The Evening Blues - 6-14-23
Hey! Good Evening!
This evening's music features New Orleans r&b singer, songwriter and bandleader Tommy Ridgely. Enjoy!
Tommy Ridgley - Jam Up
"Who knows himself a braggart, Let him fear this; for it will come to pass That every braggart will be found an ass."
-- William Shakespeare
News and Opinion
NATO launches massive war game targeting Russia
On Monday, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) launched the largest airborne war game in the alliance’s history, with hundreds of aircraft fighting a simulated war with Russia. As war in Ukraine is spilling over the borders of Russia, prompting evacuations of border towns amid daily shelling and drone strikes, the NATO war games are intended as a threatening provocation, involving the possibility that the training exercise could at any point turn into an armed clash between NATO and Russian forces.
The New York Times, referring to comments made by Douglas Barrie of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, wrote that the games are aimed at “letting Mr. Putin know just what NATO is capable of launching against Russia, if needed.” The two-week war game, known as Air Defender 2023, involves over 250 aircraft and 10,000 personnel. It is based in Germany and led by the Luftwaffe (German Air Force).
In the hypothetical scenario envisioned in the exercise, a Russian invasion of the German port of Rostock triggers NATO Article 5 and a full-scale war between NATO and Russia. The war game will involve the recapture of the port, followed by what the Wall Street Journal called “offensive operations.” ...
NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu made clear that the exercise was targeting not a hypothetical adversary, but Russia. “Air Defender sends a clear message that NATO is ready to defend every inch of Allied territory,” she said. “As we face the biggest security crisis in a generation, we stand united to keep our countries and our people safe.” ...
The massive war games come amid ever more aggressive calls for military escalation by the US and NATO powers in the war with Russia over Ukraine.
Fresh from The Guardian's propaganda catapult:
Putin denies Zelenskiy’s claims of counteroffensive success for Ukraine
Vladimir Putin has denied Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s claims of early success in Ukraine’s long-anticipated counteroffensive, which has seen Kyiv’s troops regain some territory, while admitting that Russia had lost 54 tanks in the opening assaults. In a televised meeting with military bloggers, Russia’s president conceded that his forces had taken losses but insisted that Ukraine had lost 25% to 30% of its foreign-supplied military vehicles including 160 tanks.
The comments in Moscow followed Zelenskiy’s claims that Ukrainian forces had successfully retaken several villages in its new offensive in the east of the country. Russia has not acknowledged any Ukrainian gains.
“This is a massive counteroffensive, using strategic reserves that were prepared for this task,” Putin said. “They lost over 160, we lost 54 tanks, and some of them are subject to restoration and repair.” Putin claimed the human cost for Ukraine been 10 times as grave as those imposed on Russia in the first days of the offensive, which he said had started on 4 June. “Their losses are approaching a level that could be described as catastrophic,” he said.In a wide-ranging press conference, Putin further claimed that Ukraine had both used US Himars rocket launch systems to destroy the Kakhovka dam last week and that the destruction had impeded Kyiv’s attack plans in Kherson.“The Ukrainian side wanted this … unfortunately, it stopped their counter offensive on that front. Unfortunately, because this offensive would have ended very badly for the Ukrainian troops.”
Putin, sanitary zone in Ukraine. DU Abrams. Zaluzhny scapegoat of Kiev. Bild, Russian Leopards
Bipartisan Lawmakers Urge Biden to Send Longer-Range Weapons to Ukraine
A group of nine bipartisan members of the House is urging President Biden to supply Ukraine with longer-range weapons and expedite the delivery of M1 Abrams tanks to the country.
In a letter led by Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO), the lawmakers called on Biden to send Kyiv Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMs), which have a range of 190 miles. The lawmakers said they were “encouraged” by Britain’s decision to supply Ukraine with Storm Shadow missiles that can hit targets up to 155 miles away. ...
The lawmakers also called for the US to ship more air defenses to Ukraine and applauded Biden’s approval of F-16 deliveries. The letter noted the “overwhelming bipartisan support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia” as the majority of Congress still favors pouring more weapons into Ukraine despite the risk of escalation and provoking a direct war between NATO and Russia.
The other signatories to the letter are Reps. Tony Gonzales (R-TX), Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), Jared Golden (D-ME), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), Donald G. Davis (D-NC), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), and James R. Baird (R-IN).
Poland Urges NATO Response to Russia Sending Nukes to Belarus
Polish President Andrzej Duda said Monday that NATO must respond to Russia deploying nuclear weapons to Belarus. ...
Duda didn’t specify what kind of response he had in mind, but he has previously said Poland wants to host US nuclear weapons. In October 2022, Duda said he was discussing the idea with Washington.
The propaganda is getting thick on the Nordstream finger-pointing.
CIA Now Admits It KNEW About Nord Stream Attack, Told Ukraine ‘Don’t’ Per WSJ; CONVENIENT?!
Amnesty Probe of Israeli Attacks on Gaza Shows 'Human Toll of Apartheid'
One month after a cease-fire ended a five-day Israeli operation that killed Palestinian civilians and caused "extensive destruction" in the Gaza Strip, Amnesty International on Tuesday released a report highlighting the "human toll of apartheid."
Amnesty—which last year joined a growing list of global human rights groups that condemn Israeli policies and actions against Palestinians as apartheid—probed Operation Shield and Arrow, launched on May 9 by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to allegedly target senior operatives of Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
According to Amnesty's nine-page publication, "On that first night of bombing, 10 Palestinian civilians were killed and over 20 were injured, a high toll that could and should have been avoided by those planning, ordering, and authorizing the attack."
During the IDF operation, "a 21-year-old Palestinian medical student killed by a 'precision-guided' Israeli bomb while studying; a four-year-old Palestinian girl killed in her sleep during an Israeli airstrike; a young Palestinian woman living with a disability left without her electric wheelchair when Israeli bombs destroyed her home without adequate warning," the report notes. "These are just a few of the victims of Israel's latest military assault on the occupied Gaza Strip."
Overall, Amnesty found that Israeli forces killed at least 31 Palestinians, including 11 civilians, and caused "substantial destruction and damage to Palestinian property," while rockets fired by Palestinian armed groups killed three Gazan and two Israeli civilians.
Among those killed by Israeli strikes were two teenage sisters who lived in a Gaza City apartment building. In the early hours of May 9, a bomb manufactured by Boeing and exported to Israel from the United States killed not only the target, Khalil al-Bahtini, a senior member of Al-Quds Brigades, but also his wife Leila al-Bahtini, their four-year-old daughter Hajar, and their neighbors: 19-year-old Dania Adas and 17-year-old Iman Adas.
Alaa Adas, the sisters' father, told Amnesty that when he ran into the teens' bedroom, his elder daughter was already dead but the younger one was still breathing and rushed to the hospital. However, he said, "instead of graduating and studying at university and fulfilling her wish of becoming a doctor, she died."
Heba Morayef, Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa regional director, said in a statement that "as civilians, the lives of Leila and Hajar al-Bahtini and Dania and Iman Adas should have been protected, not snuffed out. Israel has an obligation to cancel an attack if it becomes apparent that it may disproportionately harm civilians and civilian objects. Intentionally launching a disproportionate attack is a war crime."
The human rights group is calling on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate as possible war crimes "the apparently unlawful killings of Palestinian civilians by Israeli forces as well as the extensive destruction of Palestinian civilian homes and buildings," along with "the firing by Palestinian armed groups of inherently inaccurate rockets in and at areas populated by civilians."
Established when the Rome Statute entered into force in 2002, the Hague-based court investigates and tries individuals charged with genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression. An existing ICC probe focuses on alleged crimes committed in occupied Palestinian territory since June 13, 2014.
"Since the root cause of these recurrent unlawful attacks against civilians is Israel's apartheid system against Palestinians," Tuesday's report says, "Amnesty International is renewing its call on the ICC to consider the applicability of the crime against humanity of apartheid within its current formal investigation."
"In order to prevent further harm to civilians, it is imperative that the ICC investigations are expedited and arrest warrants issued against alleged perpetrators of international crimes," the document adds. "Additionally, third states should ensure the prosecution of suspected international crimes before their courts under the principle of universal jurisdiction."
Morayef stressed that "it has been a month since the cease-fire agreement between Israeli authorities and Palestinian armed groups, but the suffering that these recurrent Israeli offensives inflict upon the civilian population in the Gaza Strip never ceases."
Hat tip O'Linda:
Kenya's tea pickers are destroying the machines replacing them
Kenyan tea pickers are destroying machines brought in to replace them during violent protests that highlight the challenge faced by low-skilled workers as more agribusiness companies rely on automation to cut costs.
At least 10 tea-plucking machines have been torched in multiple flashpoints in the past year, according to local media reports. Recent demonstrations have left one protester dead and several injured, including 23 police officers and farm workers. ...
In March, a local government taskforce recommended that tea companies in Kericho, the country’s largest tea-growing town, adopt a new 60:40 ratio of mechanized tea harvesting to hand-plucking. The taskforce also wants legislation passed to limit importation of tea harvesting machines. Nicholas Kirui, a member of the taskforce and former CEO of KTGA, told Semafor Africa 30,000 jobs had been lost to mechanization in Kericho county alone over the past decade.
White House pushes for renewal of electronic surveillance law provision
The White House is stepping up pressure on lawmakers to renew a section of electronic surveillance law which permits the government to conduct targeted surveillance of foreign persons located outside the US. The provision, known as section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (Fisa), is set to expire at the end of the year. But its renewal is facing pushback from privacy advocates and lawmakers, some citing examples in which law enforcement search requests were misused to conduct illegal surveillance on US citizens.
On Monday, Joe Biden’s administration circulated examples showing the US had used electronic surveillance under section 702 to catch fentanyl smugglers as well as the ransomware hackers who temporarily shut down the Colonial Pipeline Company in a 2021 cyber-attack that led to gas shortages along the eastern seaboard.
The public campaign to build support for the provision comes as a poll released last week showed that the public is growing more skeptical of the need to sacrifice civil liberties for security.
The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll released last week found that 28% of adults support the government listening to phone calls and emails made outside the US without a warrant while 44% oppose the practice. More broadly, 48% of Americans said they believe it is necessary to sacrifice their rights and freedoms to prevent terrorism, down from 54% in 2021 and nearly two-thirds in 2011, a decade after the 9/11 attacks.
US prices rose 4% over the last year as Fed considers pause in rate hikes
The prices of goods and services in the US rose 4% over the last year, showing a cooling of prices as the Federal Reserve considers pausing interest rate hikes this week.
Inflation year-over-year in May was down 0.9% compared with April and is the lowest rate since April 2021, when prices started to climb, according to the latest consumer price index (CPI) data, which measures the prices of a basket of goods and services. The slowing of price increases can largely be attributed to energy prices, which were soaring this time last year because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Energy prices went down 11.7% over the last year. The price of housing was the largest contributor to the overall price increases, with an 8% increase over the last year.
Though this is the eleventh consecutive month that inflation has decreased, core inflation, which does not include the volatile energy and food sectors, still remains high at 5.3%. Core inflation has increased 0.4% each month since March. And the overall inflation rate remains double that of the Federal Reserve’s target goal of 2%.
Top US Companies Admit to Hiking Prices to Pad Their Profits
An analysis released Tuesday shows that executives at some of the top publicly traded companies in the United States aren't exactly being coy about using their pricing power to hike costs for consumers and boost revenues and profits—which are then dished out to wealthy shareholders.
The progressive watchdog group Accountable.US noted in its new report that "some of the largest general consumer S&P 500 companies have admitted to benefiting from increased prices as their net profits increased year-over-year and they rewarded shareholders with billions in handouts."
The report quotes directly from the executives of Kimberly-Clark, PepsiCo, General Mills, Tyson Foods, and other major U.S. companies.
Nelson Urdaneta, Kimberly-Clark's chief financial officer, said during the company's earnings call in April that "pricing has continued to be the big driver behind our top-line growth over the last three quarters."
The company, which sells consumer products such as toilet paper and diapers, saw its [fiscal year] 2022 net income increase 6.3% year-over-year to nearly $2 billion and rewarded shareholders with $1.7 billion in stock buybacks and dividends," Accountable.US found.
On Tyson's earnings call in February, chief financial officer John Tyson hailed the "significant pricing power of our portfolio, with a year-over-year increase of 7.6%." Tyson stressed that the company will "continue to support and grow the dividend for our shareholders."
According to Accountable.US, Tyson "saw its net income increase from $3 billion in FY 2021 to over $3.2 billion in FY 2022 and rewarded shareholders with $1.35 billion in handouts—$652 million more than the previous year, including a 948.5% increase in stock buybacks."
The new analysis came shortly after the Bureau of Labor Statistics released data showing that the consumer price index rose 4% in May compared to the previous year, the smallest increase since 2021.
Further evidence of cooling inflation sparked a fresh round of calls for the Federal Reserve to stop hiking interest rates before it pushes the economy into recession. The Fed is widely expected to announce Wednesday that it is pausing rate increases for the month of June, but it could resume the hikes as soon as the following month.
The Espionage Act: Could Trump Indictment Lead to Changes to 1917 Law Used to Jail Whistleblowers?
Trump pleads not guilty to 37 federal criminal counts in Mar-a-Lago case
Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents as he was formally arraigned on Tuesday, becoming the first former US president to face federal criminal charges. ...
Trump made his initial court appearance with his aide and now co-defendant Walt Nauta, who faces six federal charges for his alleged role in the scheme to keep the classified documents concealed from authorities. Trump was released on bond on the condition that he would not discuss the case with a list of witnesses to be provided by the office of special counsel Jack Smith, who sat in the front row of the courtroom during the arraignment. ...
After entering his plea and departing the courthouse, Trump made a brief stop at a Miami restaurant, where supporters happily greeted the twice-arrested former president. Trump then made his way to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where he will deliver remarks on Tuesday evening to respond to the indictment.
Fox News ends its 8pm hour w/ the chyron: “wannabe dictator speaks at the White House after having his political rival arrested”
Chyron went away when Hannity took over at 9. pic.twitter.com/EpWpqqzMqH
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) June 14, 2023
Ep. 3 America's principles are at stake pic.twitter.com/eJNSUVvvqY
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) June 13, 2023
Study Shows Climate Crisis Driving Increase in California Summer Wildfire Damage
Nearly all the recent increase in land area engulfed by California summer wildfires is attributable to human-caused climate change, a study published Monday revealed.
The study—published in the peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), multiple University of California campuses, and three Spanish universities—quantified the influence of anthropogenic climate change on recent summer forest burned area in the nation's most populous state.
"The 10 largest fires in California history have all occurred in the past two decades, and five of those have happened since 2020," noted University of California, Irvine professor of civil and environmental engineering and study co-author Amir AghaKouchak.
LLNL scientist and study co-author Don Lucas said that "we show that nearly all of the observed increase in burned area in California over the past half-century is attributable to human-caused climate change."
"The results show the role of human-caused climate change in driving fire activity and highlight the need for protective adaptations against summer wildfire seasons," Lucas added.
Dem Gov Whitmer SILENT As TOXIC Air POISONS Poor Residents In Kalamazoo, MI
Whale of a time: pod of 30 orcas bring killer moves to a California bay
A crowd of 30 killer whales met for a party in California’s Monterey Bay on Sunday. They did belly flops into the water, slapped the waves with their flukes and spewed water from their blowholes, surprising marine biologists who had never seen the animals engage in such playful behavior for so long.
Nancy Black, who has been studying killer whales for more than 30 years, said Sunday’s show was the best orca sighting she’d ever seen. Black, a marine biologist with Monterey Bay Whale Watch and the director of the California Killer Whale Project, said the gathering was unique because the animals played in the bay for more than eight hours. Eleven family groups came together, or about 30 whales. Sometimes three or four whales would breach the water at once. Others slapped their tails against the water’s surface, wrestled with one another and swam in loops.
“Just like kids that are in a park, they get excited and play with the other kids and may be more active,” Black said. “The little ones were wrestling and rolling like a bunch of puppies.”
Also of Interest
Here are some articles of interest, some which defied fair-use abstraction.
NZ Journalist Suspended for Providing Balanced News on Ukraine
Did Russia Destroy The Nova Kakhova Dam?
What Made Wagner Useful To Putin & Russia + Notes On Ukraine’s Counteroffensive
Michael Hudson at Global University, Hong Kong, on Ukraine, Europe, China, and the Dollar’s Future
As Wildfire Smoke Clears, Scientists Warn Air Quality Impacts Aren’t Over
A Little Night Music
Tommy Ridgley - The Girl Across the Street
Tommy Ridgley - Early Dawn Boogie
Tommy Ridgley - I want some money baby
Tommy Ridgley - I've Heard That Story Before
Tommy Ridgley - In The Same Old Way
Tommy Ridgley - Looped
Tommy Ridgley - Good Times
Tommy Ridgley - Double eye Whammy
Tommy Ridgley - What'cha Gonna Do
Tommy Ridgley - Jam Up Twist
Comments
more greens
My city has its own Evening Greens. I get a weekly e-letter, and in this week's they tell us we can be fined for wasting water. Things like watering your lawn, but watering your concrete driveway at the same time.
I try to be careful and aware of waste like that, (as if watering the lawn is not a total waste itself). I just have a sprinkler on the end of a hose, so it needs to be positioned just so. Nice acronym, WOW.
We might be out of drought conditions, not sure. Raining every day lately.
Thank you for the h/t, joe. Thought it was an interesting story. Good for them, but alas, always deaths and injuries.
SSDD
Question: Which private entities are exempt and why? Country clubs? Cemeteries? Any business interests who have to have a good public image?
Next question: When I was a home owner I had a tough HOA. They insisted that I have a sprinkler system and that I maintained a weed control/fertilizer service to ensure that the hood was very sightly. Will the city council provide an override clause for HOAs? In my case the HOA covenants were on the deed. How about some advice on conversion of lawns into meadows or some other alternative.
Otherwise, usual dump on the little people.
evening olinda...
heh, i've always thought that lawns were a waste of water, not to mention time and energy. there ought to be a better and more naturally harmonious way for people to culture the area around their houses.
yep, that was an interesting story, it's sad that the advances of automation cannot be broadly shared in the world economy and people have to fight the police to make capital preserve their ability to meet their survival needs.
WOW enforcement
sounds like a comic book theme
superheroes save planet by enforcing
water saving measures in the 'burbs
truth is considered foreign influence, world peace is a threat to national security
Saving the planet
Ha. It will be interesting to see how this goes over in the community, and how much the fines are.
I wish they would fine me for watering the lawn. Wouldn't mind stopping. I feel obligated and think if I just let it die, I would get cited for an eyesore or nuisance. And what happens if it dies? Does the yard turn to mud?
Sow the seeds of locally endangered flowering
plants, preferably ones used as food by endangered butterflies, native bees and the like. They can't make you kill or cut them - there is case law on that.
be well and have a good one
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 --
White clover is particularly good for this
Nice low ground cover, stays green when grass dies off, looks pretty, feeds the pollinators.
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
Finally got a soaking rain yesterday but I doubt
that it is enough to help brake the drought we are going
through.
This is a bit depressing but tells quite the story at the same time.
https://www.theautomaticearth.com/2023/06/debt-rattle-june-14-2023/
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
evening ggersh...
yep, we got a good soaking rain a couple of days ago and the garden is happy and ready for another drink. hopefully it will show up soon.
have a great evening!
Yup that’s a great point
.
Just imagine if presidents got in as much trouble for starting illegal wars and killing millions of people as they do for taking sensitive materials which might not even be a crime since others are guilty of doing just that every day. Or for crapping all over our constitutional rights.
I’m getting a little kick out of Trump being charged under the espionage act after he had Assange arrested and charged with it. Schadenfude much?
“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt
evening snoopy...
yep, the biggest leaker of classified information is the u.s. government. they will do just about anything to maintain control of the narrative.
trump must really piss the elites off if they are willing to show that they are not above weaponizing the justice system for political ends as they are.
Never forget that Petrayous gave his girlfriend classified
information so that she could write a book about him and he only had to pay a small fine and went on his merry way.
I think they don’t like how many times Trump was honest about the way the country acted.
"We’re keeping the oil!" Lol…and of course Biden is still keeping the oil and doing a lot of things that Trump did, but was bad at the time. And the boos turned into cheers…go figure.
But let’s watch as shitlibs freak out about republicans asking for Biden’s tax returns. . Goose and gander comes to mind and I think precedent for this has been set.
They freaked out when Jared received $2 billion from the Saudis after he left office, but Biden actually was the VP in 2017. Wouldn’t It Be just funny if republicans did impeached Biden for something that was actually illegal? Yeah I know it’s just more kabuki whilst the world burns. They won’t tho because too many of our corrupt congress critters are probably just as dirty.
“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt
heh...
i dunno snoopy, they're charging the donald with felony crimes that many other swamp creatures are guilty of. given that example, i don't see why they'd be reticent to charge other swamp creatures with corruption that they are all guilty of... they just don't want to lose power and become vulnerable.
Pardon me, but LOL on the NATO war games.
.
Ha-ha-ha-ha. NATO's Neocons are trying to double-down on their ridiculous propaganda fantasy that Russia is on its way to conquer all of Europe and transform it into a New Soviet Union. Surely there are normal people in Europe laughing their asses off at this absurdity.
.
To me, this war game looks like a form of "self-abuse in a public place."
According to NATO:
Populations don’t like wars. They have to be lied into it.
That means we can be “truthed” into peace. — Julian Assange
No kidding, Pluto
Russia is watching the way NATO plans on defending itself from Russia so Russia will be able to see the weakness of their defenses and plan accordingly…well except that Russia doesn’t plan on attacking Germany. Or any other country. In the essay I posted he discussed how our big and expensive planes are obsolete anymore because of Russia's air defenses and long range missiles. Not to mention the big ships that will probably be sunk an hour after they get their war on China going.
But just think of how much money they are burning through every hour of flight time and how much greenhouse gases they are producing. But sure it’s cow farts that are causing the most harm to the environment. Kerry is going to confiscate farms whilst he flies solo on his private jet. I keep thinking that I will wake up from this insanity soon and instead they double down.
“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt
evening pluto...
yep, their hubris is kind of funny, except for where it leads.
The Real News covered
....authoritarian President Yoon Seok-yeol's crackdown on organized labor in South Korea. They put together some nice video clips of union activities in May mostly, it looks like up through May 16, and some of the police confrontations up to that point. It's become more violent since. I tried to find good videos like this and they are hard to get because the government is on a rampage currently against the KCC and the public broadcast stations. The same as with the labor unions it starts with the lawfare, the fabricated criminal charges against opposition organizational leadership and dissent of any kind. Denying or minimizing press coverage is part of their strategy.
The International Labor Organization has taken particular notice of the repression of labor unions in South Korea.
ILO chief says he is closely watching labor union persecution in S. Korea
Posted on : Jun.13,2023
https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_international/1095747....
All the dissatisfied sectors of South Korean society should simultaneously demonstrate on Saturday when the candlelight demonstrations occur. The truckers, construction workers and other trades, the fisherman, the farmers, the nurses, the clergy, ordinary families...there are so many groups with grievances against the right wing authoritarian Yoon administration at this point. I have a feeling that they may not be able to get the permits simultaneously because attempts to conceal the true scope of the opposition against this administration is something the administration and their allies in the conservative mainstream need to suppress. (A poll monitoring pundit from South Korea that I follow regularly has been commenting on the invalid sampling and inconsistent results of polling that supposedly demonstrates a recovery in support for the president. Reports unfavorable to the administration are simply ignored by the major media). The leadership and activists from the varied opposition groups could file for permits are different venues. Namdaemun, Gwanghwamun, Yoido, Samgakchi etc. The administration is still trying to maintain the pretense that they represent the people of South Korea, and that they have a democratic government. They don't listen to anyone, they don't negotiate or compromise with anyone, they simply give orders. They don't even talk to the opposition in the National Assembly. Opposition leaders who actively oppose the administration are investigated and prosecuted. Their families and colleagues are also harassed by abuse of the legal process.
This is a kind of whistling past the graveyard by the western media:
China’s pressure on ‘weakest link’ South Korea falls flat amid tensions with US
Beijing has wielded trade and leverage over North Korea to discourage Seoul from closer ties with Tokyo and Washington.
https://www.ft.com/content/48a93738-69c1-4e76-bc08-3aebff64dd6c
Here's a series of related headlines from Hankyeoreh:
Experts warn Yoon’s criticism of China’s envoy could fuel worsening relations with Beijing
Posted on : Jun.14,2023
https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/1095951.html
“Inappropriate”: Yoon directly criticizes China’s ambassador
· Antagonism grows between S. Korea, China as both ramp up rhetoric on envoy’s remarks
· As the US moves to de-risk with China, will Korea be the last left seeking to decouple?
· [Editorial] Diplomatic impropriety on all fronts
· Conflict management needed as S. Korea, China trade barbs amid rapidly souring relations
It's extremely unwise for Yoon to "burn his bridges" with China. It's a stupid, ideological, and emotional approach, very unprofessional and undiplomatic.
Thanks for the EBs Joe.
語必忠信 行必正直
evening soryang...
thanks for the update. it sounds like things are going downhill, i wonder how yoon intends to avoid a reckoning at the polls? it seems that simply suppressing angry voters is not going to help much.
have a great evening!
This is true for most but not all information in the MSM.
Related.
Great interview with Sachs
Always interesting to hear from Oliver Stone, too. Thanks.
語必忠信 行必正直
evening humphrey...
great stuff! thanks for the links.
i go to read the guardian to see what the ukies are saying and what their talking points are for the day. i follow alex c., alexander mercouris, b and sometimes yves to get a sense of what is really happening. i find the guardian somewhat amusing much of the time.
This likely will be a success much to US chagrin.
This sums up the situation quite well.
Thanks for bringing these surreal
....examples of the counter-intuitive, gaping holes in reality that are relentlessly forced into people's consciousness by the newsrooms of the desperate Western powers. This is their Plan B. This is the lesson that the West was taught by the Nazis: "Repeat the narrative of lies until it becomes the truth in the minds of the People. Repeat the propaganda and never stop. Do not engage in discussions or challenges. Treat doubters as subversives and traitors. Accuse them of working on behalf of the enemy. Repeat the carefully worded propaganda again and again, until you have a nation of believers. That is the key to victory."
People at all levels will believe whatever is continuously repeated by the 'official' national media, no matter how preposterous or illogical. Rather than challenge it, the People will angrily defend it. No matter what the outcome — defeat or victory — the People will never learn the truth about the price they paid. Should they suffer or die in defeat, they will defend the original lie. We saw this with the Russia Hoax. Minds in the United States, I believe, have been rendered useless for higher awareness and functioning. And this would be a good outcome for the psychopathic who lead the nation. We've seen this intellectual-override in action. We just haven't realized what we are looking at. The time has come to face what this embedded mental distortion in US society means for the future, and how those in power will use it next. We need to think about it will affect our own lives if we are unable to conform.
Populations don’t like wars. They have to be lied into it.
That means we can be “truthed” into peace. — Julian Assange
Yup.
Goebbels would weep at their success. We learned well from Operation Paperclip: it certainly wasn't all about the rockets, after all...
Twice bitten, permanently shy.