Welcome! "The Evening Blues" is a casual community diary (published Monday - Friday, 8:00 PM Eastern) where we hang out, share and talk about news, music, photography and other things of interest to the community.
Just about anything goes, but attacks and pie fights are not welcome here. This is a community diary and a friendly, peaceful, supportive place for people to interact.
Everyone who wants to join in peaceful interaction is very welcome here.
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Hey! Good Evening!
This evening's music features Louisiana bluesman Silas Hogan. Enjoy!
Silas Hogan - Everybody Needs Somebody
“Everything the State says is a lie, and everything it has it has stolen.”
-- Friedrich Nietzsche
News and Opinion
Clapper speaks at liar's convention:
Clapper Denies Lying, Announces New Ethics Policy
An unapologetic James Clapper bristled at accusations of misconduct in front of a trade group today, announced that he intends to continue serving as national intelligence director through the rest of the Obama presidency, and released a new “National Intelligence Strategy” that includes a “Code of Ethics” that seems disconnected from the reality of intelligence collection as revealed by Edward Snowden.
Speaking in public, but in a friendly setting, Clapper mocked the notion of intelligence collection without risk, the potential for embarrassment or invasion of privacy. He snidely called it “Immaculate Collection.” (see NBC video.)
Clapper also confirmed a report that, in commemoration of Constitution Day, he led his staff this week in two separate “re-administrations” of the oath of office to the Constitution, which he characterized as a good bonding experience, rather than an urgently needed recommitment to observing the constitutional rights of Americans.
“While we’ve made mistakes, to be clear, the IC [intelligence community] never willfully violated the law,” he insisted.
And he complained bitterly of being “accused of lying to Congress.”
Brennan spoke at the liar's convention, too:
After Lying and Apologizing, Brennan Qualifies Both
CIA Director John Brennan today petulantly denied that he lied in March when he publicly insisted that the CIA had not improperly accessed the computers of Senate staffers investigating the agency’s role in torturing detainees.
Since then, an internal investigation found the CIA had done just that, and Brennan was forced to apologize to Senate intelligence committee members.
In March, Brennan told Andrea Mitchell at a Council on Foreign Relations event: “As far as the allegations of the CIA hacking into Senate computers, nothing could be further from the truth… We wouldn’t do that. I mean, that’s just beyond the, you know, the scope of reason in terms of what we do.”
But on Thursday, facing questions at an industry trade conference, Brennan carefully parsed his earlier statement, insisting that he had only been denying the parts of Mitchell’s question that involved accusations of hacking with the intent to thwart the investigation.
“Thwart the investigation? Hacking in? We did not,” Brennan said.
Brennan had also publicly called the charges “spurious allegations that are wholly unsupported by facts.”
On Thursday, he pointed out the computers technically belonged to the CIA, even though they had been partitioned to create private work space for the Senate staffers.
There was more hairsplitting when he explained his apology. “I apologized then to them for any improper access that was done, despite the fact that we didn’t have a memorandum of understanding.”
Apple Throws Down Privacy Gauntlet
Apple made big news today by announcing that they are no longer able to extract data from iOS devices for law enforcement agencies. The company had, for several years, offered a popular service for police in which it would extract data from seized PIN- or password-protected devices (if you don't have a PIN or password, then the government doesn't need Apple's help to get your data). The message from Apple is clear: they don't like being in the surveillance business, and are doing everything they can to get out of it, while still offering usable products to the general public.
In the wake of the Snowden disclosures, many big tech companies have announced major security improvements, including encrypting the links between data centers, turning on default HTTPS encryption for website visitors, and encrypting the connections between email servers.
Such steps have made it more difficult for the government to spy on users without the companies' help. The use of HTTPS by Google, for example, means that Verizon can't help the NSA spy on its customers' web searches. But none of those changes impacted the companies' own ability to see data, and thus government agencies' ability to force the company to turn it over. Apple's new move is interesting and important because it's an example of a company saying they no longer want to be in the surveillance business–a business they likely never intended to be in and want to get out of as quickly as possible.
This was a big step for Apple, and one that likely required significant engineering work. What is so interesting and smart about this move is that rather than telling the government that they no longer want to help the government, they re-architected iOS so they are unable to help the government. Think of it as Apple playing a game of chicken, and the company has just thrown the steering wheel out of the window.
It's No: Scotland votes to stay in UK
Independence Hopes Crushed as Scotland Awakes to Victory for the British Union
The Scottish woke up on Friday to a damp morning and a decisive "No" to independence, as the long and emotional battle over Scotland's destiny played out in favour of the 307-year-old British union.
This was ultimately a struggle between the vocal minority and the silent majority, yet it saw Scotland more politically engaged than ever before, with a turnout thought to be higher than any vote in the living memory of the British Isles.
The Yes campaign had ridden a surge of excitement to come neck and neck with the No camp as the finishing line approached, sending nerves coursing the length and breadth of the United Kingdom as it contemplated an uncertain future. In the end the result wasn't even close. The No vote won by a margin of 10 points, 55 percent to the Yes camp's 45.
But it was hailed by both sides as an impressive exercise in democracy, and one which is likely to precipitate a sea change in the governance of the British Isles, as Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland all push for greater devolution of powers from the UK parliament in Westminster.
Scottish referendum: Cameron pledges devolution revolution after no vote
David Cameron has declared a "clear result" in the Scottish independence referendum after Scotland voted by a 10.6-point margin against ending the 307-year-old union with England and Wales.
The prime minister promised a devolution revolution across Great Britain, including votes on English issues by English MPs at Westminster, as he hailed Scotland's decision to remain inside the UK.
"There can be no disputes, no reruns – we have heard the settled will of the Scottish people," Cameron said in a statement outside No 10 Downing Street shortly after 7am on Friday.
Earlier, Scotland's first minister, Alex Salmond, struck a defiant note at a downbeat Scottish National party rally in Edinburgh, saying he accepted Scotland had not "at this stage" decided to vote for independence.
He paid tribute to what he called a "triumph for democratic politics" and said he would work with Westminster in the best interests of Scotland and the rest of the UK – warning the leaders of the three main parties to make good on their promises of enhanced devolution for Scotland.
"We have touched sections of the community who have never before been touched by politics," he said.
Rift widens between Obama, U.S. military over strategy to fight Islamic State
Flashes of disagreement over how to fight the Islamic State are mounting between President Obama and U.S. military leaders, the latest sign of strain in what often has been an awkward and uneasy relationship.
Even as the administration has received congressional backing for its strategy, with the Senate voting Thursday to approve a plan to arm and train Syrian rebels, a series of military leaders have criticized the president’s approach against the Islamic State militant group.
Retired Marine Gen. James Mattis, who served under Obama until last year, became the latest high-profile skeptic on Thursday, telling the House Intelligence Committee that a blanket prohibition on ground combat was tying the military’s hands. “Half-hearted or tentative efforts, or airstrikes alone, can backfire on us and actually strengthen our foes’ credibility,” he said. “We may not wish to reassure our enemies in advance that they will not see American boots on the ground.” ...
The White House and Pentagon have scurried this week to insist there is no hint of dissent in the ranks, though in some cases their efforts have focused only more attention on the issue.
Progressive Caucus Split on Issue of Arming Syrian Rebels
Senate Okays Obama Bill Arming Syria Rebels, Delays Vote on War
In a 78-22 vote today, the Senate passed the same bill the House of Representative passed yesterday approving the Obama Administration’s plan to train and arm a new faction of some 5,000 “vetted and moderate” Syrian rebels.
The plan is to recruit various existing Syrian rebels to go off and train as a new force fitting the US ideal of a “moderate” rebel faction to back, and then in a year send them back to Syria to fight ISIS. ....
The vote is expected to be the only ISIS-war related vote the Senate will address before the November elections, with senators very keen to delay any broad resolution on the war itself until after the election.
France bombs Isis depot in Iraq
French planes have carried out air strikes on Islamic State (Isis) targets in Iraq.
Less than 24 hours after President François Hollande announced he had approved a request from the government in Baghdad for air support, at least two French Rafale planes attacked the insurgents' positions.
A statement from Hollande's office read: "This morning, at 9.40am, our Rafale aircraft carried out a first attack against a logistics centre of the terrorist organisation Daesh [Isis] in the north-east of Iraq. The target was hit and entirely destroyed. Other operations will be carried out in the days to come."
The target was near Tall Mouss in the Zoumar sector of northern Iraq. The French aircraft are based at Al-Dhafra, near Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
France's defence ministry said the destroyed building, containing vehicles, weapons and fuel, had been hit four times. "We were able to do this thanks to the reconnaissance missions we have been carrying out since Monday. The mission was carried out in direct coordination with the Iraqi authorities and our allies in the region," it said. "The threat from this jihadist group is unusual because of its size, its weaponry, its determination and its actions. Our goal is to contribute to peace and security in Iraq and to weaken the terrorists."
Houthi rebels push into Yemeni capital
Houthi rebels have pushed into Yemen's capital Sanaa after clashing with government-allied forces in the city's northwest outskirts.
The advance by the Shia rebels comes after weeks of unrest in the city where the Houthis have blocked the road to the main airport and staged anti-government sit-ins at ministries. ...
In the last few days, the Houthis have been targeting buildings owned by the Sunni Islah party, including the Iman University, which has been surrounded..
"This is something very serious in a country that is divided along sectarian lines," our correspondent said.
"This could push the Islah party to mobilise its own people and that could result in an all-out sectarian war here in the capital." ...
The fighting has further destabilised an impoverished country also struggling to overcome a secessionist movement in its south, the spread of an al-Qaeda insurgency and other threats.
The Houthis, who belong to the Shia Zaidi sect of Islam, have been involved in a decade-long conflict with the Sunni-dominated government, fighting for more control and territory in the north.
Ukrainian president makes emotional plea to Congress for greater military aid
Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko called on the US to provide his forces with military weapons to fight Russia, in an emotional appeal to a joint session of Congress in which he claimed the world was on the edge of a new cold war.
“They [Ukrainian forces] need more military equipment, both lethal and non-lethal … urgently need,” said Poroshenko, whose forces have currently only received non-lethal supplies from Nato. “Blankets and night-vision googles are also important, but one cannot win the war with blankets,” he added. “Even more, we cannot keep the peace with blankets.”
The White House responded to the speech by issuing a factsheet listing other US assistance measures to the Ukraine such as economic aid, but has been reluctant to include weapons, fearing it could never bridge the gulf in military capabilities with Russia and may trigger wider escalation.
Nevertheless, Poroshenko’s aggressive appeal for greater US support was warmly received on Capitol Hill, where he received numerous standing ovations during an address lasting nearly an hour.
Protesting for worthy causes can compromise future employment
When Precious Daniels lay down in front of the Blue Cross Blue Shield building in Detroit on a chilly morning in November 2009, she wasn’t giving her future job prospects much thought.
She was, however, thinking about all of the money the insurance company was spending on its lobbyists. A supporter of the Affordable Care Act, Daniels wanted to make sure that the insurance company knew that she wasn’t OK with its efforts to block Obama’s healthcare law.
“It was a peaceful protest. Me and another young man did a peaceful non-violent act of blocking the doors by lying down and demanding to speak with someone higher up to present our case,” she says.
The police were called, and Daniels was arrested for public trespassing and disturbing public peace. Less than six hours later, she was released on $50 bail. Months later, in January 2010, she showed up for her hearing, only to find out that the cop who made the arrest wasn’t there.
“I was pretty much under the assumption that since the cop didn’t show up that the charge was dropped,” she says. Turns out she was wrong. The arrest, which was reported to the FBI’s master criminal database, popped up weeks later when Daniels applied for a job with the US Census Bureau. She did not get the job.
Daniels isn’t the only one haunted by her activism. According to the Wall Street Journal, nearly one in three adults has a file in the FBI’s criminal database – 77.7m Americans in total. And the number is growing, with 10,000 to 12,000 new names added each day. As Americans take to streets to strike for a range of causes – from climate change to better wages – they take the the risk of having their name added to that database of doom.
Trial restarts for Detroit policeman who shot seven-year-old girl during raid
A member of an elite Detroit police team failed to follow his training when he stormed a house looking for a murder suspect with his finger on the trigger and shot a seven-year-old girl who was asleep on the couch, a prosecutor said Thursday at the start of an involuntary manslaughter trial.
All sides acknowledge that Aiyana Stanley-Jones’ death was not intentional. But prosecutors say Officer Joseph Weekley’s actions in 2010 were a crime because he handled his submachine gun in a reckless manner.
It is Weekley’s second trial, coming 15 months after another jury failed to reach a verdict.
“There’s a lot of noise in this case – the media, finger-pointing – but it comes down to one simple thing: was the defendant grossly negligent when he pulled the trigger on his gun?” prosecutor Rob Moran told jurors.
“You have to use ordinary care in the exercise of your duties,” Moran said. “He didn’t follow ordinary care. … If he didn’t pull the trigger, Aiyana would be alive.”
A New Way Insurers Are Shifting Costs to the Sick
Health insurance companies are no longer allowed to turn away patients because of their pre-existing conditions or charge them more because of those conditions. But some health policy experts say insurers may be doing so in a more subtle way: by forcing people with a variety of illnesses - including Parkinson's disease, diabetes and epilepsy - to pay more for their drugs.
Insurers have long tried to steer their members away from more expensive brand name drugs, labeling them as "non-preferred" and charging higher co-payments. But according to an editorial published Wednesday in the American Journal of Managed Care, several prominent health plans have taken it a step further, applying that same concept even to generic drugs.
The Affordable Care Act bans insurance companies from discriminating against patients with health problems, but that hasn't stopped them from seeking new and creative ways to shift costs to consumers. In the process, the plans effectively may be rendering a variety of ailments "non-preferred," according to the editorial.
The Affordable Care Act bans insurance companies from discriminating against patients with health problems, but that hasn't stopped them from seeking new and creative ways to shift costs to consumers. In the process, the plans effectively may be rendering a variety of ailments "non-preferred," according to the editorial.
The Evening Greens
A People’s Climate Movement: Indigenous, Labor, Faith Groups Prepare for Historic March
While We March for the Climate, Governments Meet with Polluters
As climate activists converge on New York, world leaders will meet behind closed doors with corporate honchos who bank on fossil fuels
What’s different about the upcoming New York climate summit is its unofficial nature, which is meant to provide a “neutral” space where heads of state can have a more productive conversation. But by holding the summit outside of official negotiations, the secretary general has set a table where corporations and banks are on equal footing with governments. Literally.
The one-day climate summit will feature a high-level private sector luncheon where businesses will share actions they are taking “to demonstrate leadership on climate change and measures that governments can take to enable the private sector to develop long-term climate change solutions.”
The guest list includes global oil and gas company Royal Dutch Shell, international coal financier Barclays Bank, and South Africa’s power utility Eskom, which is currently building one of the world’s largest coal-fired power plants with funding from the World Bank. They’ll be joined by more than 130 other companies and banks.
That means our leaders aren’t just dithering at the edges while the planet burns—they’re actively inviting the very companies that are causing this crisis to help fix it.
From Frontlines of Climate Change, an Urgent Challenge to World Leaders
"Out here in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, climate change has arrived," Marshall Islands president Christopher Loeak says in a video address to be released globally on Friday, ahead of Sunday's People's Climate March and next week's UN Climate Summit.
Standing in front of the brick seawall he built to protect his home from the rising ocean, Loeak describes how his atoll nation, population 52,634, "is at the frontline in the battle against climate change."
"The beaches of Buoj where I used to fish as a boy are already under water, and the fresh water we need to grow our food gets saltier every day," he says, as waves crash in the background. "As scientists had predicted, some of our islands have already completely disappeared, gone forever under the ever-rising waves. For the Marshall Islands and our friends in the Pacific, this is already a full-blown climate emergency."
The hidden leaks of Pennsylvania's abandoned oil and gas wells
No one knows exactly how many abandoned oil and gas wells litter Pennsylvania or the US. The state’s Department of Environmental Protection estimates the number is close to 200,000. Some estimates are a little lower, some much higher. Across the country, the number could be more than a million. Most of the wells are relic of of a time when states didn’t bother to regulate much of what happened on private land, including oil and gas drilling, and when most Americans didn’t think twice about a seemingly esoteric issue like the environment.
But hindsight has proven that losing track of hundreds of thousands of oil and gas wells can lead to some problems. For decades, many of the wells have leaked methane into the air, soil and water.
Now, as the state makes its way through the seventh year of a new drilling boom, thanks to the technology of hydraulic fracturing, the old wells are posing an increasing threat. The more companies drill in the state’s Marcellus Shale, the more likely it becomes that the old wells will act as a pathways for newly-released gas to make its way into the earth, streams, and even people’s homes, with potentially deadly results.
The state has launched a renewed effort into finding the wells, but no one, including state regulators, thinks they’ll be able to find most of the wells across the state anytime soon. And even if they did, regulators acknowledge it would cost untold sums and many decades to plug the wells with concrete to ensure the methane stays in the ground.
Alberta's Tar Sands Lobbyist: We're Just One 'Devastating Lac-Mégantic Experience' Away from Keystone Approval
The Alberta tar sands have a new man in Washington.
Alberta MP Rob Merrifield announced on Wednesday he was resigning his seat in parliament to serve as Alberta’s envoy to D.C., where he will focus on gaining approval for the Keystone XL pipeline, among other issues. The appointment is an effort by Alberta Premier Jim Prentice "to get Alberta's resources to key markets," CBCNews reported.
In an interview with the Globe and Mail, Merrifield—who already has extensive contacts in D.C. from his previous role as a representative in Washington for Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government—revealed what he thinks is required to sway American support toward Keystone approval:
Q: What will it take to get Keystone XL approved?
A: Two things. Three more votes in the Senate…
Q: Three? Not four or two?
A: Three [Democrats]. We’re only three short. And it will take a potential—which is devastating—Lac-Mégantic experience in America. [That] would tip it and the Democrats would have no choice and would bail on the President on this one. We’re encouraging [pipeline approval]. We hope the president will assess this and feel the pressure and understand this is in the best interest of America to approve Keystone. So we’ll keep making our case.
Environmentalists have repeatedly pushed back against the idea that oil-by-rail accidents mean we should build more pipelines to transport fossil fuels.
Blog Posts of Interest
Here are diaries and selected blog posts of interest on DailyKos and other blogs.
What's Happenin' Is On Hiatus
The CIA’s Secret Journal Articles Are Gossipy, Snarky, and No Longer Classified
One in four Americans want their state to secede from the U.S.
Who’s Your Daddy, ISIS?
Do we get a turn? (A bit of a rant)
A Little Night Music
Silas Hogan - You're too late baby
Silas Hogan - My Starter Won't Start
Silas Hogan - Ain't It Sad
Silas Hogan - Lonesome La La
Silas Hogan - Hoodooman Blues
Silas Hogan - I'm in Love With You
Silas Hogan - I'm Gonna Quit You Pretty Baby
Silas Hogan - Every Saturday Night
Silas Hogan - Honey Bee Blues
Silas Hogan - Just Give Me a Chance
Silas Hogan - Out And Down Blues
Silas Hogan - So Glad
Silas Hogan - Baby Please Come Back To Me
Silas Hogan - Airport Blues
Silas Hogan - Looking For My Baby
Silas Hogan - Tell Me Baby
Silas Hogan - If I Ever Need You Baby
Silas Hogan - Sweet Little Things You Do
Silas Hogan - Dark clouds rollin'
It's National Pie Day!
The election is over, it's a new year and it's time to work on real change in new ways... and it's National Pie Day. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to tell you a little more about our new site and to start getting people signed up.
Come on over and sign up so that we can send you announcements about the site, the launch, and information about participating in our public beta testing.
Why is National Pie Day the perfect opportunity to tell you more about us? Well you'll see why very soon. So what are you waiting for?! Head on over now and be one of the first!
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