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"Is ours a government of the people, by the people, for the people, or a kakistocracy rather, for the benefit of knaves at the cost of fools?"

-- Thomas Love Peacock

News and Opinion

More Warmongers Elevated In The Biden Administration

The Biden administration looks set to become even more warlike than it already was if you can imagine, with virulent Russia hawk Victoria Nuland and virulent China hawk Charles Q Brown now being elevated to lofty positions by the White House.

Nuland, the wife of alpha neocon Robert Kagan, has been named acting deputy secretary of state by President Biden, at least until a new deputy secretary has been named. This places her at second in command within the State Department, second only to Tony Blinken.

NEW: Uber Russia-hawk Victoria Nuland rises to acting deputy secretary of state

She probably did more than anyone to sour US-Russia ties; now, she is one of Washington’s top diplomats, @connor_echols reports in @RStatecraft. https://t.co/7OWSvtMJJj

— Quincy Institute (@QuincyInst) July 25, 2023

n an article about Nuland’s unique role in souring relations between the US and Russia during her previous tenure in the State Department under Obama, Responsible Statecraft’s Connor Echols writes the following of the latest news:

Nuland’s appointment will be a boon for Russia hawks who want to turn up the heat on the Kremlin. But, for those who favor a negotiated end to the conflict in Ukraine, a promotion for the notoriously “undiplomatic diplomat” will be a bitter pill.

A few quick reminders are in order. When Nuland was serving in the Obama administration, she had a now-infamous leaked call with the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. As the Maidan Uprising roiled the country, the pair of American diplomats discussed conversations with opposition leaders, and Nuland expressed support for putting Arseniy Yatseniuk into power. (Yatseniuk would become prime minister later that month, after Russia-friendly former President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country.) At one memorable point in the call, Nuland said “Fu–k the EU” in response to Europe’s softer stance on the protests.

The controversy surrounding the call — and larger implications of U.S. involvement in the ouster of Yanukovych — kicked up tensions with Russia and contributed to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to seize Crimea and support an insurgency in eastern Ukraine. Her handing out  food to demonstrators on the ground in Kyiv probably didn’t help either. Nuland, along with State Department sanctions czar Daniel Fried, then led the effort to punish Putin through sanctions. Another official at State reportedly asked Fried if “the Russians realize that the two hardest-line people in the entire U.S. government are now in a position to go after them?”

In a 2015 Consortium News article titled “The Mess That Nuland Made,” the late Robert Parry singled out Nuland as the primary architect of the 2014 regime change operation in Ukraine, which, as Aaron Maté explained last year, paved the way to the war we’re seeing there today. Hopefully her position winds up being temporary.

In other news, the Senate Arms Services Committee has voted to confirm Biden’s selection of General Charles Q Brown Jr as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, replacing Mark Milley. A full senate vote will now take place on whether to confirm Brown — currently the Air Force Chief of Staff — for the nation’s highest military office.

Brown is unambiguous about his belief that the US must hasten to militarize against China in the so-called Indo-Pacific to prepare for confrontation between the two powers, calling for more US bases in the region and increased efforts to arm Taiwan during his hearing before the Senate Arms Services Committee earlier this month.

Back in May, Moon of Alabama flagged Brown’s nomination in an article which also noted that several advocates of military restraint had been resigning from their positions within the administration, including Wendy Sherman, the deputy secretary of state who Nuland has taken over for.

It’s too soon to draw any firm conclusions, but to see voices of restraint stepping down and proponents of escalation stepping up could be a bad portent of things to come.

Big Ukr Defeat Relaunch Offensive; Rus Missile Strike; US-Rus Secret Talks, US Ready to Abandon Ukr

Ukraine steps up counteroffensive with new push south and around Bakhmut

Ukrainian forces have stepped up their counteroffensive after two months of gruelling, incremental gains, mounting a new push in the south of the country while edging closer to the fiercely contested eastern city of Bakhmut.

The New York Times cited unnamed Pentagon officials as saying the “main thrust” of the counteroffensive had now begun, with the Ukrainian army pouring thousands of western-trained and equipped reinforcements into a perceived weak spot in Russian defences in the Zaporizhzhia region. However, the Washington Post reported that a US official “expressed caution” in drawing the conclusions that the main counteroffensive has begun. “We are seeing signs of preparatory moves for additional forces in the Zaporizhzhia area to come into the fight. But it’s not clear what the purpose of those moves may be,” the unnamed official was quoted as saying.

Earlier on Wednesday, Igor Konashenkov, the Russian defence ministry’s chief spokesperson, described a “massive” attack and fierce battles south of the settlement of Orikhiv, but said the attack had been repelled. However, the Russian military blogger Rybar described an “attack by more than 80 armoured vehicles, including tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armoured personnel carriers and combat vehicles”, adding that Ukrainian forces had managed to penetrate “in three areas … [amid] fierce battles.”

One immediate focus of the battles on Wednesday was the Russian-held village of Robotyne, but the major Ukrainian objectives are the heavily fortified city of Tokmak, and beyond, Melitopol, near the coast. Melitopol’s liberation would cut Russian forces on the southern front in two, and isolate occupied Crimea.

“This is the big test,” the New York Times quoted a senior US official as saying. Ukrainian commanders were reported to be trying to seize a moment of opportunity after weeks wearing down Russian defences in Zaporizhzhia and bombarding Russian ammunition stores and logistics hubs behind the frontlines. The sacking of the Russian commander in the region, Maj Gen Ivan Popov, after his criticism of military leadership, has also added to the sense that this may be a moment of Russian vulnerability in the area. At the same time, Ukrainian forces have maintained an offensive around the Donetsk town of Bakhmut, where three months ago Russia claimed victory in a months-long and bloody battle for the devastated city.

An interesting piece worth a full read. Here's a snippet to get you started:

Glimpses of an Endgame in Ukraine

The problem with the war in Ukraine is that it has been all smoke and mirrors. The Russian objectives of “demilitarisation” and “de-Nazification” of Ukraine wore a surreal look. The western narrative that the war is between Russia and Ukraine, where central issue is the Westphalian principle of national sovereignty, wore thin progressively leaving a void. There is a realisation today that the war is actually between Russia and NATO and that Ukraine had ceased to be a sovereign country since 2014 when the C.I.A. and sister western agencies — Germany, the UK, France, Sweden, etc.— installed a puppet regime in Kiev. The fog of war is lifting and the battle lines are becoming visible. At an authoritative level, a candid discussion is beginning as regards the endgame.

Certainly, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s videoconference with the permanent members of the Security Council in Moscow last Friday and his meeting with Belarus President Belarus Alexander Lukashenko in St. Petersburg on Sunday become the defining moment. The two transcripts stand back-to-back and need to be read together. (here and here)

There is no question that the two events were carefully choreographed by the Kremlin officials and intended to convey multiple messages. Russia exudes confidence that it has achieved dominance on the battle front — having thrashed the Ukrainian military and Kiev’s “counteroffensive” moving into the rear view mirror. But Moscow anticipates that the Biden administration may be having an even bigger war plan in mind. At the Security council meeting, Putin “de-classified” the intelligence reports reaching Moscow from various sources indicative of moves to insert into Western Ukraine a Polish expeditionary force. Putin called it “a well-organised, equipped regular military unit to be used for operations” in Western Ukraine “for the subsequent occupation of these territories.”

Indeed, there is a long history of Polish revanchism. Putin, himself a keen student of history, talked at some length about it. He sounded stoical that if the Kiev authorities were to acquiesce with this Polish-American plan, “as traitors usually do, that’s their business. We will not interfere.” But, Putin added, “Belarus is part of the Union State, and launching an aggression against Belarus would mean launching an aggression against the Russian Federation. We will respond to that with all the resources available to us.” Putin warned that what is afoot “is an extremely dangerous game, and the authors of such plans should think about the consequences.”

On Sunday, at the meeting with Putin in St. Petersburg, Lukashenko picked up the thread of discussion. He briefed Putin about new Polish deployments close to Belarus border — just 40 kms from Brest — and other preparations under way — the opening of a repair shop for Leopard tanks in Poland, activation of an airfield in Rzeszow on Ukrainian border (about 100 kms from Lvov) for use of Americans transferring weaponry, mercenaries, etc. Lukashenko said:

“This is unacceptable to us. The alienation of western Ukraine, the dismemberment of Ukraine and the transfer of its lands to Poland are unacceptable. Should people in Western Ukraine ask us then we will provide support to them. I ask you [Putin] to discuss and think about this issue. Naturally, I would like you to support us in this regard. If the need in such support arises, if Western Ukraine asks us for help, then we will provide assistance and support to people in western Ukraine. If this happens, we will support them in every possible way.”

The bottom line is that Putin and Lukashenko held such a discussion publicly at all. Clearly, both spoke on the basis of intelligence inputs. They anticipate an inflection point ahead.

US and Allies Preparing to Support an Open-Ended Conflict in Ukraine

The US and its allies are worried that Ukraine’s stalled counteroffensive means the war between Russian and Ukrainian forces will be an open-ended conflict, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

The report said the US was hoping Ukraine would regain some territory and that would pave the way for a negotiated settlement, although the US has discouraged diplomacy throughout the war. “My hope is and my expectation is you’ll see that Ukraine makes significant progress on their offensive and it generates a negotiated settlement somewhere along the line,” President Biden said in Helsinki earlier this month.

But without significant Ukrainian gains, the West is preparing to support the proxy war against Russia for years to come. “The only real response is an industrial mobilization that will give Ukrainians, and the Russians, a clear message that the Ukrainians will always have plenty of what they need,” an unnamed Western diplomat told the Journal.

The diplomat said that the US might have to accept that the war won’t end anytime soon. Biden administration officials have repeatedly said they’re willing to arm Ukraine for “as long as it takes,” but it’s unclear if the US and its NATO allies can sustain support for Ukraine as officials are warning Western military stockpiles are running low. Time is also on Russia’s side as potential political changes in the US could impact the level of support Ukraine receives.

Moldova expels 45 Russian diplomats and embassy staff, citing years of ‘hostile actions’

Moldova has ordered 45 Russian diplomats and embassy staff to leave, sharply reducing the number of officials Russia can have in its capital Chișinău, while citing years of “hostile actions” by Moscow.

“We agreed on the need to limit the number of accredited diplomats from Russia, so that there are fewer people trying to destabilize the Republic of Moldova,” foreign minister Nicu Popescu said at a cabinet meeting.

Russia will have until 15 August to cut its embassy personnel from more than 80 to 25, the foreign ministry said.

“For many years we have been the object of hostile Russian actions and policies. Many of them were made through the embassy,” Popescu said.

Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told a weekly briefing that Moldova’s decision would “not go unanswered,” calling it “another step in the destruction of bilateral relations” between the countries.

NYT, REAL BIG counteroffensive starts. Elensky Democracy, delays elections. Nuland promotion.

Niger soldiers announce coup and president’s removal on national TV

Soldiers in Niger say they have removed President Mohamed Bazoum from power, after armed troops earlier blockaded the presidential palace in Niamey, the capital in one of the world’s most unstable nations. A group of soldiers appeared on the west African country’s national television late on Wednesday, a few hours after the president had been detained.

The apparent coup was said to be led by the head of a regional political and security group. The soldiers, including members of the presidential guard of Bazoum, were earlier said to be engaged in negotiations with the president – who was described as “safe and well” although his location was unclear.

The move by the elite guard force was quickly challenged by the wider army and national guard, who threatened to attack the presidential force unless they stepped down.

The White House said as the situation unfolded that the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, had spoken to the captive Bazoum and “conveyed the unwavering support of the United States … the strong US economic and security partnership with Niger depends on the continuation of democratic governance and respect for the rule of law and human rights”.

Blinken, visiting New Zealand, later said: “I spoke with President Bazoum earlier this morning, and made clear that the US resolutely supports him as the democratically elected president of Niger. We call for his immediate release.”

Fed raises interest rates to 22-year high as it continues to fight inflation

The US Federal Reserve raised interest rates to a 22-year high on Wednesday as it continued its fight against rising inflation. The decision to increase rates by a quarter-percentage point to a range of 5.25% to 5.5% comes after the Fed paused its rate-rising cycle last month

US inflation has now declined for 12 straight months and is currently running at an annual rate of 3%, down from over 9% in June last year. The Fed has raised rates from near zero in an attempt to cool the economy and bring prices down.

The US economy has remained robust despite the 11 rate rises the Fed has now implemented – its most aggressive rate-rising cycle in 40 years. Hiring has slowed but remains strong and the unemployment rate is still close to a record low.

Fed chair Jerome Powell said the central bank was closely monitoring the economic data ahead of its next meeting in September. “It is certainly possible that we would raise funds again at the September meeting if the data warranted,” he said. “And I would also say it’s possible that we would choose to hold steady at that meeting. We’re going to be making careful assessments, as I said, meeting by meeting.”

DeJoy Is Still Dragging His Feet at Every Step on Electrifying the Postal Fleet

For as much as we’ve heard Postmaster General Louis DeJoy talk about the need for “dramatic change” at U.S. Postal Service when it comes to the more disruptive elements of his 10-year plan, he has consistently resisted modernizing the postal fleet to reflect the market shift to electric vehicles. His own words just don’t seem to apply to the long overdue shift from gas guzzlers with the fuel efficiency of a Hummer to a climate-friendly 95% electric fleet built by 100% union labor.

USPS recently released its latest draft supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) for Next Generation Delivery Vehicles (NGDV) Acquisitions ahead of a public hearing Wednesday, July 26. This latest draft SEIS is the post office’s second attempt at an environmental impact statement after their first one projected gas prices to be $2 a gallon less in the future and deployed other ludicrous math to make the case for combustible vehicles, only to be sued by several different parties for their wildly inaccurate claims. Due to immense public pressure and some close White House hand-holding over the course of last year, USPS leadership shifted from committing to only 5% electric vehicles at the outset of the project to 62% as of their last announcement.

This is certainly movement, but it’s far from the 95% that experts recommended and that is closer in line with private sector carriers’ plans. Even the Postal Service’s own Inspector General has concluded that at least 95% of postal routes could be serviced by electric vehicles. The IG found that zero-emissions electric trucks would be cheaper for the USPS over the full life cycle of the fleet–costing less to buy, fuel, and maintain than conventional fossil fuel-powered vehicles.

The increase to 62% did not come easily from DeJoy, either: There were a string of lawsuits and consistent calls from the community alongside climate and labor groups. As the Save the Post Office Coalition pointed out in a June 30 statement, this latest draft SEIS “is disappointing, particularly as it comes out of last summer’s hearing where USPS heard loud and clear from postal workers and communities in an overwhelming majority of public comments calling for a union-built, all-electric fleet. Frontline Black and Brown communities are being poisoned by heavy trucks with combustion engines, and mail carriers who drive postal trucks are particularly affected from vehicle idling which releases high levels of localized air pollution.”

Media outlets gave DeJoy a favorable reception last December for USPS’s third move towards a larger share of EVs, even though it falls 33% short of where it needs to be. It is important to note that the current EV commitment is not 75% of the entire fleet as reported; it is only the purpose-built NGDVs—when including all vehicles including commercial off-the-shelf ones, the total share of the fleet that’s electric is just 62%.

This saga has demonstrated again that Louis DeJoy is more focused on short-term cost-cutting than long-term smart solutions for USPS’s future. DeJoy’s leadership approach was to dig his heels in, rather than look to the future, and this is dangerous. National climate priorities have particular urgency right now when the force of extreme weather is causing so much havoc and loss. But it’s also just fundamentally at odds with what the people want for their most treasured public institution: a healthy USPS that changes with the times. Louis DeJoy is proving once again that he’s not able to deliver that.

Brutal Ohio Police Dog Attack on Black Truck Driver Highlights Pattern, Echoes Violence of Slavery

News from the Washington gerontocracy:

Mitch McConnell abruptly stops mid-sentence during press conference

The Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, briefly left his own press conference on Wednesday after stopping his remarks mid-sentence and staring off into space for several seconds.

McConnell approached the podium for his weekly press conference and began speaking about the annual defense bill on the floor, which he said was proceeding with “good bipartisan cooperation”. But he then appeared to lose his train of thought, trailing off with a drawn-out “uh”.

He then appeared to “freeze” and stared for about 20 seconds before his colleagues in the Republican leadership, who were standing behind him and could not see his face, took his elbows and asked if he wanted to go back to his office.

He did not answer, but slowly walked back to his office with an aide and Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, a former orthopedic surgeon, who is the No 3 Republican in the Senate. McConnell later returned to the press conference and answered questions from the press.

Asked about what happened, McConnell said he was “fine”. He did not elaborate. ...

McConnell, 81, was out of the Senate for almost six weeks earlier this year after falling and hitting his head. His office later said he suffered a concussion and fractured a rib. His speech has recently sounded more halting, prompting questions among some of his colleagues about his health.

Joe Biden Caught LYING On Hunter Biden Business Deals

Judge Puts Hunter Biden Plea Deal on Hold as Republicans Ramp Up Attacks on President & Son

Worth a full read:

A Democrat’s obsessive quest to change the way America is farmed and fed

Earl Blumenauer has been on a 26-year quest to pass a bill to reform farming to center people, animals and the environment. Each year for the last 26 years – nearly his entire tenure in the US Congress – Earl Blumenauer has advocated for a law that would utterly transform US agriculture. Nearly every time, though, his proposals have been shut down. Even so, he persists. Blumenauer, a Democrat from Oregon, wants to see a version of US agriculture that centers people, animals and the environment, rather than the large-scale, energy-intensive commodity crop farms that currently receive billions of dollars in subsidies. In effect, he has a completely different vision for how 40% of the country’s land looks and works. ...

Blumenauer’s newest plan, the Food and Farm Act, was introduced earlier this year, as an alternative to the farm bill – the package of food and agricultural policies passed every five years that is up for renewal this fall. His proposal would redirect billions of dollars away from subsidies for commodity farms towards programs that support small farmers, climate-friendly agriculture and increasing healthy food access.

The bill also prioritizes food waste management and animal welfare – areas that have been completely neglected by previous iterations of the farm bill. “We simply pay too much to the wrong people, to grow the wrong foods the wrong way, in the wrong places,” Blumenauer said. While unlikely to pass, Blumenauer’s bill, which has been introduced and referred to the agriculture committee, has won endorsements from prominent food writers such as Marion Nestle and Mark Bittman, as well as dozens of environmental, animal welfare and food justice organizations – representing the growing desire for change in US agriculture.

At the heart of Blumenauer’s bill is farm subsidy reform. In the most recent iteration of the farm bill, approximately $63bn was dedicated to subsidies. These mostly benefited the largest farms and agribusinesses, with 70% of subsidy payments going to just 10% of farms, most of which produce commodity crops like soy, corn and wheat, which are often used to make animal feed, processed foods and even fuel for cars. This means that taxpayers are subsidizing processed food, but not the fruits and vegetables you buy in the grocery store – and that commodity farms have little incentive to switch to more sustainable modes of production or more nutritious foods that people will actually eat.

“Most of us don’t even know that the public dollars initially designed to protect farmers and keep supply managed to feed a hungry nation in the Great Depression are now reinforcing wealthy agribusiness corporations to grow commodities that are not even meant for human consumption,” said Joshua Sewell, a policy analyst at the nonpartisan watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense. Farmers that grow what are called “specialty crops”, which include fruits and vegetables, usually don’t qualify for subsidies. Most of the farms excluded from subsidy payments are those using sustainable growing methods that preserve soil and benefit the climate in the long term.

Can slag heaps help combat the climate crisis?

Research presented at the Goldschmidt conference in Lyon, France, this month suggests that slag, the waste produced by the iron and steel industry, could be used to lock away carbon dioxide for thousands of years. ...

Jahmaine Yambing from the University of Cambridge has explored the potential of slag heaps to capture carbon by studying the 20m tonnes of slag produced by the former Consett steelworks in County Durham, UK.

Since the steelworks closed 40 years ago rainwater has drained through the slag, dissolving minerals and depositing tufa (a form of calcite) on the nearby stream bed. By analysing the deposits Yambing has assessed what chemical reactions have occurred and how much carbon has been locked into the tufa. Yambing is using this data to understand the carbon capture potential of other slag heaps around the world.

Also of Interest

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

Why Ukraine’s counter-offensive is failing

Battle For Robotyne

The Distributed Nature Of Collapse

Knives Back Out for Peace Activists in Korea

Censorship of the Black Left

Court Filing: JPMorgan Chase “Actively Participated in Epstein’s Sex-Trafficking Venture”

The EU-Indonesia Fight Over Nickel and Who Gets to Own the Clean Energy Future

Decades of Public Messages about Recycling in the US Have Crowded Out More Sustainable Ways to Manage Waste

The rebel group stopping self-driving cars in San Francisco – one cone at a time | California | The Guardian

A Little Night Music

Lloyd Glenn - Chica Boo

Lloyd Glenn - Soldier's Hop

Lloyd Glenn - Sunrise

Lloyd Glenn - Old Time Shuffle Blues

Lloyd Glenn - Boogie Woogie On St. Louis Blues

Lloyd Glenn - Tiddly-Winks

Lloyd Glenn - The Shakedown

Lowell Fulson & Lloyd Glenn - Reconsider Baby

Buddy Guy and Lloyd Glenn - Dust my Broom