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 r&b and soul singer Little Johnny Taylor. Enjoy!
Little Johnny Taylor - Little Bluebird
“Terrorist', noun: 1. Someone my government tells me is a terrorist; 2. Someone my President decides to kill.”
-- Glenn Greenwald
News and Opinion
White House admits: we didn't know who drone strike was aiming to kill
Broad target of ‘al-Qaida compounds’ suggests 2013 policy change by Obama – requiring ‘near certainty’ that suspect is present – has not been implemented
The targets of the deadly drone strikes that killed two hostages and two suspected American members of al-Qaida were “al-Qaida compounds” rather than specific terrorist suspects, the White House disclosed on Thursday.
The lack of specificity suggests that despite a much-publicized 2013 policy change by Barack Obama restricting drone killings by, among other things, requiring “near certainty that the terrorist target is present”, the US continues to launch lethal operations without the necessity of knowing who specifically it seeks to kill, a practice that has come to be known as a “signature strike”.
As Obama Apologizes for Deaths of Hostages in Drone Strike, Does the U.S. Know Who It Is Killing?
The hostages killed by US drones are the casualties of an inhumane policy
Secrecy, misdirection and lies have shielded much of the public from the realization that US drone strikes have killed countless civilians in the past decade
The only thing surprising about the news that US drone strikes killed one American and one Italian civilian al-Qaida hostage - along with two alleged American members of al-Qaida who were supposedly not targeted - is that the US actually admitted it.
Secrecy, misdirection and lies have shielded much of the public from the realization that US drone strikes have killed countless civilians in the past decade. There is literally no public accountability - not in the courts nor in Congress - for the CIA and the military’s killings outside official war zones. It doesn’t matter who they kill, where, or under what circumstances. ...
For years, the vast majority of drone strikes victims have never been positively identified as terrorists. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, which has the most comprehensive data on drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen, published a study last year showing only 12% of victims were identified as militants and only 4% were identified as members of al-Qaida. This study is backed up by the excellent reporting by McClatchy’s Jonathan Landay, who gained access to years of classified CIA reports to show that the vast majority of drone strike victims were not high level terrorist operatives like the administration claimed.
Pakistan uses hostage killings to underline risk of US drone strikes
The accidental killing of two western hostages by a US drone strike demonstrates “the risk and unintended consequences” of unmanned aircraft, Pakistan has said. ...
“Having lost thousands of innocent civilians in the war against terrorism, Pakistan can fully understand this tragic loss and stands with the families of Weinstein and Lo Porto in this difficult time.”
Pakistan has long objected in public to the use of lethal drone strikes in its troubled north-west tribal region, despite strong evidence that it has consented and even cooperated with the CIA-led campaign at times. In the past, Pakistan has most strenuously objected to the infringement of its sovereignty rather than the risk of innocent civilians being killed as well as militants.
The two men died in a drone strike that targeted a militant compound on 15 January. The revelation came on Thursday when the White House took the unusual step of declassifying information about the top-secret programme.
US officials admitted they were unaware the two men were in the compound despite having had it under prolonged observation.
Pentagon can’t account for $1 billion in Afghan reconstruction aid
The Defense Department can’t account for $1.3 billion that was shipped to force commanders in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2014 for critical reconstruction projects, 60 percent of all such spending under an emergency program, an internal report released Thursday concludes.
The missing money was part of the relatively small amount of Afghanistan spending that was routed directly to military officers in a bid to bypass bureaucracy and rush the construction of urgently needed roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, water treatment plants and other essential infrastructure. About 70 percent of the $100 billion the United States has spent to rebuild Afghanistan during more than 13 years of war went through the Pentagon, with the rest distributed by the U.S. Agency for International Development and other civilian departments.
A yearlong investigation by John F. Sopko, the U.S. special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, found that the Pentagon couldn’t – or wouldn’t – provide basic information about what happened to 6 in 10 dollars of $2.26 billion it had spent over the course of a decade on the Commander’s Emergency Response Program.
Petraeus Gets Wrist Slap for Sharing CIA Intel as Other Leakers Face Harsh Sentences
What kind of retaliation would you expect to receive from the US government if you handed over state secrets to the media or public? Half a lifetime in prison? Being branded a traitor and charged with espionage? A fine and a slap on the wrist?
Any Tom, Dick, or Edward Snowden who leaks classified information on government activities might in the current climate under the Obama administration expect to receive either of the first two penalties — as famed whistleblowers, former soldier Chelsea Manning and ex-CIA analyst John Kiriakou, did, for example, when they were jailed for revealing classified information to, in Manning's case, WikiLeaks' Julian Assange, and, in Kiriakou's, to a freelance reporter.
The third seems like a less likely penalty, but it was essentially what former CIA director and retired general David Petraeus received in a Charlotte, North Carolina, court today after admitting to disclosing eight black books' worth of classified information to his biographer and former lover Paula Broadwell and later lying to investigators about it.
To Send a Message, Judge Sentences David Petraeus to 75% of One Speaking Fee
The only “surprise” of Former CIA Director David Petraeus' sentencing hearing is that, rather than getting slapped with a $40,000 fine, Judge David Keesler more than doubled the fine to send a message.
To $100,000.
According to SpeakerPedia, Petraeus makes upwards of $132,750 for each speech.
In other words, this fine, meant to be especially harsh so as to send a message about the gravity of Petraeus’ crimes, is about 75% of one speaker’s fee for Petraeus.
Iranian Cargo Ships No Longer Heading Toward Yemen
A nine ship Iranian cargo convoy has been the subject of a lot of speculation by Pentagon officials, who figured it may well be carrying weapons, and might conceivably be en route to Yemen.
Today, US officials conceded that the convoy, whose intentions and cargo are unclear, is no longer headed in the general direction of Yemen, and now might be heading toward Iran instead.
Russian DM: US Troops Training Ukrainian Forces Near Conflict Zone
Though they confirmed that the majority of the US troops deployed to Ukraine are indeed training in the far west of the country, Russia’s Defense Ministry claims a small portion of the US force has gone east, near the contested civil war territory, on apparent training operations there. ....
As with US allegations about Russia’s presence in Ukraine, Russia offered no evidence of the US presence in the east. though they claimed footage was being shown of US troops in Mariupol on Ukrainian television.
Keiser Report: Power of alternative media
Comcast confirms merger with Time Warner Cable is off
Company says it will not proceed with plans to create a blockbuster cable giant that would have controlled up to two-thirds of US internet connections
The deal would have brought together the US’s two largest cable companies and given one company control of as much as 57% of the broadband internet market. Internet activists and companies including Netflix had attacked the merger claiming Comcast would have effectively become a monopoly in control of the internet.
In a statement, Brian Roberts said: “Today, we move on. Of course, we would have liked to bring our great products to new cities, but we structured this deal so that if the government didn’t agree, we could walk away.”
The deal had been reported to be doomed on Thursday, given opposition from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). But the $45bn merger appears to have foundered far earlier.
In February the FCC signed off on tough new rules to protect an open internet. Backed by president Barack Obama the rules aim to enshrine the principle of net neutrality – the idea that all information is treated equally online and internet service providers, like Comcast, can not discriminate or prioritise against services or sites.
The US authorities cited concerns that the merger would have given Comcast too great a role as a “gatekeeper” even with the net net neutrality rules. FCC chairman Tom Wheeler said in a statement that the deal would have “posed an unacceptable risk to competition and innovation.”
Mexico's Government Is Brushing Off Report of Another State Massacre of Unarmed Civilians
Word emerged this week that Mexican government forces were likely behind a mass killing of civilians in the state of Michoacán, the third extrajudicial massacre by state forces known in Mexico in less than a year. ...
At least 16 reportedly unarmed civilians were killed during a day-long standoff with federal police on January 6 in Apatzingán, Michoacán. The city is one of many considered a battleground between armed criminal and vigilante groups in Michoacán's "Tierra Caliente" region. ...
If fully confirmed, the Apatzingán killings would be the third massacre committed by authorities and officials in Mexico in less than a year. The list of cases has prompted major human-rights organizations and the United Nations to condemn Mexico's record on extrajudicial killings under the term of President Enrique Peña Nieto.
Freddie Gray rally, day 3: Protesters claim they’re not going to stop
Tensions Boil Over After Baltimore Police Call Protesters 'Lynch Mob'
Demonstrators still seeking answers over the mysterious and troubling death of Freddie Gray, who died of a spinal injury while in the custody of the Baltimore Police Department, circled City Hall on Thursday after Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced that he had called in state troopers to help quell the protests.
Anger seems to be reaching a boiling point. On Wednesday, the Baltimore Police Union issued a statement comparing the peaceful demonstrators to a "lynch mob"—the irony of which has only inflamed tensions.
"While we appreciate the right of our citizens to protest and applaud the fact that, to date, the protests have been peaceful, we are very concerned about the rhetoric of the protests," the Baltimore Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3 said in a statement.
"In fact," the statement continues, "the images seen on television look and sound much like a lynch mob in that they are calling for the immediate imprisonment of these officers without them ever receiving the due process that is the constitutional right of every citizen, including law enforcement officers."
Freddie Gray was not in seatbelt during fatal arrest, police confirm
Freddie Gray had no seatbelt on in the police van where he was placed in handcuffs and later put in leg irons, police said as they confirmed the possible breach of protocol forms part of their investigation into his death. ...
Gray was not belted in, said attorney Michael Davey, who represents at least one of the officers under investigation. But he took issue with the rules. “Policy is policy, practice is something else,” particularly if a prisoner was combative, Davey told the Associated Press. “It is not always possible or safe for officers to enter the rear of those transport vans that are very small, and this one was very small.”
Commissioner Anthony Batts said there were no circumstances under which a prisoner should not be wearing a seatbelt during transport. “He wasn’t wearing a seatbelt and that’s part of our investigation,” Batts told the Associated Press.
Batts also said another man who was in the van during the tail end of Gray’s ride told investigators that Gray was “was still moving around, that he was kicking and making noises”, up until the van arrived at the station.
But Batts was careful to say that the investigation includes “everything the officers did that day”.
Top Democrat Larry Summers: Democrats Are Crazy and Hate Trade
Like almost every elite Democrat, Larry Summers is so enamored of corporate globalization that he’ll say just about anything in its defense — even unfairly trash his own political party.
Summers, who was Treasury Secretary under Bill Clinton, and head of Obama’s National Economic Council, recently declaimed that “one of our major parties [i.e., the Democrats] is opposed to essentially all trade agreements …”
While the base of the Democratic party does strongly oppose the TPP, and opposed the North American Free Trade Agreement in the early 1990s, it’s completely untrue that it opposes any trade agreements. One of main slogans of the opposition to the version of NAFTA that was enacted in 1994 was “Not This NAFTA.”
Regarding the TPP, Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, says, “if we had a trade deal that focused on improving the living standards of the typical worker it would get plenty of support from Democrats.”
Hellraiser Preview
Sherman, set the time machine for tomorrow's Hellraisers Journal which will feature further reporting from H. G. Creel on the investigation made by the Commission on Industrial Relations of the conditions of tenant farmers in Texas.
Tune in at 2pm!
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Trans-Pacific Partnership: bill on trade deals passes key Congress committee
Obama still faces opposition from within Democratic ranks after House Ways and Means Committee votes 25-13 in favour of legislation to fast-track approvals
Legislation to speed trade deals through the US Congress cleared a key committee but low Democratic support signalled a looming battle over a Pacific trade pact central to President Barack Obama’s strategic shift toward Asia.
Democrats and Republicans clashed over proposals to punish countries that manipulate their currencies to gain an export edge and ways to give lawmakers more leverage over trade deals like the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Despite the partisan wrangling, the vote in the House of Representatives’ Ways and Means Committee on Thursday marked an important step forward for the legislation, which would prohibit Congress from amending trade deals and allow for simple yes-or-no votes.
Obama and major US trade partners, including Japan, have said the measure is vital to seal the TPP deal.
A companion “fast-track” bill cleared a Senate panel on Wednesday and both are now ready for action in their respective chambers.
Australian Aboriginal Communities Under Threat of Closure Take Their Case to the UN
Over 150 Aboriginal communities in Australia could be forced to shutdown as the government has cut off services to their land. Now community leaders have taken their fight to the United Nations, calling for the UN rapporteur on indigenous rights to investigate the way Australian governments have handled the closures.
Remote Aboriginal communities across Western Australia (WA) will be cut off from electricity, water and all basic services on July 1 after the federal government cut finding for them, and the WA state government refused to fill the gap. As many as 278 communities are being assessed, and over 150 are scheduled to have their switches flicked off.
"The forced closure of indigenous communities [is] attempting once again to separate people from their land and culture," according to Anthony Watson, chairman on the Kimberley Lands Council (KLC), who spoke to VICE News after appearing at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York. ...
The KLC represents the traditional owners of the lands in the northwestern Kimberley region, home to most of West Australia's remote indigenous communities. They most likely will bear the brunt of the closures, and have decided to take the issue of indigenous community closures to the UN forum — which is running between April 20 and May 1 — after being repeatedly blocked from engaging with the political process domestically. ...
The possibility of a UN investigation would probably earn the ire of Australia's prime minister who said in March that Australians were "sick of being lectured to by the United Nations." The outburst came after the special rapporteur on torture found Australia was violating the rights of asylum seekers, including children, who it has imprisoned indefinitely in detention centers on a number of Pacific islands.
The Evening Greens
Fracking-Induced Earthquakes Highlighted in New USGS Map
The U.S. Geological Survey on Thursday released a landmark new study and map highlighting the location and frequency of earthquakes thought to be caused by human activities such as drilling or hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
In a statement, the USGS said that the sharp increase in earthquake activity in the central and eastern United States since 2009 "is linked to industrial operations that dispose of wastewater by injecting it into deep wells."
The study is the first comprehensive assessment that includes what the USGS calls "induced" earthquakes into its forecast maps, which detail the likelihood of an earthquake occurring within a 50-year period. The maps are used for building codes, insurance rates, and emergency preparedness plans, among other applications.
"These earthquakes are occurring at a higher rate than ever before and pose a much greater risk to people living nearby," said Mark Petersen, Chief of the USGS National Seismic Hazard Modeling Project.
The new map features the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Texas, with Oklahoma displaying by far the greatest number of man-made earthquakes. All of the areas highlighted on the map "are located near deep fluid injection wells or other industrial activities capable of inducing earthquakes," according to the study.
Ellison and Sanders Call on Congress to End Fossil Fuel Subsidies
Despite the clear need to move away from a fossil fuel-based energy system, U.S. taxpayers continue to line the pockets of oil, gas, and coal companies with subsidies and tax giveaways projected to cost more than $135 billion over the next decade.
In a bid to stem what they call "polluter welfare," Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.) and Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison (Minn.) marked Earth Day on Wednesday by introducing new legislation (pdf) that would end tax breaks for fossil-fuel industries, recoup taxpayer-owed royalties for fossil-fuel related practices on public lands and waters, and prioritize federally-supported research for clean energy projects. Further, the measures would also prevent companies from escaping liability for spills or deducting clean-up costs from their taxes.
Yellowstone national park: scientists discover huge magma chamber
Researchers on Thursday said they used a technique called seismic tomography to a produce for the first time a complete picture of the volcanic “plumbing system” at Yellowstone, from Earth’s mantle up to the surface.
Yellowstone, which straddles the borders of Wyoming, Idaho and Montana, and boasts a remarkable array of geothermal features including geysers, mudpots, steam vents and hot springs, sits atop a super volcano that has had three calamitous eruptions. ...
University of Utah geology and geophysics professor Fan-Chi Lin said the blob-shaped lower magma reservoir in Earth’s lower crust was located 12 to 28 miles (19 to 45km) under Yellowstone, with a volume of 11,500 cubic miles (48,000 cubic km), or 11.2 times the volume of Arizona’s Grand Canyon.
This magma chamber is filled with hot, mostly solid and sponge-like rock with portions of molten rock within it. The researchers said about 2% of it was completely molten.
Blog Posts of Interest
Here are diaries and selected blog posts of interest on DailyKos and other blogs.
What's Happenin' Is On Hiatus
That Transjenner moment
A Little Night Music
Little Johnny Taylor - Everybody Knows About My Good Thing, Pt. 1 & 2
Little Johnny Taylor - Open House At My House
Little Johnny Taylor - Somebody's Got To Pay
Little Johnny Taylor - Somewhere Down The Line
Little Johnny Taylor - How can a broke man survive
Little Johnny Taylor - True love
Little Johnny Taylor - Part Time Love
Little Johnny Taylor - If You Love Me (Like You Say)
Little Johnny Taylor - Since I Found A New Love
Little Johnny Taylor - Miracle Maker
Little Johnny Taylor - Double Or Nothing
Little Johnny Taylor - How are You Fixed for Love?
Little Johnny Taylor - You Gotta Go On
Little Johnny Taylor - You Win, I Lose
Little Johnny Taylor - All I want
Little Johnny Taylor - You'll Need Another Favor
Little Johnny Taylor - Zig Zag Lightning
Little Johnny Taylor - I'll Make It Worth Your While
Little Johnny Taylor - Make Love To Me Baby
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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