Wow - to think that many people died from a Hurricane ...

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsa1803972

More like 4645 apparently.

And yet ...

Our results indicate that the official death count of 64 is a substantial underestimate of the true burden of mortality after Hurricane Maria. Our estimate of 4645 excess deaths from September 20 through December 31, 2017, is likely to be conservative since subsequent adjustments for survivor bias and household-size distributions increase this estimate to more than 5000. These adjustments represent one simple way to account for biases, but we have made our data publicly available for additional analyses. Our estimates are roughly consistent with press reports that evaluated deaths in the first month after the hurricane.^8,29-33 Our estimates also indicate that mortality rates stayed high throughout the rest of the year. These numbers will serve as an important independent comparison to official statistics from death-registry data, which are currently being reevaluated,^13,34 and underscore the inattention of the U.S. government to the frail infrastructure of Puerto Rico.

Sigh - back to work.

Seems like any fun I had while being gone has left me.

On top of that, I've got some real problems to deal with.

Joy.

Look who wants a new investigation into RFK's assasination?

His son -

https://www.globalresearch.ca/the-blatant-conspiracy-behind-senator-robert-f-kennedys-assassination/5642125

'Paid Patriotism' - that's what this US National Anthem bullshit at sports events is all about.

https://www.truthdig.com/articles/pentagon-paid-nfl-displays-patriotism/

"... less than a decade ago, professional football players didn’t even appear on the field during the national anthem.

That changed in 2009, as the Department of Defense poured millions of dollars into the NFL in exchange for displays of patriotism during games. “Until 2009, no NFL player stood for the national anthem because players actually stayed in the locker room as the anthem played,” ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith explained in 2016. “The players were moved to the field during the national anthem because it was seen as a marketing strategy to make the athletes look more patriotic. The United States Department of Defense paid the National Football League $5.4 million between 2011 and 2014, and the National Guard $6.7 million between 2013 and 2015 to stage onfield patriotic ceremonies as part of military-recruitment budget line items.”

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy later confirmed that players did not appear on field for the anthem until 2009..."

Thoothukudi massacre exposes idiocy of Modi and BJP in India.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoothukudi_massacre

The Thoothukudi mass murder^[4], or Thoothukudi shooting, took place on 22 May 2018 when paramilitary and police forces fired onto anti-Sterlite factory protesters.

Why?

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/05/26/pers-m26.html

While people in Tamil Nadu and across India voiced outrage over the police’s actions, the Modi regime and Tamil Nadu’s AIADMK state government, a close ally of the BJP, quickly proclaimed the Tuticorin atrocity a necessary and proportionate use of force and plotted further repression and violence. This included: cutting off all access to social media and the Internet for five days in the state’s three southernmost districts, placing the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force on standby for possible deployment in Tamil Nadu, and issuing ominous intelligence agency warnings of “leftist extremist” plans to use the popular outcry over the Tuticorin events to foment violence.

The people of Tuticorin and fishermen in southeast Tamil Nadu have been protesting against the threat from sulphur dioxide, lead, arsenic and other toxins spewed from the Vedanta Resources’ smelter since it opened in 1996. Yet the authorities have been utterly impervious to their complaints.

Vedanta and its proprietor, the multi-billionaire industrialist Anil Agrawal, have been given license to spew pollutants that have sickened and killed local residents and ravaged the pearl and fish industries off the shores of southeast Tamil Nadu. The trigger for the most recent agitation for the smelter’s closure was the government's authorization for Vedanta to double the Tuticorin smelter’s annual production capacity to 800,000 tonnes per year, which would make it the world's second largest copper smelter.

On this day in 1977 ...

Star Wars came out.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_(film)

Release date

• May 25, 1977 (United States)

Movies have never been the same since.

At least someone wins in getting more taxes corporations shoudl rightly be paying.

https://www.truthdig.com/articles/amazon-battles-seattle-and-loses/

In fact, the Washington city’s tax fight with Amazon is a critical lesson for how cities around the country can take on corporate behemoths and win. Amazon’s presence in Seattle has resulted in an influx of highly paid tech workers, which has in turn fueled gentrification, raised rents and increased homelessness. With Kshama Sawant, the fiery Socialist member of Seattle’s City Council, leading the battle, the council on May 14 unanimously passed a so-called “head-tax” on large corporations in the face of stiff opposition from Amazon. The tax, which was originally proposed as $500 per employee for corporations making more than $20 million a year, was downgraded to $275 per employee when the vote finally took place. The modest revenues will help fund low-income housing and address homelessness.

Hey Hillary Clinton - are you ready for that special place Albright famously said women would go to if they didn't suppport you?

Just asking ....

Hillary Clinton='CuoBro'

Another blow to the labor force in the US.

Arbitration forces workers to take their grievances to a private tribunal. Sixty percent of all arbitrators are lawyers who formerly represented corporations. Arbitrators develop corrupt relationships with corporate lawyers who regularly appear before their tribunals and almost always rule against workers. Due process is severely limited as the rules of the arbitration are written by the corporations themselves.

According to a 2015 study, workers prevail in only 20 percent of all claims brought to arbitration and win an average of just $23,548. By comparison, workers win 57 percent of cases in state court, with an average compensation of $328,008.

The majority opinion ruled that forcing workers to raise claims in this setting does not violate the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, even though Section 7 of the act guarantees, alongside collective bargaining and the right to strike, the right “to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection.”

 Context here - https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/05/23/scot-m23.html

Maduro's win.

Not sure I'd call it a bright spot, but it certainly isn't dark -

https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/05/23/maduros-win-a-bright-spot-in-dark-times/

Out at Flaming Geyser State Park.

Leave to The Onion to really get it right.

There's this -

https://entertainment.theonion.com/oprah-winfrey-breaks-record-for-most-appearances-on-the-1826110402

Oprah Winfrey Breaks Record For Most Appearances On The Cover Of ‘O Magazine’

 Then there's this -

https://www.theonion.com/idf-soldier-recounts-harrowing-heroic-war-story-of-kil-1826048745

IDF Soldier Recounts Harrowing, Heroic War Story Of Killing 8-Month-Old Child

And then there's this -

https://local.theonion.com/woman-nervously-reaches-for-cell-phone-as-suspicious-bl-1826116847

Woman Nervously Reaches For Cell Phone As Suspicious Black Man Tells Her Today’s Soup Is Minestrone

The Killing Of Gaza

https://www.truthdig.com/articles/killing-gaza/

A film that I both want to, and don't want to see.

But I know I have to.

Net Neutrality still alive in the US.

https://www.cnet.com/news/senate-votes-to-restore-net-neutrality-heres-how-every-senator-voted/

Now we'll see how the House does.

Yes I have empathy. This really bothered me.

Leadership Cults - playing right into the establishment's hands.

https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-danger-of-leadership-cults/


After all - that's the best way to dismantle any movement - create a false narrative and turn the public against it.

The effective counter-measure is what the article suggests -

The building of consciousness and mass organizations will not be quick. But these mass movements cannot become public until they are strong enough to carry out sustained actions, including civil disobedience and campaigns of noncooperation. The response by the state will be vicious. Without a dedicated and organized base we will not succeed.

Paying the price for disrupting the Deep State's choice for US President in 2016?

Julian Assange of course.

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/05/12/assa-m12.html

Ecuador hints it may hand over Julian Assange to Britain and the US

By James Cogan
12 May 2018

Julian Assange is in immense danger. Remarks made this week by Ecuador’s foreign minister suggest that her government may be preparing to renege on the political asylum it granted to the WikiLeaks editor in 2012 and hand him over to British and then American authorities.

Today and tomorrow

That's all we have.

That's become very clear to me this week.

Someday I'll find a way to articulate this better.

If you look carefully ...

... You'll see that's graffiti painted in yellow on that railway car. Impressive.

Holy out-of-tune guitars, Batman!

"Bankruptcy

On May 1, 2018, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. As part of its debt restructuring, the company will close down and liquidate its unprofitable Gibson Innovations division, which sells audio equipment outside of the U.S. and has been the source of much of the company's financial troubles. The restructuring will allow Gibson to focus on its most profitable ventures, such as musical instruments. No changes will be made to its guitar manufacturing business, and all Gibson and Epiphone branded guitars are expected to continue in production uninterrupted. Additionally, an additional $135 million was provided by existing creditors to provide liquidity to maintain existing operations."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibson#Bankruptcy

Difficult week starting.

Will be real busy. Shit-ton of things to do.

We'll see how things turn out by next Saturday.

I'm a minority and I certainly don't regret avoiding the scam that was Hillary Clinton.

And neither do they -

Quote of the day - 05-02-2018.

c/o Norman Solomon - 

"Let’s face it: Democracy is dangerous to the powerful who rely on big money, institutional leverage and mass media to work their will. The insurgencies of this decade against economic injustice—embodied in the Occupy movement and then Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign—are potentially dire threats to the established unjust order."

https://www.truthdig.com/articles/will-democrats-live-up-to-their-name/

Go Mathew!

https://www.nhl.com/news/calder-trophy-finalists-mathew-barzal-brock-boeser-clayton-keller/c-298189874?tid=280503612

Happy International Workers' Day.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Workers%27_Day