Thursday, April 28, 2022

Jack White

 Remember the White Stripes? SPIN magazine has a feature on Jack White:

 

“I’ve always had this — and my friends know this about me — dark fantasy about breaking my leg and having to be in the hospital where I'm not allowed to move,” White says. “I fantasized about some outside influence forcing my hand to do something I would not normally do.”

White became so immersed in the furniture world, he even took time to check out his “competitors,” including Target and Walmart. (“They have interesting lamps and chairs — stuff they didn’t have when I was a kid.”) When he drove with his girlfriend from Nashville to Detroit in late 2020, White went somewhere he’d never been before: IKEA. Intrigued by a billboard off the freeway, they went to see what the fuss was about.

“It’s got interesting stuff going on!” he says adamantly, gesticulating with his arms for emphasis. “The way they direct you [through the store is interesting], how you have to walk this path through. And I gotta say, for the price range, there’s some pretty cool stuff.”

But home decor couldn’t fully scratch White’s itch: White’s decision to step away from songwriting barely lasted eight months.

When he arrived in Michigan, White immediately hunkered down at his Kalamazoo hideout, writing music for the first time in over a year. He was now in a new mental space, partly due to a severely restricted diet. With the exception of coffee and water, White adhered to strict long-term fasting, inspired by Upton Sinclair’s 1911 book The Fasting Cure. The text opened his eyes to fasting “being a cure for lots of things.” He’d go five days at a time without eating, which inspired some of the best work of his career.

“I thought I hadn't written a song in a year and a half because I’d been on tour with the Raconteurs [before that],” he says of his time in Michigan. “It was getting to be like, ‘Now this is a good time to go and spend by myself alone.’ And I thought, ‘If I'm going to do that, maybe I should write a couple songs while I'm there.’”

As the studio sessions continued, everything seemed to be taking a different shape than anticipated. Unlike White's signature loud-quiet balance on previous albums, there was something distinctly different about the sessions that stretched into 2021.

The electric songs that would comprise Fear of the Dawn, his Beefheartian thunderbolt of an album, spilled out. Initially, White envisioned these tracks, dominated by roaring guitars, on one eclectic album with those he penned in Michigan. But they “started slowly getting into their own world.”

“It was obvious,” White explains. “The playlists on my computer were all the heavy ones and all the soft ones. I would try to take a soft one, put it in and juxtapose, but it wasn’t working like it usually did. They were too different. In a way, the harder ones stayed together and the softer ones stayed together. Not just that they're quieter and softer, but they actually worked together. They had a nice flow to them.”

 

Daniel Kohn wrote the feature.

 New music from Jack?

 That's his new video "What's The Trick?"

 

Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

 

 Thursday, April 28, 2022.  The bloom's falling off Barack's rose and the persecution of the Kurds gets some international attention.



Building on comments Rebecca ("follow it back to barack") and Elaine ("Joe Biden continues to hurt other Democrats") made last night, let's note how much self-inflicted prominent Democrats have done to the party.

Due to his extreme youth upon being first sworn in as president, it was always doubtful Barack Obama was going to be able to cast through to a natural death on the whorish press he got.  A historical reckoning was due and would likely be forthcoming many years before his state funeral.  

But Barack appears to be hastening his own reckoning.  


Joe Biden's questionable actions as vice president with regard to raking in money via Hunter Biden's corrupt deals?  We would not be talking about it now if Barack hadn't fixed the process so that Joe got the nomination.  


The press had willfully and gladly looked th other way in real time.  They had pronounced Barack scandal free -- ignoring many problems that were visibile all along and I'd certainnly include releasing Iraqis that had murdered US soldiers in a trade for the dead bodies of some British soliders.  That was not in the interest of the US and it did not play well with the families.  THE NEW YORK TIMES, to their credit, did front page that.  No one else did.  But they -- and CNN -- made it a one day story.  Most Americanns still don't know about that to this day.


Or that the terrorist group who secured the release of their members them publicly mocked Barack to the Iraqi media repeatedly.  


Barack knew Joe wasn't up to the job which is why he refused to back Joe for the longest and why his mouth pieces made sure to hype others.  At one point, Barack was even willing to back Elizabeth Waren for the nomination.  But in his desire to stop Bernie Sanders, Barack conspired with others to deliver the blow to Bernie.  


And his thanks?  We now know just how corrupt his administration was.  We now know that Joe Biden was a part of Hunter's uethical schemes, that Joe was part of pay-to-play and granted White House access and face-to-face meetings to ensure that his family raked in millions.


Joe is the face of corruption.


And that's another reason that Anie Apples and all the rest don't want to get serious about Hunter today.


She's at THE ATLANTIC today but that's not where she was then.  And she wasn't overing reality back then.  She was whoring -- as a cheap whore will do.


For eight years they sat on their asses ad looked the other way over and over as Barack broke promises, as Barack ad his administration broke ehtical rules, as contempt of Congress was rewarded by Barack.


Someone lied to Cogress?  Well, Barack loves James Clapper.  And we all know David Peatraeus' downfall was not because of that affair and shared sectrets, it was because David was being asked to run against Barack in 2012.  


There was always more than enough scandal to see if we had a functioning press.


Barack pimped Joe and secured the nomination for him.  And that's bad when you grasp how unfavorable Joe has become to the American people.  There's a reason you should be careful before writing a letter of recommenation for someone -- your support then reflects on you.  


But the other reason that Barack should be kicking himself regarding Joe is that all the rot of his administration may be exposed.  He brought it on himself.


And he's so unpopular himself today.


I twas always seen as the 'right' thing to support Barack.  So people lied.  They thought it was the socially acceptable thing to do.


When the corporate media is telling you that there is only good and evil, and we started noting this over a decade ago, and digging through the polling data to show the conflicting responses, you're not going to get honest responses.


The edia has repeatedly demonized Repubolicans for many, many years.


It's not enough that they have a different opinion than I do, they, the voters, have to be demonized.  They're evil.  They're racist, they're stupid, they're this, they're that.


That sort of garbage shouldn't take place.  But if it does, it should be from the rival major party.  


Instead, it came from what was supposed to be neutral and impartial media.


It's not just their lies about Iraq that tarnished the media's reputation.


It's garbage like Brian Stelter who pretends to do a media critique for CNN.  Howie Kurtz used to do that job.  And I could criticize him for being elitist.  But he was striving to be impartial when it came to partisan outlooks.  Not so with Brian Stelter whose mind must be as grotesque as his body.  


The corporate media has refused to take accountability for their consuences of their actions, they refuse to even acknowledge their actions.  


Their lack of accountability only further breeds mistrust in them from healthy portion of the public -- throughout the political spectrum.  


And, yes, a Special Counsel is needed.  And, Elaine is right, it is hurting the Democrats as they go into the mid-terms.  Don't be surprised, as Americans continue to face inflation, if the GOP doesn't use Hunter against incumbent Democrats in various races.  'Joe was getting fat while you're struggling to pay bills.  Unlike ____, if you elect _____, we will hold the corrupt accountable."


Turning to Iraq.  The beggar media has followed corporate media i dismissing any interest in the Turkish government's ongoing bombing of Iraq, setting up military bases in Iraq and targeting the people of Kurdistan.  Silence.  This has been going on for years.  THE NATION hasn't been interested.  JACOBIN hasn't been interested.  It's not a 'lifestyle' piece so you know THE PROGRSSIVE won't write about it.  DEMOCRACY NOW and all the rest of the beggars have refused to cover it.


That may change.  Their British poster boy has weighed in.


Ex leader of the #UK Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn condemns UK arms sales to Turkey for use against the Kurds and condemns Turkey's invasion of Iraqi #Kurdistan. https://medyanews.net/labours-jeremy-corbyn-turkey-should-not-invade-any-neighbouring-country/











  • 8 hours ago 


  • Shaun Yuan (ALJAZEERA) reports:


     Turkey’s latest military operation in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq began early last week, with Ankara launching an air and ground offensive targeting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in pockets of Duhok province on April 18.

    These operations against the PKK, an armed group fighting for the autonomy of Turkey’s southeast and considered a terrorist organisation by Ankara, have become a regular occurrence over recent years. However, they are growing more controversial in Iraq, and not just in areas administered by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

    “This operation is basically trying to intervene and establish networks of observation, monitoring, and bases,” Sardar Aziz, an analyst and former adviser to the KRG parliament, told Al Jazeera. “This time Turkey is planning to stay.”

    Only days before Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered the launch of the operation, dubbed Claw-Lock, he met with the KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, an apparent signal that the KRG was supportive, to a certain extent, of the operation. Erdogan has also said that the Iraqi government cooperated with the operation.


    Demonstrations took place in Kurdistan.


    Demonstrators gathered on Tuesday by the #UnitedNations offices in Iraq's #Kurdistan regional capital Erbil to protest against Operation Claw-Lock, a military operation launched by Turkey last week. https://medyanews.net/iraqi-kurds-in-erbil-protest-against-turkeys-cross-border-operation/


    This is not about the PKK.  It is about targeting Kurds and the Turkish government makes that clear with their actions outside of Turkey as well as inside.  They persecute the Kurds and they've done it for decades.  The PKK is a rsponse to this persecution -- a detail a whorish media always 'forgets' to point out.  The PKK did not rise up because things were perfect for the Kurds in Turkey.


    The following sites updated:





    Wednesday, April 27, 2022

    Jack Johnson

     Ryan Cooper (Honolulu's BAY NEWS 9) reports:


    Jack Johnson has announced two upcoming "hometown" concerts at the Tom Moffatt Waikiki Shell in July.

    The shows on July 29 and 30 will benefit Johnson's Kokua Hawai'i Foundation, which supports environmental education in Hawaii's schools and communities.

    The singer announced the shows in an Earth Day message on social media. 

    "Can't wait to be in person to play music with you together, singing along together," he said in a recorded video.

    Tickets will go on pre-sale beginning May 3 for Kōkua Hawaiʻi Foundation paid members and volunteers, followed by a Hawaii locals only presale on May 5.

     

    KHON2 adds:

     

    All proceeds from the shows will benefit the Kōkua Hawaiʻi Foundation, founded by Kim & Jack Johnson, which has been supporting environmental education in Hawaii schools and communities since 2003.

    Kōkua Hawaiʻi Foundation main school programs include ʻĀINA In Schools, a farm to school initiative connecting children to their local land, waters and food to grow a healthier Hawaiʻi, 3R’s School Program empowering students to engage and educate their school community about the 3R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle) and Kōkua Hawaiʻi Foundation Field Trip Grants helping to bring students to outdoor sites where they can experience hands-on learning about Hawaiʻi’s environment.

     

    What's your favorite Jack Johnson song?  I think, for me, it's always going to be "Better Together."

     

     

    Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

     

     Wednesday, April 27, 2022.  Barack Obama calls for censorship, Turkey continues to carry out War Crimes in Iraq and has now attacked the Iraqi military.


    Starting with Margaret Kimberley (BLACK AGENDA REPORT):


    On April 21, 2022 former president Barack Obama gave a speech at Stanford University on the subject of social media. In typical Obamaesque fashion, he didn’t state his point plainly. He used a lot of time, more than an hour, to advocate for social media censorship. He only used that word once, in order to deny that it was in fact what he meant, but the weasel words and obfuscation couldn’t hide what Obama was talking about.

    In 2016 when Hillary Clinton lost to Donald Trump, the candidate she thought easiest to beat, Obama first presented his lament about “disinformation” and “fake news.” His real concern was that Trump’s victory proved that millions of people paid no attention to or even scorned, corporate media. No major newspaper endorsed Donald Trump, the television networks enjoyed the ratings increases he created, but ultimately believed that a second Clinton presidency was in the offing. None of them knew that some 60 million people would go to polling places and give their votes to Trump. Hence the disquiet in November 2016, when Obama realized that having buy-in from establishment corporate media meant little if their narratives were rejected by people across the country.

    Now Obama has to live with his handiwork in Ukraine. He and Joe Biden began the crisis when they partnered with right wing forces there in 2014 and overthrew the elected president. They are struggling to prop up the Ukrainians with billions of dollars while also trying to keep the American people from asking why they don’t have child tax credits, minimum wage increases, or student loan debt relief.

    Obama’s answer is to cut off debate.


    Humble is not a word anyone would use to describe Barack Obama.  And shame?  He feels none.  He lied bold faced to the American people.  He insisted he would end veterans homelessness and gae a date for it.  And he didn't meet it.  But the whorish media that he's defending wanted you to know that he tried.  He really, really tried.  No, he didn't.


    And he didn't end it and that was the promise.  The fact checkers never went after his lie. 


    They should have but they gave him a pass on everything.  The way they refuse to cover all the gaffes Joe Biden repeatedly makes -- that hockey visit to the White House was a nightmare -- because let's not show the world just how senile and unfit for office Joe is.


    But the rest of the world, even the media in the rest of the world, is not as vested in protecting Joe.  They're doing compilations of Joe and noting how he doesn't know where he is and doesn't know who he's speaking to and even something as simple as stepping to the side so someone else can speak requires the dottering fool to seek help and assistance.


    But back to Barack.


    He put his name to a really bad documentary for NETFLIX.  Really bad.  This was the thig that they gave him millions of dollars for.  And the whorish press was quick to do their job, comparing him to a actual filmmaker of documentaries, a man over ninety who had been following nature and the environment for years. 


    They pretended it was amazing.


    It was garbage (Ava and I covered it in "TV: The Myths") and, as Stan noted, it never made it above number three and didn't last a week in NETFLIX's own self-reported top ten ("NETFLIX needs to cancel contract with Obama, stockholders need to demand it").  NETFLIX knew it was a dog.  That's why they provided Ava and I with it so we could do a review before it came out.  NETFLIX knew it was crap


    So he's taken a huge amount of money from NETFLIX to do a job he's not qualified for and he's already failed out of the gate.


    With all the troubles NETFLIX currently has, they can't afford anymore of these vanity projects in which a creator or 'creator' (Barack) is given a ton of upfront money and then leave the streamer having produced nothing that warranted any type of contract let alone a big money one.  


    The stockholders need to be demanding answers as to why Barack was given that deal to begin with since he had no background in creating content.  NETFLIX didn't owe him a gold watch and pension and stockholders need to demand answers and oversight on these huge money deals that keep getting made only for the creator to fail to deliver.  


    Turning to Iraq, where the government of Turkey continues to carry out War Crimes as it illegally bombs the Kurdistan and has ground troops there and has set up base camps.   THE NEW ARAB reports:


    Kurdish political observers warn that Turkey's strategy behind its cross-border military incursions into the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR) is not about simply fighting the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), but rather is "to occupy the region and revive the dream of the Ottoman Empire." 

    On April 18 Turkey launched "Operation Claw-Lock" against the PKK in the Metina, Zap and Avasin-Basyan areas of the Iraqi Kurdistan region. Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar on Monday said it had "successfully completed the first stage" of its operation. 

    The New Arab conducted a phone interview with Kamaran Mantik, an Erbil-based Kurdish political science professor, on Turkey's main goals regarding its ongoing military operations in the northern Iraqi Kurdistan region.

    The New Arab also spoke to Yusuf Mohammed, the former speaker of the Kurdistan parliament, who has a PhD in political philosophy.  

    "Turkey's successes in its military incursions in the [Iraqi Kurdistan] depends on the international power balance and the conflicts in the region. But, Turkey has a clear strategy to re-annex the region and resurrect the Ottoman Empire," Mantik claimed. 

    "Turkek is carrying out this strategy gradually. Every year, it occupies some areas, especially the strategic mountain peaks inside the [Iraqi Kurdistan], and established military bases, roads and other things for its future operations," he added. 

    CPT Iraqi Kurdistan Tweets:

    Turkey is targeting civilian houses in its military operations. This is a civilian house from Hrure village that was targeted by 🇹🇷 artillery shelling 3 weeks ago. This is in Barway region where 7 villages have already been displaced. #twitterkurds #Kurdistan #Iraq #Turkey


    Dilan Sirwan (RUDAW) reports:

    Turkey is committing continuous violations that have no legal basis, nor are there any agreements between Baghdad and Ankara, the Iraqi foreign ministry said on Sunday, adding that Turkey cannot invoke a UN Charter article for self-defense without Iraq’s approval.

    “The Turkish side is carrying out continuous violations that are not based on any legal basis or agreement between the two countries, and they invoke Article 51 of the United Nations Charter for self-defense, and this cannot be implemented without official Iraqi approval,” foreign ministry spokesperson Ahmed al-Sahaf told Iraqi state media.

    The statement from Sahaf came after Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein was summoned by the Iraqi parliament on Sunday where he met with deputy speaker Hakim al-Zamili to answer questions regarding the Turkish operation along the Kurdistan Region’s borders.


    If you're thinking about all the remarks Joe Biden has made over the invasion of Ukraine and wondering how many he's made about what's taking place in Kurdistan, the answer is zero.  Some ivasions do ot matter, apparently.  ot to him and not to the western press since they have failed repeatedly to raise the issue in White House press briefings.


    They've been terrorizing the civilians in the Kurdistan and now they're firing on the Iraqi military.


    A Turkish drone fired shells on a military post of the Iraqi #PMF. #Turkey #Iraq


    The PMF is the Iraqi military.  It is not the PKK, the group Turkey claims to be targeting.


    We'll wind down with this from the Kurdish People's Assembly:


    A week into Turkey’s latest invasion of Iraqi Kurdistan, and the region faces further violence, displacement and instability. This shows the UK – and the West – urgently need to delist PKK as a terror organisation. Here’s why – and what you can do to make that happen. THREAD:
    Image




    When attacking Kurdish regions of Iraq & Syria, Turkey’s stated aim is to target the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). But the PKK withdrew from Turkey after 2013-2015 peace negotiations. Conflict on Turkish soil has dwindled to virtually nothing following massive repression.


    Independent research proves neither the PKK nor other Kurdish political actors actually use neighbouring regions to attack Turkey. They are simply focused on self-defence, and providing basic necessities for people living under their care.


    In reality, there are two reasons why Turkey launches deadly attacks like ‘Operation Claw Lock’. Firstly, Turkey can occupy swathes of Syria and Iraq. They have already established at least 41 bases in northern Iraq, violating international law.







    The following sites updated: