Welcome! "The Evening Blues - Weekend Edition" is a casual community diary (published Saturday & Sunday, 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.
|
Hey! Good Evening!
This evening's music features blues singer Shemekia Copeland. Shemekia is the daughter of the late great blues guitarist and singer Johnny Copeland. Enjoy!
I was hostile to the white man…We preferred hunting to a life of idleness on our reservations. At times we did not get enough to eat and we were not allowed to hunt. All we wanted was peace and to be let alone. Soldiers came…in the winter…and destroyed our villages. Then Long Hair (Custer) came…They said we massacred him, but he would have done the same to us. Our first impulse was to escape…but we were so hemmed in we had to fight. After that I lived in peace, but the government would not let me alone. I was not allowed to remain quiet. I was tired of fighting…They tried to confine me… and a soldier ran his bayonet into me. I have spoken.
Crazy Horse – Sioux
News and Opinion
Obscure transparency.
Obama secretly extends US combat operation in Afghanistan
President Barack Obama has secretly signed an order that expands the United States’ direct combat role in Afghanistan throughout 2015, the New York Times reported.
Signed over the last few weeks, the secret order permits American forces to continue to battle the Taliban and other militants that pose a threat to either the Afghan government or US personnel. According to the Times, US jets, bombers, and drones will be able to aid ground troops – be they Afghan or US forces – in whatever mission they undertake.
Under the order, ground troops could join Afghan troops on missions, and airstrikes could be carried out in their support.
If true, this marks a significant expansion of America’s role in Afghanistan in 2015. Previously, President Obama said US forces would not be involved in combat operations once the new year begins. He did say troops would continue training Afghan forces and track down remaining Al-Qaeda members.
Obama signed the secret order after tense debates within the administration. The military reportedly argued that it would allow the US to keep the pressure on the Taliban and other groups should details emerge that they are planning to attack American troops. Civilian aides, meanwhile, said the role of combat troops should be limited to counter-terror missions against Al-Qaeda.
Now where have we heard this before? What's next, trotting out the Domino Theory again, oh wait!
US advisers spread out through Iraq.
While they will support local troops on front lines, US personnel will only fight in self-defence, Iraqi officials say.
Baghdad - The US security personnel sent to help Iraqi forces combat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) will be on the front lines alongside Iraqi troops and Kurdish forces, but will not engage in fighting unless for self-defence, Iraqi officials said.
Iraq is facing its worst security crisis since US troops left the country in December 2011, as ISIL fighters have seized large tracts of territory in the country's north and west. US President Barack Obama approved sending up to 3,100 American security personnel back to Iraq to work closely with Iraqi troops against ISIL.
"Those advisers will be deployed in five fortified military bases, which are scattered in the areas that witness military operations across the country, including the Kurdistan region," Saad al-Hadithi, a spokesperson for Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abbadi, told Al Jazeera.
"Their tasks will be limited to training and rehabilitating the Iraqi troops with respect to the US weapons [that the Iraqi government has] ... and to suggest appropriate plans," Hadithi said. "There will be no fighting missions."
Well come on all you big strong men,
Uncle Sam needs your help again.
ISIL launches fierce assault on Iraq's Ramadi.
Major offensive under way in capital of Anbar, where only a few small areas of province remain under government control.
The Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (ISIL) has launched a major attack on the Iraqi city of Ramadi, capital of the troubled western province of Anbar, security officials have said, resulting in the killing of at least 20 soldiers.
The assault came as Joe Biden, the US vice-president, arrived in Istanbul on Friday with a view to push Turkey to step up its role in the international coalition's fight against the ISIL.
Al Jazeera's Imran Khan, reporting from Baghdad, said pro-government forces had called in reinforcements to push back the offensive on Ramadi that was coming from four sides.
"Ramadi is a crucial city for ISIL as it attempts to consolidate its grip over all of Anbar province," Khan said.
He's got himself in a terrible jam,
Way down yonder in _ _ _ _ _ _ (fill in the blanks)
Civilian deaths in Iraq air strikes reported.
Women and children dead in coalition action in Anbar, shortly after alleged ISIL killings of Sunni Arab tribe members.
A total of eight civilians, including at least two women and four children, have been killed in an air strike that hit residential homes in Anbar province during an offensive against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), medical sources say.
Five others were injured in Saturday's raids, which hit a house in the city of Heet, sources told Al Jazeera.
A number of claims have been made regarding responsibility for the deaths, with a Sunni rebel group saying on Twitter that the Iraqi army had carried out the attack.
The group is not affiliated to the government, or to ISIL fighters operating in the area.
The house was completely destroyed, and it is possible there are undiscovered bodies under the rubble, they added.
Darren Wilson to resign from Ferguson Police Department, reports say
Officer Darren Wilson has reportedly initiated the process of resignation from the force to take pressure off his fellow officers and the department, according to media reports. Michael Brown's father, meanwhile, has called for calm.
Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson is reportedly in the final stages of a decision to resign from the St. Louis suburb’s force, even as America anxiously awaits the decision of a Missouri grand jury on whether to charge Mr. Wilson in the August killing of black teen Michael Brown.
Wilson has told his colleagues that he would resign from the Ferguson Police Department, sources told CNN, in order to take pressure off his fellow officers and the embattled police force, which endured nationwide criticism after its heavily armed military response to the violent protests following the shooting in August.
Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson also told The Washington Post on Thursday that Wilson, a six-year veteran of the force with a clean disciplinary record, most likely would not return to the department even if the grand jury decides not to indict.
Video Here.
FBI arrests two would-be Ferguson bomb suspects: law enforcement source
(Reuters) - Two men suspected of buying explosives they planned to detonate during protests in Ferguson, Missouri, once a grand jury decides the Michael Brown case, were arrested on Friday and charged with federal firearms offenses, a law enforcement official told Reuters.
Word of the arrests, reported by a number of media outlets Friday, came ahead of the grand jury's widely anticipated decision on whether the white police officer who fatally shot Brown, an unarmed black teenager, should be indicted on criminal charges.
The Aug. 9 slaying of 18-year-old Brown under disputed circumstances became a flashpoint for U.S. racial tensions, triggering weeks of sometimes violent protests in the St. Louis suburb by demonstrators calling for Wilson's arrest.
He was instead placed on administrative leave, and Ferguson has been bracing for a new wave of protests, especially if the grand jury chooses not to indict Wilson. An announcement was believed to be imminent.
Police refuse to rule out use of rubber bullets and teargas in expected Ferguson protests
Submitted by: NCTim
Authorities around Ferguson, Missouri, have refused to make significant concessions to proposed “rules of engagement” from protesters, in advance of unrest expected to follow an announcement on whether a white police officer will be charged for killing a black 18-year-old.
In a formal response from police chiefs to a 19-point set of requests from a coalition of groups demonstrating over the death of Michael Brown, authorities agreed only to basic demands such as prioritising “preservation of human life”.
Requests for police to rule out using armoured vehicles, teargas and rubber bullets, as they did repeatedly in answer to unrest in August, were rejected by police chiefs. So was a call for journalists and legal observers not to be considered participants and to “be allowed to do their jobs freely”.
“If protesters are not violent, police will not be aggressive,” Francis Slay, the mayor of St Louis, said at a press conference in Clayton. “But if some protesters turn violent or threatening, police will respond to keep everyone safe.”
Protests are expected following the announcement of a decision by a state grand jury on whether officer Darren Wilson, who shot Brown dead on 9 August, should face criminal charges. There is a widespread assumption among demonstrators that he will not.
Western sanctions are aimed at regime change in Russia – Lavrov
The ultimate goal of the anti-Russian sanctions imposed by some Western nations is to stir public protests and oust the government, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
“Western leaders publicly state that the sanctions must hurt [Russia's] economy and stir up public protests. The West doesn’t want to change Russia’s policies. They want a regime change. Practically nobody denies that,” he told a leading think-tank in Moscow.
Lavrov said that the tensions between Russia and the West had been brewing for years before the Ukrainian crisis, adding that now the Europeans had decided to go for all-or-nothing and play chicken with Russia. But at least the positions have been made clear, Lavrov said.
Obama to spare 5M from deportation
WASHINGTON — Spurning furious Republicans, President Barack Obama unveiled expansive executive actions on immigration Thursday night to spare nearly 5 million people in the U.S. illegally from deportation and refocus enforcement efforts on "felons, not families."
The moves, affecting mostly parents and young people, marked the most sweeping changes to the nation's fractured immigration laws in nearly three decades and set off a fierce fight with Republicans over the limits of presidential powers.
In a televised address to the nation, Obama defended the legality of his actions and challenged GOP lawmakers to focus their energy not on blocking his actions, but on approving long-stalled legislation to take its place.
"To those members of Congress who question my authority to make our immigration system work better, or question the wisdom of me acting where Congress has failed, I have one answer: Pass a bill," Obama said, flexing his presidential powers just two weeks after his political standing was challenged in the midterm elections.
For the First Time Ever, a Prosecutor Will Go to Jail for Wrongfully Convicting an Innocent Man
H/T: Lady Libertine
Today in Texas, former prosecutor and judge Ken Anderson pled guilty to intentionally failing to disclose evidence in a case that sent an innocent man, Michael Morton, to prison for the murder of his wife. When trying the case as a prosecutor, Anderson possessed evidence that may have cleared Morton, including statements from the crime's only eyewitness that Morton wasn't the culprit. Anderson sat on this evidence, and then watched Morton get convicted. While Morton remained in prison for the next 25 years, Anderson's career flourished, and he eventually became a judge.
In today's deal, Anderson pled to criminal contempt, and will have to give up his law license, perform 500 hours of community service, and spend 10 days in jail. Anderson had already resigned in September from his position on the Texas bench.
What makes today's plea newsworthy is not that Anderson engaged in misconduct that sent an innocent man to prison. Indeed, while most prosecutors and police officers are ethical and take their constitutional obligations seriously, government misconduct--including disclosure breaches known as Brady violations--occurs so frequently that it has become one of the chief causes of wrongful conviction.
What's newsworthy and novel about today's plea is that a prosecutor was actually punished in a meaningful way for his transgressions.
GOP says GOP fulla shit on Benghazi
GOP-led House report debunks Benghazi allegations
Submitted by: enhydra lutris
Debunking a series of persistent allegations hinting at dark conspiracies, the two-year investigation of the politically charged incident determined that there was no intelligence failure, no delay in sending a CIA rescue team, no missed opportunity for a military rescue, and no evidence the CIA was covertly shipping arms from Libya to Syria.
In the immediate aftermath of the attack, intelligence about who carried it out and why was contradictory, the report found. That led Susan Rice, then U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, to inaccurately assert that the attack had evolved from a protest, when in fact there had been no protest. But it was intelligence analysts, not political appointees, who made the wrong call, the committee found. The report did not conclude that Rice or any other government official acted in bad faith or intentionally misled the American people.
The House Intelligence Committee report was released with little fanfare on the Friday before Thanksgiving week. Many of its findings echo those of six previous investigations by various congressional committees and a State Department panel. The eighth Benghazi investigation is being carried out by a House Select Committee appointed in May.
The attacks in Benghazi killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, foreign service officer Sean Smith, and two CIA contractors, Tyrone S. Woods and Glen Doherty. A Libyan extremist, Ahmed Abu Khatalla, is facing trial on murder charges after he was captured in Libya and taken to the U.S.
Activist group: US-led Syria strikes kill over 900
Submitted by: enhydra lutris
BEIRUT (AP) — A prominent Syrian activist group monitoring its civil war says U.S.-led airstrikes in the country have killed over 900 people since September, many fighters of the militant Islamic State group, though some civilians as well.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Saturday that the U.S.-led airstrikes have killed 785 militants of the extremist Islamic State group. It said the strikes also have killed 72 militants of Syria's al-Qaida's affiliate, the Nusra Front.
The Observatory, which observers believe provides the conflict's most accurate death tolls, said the U.S.-led strikes also killed 52 civilians, including eight women and five children.
A U.S.-led coalition began striking the Islamic State group in late September in Syria after targeting the group in Iraq.
Activists say Syria's civil war has killed over 200,000 people.
‘Middle class would go to jail for what big corporations are allowed to do’
US corporations have enough profit to grease the wheels of Washington DC to have legislation that benefits them, and their workers which are becoming fewer and fewer, are shouldering the tax burden, independent journalist Charlie McGrath told RT.
The Institute for Policy Studies and the Center for Effective Government issued a report on November 18 which revealed that seven of the 30 largest US corporations paid more money to their CEOs last year than they paid in US federal income taxes. The seven companies cited were Boeing Co, Ford Motor Co, Chevron Corp, Citigroup Inc, Verizon Communications Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co and General Motors Co. The study says that CEOs at each of the listed companies were paid an average of $17.3 million.
RT: The recent findings show that seven big corporations not only paid their CEO's more than they paid in taxes, but also had an effective tax rate of negative 2.5 percent. Does that mean that it's not the companies who pay money to the government but the opposite?
Charlie McGrath: Yes, absolutely. These seven companies that were signaled out in the report from the Center for Effective Government showed exactly that these massive corporations have been very profitable. In fact, these corporations account for ten percent of the GDP in this country which is record high. But at the exact same time the employees that work for these companies have become a smaller and smaller part of the GDP. For example, Ford with $149.4 billion in revenue paid its CEO Alan Mulally $23.2 million, and at the same time the company paid even without this revenue, they got a $19 million tax refund. Yes, these powerful corporate interests, they have enough profit in order to grease the wheels of Washington DC to have legislation that benefits them, and their workers which are becoming fewer and fewer are shouldering the tax burden.
U.S. Firms Accused of Enabling Surveillance in Despotic Central Asian Regimes
U.S. and Israeli companies have been selling surveillance systems to Central Asian countries with records of political repression and human rights abuse, according to a new report by Privacy International.a new report by Privacy International. The U.K.-based watchdog charges that the American firms Verint and Netronome enable surveillance in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Verint’s Israeli arm provides those countries with monitoring centers “capable of mass interception of telephone, mobile, and IP networks,” the report says, as does the Israeli company NICE systems. Verint also enlisted California-based Netronome to give Uzbek agents the ability to intercept encrypted communications, Privacy International says, though it’s not clear whether the program was carried out successfully.
The report provides a broad picture of surveillance in a region that is marked by repression. Kazakhstan has been condemnedcondemned for laws restricting free speech and assembly, flawed trials, and torture. As for Uzbekistan, Human Rights Watch bluntly characterizes the country’s human rights record as “atrocious.” Privacy International includes testimony from lawyers, journalists, and bloggers in Uzbekistan who had transcripts of private Skype calls used against them in trial, or had interactions with intelligence officers that made it clear the authorities had access to their private communications.
Billy Gibbons sings blues, for Czech hero, Havel, on Capitol Hill
WASHINGTON — It wasn’t the usual kind of event at the U.S. Capitol.
When dignitaries from the House and the Czech Republic came together Wednesday to honor the country’s late president, Vaclav Havel, they heard from the predictable political suspects in the ornate National Statuary Hall.
But they also heard from ZZ Top front man, Billy Gibbons.
The Texas blues guitarist, resplendent in a sequined black jacket, full red beard and electric guitar, belted out some signature songs, a way of recognizing Havel’s artistic background, his love of American music and his country’s strong connection to Texas.
6.8 earthquake jolts central Japan
A 6.8-magnitude earthquake has hit central Japan at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres, Japan’s Meteorological Agency reports. No tsunami warning has been issued.
The quake struck at 22:08 local time (13:08 GMT) and was centered in the Nagano Prefecture on the main island of Honshu, about 16 kilometers northeast of the city of Omachi.
Several people have reported injuries to Nagano fire department, Japan’s Kyodo news agency stated. One woman has been reported killed and 15 have been wounded. Some of the injured are under a collapsed building. Three homes have collapsed and four people are still unaccounted for, according to the agency.
An official from the village of Ogawa, near the epicenter of the quake, told Japan’s NHK broadcaster that the residents felt a long shake and saw documents falling off the shelves.
According to the USGS, the quake was registered at a magnitude of 6.2 on the Richter scale.
After 7 feet of snow, Buffalo prepares for flooding from Big Melt
The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for Sunday to Wednesday in Buffalo. A 132-mile stretch of the state Thruway (I-90) that had been closed since Tuesday was reopened.
After a three-day onslaught that dumped a historic 7 feet of snow on the Buffalo area and killed at least 12 people, the sun came out, but so did predictions of flooding caused by rain and temperatures of up to 60 degrees.
Weather Service meteorologist Jon Hitchcock said there might be trouble with drainage as snow and the uncollected autumn leaves underneath blocked catch basins.
"The biggest flood threat would be on Monday when temperatures are at their warmest," he said. "There could be general urban flooding."
Video Here
California storms bring scattered rain, mudslides
Submitted by: enhydra lutris
This photo provided by the Glendora Police Department shows a driveway covered in mud in a neighborhood of the suburb of Glendora, Calif. on Friday, Nov. 21, 2014. Rare Southern California rains triggered mudslides in an area of the Los Angeles-area foothills scorched bare by a wildfire earlier this year. Los Angeles County Fire Department Dispatch Supervisor Robert Diaz says a 4-foot-high flow of debris hit a home in the suburb before dawn.
GLENDORA, Calif. (AP) — Scattered California storms triggered mudslides in Los Angeles-area foothills scorched bare by a wildfire and dumped about an inch of much-needed rain in the San Francisco Bay Area.
A vehicle was half-submerged by a 4-foot-high debris flow that filled a driveway and hit a home before dawn in the LA suburb of Glendora, said Robert Diaz, Los Angeles County Fire Department dispatch supervisor.
Crews used shovels and wheelbarrows to clear the muck before heavy equipment was brought in.
Mud flowed onto several residential streets, but no closures were announced.
Earlier this year, the Colby fire burned nearly 2,000 acres of brush in the hills above Glendora.
The National Weather Service issued a flash-flood warning for the Colby area early Thursday as the storm dumped hail and heavy rain at some locations across the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains from Pasadena to as far east as Claremont.
Former Amazon employee set for hunger strike at Seattle headquarters
A former Amazon employee embroiled in a legal battle with the online retailer is set to go on hunger strike in an attempt to force the company to change business practices which he calls “deceptive and fraudulent”.
Kivin Varghese plans to start his vigil on Tuesday outside Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle in order to raise awareness of what he alleges are poor business practices and employee treatment by the company.
“I think if Amazon customers took a few minutes to look at this and see how Amazon treats employees they’d be shocked,” he said. “My goal with stepping it up with a hunger protest is really to drive more awareness of their practices and really what happens when people buy from Amazon. Every dollar that is spent at Amazon is going to fund this bad behaviour.”
Varghese is in the midst of a court case with the company, in which he claims wrongful discharge after he worked on an advertising platform for Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet. Amazon has called for the claims to be dismissed, stating in court documents that Varghese was an “underperforming employee who had a difference of opinion with his employer”.
European Parliament may propose Google break-up in draft resolution
(Reuters) - The European Parliament is preparing a non-binding resolution that proposes splitting Google Inc's (GOOGL.O) search engine operations in Europe from the rest of its business as one possible option to rein in the Internet company’s dominance in the search market.
European politicians have grown increasingly concerned about Google's and other American companies' command of the Internet industry, and have sought ways to curb their power. A public call for a break-up would be the most far-reaching action proposed and a significant threat to Google's business.
The draft motion does not mention Google or any specific search engine, though Google is by far the dominant provider of such services in Europe with an estimated 90 percent market share. Earlier on Friday, the Financial Times described a draft motion as calling for a break-up of Google.
Google declined to comment."
Dick Cheney buffer overflow.
How Hackers Could Stop Your Car...or Even Your Pacemaker
An ever-increasing number of our consumer electronics are Internet-connected. We’re living at the dawn of the age of the Internet of Things. Appliances ranging from light switches and door locks to cars and medical devices boast connectivity in addition to basic functionality.
The convenience can’t be beat. But what are the security and privacy implications? Is a patient implanted with a remotely controllable pacemaker at risk for security compromise? Vice President Dick Cheney’s doctors worried enough about an assassination attempt via implant that they disabled his defibrillator’s wireless capability. Should we expect capital crimes via hacked Internet-enabled devices? Could hackers mount large-scale terrorist attacks? Our research suggests these scenarios are within reason.
The Evening Greens
Weekend Edition Editor - Agathena
As Walmart 'Wages War on Workers and Earth,' Green Groups Join Labor Fight
"As people deeply committed to environmental and climate justice, we condemn Walmart as a climate criminal and we stand side-by-side with Walmart’s workers."
With Black Friday now one week away, Walmart workers and their allies are gearing up for what they predict will be the largest strike in the retailer's history.
Among the tens of thousands of people and hundreds of organizations that have vowed to support Walmart's low-wage workers are a growing number of voices from the climate justice movement, calling for broad resistance to the corporation's violations of workers' rights and the environment.
"As people deeply committed to environmental and climate justice, we condemn Walmart as a climate criminal and we stand side-by-side with Walmart’s workers organizing for $15 per hour, full time work, and the respect they deserve," said Brooke Anderson of Movement Generation's Justice and Ecology Project on a press call Friday. "At the same time that Walmart wages war on its workers, it wages war on planet Earth."
Increased crop yield means more CO2, higher pollution level
Increased crop yield means more CO2, higher pollution level. But this study is going to be contested in the days to come.
A latest report has said that the increase in productivity and yields of crops has also an adverse impact on the world atmosphere. They study has found that the increased farm productivity is increasing the carbon dioxide level substantially. So it is not just mills and vehicles and other electronic products like refrigerators that up the pollution, even crops too increase the pollution level in the atmosphere.
I am sure scientists who have been working to find the answer of reducing the CO2 level from the atmosphere must be feeling puzzled over the latest study. But to be true despite the fact that they add to the carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere, they can breathe easy as it is not going to be very substantial and no match of other sources contribute.
Farms across the world have become all the more efficient, more especially in the West. Now there is substantially higher yield compared to anytime in the past. But these increased crops yield also means that they emit more CO2 in the air. Lead author Mark Friedl of Boston University says “Over last 50 years, area of croplands in the Northern Hemisphere has been relatively stable, but production has intensified enormously. The fact that this land area can affect the composition of the atmosphere is an amazing fingerprint of human activity on the planet”.
This study is going to be very interesting and is inviting lots of attention. Mark Friedl says that they have closely monitored how the carbon dioxide level goes up in the Northern Hemisphere during summers year after year. He says that this is caused due to the fact that these plants take CO2 to convert sunlight into food. Liz Blood of National Science Foundation while elaborating the findings of the latest study says, “This study shows the power of modeling and data mining in addressing potential sources contributing to seasonal changes in carbon dioxide. It points to the role of basic research in finding answers to complex problems”. Blood is the program director for the National Science Foundation’s Macro Systems Biology Program. This organization also funded the study.
3 Billion Gallons of Highly-Toxic Fracking Waste Dumped Into California Drinking Water Supply
We’ve warned for years that fracking pollutes our scarce drinking water. As the Emmy-winning documentary Gasland demonstrates, fracking is polluting water all over the country.
A study published in the journal Ground Water predicts that the highly-toxic fluids used in fracking can migrate to aquifers within a few short years.
California love: Water thieves just can’t get enough
LOS ANGELES — Something rare quickly becomes valuable. So it should come as no surprise that the latest target of thieves in a state suffering a historic drought is water.
California thieves are cutting pipes and taking water from fire hydrants, storage tanks, creeks and rivers to get their hands on several hundred gallons of the precious commodity.
They drive in the thick of night with a 1,000-gallon tank on the back of a pickup and go after the liquid gold wherever they can find it. Some have hit the same target twice in one night, filling up their tank, unloading it into storage and returning for a second fill-up.
Counties, mostly in the more rural northern parts of California, are reporting a surge in thefts and illegal diversions of water from wells and streams. The prime suspects are illegal marijuana farmers desperate for water before the fall harvest, which would explain the surge in water thievery over the summer.
Environmental Activist Near Death After 65-Day Hunger Strike in Trinidad
Wayne Kublalsingh is on an epic 65-day hunger strike over a plan to build a four-lane highway through a wetlands wildlife habitat in Trinidad and Tobago. Emaciated and struggling to stand by the side of his bed, Kublalsingh told VICE News that his self-starvation is "a form of peaceful social war," against the government of the Caribbean nation.
Nearing death, Kublalsingh was recently hospitalized in critical condition. Local newspapers in Trinidad have suggested he won't survive the week.
"I'm doing this absolutely for Trinidad and Tobago," Kublalsingh said. He explained that the hunger strike is, "against the economic crimes committed against the people, against white collar criminality and the government's failure to account for and justify its actions."
The issue at the heart of Kublalsingh's crusade is a highway that is supposed to cut through a UNESCO-listed archaeological heritage site and 13 rural communities on the southern tip of Trinidad, an island off the northeast coast of Venezuela. The government of Trinidad and Tobago has already bought 300 homes using "compulsory purchase orders" — forcefully removing residents from farmlands to make way for a section of the road that critics say could easily go elsewhere.
Blog Posts of Interest
Here are diaries and selected blog posts of interest on DailyKos and other blogs.
What's Happenin' Is On Hiatus
Breaking: Kinder Morgan Pipeline Protestors
US combat operations extended in Afghanistan
The latest evil from Goldman Sachs
Freedom Rider: Jackson, Sharpton, Holder and Ferguson
Hellraisers Journal: Mother Jones Calls Notice to Suffering Wives & Children of Colorado Strikers
Kenya: Religious charlatan scandal hurts faith
Trans and Incarcerated
"And We Are All Mortal" - The Unrealized Potential of a Charismatic Political Leader (Updated)
A Little Night Music
Shemekia Copeland - My Turn Baby
Shemekia Copeland - Too Much Traffic
Shemekia Copeland - It's 2 A.M.
Shemekia Copeland & Ruth Brown - If He Moves His Lips
Shemekia Copeland - Ghetto Child
Shemekia Copeland - I Always Get My Man
Shemekia Copeland - Rivers Invitation
Shemekia Copeland - Your Mama's Talking
Shemekia Copeland - Honey Do That Voodoo
Shemekia Copeland - Never Going Back to Memphis
Shemekia Copeland - Big Brand New Religion
Shemekia Copeland - It Don't Hurt No More
Shemekia Copeland - Somebody Else's Jesus
BB King & Shemekia Copeland - Every Day I Have the Blues
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!
|