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.
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Hey! Good Evening!
This evening's music features various groups & artists performing music that is
not quite country. Enjoy!
New Riders of the Purple Sage - Glendale Train
Note: We here at the Evening Blues Weekend Edition often step beyond the boundries of traditional blues music. Joe shikspack so adeptly covers the blues genre in his weekday series that we at the Weekend Edition would find most trad blues offerings we could serve up as being redundant. Therefore Joe, in magnanimous manner has allowed us to color outside of the lines and we appreciate and thank him for that. Almost all modern American music has it's roots in traditional blues music anyway, so ultimately we do not stray far from the mother language. As Muddy Waters sang:
The Blues Had a Baby and They Named It Rock and Roll, let us add to that list (jazz, country, bluegrass, ragtime, folk, gospel, soul, swing and rhythm and blues) and all subsets thereof. -- JtC
"In order to rally people, governments need enemies. They want us to be
afraid, to hate, so we will rally behind them. And if they do not have
a real enemy, they will invent one in order to mobilize us.": Thich
Nhat Hanh - Vietnamese monk, activist and writer.
News and Opinion
The Evening Blues
We dig up what the MSM buries.
Contributors:
enhydra lutris
Migrant lorry deaths: Four suspects in Hungary court
Four suspects have appeared in court in Hungary in connection with the deaths of 71 migrants whose bodies were found in a lorry in Austria.
The three Bulgarians and an Afghan were arrested in Hungary. Austria is expected to seek their extradition.
The victims - 59 men, eight women and four children - were found in the abandoned vehicle on Thursday.
They are thought to be mainly Syrians. Officials said they had probably died of suffocation two days earlier.
Bangkok bomb: Thai police arrest suspect in connection with blast
Thai police have arrested a foreign man in connection with the bomb attack on a Hindu temple in central Bangkok that killed 20 people, the first potential breakthrough in a case that appeared to have stalled.
Police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri said the arrested man was 28 years old and thought to be part of a network that carried out the deadly attack two weeks ago as well as a smaller explosion that caused no injuries one day later.
u201cOur preliminary investigation shows that he is related to both bombings,u201d he said.
Police found parts of bomb-making materials, such as detonators, and a metal pipe, apparently meant to be used as a bomb.
Libyan militia captures smugglers allegedly responsible for migrant deaths
A militia in Libyau2019s most notorious smuggling town has made a rare show of force against the areau2019s influential gangs, capturing some of those alleged to be responsible for the drowning of up to 300 people on Thursday.
The Masked Brigade, a militia that says it upholds law and order in Zuwara in the absence of a functioning Libyan state, seized three men this weekend.
It accused them of responsibility for the sinking of a boat carrying between 400 and 500 people hoping to reach Europe.
The boat began to sink while still in Libyan waters, and the bodies of many of those who drowned washed up on the seashore close to Zuwara.
Turkish jets attack IS Syria targets
Turkey has carried out its first air strikes as part of the US-led coalition against the Islamic State group.
Turkey's foreign ministry said its jets began attacking IS targets across the border in Syria late on Friday.
Turkey has stepped up its operations against the militant group in recent weeks, granting US jets access to a key air base close to the Syrian border.
"Our fighter aircraft together with warplanes belonging to the coalition began as of yesterday evening to jointly carry out air operations against Daesh targets that constitute a threat against the security of our country," the foreign ministry said in a statement, using a pejorative term for IS.
Colombia, Venezuela recall ambassadors amid dispute - SFGate
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) u2014 Venezuela and Colombia each recalled their ambassadors for consultations on Thursday amid a dispute over the closing of a major border crossing and a weeklong crackdown on Colombian migrants and smugglers.
In a televised address, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said he had recalled the country's ambassador from Venezuela, complaining that Venezuelan authorities hadn't let Colombia's Ombudsman enter a border city.
The diplomatic protest by Santos, more than a week into the crisis, came hours after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro appeared on national TV and accused his counterpart of undermining reconciliation efforts by telling lies. Until then, Maduro had centered his verbal attacks on Santos' arch rival and predecessor, Alvaro Uribe.
For CCP, stock meltdown takeaway isn't "interference is bad"; It's "why didn't interference work?"
By Peter Lee on August 27, 2015 in AT Opinion, China
I suppose much of the journo commentariat was born since 2008 and therefore has no memory of TARP, Too Big To Fail, or Jamie Dimon rolling around naked inside a gigantic vat of taxpayer money, so there has been a considerable amount of handwring about how the CCP defiled the purity of the stock market by flinging a trillion or so RMB at the markets in a faltering attempt to moderate the collapse of share prices on the Shanghai exchange.
"Purity of the stock market." Chew on that a while.
I expect the poohbahs of Zhongnanhai are more concerned with the interesting question of why a few phone calls and a trillion RMB were unable to stem the decline in a neat, orderly way, and it turned out the best way to handle the rout was to stand back and let the stock market crater.
And, no, I don't think the red emperors' conclusion is "cmarkets are awesome and all-powerful and the CCP must accept its new role as humble handmaiden to high finance."
Al-Jazeera trial: Egypt gives journalists three-year sentence
Three al-Jazeera journalists convicted in Egypt of "spreading false news" have been sentenced to three years in prison at their retrial in Cairo.
Canadian-Egyptian Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian Baher Mohamed were led away from court after the verdict.
Australian Peter Greste was deported back to Australia earlier this year and was on trial again in absentia.
The three are accused of aiding the banned Muslim Brotherhood group but they strenuously deny the allegations.
Tens of thousands rally in Malaysia, demand Najib resign
Eileen Ng, Associated Press Writer Updated 4:46 am, Saturday, August 29, 2015
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) u2014 Tens of thousands of Malaysians wearing yellow T-shirts and blowing horns defiantly held a major rally in the capital Saturday to demand the resignation of embattled Prime Minister Najib Razak.
The crowds were undeterred by a heavy police presence after authorities declared the rally illegal, blocked the organizer's website and banned yellow attire and the logo of Bersih, the coalition for clean and fair elections that's behind the weekend rallies.
Najib has been fighting for political survival after leaked documents in July showed he received some $700 million in his private accounts from entities linked to indebted state fund 1MDB. He later said the money was a donation from the Middle East, fired his critical deputy and four other Cabinet members as well as the attorney general investigating him.
Protesters in yellow Bersih T-shirts and headbands converged at five locations and were marching to areas surrounding the landmark Independence Square, where celebrations to mark Malaysia's 58th National Day will be held Monday. Police estimated Saturday's crowd at 25,000 while Bersih says 200,000 participated.
Turkey and China: Merging realpolitik with idealism
Turkey and China: Merging realpolitik with idealism
By AT Editor on August 28, 2015 in AT Opinion, China, Middle East
(From the Turkey Analyst)
By Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak
Despite the importance and improvement of multi-dimensional Turkish-Chinese relations, Turkish decision makers have had difficulties reconciling their Pan-Islamic ideological rhetoric and the demands of realpolitik. While Ankara recognizes the need to form good relations with China, its self-assigned role as the protector of "oppressed Muslims" has, so far, trapped Turkey between realpolitik and the purism of ideology. Having acknowledged this clash, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has moved to neutralize the discord that has existed between Turkey's national interests and its Pan-Islamic ideological rhetoric. Erdogan's new China strategy promises to pave the way for solid, stable relations between Turkey and China.
BACKGROUND: The bilateral relations between Ankara and Beijing u2013 formally initiated in 1971 -- have recently taken a serious blow. False rumors have surfaced and spread on Turkish social media that China has prohibited the Muslim Uyghurs in the Xinjiang province from fasting during the holy month of Ramadan, and force-fed them to prevent them from keeping the commandments of Islam. As Uyghurs are considered to be a part of the extended Turkic family, the Turkish government faced intense pressure at home from Pan-Turkist nationalist circles.
The riots and unrest in the Turkish streets -- including the targeting of a Chinese restaurant and Korean tourists (who were mistakenly identified as Chinese) in Istanbul-- could not go unaddressed by the government. This was compounded by the execution in effigy of China's former leader Mao Zedong in the main square in the city of Balu0131kesir; following these events, Ankara was pushed to initiate a new constructive strategy towards preserving Turkey's vital interests in Beijing.
In order to break the ice between the two countries, President Erdogan went to Beijing on July 28, 2015. Pro-government media used the announcement of the visit for the political benefit of the president, and sought to increase support for him among Turkish nationalists. A headline from the newspaper Yeni Akit read: "Erdogan's surprise visit to China! He is going to warn them."
Despite this show of strength at home, in his statements to the press, Erdogan adopted a conciliatory stance, and tried to alleviate the tense atmosphere by declaring that the claims of a Chinese ban on Ramadan are baseless.
Trade will soar from Asia to North America and Europe in next five years: IHS
Trade will soar from Asia to North America and Europe in next five years: IHS
By AT Editor on August 26, 2015 in Asia Times News & Features, China, Southeast Asia
A slowing Chinese economy, stock crash and the Greek debt crisis won't dent a huge jump in trade from China and Southeast Asia to North America and Europe in the next five years, according to an analysis by IHS.
The global insight firm forecasts that China's trade will continue to increase by more than 5% per year between 2015 and 2020. The world trade service of the IHS maritime & trade unit says this positive medium-term trade growth comes despite more recent setbacks caused by the marked economic slowdown in China and weaker growth among other emerging markets in the current and near-term.
"These increases will not be the double-digit rises seen before the 2008 global economic crisis," said Krispen Atkinson, principal analyst at IHS Maritime & Trade. "However, an increase of over 30% in the next five years underscores China's intent to remain a new trade hub-and spoke lynchpin for the rest of the economic world, cementing the Maritime Silk Road Initiative via China and Asia within the emerging market universe."
Court blocks deportation of man targeted by Taliban
By Bob Egelko on August 28, 2015 6:16 PM
When his brother-in-law was murdered by the Taliban, a Pakistani named Muhammad Islam spoke out against the terrorist organization at a memorial service, and was joined by another man named Jameel. Shortly afterward, the Taliban kidnapped both men. The Pakistani army freed them, but the Taliban tracked Jameel down in Karachi, on the other side of the country, killed him and took responsibility in a radio broadcast.
Islam, knowing he too was targeted, fled to the United States in 2008, leaving behind family members who move constantly to avoid the Taliban. He entered California with a legal visa but applied for asylum two months later, saying he faced kidnapping and death if returned to Pakistan.
U.S. immigration courts turned him down and ordered him deported, saying he would be safe and under the army's protection in some parts of the country. Those rulings were overturned Thursday by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, which found no evidence that the army could protect anyone targeted by the Taliban.
Obama defends Arctic drilling decision on eve of Alaska climate change trip
Barack Obama has been forced to defend his decision to allow the hunt for oil in the last great wilderness of the Arctic, on the eve of an historic visit to Alaska intended to spur the fight against climate change.
Extreme Arctic sea ice melt forces thousands of walruses ashore in Alaska
Read more
The three-day tour - which will include a hike across a shrinking glacier and visits to coastal communities buffeted by sea-level rise and erosion - was intended to showcase the real-time effects of climate change.
But a defensive White House was forced to push back against campaigners who accuse Obama of undermining his environmental agenda by giving the go-ahead to Shell to drill for oil in the Chukchi Sea, only weeks after rolling out his signature climate change plan.
Obama, in his weekly address on Saturday, insisted there was no clash between his climate change agenda and Arctic drilling.
America was beginning to get off fossil fuels, he said. But Obama went on: "Our economy still has to rely on oil and gas. As long as that's the case, I believe we should rely more on domestic production than on foreign imports."
HELLRAISERS PREVIEW
Hellraiser Preview
Sherman, set the time machine for tomorrow's Hellraisers Journal, which will feature "To Save Joe Hill" by Eugene Debs in the American Socialist. Debs warns, "The days are few."
Tune in at 2pm!
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US and Turkey not helping Syria, let the yuan fluctuate, Japan's WWII apology, US not able to handle challenge of climate change
A round-up of global commentary for the Aug. 31, 2015 weekly magazine.
By Monitor editors, Staff August 29, 2015
The Evening Greens
The Evening Greens Weekend Editor: enhydra lutris
Hawaii First to Harness Deep Ocean Temperatures for Power - Scientific American
A new power plant offshore converts the temperature difference between sea surface and deep waters into electricity
By Malavika Vyawahare and ClimateWire | August 27, 2015
A small but operational ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) plant was inaugurated in Hawaii last week, making it the first in the world. The opening of the 100-kilowatt facility marked the first time a closed-cycle OTEC plant will be connected to the U.S. grid. But that amount of energy production can power only 120 Hawaiian homes for a year, a tiny drop in the ocean for the island state's own energy needs. What promise OTEC holds for other regions is even less certain.
The United States entered OTEC research in 1974 with the establishment of the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority (NELHA). But after decades of investment in the development of OTEC, this new Navy-bankrolled project is still seen by many as only a way to test the process rather than secure the place of OTEC as a viable renewable technology.
The Fingerprints of Sea Level Rise
From: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Published August 26, 2015 02:49 PM
The Fingerprints of Sea Level Rise
When you fill a sink, the water rises at the same rate to the same height in every corner. That's not the way it works with our rising seas.
According to the 23-year record of satellite data from NASA and its partners, the sea level is rising a few millimeters a year -- a fraction of an inch. If you live on the U.S. East Coast, though, your sea level is rising two or three times faster than average. If you live in Scandinavia, it's falling. Residents of China's Yellow River delta are swamped by sea level rise of more than nine inches (25 centimeters) a year.
These regional differences in sea level change will become even more apparent in the future, as ice sheets melt. For instance, when the Amundsen Sea sector of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is totally gone, the average global sea level will rise four feet. But the East Coast of the United States will see an additional 14 to 15 inches above that average.
NASA data reveals global sea levels have risen by 3 inches in 23 years
by ClickGreen staff. Published Thu 27 Aug 2015 13:24, Last updated: 2015-08-27
Global sea levels have risen nearly 3 inches in less than 25 years, with some locations around the world rising more than 9 inches, according to NASA's latest satellite data.
An intensive research effort now underway, aided by NASA observations and analysis, points to an unavoidable rise of several feet in the future.
"Given what we know now about how the ocean expands as it warms and how ice sheets and glaciers are adding water to the seas, it's pretty certain we are locked into at least 3 feet of sea level rise, and probably more," said Steve Nerem of the University of Colorado, Boulder, and lead of the Sea Level Change Team. "But we don't know whether it will happen within a century or somewhat longer."
On warmer Earth, most of Arctic may remove, not add, methane (ISME Journal)
Posted on August 14, 2015
By Morgan Kelly, Office of Communications
In addition to melting icecaps and imperiled wildlife, a significant concern among scientists is that higher Arctic temperatures brought about by climate change could result in the release of massive amounts of carbon locked in the region's frozen soil in the form of carbon dioxide and methane. Arctic permafrost is estimated to contain about a trillion tons of carbon, which would potentially accelerate global warming. Carbon emissions in the form of methane have been of particular concern because on a 100-year scale methane is about 25-times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat.
However, new research led by Princeton University researchers and published in The ISME Journal in August suggests that, thanks to methane-hungry bacteria, the majority of Arctic soil might actually be able to absorb methane from the atmosphere rather than release it. Furthermore, that ability seems to become greater as temperatures rise.
Plastic particles found in cosmetics
From: Plymouth University
Published August 26, 2015 10:12 AM
Plastic particles found in cosmetics
Everyday cosmetic and cleaning products contain huge quantities of plastic particles, which are released to the environment and could be harmful to marine life, according to a new study.
Research at Plymouth University has shown almost 100,000 tiny "microbeads" - each a fraction of a millimetre in diameter - could be released in every single application of certain products, such as facial scrubs.
The particles are incorporated as bulking agents and abrasives, and because of their small size it is expected many will not be intercepted by conventional sewage treatment, and are so released into rivers and oceans.
News
UN climate talks: the sticking points
29 Aug 2015
AFP / Philippe Huguen
Dozens of issues have stymied negotiations on a global climate pact, now into their third decade under the auspices of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
The 195-nation UN climate talks resume Monday when rank-and-file diplomats gather in Bonn to lay the foundation for a global climate pact to be inked in December.
Dozens of issues have stymied the negotiations, now into their third decade under the auspices of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Here are the key points of contention:
MITIGATION
All countries agree that greenhouse-gas emissions which drive warming must be curbed. But by how much?
The UN has endorsed a ceiling of two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-industrial levels.
But poor countries and low-lying, small-island states -- which will be hit first and hardest by climate change -- say 2.0 C is not good enough, and favour a tougher goal of 1.5 C (2.4 F).
Timing is important too: To have a 50/50 shot at 2 C, global CO2 emissions must peak by 2025 and drop dramatically thereafter.
By 2050, humans must no longer be adding CO2 to the atmosphere.
Blog Posts of Interest
Here are diaries and selected blog posts of interest on DailyKos and other blogs.
Hellraisers Journal: Eugene V. Debs: "Joe Hill is a poet, a writer of songs, a man of soul."
Transgender medical crises
The Chicago hunger strike for Dyett High School: Why it matters to us all
A Little Night Music
The Rolling Stones - Far Away Eyes - OFFICIAL PROMO
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Hey Joe Live
Freddy Fender - La Paloma Blanca
The Kingsmen - Long Tall Texan - 1963 45rpm
Leadbelly - John Hardy
Grateful Dead - Me & My Uncle - 12/30/77 - Winterland (OFFICIAL)
Bob Marley - I Shot The Sheriff
Bob Dylan - Knocking on Heavens door (Movie version 1973 - Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid)
Texas Tornados, Who Were You Thinking Of?, Gruene Hall, 1992
Leadbelly - When I Was a Cowboy
Lloyd Price - Stagger Lee
Grateful Dead - Jack Straw (Europe '72)
The Coasters - Along Came Jones
Texas Tornados, Is Anybody going to San Antone, Gruene Hall, 1992
Kinky Friedman and and the Texas Jewboys - Asshole from El Paso
Johnny and the Hurricanes - Red River Rock
The Fugs - Wide Wide River
WAR - Cisco Kid was a friend of mine
Keith Richards & Willie Nelson & Friends - Dead Flowers ( Live)
Freddy Fender - Wasted Days and Wasted Nights
Los Lobos - 'Carabina .30-.30' 1988
Jeff Beck Jimmy Page Eric Clapton, Steve Windwood, Bill Wymann Tulsa Time