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.
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Hey! Good Evening!
This evening's music features North Mississippi hill country bluesman Mississippi Fred McDowell. Enjoy!
Mississippi Fred McDowell - Goin Down to the River
"War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses."
-- Smedley Butler
News and Opinion
Clapper Calls for Arming Ukrainian Forces: Who Would That Actually Empower?
It’s easy to forget that just two years ago, President Obama was determined to bomb Syria and remove the Assad regime, and U.S. establishment institutions were working to lay the groundwork for that campaign. NPR began dutifully publishing reports from anonymous U.S. officials that Syria had stockpiled large amounts of chemical weapons; the NYT was reporting that Obama was “increasing aid to the rebels and redoubling efforts to rally a coalition of like-minded countries to forcibly bring down” Assad; Secretary of State John Kerry pronounced that forced removal of Assad was “a matter of national security” and “a matter of the credibility of the United States of America.” ...
But that argument in D.C. was quickly converted from taboo into conventional wisdom the moment it was needed to justify U.S. involvement in Syria. The U.S. is now bombing Syria, of course, but rather than fighting against Assad, the Syrian dictator is (once again) America’s ally and partner. The rationale for the U.S. bombing campaign is the same one Assad long invoked: that those fighting against him are worse than he is because they are aligned with Al Qeada and ISIS (even though the U.S. funded and armed those factions for years and their closest allies in the region continue to do so).
A similar dynamic is at play in Russia and Ukraine. Yesterday, Obama’s top national security official, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, told a Senate Committee “that he supports arming Ukrainian forces against Russian-backed separatists,” as the Washington Post put it. The U.S. has already provided “non-lethal” aid to Ukrainian forces, and Obama has said he is now considering arming them. Who, exactly, would that empower?
Russian President Vladimir Putin has long said that the Ukrainian coup of last year, and the subsequent regime in Kiev, is driven by ultra-nationalists, fascists, and even neo-Nazi factions. The Russian TV outlet RT also frequently refers to “the active role far-right groups have played on the pro-government side in Ukraine since the violent coup of the last year.”
For that reason, anyone pointing out that arming the regime in Kiev would strengthen fascists and neo-Nazis is instantly accused of being a Putin propagandist: exactly like those arguing that the best anti-Assad fighters were al-Qaeda-affiliated were accused of being Assad propagandists (until that became the official position of the US Government). ... But just as was true in Syria: while some involved in the Ukrainian coup were ordinary Ukrainians fighting against a corrupt and oppressive regime, these claims about the fascist thugs leading the fight for the Kiev government are actually true.
Noam Chomsky: After Dangerous Proxy War, Keeping Ukraine Neutral Offers Path to Peace with Russia
Kerry and Lavrov hold 'frank discussions' over Ukraine ceasefire
US secretary of state expected to have used meeting in Geneva to warn Russian counterpart of further sanctions against Russia if ceasefire fails to hold
The US secretary of state, John Kerry, and the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, have met in Switzerland to try to shore-up a shaky two-week old ceasefire in Ukraine.
Kerry said Monday’s talks in Geneva involved frank discussions on Ukraine, coming less than a week after he accused Moscow of lying about its involvement in the conflict, which has claimed 6,000 lives. ...
Kerry was expected to warn his Russian counterpart that the US and EU were already working on further sanctions – on top of those already imposed on Moscow – if it did not stick to the ceasefire deal, American officials said. In congressional testimony last week, Kerry said further US sanctions had already been prepared and suggested they could be implemented soon.
Kerry was also expected to press Lavrov to ensure that Moscow carries out a credible investigation into the killing of the Russian opposition figure Boris Nemtsov. Kerry and other US and western officials have called on Russia to conduct a prompt, thorough, transparent and credible investigation into the murder. Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, has said he will take personal charge of the investigation.
Pentagon Scraps Spring Attack on Mosul; Iraqi Troops Not Ready
After weeks of hyping their planned “spring offensive” against ISIS in Iraq, capped off with the capture of the major city of Mosul, the Pentagon is now said to have taken the plan entirely off the table on the grounds that Iraqi troops probably wouldn’t win.
“We don’t want to do anything until they are ready and can win decisively,” one Pentagon official explained, “they cannot now.” Apparently, Centcom announced the intention to carry out this attack before considering if it was winnable.
Noam Chomsky on How the Iraq War Birthed ISIS & Why U.S. Policy Undermines the Fight Against It
Iraqi Forces Launch Massive Assault to Retake Tikrit from the Islamic State
Iraqi armed forces and pro-government militias today launched a major offensive to retake Tikrit from the Islamic State extremist group, in part of a push to capture swathes of lost territory.
The assault began early on Monday and included government troops and police alongside allied Sunni and Shia militias, according to state television and other local media outlets. Military jets and helicopters were also reported to be involved, as well as around 30,000 troops.
Tikrit, the birthplace of deceased Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, is around 100 miles north of Baghdad and was seized by the Islamic State in June 2014 as the group swept across the north of the country in a shock offensive. Government forces have made several unsuccessful attempts to retake the city since, but this is one of the largest and comes as the Islamic State has suffered defeats elsewhere in recent months, including the nearby oil refinery town of Baiji.
If the assault is successful, it would be a propaganda and tactical victory for Iraqi forces, which are reportedly also preparing for an assault on the country's second city of Mosul after it fell to the Islamic State around the same time as Tikrit.
Defense Firms Expect Increased Spending from Republicans as Republicans Decry Increased Spending
Despite campaign rhetoric promising a smaller government, defense contractors are confident that the new Republican congressional majority will boost spending on their industry.
“Friends, this experiment with big government has lasted long enough,” Mitch McConnell, the Republican majority leader, said on election night last November, echoing a common theme among GOP candidates. McConnell’s party won control of the U.S. Senate and increased its ranks in the House of Representatives in the midterm elections.
For voters promised a leaner federal budget, certain areas, such as food stamps, are already in the crosshairs of legislators. But for the nation’s cyberspying companies and military contractors, “some measure of relief,” is on the way. ...
During the 2014 campaign cycle, defense companies spent over $59 million in disclosed campaign donations, with money spread among candidates of both parties. The real amount spent on the last election, however, is not known to the public given that corporate interests have increasingly disguised their campaign cash through undisclosed non-profits under the 501(c)(6) and 501(c)(4) sections of the tax code.
Earlier this month, President Obama released a budget widely perceived as designed to both boost the defense budget and kill the sequester. The ploy, according to Democratic leaders, is to divide the remaining Republicans wary of defense hikes from hawks in the party to win an overall end to the budget-cutting trend in federal spending. By forging a compromise, spending levels can be increased across the board.
Noam Chomsky: Opposing Iran Nuclear Deal, Israel’s Goal Isn’t Survival — It’s Regional Dominance
To Netanyahu, Peace Is an Existential Threat
To Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, peace between the US and Iran is an existential threat. By now, it should be clear to all: It's not an Iranian nuclear bomb he fears, but a US-Iran deal.
In a tweet earlier this morning, the Prime Minister said as much: "We are strongly opposed to the agreement being formulated between the world powers and Iran that could endanger Israel's very existence."
So we have gone from Netanyahu declaring an Iranian bomb an existential threat to Israel, to a deal between the world powers and Iran an existential threat.
And it's not the specifics of the deal that is the problem, but the very notion of a deal involving the US and Iran. In fact, his Minister of Defense declared that any deal would be a threat.
Netanyahu's hypocrisy is astounding. As I describe in A Single Roll of the Dice -- Obama's Diplomacy with Iran, Netanyahu has always opposed diplomacy with Iran. Not because he feared it would fail, but precisely because he feared it would work.
Netanyahu arrives in US to oppose Iran nuclear deal
Israel and the US are bracing this week for the most strained moment in relations since Barack Obama came to power, after the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, arrived in Washington on Sunday night to urge Congress to oppose a nuclear deal with Iran.
As he flew out of Ben Gurion airport, Netanyahu described his 48-hour trip to Washington as “a fateful, even historic mission”, which is to culminate in a controversial speech to Congress in which he will speak out against an emerging pact with Iran over its nuclear programme.
“I feel deep and sincere concern for the security of Israel’s citizens and for the fate of the state and of all our people,” he said. “I will do everything in my power to ensure our future.” Netanyahu will address the American Israel public affairs committee (Aipac) on Monday, before delivering his speech to Congress on Tuesday.
Dozens of Democrats are threatening to boycott the address and the White House will get its retaliation in first at Aipac on Monday when national security adviser Susan Rice urges Israel to give the benefit of the doubt to the international talks, which are aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons, rather than pursue what she has a called a destructive intervention. ...
More than 30 Democrats have threatened to skip the speech but even those planning to attend are angry that Netanyahu claims to be a “representative of the entire Jewish people” on the issue.
Netanyahu a ‘danger’ to Israel, say 200 security veterans
In an unprecedented move, 200 veterans of the Israeli security services accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday of being a “danger” to Israel.
The new group, called Commanders for Israel’s Security, warned that Netanyahu was doing irreparable harm to the country’s relationship with Washington, just two days before he is due to address the US Congress. ...
With an Israeli election less than three weeks away, Netanyahu has already faced attacks from centrist political rivals and parts of the Israeli media over his clashes with the White House on Iran.
But it is the first time he has faced a large-scale backlash from members of Israel’s security establishment – and the statement of the 200 is likely to be more damaging to Netanyahu’s popular image as a strong leader on security matters.
The group comprises retired officers and those serving in the reserves, all of whom held a rank equivalent to general. Many are household names.
Yaron Ezrahi, a politics professor at Hebrew University and expert on Israeli-US relations, said there was no precedent for what he termed a “rebellion” by so many former senior officials.
“This is a very powerful and distinguished group of former commanders, who are extremely worried about where Netanyahu is taking Israel right now,” he said.
“It is clear they are speaking not only for themselves but also on behalf of many active commanders who are not allowed to speak their mind but share this group’s views.”
Noam Chomsky: Despite Iran Spat, U.S. Support for Israeli Occupation Continues Without Pause
Maduro Says Venezuela Has Detained An American Pilot Accused of Espionage
Venezuela has taken another step toward total isolation from the US by announcing limitations and travel restrictions on American diplomats and tourists — and by reportedly detaining an American pilot accused of espionage.
Venezuela will curb the number of US embassy staff allowed in the country and require tourist visas for American visitors, President Nicholas Maduro declared in a passionate public speech Saturday. Maduro blamed the restrictions on "gringo" meddling and told the crowd that he had detained several American citizens for espionage, including a pilot. Neither he nor the US State Department gave further details on the pilot, the Associated Press reported. ...
Maduro also said US "human rights violators" would be prohibited from entering the country.
"People who have violated human rights and bombarded Iraq, Syria, and Vietnam will not be allowed to get a visa or to enter the country," he said. Maduro also specifically banned George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Marco Rubio and a few other high-profile politicians from entrance.
Conservative Audience Laughs as Former NSA Chief Refers to Himself as an ‘Unrelenting Libertarian’
For a second year in a row, the Conservative Action Political Conference hosted a debate on the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs.
This morning, in a stinging rebuke similar to audience jeering of former Gov. Jim Gilmore’s seething criticism of Ed Snowden at last year’s CPAC, former NSA director Michael Hayden received an earful when he awkwardly declared that he is a libertarian.
Referring to his co-panelist Fox News’ Andrew Napolitano as an “an unrelenting libertarian,” Hayden continued, “So am I.”
As Mediaite pointed out, Hayden was quickly mocked by the audience with sustained booing and at least two people yelling, “no, you’re not!”
One person’s laughter was so loud that it is audible on C-SPAN’s video of the event.
Hat tip Don midwest:
US Court Rules That Kim Dotcom Is A 'Fugitive' And Thus DOJ Can Take His Money
In the long, convoluted and complex legal battles facing Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom, there was some bizarre stuff that happened late last year. As you may recall, early on, the US government seized basically all of his stuff and money. Dotcom has made efforts to get some of it returned, as it's tough to fight the most powerful government in the world when it's holding onto all of your money. Keep in mind from our previous discussions on asset seizure and forfeiture, the government can basically seize whatever it wants, just by claiming it was somehow related to a crime, but the seizure is only a temporary process. If the government wants to keep it, it then needs to go through a separate process known as civil asset forfeiture, which is effectively the government suing the assets. Back in July, the US government moved to forfeit everything it had seized from Dotcom in a new lawsuit with the catchy name USA v. All Assets Listed In Attachment A, And All Interest, Benefits, And Assets Traceable Thereto. As you may have guessed, Attachment A [pdf] is basically all of Kim Dotcom's money and posessions.
Back in November, the DOJ argued that it should get to keep all of Kim Dotcom's money and stuff because he's a "fugitive", which is a bizarre and ridiculous way to portray Kim Dotcom, who has been going through a long and protracted legal process over his potential extradition from New Zealand (though he's offered to come to the US willingly if the government lets him mount a real defense by releasing his money). Dotcom's lawyers told the court that it's ridiculous to call him a fugitive, but it appears that Judge Liam O'Grady didn't buy it.
In a ruling [pdf] that was just posted a little while ago, O'Grady sided with the government, and gave the DOJ all of Dotcom's things. You can read the full reasoning here and it seems to take on some troubling logic. Dotcom's lawyers pointed out, as many of us have, that there is no secondary copyright infringement under criminal law, but the judge insists that there's enough to show "conspiracy to commit copyright infringement." But the reasoning here is bizarre. Part of it is the fact that Megaupload did remove links to infringing content from its top 100 downloads list. To me, that seems like evidence of the company being a good actor in the space, and not trying to serve up more infringing downloads. To Judge O'Grady and the DOJ, it's somehow evidence of a conspiracy. No joke.
Protesters Denounce Detainment and Abuse at Alleged Chicago Police 'Black Site'
An investigation alleging that Chicago police used abusive interrogation techniques at a "black site" warehouse in the city sparked heated protests this weekend by residents demanding the facility be closed.
Using the slogan "Gitmo2Chicago," activists denounced the alleged detainment and abuse of arrestees in Chicago's Homan Square. The Guardian reported last week that police use tactics at the facility akin to those at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. ...
"We're trying to make policy demands as well as just rally," protester Billy Joe Mills, a Chicago attorney, told the Chicago Tribune. "I don't want this happening in my backyard."
Mills and other protesters said they wanted to do their own inspection of Homan Square, a request police have rebuffed. The activists are also seeking a town hall meeting where police would address questions about Homan Square, as well as implementation of a rule that would require police facilities to post information about people's rights, including how to contact a pro bono lawyer.
Activists also noted a newly released report that found the Chicago Police Department paid more than $50 million in settlements related to officer misconduct last year.
LAPD officers shoot and kill homeless man after street altercation
Police officers shot and killed a homeless man in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday in a dramatic confrontation caught on video.
Five officers grappled on a pavement with a man known as Africa before shooting him five times in front of horrified onlookers.
The victim, whose full name has not been made public, was pronounced dead shortly after the encounter, which unfolded just before midday in skid row, a neighbourhood of homeless people and shelters close to the financial district. ...
People at the scene and on social media expressed shock that a scuffle on a busy street in broad daylight ended with lethal force, putting police violence under renewed scrutiny in the wake of protests over fatal encounters in Ferguson, New York and other cities.
From the department of chutzpah:
Tamir Rice 'directly and proximately' responsible for own police shooting death, says city
Boy, 12, was shot dead by officers while holding a toy gun
The death of Tamir Rice was “directly and proximately” caused by the 12-year-old’s own actions, the city of Cleveland has argued in a defense document following a civil claim from the boy’s family. Rice was shot dead by a police officer last November.
When he was shot, Rice was holding a toy gun which police mistook for a real firearm. The incident sparked widespread criticism that officer Timothy Loehmann, who killed Rice, employed a drastic overuse of force.
The city of Cleveland’s defense, filed with the US district court on Friday, argues that both Rice and members of his family are to blame for any damages, injuries and losses arising from the incident. The argument lists 20 lines of defence, including that Rice did not “exercise due care to avoid injury” and that members of his family, including his mother and teenage sister, who have lodged the claim, sustained damages “caused by their own acts”.
Racist Policing in Ferguson Verified by DOJ Report
Results of federal probe to highlight culture of racial bias which led to shooting death of Michael Brown, officials say
The U.S. Justice Department has reportedly concluded that the Ferguson Police Department has for years practiced discriminatory policing tactics, creating a culture of "racial animosity" in the lead up to the shooting death of black teenager Michael Brown last summer.
The findings, which are expected to be released as early as this week, are the conclusion of a months-long federal investigation into the department. Speaking under anonymity, law enforcement officials briefed on the report told the New York Times that the "highly critical" assessment charges the local police department with "disproportionately ticketing and arresting African-Americans and relying on the fines to balance the city’s budget." ...
The Times says that the damning report will likely force the city to "either negotiate a settlement with the Justice Department or face being sued by it on civil rights charges."
HSBC Offshore Tax-Evading Scandal Widening
This has a U.S. political aspect as well that is heating up even as we speak because the prior big scam that we sort of kind of did a little bit about (but very, very little) was when HSBC was disclosed for a full decade to have laundered over $1 billion for the Sinaloa cartel, drug cartel in Mexico, which has decapitated more people than ISIS has at this juncture, and which had such a close relationship with HSBC in Mexico that they had specially designed containers to bring massive amounts of cash. These containers precisely fit the drive-up windows of the HSBC branches so that they could launder the money more efficiently. And nobody was prosecuted for that. And HSBC and Standard Chartered, which is another massive U.K. bank, did that, but they also funded the genocidal folks who are on sanctions lists in the Sudan and allegedly--and I know this is more controversial with many people--assisting Iran to develop nuclear weapons.
In all these cases, they didn't simply sit there and allow frauds to come. These are things where they're actively recruiting these frauds, where they actually had training manuals for their staff to show them how to violate U.S. law and not get caught.
And the person who decided not to prosecute anybody for these frauds is Loretta Lynch. And she, of course, is the nominee to be attorney general of the United States, replacing Eric Holder, who has also refused to prosecute anybody of the elite bankers for these frauds that actually caused the crisis.
Suspicions About the Federal Reserve Spill Out in House Hearing
Fed Chairman Janet Yellen fielded questions last Wednesday before a combative House Financial Services Committee. Tempers flared, fingers stabbed the air, arms waved wildly as House reps expressed pent up frustrations with how the Federal Reserve is handling the economy. ... Congressman Michael Capuano, (D-MA), was incensed that the largest, most dangerous Wall Street banks are still being allowed to fail their living wills. Capuano read a portion of a statement from FDIC Vice Chair, Thomas Hoenig, which stated that these living wills “provide no credible or clear path through bankruptcy that doesn’t require unrealistic assumptions and direct or indirect public support.”
Capuano barked at Yellen “if they don’t meet your requirements at the third try, what you said is…something along the lines that you’d be upset.” Yellen responded that what she had said was “we will find them to be not credible if we do not see progress…” Capuano interrupted in frustration: “Would you break them up?” Yellen responded that the banks would have two years to show that they had made changes.
Visibly showing disgust at the answer, Capuano said: “So five years after Dodd-Frank, they still have potentially three years before there are any serious consequences to prove to you that they no longer offer a threat to the entire U.S. economic system.” Yellen responded that the Fed had put higher capital standards in place. Capuano said that these capital standards have been found insufficient by everyone who studies these matters “except the Fed.”
Hellraiser Preview
Sherman, set the time machine for tomorrow's Hellraisers Journal which will feature reports on the mine disaster in West Virginia. 172 feared dead.
Tune in at 2pm!
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The Administration’s Dishonest Response to Elizabeth Warren’s Attack on Secret Investor Arbitration Panels in Trade Deals
Elizabeth Warren is clearly getting on the Administration’s nerves.
The Massachusetts senator has come out forcefully against the misleadingly named trade deals, the TransPacific Partnership and its ugly sister, the TransAtlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Mind you, these treaties are not about trade. Trade is already substantially liberalized and in keeping, only five of the 29 chapters of the TransPacific Partnership deal with tariffs.
What these pacts are primarily intended to do is strengthen intellectual property laws to help US software and entertainment companies, along with Big Pharma, increase their hefty profits, and to aid multinational by permitting the greatly increased use of secret, conflict-ridden arbitration panels that allow foreign investors to sue governments over laws that they contend reduced potential future profits. I am not making that up.
Warren focused on the so-called investor-state dispute settlement process in a Washington Post op-ed last week. ...
And what was the White House’s response? It was dishonest at a high level and in detail.
On a high level, it asserts that subordinating the jurisdiction of US courts to secret, undemocratically accountable arbitration panels and given them the power to fine the US government for its laws and regulations is not a loss of sovereignity. Help me. ...
Narrowly speaking, suing ex post facto to make a government pay a foreign investor for his future lost profits does not “require” a country to revamp its rules. But who are you kidding? The ISDS mechanism vitiates enforcement.
In addition, the claim that the TPP will strengthen environmental protection is spurious. Wikileaks published a draft of the environment chapter. From Professor Jane Kelsey of New Zealand’s analysis:
The most egregious threat to the environment is the investment chapter, in particular the prior consent by all countries except Australia to investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). The vast majority of investment arbitrations under similar agreements involve natural resources, especially mining, and have resulted in billions of dollars of damages against governments for measures designed to protect the environment from harm caused by foreign corporations. The US is also demanding that contracts between investors and states that involve natural resources also have access to ISDS.
Centrist Dems ready strike against Warren wing
Centrist Democrats are gathering their forces to fight back against the “Elizabeth Warren wing” of their party, fearing a sharp turn to the left could prove disastrous in the 2016 elections.
For months, moderate Democrats have kept silent, as Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Mass.) barbed attacks against Wall Street, income inequality and the “rigged economy” thrilled the base and stirred desire for a more populist approach.
But with the race for the White House set to begin, centrists are moving to seize back the agenda.
The New Democrat Coalition (NDC), a caucus of moderate Democrats in the House, plans to unveil an economic policy platform as soon as this week in an attempt to chart a different course. ...
Publicly, Democratic lawmakers are hesitant to discuss a growing rift.
When asked about disagreements between centrists and the Warren wing, one Democratic member of Congress demurred.
"There's no need to get me in trouble," the lawmaker said, laughing. "I don't need an angry phone call from Bill Clinton." ...
Leaders at three centrist groups — the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI), the New Democrat Network (NDN) and Third Way — arranged a series of meetings with moderates after the disastrous midterm elections to "discuss the future of the party," according to a source close to the NDC.
Keiser Report: Inflation = War
The Evening Greens
Brazil's king of deforestation arrested in drive to beat land clearers
For most of the past six years, Ezequiel Antônio Castanha had seemed a pillar of the community in the small Amazonian city of Novo Progresso. As the owner of a supermarket, hotel and car dealership, he provided more jobs than anyone else. Outside his municipality, few had heard of him. Neighbours described him as a “pessoa normal” (regular guy).
Today, however, the thick-set, middle-aged man sits in jail with a notoriety across Brazil as a Tony Soprano-like character whose businesses were used to launder money from one of the biggest land clearance syndicates ever uncovered.
Castanha was arrested last weekend, along with 15 associates, in what has been hailed as a major breakthrough for environmental enforcement. The local media have described the detainee as the “king of deforestation”. According to the environment ministry Ibama, he and his gang were responsible for about 10% of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon last year. ...
His arrest – after several months on the run – already appears to have made a dramatic difference to land clearance rates. Since last August, when the investigation – named Operation Castanheira – was launched and a warrant was first issued for Castanha’s arrest, deforestation around the BR-163 road has fallen by 65%, according to the ministry. ...
Police wiretaps and court documents seen by the Guardian reveal how the gang’s shell companies hired workers to illegally occupy forest land near federal highway BR-163 in Pará. They then cut down the trees, sold the logs and burn what is left so the properties look like farmland and can be sold on to investors from the wealthy south-west of Brazil. The syndicate registered the land under the names of shell companies to provide a veneer of legality to the sales. Anyone who challenged them was threatened with legal action or violence.
As Antarctica Melts Away, Seas Could Rise Ten Feet Within 100 Years
Rapid melting of Antarctic ice could push sea levels up 10 feet worldwide within two centuries, "recurving" heavily populated coastlines and essentially reshaping the world, the Associated Press reported Friday.
Parts of Antarctica are thawing so quickly, the continent has become "ground zero of global climate change without a doubt," Harvard geophysicist Jerry Mitrovica told AP. ...
"Scientists estimate it will take anywhere from 200 to 1,000 years to melt enough ice to raise seas by 10 feet, maybe only 100 years in a worst case scenario," AP journalists Luis Andres Henao and Seth Borenstein write. "If that plays out, developed coastal cities such as New York and Guangzhou could face up to $1 trillion a year in flood damage within a few decades and countless other population centers will be vulnerable."
Internal Documents Reveal Extensive Industry Influence Over EPA's National Fracking Study
In 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched an ambitious and highly consequential study of the risks that hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, poses to American drinking water supplies.
“This is about using the best possible science to do what the American people expect the EPA to do – ensure that the health of their communities and families are protected,” Paul Anastas, Assistant Administrator for the agency's Office of Research and Development, said in 2011.
But the EPA's study has been largely shaped and re-shaped by the very industry it is supposed to investigate, as energy company officials were allowed to edit planning documents, insisted on vetting agency contractors, and demanded to review federal scientist's field notes, photographs and laboratory results prior to publication, according to a review by DeSmog of over 3,000 pages of previously undisclosed emails, confidential draft study plans and other internal documents obtained through open records requests.
Company officials imposed demands so infeasible that the EPA ultimately dropped a key goal of the research, their plans to measure pollution levels before and after fracking at two new well sites, the documents show.
All told, the documents raise serious questions about the study's credibility and they highlight a certain coziness between the EPA and Chesapeake Energy, one of the most aggressive oil and gas companies in the shale gas rush.
- Latest news and actions from environmental activists, NGOs, scientists, reporters and Daily Kos bloggers on Sundays at 4:30 PM Pacific
- Developing climate related news throughout the week
- ClimateDenierRoundup with links to top climate news weekday mornings at 8 AM Pacific
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Blog Posts of Interest
Here are diaries and selected blog posts of interest on DailyKos and other blogs.
What's Happenin' Is On Hiatus
How the U.S. Paid for Death and Damage in Afghanistan
The PEGIDA Movement Comes to the UK to Rally Against Islam
Netanyahu's supporters (and critics) don't really care what he says to Congress
“I was in a black site”: Chicago’s policing nightmare — and assault on people of color
Chris Hedges - Tariq Ali: The Time Is Right for a Palace Revolution
Greek Kolotumbas Increasing at Disconcerting Rate
Hat tip Azazello -
The Reckless Lies of War Mongers
Trans Stories
A Little Night Music
Mississippi Fred McDowell - John Henry
Mississippi Fred McDowell - You gotta move
Mississippi Fred McDowell - Shake 'Em On Down
Fred McDowell - Write Me A Few Lines
Mississippi Fred Mcdowell - Kokomo Me Baby
Big Mama Thornton and Mississippi Fred McDowell - Me and My Chauffer
Mississippi Fred McDowell - Baby Please Don't Go
Mississippi Fred Mcdowell - Good Morning Little School Girl
Mississippi Fred McDowell - Freight Train Blues
Mississippi Fred McDowell And Jo Ann Kelly - When I Lay My Burden Down
Fred McDowell - Bull Dog Blues
Mississippi Fred McDowell - The Train I Ride
Mississippi Fred McDowell - Blues Maker
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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