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SHADOWS OF SHOSTAKOVICH ‘S LENINGRAD SYMPHONY and THE DEFEAT OF NAZI GERMAN ARMIES AT THE GATES OF LENINGRAD IN WW II
Gaither Stewart
Shostakovich
As the reader will grasp I am a romanticist in the arts. In literature—also in political literature—in plastic arts, and in music. However, I am neither a painter nor a musician and unfortunately cannot play any musical instrument. Nonetheless I consider the role of music in our lives of extreme and strangely enduring significance. An echo of something. A remembrance. A reminder. A moment of our childhood. A reflection of human powers. Of people come and gone. Of places fixed in our memory.
In my early adult years spent in Germany I listened chiefly to the great masters of classical music. In Italy I became attached to operatic music. Both Italian and German. And I wrote stories and novels against a background of Wagner and Richard Strauss and the Italian operatic greats.
Final Phase In Battle To Stop Rigged Corporate Trade
Link: https://www.popularresistance.org/final-phase-in-battle-to-stop-rigged-corporate-trade/
By Mackenzie McDonald and Margaret Flowers
On Thursday, despite the cold and rain in Washington D.C., people took to the streets to protest Fast Track for rigged corporate trade deals like the nearly complete Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
The protest at the US House of Representatives began with a march around the House Office Buildings on Capitol Hill highlighting a shift to the final phase of the conflict over Fast Track for rigged corporate trade deals. Right now everyone agrees that opponents of Fast Track have the majority in the US House of Representatives but an ‘Obama Onslaught,’ supported by lobbyists for transnational corporations is expected. The movement against rigged corporate trade is going to have to escalate its campaign if we are going to hold the majority and stop fast track for the TPP and other rigged corporate trade agreements.
“Fast Track” Violates the U.S. Constitution
Eric Zuesse
U.S. Constitution, Article 2, Section 2, #2: "The President ... shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur."
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The Constitution’s two-thirds Senate rule regarding treaties is violated by Fast Track as it currently stands and has stood; and that provision of Fast Track (reducing the required two-thirds down to merely half of the Senators voting “Yea”) would need to be eliminated and the Constitution’s two-thirds-Senate requirement restored, in order for there to be able to be any further applications of Fast Track; this would not necessarily apply regarding past applications of Fast Track such as NAFTA, and prudentiality might sway against such retrospective applications; but, for TPP, TTIP, TISA, and other future applications of Fast Track, or in other words for constitutionality of future international-trade agreements, the words of the Constitution are unmistakably clear, and those words must be applied, notwithstanding the violations of the U.S. Constitution that have already been erroneously instituted. The purpose of the U.S. Supreme Court is to hold that document, the U.S. Constitution, and none other, as this nation's inviolable Scripture, by which all future actions of the United States Government are to be evaluated, and all future laws (a treaty being in a separate and even stricter category for which reason the two-thirds Senate rule was included in Article 2, Section 2, #2) are to be judged to be either valid or invalid.
Secretary of State John Kerry v. His Subordinate Victoria Nuland, Regarding Ukraine
Eric Zuesse
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, on May 12th, responding to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s assertions that Ukraine will retake Crimea and will conquer Donbass:
“I have not had a chance – I have not read the speech. I haven’t seen any context. I have simply heard about it in the course of today. But if indeed President Poroshenko is advocating an engagement in a forceful effort at this time, we would strongly urge him to think twice not to engage in that kind of activity, that that would put Minsk in serious jeopardy. And we would be very, very concerned about what the consequences of that kind of action at this time may be.”U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European & Eurasian Affairs, Victoria Nuland, as communicated by the U.S. State Department’s Press Office on May 15th, reiterating Poroshenko’s view:
"Assistant Secretary Nuland's ongoing visit to Kyiv and her discussions with Prime Minister [Arseniy] Yatseniuk and President [Petro] Poroshenko reaffirm the United States' full and unbreakable support for Ukraine's government, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. We continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Ukraine and reiterate our deep commitment to a single Ukrainian nation, including Crimea, and all the other regions of Ukraine."
How the Media Deceive the Public about “Fast Track” and the “Trade Bills”
Eric Zuesse
The way that “Fast Track” is described to the American public is as an alternative method for the Senate to handle “Trade Bills” (TPP & TTIP) that the President presents to the Senate for their approval; and this alternative method is said to be one in which “no amendments are permitted, and there will be a straight up-or-down vote on the bill."
But, in fact, the “Fast Track” method is actually to require only 50 Senators to vote “Yea” in order for the measure to be approved by the Senate, whereas the method that is described and required in (Section 2 of) the U.S. Constitution is that the President “shall have the Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur.” That’s not 50 Senators; it’s 67 Senators, that the Constitution requires.
Ukraine Provoking Confrontation with Russia
by Stephen Lendman
Ukraine is a proxy US dagger targeting Russia's heartland - run by fascist putschists, headed by an illegitimate Washington-approved oligarch president.
It's waging war on its own people. It tolerates no opposition. Its economy nears collapse. Growing numbers of its population are impoverished, unemployed and angry.
In a Wednesday BBC interview, Poroshenko sounded deranged saying Ukraine is in a "real war" with Russia. "I think (Moscow is) preparing for an offensive" this summer.
"I think we should be ready, and I think that we do not give them any tiny chance for provocation. That will totally be their responsibility."Russian officials accused Ukraine of "broken commitments" - making agreements, then breaching them straightaway. Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there's a "serious lack of trust" between both countries for good reason. Kiev officials say one thing and do another consistently. Their word is meaningless.
Addressing Russia's upper house Federation Council on Wednesday, Sergey Lavrov condemned "radicals in Kiev and some other capitals" for provoking "further escalation" of conflict in Donbass.
Kiev to Prosecute Two Russian Nationals As Terrorists
by Stephen Lendman
Perhaps the biggest Big Lie throughout months of Obama's proxy war on Donbass is nonexistent "Russian aggression."
Repeatedly, Moscow is accused of arming Donbass freedom fighters and aiding them with Russian combat troops.
No credible evidence surfaced at any time proving allegations the whole world knows are false.
At the same time, foreign nationals from many countries voluntarily help both sides - including non-or-former Russian military personnel aiding Donbass. They weren't dispatched from Moscow - nor has Russia shown any inclination to get directly involved in Ukraine's war militarily. It’s gone all-out to end it diplomatically.
Kiev Reneges On Its Debt Obligations
by Stephen Lendman
Kiev's parliamentary debt moratorium authorization suggests impending default. MP Viktor Dondar calls it "technical default."
Henceforth, foreign creditors will be scared off, he said. The IMF remains Kiev's sole funding source - on terms no responsible government should accept, loan shark of last resort ones.
Bondar said authorization came without serious parliamentary consideration or debate. Most MPs didn't understand what they supported, he added. The measure passed 246 - 4 - a few hours after submission to parliament. A Cabinet of Ministers statement said: "To protect the interests of Ukrainian people, the Government of Ukraine submits to the Verkhovna Rada today the draft laws, those enabling the Government to suspend payments on certain external public debts and guaranteed by the government debts, as specified in the Annex to the relevant Regulation of the Cabinet of Ministers."
Ukraine: A Cancer in Europe's Heartland
by Stephen Lendman
Ukraine is an example of what happens when lunatics run the asylum. It's a US-installed Nazi-infested fascist police state headed by an illegitimate anointed oligarch mega-crook.
It tolerates no opposition. Free expression is banned. Independent journalists risk harassment, assault, arrest, imprisonment, even death.
Ukraine is a dagger pointed at Russia's heartland. It's bankrupt. It's perhaps headed toward defaulting on its debt. It declared a moratorium on repayments, legislatively authorized. It's step one toward default, short of declaring it. Yet Kiev continues spending millions of dollars daily waging low-level aggression on Donbass ahead of escalating it full-blown.
Where in the world, except in Sissi's Egypt, long-dead people are served death sentences?
By Khalid Amayreh in Occupied Palestine
Under the influence of panic and vengeance, an Egyptian "court" on Saturday issued multiple death sentences against dozens of people affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. Among the convicted are Muhammed Mursi, the only democratically-elected president in Egypt's entire history, Dr. Sheikh Yosef al Karadawi, one of the most learned living Muslim scholars and author of more than 60 books, and many other intellectuals, university professors and community leaders. The court also passed the capital punishment against several Palestinians affiliated with the Hamas liberation group including Hasan Salameh, held in Israeli jails for the past 19 years, and is serving a jail term of 48 life sentences plus 20 years for resisting the Israeli occupation.
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