Welcome to The Now

 

 

 

 The last person did so in front of the Israeli consulate , this time it was at the Israeli Embassy : An active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force has died after he set himself ablaze outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., while declaring that he “will no longer be complicit in genocide.” The 25-year-old airman, Aaron Bushnell, of San Antonio, Texas, died from his injuries, the Metropolitan Police Department said Monday. Bushnell had walked up to the embassy shortly before 1 p.m. on Sunday and began livestreaming on the video streaming platform Twitch, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. Law enforcement officials believe the man started a livestream, set his phone down and then doused himself in accelerant and ignited the flames. At one point, he said he “will no longer be complicit in genocide,” the person said. The video was later removed from the platform, but law enforcement officials have obtained and reviewed a copy.

 Spoiler: Ukraine isn't doing so well:

Why? Because one of her political sugar daddies is pulling the plug :  The influential network associated with billionaire Charles Koch will no longer throw its money behind former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in the Republican presidential primary and will instead focus on key Senate and House races, the group announced in an email to staff obtained by CNN. “With the South Carolina presidential primary this weekend and the Senate engagement really heating up, it’s time to take stock of where we are and – as we always do – make sure we’re optimizing our resources for maximum impact towards our goals,” Americans for Prosperity President and CEO Emily Seidel wrote. Americans for Prosperity Action’s endorsement in November was a significant boost for Haley as she sought to become the leading alternative to former President Donald Trump in the GOP primary. The conservative group, which pledged to back a single contender in the GOP presidential primary for the first time in its histo...

 Never mind the fact that the same country who is currently turning Gaza into a parking lot will be training American police on how to "deal with protesters" or that American police are, on average, trigger-happy and prone to panic, but the fact that so-called "liberal" cities and states are encouraging the (expensive) expansion of what's happening in Atlanta is disturbing, to say the least:

 

 

 "Read the Room" indeed:

 

 

 The Western World continues their years-long socio-economic temper tantrum:

Considering the Soviet Union no longer exists...  

 

 

  The two-day hearing in London has ended , and it may be a month before we get a decision. Odds are high that if Assange goes into US custody, he could remain in captivity until his death...and his death is almost a certainty if he extradited.  From the VOA story: His defense lawyers argued the extradition warrant was politically motivated and that Assange was simply doing his job as a journalist by publishing the stolen U.S. files, according to Simon Crowther, a legal adviser for the human rights group Amnesty International, which is campaigning for the extradition order to be blocked. “Firstly, they pointed out this is something that journalists do all the time: you receive classified material as journalists from confidential sources and you publish it when it’s in the public interest, particularly when it covers issues such as war crimes, crimes against humanity, accusations of torture, extrajudicial execution,” Crowther said. “So, Julian Assange’s lawyers were able to po...

 

 When 25,000 have been killed, maybe trade should be held hostage to bring attention to it:

 

 Blevins isn't going to let a cold stop her from talking about America's current stumbles, fumbles and bumbles:

From the CT Mirror : The General Assembly will consider emergency legislation Wednesday to spend $13.5 million to meet surging demand in winter energy assistance programs, top lawmakers announced late Tuesday. The measure will designate $10 million for the Connecticut Energy Assistance Program, the state’s primary winter heating assistance service, and another $3.5 million for Operation Fuel, a Hartford-based energy assistance nonprofit. Gov. Ned Lamont, who has been wary of using state funds to replace diminishing federal aid for energy assistance, indicated through a spokesman late Tuesday that he would support the measure. CEAP, which is administered by the state Department of Social Services, distributes federal Low Income Household Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funds and is facing severe cutbacks. Congress rolled back LIHEAP funding this year to pre-pandemic levels. Connecticut has about $85 million to distribute this winter — well below the $110 million-plus it awarded last ...

 

 It's "X Day"; Julian Assange's last day in (British) court before sentencing. Consortium News is covering the trial live: Breakthrough News' take: George Galloway: And Stella Assange (also live):

 Rule of thumb: if the establishment hypes them up, there's probably more to the story:

Watch as goofball spokesperson tries to claim that America is a force to be reckoned with, yet can't get a country to stop indiscriminately killing innocent civilians (even though they are given said country money and weapons):   

 

 Of course in order to do so, they have to blame India for having the gall to want to purchase cheaper gas.

 Second Thought discusses:

 

 

 

 Here's a piece of what Dr. Rajaie Batniji had to say when invited to talk about Gaza : Mr. Secretary, you have provided the weapons and the political cover that enabled the murder of 65 members of my family, mostly women and children, over the past four months. In strikes in mid-November, three generations of my family were killed by missiles as they sought shelter and safety. I carry their memories with me. I see their crushed bodies when I close my eyes. The survivors in my family are homeless. Some 70% of homes in Gaza have been destroyed, according to an analysis by The Wall Street Journal, along with almost all the schools, all the universities, many of the hospitals, the mosques, the churches, the historical sites and the public records. My paternal grandparents’ home in Shejaiya had been among the last homes of my family still standing. This is the home where I was born. It collapsed in a “controlled demolition” just before the new year. According to our own US intelligence...

 

 

  Now that's dedication : An artist in the south of France is planning to destroy up to $45 million worth of art, including pieces by Rembrandt, Picasso, and Andy Warhol, if Wikileaks founder Julien Assange dies in prison, British broadcaster Sky News reports . Andrei Molodkin says he has put masterpieces that have been donated to him in a 29-ton safe hooked up to two barrels - one containing an acid powder and the other containing an accelerator - which, when pumped into the safe, will create a reaction strong enough to destroy all its contents, Sky News says. The project is called "Dead Man's Switch," and it is backed by Julien Assange's wife, Stella. Assange is currently in jail in the U.K. awaiting his final appeal over extradition to the United States to face charges under the Espionage Act, which will take place later this month. Wikileaks published thousands of leaked documents relating to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Assange is alleged to have con...

 

 

  Via Reuters : Drivers for Uber Technologies (UBER.N), opens new tab, Lyft (LYFT.O), opens new tab and delivery workers for DoorDash (DASH.O), opens new tab were staging a strike on Wednesday, seeking fair pay and better treatment. Workers say the rideshare and food delivery platforms are taking disproportionate sums from their fares as fees, hurting their earnings. The protest comes just as Uber, the largest ride-share company, saw its shares hit a record high after announcing a $7 billion share buyback. "These platforms continuously decrease driver earnings year after year as means to show they are profitable to investors to get them to buy into their stock," said Shantwan Humphrey, a driver in Dallas, Texas. Drivers from the Justice for App Workers (JFAW) coalition planned protests at airports across 10 cities in the East and Midwest, while Rideshare Drivers United group's members will picket outside Uber's offices in Los Angeles at noon PT (3 pm ET). "Right ...

 A Democrat who keeps forgetting to report his stock trades  won over a former member of the IDF  turned Republican in a race for a seat recently held by someone you wouldn't buy a timeshare from. 

 Everything but greedy owners is being blamed; imagine that:

 Where is the love for the animals?

 

 Hard pill to swallow:

  Via Reuters : DOHA/JERUSALEM, Feb 12 (Reuters) - An Israeli rescue operation freed two Israeli-Argentine hostages held by Hamas militants in Rafah on Monday, but supporting airstrikes killed nearly 70 Palestinians in the southern Gaza city where about one million displaced civilians have sought refuge from months of bombardments. The mission by the Israeli military, the Shin Bet security service and a special police unit freed Fernando Simon Marman, 60, and Louis Hare, 70, the military said. They were among 250 people seized during the Oct. 7 raid by Hamas militants that triggered Israel's war on Gaza. More than four months on, much of the densely-populated strip of land on the Mediterranean is in ruins, with 28,340 Palestinians dead and 67,984 wounded, according to Gaza health officials, with many others believed to be buried under rubble. The Israeli military says 31 hostages have died in that time, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday's rescue showed that mili...

 Lloyd Austin's absence puts Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks in charge.  You may remember Hicks for questioning Jon Stewart on what an audit is and misunderstanding corruption .

 Something for everyone . 

 About Twelve (especially if they have to lie about what happened):

 Sorry, Mr. President: you're either too old to go to court or crafty enough to be prosecuted ...regardless of what either says about your political chances in the general election. Due Dissidence has their take:

 

 

  Transcript can be found here .

 Black Agenda Reports talks to Max Parthas about this issue . FYI: The Abolish Slavery National Network can be found here . 

For the moment: the weapons, the technology, the so-called allies. Let's look are the numbers and the locations. First, here's the largest armies in the world: Next. let's look at breakdown of US military bases, so we know how many troops are where: Just going by the numbers as a lay person I can say that the United States does not have enough personnel to have a sustained conflict with China, Iran and Russia. It would take too long to move troops around, and there's not enough to fight abroad and protect at home.  If you factor in technology, all three of those countries have the tech to match or exceed what the US has. Allies? Their number, while certainly appreciated, are negligible Lastly, there's experience: China may be rusty, but Iran has been living in an area of constant tension and Russia has the most experience army in terms of modern warfare (#2 would be the dwindling forces of Ukraine). America, meanwhile has not fought a real war since WWII; everything...

 

 

 Her campaign for president has been suspended . Official statement can be found on her website (after you click past the donation pop-up). 

 

 In the battle against those who criticize and confront the actions of the Israeli government and military, seemingly opposing groups end up aligning. From Common Dreams : A Wall Street Journal opinion piece published on Friday afternoon read 'Welcome to Dearborn, America's Jihad Capital.' And on Saturday, The New York Times published a piece by long-time columnist Thomas Friedman titled "Understanding the Middle East Through the Animal Kingdom." Dearborn, Michigan, a city with the largest Muslim population in the US, has increased its police presence, fearing hate attacks after the Wall Street Journal branded it America's 'jihad capital.' The Islamaphobic article was written by Steven Stalinsky, who is a commentator on' terrorism' and has served as executive director of the pro-Israel Middle East Media Research Institute based in Washington, DC. The mayor of Dearborn, Abdullah H. Hammoud, said Saturday that the city's police officers were ...

 

 Don't assume that every strike happening in America is being cheered as workers trying to gets their voices heard and fighting to be paid for their worth.  Going by these headlines, some feel either inconvenienced or threatened : Now that the teacher strike in Newton, Massachusetts, is over, students are back in school, but the cost of the strike is still being calculated, and not only is the city seeking damages, a family is too. Lital Asher-Dotan has three children in Newton Public Schools, and while she is thrilled they are back in class, she said is not happy about the financial toll the two-week strike took on her and other families.  “People had thousands of dollars paid to drive their kids around, paying for day care, for camps and for babysitting,” Asher-Dotan said. After hearing a judge talk about the impact to students during a hearing about the strike on Friday, Asher-Dotan filed a motion this week arguing families should be able to seek damages just like the...

 

 "In order to make humor, there has to be an element of personal vulnerability." 

  No word on how the railroad unions feel. 

 Well...

 Slavery didn't really end in America; prisoners can be treated as slaves. Lee Camp explains:

 

Apparently ongoing military conflicts makes it hard to sell increasingly expensive fast food : McDonald’s said growing tensions in the Middle East have hurt its business. The burger chain, reporting growing overall sales and earnings for fourth quarter, noted that the overseas tensions were weighing on the region’s sales, and the company is monitoring the evolving situation. The Middle East doesn’t make up a huge part of its overall business. McDonald’s for the most part licenses its brand to independent companies in the region, and McDonald’s said it provided some financial assistance in the form of royalty relief or deferred cash collection. McDonald’s noted that it provided an insignificant amount of financial assistance for franchisees impacted by the war in the Middle East. But sales in its licensed markets business, of which most Middle East companies are a part, grew just 0.7% in the last quarter, as a result of the tensions. That was far worse than the more-than 4% growth in th...

 

  Looks like from here on out, Richard Medhurst will post videos on YouTube to refer to his new Rumble channel. He latest video is here . 

 Not to say that working people aren't intelligent or intellectuals have never performed manual labor. But more about the "production of knowledge":  

 

 One part satire, one part truth: