performative solidarity.

Either you stand with us against the Republican CR, or you stand with the Musk-Trump authoritarian agenda.

Punto.

— Congresswoman Delia C. Ramirez (@repdeliaramirez) March 13, 2025

A Coup Attempt? A Retired Judge’s Warning About Elon Musk’s Abuse of Power

Judge orders Trump administration to reinstate most fired probationary staff

A federal judge in California granted a preliminary injunction to reinstate thousands of fired probationary workers at federal agencies as part of a lawsuit filed by the American Federation of Government Employees. The ruling by the judge William H Alsup in the US district court for the northern district of California applies to fired probationary employees at the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, Department of the Interior and the Department of the Treasury.

At least 30,000 probationary employees working for the federal government have been fired as part of the efforts of Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s so-called “department of government efficiency” to slash the federal workforce and government expenditures.

Many of the employees were fired with the cited reason being poor performance, though workers have disputed this based on positive performance evaluations. Alsup said it was a “lie” that the probationary workers who were fired had performance issues. “It is sad, a sad day when our government would fire some good employee and say it was based on performance when they know good and well that’s a lie,” Alsup said in court on Thursday.

The judge also forbade the office of personnel management from providing any guidance to federal agencies on which employees should be terminated. Alsup authorized depositions and ordered further briefing on whether the administrative channel for fired workers to appeal their terminations is available or has been destroyed due to firings at the appeals board and office of special counsel personnel.

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Democratic congressman Raúl Grijalva dies aged 77

Democratic US representative Raúl M Grijalva of Arizona, who championed environmental protection during his 12 terms in Congress, died on Thursday of complications from cancer treatments, his office said.

Grijalva, who was 77, had risen to chair the US House natural resources committee and was the top Democrat on the committee until earlier this year. He had been absent from Congress as he underwent cancer treatment in recent months. ...

Grijalva, the son of a Mexican immigrant, was first elected to the House in 2002. Known as a liberal leader, he led the Congressional Progressive Caucus in 2008 and dedicated much of his career to working on environmental causes on the natural resources committee. He stepped down from that position this year, after announcing that he planned to retire rather than run for re-election in 2026.

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Environmental groups sound new alarm as fossil fuel lobby pushes for immunity

As fossil fuel interests attack climate accountability litigation, environmental advocates have sounded a new warning that they are pursuing a path that would destroy all future prospects for such cases. Nearly 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to “proactively and affirmatively” reject potential industry attempts to obtain immunity from litigation.

“We have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to … shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,” reads a letter to Congress on Wednesday. It was signed by 195 environmental groups such as the Sierra Club, Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement; legal non-profits including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice; and dozens of other organizations.

Over the last decade, states and municipalities have brought more than 30 lawsuits accusing big oil of intentionally covering up the climate risks of their products, and seeking potentially billions in damages. The defendants have worked to kill the cases, with limited success. Now, with Republicans in control of the White House and both congressional chambers, advocates fear the industry will go further, pursuing total immunity from all existing and future climate lawsuits. To do so, they could lobby for a liability waiver like the one granted to the firearms industry in 2005, which has successfully blocked most attempts to hold them accountable for violence.

“Lawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,” said the missive, which is addressed to the House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, and Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer.

Fossil fuel companies have vied for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. In 2017, a coalition of Republican officials, economists and oil companies proposed legal liability as a condition of a carbon tax, arguing the industry could not weather both. When the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later, Exxon threatened to leave the group, documents subpoenaed by the Senate show. Then, in 2020, a waiver was quietly included in a draft of a Covid-19 spending package but was later removed, the investigative climate outlet Drilled found. Such a waiver could only pass through the Senate with supermajority support, requiring backing from some Democrats.

Standing Rock Trial an ASSAULT on Native Americans, Protest—w/ Steven Donziger

Judge demands ‘some kind of evidence’ from Trump’s EPA to halt climate grants

A federal judge considering the Trump administration’s abrupt cancellation of climate research grants worth billions of dollars told government lawyers they had to produce “some kind of evidence” of wrongdoing to back up such drastic actions. Climate United, which coordinates investment in clean energy projects, sued to seek access to $7bn that was frozen before it was cancelled on Tuesday night by Lee Zeldin, the New York Republican congressman turned administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

In US district court in Washington on Wednesday, Judge Tanya Chutkan asked lawyers for the EPA: “Can you proffer any evidence that [the grant] was illegal, or evidence of abuse or fraud or bribery – that any of that was improperly or unlawfully done, other than the fact that Mr Zeldin doesn’t like it?”

Marc Sacks, a government lawyer, said: “The determination is based on the information contained in the termination letter.” Chutkan said: “That’s pretty circular,” then asked if Climate United had violated federal regulations. Sacks said: “I think the agency cited both of those regulations within their termination letter.” Chutkan said: “I can cite cases all day long, but you have to have some kind of evidence or proffer to back it up.” She also said: “You can’t even tell me what the evidence of malfeasance is.”

There is plentiful evidence that Zeldin is implementing an assault on attempts to tackle the climate crisis. The EPA issued a slew of rollbacks of rules to combat pollution on Wednesday. Zeldin said he was “driving a dagger through the heart of climate-change religion and ushering in America’s Golden Age”.

California atmospheric river threatens flooding in areas still reeling from fires

The US west coast is facing an atmospheric river event threatening flooding and power outages due to heavy rain and snow, with more than 20 million people in southern California under flood watches. Evacuation warnings were issued by fire officials in the Pacific Palisades, Altadena and Pasadena areas, which were affected by the Palisades and Eaton fires in January.

“While we prepare for another storm headed towards LA, I want to urge Angelenos to stay vigilant, especially in burn scar areas,” the Los Angeles mayor, Karen Bass, said in a statement. “My number one job is to keep Angelenos safe, so please heed all evacuation warnings, stay vigilant and stay informed.”

Los Angeles mountain ranges are under a wind advisory until Thursday night. A flood advisory is in effect in Los Angeles until 6am PT, while a level 2 of 4 risk of flooding rainfall is in place from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles. A special weather advisory was in effect for Los Angeles, Long Beach and east Los Angeles until 3.45am PT. In Orange county, a flash flood warning is in effect until 7.30am PT.

The National Weather Service said a tornado had moved through the Pico Rivera area early on Thursday morning. The agency said the tornado reached wind speeds of 85mph and traveled for about a mile. It caused exterior damage to homes and cars and snapped multiple trees.

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Also of Interest

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

When Dissent Becomes a Crime: The War on Political Speech Begins

The End Of The American Brain Drain

US envoy ‘sidelined’ by Trump after CNN interview on direct US–Hamas talks: Report

Russian Negotiator Reiterates “Nyet” on Ceasefire Even Before US Emissary Steve Witkoff Arrives in Moscow

Ukraine & Revolution

Syria’s leader proclaims ‘new history’ after signing constitutional declaration

Photographer in coma after Argentina police hit pensioner protest hard

Azerbaijan and Armenia strike deal to end decades-long conflict

Business Press Suddenly and Widely Reporting Damage Done by Trump Economic Policies

Don't Be Fooled: Trump and Musk’s War on Social Security Continues

Can the free press be saved?

Elon Musk targeted me over Tesla protests. That proves our movement is working

Veteran Lawyer For WHISTLEBLOWERS Says His Security Clearance Pulled As RETALIATION

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A Little Night Music

Bobby Radcliff - I Don't Want No Woman / The Twist

Bobby Radcliff w/ Ronnie Earl - All Your Love

Bobby Radcliff - Improvisations On Honky Tonk

Bobby Radcliff~ Hard road To Travel

Bobby Radcliff and the Nighthawks - Dresses too Short

Bobby Radcliff - A Man And The Blues

Bobby Radcliff - Early In The Morning

Bobby Radcliff - I Need You So Bad

Bobby Radcliff - Natural Ball

The Nighthawks & Bobby Radcliff @ Baltimore Blues Society Thanksgiving Show 2012

Full playlist

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