Nope. I've already said that George answered his own question when he asked where were all
the good people of conscience in government. He mentioned ,in Life Is Worth Losing, the people
who often end up assassinated: Jesus, Gandhi, Lincoln, JFK, RFK, MLK, Johm Lennon, Medgar Evers,
Malcolm X. Folks who talk about peace, love and doing good to one another. These folks RARELY
get elected to high office and those that do end up dead!
RagingCapitalist
If you think that the people who didn't get elected would actually be different, you need
to watch this video again a few times.
20120123 : Their bread, our circus ( Recently, in the course of one evening in the Big Apple, President Barack Obama "hosted" three fundraisers ranging from $35,800 a head to $1,000 a head and raised $2.4 million - and that wasn't even close to 1% of the funds he will need for this election season. This reflects the power, needs, fears and desires of America's 1%, and how it has turned the rest of us from citizens into viewers. - Tom Engelhardt (Dec 15, )
So it appears America and democracy have miraculously survived the dreaded Trump-Putin
summit or Trump's meeting with his Russian handler, as the neoliberal ruling classes and their
mouthpieces in the corporate media would dearly like us all to believe. NATO has not been
summarily dissolved. Poland has not been invaded by Russia.
The offices of The New York Times , The Washington Post , CNN, and MSNBC
have not been stormed by squads of jackbooted Trumpian Gestapo.
The Destabilization of the Middle East, the Privatization of Virtually Everything, the
Conversion of the Planet into One Big Shopping Mall, and other global capitalist projects are
all going forward uninterrupted. Apart from Trump making a narcissistic, word-salad-babbling
jackass of himself, which he does on a more or less daily basis, nothing particularly
apocalyptic happened.
And so, once again, Western liberals, and others obsessed with Donald Trump, having been
teased into a painfully tumescent paroxysm of anticipation of some unimaginably horrible event
that would finally lead to Trump's impeachment (or his removal from office by other means) were
left standing around with their hysteria in their hands. It has become a sadistic ritual at
this point like a twisted, pseudo-Tantric exercise where the media get liberals all lathered up
over whatever fresh horror Trump has just perpetrated (or some non-story story they have
invented out of whole cloth), build the tension for several days, until liberals are moaning
and begging for impeachment, or a full-blown CIA-sponsored coup, then pull out abruptly and
leave the poor bastards writhing in agony until the next time which is pretty much exactly what
just happened.
In the days and weeks leading up to the summit, the global capitalist ruling class
Resistance deployed every weapon in its mighty arsenal to whip the Western masses up into a
frenzy of anti-Putin-Nazi fervor. While continuing to flog the wildly popular baby
concentration camp story (because the Hitler stimulus never fails to elicit a Pavlovian
response from Americans, regardless of how often or how blatantly you use it), the corporate
media began hammering hard on the "Trump is a Russian Agent" hysteria. (Normally, the corporate
media alternates between the Hitler hysteria and the Russia hysteria so as not to completely
short-circuit the already scrambled brains of Western liberals, but given
the imminent threat of a peace deal , they needed to go the whole hog this time and paint
this summit as a secret, internationally televised assignation between Hitler and well,
Hitler).
I guess whats even more pathetic about these stories like Skripal , perfume bottle/door knob
Knovickok and Russia Gate is so many people believe them. Witness the hysteria over the TP
Summit in US media/comments. Without functioning brain cells escape from the Matrix is
impossible, and even then you have to have time to think anout matters beyond entertainment
and survival, and many people don't have the time in this neoliberal world of ours.
Lets face it, outside an alien intervention to save humans we are done. Lets hope that
mission manual they bring " To Serve Man" is not a cookbook
I didn't realize that the Amerikan child/adolescent party game had metastasized and moved
across the water-- but the Skripal farce has turned into a game of Spin the Bottle , writ large. [Wikipedia
link]
investigative journalist Michael Isikoff of Yahoo News.
Does anyone else see how appropriate it is that a nation of yahoos should get their
'news' , ahem, misinformation, from from a source so aptly named?
The truth is hiding in plain sight, we're being led by the nose, to God knows where,
apparently around in circles, all so a few insanely rich a**holes can become more insanely
rich.
I don't know about you, but I was a lot happier back when I could blame all our problems
on the republicans.
This free-for-all, bat-sh*t crazy propaganda surge, if nothing else, has made plain what
our betters think of us.
Investigative journalism courtesy of Yahoo News, what will they think of next,
intelligence services working tirelessly to keep America safe in a dangerous world?
Can't believe any sane American thinks Russians – including beautiful Russian tennis
players are more of a threat to us in 2018 then say M13 Gang banger invaders, Chicago Black
street gangs, Afghan and Pakistani child rapists or just the sub Saharan Black African mobs
with their machetes.
We commissioned some Farstar cartoons on this theme – seems pretty basic to me, but
the J media mafia simply goes on and on – there is supposedly a Russian spy behind
every bush, some Russians posted anti Hillary posts on Facebook – oh the horror!
Here it comes, the moment we've been waiting for, when Trump and Putin meet in Helsinki to
officially launch the Destruction of Democracy, and very possibly the Apocalypse itself. That's
right, folks, once again, it appears we're looking at the end of everything, because according
to the corporate media, on July 16, 2018, Trump is probably going to
disband NATO so that Putin can invade the Baltic states, then Germany, then the rest of
Europe, and then presumably order an all-out thermonuclear strike on the United States, which
will pretty much end civilization as we know it. Or perhaps the plan is to do away with NATO,
withdraw
all American troops from Poland , let Putin rape and pillage Western Europe, and then have
North Korea nuke both coasts of the US mainland (and Canada, of course) so that a
Putin-Nazified Middle Amerika will have carte blanche to exterminate the Mexicans and make
women wear those "Handmaid" costumes, or some other ridiculously paranoid scenario, possibly
involving Susan Sarandon as some kind of Putin-Nazi triple agent.
Tragically, the global neoliberal establishment is completely powerless to stop Trump and
Putin from carrying out this evil scheme (whatever it turns out to be in the end), because even
the US Intelligence Community has to obey the law, after all, and not do anything sneaky, or
unethical, not even with the fate of democracy at stake. No, unlike the Russians, who go around
blatantly
poisoning people with novichok oatmeal more or less whenever they like, the global
capitalist ruling classes' hands are tied by their own integrity. All they can do is watch in
horror as these two Hitlerian megalomaniacs destroy their entire global empire and establish a
thousand-year Putin-Nazi Reich.
Thank God at least the corporate media are raising their collective voices in protest. In
a recent piece in The Washington Post , Max Bergmann of the Center for American
Progress warns that "this is a summit about appeasement, and we should be terrified that Trump
is going to sell out America and its allies." According to Bergmann, Trump might "accidentally"
share state secrets with Putin, or promise to reduce support for
our freedom-loving Ukrainian Nazis , or stop trying to overthrow the Syrian government so
that Syria, with the help of Russia and Iran, can launch a sneak attack on Israel and drive
"the Jews" into the sea. Worse still, Bergmann speculates, he might make "secret agreements"
with Putin without telling the editors of The Washington Post , which God help us all if
that ever happened.
Not to be out-apocalypsed by The Post ,
Roger Cohen of The New York Times published a full-blown dystopian vision wherein
Trump, Putin, Marine Le Pen, the AfD, and a variety of other globalist-hating Hitler-alikes
form "the Alliance of Authoritarian and Reactionary States" (the "AARS"), disband the European
Union and NATO, impose international martial law, and start ethnically cleansing the West of
immigrants. Matteo Salvini and Horst Seehofer, decked out in full Putin-Nazi regalia,
personally supervise the genocidal purges, which frightened Europeans come to support after
Putin's irresistible "fake news" bots brainwash them into believing that a little Russian girl
named "Tatiana" has been abducted by Moroccan migrants off a beach along the Costa del Sol.
And as if that wasn't horrifying enough to whip folks up into a mindless frenzy, The New
York Times (which, let's remember, is an extremely distinguished and respected newspaper,
and not at all a cheap propaganda rag) produced
this charming little animated film depicting Putin and Trump as well, a couple of
tongue-sucking, titty-pinching homos. I found this kind of weird at first, as I had thought
such ugly anti-gay sentiment had disappeared from liberal society, but apparently it's fine in
Resistance circles to stigmatize your enemies as butt-humping queers in order to render them
more repulsive in the eyes of your sophisticated, liberal audience. I did a little research,
and it appears this "Hitler on Hitler" porno The Times produced is just the latest in
a rather long line of Trump on Putin "homo" jokes , which are perfectly harmless when told
by liberals, but when told by conservatives are homophobic hate crimes.
'Senator McConnell' always conjures the image and mannerisms of Colonel Sanders (ala
Kentucky Fried Chicken). White planter suit, broad-brimmed hat, weak-chin goatee and
unconvincing sales pitch.
Then again, beardless Mitch looks more like Toby Turtle, and what
he delivers is rarely worth a bucket of greasy chicken.
"... I did a quick google search and examined several sources, and I have to admit that what I read about Sharia law sounded an awful lot like some of the things Vice President Mike Pence or Ted Cruz believe." ..."
Today at approximately 1:15pm, local Republican Voter Floyd Williams looked up Sharia law on
a lunch break Google search and came to the startling realization that it actually seemed a lot
like the Republican Party's political platform.
"Well, I had just finished my tuna sandwich and I was letting my mind wander a bit when it
suddenly hit me that for all my fears of Muslims installing Sharia law in America, I didn't
actually know the first thing about what Sharia law was or what it dictated," said Williams, in
a phone interview with The Halfway Post this evening.
"So I did a quick google search and examined several sources, and I have to admit that
what I read about Sharia law sounded an awful lot like some of the things Vice President Mike
Pence or Ted Cruz believe."
When Williams got home from work he did a little more research, but the renewed study only
intensified his worry that, by voting Republican for the last twenty years, he may have been
already and unwittingly voting for Sharia law.
"From the GOP's religious-based opposition to ... , atheists holding public office, ..., the
separation of church and state, taxing churches and faith organizations, and so on, it just
seemed like Sharia Law might have already been installed here in my beloved Arkansas right
under my nose," he said.
Williams shared his startling discovery with his wife, and though his wife Anne was
skeptical at first, she too was quickly troubled by the Republican Party's seeming theocratic
approach to political issues. She even came up with some Sharia-esque Republican policies that
Floyd hadn't considered.
"My wife is as sharp as a tack," said Floyd, followed by a long list of more suspicious GOP
ideas that his wife had added to his growing list. "The GOP is also against equal pay for women
many Republicans in our state legislatures want women to be forced to birth babies after being
raped or even if the pregnancy threatens their lives the Republican men in this town at least
are all really fond of purity balls and pretending they own the keys to their daughters'
virginities
Our other Republican friends are convinced we shouldn't worry about climate change because
God will solve it if it's really a problem Republicans support Israel regardless of humanity
crimes against Palestine over orthodox, apocalyptic hopes that Jesus will come back and all
nonbelievers will burn in Hell I mean the list of Sharia-sounding Republican issues just goes
on and on!"
Asked if he still considered himself a Republican after his existential epiphany, Williams
was unsure.
"Honestly, I don't know what I am anymore," he said. "But I'll tell you what, I'm gonna
start pointing this stuff out to my friends because I feel like all of us have been duped!"
"One of the most disturbing displays of Obama's lack of foreign policy expertise came
during last year's YouTube debate," Hannity said Oct. 26, 2008. "The junior senator from
Illinois gave what many called a naive answer for a question from the audience about whether
he would meet with the leaders of Syria, Venezuela, Cuba or North Korea without
preconditions."
2018:
"A huge foreign policy win for President Trump," Hannity said March 8. "Little Rocket Man
blinks. Now, the president's tough rhetoric, his bold action, his severe sanctions, they
appear to be working tonight. President Trump is accepting an invitation to meet with the
North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un by May...
"... Instead she suggested pointing out that "Little Donald tends to draw the line between Fact and Fantasy in a Different Place that you and I might." ..."
As a teacher I once had a 4th grader who was an inveterate liar. One could never believe a
word that came out of his mouth yet the Principal, ever the Diplomat and Mistress of
Understatement, counseled against referring to the child as a Pathological Liar during parent
conferences (even though it was true, she agreed).
Instead she suggested pointing out that "Little Donald tends to draw the line between Fact
and Fantasy in a Different Place that you and I might."
"Beyond repair"? Come on, Paul -- Trump is a disaster, a horrible mistake and a reminder
that elections matter. But he's really pretty incompetent and weak. He's like a small, very
clumsy bull in a china shop. Once he's chased out, the place will get swept out, things put
back on the shelves and new stock purchased.
"Only you can see this post because it goes against our standards on hate speech ..."
To give you an idea of the kind of automation in play and what words and ideas are being identified as running contrary to the principles
of media aggregators and distributors, consider that Facebook recently banned America's founding document from being posted.
Since June 24, the Liberty County Vindicator of Liberty County, Texas, has been sharing daily excerpts from the declaration
in the run up to July Fourth. The idea was to encourage historical literacy among the Vindicator 's readers.
The first nine such posts of the project went up without incident.
"But part 10,"
writes
Vindicator
managing editor Casey Stinnett, "did not appear. Instead, The Vindicator received a notice from Facebook saying that the post
'goes against our standards on hate speech.'"
The post in question contained paragraphs 27 through 31 of the Declaration of Independence, the grievance section of the document
wherein the put-upon colonists detail all the irreconcilable differences they have with King George III.
Stinnett says that he cannot be sure which exact grievance ran afoul of Facebook's policy, but he assumes that it's paragraph
31, which excoriates the King for inciting "domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants
of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages."
The removal of the post was an automated action, and Stinnett sent a "feedback message" to Facebook with the hopes of reaching
a human being who could then exempt the Declaration of Independence from its hate speech restrictions.
Thanks, here is some additional reading
material ..
The Unfortunate Fallout of
Campus Postmodernism- The roots of the
current campus madness
"In a 1946 essay in the London Tribune
entitled "In Front of Your Nose," George
Orwell noted that "we are all capable of
believing things which we know to be untrue,
and then, when we are finally proved wrong,
impudently twisting the facts so as to show
that we were right. Intellectually, it is
possible to carry on this process for an
indefinite time: the only check on it is that
sooner or later a false belief bumps up
against solid reality, usually on a
battlefield."
Anyone with a working brain cell can tell you that Facebook has been anti
Bill of Rights from the very beginning. They are actively collecting
information on everyone for the government. How does that coincide with
free people living in a free country? It doesn't. Throw Facebook on the ash
heap of history now.
Correction: "Over the last couple of years major social media, news and video
platforms have been
actively
engaged in the censorship
of what they believe to be [[fake news and
information]]
the truth
."
"... Thank God for the US ruling class. Less acute, less imaginative ruling classes might be tricked by the fact that Russia spends but a tiny fraction of its GDP on "defence" compared to the US/NATO. ..."
"... Who wants to go to an Ivy League college for years & years, only to end up "fighting" a complete grot like Osama ? He was just so -- well, ugly ! ..."
"... So, the Putin/Nazi enemy is just scads better. Putin is a living "Hannibal's at the gates" enemy (And let's face it: even your most blinkered six-pack flag waver was having trouble getting his head around new aircraft carriers, new submarines, new F35′s & new nuclear missiles to defend against the whole motley terrorist thing). ..."
I thank the author for his timely apology. At this critical juncture we must be wise to these
Slavic wiles.
Thank God for the US ruling class. Less acute, less imaginative ruling classes might be
tricked by the fact that Russia spends but a tiny fraction of its GDP on "defence" compared
to the US/NATO.
No, Russia/Putin's guile is at the level of 3D chess. Everyone knows that behind such
obvious inadequacy lies a Cujo- like bear, taunt, ready to spring at an instinctively
guileless US .
And, let's be honest here, the US deserves a better enemy than a bunch of shabby
"terrorists". There's something just so common about these ". "terrorists". Who wants to go
to an Ivy League college for years & years, only to end up "fighting" a complete grot
like Osama ? He was just so -- well, ugly !
Can you imagine Ellen doing an interview with him ? No !
So, the Putin/Nazi enemy is just scads better. Putin is a living "Hannibal's at the gates"
enemy (And let's face it: even your most blinkered six-pack flag waver was having trouble
getting his head around new aircraft carriers, new submarines, new F35′s & new
nuclear missiles to defend against the whole motley terrorist thing).
Only trouble is all this does tend to cast aspersions on such a great German/American as
Mr Hitler, who, 70 years ago did such sterling work combating the Russia/communist Evil .
the obsessive quality of the British establishment's paranoia about
Russia. That's probably because at the World Cup, the England soccer team is very
weak without its main asset, Sergey Skripal. ;-)
Can't wait until Trump invades the UK, deposes the royal family for treason,
kicks out the pakistani filth, dissolves parliament, seizes the City of
London, and restores the Stuarts to the throne.
Russiaphobes going bonkers. To damn funny. BTW Russian interference in US
elections has been internet postings only. What does that say about our
country's intelligence when some social media post sends the Snow Flakes into
a tizzy. What does that say about our future?
I don't know about you, but I'm getting a little tired of waiting for the Hitlerian nightmare that the corporate media promised
us was coming back in 2016. Frankly, I'm beginning to suspect that all their apocalyptic pronouncements were just parts of some elaborate
cocktease. I mean, here we are, a year and half into the reign of the Trumpian Reich, and, well, where are all the concentration
camps, the SS units with their death's head insignia, the Riefenstahlian parades and rallies? Trump hasn't even banned the Democratic
Party, or annexed Canada, or invaded Mexico, or made anybody wear color-coded armbands. If he doesn't start Hitlering relatively
soon, the oracles of the corporate media are going to have some serious explaining to do.
I don't think I'm overreacting. After all, back in 2016, The Guardian promised us an "
Age of
Darkness ," and the end of "civilized order" as we know it. "
Globalization is dead, and white supremacy has triumphed ," one of its more hysterical pundits proclaimed. "
Donald Trump is actually a fascist ," Michael Kinsley assured us in The Washington Post . Charles Blow of The New York
Times warned that Trump's election was "the beginning of the end," the descent of the republic into "
racial Orwellianism ," whatever that's supposed to mean. Thomas Friedman called it "
a
moral 911 ." Paul Krugman predicted nothing short of "
a global recession with
no end in sight ." Jonathan Chait, after heroically vowing not to flee the country with his terrified family, but to stay and
fight to the bitter end, guaranteed us that the "monster," Trump, would "
shake
the republic to its foundations ."
Perhaps my seismometer is on the fritz, but I haven't detected much foundation shaking. Yes, Trump repulses me, personally. I
do not like the man. I never have. I was based in New York for fifteen years, in the 1990s and early 2000s, before he became a game
show host, when he was still just
a shady real
estate mogul with alleged ties to organized crime who occasionally appeared on Wrestlemania and just generally went about
the city making a narcissistic ass of himself and plastering his gold-plated name onto everything. So I have no illusions about his
character the man is an inveterate snake oil salesman with the moral compass of a Tijuana pimp. All I'm saying is, we were promised
Hitler, or Mussolini at the very least, and it seems like all we're getting so far is just regular old narcissistic Donald Trump.
Of course, he could just be laying low and holding back on the Hitler stuff as part of the evil master plan personally developed
by Vladimir Putin to systematically brainwash Americans (with state-of-the-art mind-control Facebook ads) into embracing all-out
National Socialism and marching through the streets in full Nazi regalia singing Amerika Über Alles at which point Trump will rip
off his mask, reveal his true Hitlerian face, Steve Bannon will suddenly reappear in the turret of an M1 Abrams tank at the head
of a division of rebel infantry flying giant Confederate flags as they hideously rumble down Pennsylvania Avenue, and the Putin-Nazi
Holocaust will begin.
Or maybe the extremely serious, Pulitzer Prize-winning political pundit David Leonhardt is onto something. In
a prominent op-ed in The New York Times , he wonders if Putin's "secret plan" is for Trump to destroy "the Atlantic alliance"
by arriving late for the G7 meeting and "picking fights over artificial issues," not to mention insulting the Canadian prime minister,
which, it doesn't get much more hair-raising than that. OK, I know you're probably thinking that sounds like the hopelessly paranoid
jabber of some conspiracy theorist nut on YouTube, but we're talking The New York Times here, folks, and a bona fide "respectable
pundit" who wrote a whole 15,000-word ebook and has been interviewed by Stephen Colbert, among his many other distinguished accomplishments.
Examined in the context of other blatantly loony theories the corporate media are currently attempting to ram down our throats,
Leonhardt's theory kind of makes sense. The Guardian , another very serious newspaper, in addition to covering the repercussions
of its coverage of Corbyn's Nazi
Death Cult , is hot on the trail of the soon-to-be-infamous
Putin-Banks-Brexit Connection
. According to "documents seen by The Observer ," a Guardian sister publication, Arron Banks, a "Brexit bankroller,"
allegedly
had brunch with the Russian ambassador three times , instead of just once, as he had claimed. He was also allegedly offered a
piece of some shady gold deal in exchange for the number of someone on Trump transition team, which for some reason it was otherwise
impossible to obtain. Or whatever. It doesn't really matter what happened. The point is, Putin orchestrated the Brexit, presumably
as part of his secret plan to destabilize the Atlantic alliance, and then blackmailed Trump into running for president with
that "pee-tape" the Democrats paid a former British spook to allege exists .
Paul Krugman of The New York Times concurs. In
his latest extremely serious piece of totally respectable grown-up opinionating , he once again calls Trump "a quisling" (he's
developed a fondness for this term, which goes over well with New York Times readers) and reiterates that Trump is "a de facto
foreign agent" and that "America as we know it is finished." Tragically, according to Krugman, the FBI, CIA, and other Guardians
of Western Democracy are utterly powerless to deal with this quisling, and his evil puppet master, Putin, because it turns out the
entire Republican Party is "hopelessly, irredeemably corrupt." Yes, it appears the only chance we have to save the world from Trumpzilla,
and imminent Putin-Nazi Holocaust, is to elect a buttload of Democrats to office, and eventually an Obama-like Democratic President,
so they can launch an all-out thermonuclear war against Russia and North Korea that'll teach these Putin-Nazis to screw around with
our trade agreements!
Oh, and also, we need to cancel the Brexit, and do away with all these "populist" movements that Putin has fomented all over Europe.
For example,
according to billionaire George Soros , the refugee-hating League in Italy is likely another Putin-backed front, part of his
scheme to "dominate the West." One can only assume that the AfD, the FPÖ, Rassemblement National, and every other extreme-Right party
exploiting people's rage and fear in Europe are parts of Putin's grand conspiracy (except, of course, for
the Ukrainian Nazis the Western alliance
put into power ). Soros, like billionaire Bruce Wayne before him, tired of waiting for the West to strike back, is taking matters
into his own hands. Not only has he been tirelessly laboring to prevent Donald Trump from "
destroying the world ," now
he's financing "Best for Britain," a campaign to de-brainwash the British people, who, obviously, only voted for Brexit because
they'd been brainwashed by the Putin-Nazis.
I'm not sure how much more bizarre things can get. This level of bull goose loony paranoia, media-generated mass hysteria, and
mindless conformity would be hysterically funny if it weren't so fucking horrifying in terms of what it says about millions of Westerners,
who are apparently prepared to believe almost anything the authorities tell them, no matter how nuts. That famous Voltaire quote
comes to mind "Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities," he wrote. Another, more disturbing way
of looking at it is, people willing to believe absurdities, to switch off their critical thinking faculties in order to conform to
an official narrative as blatantly ridiculous as the Putin-Nazi narrative, are people who have already surrendered their autonomy,
who have traded it for the comfort of the herd. Such people cannot be reasoned with, because there isn't really anyone in there.
There is only whatever mindless jabber got injected into their brain that day, the dutiful repetition of which guarantees they remain
a "normal" person (who believes what other normal persons believe), and not some sort of "radical" or "extremist."
These people are the people who worry me these "normal" people who, completely calmly, as if what they are saying wasn't batshit
crazy, explain how Trump is just like Hitler, and how Putin is trying to take over the world. I sit there and listen and smile at
these people, some of whom are friends and colleagues, people who I genuinely like, and who genuinely like me in return, but who,
under the right set of circumstances, would stand by and watch me marched into prison, or worse, and not utter a word in protest.
C. J. Hopkins is an award-winning American playwright, novelist and satirist based in Berlin. His plays are published by Bloomsbury
Publishing (UK) and Broadway Play Publishing (USA). His debut novel,
ZONE 23 , is published by Snoggsworthy,
Swaine & Cormorant. He can reached at cjhopkins.com or
consentfactory.org .
"... I subscribed to the NYT for a number of years. After the recent campaign and the current treatment of our President, Donald Trump, I quit. I am stunned at how these old media properties are being purchased and used for political activism on behalf of their owners and advertisers. ..."
"... The Gray Lady is an old SJW tranny, as far as I can tell.. ..."
I subscribed to the NYT for a number of years. After the recent campaign and the
current treatment of our President, Donald Trump, I quit. I am stunned at how these old media
properties are being purchased and used for political activism on behalf of their owners and
advertisers.
The Gray Lady is an old SJW tranny, as far as I can tell..
Murphy also included the District of Columbia in his research, and found it had a
psychopathy level far higher than any other state. But this finding is an outlier, as Murphy
notes, as it's an entirely urban area and cannot be fairly compared with larger, more
geographically diverse, US states. That said, as Murphy notes, "The presence of psychopaths
in District of Columbia is consistent with the conjecture found in Murphy (2016) that
psychopaths are likely to be effective in the political sphere."
Surprised? I didn't think so. But still, fun to get some scientific confirmation.
The personality traits generally corresponding to psychopathy are low neuroticism, high
extraversion, low agreeableness, and low conscientiousness.
Of course, D.C. came in first by far. But as he notes, that this is not exactly a fair
comparison, as it is a city being compared to entire states. The study finds that urban areas,
in general, correspond to more psychopathic personality traits.
Another interesting finding is that a higher concentration of lawyers predicts higher
psychopathy prevalence. I kid you not.
So removing D.C. can you guess which states come in the top three? I bet you can.
Connecticut
California
New Jersey
New York ties for the fourth highest concentration of psychopaths among U.S. states.
Interestingly, it ties with Wyoming which I would not have expected. But the author notes there
was a relatively small sample surveyed from Wyoming.
The least psychopathic states are :
West Virginia
Vermont
Tennessee
North Carolina
New Mexico
And it should not be surprising that the main correlation was that state with the lowest
percentage of people living in urban areas also had the lowest concentration of
psychopaths.
Perhaps psychopaths need to be around more victims, or constantly switch out their friends
and acquaintances as they become wise to their antisocial behaviors. Note that antisocial does
not mean loner, it means lacking empathy, remorse, and
behaving in a manipulative way that hurts others .
But to be clear, the paper is not so much identifying where all the psychopaths live, as
much as identifying general population traits which correspond to psychopathy.
This certainly leads to a higher frequency of psychiatrically identifiable true psychopaths.
But it also means that a large percentage of the population behaves in a somewhat psychopathic
manner.
While a very small percentage of individuals in any given state may actually be true
psychopaths, the level of psychopathy present, on average, within an aggregate population
(i.e., not simply the low percentages of psychopaths) is a distinct research question. While
empirical operationalizations of psychopathy frequently treat it as a binary categorization,
the Hare Psychopathy Checklist (Hare 1991) treats it as a spectrum. The operationalization of
psychopathy found here is consistent with psychopathy as thought of as a spectrum.
The study concludes:
Areas of the United States that are measured to be most psychopathic are those in the
Northeast and other similarly populated regions. The least psychopathic are predominantly
rural areas. The District of Columbia is measured to be far more psychopathic than any
individual state in the country, a fact that can be readily explained either by its very high
population density or by the type of person who may be drawn [to] a literal seat of power (as
in Murphy 2016).
Hailing originally from Massachusetts, I can attest to the highest corresponding personality
trait being "Temperamental & Uninhibited." Where did you think the term Masshole came
from.
If you aren't a psychopath when you enter the state, you soon become one from the traffic
alone. And I wonder if just being in such close proximity to people makes it a necessary
adaptation to care a little less about how your actions affect others.
There are just too many variables, so you become numb to the plight of others, and just need
to get the hell out of this traffic jam before I go insane!
WALTHAM, MA -- Saying that if the U.S. government would not act it was time to take matters
into their own hands, defense contractor Raytheon declared war on North Korea, sources
confirmed Friday. "Look, the American government has made it abundantly clear with their
massive payments and subsidies to the private defense sector that they want to scale up
military action on the Korean peninsula, but if they're going to putter around with peace
summits, then it's clearly up to Raytheon to lead the charge," said Raytheon CEO Thomas Kennedy
as platoons of Raytheon employees boarded company aircraft armed with its AGM-65 Maverick and
High Speed Anti-Radiation missiles, noting that fleets of Raytheon ships carrying private
security forces were already speeding across the Pacific toward the North Korean theater. "For
too long, we have put off what would be an excellent use of our armaments. We can only
stockpile weapons for so much time before we have to use them, and frankly, we're tired of the
empty promises from multiple presidential administrations that we're going to get to unleash
our full arsenal on North Korea. If the government can't even declare a simple war, it's
clearly time for the private sector to step in. Let's get this show on the goddamn road." At
press time, Raytheon allies Booz Allen Hamilton, Halliburton, and the United Kingdom had
announced that they would be sending weapons and ground troops to support Raytheon's invasion
of North Korea.
There are many other clear traces of evolution (constantly developing antibiotic resistance of disease-causing bacteria being
one of the most obvious), but the funniest argument for evolution I know is this: "Bush junior is the best argument against intelligent
design: nobody intelligent would ever design that".
The democrats have a large stable of brilliant and formidable possible candidates any of
which could lead the party to greatness
Hillary Clinton, Slick Willie, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Chuck Schumer, Mark Zuckerburg,
Anthony Weiner, Harvey Weinstein, Robert DeNiro, Oprah, Michelle Hussein Obama, Elizabeth (
Pococahontas)Warren , Madonna, Cher, Bernie Sanders , all the CNN and MSNBC personalities,
Chris Matthews, Bruce Jenner, Colin Kapernic, Gov Jerry moonbeam Brown, and that's just to
name a few. There is an abundance of talent , not to mention character and honesty.
"... But Lexus and Vovan – they strike again!! – get the OSCE Secretary General to admit it's Kiev that blocking it – more seeing what's in plain sight. ..."
TODAY'S LAUGH. (But not actually very funny). "Today the Atlantic Council launched
DisinfoPortal.org , an interactive
online guide to track the Kremlin's disinformation campaigns abroad". It says it's "reliable"
several times, so I guess it must be.
Famous story in the FBI. Young Special Agent selected to drive Mr Hoover
from the office to the airport. As the SA opens the door for the Director
he overhears a fragment of the Director and SAC's farewell conversation...
".............I am very angry about too many Left turns in this country".
Later in the day, "standing tall" in front of the SAC's desk he explains
why a normal 45 minute drive turned into a 3 hour fiasco. Not wishing to anger
the Director any further he explained, he plotted a course to the airport which involved only "Right" turns.
Oh it's way more than that.
That is the kind of language Oliver Wendell Holmes would have used back in the
day. It also brings to mind Samuel Clemens. This is a very sharp team indeed.
Mule-er basically drew to an inside straight, and got busted. The Russkies
called his bluff, and his hand is 7-8-10-Jack-four. Sorry, Ereberto,
no nine, just a "nein." Discovery is a bitch! I suspect that further
developments are going to be highly entertaining. Judge: "can we see your
evidence of wrongdoing." Mule-er: "That's highly classified."
In its earliest English uses, "pettifogger" was two separate words: "pettie
fogger." "Pettie" was a variant spelling of "petty," a reasonable inclusion in
a word for someone who is disreputable and small-minded.
Who would have believed decent Americans would ever applaud Russians
kicking the shit out of federal law enforcement? Do I hear "The World
Turned Upside Down" in the distance? Should Mueller change his name
to Cornwallis?
How about "corrupt" shill? Remember, Mueller headed the FBI before and
after the 9/11 attacks. Did Mueller's FBI investigate? No; they covered up
for 9/11 perpetrators. Thanks a lot Mueller.
If I were the judge, I would refuse any motion Mueller makes to avoid
releasing evidence, and if he doesn't do it within a matter of hours, his
entire staff would be getting perp walked for contempt. Let Mueller manage
his investigation from a prison cell, like some drug kingpin.
The US government has already wasted $200 million on this stupid "pettifoggery".
Some one, any one, put an end to this ridiculous dog and pony show.
Mueller, and the Justice Dept. are now the laughing stock of the world. We
need to save a little face, and have this SOB shot for the good of the
nation. This Prick doesn't give two shits for the American people, or the
nation that he is paid to serve.
These guys were likely just pushing click-bait on Facebook. And since it is
election season, it is easy for them to riff off the candidates.
Mueller
giving it any legitimacy shows he is either out of touch with how the internet
works or has his own special case of Trump derangement syndrome.
Accuse others for which you are guilty is in the dnc handbook. The only
illegal activity involved the DNC, team Hillary, and operatives in the FBI,
CIA, DOJ, and the IRS.
This indictment is a total fujkin joke. In Mueller's world he can charge
you with a crime but refuse to show the evidence. Proves that he has no
interest in serving justice. His goals are to defame and bankrupt enemies
of the deep swamp.
It's all fun and games until the defense show up with a shit ton of lawyers too.
Thin soup is what Mueller has. Thin soup. You would think that with the idea of being compared to Benedict Arnold, Him, Clapper,
Comey, Clinton, Brennan and all the rest would take pause. Swamp doesn't even begin to describe those shitbags sucking up our
free American air every day.
PS. A note of interest, when I was somehow accidentally using Googlet to look up past CIA directors, the first line was "Save
on past CIA directors" at Amazon.com.
Trump knows his prostrate allies. He moralizes: 'the more you screw them the better they
like it'!
That's the Trump doctrine. And its not only his personal views: the stock market loves it;
the Silicon billionaires and the manufacturers are cashing in on protection at home and free
markets overseas
@31....Adelson, casino mogul. Once the abode of the Mafia. Now not much different than them.
One in the same. "The government and us are cut from the same cloth." Sam Giancana, former
Chicago crime boss.
Posted by: Jose Garcia | Jun 10, 2018 3:06:49 AM |
61
"Poland Wants An American Garrison: Let Germany Do It!" (ZH) I think that was tried in
1939. Only caused a little WW2. Might just work this time round?
The only theory missing is that Mrs. Trump was secretly in Russia, meeting with Vladimir
Putin, planning how to steal the 2018 midterm elections for Republicans.
Ivanka's ability to give a speech and simultaneously say nothing is comparable to my
ability to get an A on a paper that i bullshitted my way through completely
I knew this government contained idiots, ne'er do wells, compulsive liars, misfits, childish
imbeciles, ego maniacs, sociopaths, psychopaths, bigots, rorters, drunks, fascists,
intransigents, ideologs, religious nutters, dullards, dunces, dickheads, shonks, spivs,
lairs, carpetbaggers, rent seekers, lobbyists, conmen, urgers, scammers, ratbags and people
unable to get work in any other field of endeavour....but Neoliberals?
Recent events involving the actors perhaps illustrate the limits of parody: A show about the
people with no self awareness hardly precludes such behavior among at least
the male real-life actors .
Indeed, while U.S. media seems increasingly drenched in satire, genuine improvement in the
society seems tragically rare and slow. So, to the extent that the Bluth family is an allegory
for twisted U.S. political institutions, perhaps a straightforward analysis would be of
benefit. Walt didn't elaborate on his analogy, so I have endeavored to connect the characters
to their appropriate institutions:
George represents the presidency. His very name is presidential. He's prone to criminal
activity, but at times attempts to maintain plausible deniability by using his twin brother,
Oscar.
Lucille is the nominal vice president, but, as is often the case in U.S. administrations, is
the actual cold, calculating power behind the throne. In seeming contrast to the actress
Jessica Walter depicting her, Lucille hatches insidious plots that she strong-arms the
president and others to carry out, like buying land to build The Wall on the border with
Mexico. She has an affinity for criminality on the high seas, perhaps stemming from the VP
living at the Naval Observatory.
Buster literally joined the army. He does the dirty work. He's -- big stereotype here -- not
too bright. He has an affinity for robotization, at times killing with drones and himself has a
mechanical arm.
Tobias represents the NSA. While he's a never nude, he can use his cat-like agility to spy
and move stealthily around a home. Or, after he says "I blue myself" -- is capable of
surveilling on the go. His photography of his own body parts was seemingly mistaken as evidence
of Iraqi WMDs.
Gob (or G.O.B) is the C.I.A., frequently dispatched by the president to execute covert ops.
With his "illusions" is capable of cluelessly killing innocents. He teams up with the Buster
army in the Sword of Destiny and the Tobias NSA in Gobias Industries. He's continuously trying
to cover up his various shameful actions, including from himself, by popping Forget-Me-Nows.
He's guilty of spawning blowback, such as giving the seal that bit off Buster's arm the taste
for mammal blood.
Michael is the State Department. He gets sent to Iraq with Buster and Gob. He had often been
seen as more sane, the adult in the room, but ultimately has been shown to be as twisted as the
rest of the family -- foreshadowing the current unfortunate trajectory of the institution he
represents.
Lindsay is the non-profit sector, perpetually putting on ridiculous fundraisers and staging
particularly pointless protests -- all the while eager to sell out, intentionally or not.
George Michael is Silicon Valley and its connection to academia. While ostensibly pursuing
an education, he focuses on projects like his anti-social software Faceblock.
Maeby of course is Hollywood -- she worked at a studio. While her parents Tobias and Lindsay
are inept, she's a skilled con artist. But she does have incredible lapses, displaying
incredible ignorance of basic religious knowledge and simple mathematics. She was last seen
eyeing more money in Silicon Valley as part of her varied incestuous relationship with her
cousin George Michael.
Ann Veal ("Egg") represents the politically organized right-wing mega churches: Opulent in
their wealth, banal in their persona, shallow in their beliefs, hypocritical in their conduct
-- yet with seemingly functioning family structures.
Lucille 2 : Is the donor class, perpetually funding and in bed with one Bluth or
another.
WASHINGTON -- Challenging American citizens to band together, rise up, and break out of
their "mind prisons," mohawked former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Thursday warned that
U.S. democracy was being threatened by plutocratic fascist pigs fucking over the working man.
"These totalitarian autocrats are coming to fuck you, man," said Tillerson, pausing briefly to
strike a match off his teeth, light a hand-rolled cigarette, and mutter that the goddamn fat
cats love seeing all us hamsters spin in our little wheels to power their trip.
"You all need to stop being fucking sheep and see the world for what it is, man. It's past
fucking time we went out and dragged these corporatist parasites kicking and screaming through
the streets -- and if anybody disagrees, I've got two middle fingers for them right here."
Tillerson responded to a follow-up question concerning his relationship with Donald Trump by
saying "here's how I feel about that piece of shit," flipping over the lectern, and kicking
Breitbart correspondent Charlie Spiering in the crotch.
I want to know what the FBI is doing about all the guys with suspicious names
playing hockey for the Washington Capitals: Orlov, Ovechkin, Kuznetsov,
Burakovsky...my God, man, they're playing for the CAPITALS in Washington DC!!
Holy fuck, do something! I heard a rumour that one of them was in a San
Francisco bathhouse at the same time as Adam Schiff! Or was it sitting in the
next booth at a McDonald's?
The FBI Wasn't Spying On Trump, It Was "Benign Information Gathering"
Vietnam wasn't a war, it was "a police action"
Our politicians and judges don't accept bribes, they "receive campaign contributions"
Waterboarding isn't torture, it is "enhanced interrogation"
Our Al-Qaeda fighters we arm and train in Syria aren't terrorists, they are "moderate
rebels"
Affirmative action isn't racist, it is "embracing diversity"
Israeli soldiers aren't shooting unarmed protesters, they are "defending Israel from
terrorist attacks"
Social Security isn't a Ponzi scheme, it is "old age survivors and disability
insurance"
Abortion isn't killing an unborn baby, it is "a woman's choice"
Saudi Arabia isn't a barbaric kingdom, it is "the leader of the UN Human Rights
Council"
Representative Kevin Brady isn't a prostitute for the banks, he is "a proven
conservative"
Afghanistan isn't the longest war in American history, it is "Operation Enduring
Freedom"
The NSA isn't violating the Fourth Amendment, it is "Defending our Nation. Securing the
Future."
The National Firearms Act doesn't infringe on our right to bear arms, it is "a statutory
excise tax on the manufacture and transfer of certain firearms"
Possessing nuclear weapons while sanctioning North Korea for the same is not hypocritical,
it is "exceptional"
Seth Rich wasn't murdered for leaking Podesta's emails to Wikileaks, he was "fatally shot
in a botched robbery"
One of the most complicated and frustrating aspects of operating a global capitalist empire
is maintaining the fiction that it doesn't exist. Virtually every action you take has to be
carefully recontextualized or otherwise spun for public consumption. Every time you want to
bomb or invade some country to further your interests, you have to mount a whole PR campaign.
You can't even appoint a sadistic torture freak to run your own coup-fomenting agency, or shoot
a few thousand unarmed people you've imprisoned in a de facto ghetto, without having to do a
big song and dance about "defending democracy" and "democratic values."
Naked despotism is so much simpler, not to mention more emotionally gratifying. Ruling an
empire as a godlike dictator means never having to say you're sorry. You can torture and kill
anyone you want, and conquer and exploit whichever countries you want, without having to
explain yourself to anyone. Also, you get to have your humongous likeness muraled onto the
walls of buildings, make people swear allegiance to you, and all that other cool dictator
stuff.
Global capitalists do not have this luxury. Generating the simulation of democracy that most
Western consumers desperately need in order to be able to pretend to believe that they are not
just smoothly-functioning cogs in the machinery of a murderous global empire managed by a class
of obscenely wealthy and powerful international elites to whom their lives mean exactly
nothing, although extremely expensive and time-consuming, is essential to maintaining their
monopoly on power. Having conditioned most Westerners into believing they are "free," and not
just glorified peasants with gadgets, the global capitalist ruling classes have no choice but
to keep up this fiction. Without it, their empire would fall apart at the seams.
... ... ...
C. J. Hopkins is an award-winning American playwright, novelist and satirist based in
Berlin. His plays are published by Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) and Broadway Play Publishing
(USA). His debut novel, ZONE 23 , is
published by Snoggsworthy, Swaine & Cormorant. He can reached at cjhopkins.com or consentfactory.org .
Great post. It reminded me of a joke I saw the other day:
"A unionized public employee, a member of the Tea Party, and a CEO are sitting at a table.
In the middle of the table there is a plate with a dozen cookies on it. The CEO reaches
across and takes 11 cookies, looks at the Tea Partier and says, "look out for that union guy,
he wants a piece of your cookie."
"An audience with Ian Bremmer: 'Populism is going to get worse" [
Financial News ].
Bremer: "Humanity has given us absolutely no reason to believe that if we are heading into
an environment where large numbers of people are economically expendable, we will do anything
but treat them that way."
...1] Russia hacked the DNC and Podesta (100% certainty) 17 intelligence agencies Obama
and Hillary said so. This will all become clear when we an finally bring Julian Assange to
justice. (just wait)
2] Russia hacked Brexit:
Russian bid to influence Brexit vote detailed in new US Senate report
h**ps://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/10/russian-influence-brexit-vote-detailed-us-senate-report
3] Russia hacked France:
U.S. increasingly convinced that Russia hacked French election
h**ps://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-election-russia/u-s-increasingly-convinced-that-russia-hacked-french-election-sources-idUSKBN1852KO
4] Russia hacked Italy:
Russia Blamed For Italian Election Outcome
h**p://www.ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/featured-articles/2018/march/06/russia-blamed-for-italian-election-outcome/
5] Russia hacked Spain:
Spain sees Russian interference in Catalonia separatist vote
h**ps://www.reuters.com/article/us-spain-politics-catalonia-russia/spain-sees-russian-interference-in-catalonia-separatist-vote-idUSKBN1DD20Y
6] Russia hacked Germany:
The impact of Russian interference on Germany's 2017 elections
h**ps://www.brookings.edu/testimonies/the-impact-of-russian-interference-on-germanys-2017-elections/
7] Russia hacked Holland:
RUSSIA HACKING DUTCH ELECTION A WARM-UP FOR GERMANY, FRANCE INTERFERENCE
h**ps://nltimes.nl/2017/03/10/russia-hacking-dutch-election-warm-germany-france-interference-report
8] Russia hacked Norway:
Russia Hacked Norway Like US? Cyberattack Similar To Trump Election In 2016
h**p://www.ibtimes.com/russia-hacked-norway-us-cyberattack-similar-trump-election-2016-2485956
9] Russia hacked Sweden:
Sweden PM 'can't rule out' Russian interference in Swedish elections
h**ps://www.thelocal.se/20170109/sweden-pm-cant-rule-out-russian-interference-in-swedish-elections
10] Russia hacked Scotland:
Russia meddled in Scottish independence referendum to aid SNP, claims security expert
h**ps://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/754332/russia-spies-scotland-independence-referendum-aid-snp-claims-security-expert
... ... ...
john wilson , May 19, 2018 at 2:30 am
And don't forget Stngr, Russia also hacked the Russian election for Putin to get in when
really an small time farmer somewhere out in Siberia should have won.
You know it's funny, all those 'conservatives' screaming that Edward Snowden is a traitor,
that we should trust the US government to spy on us in secret because national security
demands it, etc. Because only bad people have something to hide, right?
And now we begin to see exactly what it means when the central government can essentially
spy on anyone for any reason not so wonderful after all, is it?
There is an old saying that a conservative is a liberal who has been mugged, and a liberal
is a conservative who's been arrested. I guess a civil libertarian is a national security
hawk that's been spied on.
The signatories to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), better known as the Iran
nuclear deal, announced yesterday that they have found a way to "fix" the deal to make it
acceptable to US president Donald Trump.
Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif explained: "After lengthy Twitter discussions with the White
House, we learned that Trump had only one real objection to the deal: Obama got credit for it,
not him. So we decided to keep the deal intact, including the acronym, but change the name to
honor Trump. From now on, instead of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA will stand for
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Asshole."
It has always amazed me how from the start of all this Iranian nuke stuff, US officials have
alleged that Iran has facilities the IAEA doesn't know about.
If the US knows of such facilities, presumably they know where the facilities are and could
inform the IAEA, which would demand inspections.
If the US does not know where they are, it's impossible to take them out with
airstrikes.
The only way to eliminate them would be by invading and searching every square meter of
Iran, but we say we don't want to put "boots on the ground."
"Confidential sources within the U.S. government have confirmed a report that Iran has
viagra fueled rape camps populated by Kuwaiti incubator babies who are chained to test tubes
where they make weapons of mass destruction (to Iraqi specifications) that will soon be
shipped to the Gulf of Tonkin on a replica of the U.S.S. Liberty before being flown back to
Syria on highjacked airliners by jihadi flight school dropouts so Assad can gas his own
people while Putin watches."
"You won't get this story anywhere else" - said Rachel while twitching just a bit.
Meanwhile in an interview on CNN Madeline Albright lamented that her only career regret is
that she "wasn't able to kill more Iraqi children" - explaining - "we think it would have
been worth it."
Attention
Hookers : Special Counsel urgently needs your stories. We pay top dollar. Big tits, role-play,
and lying required. Television experience preferred. No drug screening. No background check.
Transportation included.
Call 1-800-George-Soros or contact the Law Offices of Wray, Mueller, and Rosenstein,
LLC.
We
hear that the documents he is said to present were compiled
by one Christopher Steele and assembled with the help of one Sergej Skripal and his MI6 handler
[redacted]. They will show that Iran attempts to buy yellowcake uranium from Niger .
This new comedy stunt by Netanyahoo is tightly coordinated with the Trump
administration.
We hear that the documents he is said to present were compiled by one Christopher Steele
and assembled with the help of one Sergej Skripal and his MI6 handler [redacted]. They will
show that Iran attempts to buy yellowcake uranium from Niger.
I think b was being sarcastic although Netanyahu and Bolton really are dumb and arrogant
enough to try it.
Trump shouda put that McMahon wrestling lady in the propaganda department,
shes pretty good at convincing 50 year old adults that wrestling is real.
Americans just aren't buying what these idiots are trying to sell us with these chemical
attacks by the brutal dicktaters.
I'm honestly confused by the stupidity lately, either Trump is a genius or he is the dumbest
person on the planet.
The totally insane actions of these morons lately is waking people up in massive numbers, is he
doing it intentionally? Like a call for help or something? Trying to show us who is really
behind all this this crap? (Israel)
Because if he isn't, thats exactly what its doing.
See BBC
interview . One really good sarcasm from Lavrov. Sergey Lavrov comperating UK beahviour with
the famous Lewis Carroll's Alice In Wonderland episode in order to describe the new western
'weird logic' of 'Sentence First, Verdict After' has to be watched repeatedly by all...what a
masterful HardTalk show...exposing the new bench mark in western international discourse.
Sergey Lavrov: No, I said "highly likely" as a new invention of the British diplomacy to
describe why they punish people – because these people are highly likely guilty, like in
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll - when he described a trial. And when they discovered that
the jury could be engaged, then the King said "Let's ask the jury" and the Queen shouted "No
jury! Sentence first – verdict afterwards." That's the logic of "highly likely".
Question: Have you got one shred, shred of evidence to suggest British intelligence tried to
kill Sergei Skripal?
Sergey Lavrov: There is an old Roman criteria "who is to benefit". The UK is grossly
benefiting from the provocations both in Syria and in the United Kingdom itself.
Sergey Lavrov: That's a problem. First, the A-234 agent in highly pure form in high concentration is already raising
suspicions.
Question: It came from Russia. In the former Soviet Union, you invented that.
Sergey Lavrov: Stephen, you are not factual. You may be hard talking, but you are not listening. This chemical substance
indeed was invented in the Soviet Union, then one the inventors fled to the United States and made the formula public. And if you
want to check before raising the issue, please do so, the United States patented this formula; and it was formally taken by United
States special services or the army, I don't remember. But A-234 is a very light, I mean, it seriously damages a person, kills him
of her, but it evaporates very fast; and the sample taken two weeks after the event cannot, according to our scientists, contain
very high concentration.
Notable quotes:
"... 'No, no!' said the Queen. 'Sentence first -- verdict afterwards.' ..."
"... give the Orange One some credit: he was a wrecking ball to the stagnant, hideous Clinton and Bush dynasties. He has also driven the DC establishment and media insane. Pure schadenfreude. ..."
They are also non-democratic, authoritarian regimes.
"By contrast, Trump is a loon, ignorant of practically everything, mentally chaotic, and
easily modified."
That's all true, especially the last bit. But give the Orange One some credit: he was a
wrecking ball to the stagnant, hideous Clinton and Bush dynasties. He has also driven the DC
establishment and media insane. Pure schadenfreude.
"Trump is a congenital liar who is devoid of empathy, a narcissist with a nihilist's view of
the world. These are not mere character defects; they have a bearing on the decisions the de
facto leader of any action in Syria would take. Among the reasons I opposed the 2003 invasion
of Iraq was my fundamental distrust of George W Bush and his circle, especially on the matter
of motive. "
That is why Tony Blair, Jack Straw and Alistair Campbell fought so hard to oppose invasion of
Iraq. In the end they had to resort an academic paper to do it. I feel terrible for them.
Trump is a typical business tycoon: a clueless moron. Pence is just a weasel. Weasels are
carnivores, but small ones: sometimes they eat, sometimes they get eaten. I hope Pence gets
eaten.
In response to a caller's concern, Oklahoma congressman Steve Russell told the C Span
Washington Journal audience this morning that there was "no danger from a chemical plume"
after missiles struck Syrian chemical plants "because the attack was designed to burn up" the
fumes.
Russell explained that while "Nazis used chemicals in the holocaust." and Russians
deliberately target hospitals and schools with barrel bombs, "no other nation takes as much
care to prevent harm to civilians" as the USA.
#111 and #144. Saud Arabia already have "troops" in Syria, Jaysh al-Islam and the rest of their inbred motley crew. That's
the problem. If that happens, poor Kurds, stuck between rock and a hard place. My bet is that 70% of Saudi troops would defect
to ISIS in no time!
I saw an interesting tweet over at Charles Shoebridge. " To be clear, I don't dispute that
as UK govt says cleaning up nerve agent may 'cost millions and take months'. But I do dispute
that the same UK govt and media saying this can also with any consistency then suggest Russia
has cleaned up Douma in just a few days. Jihadists claim that sarin was used as well as
chlorine.
"The Democratic Party is better than the Republican Party in the way that manslaughter is
slightly better than murder: It might seem like a lesser crime, but the victim can't really
tell the difference." -- Michael Harriot
There's been a whole lot of stupid put out about ScaryRussia in
the last two years, but the Pentagon managed to find a
new level of stupid today that I didn't know existed.
You know how they say that 97.3% of all statistics are made up?
"I think there's a basic reality check you can do on most statistical claims," Tim Hartford,
host of statistics podcast More or Less, told Vice. "You can just ask: Does that sound
reasonable? ... OK, so first, if you've been given a number, just ask: compared to what? ...
The second thing is -- what does the statistic actually refer to?"
2,000% 2,000,000%
The numbers are as meaningless as Pentagon body counts in Vietnam.
"... American tomahawks missiles are equipped with 'special' molecular compounds imbedded in the warheads so that when they hit chemical weapons factories it produces & releases an intoxicating floral bouquet like Chanel number 5, Old Spice, or Irish Spring soap... ..."
"Warplanes and ships from the United States, Britain and France launched more than 100
missiles at three chemical weapons storage and research facilities..." ...
American tomahawks missiles are equipped with 'special' molecular compounds imbedded in
the warheads so that when they hit chemical weapons factories it produces & releases an
intoxicating floral bouquet like Chanel number 5, Old Spice, or Irish Spring soap...
The Syrians then jump up and start doing Irish jigs and proclaim "Manly yes ~ But I like
it too"!
That dastardly Assad obviously knew his chemical weapons facilities would be attacked so
he had all of his chlorine gas moved and added to his personal swimming pool. Damn the water
looks great now but don't go for a swim for at least a few days.
The attack can be called "Operation Stormy Daniels" Rome had bread and circuses. We've got crumbs, tweets, and Tomahawk missiles
with direct TV coverage. Monica probably is crying for the day on old glory in Clinton Whitehouse ;-)
In other words: "Candidate Trump is dead. Long live President Trump" ~The Neocons. Notable quotes:
"... I think I will walk over to my neighbour and de declare his house and car and wife a "vital national interest" and see what happens..... ..."
Monica Lewinsky redux ? Trump is not right any more than a man who pulls the trigger once in a game of Russian
Roulette and gets away with it was "right".
Notable quotes:
"... Taunting the Russians via Twitter? It's not genius, it's dementia. ..."
from The Duffel Blog... Trump orders cruise missile strike against one of 3,297 factions fighting in Syria
WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump ordered a Tomahawk cruise military strike against one of
the 3,297 factions currently fighting in the Syrian civil war, sources confirmed today.
Just days after the Syrian government, one of the thousands of rebel groups, or al Qaeda
terrorists allegedly bombed civilians with chemical weapons, Trump and his military planners
launched missiles after mulling options that could potentially punish the perpetrators of
such a war crime. "Everything is on the table," Trump told reporters onboard Air Force One on Wednesday. "We're
pretty sure it's Assad who carried out this egregious attack. That's what my so-called
intelligence agencies are telling me. But they told me stuff about Russia, and that was fake
news, fake, fake news, so I'm not sure. I don't know what we're going to do, but we're going
to do something. Something."
"I'm not going to tell you what I'm going to do, because we want ISIS to be surprised by a
sneak attack," he added. . .
here
"... Concur. Clinton is sociopathic. Trump is narcissistic. The Deep State uses both. The former willing tool, she cares nothing for anyone but herself. The latter, the psychologists in CIA have his profile and manipulate him like a woman with a velvet glove. His inadequacies are easily stroked. ..."
Concur. Clinton is sociopathic. Trump is narcissistic. The Deep State uses both. The
former willing tool, she cares nothing for anyone but herself. The latter, the psychologists
in CIA have his profile and manipulate him like a woman with a velvet glove. His inadequacies
are easily stroked.
"Comrade Putin, we have successfully stockpiled novichoks in secret for ten years, and kept
them hidden from the OPCW inspectors. We have also trained our agents in secret novichok
assassination techniques. The programme has cost hundreds of millions of dollars, but now we
are ready. Naturally, the first time we use it we will expose our secret and suffer massive
international blowback. So who should be our first target? The head of a foreign intelligence
agency? A leading jihadist rebel in Syria? A key nuclear scientist? Even a Head of State?"
"No, Tovarich. There is this old retired guy I know living in Salisbury. We released him
from jail years ago "
"With respect Comrade Putin, are you sure he is the most important target to reveal a
programme we have put so much resource into for ten years?"
"Yes. I sit here every day and I cannot concentrate on the affairs of Russia or the World as
all the time am thinking of Sergei Skripal. I should never have let him out of jail to spend
his life buying lottery tickets and eating in Zizzis. But you must make absolutely certain to
kill him."
"Don't worry Comrade Putin, we have been training in secret novichok assassination
techniques for ten years. We even have an detailed manual explaining our methods. We will
spread the novichok on his outside door handle (fiendish laugh)."
"Are you sure comrade? Is there not a danger it will wash off or get diluted?"
"No Comrade Putin, it never rains in England."
That is, genuinely, in every detail the official British government version of what happened
in Salisbury, including the ten year programme and the secret assassination manual.
Despite this story being one of the most improbably wild conspiracy theories in human
history, it is those who express any doubt at all as to its veracity who are smeared as
"conspiracy theorists" or even "traitors".
All copyright on this article is waived. Feel free to use, translate and republish as you
wish.
Prime Minister May is seen at around the 0:40 (depending upon clip version) mark beating the
cat against a wall.
Also, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrzMhU_4m-g
is the "Burn the Witch" scene. With Putin as the witch it is a fair representation of the type
of justice and deep thought applied to the Skripal case.
The newest theory: novichok was produced in Tehran and delivered by an Iranian agent, Persian
cat who was owned by Sergey Skripal. The cat was allowed to periodically leave home for walks
and got the poison from other Persians. As UK authorities decided to pin the blame on Russia
(they actually oppose the renewal of sanctions on Iran but want to extend sanctions on
Russia), the inconvenient witness was liquidated.
The intricate plot was to cover the palms of gloves of Mrs. Skripal so the father-daughter
pair would get into contact with the poison misleadingly far from home. The door handle got
contaminated by a gloved hand of Yulia. Later, when the pair sat on a bench after their meal,
father complemented the brand new gloves and Yulia handed them to him for a closer look. As
both handled the poisoned surface with bare hands, the onset of symptoms was swift.
I posted this theory, without the role of Persian cat mafia earlier elsewhere. It is easy
to explain how car avoided contamination: Sergey locked the seatbelt of Yulia and she set
like a proper young lady, with hands on her lap with gently curved fingers. It is harder to
explain how the gloves eventually vanished, but cats that were observing Skripals could
remove them from the scene and drop into the nearby Avon river.
Thus the cat met poetic justice, while the hapless Guinea pigs were collateral damage.
"... ++ Joseph Magill #22. That is one of my surmises too. She just picked up a bundle of cash from her deceased brother's estate too as I read somewhere. There is no doubt a price to pay to take the cash back to Russia and for wee bit of play acting she could stay with the dad in UK. Perhaps she will get a job with SCL/Cambridge Analytica too. All surmise though. When I last checked May and her manbag Boris have finally lured Jeremy Corbyn into the sights. I guess that was one of the intentions all along and well worth any price for them. ..."
"... Listening to lies , propaganda for many, many years as soon as I heard the Skripal affair I smelled the rat-false flag. Governments unfortunately kill, lie. ..."
Days ago, before the poisoning theories surfaced, I read at Sputniknews Yulia's first
statement was "it didn't taste like chicken."
Posted by: Likklemore | Apr 6, 2018 9:21:21 PM | 52
Are you sure about that? I saw that claim, but on some blog not on Sputnik and I
understood it to be the blog-owner's sarcasm. A search produced no Sputnik page with that
quote - on the contrary a claim that the menu choice had not been released. Some UK
Newspapers claimed they ate the seafood but this could easily be deliberately planted
misinformation.
Skripals' Last Restaurant Order Not Released by UK, Niece Tells Russian TV - Sputnik
International
Considered in syndromal or functional terms it could therefore be considered a 'closely
related agent' to an organophosphate based nerve agent. It is listed alongside OP agents as a
nervous system agent here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ana.21072
Also see here https://emergency.cdc.gov/agent/saxitoxin/casedef.aspCase
Definition: Saxitoxin
Clinical description
. In severe poisoning, illness typically progresses rapidly and may include gastrointestinal
(nausea, vomiting) and neurological (cranial nerve dysfunction, a floating sensation,
headache, muscle weakness, parasthesias and vertigo) signs and symptoms. Respiratory failure
and death can occur from paralysis (1-5).
So accordingly, shellfish poisoning could be consistent with this: "The samples tested
positive for the presence of a Novichok class nerve agent or closely related agent."
When 'closely related agent' is understood as pertaining to a syndromal classification rather
than a chemical group.
Having read only about a third of the commentariat, what has been obvious to this point is
the food poisoning theory is appearing to be another echo chamber. Even global warming is not
enough to overcome the adage of only eating shellfish caught in months having an 'R', like in
MaRch (though this may not apply in the Russian language - having no familiarity with
Russian). Are those suggesting those alleged shellfish were caught the prior August?
Unlikely. There are two separate metabolisms, differing stomach contents, body masses, and
body compositions (fat components) in addition to differing ages and sexes. What would the
likelihood that food poisoning would happen at a similar moment with both?
Again the most likely cause would be a voluntary ingestion of some street drug by both
victims, such consumption isn't something rarely known, even in those parts of the world. No
evidence has been presented to either substantiate or disprove this, nonetheless this
provides the simplest vehicle for the two as well as a possible vector for the Detective
Sergeant poisoning as a first responder. Recall this happened on a Sunday afternoon, the DS
has not been established to be on duty that day or not; either way the presence of trained
CPR personnel would have resulted in the same response, going to aid persons in distress - no
mystery that. I suspect the time of recovery of the affected had a lot to do with the rate of
clearance of the substance from the bodies of the victims to levels difficult to detect.
Again supposition and conjecture seem to rule the public dialogue, and evidence is remarkably
missing still. YMMV
++ Joseph Magill #22. That is one of my surmises too. She just picked up a bundle of cash
from her deceased brother's estate too as I read somewhere. There is no doubt a price to pay
to take the cash back to Russia and for wee bit of play acting she could stay with the dad in
UK. Perhaps she will get a job with SCL/Cambridge Analytica too. All surmise though. When I
last checked May and her manbag Boris have finally lured Jeremy Corbyn into the sights. I
guess that was one of the intentions all along and well worth any price for them.
Listening to lies , propaganda for many, many years as soon as I heard the Skripal affair
I smelled the rat-false flag. Governments unfortunately kill, lie.
Here I see unnecessary provocation which could lead to war, as it was unfolding in Syria.
We are all in danger from stupid politicians.
Someone should tell Elliot Higgins over at Bellingcat that if he's been trying to geolocate
the expelled Russian diplomats in Belarus , he can stop now.
Anders Aslund's deep knowledge of Eastern European politics was no match for April Fool's,
when the supposedly all-knowing Russia commentator fruitlessly cheered fake news about Belarus
expelling Russian diplomats.
Aslund, who was presented by the American think tank the Atlantic Council as a
"leading specialist" on Russian economic policy and Eastern Europe in general, has
been featured on the BBC, CNN and the Washington Post as a commentator on Russian President
Vladimir Putin's administration.
The prank was carried out by Martin Kragh, of the Swedish Institute of International
Affairs, who tweeted: "Breaking: Belarus expels 5 Russian diplomats in solidarity with the UK.
'Russia is on the wrong side of history,' says [President Aleksandr] Lukashenko."
Aslund even commentated on the 'development,' stating that it revealed how Putin had
"profoundly" isolated his country. "This is not 'Global Russia' but Russia alone," he
added.
Kragh later revealed his tweet to be a prank by alluding to the date it was posted - April
1st - a day for playing practical jokes and spreading hoaxes.
Anders Aslund's deep knowledge of Eastern European politics was no match for April Fool's,
when the supposedly all-knowing Russia commentator fruitlessly cheered fake news about Belarus
expelling Russian diplomats.
Aslund, who was presented by the American think tank the Atlantic Council as a
"leading specialist" on Russian economic policy and Eastern Europe in general, has
been featured on the BBC, CNN and the Washington Post as a commentator on Russian President
Vladimir Putin's administration.
The elder Skripal awakes, tells nurses he is tired of hospital; walks out to find nearest
press mike, tells world Russia had nothing to do with it, just bad food at a Chinese
restaurant!
This slide is a good April 1 joke, courtesy of Her majesty government on Theresa May. By the way, I've heard the Russians are
now telling a joke about Boris Johnson: they're saying he was poisoned with durachok (bonehead)! but many be he is
playing fool, with vicious and calculated intention
Notable quotes:
"... All that is missing here is the mass rape of baby penguins by drunken Russian sailors in the south pole or the use of a secret "weather weapon" to send hurricanes towards the USA. ..."
In the 12 events listed as evidence of a "pattern of Russian malign activity" one is
demonstratively false (2008 invasion of Georgia), one conflates two different accusations
(occupation of Crimea and destabilization of the Ukraine), one is circular (assassination of
Skripal) and all others are completely unproven accusations.
All that is missing here is the
mass rape of baby penguins by drunken Russian sailors in the south pole or the use of a secret
"weather weapon" to send hurricanes towards the USA.
You don't need a law degree to see that,
all you need is an IQ above room temperature and a basic understanding of logic. For all my
contempt for western leaders, even I wouldn't make the claim that they all lack these. So here
is where "solidarity" kicks-in:
"Solidarity" in this context is simply a "conceptual placeholder" for Stephen Decatur 's famous " my
country, right or wrong " applied to the entire Empire. The precedent of Meine Ehre
heißt Treue just slightly rephrased into Meine Ehre heißt
Solidarität also comes to mind.
Maybe it did expand my audience. I have no idea. About the only proven use I found was being
able to get on Tinder to get laid, as you cannot have a Tinder account without a Facebook
account. Thereafter I called it Fuckbook.
speaking of "smart toasters" this 'daily show' clip from 15 years ago is a gut-busting
hoot.
i rarely if ever post links in comment sections, but this ties in quite nicely with this
article!!
THE international community has agreed to adopt a 'guilty until proven guilty' stance
towards Russia in relation to the nerve-agent poisoning of a former spy in Britain, following a
deliberation that lasted as long as it took to say 'well of course they fu**ing did it'.
The Russian government, who have previously stated in no uncertain terms that they 'don't
give a fu** what anyone thinks', categorically denied any involvement in the poisoning of
Sergei Skripal and his daughter last month, although political experts have pointed out that
the Russian spokespeople have had their hands under the table at the time and may have had
their fingers crossed.
So far, 15 EU countries, including Ireland have expelled Russian diplomats as the fallout
from the case continues, despite the lack of hard evidence that the Kremlin had anything to do
with the attempted murder of Skripal, a former double agent exiled in the UK since 2010.
Stating that 'you don't need evidence when they're clearly as guilty as sin', EU leaders have
sided with the UK government, whose secret service has never carried out shady, underhand
executions on foreign soil.
"I will miss very much the Supermacs and the Copper Faced Jacks," said the Russian diplomat
expelled from Ireland, packing his suitcase.
"But I understand the Irish people want to
stand shoulder to shoulder with their close friends in the UK. Maybe sometime in future they
will forget all about this incident and normal service will resume. How long did it take after
scandal about Russian spies using Irish passports? 18 months, maybe? I can wait that long. Save
me plate of coddle".
Meanwhile, Leo Varadkar has stated that Russia may be pardoned if Vladimir Putin visits
Ireland for a photo-op in which he sups a pint of Guinness.
The latest piece by Mr. Cyril Waugh-Monger, a very important newspaper columnist for the
NeoCon Daily, a patron of the Senator Joe McCarthy Appreciation Society and author of 'Why the
Iraq War was a Brilliant Idea' and 'The Humanitarian Case for Bombing Syria.'
...here is a Ukrainian joke.
- You say Russia occupied Ukrainian Crimea. So, why don't you fight for it?
- We are not stupid, there is Russian army there.
- But you say that there is Russian army in Donbass, yet you fight
- That's what we say, but in Crimea there really is Russian army.
I hope Melania isn't too hurt by this. Nothing says fidelity like the tender notion of a
non-disclosure agreement with your floozies . I'm sure that's how my wife would see it.
All 1,472 employees of Facebook, Inc. reportedly burst out in uncontrollable laughter
Wednesday following Albuquerque resident Jason Herrick's attempts to protect his personal
information from exploitation on the social-networking site.
" Look, he's clicking 'Friends Only' for his e-mail address. Like that's going to make a
difference! " howled infrastructure manager Evan Hollingsworth, tears streaming down his
face, to several of his doubled-over coworkers.
" Oh, sure, by all means, Jason, 'delete' that photo. Man, this is so rich ."
According to internal sources, the entire staff of Facebook was left gasping for air minutes
later when the "hilarious" Herrick believed he had actually blocked third-party ads.
The British broadcasting Corporation, or simply BBC is crying all day. And how not to cry:
The Syrian land is suffering from all sorts of iniquity. Legitimate government has already
taken control of two cities in Eastern Ghouta, where British trained and supported head
choppers have dug along with some British intelligence instructors. It's terrible and they
simply stand such an indignity! England loudly protest the fact that those nice freedom
fighters, that for some strange reason Russian view of Islamic fundamentalists and bandits are
killed and the province is liberated. Because there is another version of this reality for
England. and to add insult to injury they fed and funded, and deprived themselves to induce
those fighters to overthrow Assad. Money now lost.
And now Skripal disaster. I also see that somewhere in Sussex there a poor English Lord who
embrace as a brother Russian Jewish oligarch and they both cry and cry. All, or almost all
wealth which was acquired by back-breaking labor (aka stolen from Russians with the help of
British banks), can now go to hell.
Add to this the sad fact that those nasty Russians expelled the British Council! This news
was declared on BBC by a fellow who was almost crying dir such an undeserved and unprovoked
insult from ungrateful Russians! He really looks like so sad as if his own mother was just
buried. Looks like Russian hit in the bull's eye and a lot of MI6 guys will return to the
motherland. For the glory of God.
And BTW, it looks like that in of England over the past 17 years perishing way too many
defectors from Russia. Suddenly(!) the British began to count them and notice that something is
wrong! Now there is a talk that they say we ought to pull old files and cadavers and review.
It's a very cool idea to make same dead people a propaganda story about evil Russians the
second time! Reminds me Hollywood with unbearable continuations of popular movies. But on the
other hand, what if they run out of usable defectors who fit the propaganda scheme, and they
are simply forced to reuse the previously poisoned cadavers out of necessity? Looks like a
crisis of the genre of some kind! On the other hand Khodorkovsky and Browder might start a
little bit worrying. What if they are next.
"Sir, Further to your report ("Poison exposure leaves almost 40 needing treatment", TIMES Mar
14)' may I clarify that no patients have experienced symptoms of nerve agent poisoning in
Salisbury and there have only ever been three patients with significant poisoning. Several
people have attended the emergency department concerned that they may have been exposed. None
has had symptoms of poisoning and none has needed treatment. Any blood tests performed have
shown no abnormality. No member of the public has been contaminated by the agent
involved."
Stephen Davies. Consultant in emergency medicine, Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust.
Funny montage of episode of the soviet serial "17 moments of spring".
Stierlitz meets Putin in Switzerland. Casts:
V.Tikhonov, V.Putin, Y.Timoshenko, N.Savchenko, H.Clinton
Holmes, why do you think it was Teresa May who was involved in the crime in
Salisbury?
This is really elementary, Watson. There were several victims in this case. Only the real
organizer of the murder knows that the target of attempted assassination was Sergei Skripal
Stalker ABV , Sankt-Peterburg, 10 hours ago
Standing at the counter of an English pub, a man in the full protection gear tried to mix some
chemicals in the flask. Looks like he is a real beginner in such a task, "novichok" as Russians call such people,
derisively thought Sherlock Holms correctly guessing that the man is trying to prepare several ounces of nerve gas "Novichok".
"... Unfortunately events in Ghouta seem to be moving more quickly than foreseen. If the West doesn't get a move on there aren't going to be any more imaginary hospitals in Ghouta filled with non-existent children for Butcher Assad to drop fictional barrel bombs stuffed with made-up Novichok on. ..."
it's has a cumulative effect the west just has to keep the daily, weekly, or monthly
accusations on full tilt, without any substance to back it up.. but i do believe the west is
pissed they have been snookered in syria with un security res 2401 all the plans for a false
flag, chemical attack in ghouta and extra, have been turned upside down.. now, if only the
white helmets could figure a way to rescue the skripals from zizzi's restaurant and have a
real baby in the pic too, they might have had a better pr thing going here . sorry to be so
cynical, but too many of these accusations without substance to back them up wears thin after
a while.. at this point cold war 2, and a reenactment of mccarthyism is on full display in
the usa/uk .
" but i do believe the west is pissed they have been snookered in syria with un security
res 2401 all the plans for a false flag, chemical attack in ghouta and extra, have been
turned upside down "
I'm inclined to agree with you James. I think the whole thing was cooked up as a kind of
precursor: "Look! LOOK!! Putin is assassinating people in Britain with Novichok, and now
Butcher Assad has DROPPED A WHOLE BARREL BOMB STUFFED WITH NOVICHOK ON A HOSPITAL FILLED WITH
CHILDREN IN GHOUTA!!! We must take a MEASURED RESPONSE to this, and save the Syrians by by
BOMBING WHAT'S LEFT OF THEIR COUNTRY INTO RUBBLE "
Unfortunately events in Ghouta seem to be moving more quickly than foreseen. If the
West doesn't get a move on there aren't going to be any more imaginary hospitals in Ghouta
filled with non-existent children for Butcher Assad to drop fictional barrel bombs stuffed
with made-up Novichok on.
George Galloway tweeted:"IF only #Russia had access to #Novichok WHY would they choose that weapon to mount a terrorist attack
in England? Might as well leave a pair of snow covered boots at the scene of the crime and scrawl Vlad woz Here on the nearest
wall! THINK!"
This man, Clyde, and all others against you don't seem to have much knowledge of how false flags are planted and cannot think
beyond what they have already concluded.
Motives are there and false flags usually happen when there are several levels of profit.
It just happens to be the last phase of the war in Syria and we get another call from Nikki Haley to strike Syria, which happened
several times in response to so-called chemical attacks. I was waiting for it, but did not expect it to happen in the UK.
As if Putin would use such a method to kill, on the eve of elections, a former irrelevant agent, and then did not succeed.
There are other levels relating to the end of the Russia probe around collusion being declared over without result and the next
day the whole hysteria shifts to the UK. Another factor has been the ongoing Nord Stream II oil pipeline from Russia to the EU
which the US does not want (nor does Poland and some others).
Carl Jung described the lowering of the mental level in mob psychology and how this then prevents people from thinking and
rushes of their own unconscious motives and feelings dominate. Secret services who know how to play this are very good at it and
the media in the West are no longer run by independent journalists. It is tragic to see how the US and UK always manage to play
on these instincts of the masses and it works: the Wesley-Clark message about going to war with a host of Middle Eastern countries
is unfolding after using the usual demonising of the leaders, then the black propaganda and lies are used, false flags planted
and the mobs go along with it time and time again (who cares about Iraq, Libya, Syria, Sudan, Yemen etc.).
Thank you, Craig, for standing up to these low level, non thinking types who cannot help themselves and have no integrity to
even allow due process to take place.
He opened his bag as he spoke, and tumbled onto the floor a wedding-dress of watered silk, a pair of white satin shoes and
a bride's wreath and veil, all discoloured and soaked in water.
"There," said he, putting a new wedding-ring upon the top of the pile.
"There is a little nut for you to crack, Master Holmes."
"Oh, indeed!" said my friend, blowing blue rings into the air.
"You dragged them from the Serpentine?"
"No. They were found floating near the margin by a park-keeper. They have been identified as her clothes, and it seemed to me
that if the clothes were there the body would not be far off."
"By the same brilliant reasoning, every man's body is to be found in the neighbourhood of his wardrobe. And pray what did you
hope to arrive at through this?"
Arthur Conan Doyle
"The Noble Bachelor"
If it was the poison of a fugu fish, we would know for sure that the Japanese are guilty
You are over-thinking this, Craig. The fact that Boris Johnson has now stated that it's "overwhelmingly likely" that Putin
did it is incontrovertible proof that Putin is almost certainly innocent.
...UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said on Thursday that Russia "should go away and
shut up" when asked about Moscow's possible response to British sanctions.
...Lavrov said he probably lacked education. "Well he's a nice man, I'm told, maybe he wants
to claim a place in history by making some bold statements," Lavrov said. "Theresa May's main
argument about Russia's guilt is 'Highly probable', while for him it's 'Russia should go and
shut up'. Maybe he lacks education, I don't know."
The Official Enemy always does *exactly* the wrong thing:
- Saddam Hussein hid WMD even as war loomed
- Gaddafi ordered a massacre certain to bring 'intervention'
- Assad launched a gas attack exactly as inspectors entered Damascus
- And now Putin...
"... the name "Football" is reserved for a game where you carry an object which is not shaped like a ball with your hands instead of kicking a round, ball shaped object with your foot. ..."
"... Kind of like the "Forest Protection Act" removes logging protecting from National Forests and the "Clean Air Act" removes anti-pollution regulations from big polluters like coal fired power stations. ..."
In the US, where everything is named for the opposite of what it actually is, the name
"Football" is reserved for a game where you carry an object which is not shaped like a ball
with your hands instead of kicking a round, ball shaped object with your foot.
Kind of like the "Forest Protection Act" removes logging protecting from National
Forests and the "Clean Air Act" removes anti-pollution regulations from big polluters like
coal fired power stations.
Here in Canada the "Seal Protection Act" makes it illegal to protect seals, among other
"named the opposite of what they actually do" laws.
George Orwell nailed it in "1984". "War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is
Strength".
The PM has said that the nerve agent was 'Novichok' which is 5 to 8 times more
potent than VX... and the authorities waited 5 days to send the army in and over a week to
tell people to wash their clothes and other items?
"Sergej Skripal and his daughter were poisoned with a military grade nerve agent of a
type developed by Russia.
MILITARY grade? Well then, Mrs. Prime Minister... that's pretty God damn serious
then. Because everyone knows the Russian CONSUMER -grade nerve agents are crap. I
think they sell them on Amazon (Free shipping with Amazon Prime).
Like I said in a previous thread Novichok was part of the plot of the recent "Strike Back:
Retribution" TV series on Sky TV, Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox owns a 39.14% controlling
stake in Sky PLC. So a TV series by a billionaire supporter of Teresa May just happens to
make a fictional TV series around a nerve agent and Bad Russians(TM) and is put on TV just
before Teresa May accuses Bad Russians(TM) of using said nerve agent. This is not a
coincidence.
Link in Russian. Some (very few) Jews protested and I think because of the
oxymoron–Jews are never poor (wink, wink). This is the same company which produced
ice-creams Hohol and Obamka (diminutive for Obama), Obamka, as you may have guessed it, being
a chocolate ice-cream. State Department even accused the company in anti-Americanism.
I think it is time to produce brand Katzap to put all those issues to rest. Here is how
ice-cream looks like.
This is the level of nonsense that even yellow press would shun... Probably the pressitute who wrote it was
beaten to force him/her to write such a nonsense. Or as one commenter said was "working under hostile duress"
Notable quotes:
"... It is a "working under hostile duress" beacon set off ..."
> How please can a phone that can not send or receive signals, take a call? That is
impossible. How can a fact-checker and/or editor at The NewYorker let such nonsense slip into the opening graph.
Very very simple. It is a
"working under hostile duress" beacon set off
This part of the New Yorker article could be sheer comedy gold:
'... Regardless of what others might think, it's clear that Steele believed that his
dossier was filled with important intelligence. Otherwise, he would never have subjected it,
his firm, and his reputation to the harsh scrutiny of the F.B.I. "I'm impressed that he was
willing to share it with the F.B.I.," [former CIA spook John Sipher] said. "That gives him
real credibility to me, the notion that he'd give it to the best intelligence professionals
in the world."...'
FBI, best intelligence professionals in the world? Didn't the FBI along with the CIA miss
most indications of a looming terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in the months
leading up to September 11, 2001?
A former CIA officer called John Sipher, calling a rival organisation 'the best
intelligence professionals in the world'?
"...looked much like the other businessmen heading home, except for the fact that he kept his
phones in a Faraday bag -- a pouch, of military-tested double-grade fabric, designed to block
signal detection..."
A practical man, Steele also kept a giant roll of telephone line attached to his belt.
Unrolling it as he proceeded down the high street, he glanced upwards.
A Pteranodon, perched upon the slate roof was watching him closely. A bead of sweat
appeared on his temple, just showing underneath the rim of his bowler hat, trickling down the
side of his face, the leaving a streak that resembled a long forgotten river delta.
A chimmney sweet was approaching him on his right, whistling a jaunty tune, his bag of
extendable brushes jingling and clanking, just like Steele's nerves. Obviously a Russian
operative, the sweep was whistling an excerpt from Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty, an ominous
warning...
a day in the life of joe "THE TRUMP VOTER" republican--by john gray: Joe gets up
at 6 a.m. and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The
water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum
water-quality standards.
With his first swallow of coffee, he takes his daily medication. His
medications are safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to insure
their safety and that they work as advertised.
All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical plan
because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical
insurance - now Joe gets it too.
He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe's bacon is safe to eat
because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing
industry.
In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly
labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total contents because some
crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and
how much it contained.
Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is
clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for laws to stop
industries from polluting our air.
He walks to the subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work. It
saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees because some
fancy-pants liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives
everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.
Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical
benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy liberal union
members fought and died for these working standards.
Joes employer pays these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his
employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed,
he'll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some stupid liberal
didn't think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune. Its
noontime and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills.
Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some godless liberal
wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking
system before the Great Depression. Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten
mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because some elitist liberal
decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and
earned more money over his lifetime. Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his
father this evening at his farm home in the country.
He gets in his car for the drive. His car is among the safest in the world
because some America-hating liberal fought for car safety standards. He arrives
at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house financed
by Farmers' Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans.
The house didn't have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his
nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification. He is happy to
see his father, who is now retired.
His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some
wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so
Joe wouldn't have to.
Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show.
The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good.
He doesn't mention that the beloved Republicans have fought against every
protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day. Joe agrees: "We don't need
those big-government liberals ruining our lives! After all, I'm a self-made man
who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have."
Today's 'liberal' is no liberal at all. Center-extreme righties love
to get all indignant and shitty toward 'Trumptards' however today's
liberal deludes themselves into believing that they're 'socialists',
which is utter bullshit. They're party is racist, bigots and fascist
WARMONGERS.
At least with the right you know what you're getting.
But NEOLIBERALS have done more to manipulate and exploit their base
based upon identity politics which is thinly veiled after their fraud
committed during the 2016 attempted coup. Russiagate is utter
bullshit and all of these hangers on trolls here are nothing more
than cheerleaders for fascists who are sleepwalking them right into a
third world war.
These deep state whores murdered Seth Rich.
As a reformed ',liberal', I would rather spend time on slightly
rightie ZH page than to listen to these fascist fake liberals any day
of the week.
This past September, in one of his regular interviews with the newspaper Parlamentní Listy, retired Czech Major General
Hynek Blaško commented on the possibility of a conflict between Russia and NATO with a following anecdote:
"I have seen a popular joke on the Internet about Obama and his generals in the Pentagon debating on the best timing to
attack Russia. They couldn't come to any agreement, so they decided to ask their allies.
The French said: " We do not know, but certainly not in the winter. This will end badly. "
The Germans responded: "We do not know, either, but definitely not in a summer. We have already tried."
Someone in Obama's war room had a brilliant idea to ask China, on the basis that China is developing and always has new
ideas.
The Chinese answered: "The best time for this is right now. Russia is building the Power of Siberia pipeline, the North
Stream Pipeline, Vostochny Cosmodrome Spaceport, the MegaProject bridge to Crimea; also Russian is upgrading the Trans-Siberian
railroad with a new railway bridge across Lena River and the Amur-Yakutsk Mainline. Russia is also building new sports facilities
for the World Cup and athletics, and has in development over 150 production projects in the Arctic Well, now they really need
as many POWs as possible!"
Unbelievable. Aaron: I don't believe that the Mueller investigation has delivered solid
proof that Russia did anything against the country.
Sipher: Well I think that he and the FBI are reputable sources and I'm going to believe
them and what they tell me. Even if they haven't proven anything, we know that Putin is a bad
man and he wants to sow divisions here and besides he's using chemical weapons in Syria (even
though that's so totally off topic) and when I go to bed at night I see Putin in my dreams
and yackity, yack, yack! So there. I'm a poopy head and you're not.
Good grief, how can people believe anything by this time? And Rachel? Quit lying to
yourself and others. My gawd! You have come a long way from your time at Air America that I
don't even recognize you anymore. You are creating hysteria and you have become a raving
lunatic. Enjoy your $30,000/day, $7 million a month salary for selling out to the people who
you used to despise. I despise you!
I suppose it is ok for Aaron to interview guys like this CIA agent but the agent clearly
doesn't understand the validity of an indictment. An indictment doesn't prove anything; If it
did, we wouldn't need trial courts.
The Department of Justice could indict a ham sandwich if they wanted.
The DOJ knows that this case will never go to trial and they will never have to prove
anything. It is depressing that the Democrats and MSNBC have lost all credibility. We are
very lucky to have Aaron and Max looking at this sutff.
People all over the world are delighted to see the US and Russia joining together to
call out the globalists on their blatant hypocrisy.
Notable quotes:
"... "A Russian company spends 72p on Facebook ads: interference, hybrid war, parliamentary inquiry Soros spends Ł400K on bringing down UK Government: nothing to worry about." ..."
"A Russian company spends 72p on Facebook ads: interference, hybrid war, parliamentary inquiry Soros spends
Ł400K on bringing down UK Government: nothing to worry about."
A Russian company spends 72p on Facebook ads: interference, hybrid war, parliamentary
inquiry
Soros spends Ł400K on bringing down UK Government: nothing to worry about
pic.twitter.com/yeCZw4Z2B1
Steve S: "My God, what a confession it is to believe that 13 non-billionaires could influence
an American election: "Horosho! Now that election goes to Trump, next we get Moose and Squirrel!"
Seriously?!"
shinola , February
20, 2018 at 3:36 pm " If special snowflake America's democracy is so fragile that a bunch of amateurish Boris
& Natasha trolls can bring it down, then let it bleed [and share the Stoli,
comrades]."
"... Are we to see all this nonsense as merely an internal US matter, with the Dems planning an attack on Trump before he was elected, and subsequently promoting Russia as a blanket external enemy - as they can't accuse the Republicans, Banks or Big Corps, need an outside bogey, though they have post hoc also blamed the electorate, not smart. ..."
"... Russia is merely a mythical figure, breathing fire and red-clawed, in the wings, invisible, serving as a prop for the major contestants. ..."
"... Naturally, ordinary US citizens are of no account beyond their role as potentially duped followers, adherents, minions, serfs, ciphers on a page, etc. Influencing opinion(s) the most efficiently is part of the competition, actualised through media, TV, internet, etc. etc. ..."
I'm confused. The ICYMI facebook page has been going for a month or so.
It does exactly what the Russian bots are accused of, raising political issues and
mocking one side or as often both sides. Perhaps more UK based than US based though.
A lot like the more humourous RT posts do (which also find their way into my timeline -
not complaining I click on a lot of them). How come it hasn't been brought down yet?
And when is the Onion going to be indicted for being funny and spotting absurdities.
More seriously. The Russkies, e.g. Zakharova and Lavrov have said that the USA has gone
mad, is in the grip of a crazed delusional hysteria (or words to that effect.) Why the
hype?
1) Are we to see all this nonsense as merely an internal US matter, with the Dems
planning an attack on Trump before he was elected, and subsequently promoting Russia as a
blanket external enemy - as they can't accuse the Republicans, Banks or Big Corps, need an
outside bogey, though they have post hoc also blamed the electorate, not smart.
Neatly fitting with that Trump did propose 'good' ( ) relations with Russia, in an attempt
to actually conserve some, or even a major part, of US hegemony in the new 'multipolar'
world. (Trump wanted to control and 'annex' the weaker partner, not a bad calculation.)
>> Russia is merely a mythical figure, breathing fire and red-clawed, in the
wings, invisible, serving as a prop for the major contestants.
Naturally, ordinary US citizens are of no account beyond their role as potentially
duped followers, adherents, minions, serfs, ciphers on a page, etc. Influencing opinion(s)
the most efficiently is part of the competition, actualised through media, TV, internet, etc.
etc.
2) The USA is *for real* gearing up for a meltdown war, against Russia in first place, and
all the Media hype is aimed at getting US, NATO citizens to support it, or at least sleep in
front of the TV and not object, and/or be controlled by various entities. The US PTB will
never accept its loss of power/status and will destroy the world in a nuclear storm before it
gives up.
News review for the week ending Feb 18th 2018, in which Robert Mueller named 13 Russians who
allegedly conspired to alter the result of the 2016 election
View the archive at:
www.calvinsworldnews.com
Or why not check out my other website with classical music cartoons:
www.maestrocartoon.com
There's a certain irony in stuff like this that supersedes even righteous outrage. It
reinforces what Mad magazine spoofed decades ago: our spies are just as dumb as theirs;
perhaps even more so. And when you wade in the swamp, expect to attract leeches.
With the moment of truth - over-hyped dud or Democratic-establishment-crushing dream - looming in less than 24 hours, the headlines,
finger-pointing, pettiness, and back-stabbing has reached 11 on the Spinal Tap amplifier of debacle... to the point where some humor
in this FISA farce may help everyone get through the weekend.
The following is the latest to cross the wires...
Stressing that such an action would be highly reckless, FBI Director Christopher Wray warned Thursday that releasing the "Nunes
Memo" could potentially undermine faith in the massive, unaccountable government secret agencies of the United States.
"Making this memo public will almost certainly impede our ability to conduct clandestine activities operating outside any legal
or judicial system on an international scale," said Wray, noting that it was essential that mutual trust exist between the American
people and the vast, mysterious cabal given free rein to use any tactics necessary to conduct surveillance on U.S. citizens or
subvert religious and political groups.
"If we take away the people's faith in this shadowy monolith exempt from any consequences, all that's left is an extensive
network of rogue, unelected intelligence officers carrying out extrajudicial missions for a variety of subjective, and occasionally
personal, reasons."
At press time, Wray confirmed the massive, unaccountable government secret agencies were unaware of any wrongdoing for violating
constitutional rights.
DAVOS -- Maintaining that the notion didn't even cross his mind, President Trump reportedly
insisted Friday that he never once thought about firing Robert Mueller, feeding him to a pack
of rabid dogs, and mounting his head in the Oval Office as a trophy.
"At no point did I ever
consider firing Mr. Mueller, tossing his body to snarling, mangy hounds, and having his head
stuffed and mounted front and center above the Oval Office fireplace," said Trump, dismissing
several reports that he had ordered the special counsel to be terminated from his post and
torn limb from limb by starving Rottweilers before nailing his skull to a wooden plaque, but
backed off when a top White House lawyer threatened to quit.
"It's also totally ridiculous to
think that I would ever want Mueller gone for good, boiled alive, and chopped up into bloody
chunks. The stories you're hearing about me trying to get rid of Mueller and then gutting him
with a rusty ice pick are absolutely not true."
At press time, Trump asserted that if he ever
did one day decide to forcibly castrate Mueller and set him on fire, it would be fully within
his authority as president.
ltravisjr asks "what did she destroy evidence of?" There is just so much to choose from.
How about this joke
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are in a bar.
Donald leans over, and With A smile on his face, says, "The media are really tearing you
apart for That Scandal." Hillary:
"You mean my lying about Benghazi?"
Trump: "No, the other one."
Hillary: "You mean the massive voter fraud?"
Trump: "No, the other one."
Hillary: "You mean the military not getting their votes counted?"
Trump: "No, the other one."
Hillary: "Using my secret private server with classified material to Hide my Activities?"
Trump: "No, the other one."
Hillary: "The NSA monitoring our phone calls, emails and everything Else?"
Trump: "No, the other one."
Hillary: "Using the Clinton Foundation as a cover for tax evasion, Hiring Cronies, And
taking
bribes from foreign countries?
Trump: "No, the other one."
Hillary: "You mean the drones being operated in our own country without The Benefit of the
law?"
Trump: "No, the other one."
Hillary: "Giving 123 Technologies $300 Million, and right afterward it Declared
Bankruptcy
and was sold to the Chinese?"
Trump: "No,the other one."
Hillary: "You mean arming the Muslim Brotherhood and hiring them in the White House?"
Trump: "No, the other one."
Hillary: "Whitewater, Watergate committee, Vince Foster, commodity Deals?"
Trump: "No the other one:"
Hillary: "The IRS targeting conservatives?"
Trump: "No the other one:"
Hillary: "Turning Libya into chaos?"
Trump: "No the other one:"
Hillary: "Trashing Mubarak, one of our few Muslim friends?"
Trump: "No the other one:"
Hillary: "Turning our backs on Israel?"
Trump: "No the other one:"
Hillary: "The joke Iran Nuke deal? "
Trump: "No the other one:"
Hillary: "Leaving Iraq in chaos? "
Trump: "No, the other one."
Hillary: "The DOJ spying on the press?"
Trump: "No, the other one."
Hillary: "You mean HHS Secretary Sibelius shaking down health insurance Executives?"
Trump: "No, the other one."
Hillary: "Giving our cronies in SOLYNDRA $500 MILLION DOLLARS and 3 Months Later they
declared bankruptcy and then the Chinese bought it?"
Trump: "No, the other one."
Hillary: "The NSA monitoring citizens' ?"
Trump: "No, the other one."
Hillary: "The State Department interfering with an Inspector General Investigation on
departmental sexual misconduct?"
Trump: "No, the other one."
Hillary: "Me, The IRS, Clapper and Holder all lying to Congress?"
Trump: "No, the other one."
Hillary: "Threats to all of Bill's former mistresses to keep them quiet"
Trump: "No, the other one."
Hillary: "I give up! Oh wait, I think I've got it! When I stole the White House
furniture,
silverware and China when Bill left Office?"
Trump: "THAT'S IT! I almost forgot about that one".
-- -- -- -- –
Sorry that doesn't actually answer your question. By the way, when I googled for
trump hillary "the other scandal"
I had trouble finding that joke, but duckduckgo.com had no trouble finding it at all.
Makes me think that google is deliberately trying to hide it.
Taking place on the set of MSNBC's Morning Joe , Armisen's Wolff told Kate McKinnon's Mika Brzezinski and Alex Moffat's
Joe Scarborough about some of the incredible anecdotes that the author omitted from Fire and Fury , including the "baby races."
"Trump would ask to have two babies placed in his office, usually of different ethnicities. Someone would put a bowl of Goldfish
crackers on the other side of the room, and Trump would say 'One-thousand bucks on the blackboard,'" Wolff said.
When pressed on whether everything in the book was rooted in non-fiction, Wolff responded by telling Scarborough and Brzezinski
to just enjoy the book. "Even the stuff that's not true, it's true," Wolff said.
"... According to the Moscow Times, another Duma deputy suggested that the address of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow should be renamed as "Severoamerikansky Tupik, 1," -- "North American Dead End, 1." ..."
Sparking an angry reaction halfway around the world, the D.C. Council voted to rename the
street outside the Russian Embassy after a leading rival to President Vladimir Putin who was
assassinated near the Kremlin in 2015. A portion of Wisconsin Avenue in front of the Russian
Embassy will now be known as "Boris Nemtsov Plaza," according to the D.C. Council .
... ... ...
According to the Moscow Times, another Duma deputy suggested that the address of the
U.S. Embassy in Moscow should be renamed as "Severoamerikansky Tupik, 1," -- "North American
Dead End, 1."
I understand why you're so angry about the new Michael Wolff book, especially some of the
quotes attributed to me. I was as shocked as you were to see them in print.
For the record, I take full responsibility for letting Mr. Wolff hang out with me in the
White House for so long. Apparently the dude was writing down everything I said, word for
word.
Who does that? Nobody here at Breitbart News, that's for sure!
Please allow me to provide some context and clarification for my seemingly nasty comments
about your family.
First, you know Ivanka and I have had our differences. It's no secret that she actually
hates my guts, which is fine. Lots of people do. Almost anybody who's spent time with me, to be
honest.
However, Wolff's book says I describe your daughter as "dumb as a brick," a phrase I've
never used in my life.
Now, it's somewhat possible that – in an unguarded moment -- I said she was "dumb as a
box of rocks," a phrase I use many times a day.
In fact, I say it so often that nobody who knows me takes it seriously anymore, or gets
their itty-bitty feelings hurt.
"The biggest rub is how stupid they think the American people are," says the Broadway star,
who traveled for hours to parody the GOP nominee's wife with a perfect pouty lip and
spot-on Slovene accent.
Many got the joke, however, many did not and it gained traction because it was "so plausible." This is what "confirmation bias"
is about.
Notable quotes:
"... The parody paragraphs, below, describe Trump's (fictitious) frustration at not having "the gorilla channel" available on his White House bedroom television, and his staffers' subsequent amusing attempt to appease him ..."
"... Some people online at first incorrectly thought that the passages were actually featured in Wolff's book, in which Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon makes claims about the probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election ..."
The parody paragraphs, below, describe Trump's (fictitious) frustration at not having "the gorilla channel" available on
his White House bedroom television, and his staffers' subsequent amusing attempt to appease him
Some people online at first incorrectly thought
that the passages were actually featured in Wolff's book, in which Trump's former chief strategist
Steve Bannon makes claims about the probe into Russian
meddling in the 2016 election.
On his first night in the White House, President Trump complained that the TV in his bedroom was broken, because it didn't
have "the gorilla channel". Trump seemed to be under the impression that a TV channel existed that screened nothing but gorilla-based
content, 24 hours a day.
To appease Trump, White House staff compiled a number of gorilla documentaries into a makeshift gorilla channel, broadcast
into Trump's bedroom from a hastily-constructed transmission tower on the South Lawn. However, Trump w as unhappy with the channel
they had created, moaning that it was "boring" because "the gorillas aren't fighting".
Staff edited out all the parts of the documentaries where gorillas weren't hitting each other, and at last the president was
satisfied. "On some days he'll watch the gorilla channel for 17 hours straight," an insider told me. "He kneels in front of the
ТV with his face about four inches from the screen, and says encouraging things to the gorillas, like 'the way you hit that other
gorilla was good'. I think he thinks the gorillas can hear him."
Many got the joke, however, but said it gained traction because it was "so plausible."
Max Boot, MAX BOOT everyone, he's obviously a Russian agent, he was born in Moscow, he
MUST have ties to Putin if he was born in Moscow. He's a deep cover RUSSIAN AGENT, Max Boot
everyone !!
Last month or two, "Vovan" and "Lexus" presented their book on Moscow's bookfair - For
whom the Phone Rings . Fun read, providing not only transcriptions of their phonecalls,
but also the background information - how they acquired the phone number, who connected them
to their victim, how they prepared for the prank, the context and consequences. Most of all
they targeted Mikhail Saakashvili. The most damaging their prank was for Ihor Kolomoisky,
back when he was still governor.
Oh, and Julia Ioffe (kicked out from the Politico) mentioned them two raskals in her
latest (unreadable) article for the Atlantic - What Putin really wants .
"The US ambassador to the United Nations has fallen victim to a phone prank perpetrated by a famous Russian duo, with whom
she discussed the affairs of a fictional South China Sea island nation and the alleged harassment of the Ukrainian president
by Kevin Spacey.
Notorious Russian pranksters Vladimir Kuznetsov (Vovan) and Alexey Stolyarov (Lexus) have managed to one-up the US
government by calling Nikki Haley and tricking her into thinking that she was speaking with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz
Morawiecki.
During the phone conversation, the pranksters probed Haley's opinion about the island nation of Binomo -- a fictional country
located in the South China Sea not far from Vietnam, and invented by Vovan and Lexus for that occasion. "
When the pranksters told Haley that the country recently proclaimed independence and that the Russians have meddled in the
elections held there she immediately replied "of course they did!" The ambassador also stated that the US is aware of the
situation that it will continue to monitor it closely just as Washington deals with all issues "that keep coming up in the
South China Sea." "
I hope my virtually-unused high school German isn't too rusty after 45 years. ;)
____________________________________
@ Anonynmous | 25
The spectacle of Jens Stoltenberg and Angelina Jolie posturing as identity-politics
paragons is... speaking of German, once again I wish for one of those unique German compound
words that express a commonplace binary emotion: in this case, simultaneous amusement and
annoyance.
So I'm making one up: lustigärgerlich . I find this bumptious odd couple
lustigärgerlich.
To make a timely parallel, it's as if during the first Christmas, King Herod and Salome
issued a proclamation urging the populace to be especially kind and considerate to children
everywhere.
India was naughty as well and Nimrata Nikki Randhawa Haley ought to have taken the Indian
ambassador's name down as well. Maybe she'll even declare she won't ever set foot in India
again. Her relatives there will breathe sighs of relief!
We accompanied that with a prank in which we posed as Potanin calling the Washington Wizards
for courtside seats, Harvard University business school to purchase a degree, and the Augusta
National Golf Club -- brandishing Hiatt's article for access:
eXile : I am Russian banker, so-called robber baron capitalist, am interested in
purchasing your degree.
Harvard : ( pause ) Uh, sir, you can't buy the degree, but you can enroll in our
program. It's an intensive 9 week program, and you receive a certificate, not a degree.
eXile : No, this is no good. Do you realize who I am? Fred Hiatt wrote about me in today
Washington Post, that I am not typical robber baron. I am ze baby billionaire.
Harvard : We read a lot about Russia and it sounds very exciting.
eXile : Of course it exciting. Now I vant Harvard degree.
Harvard : You can't buy a degree.
eXile : Maybe instead I build nice cafe for you on campus. Or I can donate small nightclub
for Harvard degree.
Harvard : Sir, Harvard is a 350-year-old institution. It's not all just about money. We've
turned down princes.
"... No, the corporate ruling classes' endgame here is to reestablish neoliberal "normality," so we can get back to the War on Terror (or whatever they'll be calling it by then), and put this neo-nationalist revolt against neoliberalism episode behind us. To do that, they will need to install some sort of hopey-changey, Obama-like messiah, or at least somebody who can play the part of POTUS like a normal person and not sit around the Oval Office gobbling McDonald's and retweeting racist memes by random British fascists. ..."
According to the Chinese zodiac, 2017 has been the Year of the Rooster. Myself, I've decided
to designate it the Year of the Headless [neo]Liberal Chicken. I don't mean that to be insulting or,
all right, I guess I do, a little. But my heart goes out to [neo]Liberals, seriously. At this point,
the amount of utterly baseless, contradictory propaganda, mass hysteria, and just flat out
insanity the ruling classes have demanded they swallow is more than any human mind, no matter
how medicated, could possibly handle. Is it any wonder so many of them of lost it and started
seeing Nazis and Russians coming out of the woodwork? Just consider what the average liberal
has been forced to try to cognitively reconcile since the tragic events of last November
First came the overwhelming shock of Hillary Clinton's loss to Trump, a repulsive, word
salad-babbling buffoon with absolutely no political experience who the media had been
portraying to [neo]Liberals as the Second Coming of Adolf Hitler. This was a candidate, let's
recall, who jabbered about building a "beautiful wall" to protect us from the hordes of
"Mexican rapists" and other "bad hombres" who were invading America, and who had boasted about
grabbing women "by the pussy" like a prepubescent 6th grade boy. While he had served as a
perfect foil for Clinton, and had provided hours of entertainment in a comic book villain kind
of way, the prospect of a Donald Trump presidency was inconceivable in the minds of [neo]Liberals.
So, when it happened, it was like the Martians had invaded.
Mass hysteria gripped the nation. There was beaucoup wailing and gnashing of teeth. [neo]Liberals
began exhibiting irrational and, in some cases, rather disturbing behaviors. Many degenerated
into dissociative states and just sat there with their phones for hours obsessively reloading
the popular vote count, which Clinton had won, on FiveThirtyEight. Others festooned
themselves with safety pins and went out looking for defenseless minorities who they could
"demonstrate solidarity" with. Owen Jones flew in from London to join his colleague Steven
Thrasher, who was organizing a guerilla force to resist "
the normalization of Trump " and the global race war he was about to launch, which "not all
of us were going to get out of alive."
At that point, the media had been hammering hard on the Trump-is-Hitler narrative for
months, so they had to stick with that for a while. It had only been a few weeks, after all,
since The Wall Street
JournalThe
New York TimesThe Washington PostThe Guardian , and numerous other
establishment publications , had explained how Trump was using special fascist code words
like "global elites," "international banks," and "lobbyists" to signal his virulent hatred of
the Jews to the millions of Americans who, according to the media, were secretly Hitler-loving
fascists.
This initial post-election propaganda was understandably somewhat awkward, as the plan had
been to be able to celebrate the "Triumph of Love over the Forces of Hate," and the demise of
the latest Hitlerian bogeyman. But this was the risk the ruling classes took when they chose to
go ahead and Hitlerize Trump, which they wouldn't have done if they'd thought for a moment that
he had a chance of actually winning the election. That's the tricky thing about Hitlerizing
people. You need to be able to kill them, eventually. If you don't, when they turn out not to
be Hitler, your narrative kind of falls apart, and the people you've fear-mongered into a
frenzy of frothing, self-righteous fake-Hitler-hatred end up feeling like a bunch of dupes
who'll believe anything the government tells them. This is why, normally, you only Hitlerize
foreign despots you can kill with impunity. This is Hitlerization 101 stuff, which the ruling
classes ignored in this case, which the left poor [neo]Liberals terrified that Trump was actually
going to start building Trump-branded death camps and rounding up the Jews.
Fortunately, just in the nick of time, the ruling classes and their media mouthpieces rolled
out the Russian Propaganda story. The Washington Post (whose owner's multimillion dollar
deal with the CIA, of course, has absolutely no effect on the quality of its professional
journalism) led the charge with
this McCarthyite smear job , legitimizing the baseless allegations of some random website
and a think tank staffed by charlatans like
this "Russia expert," who appears not to speak a word of Russian or have any other "Russia
expert" credentials, but is available both for television and Senate Intelligence Committee
appearances. Numerous similar smear pieces
followed. [neo]Liberals breathed a big sigh of relief that Hitler business had been getting kind of
scary. How long can you go, after all, with Hitler stumbling around the White House before
somebody has to go in there and shoot him?
In any event, by January, the media were playing down the Hitler stuff and going balls-out
on the "Russiagate" story. According to The Washington Post (which, let's remember, is a
serious newspaper, as opposed to a propaganda organ of the so-called US "Intelligence
Community"), not only had the Russians "hacked" the election, but they had
hacked the Vermont power grid ! Editorialists at The New York Times were declaring
that Trump "
had been appointed by Putin ," and that the USA was now "at war" with Russia. This was also
around the time when [neo]Liberals first learned of the
Trump-Russia Dossier , which detailed how Putin was blackmailing Trump with a video the FSB
had shot of Trump and a bunch of Russian hookers peeing on a bed in a Moscow hotel in which
Obama had allegedly slept.
This nonsense was reported completely straight-faced, and thus [neo]Liberals were forced to take
it seriously. Imagine the cognitive dissonance they suffered. It was like that scene in
1984 when the Party abruptly switches enemies, and the war with Eurasia becomes the war
with Eastasia. Suddenly, Trump wasn't Hitler anymore. Now he was a Russian sleeper agent who
Putin had been blackmailing into destroying democracy with this incriminating "golden showers"
video. Putin had presumably been "running" Trump since Trump's visit to Russia in 2013 to
hobnob with "Russia-linked" Russian businessmen and attend the Miss Universe pageant in Moscow.
During the ensuing partying, Trump must have gotten loaded on Diet Coke and gotten carried away
with those Russian hookers. Now, Putin had him by the short hairs and was forcing him to staff
his Manchurian cabinet with corporate CEOs and Goldman Sachs guys, who probably had also been
videotaped by the FSB in Moscow hotels paying hookers to pee on furniture, or performing
whatever other type of seditious, perverted kink they were into.
Before the poor [neo]Liberals had time to process this, the ruling classes launched "the
Resistance." You remember the Pussyhat
People , don't you? And the global corporate PR campaign which accompanied their historic
"Womens' March" on Washington? Do you remember [neo]Liberals like Michael Moore shrieking for the feds to arrest
Donald Trump ? Or publications like The New York TimesSalon , and many others, and even State
Satirist Stephen Colbert accusing Trump and anyone who supported him of treason a crime,
let's recall, that is punishable by death? Do you remember folks like William Kristol and Rob "the Meathead"
Reiner demanding that the "deep state" launch a coup against Trump to rescue America from
the Russian infiltrators?
Ironically, the roll-out of this "Russiagate" hysteria was so successful that it peaked too
soon, and prematurely backlashed all over itself. By March, when Trump had not been arrested,
nor otherwise removed from office, [neo]Liberals, who by that time the corporate media had teased
into an incoherent, throbbing state of anticipation were well, rather disappointed. By April,
they were exhibiting all the hallmark symptoms of clinical psychosis. This mental breakdown was
due to the fact that the media pundits and government spooks who had been telling them that
Trump was Hitler, and then a Russian sleeper agent, were now telling them that he wasn't so
bad , because he'd pointlessly bombed a Syrian airstrip, and dropped a $314 million Massive
Ordnance Air Blast bomb on some alleged "terrorist caves" in Afghanistan.
As if [neo]Liberals' poor brains weren't rattled enough, the corporate media then switched back
to, first, the Russian Propaganda narrative (which they expanded into a global threat), then,
the Hitler stuff again, but this time Trump wasn't actually Hitler, because Putin was Hitler,
or at least he was fomenting Hitlerism throughout the West with his legions of fascist hacker
bots who were "influencing" unsuspecting consumers with their blitzkrieg of divisive "fake
news" stories. Oh, yeah, and now
Putin had also done Brexit , or Trump and Robert Mercer had, but they were working for
Putin, who had also hacked the
French election that he hadn't hacked , or whatever
this was no time to worry about what had or hadn't actually happened. The peace and prosperity
President Obama had reestablished throughout the West by incessantly bombing the Greater Middle
East and bailing out his pals at the Wall Street banks was being torn asunder by Vladimir
Putin, who at some point had apparently metamorphosized from a ruthless, former KGB autocrat
into a white supremacist megalomaniac.
Right on cue, on the weekend of August 11-12 in Charlottesville, Virginia,
where there had never been any history of racism , a "national gathering" of approximately
five hundred tiki torch-bearing neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klan types, and other white supremacists,
many of them barking Nazi slogans, marched into the pages of history. Never before have so few
fascists owed so much to the mainstream media, which showered them with overwrought coverage,
triggering a national Nazi panic. [neo]Liberals poured into the streets, tearing down Confederate
monuments, and otherwise signaling their total intolerance of the racism they had tolerated
until a few days earlier.
People named after Robert E. Lee , and horses named after
General Lee's horse , went into hiding to until the panic subsided. This was wise, as by
then the so-called anti-fascists were showing up in force at anything resembling a right-wing
rally and stomping the living Hitler out of Nazis, and Trump supporters, and journalists, and
well, anyone they didn't think looked quite right. This totally preemptively self-defensive,
non-violent type of violent behavior, naturally, shocked and horrified [neo]Liberals, who are
strongly opposed to all forms of violence that aren't carried out by the US military, or the
police, or someone else wearing a uniform. Unsure as to whom they were supposed to condemn, the
Nazis or the Antifa terrorists, they turned for guidance to the corporate ruling classes, who
informed them
it was time to censor the Internet
This made about as much sense as any of the other nonsense they'd been spoonfed so far, so [neo]Liberals decided to get behind it, or at least look the other way while it happened. Facebook,
Google, Amazon, Twitter (and all the other corporations that control the Internet, the media,
Hollywood, the publishing industry, and every other means of representing "reality") surely
have people's best interests at heart. Plus, they're only censoring the Nazis, and the
terrorists, and the Russian "fake news" disseminators, and, OK, a lot of leftist publications, and
award-winning journalists , and anyone else espousing "divisive," anti-American, or
anti-corporate, "extremist" views.
Look, I know what you're probably thinking, but it isn't like [neo]Liberals don't actually care
about fundamental liberal values like freedom of the press and speech and all that. It's just
that they desperately need the Democrats to take back the House and the Senate next year, so
they can get on with impeaching Trump, and if they have to stand by while the corporations
suppress a little leftist dissent, or, you know, transform the entire Internet into a massive,
mind-numbing echo chamber of neo-McCarthyite corporate conformity well, sacrifices have to be
made.
This can't go on forever, after all. This level of full-blown mass hysteria can only be
sustained for so long. It's all fine and good to be able to whip people up into a frenzied mob,
but at some point you need to have an endgame. The neoliberal ruling classes know this. Their
endgame is actually fairly simple. Their plan is to (a) make an example of Trump to discourage
any future billionaire idiots from screwing with their simulation of democracy, and (b)
demonize anyone deviating from neoliberal ideology as a fascist, racist, or anti-Semite, or
otherwise "abnormal" or "extremist." Their plan is not to incinerate the entire planet
in a war with Russia. We're not on the brink of World War III, despite how many Twitter likes
or Facebook shares it might get me to say that. Yes, eventually, they want to force Russia to
return to the kind of "cooperation" it engaged in during the 1990s, when it was run by an
incorrigible drunkard and the Goldman Sachs boys and their oligarch pals were looting the
country for all it was worth but that has little to do with all this.
No, the corporate ruling classes' endgame here is to reestablish neoliberal "normality,"
so we can get back to the War on Terror (or whatever they'll be calling it by then), and put
this
neo-nationalist revolt against neoliberalism episode behind us. To do that, they will need
to install some sort of hopey-changey, Obama-like messiah, or at least somebody who can play
the part of POTUS like a normal person and not sit around the Oval Office gobbling McDonald's
and retweeting racist memes by random British fascists.
The way things are going, that might take a while, but rest assured they'll get there
eventually. Now that Robert Mueller has proved that Trump colluded with Vladimir Putin by
obstructing an investigation by Comey into Michael Flynn's lying to the FBI about not colluding
with the Russian ambassador on behalf of Israel at Kushner's behest, the dominoes are surely
about to fall. Once they all have, and Donald Trump's head has been mounted on a spike on the
White House lawn as a warning to any other potential usurpers, all this Russia and Nazi
hysteria that has the poor [neo]Liberals running around like headless chickens will disappear.
Russia will go back to being Russia. The North American Nazi Menace, deprived of daily media
coverage, will go back to being a fringe phenomenon. [neo]Liberals will go back to ignoring politics
(except identity politics, naturally) and obediently serving the global capitalist ruling
elites that are destroying the planet, and the lives of millions of human beings, in order to
increase their profit margins. Sure, there'll be a brief emotional hangover, once the
adrenaline rush wears off and they look back at their tweets and Facebook posts, which in
hindsight might convey the impression that they spent the better part of a year parroting
whatever insane propaganda the corporate media pumped out at them, and otherwise behaving like
Good
Americans but then, that's what the "delete" key is for. Join the debate on
Facebook More articles by: CJ HopkinsC. J. Hopkins is an
award-winning American playwright, novelist and satirist based in Berlin. His plays are
published by Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) and Broadway Play Publishing (USA). His debut novel,
ZONE 23 , is
published by Snoggsworthy, Swaine & Cormorant. He can reached at cjhopkins.com or consentfactory.org .
Hundreds of other princes and gentlemen were tortured, too, until they agreed to surrender their ill-gotten assets, 70% of all
they have. As I write, and as you read these lines, the torture goes on, and so far MBS has already milked his victims of
hundreds of billions $$ worth of cash and assets.
"An Extortion racket", you'll exclaim. Perhaps MBS watched The Godfather in his impressionable youth and was
impressed by efficiency of their methods. However, he has solved, or rather is in the process of solving, the problem of
solvency.
Perhaps this is the method to be advised to Trump and Putin, as well as to other leaders? If the neoliberal dogma forbids
taxing, if the offshore are sacred, what remains for a diligent leader but a plush five-star hotel and a band of experienced
torturers?
You are one of the very few critical journalists today willing to print objective measures
of the truth, while the MSM spins out of control under the guise of "protecting America" (and
their vital sources), while at the same time actually undermining the very principles of a
working democracy they sanctimoniously pretend to defend. It makes me nostalgic for the
McCarthy era, when we could safely satirize the Army-McCarthy Hearings (unless you were a
witness!). I offer the following as a retrospective of a lost era.:
Top-Ten Criteria for being a Putin Stooge, and a Chance at Winning A One Way Lottery
Ticket to the Gala Gitmo Hotel:
(1) Reading Consortium News, Truth Dig, The Real News Network, RT and Al Jeziera
(2) Drinking Starbucks and vodka at the Russian Tea Room with Russian tourists (with an
embedded FSS agent) in NYC.
(3) Meeting suspicious tour guides in Red Square who accept dollars for their historical
jokes.
(4) Claiming to catch a cell phone photo of the Putin limousine passing through the
Kremlin Tower gate.
(4) Starting a joint venture with a Russian trading partner who sells grain to feed
Putin's stable of stallions.
(5) Catching the flu while being sneezed upon in Niagara Falls by a Russian violinist.
(6) Finding the hidden jewels in the Twelfth Chair were nothing but cut glass.
(7) Reading War and Peace on the Brighton Beach ferry.
(8) Playing the iPod version of Rachmaninoff's "Vespers" through ear buds while attending
mass in Dallas, TX..
(9) Water skiing on the Potomac flying a pennant saying "Wasn't Boris Good Enough?"
(10) Having audibly chuckled even once at items (1) -- (9).
The international organization for migration has published official data which shows that
every fourth prostitute in Europe is a citizen of Ukraine.
The article discusses pamphlets that are distributed to young Ukrainian girls/women advising
them on how to survive and flourish in new realities of life in the EU.
the Ukrainian labor market is being formed and is growing. Even if there is no other work
and none is expected, girls should know that Europe will take care of them. The younger
generation of Ukrainian schoolgirls will find out how to apply themselves If you are involved
in the sex business, then this brochure is for you," it is said in the introduction. "You have
chosen a very dangerous profession, but if you always follow these simple rules, then you will
get a chance to live a long life You shouldn't serve several clients alone, you should avoid
drunk clients, and also always to take payment in advance. And when you go to the client's
apartment, try to learn in what district of the city it is located, give preference to
hotels".
It's okay if you're a hooker, and all you have to sell is yourself. You have chosen a
dangerous profession, but really the writing was on the wall, wasn't it, if only you'd had
sense to read it? And the economic calamity which has come to pass in your country is really
no concern of ours, while for our part we are not too upset at being offered the choice of
some of the most beautiful young women on the planet, who will do anything you say for a
handful of euros.
Here's to your bright new future in the EU. Incredible. I wonder if Poroshenko will tout
this statistic as another validation of Ukrainians' confidence in his leadership.
These tactics do not just suppress information. They enforce conformity at much
deeper level.
Notable quotes:
"... I am using the Orwellian verb "unperson" playfully, but I'm also trying to be precise. What's happening isn't censorship, technically, at least not in the majority of cases. While there are examples of classic censorship (e.g., in the UK, France, and Germany), apart from so-called "terrorist content," most governments aren't formally banning expressions of anti-corporatist dissent. This isn't Czechoslovakia, after all. This is global capitalism, where the repression of dissent is a little more subtle. The point of Google unpersoning CounterPunch (and probably many other publications) and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists like Hedges is not to prevent them from publishing their work or otherwise render them invisible to readers. The goal is to delegitmize them, and thus decrease traffic to their websites and articles, and ultimately drive them out of business, if possible. ..."
"... Another objective of this non-censorship censorship is discouraging writers like myself from contributing to publications like CounterPunch, Truthdig, Alternet, Global Research, and any other publications the corporatocracy deems "illegitimate." Google unpersoning a writer like Hedges is a message to other non-ball-playing writers. The message is, "this could happen to you." This message is meant for other journalists, primarily, but it's also aimed at writers like myself who are making a living (to whatever degree) writing and selling what we think of as "literature." ..."
"... These tactics do not just suppress information. They enforce conformity at much deeper level. ..."
"... Chomsky explains how this system operates in What Makes Mainstream Media Mainstream . It isn't a question of censorship the system operates on rewards and punishments, financial and emotional coercion, and subtler forms of intimidation. Making examples of non-cooperators is a particularly effective tactic. Ask any one of the countless women whose careers have been destroyed by Harvey Weinstein, or anyone who's been to graduate school, or worked at a major corporation. ..."
"... C. J. Hopkins is an award-winning American playwright, novelist and satirist based in Berlin. His plays are published by Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) and Broadway Play Publishing (USA). His debut novel, ZONE 23 , is published by Snoggsworthy, Swaine & Cormorant. He can reached at cjhopkins.com or consentfactory.org . ..."
On November 30, 2016, presumably right at the stroke of midnight, Google Inc. unpersoned
CounterPunch. They didn't send out a press release or anything. They just quietly removed it
from the Google News aggregator. Not very many people noticed. This happened just as the "fake
news" hysteria was being unleashed by the corporate media, right around the time The Washington
Post ran
this neo-McCarthyite smear piece vicariously accusing CounterPunch, and a number of other
publications, of being "peddlers of Russian propaganda." As I'm sure you'll recall, that
astounding piece of "journalism" (which The Post was promptly forced to disavow with an absurd
disclaimer but has refused to retract) was based on the claims of an anonymous website
apparently staffed by a couple of teenagers and a formerly rabidly anti-Communist, now rabidly
anti-Putin think tank. Little did most people know at the time that these were just the opening
salvos in what has turned out to be an all-out crackdown on any and all forms of vocal
opposition to the global corporate ruling classes and their attempts to quash the ongoing
nationalist backlash against their neoliberal agenda.
Almost a year later, things are much clearer. If you haven't been following this story
closely, and you care at all about freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and that kind of
stuff, you may want to take an hour or two and catch up a bit on what's been happening. I
offered a few examples of some of the measures governments and corporations have been taking to
stifle expressions of dissent in my latest
piece in CounterPunch , and there are many more detailed articles online, like this one by Andre
Damon from July, and this follow-up he published last
week (which reports that Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Chris Hedges has also
been unpersoned). Or, if you're the type of soul who only believes what corporations tell you,
and who automatically dismisses anything published by a Trotskyist website, here's
one from last December in The Guardian, and an
op-ed in The New York Times , both of which at least report what Google, Twitter, and
Facebook are up to. Or you could read this
piece by Robert Parry , who also has "legitimate" (i.e., corporate) credentials, and who
hasn't been unpersoned just yet, although I'm sure they'll get around to him eventually.
I am using the Orwellian verb "unperson" playfully, but I'm also trying to be precise.
What's happening isn't censorship, technically, at least not in the majority of cases. While
there are examples of classic censorship (e.g., in the UK, France, and Germany), apart from
so-called "terrorist content," most governments aren't formally banning expressions of
anti-corporatist dissent. This isn't Czechoslovakia, after all. This is global capitalism,
where the repression of dissent is a little more subtle. The point of Google unpersoning
CounterPunch (and probably many other publications) and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists like
Hedges is not to prevent them from publishing their work or otherwise render them invisible to
readers. The goal is to delegitmize them, and thus decrease traffic to their websites and
articles, and ultimately drive them out of business, if possible.
Another objective of this non-censorship censorship is discouraging writers like myself
from contributing to publications like CounterPunch, Truthdig, Alternet, Global Research, and
any other publications the corporatocracy deems "illegitimate." Google unpersoning a writer
like Hedges is a message to other non-ball-playing writers. The message is, "this could happen
to you." This message is meant for other journalists, primarily, but it's also aimed at writers
like myself who are making a living (to whatever degree) writing and selling what we think of
as "literature."
Yes, as you've probably guessed by now, in addition to writing political satire, I am, as
rogue journalist Caitlin Johnstone so aptly put it once, an "elitist wanker." I've spent the
majority of my adult life writing stage plays and working in the theater, and it doesn't get
any more elitist than that. My plays are published by "establishment" publishers, have won a
few awards, and have been produced internationally. I recently published my "debut novel"
(which is what you call it if you're an elitist wanker) and am currently trying to promote and
sell it. I mention this, not to blow my little horn, but to the set the stage to try to
illustrate how these post-Orwellian intimidation tactics (i.e., unpersoning people from the
Internet) work. These tactics do not just suppress information. They enforce conformity at much
deeper level.
The depressing fact of the matter is, in our brave new Internet-dominated world,
corporations like Google, Twitter, and Facebook (not to mention Amazon), are, for elitist
wankers like me, in the immortal words of Colonel Kurz, "either friends or they are truly
enemies to be feared." If you are in the elitist wanker business, regardless of whether you're
Jonathan Franzen, Garth Risk Hallberg, Margaret Atwood, or some "mid-list" or "emerging"
author, there is no getting around these corporations. So it's kind of foolish, professionally
speaking, to write a bunch of essays that will piss them off, and then publish these essays in
CounterPunch. Literary agents advise against this. Other elitist literary wankers, once they
discover what you've been doing, will avoid you like the bubonic plague. Although it's
perfectly fine to write books and movies about fictional evil corporations, writing about how
real corporations are using their power to mold societies into self-policing virtual prisons of
politically-correct, authoritarian consumers is well, it's something that is just not done in
professional elitist wanker circles.
Normally, all this goes without saying, as these days most elitist wankers are trained how
to write, and read, and think, in MFA conformity factories, where they screen out any unstable
weirdos with unhealthy interests in political matters. This is to avoid embarrassing episodes
like Harold
Pinter's Nobel Prize lecture (which, if you haven't read it, you probably should), and is
why so much of contemporary literature is so well-behaved and instantly forgettable. This
institutionalized screening system is also why the majority of journalists employed by
mainstream media outlets understand, without having to be told, what they are, and are not,
allowed to report. Chomsky explains how this system operates in What Makes Mainstream Media Mainstream . It isn't a
question of censorship the system operates on rewards and punishments, financial and emotional
coercion, and subtler forms of intimidation. Making examples of non-cooperators is a
particularly effective tactic. Ask any one of the countless women whose careers have been
destroyed by Harvey Weinstein, or anyone who's been to graduate school, or worked at a major
corporation.
Or let me provide you with a personal example.
A couple weeks ago, I googled myself (which we elitist wankers are wont to do), and noticed
that two of my published books had disappeared from the "Knowledge Panel" that appears in the
upper right of the search results. I also noticed that the people "People Also Search For" in
the panel had changed. For years, consistently, the people you saw there had been a variety of
other elitist literary wankers and leftist types. Suddenly, they were all rather right-wing
types, people like Ilana Mercer and John Derbyshire, and other VDARE writers. So that was a
little disconcerting.
I set out to contact the Google Search specialists to inquire about this mysterious
development, and was directed to a series of unhelpful web pages directing me to other
unhelpful pages with little boxes where you can write and submit a complaint to Google, which
they will completely ignore. Being an elitist literary wanker, I also wrote to Google Books,
and exchanged a number of cordial emails with an entity (let's call her Ms. O'Brien) who
explained that, for "a variety of reasons," the "visibility" of my books (which had been
consistently visible for many years) was subject to change from day to day, and that,
regrettably, she couldn't assist me further, and that sending her additional cordial emails was
probably a pointless waste of time. Ms. O'Brien was also pleased to report that my books had
been restored to "visibility," which, of course, when I checked, they hadn't.
"Whatever," I told myself, "this is silly. It's probably just some IT thing, maybe Google
Books updating its records, or something." However, I was still perplexed by the "People Also
Search For" switcheroo, because it's kind of misleading to link my writing to that of a bunch
of serious right-wingers. Imagine, if you were a dystopian sci-fi fan, and you googled me to
check out my book and see what else I had written, and so on, and my Google "Knowledge Panel"
popped up and displayed all these far-right VDARE folks. Unless you're a far-right VDARE type
yourself, that might be a little bit of a turn-off.
At that point, I wondered if I was getting paranoid. Because Google Search runs on
algorithms, right? And my political satire and commentary is published, not only in
CounterPunch, but also in The Unz Review, where these far-right-wing types are also published.
Moreover, my pieces are often reposted by what appear to be "Russia-linked" websites, and
everyone knows that the Russians are all a bunch of white supremacists, right? On top of which,
it's not like I'm Stephen King here. I am hardly famous enough to warrant the attention of any
post-Orwellian corporate conspiracy to stigmatize anti-establishment dissent by manipulating
how authors are displayed on Google (i.e., subtly linking them to white supremacists,
anti-Semites, and others of that ilk).
So, okay, I reasoned, what probably happened was over the course of twenty-four hours, for
no logical reason whatsoever, all the folks who had been googling me (along with other leftist
and literary figures) suddenly stopped googling me, all at once, while, more or less at the
exact same time, hundreds of right-wingers started googling me (along with those white
supremacist types they had, theoretically, already been googling). That kind of makes sense
when you think about it, right? I mean, Google couldn't be doing this intentionally. It must
have been some sort of algorithm that detected this sudden, seismic shift in the demographic of
people googling me.
Or, I don't know, does that possibly sound like a desperate attempt to rationalize the
malicious behavior of an unaccountable, more or less god-like, global corporation that wields
the power of life and death over my book sales and profile on the Internet (a more or less
god-like global corporation that could do a lot of additional damage to my sales and reputation
with complete impunity once the piece you're reading is published)? Or am I simply getting
paranoid, and, in fact, I've developed a secret white supremacist fan base without my
knowledge? Only Google knows for sure.
Such are the conundrums elitist literary wankers have to face these days that is, those of
us wankers who haven't learned to keep our fucking mouths shut yet. Probably the safest course
of action, regardless of whether I'm being paranoid or Google does have me on some kind of
list, is to lay off the anti-corporatist essays, and definitely stop contributing to
CounterPunch, not to mention The Unz Review, and probably also give up the whole dystopian
satire novel thing, and ensure that my second novel conforms to the "normal" elitist wanker
rules (which every literary wanker knows, but which, technically, do not exist). Who knows, if
I play my cards right, maybe I can even sell the rights to Miramax, or okay, some other
corporation.
Once that happens, I assume that Google will want to restore me to normal personhood, and
return my books to visibility, and I will ride off into the Hollywood sunset with the Clintons,
Clooneys, and Pichais, and maybe even Barack Obama himself, if he isn't off jet skiing with
Richard Branson, or having dinner with Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos, who just happen to live right
down the street, or hawking the TPP on television. By that time, CounterPunch and all those
other "illegitimate" publications will have been forced onto the dark web anyway, so I won't be
giving up all that much. I know, that sounds pretty cold and cynical, but my liberal friends
will understand I just hope all my new white supremacist fans will find it in their hearts to
forgive me.
C. J. Hopkins is an award-winning American playwright, novelist and satirist based in
Berlin. His plays are published by Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) and Broadway Play Publishing
(USA). His debut novel, ZONE 23 , is
published by Snoggsworthy, Swaine & Cormorant. He can reached at cjhopkins.com or consentfactory.org .
Thank you for mustering the courage and then taking the time to spell out these outrages in a
straightforward, unemotional way. I've appreciated the humor that centers your other essays,
but there's not a damned thing funny about this.
But why are things as they are? With billions aplenty, our rulers must be driven by their
libido dominandi. We're left to wonder only whether they get off more on ostracizing the
Hopkinses, on buying the politicians, or on herding the sheep from bathrooms to statues to
flags.
... having spent $100,000 on Facebook ads, and unleashed a troll army to wrote Facebook
posts - which had a 0.004% change of being read - Putin then went for the kill, and assured
himself a Trump presidency by splurging another $4,700 for Google ads and creating an
additional 43 hours of video content. The rest is history.
Throughout What Happened , Clinton gives us a taste of her literary influences,
beginning each section, and each chapter, and sometimes inserting inside of chapters,
quotations from Harriet Tubman, Friedrich Nietzsche, A League of Their Own , Rainer
Maria Rilke, Eleanor Roosevelt, TS Eliot, George Bernard Shaw, Carl Sandburg, "a sign in my
house", Nora Ephron, Muriel Rukeyser, JM Barrie, Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows, Ralph Waldo
Emerson, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Flannery O'Connor, WB Yeats, "a Chinese proverb", "an African
proverb", Fyodor Dostoevsky, Robert Frost, John F. Kennedy, Nelson Mandela , Henry James, and Pope
John XIII. I do not know who any of those people are. It seems I've lost them along with every
other person in this book. But from the quotations, you can tell that each of them is an
advocate for kindness, perseverance, truth, and decency. You can see how each of them helped
shape Clinton and her thoughts.
After learning so much about Clinton, it is difficult to read her account of the campaign
itself when it arrives slightly more than halfway through the book. It is terrible to witness
the tragedy unfold. Clinton ran for president, she says early on, because she "thought I would
be good at the job." Others agree, including the current president, Barack Obama , who announces at her
convention that she is the most qualified candidate to ever run despite -- Clinton notes --
their disagreement on issues including environmental regulation and an unspecified conflict in
Syria (their respective positions are not detailed; however, my research indicates that Clinton
was widely believed to be "the most progressive candidate" in history, so one imagines that she
disapproved of President Obama's bellicose stance on the issue). But despite her
qualifications, or perhaps due to them, Clinton endures a cruelty and depth of opposition
unlike anything endured by a candidate for the presidency before her.
First, she faces a primary against a disruptive charlatan. Senator Bernie Sanders is not a Democrat, she
tells us, but a socialist attempting to "disrupt" the party. Sanders is at once nearly
identical to Clinton on the issues ("because we agreed on so much, Bernie couldn't make an
argument against me in this area on policy, so he had to resort to innuendo and impugning my
character," she writes) and hopelessly reactionary -- a man willing to compromise on Clinton's
key issues of gun violence and racial justice in order to give free "ponies", "magic abs", and
taxpayer-funded college education to rich children. Sanders' supporters are vicious -- Clinton
calls them "Bernie Bros" twice in her book -- and go so far as to boo her at the Democratic
National Convention. Sanders himself, despite campaigning for Clinton (something she graciously
"appreciated"), refused to endorse her for nearly a month after the end of their contest.
Despite Clinton's record and character, Sanders attacked her integrity even after the delegate
math is done. This shameless new anti-Clinton strategy "[paves] the way for Donald Trump's
'Crooked Hillary' campaign" during the general and does "lasting damage" to the party.
None of this compares to what comes next. In a section called "Frustration," Clinton reveals
that it was not only her Republican opponent who she was up against in the general election
last year. Beyond Trump, Clinton must contend with a news media that operates under special
"Clinton rules" designed to make all of her behavior appear nefarious, most notably a server
management issue during her time at the State Department. She is attacked by Republican
congressmen and Senators, who haul her before pointless special committees in order to score
cheap political points on TV. She is "knifed" by FBI director James Comey, whose release of a
damning and unprecedented letter only days before the election costs Clinton essential margins
in several states. Beyond all of this, Clinton faces an unprecedented espionage effort by a man
named Vladimir Putin. Putin, Clinton tells us, has a personal grudge against her born of her
previous work as Secretary of State and in order to keep her from the presidency, he orders
Russian intelligence services to attack her candidacy on all fronts.
The Russians seed propaganda through American social media networks. They steal internal
emails from her campaign and release them at the most damaging possible times. They hack voting
systems and even collaborate directly with members of Trump's campaign. This was an act of war,
Clinton writes, and one cannot help but sense an unspoken anger at President Obama, who knew
what was going on, but chose not to make a public declaration.
In other reviews of What Happened, I have seen the claim that Clinton refuses to take
responsibility for her loss. Perhaps this is in reference to some other book or statement long
since lost to my memory, because in this book, it simply isn't true. In nearly every chapter,
Clinton repeats some version of the idea that the blame for losing the 2016 election rests with
her alone. It is only that given everything else we learn -- given the "tribalism" of the
electorate, the vendetta of the Russians, the opposition that she, like all subversive figures,
faced from even her own state's secret police -- given all of those things and how all of those
things are invariably mentioned either immediately before or immediately after any moment when
Clinton takes responsibility for her defeat, given all of that it is difficult to escape the
impression that while she might take the blame, no reasonable person would put the blame on
Clinton.
Indeed the strangest element of What Happened is the widespread belief, both within and
without the Clinton campaign, that she would win. I can only take her word that this was widely
believed, but it is difficult to fathom. The Clinton I discovered in these pages was a radical.
From the moment she left her position as president of Wellesley's Republican club (a detail she
mentioned, much to my shock, in the book's final pages), Clinton fought relentlessly against
the entrenched, reactionary forces of her nation. As a young woman, she demonstrated against
the imperial war in Vietnam. As an attorney, she was on the front lines against Jim Crow. In
public service, she stood up not only to despots like Vladimir Putin, but to the most powerful
corporations in the United States, proposing redistributive taxes and "truly universal" health
care, even flirting with a guaranteed basic income funded by capital derivatives from
nationalized resource services.
Writing about the decline of American labor solidarity, Clinton writes that "being part of a
union is an important part of someone's personal identity. It helps shape the way you view the
world and think about politics. When that's gone, it means a lot of people stop identifying
primarily as workers -- and voting accordingly -- and start identifying and voting as white,
male, rural, or all of the above." This account of class-consciousness puts Clinton to the left
of even celebrated American essayist Ta-Nehisi Coates. How could anyone be naïve enough to
believe that her victory was guaranteed? She was a radical taking on the establishment and the
establishment is never more vicious than when it is protecting itself from a figure who has
proven herself willing and able to defeat them. For the Clinton of What Happened to win the
Presidency in a country like the United States would have been miraculous. Nothing in the
history I can remember suggests that this was ever likely.
"Our justice system is represented by a blind-folded woman holding a set of scales. Those
scales do not tip to the right or the left; they do not recognize wealth, power, or social
status. The impartiality of our justice system is the bedrock of our republic..."
"... If the Senate can 'assess,' so can I! I assess that Hollywood hottie Jenifer Lawrence is secretly in love with me! Although I can't prove this, all of my assessments point to this as being fact. ..."
If the Senate can 'assess,' so can I! I assess that Hollywood hottie Jenifer Lawrence is
secretly in love with me! Although I can't prove this, all of my assessments point to this as
being fact.
It just occurred to me that the perfect Halloween decoration this year would be a Russian flag.
That is, unless someone comes out with a Zombie Putin, or Dracula Putin...
"... Now, despite what the Russian propagandists will tell you, this recent outbreak of fascistic behavior has nothing whatsoever to do with these people's frustration with neoliberalism or the supranational Corporatocracy that has been expanding its global empire with total impunity for twenty-five years. And it definitely has nothing at all to do with supranational political unions, or the supersession of national sovereignty by corporate-concocted "free trade" agreements, or the relentless privatization of everything, or the fear that a lot of people have that their cultures are being gradually erased and replaced with a globalized, corporate-friendly, multicultural, market-based culture, which is merely a simulation of culture, and which contains no actual cultural values (because exchange value is its only operative value), but which sells the empty signifiers of their eviscerated cultural values back to them so they can wear their "identities" like designer brands as they hunch together in silence at Starbucks posting pictures of themselves on Facebook. ..."
"... No, this discontent with the political establishment, corporate elites, and the mainstream media has nothing to do with any of that. It's not like global Capitalism, following the collapse of the U.S.S.R. (its last external ideological adversary), has been restructuring the entire planet in accordance with its geopolitical interests, or doing away with national sovereignty, and other nationalistic concepts that no longer serve a useful purpose in a world where a single ideological system (one backed by the most fearsome military in history) reigns completely unopposed. If that were the case, well, it might behoove us to question whether this outbreak of Nazism, racism, and other forms of "hate," was somehow connected to that historical development and maybe even try to articulate some sort of leftist analysis of that. ..."
"... a world where a single ideology rules the planet unopposed from without ..."
"... Brexit is about Britons who want their country back, a movement indeed getting stronger and stronger in EU member states, but ignored by the ruling 'elites'. ..."
"... A lot of these so called "revolutions" are fomented by the elite only to be subverted and perverted by them in the end. They've had a lot of practice co-opting revolutions and independence movements. ..."
"... "Independence" is now so fashionable (as was Communism among the "elite" back in the '30s), that they are even teaching and fostering independence to kids in kindergarten here in the US. That strikes me as most amusing. Imagine "learning" independence in state run brainwashing factories. ..."
Well all right, let's review what happened, or at least the official version of what
happened. Not Hillary Clinton's version of what happened, which Jeffrey St. Clair so
incisively skewered , but the Corporatocracy's version of what happened, which overlaps
with but is even more ridiculous than Clinton's ridiculous version. To do that, we need to
harken back to the peaceful Summer of 2016, (a/k/a the
"Summer of Fear" ), when the United States of America was still a shiny city upon a hill
whose beacon light guided freedom-loving people, the Nazis were still just a bunch of ass
clowns meeting in each other's mother's garages, and Russia was, well Russia was Russia.
Back then, as I'm sure you'll recall, Western democracy, was still primarily being menaced
by the lone
wolf terrorists, for absolutely no conceivable reason, apart from the terrorists' fanatical
desire to brutally murder all non-believers. The global Russo-Nazi Axis had not yet reared its
ugly head. President Obama, who, during his tenure, had single-handedly restored America to the
peaceful, prosperous, progressive paradise it had been before George W. Bush screwed it up, was
on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon slow
jamming home the TPP . The Wall Street banks had risen from the ashes of the 2008 financial
crisis, and were buying back all the foreclosed homes of the people they had fleeced with
subprime mortgages. American workers were enjoying the freedom and flexibility of the new gig
economy. Electioneering in the United States was underway, but it was early days. It was
already clear that Donald Trump was literally
the Second Coming of Hitler , but no one was terribly worried about him yet. The Republican
Party was in a shambles. Neither Trump nor any of the other contenders had any chance of
winning in November. Nor did Sanders, who had been defeated, fair and square, in the Democratic
primaries, mostly because of
his racist statements and crazy, quasi-Communist ideas. Basically, everything was hunky
dory. Yes, it was going to be terribly sad to have to bid farewell to Obama, who had bailed out
all those bankrupt Americans the Wall Street banks had taken to the cleaners, ended all of Bush
and Cheney's wars, closed down Guantanamo, and just generally served as a multicultural messiah
figure to affluent consumers throughout the free world, but Hope-and-Change was going to
continue. The talking heads were all in agreement Hillary Clinton was going to be President,
and there was nothing anyone could do about it.
Little did we know at the time that an epidemic of Russo-Nazism had been festering just
beneath the surface of freedom-loving Western societies like some neo-fascist sebaceous cyst.
Apparently, millions of theretofore more or less normal citizens throughout the West had been
infected with a virulent strain of Russo-Nazi-engineered virus, because they simultaneously
began exhibiting the hallmark symptoms of what we now know as White Supremacist Behavioral
Disorder, or Fascist Oppositional Disorder (the folks who update the DSM are still arguing over
the official name). It started with the Brexit referendum, spread to America with the election
of Trump, and there have been a rash of outbreaks in Europe, like
the one we're currently experiencing in Germany . These fascistic symptoms have mostly
manifest as people refusing to vote as instructed, and expressing oppressive views on the
Internet, but there have also been more serious crimes, including several assaults and murders
perpetrated by white supremacists (which, of course, never happened when Obama was President,
because the Nazis hadn't been "emboldened" yet).
Now, despite what the Russian propagandists will tell you, this recent outbreak of
fascistic behavior has nothing whatsoever to do with these people's frustration with
neoliberalism or the supranational Corporatocracy that has been expanding its global empire
with total impunity for twenty-five years. And it definitely has nothing at all to do with
supranational political unions, or the supersession of national sovereignty by
corporate-concocted "free trade" agreements, or the relentless privatization of everything, or
the fear that a lot of people have that their cultures are being gradually erased and replaced
with a globalized, corporate-friendly, multicultural, market-based culture, which is merely a
simulation of culture, and which contains no actual cultural values (because exchange value is
its only operative value), but which sells the empty signifiers of their eviscerated cultural
values back to them so they can wear their "identities" like designer brands as they hunch
together in silence at Starbucks posting pictures of themselves on Facebook.
No, this discontent with the political establishment, corporate elites, and the
mainstream media has nothing to do with any of that. It's not like global Capitalism, following
the collapse of the U.S.S.R. (its last external ideological adversary), has been restructuring
the entire planet in accordance with its geopolitical interests, or doing away with national
sovereignty, and other nationalistic concepts that no longer serve a useful purpose in a world
where a single ideological system (one backed by the most fearsome military in history) reigns
completely unopposed. If that were the case, well, it might behoove us to question whether this
outbreak of Nazism, racism, and other forms of "hate," was somehow connected to that historical
development and maybe even try to articulate some sort of leftist analysis of that.
This hypothetical leftist analysis might want to focus on how Capitalism is fundamentally
opposed to Despotism, and is essentially a value-decoding machine which renders everything and
everyone it touches essentially valueless interchangeable commodities whose worth is determined
by market forces, rather than by societies and cultures, or religions, or other despotic
systems (wherein values are established and enforced arbitrarily, by the despot, the church, or
the ruling party, or by a group of people who share an affinity and decide they want to live a
certain way). This is where it would get sort of tricky, because it (i.e., this hypothetical
analysis) would have to delve into the history of Capitalism, and how it evolved out of
medieval Despotism, and how it has been decoding despotic values for something like five
hundred years. This historical delving (which would probably be too long for people to read on
their phones) would demonstrate how Capitalism has been an essentially progressive force in
terms of getting us out of Despotism (which, for most folks, wasn't very much fun) by fomenting
bourgeois revolutions and imposing some semblance of democracy on societies. It would follow
Capitalism's inexorable advance all the way up to the Twentieth Century, in which its final
external ideological adversary, fake Communism, suddenly imploded, delivering us to the world
we now live in a world where a single ideology rules the planet unopposed from without
, and where any opposition to that global ideology can only be internal, or insurgent, in
nature (e.g, terrorism, extremism, and so on). Being a hypothetical leftist analysis,
it would, at this point, need to stress that, despite the fact that Capitalism helped deliver
us from Despotism, and improved the state of society generally (compared to most societies that
preceded it), we nonetheless would like to transcend it, or evolve out of it toward some type
of society where people, and everything else, including the biosphere we live in, are not
interchangeable, valueless commodities exchanged by members of a global corporatocracy who have
no essential values, or beliefs, or principles, other than the worship of money. After having
covered all that, we might want to offer more a nuanced view of the current neo-nationalist
reaction to the Corporatocracy's ongoing efforts to restructure and privatize the rest of the
planet. Not that we would support this reaction, or in any way refrain from calling
neo-nationalism what it is (i.e., reactionary, despotic, and doomed), but this nuanced view
we'd hypothetically offer, by analyzing the larger sociopolitical and historical forces at
play, might help us to see the way forward more clearly, and who knows, maybe eventually
propose some kind of credible leftist alternative to the "global neoliberalism vs.
neo-nationalism" double bind we appear to be hopelessly stuck in at the moment.
Luckily, we don't have to do that (i.e., articulate such a leftist analysis of any such
larger historical forces). Because there is no corporatocracy not really. That's just a fake
word the Russians made up and are spreading around on the Internet to distract us while the
Nazis take over. No, the logical explanation for Trump, Brexit, and anything else that
threatens the expansion of global Capitalism, and the freedom, democracy, and prosperity it
offers, is that millions of people across the world, all at once, for no apparent reason, woke
up one day full-blown fascists and started looking around for repulsive demagogues to swear
fanatical allegiance to. Yes, that makes a lot more sense than all that complicated stuff about
history and hegemonic ideological systems, which is probably just Russian propaganda anyway, in
which case there is absolutely no reason to read any boring year-old pieces, like this one in TheEuropeanFinancialReview , or this report by
Corporate Watch , from way back in the year 2000, about the rise of global corporate
power.
So, apologies for wasting your time with all that pseudo-Marxian gobbledygook. Let's just
pretend this never happened, and get back to more important matters, like statistically proving
that Donald Trump got elected President because of racism, misogyny, transphobia, xenophobia,
or some other type of behavioral disorder, and pulling down Confederate statues, or kneeling
during the National Anthem, or whatever happens to be trending this week. Oh, yeah, and
debating punching Nazis, or people wearing MAGA hats. We definitely need to sort all that out
before we can move ahead with helping the Corporatocracy remove Trump from office, or at least
ensure he remains surrounded by their loyal generals, CEOs, and Goldman Sachs guys until the
next election. Whatever we do, let's not get distracted by that stuff I just distracted you
with. I know, it's tempting, but, given what's at stake, we need to maintain our laser focus on
issues related to identity politics, or else well, you know, the Nazis win.
C. J. Hopkins is an award-winning American playwright, novelist and satirist based in
Berlin. His plays are published by Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) and Broadway Play Publishing
(USA). His debut novel, ZONE 23 , is
published by Snoggsworthy, Swaine & Cormorant. He can reached at cjhopkins.com or consentfactory.org .
Yesterday evening on RT a USA lady, as usual forgot the name, spoke about the USA. In a
matter of fact tone she said things like 'they (Deep State) have got him (Trump) in the
box'.
They, Deep State again, are now wondering if they will continue to try to control the
world, or if they should stop the attempt, and retreat into the USA.
Also as matter of fact she said 'the CIA has always been the instrument of Deep State, from
Kenndy to Nine Eleven'.
Another statement was 'no president ever was in control'.
How USA citizens continue to believe they live in a democracy, I cannot understand.
Yesterday the intentions of the new Dutch government were made public, alas most Dutch
also dot not see that the Netherlands since 2005 no longer is a democracy, just a province of
Brussels.
Brexit is about Britons who want their country back, a movement indeed getting
stronger and stronger in EU member states, but ignored by the ruling 'elites'.
No doubt many do want their country back, but what concerns me is that all of a sudden we
have the concept of "independence" plastered all over the place. Such concepts don't get
promoted unless the ruling elites see ways to turn those sentiments to their favor.
A lot of these so called "revolutions" are fomented by the elite only to be subverted
and perverted by them in the end. They've had a lot of practice co-opting revolutions and
independence movements. (And everything else.)
"Independence" is now so fashionable (as was Communism among the "elite" back in the '30s),
that they are even teaching and fostering independence to kids in kindergarten here in the
US. That strikes me as most amusing. Imagine "learning" independence in state run
brainwashing factories.
"Now, despite what the Russian propagandists will tell you, this recent outbreak of
fascistic behavior has nothing whatsoever to do with these people's frustration with
neoliberalism or the supranational Corporatocracy that has been expanding its global empire
with total impunity for twenty-five years. And it definitely has nothing at all to do with
supranational political unions, or the supersession of national sovereignty by
corporate-concocted "free trade" agreements, or the relentless privatization of everything,
or the fear that a lot of people have that their cultures are being gradually erased and
replaced with a globalized, corporate-friendly, multicultural, market-based culture, which
is merely a simulation of culture, and which contains no actual cultural values (because
exchange value is its only operative value), but which sells the empty signifiers of their
eviscerated cultural values back to them so they can wear their "identities" like designer
brands as they hunch together in silence at Starbucks posting pictures of themselves on
Facebook."
Very impressed with this article, never really paid attention to CJ's articles but that is
now changing!
"... One possible explanation would simply be that they have all gone nuts. But since this cannot possibly be the case, this leaves just one other explanation: Russiagate itself is a clever but sinister hoax intended to make it look like our political and media class have lost their marbles, therefore undermining our democracy, our values and our way of life ..."
The Russians may have developed the capability to create elaborate hoaxes that turn the US
into a laughing stock in the eyes of outsiders Russell O'Phobe
90
For almost a year, Russia's meddling in last year's election, along with collusion with the
Trump campaign, have dominated the political and media landscape. But an explosive new
classified report produced by US intelligence may be about to blow apart the narrative, and
reveal an even bigger story that has been missed in all the commentary so far.
The report was set up to try to answer two questions: firstly, why is it that after nearly a
year, there still hasn't been a single piece of hard evidence to prove either the hacking or
the collusion? And secondly, given this lack of credible evidence, how is it that the US media
and political classes have been talking about nothing else for months and months without any
sign of letting it go, to the point of giving the impression of being obsessed with the
issue?
The report, which was signed off by all 17 agencies ! that's the DIA, CIA, FBI and NSA !
reaches a conclusion which is nothing short of sensational:
"If there hasn't actually been any hard evidence presented of meddling or collusion, we
must ask the question of how and why the entire political and media class have been talking
about nothing else for months.
One possible explanation would simply be that they have all gone nuts. But since this
cannot possibly be the case, this leaves just one other explanation: Russiagate itself is a
clever but sinister hoax intended to make it look like our political and media class have
lost their marbles, therefore undermining our democracy, our values and our way of life."
Ahh, but Obama was a peace nerd by Democratic Standards. Clinton almost started WWIII. LBJ bombed
the shit out of Vietnam. Truman dropped two atomic bombs on surrendering Japan, allegedly to scare
the shit out of Stalin. Carter was a one term wimp. Democrats are just as war hungry as Republicans,
but they lucked out with Iraq being a Republican issue, and so tried to get as many political
points as possible from it. Obama's Foreign Policy wasn't popular with the Democratic Leadership,
but it energized the youth voters, so they stayed silent. Under that context, Trump is indeed
soft.
Truman used atomic bombs to bully Russia out of Japan and Western Berlin. LBJ fought by proxy
against Russia in Vietnam. Clinton ordered a war with Russia over Kosovo. Obama was the outlier.
Also, it certainly helped his candidacy against McCain, and the Democrats in the midterms. After
Obama was reelected, it was Arab Spring, I mean business as usual. What did Trump do? Lobbed a
few missiles at the Syrians, and shot down a single plane. Just one?! What a softy! The DNC Leadership
needs to realize that the World isn't in the 1990s anymore, but I doubt that they will, and that's
an issue that will cost them the 2018 midterms.
"... I really hope Russia has learned its lesson. It does no good to talk with Washington, as it only and always means Russia harm. Despite the popular aphorism, "Jaw, jaw is better than war, war", there is no reason Russia must choose one. Any overtures by Washington – including and especially to re-open the deconfliction channel in Syria – should be met with polite non-commitment, and a vague promise to look at it, then nothing. ..."
Americans (in Washington and in the think tanks) see themselves as Lucy in Charles Shultz's "Peanuts"
comic strip, and the Russians as Charlie Brown. No matter how many times the USA has lied to
Russia, disparaged it, lied about it, cheated it .when America says, "Hey, let's play
football! I'll hold it, and you come running up and kick it!" Russia will still fall for the old
dodge, and come running and try to kick it, only to have it snatched away at the last second so
it can fall on its ass.
I really hope Russia has learned its lesson. It does no good to talk with Washington, as
it only and always means Russia harm. Despite the popular aphorism, "Jaw, jaw is better than war,
war", there is no reason Russia must choose one. Any overtures by Washington – including and especially
to re-open the deconfliction channel in Syria – should be met with polite non-commitment, and
a vague promise to look at it, then nothing.
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: `Two vast and trunkless cankles of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear -
"My name is Ozywomandias, queen of queens:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
Pilot– Chicago O'Hare I'm asking for permission to land.
Tower– Please listen closely because do upgrades our message has changed.
Chicago O'Hare I'm asking for permission to land.
Tower– Please all pilots in O'Hare landing pattern talk among yourselves to
work out who is first.
Pilot– WTF
Tower– This being the first Monday of Month there are no ground crews so
just drive around until you find a location to unload the sheeple. That is all
and Good F$$$$$$ Luck!
The Twitter went wild on the orb. I liked this one:
Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
Cyrus the Great was buried with a
sceptre of tremendous power. I, king of
the New World, command my people to
find his tomb & recover his sceptre. None
shall sleep until the sceptre is found!
■ Pixelated Boat
@pixelatedboat
Wow, Trump just hasn't been the same since he touched that orb
5:43 PM-21 May 2017
3,365 V 8,882
And this one:
Nick Greene @NickGreene 21 May
Trump During the Campaign: "I will NEVER touch The Orb, even
though its mysterious glow seduces and beguiles."
Trump Today: pic.twitter.com/eWoaDeXj8n
Boo
@TheSpaceHamster
@NickGreene
Spicer:the president has not and will never use
the orb to talk to sauron
45: I talked to Sauron, tremendous guy, very bright, he's great.
3:30 PM-21 May 2017
There was also a very good one for Sanders which now I can't find, but Twitter's search function
is what it is, and Google thinks I want to search on "orbital sanders." So it goes.
I suggested
back in March that the President throw this Russia stuff right back in the elites' smug weasel
faces by making the Russian ambassador an honored guest at all cabinet meetings. In the same spirit
of defiance, I now tender a further suggestion.
Mr. President, you are in need of a new FBI Director. Please consider appointing Russian ambassador
Sergey Ivanovich Kislyak
to this position.
Ambassador Kislyak is a genial and worldly fellow you should have no trouble getting along with.
As a former diplomatic functionary of the U.S.S.R., I'm sure he is well acquainted with intelligence
procedures and protocols. An ideal candidate!
You'd probably have to grant him U.S. citizenship; but I believe that can be done on an expedited
basis by a simple Act of Congress.
The upside for you would be that it would drive the opposition into shrieking, moon-howling madness.
The downside for our country would be nothing at all.
In defense of Obama making $400K while Clinton only made $225K
he was actually able to *GET ELECTED*.. She took all her bribes up front then lost to Trump
with a 2-1 money advantage and the press completely in her pocket. Truly pathetic. He should get
WAY more than 2x what she does. HE ACTUALLY DELIVERED SOMETHING TO HIS BENEFACTORS. If she had
any shame - which she obviously doesn't - she'd disappear forever. And we'd all be the better
for it.
Hillary, Bill, and Chelsea are three of the most embarrassing Americans to have ever lived.
If you think I'm being too harsh, ask yourself why the (D) party they built for 30 years prefers
fascism to democratic socialism.
Whether fair or not, it's not difficult to look at Wall Street paying $400,000 to Obama
as a reward for [not prosecuting anyone on Wall Street for the crash].
Well, something that seems fairer , if not inarguable, is that if President Obama
had prosecuted people on Wall Street, demanded Pecora investigation-style hearings, or,
y'know, acted generally in the public interest, Wall Street would not be shelling out
$400,000 to hear his views on anything.
To view Obama during his presidency as not being constrained under those circumstances
seems, to me, to be a kind of willful obliviousness.
Oh Lord, it's happening–the remanufacture of Trump by the Establishment. During the campaign,
Trump and the Basilisk had nothing in common but their hair dye. Now, almost daily, he looks more
like her.
He gets embarrassing. Regarding the alleged gassing in Syria, quoth Donald:
"When you kill innocent children, innocent babies - babies, little babies - with a chemical gas
that crosses many, many lines, beyond a red line. And I will tell you, that attack on children
yesterday had a big impact on me my attitude toward Syria and Assad has changed very much."
God almighty. Who wrote this–a middle school girl with C's in English, or the President of the
United States? Did he retire to his bedroom for a good cry?
Apparently he ordered his missile strike without bothering to find out what happened. The usual
suspects are driving him like a sports car.
The election was a choice between fetor and a lunatic. We chose the lunatic. Whether this was
better than the alternative, we will never know, but Trump is going from bad to worse, or as the
Mexicans say, de Guatemala a Guatepeor.
Does he believe this stuff? Is he naive enough to think that there was something unusually
horrible about the attack? Horrible, yes, but not in the least unusual. Do you know what everyday,
boring artillery does to children? Five-hundred-pound bombs? Hellfire rockets? Daily Mr. Trump's
military and his allies daily drop shrapnel-producing explosives on people, cities, towns, adults,
children, weddings and goatherds in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. Good draft-dodger that he
was, he probably has never seen any of this. Good psychopath that he may be, he may not care.
This whole gas-attack business smells to high heaven. It looks nicely calculated to force him
to attack Assad. Gas was important: Killing babies, little babies with explosives is so routine that
no one cares, but we have been programmed to shudder at the thought of Gas!
Actually artillery has killed several orders of magnitude more people, but never mind.
Targeting children was a nice touch. Definitely a PR bonus. So Donald goes into his Poor-widdle-fings
weep, while Americans weekly kill more children in three to seven countries, depending on the date.
Is the man consciously a liar? Hasn't got sense enough to think before operating his mouth? Actually
believes what he says when he says it?
Glance at a small part of the record and focus on his changing his tune, not on whether you agree
with a particular policy. Erratic, erratic, erratic. He was going to run out the illegals within
two years, absurd but he said it. Going to put high tariffs on Mexican goods. Didn't. On Chinese
goods. Isn't. Tear up the Iran treaty. Didn't. Declare China a currency-manipulator. Isn't. Ban Muslims.
Hasn't. Promote good relations with Russia. Isn't. Get the US out of Syria. Ha. Make NATO pay for
itself. Isn't. The man has the steely determination one associates with bean curd. You cannot trust
anything the man says.
Having been reprogrammed as a good neocon, bombing places he promised to get out of, looking for
a fight with Russia, he is now butting heads with Fat Thing in North Korea. He his said things closely
resembling, "We have run out of strategic patience with the North. If nobody else will take care
of it, we will." Grrrr. Bowwow. Woof.
The problem with growly ultimata made for television is that somebody has to back down–that is,
lose face and credibility. If Trump had quietly told Fat Thing, "If you crazy bastards scrap your
nuke program, we will drop the sanctions," it might have worked. But no. Negotiations would imply
weakness. Thus an ultimatum.
So now either (a) Fat Thing knuckles under, humiliating himself and possibly endangering his grasp
on power or (b) Trump blinks in a humiliating display of the Empire's impotence, possibly endangering
his grasp on power.
Kim Jong Il, or Il Sung Jong, or whatever the the hell the latest one of them is called, shows
not the slightest sign of backing down. So does the Donald start an utterly unpredictable war, as
usual in somebody else's country, or does he weasel off, muttering, and hope nobody notices?
Fred's Third Law of International Relations: Never butt heads with a country that has a missile
named the No Dong.
Many of us favored Trump, slightly daft though he was, because he wasn't yet Hillary, wasn't yet
a neocon robot, and didn't want war with every country he had heard of, apparently meaning a good
half dozen. At least he said he didn't, not yet having been told that he did. In particular, he didn't
want war with Russia. But when the neocons control the media and Congress, they can convince a naive
public of anything and, apparently, the President.
Why is the Hillarification of Trump important? The necessary prior question: What is the greatest
threat to the neocons' American Empire? Answer: The ongoing integration of Eurasia under Chinese
hegemony. The key countries in this are China, Iran, and Russia. (Isn't it curious that, apart from
the momentary distraction of North Korea, these countries have been the focus of New York's hostility?)
In particular if Russia and, through it, China develop large and very profitable trade with Europe,
there goes NATO and with it the Empire.
Oops.
Thus the eeeeeeeeeeek! furor about Russia as existential threat and so on. Thus sending
a few troops to Baltic countries to "deter" Russia. This was theater. The idea that a thousand garrison
troops can stop the Russian army, which hasn't gone silly as ours has, on its doorstep is loony.
Hillary was on board with the Russia hysteria and the globalization and the immigration and so
on. Trump could have screwed the whole pooch by getting along with Russia, so he had to be reconfigured.
And was. A work in progress, but going well.
ORDER
IT NOW
Too much is being asked of him. One man cannot overcome the combined hostility of the media, the
political establishment, the neocons, the myriad other special interests that he has threatened.
Mass immigration is a done deal. China develops and America, already developed, cannot keep up. The
country disintegrates socially. Washington, always depending on war and its threat, faces a new world
in which trade is the weapon, and doesn't know what to do. The culture courses. The world changes.
Yet if only Trump showed some sign of knowing what he is doing, and could remember from day to
day, if only he realized that wars are more easily started than predicted, if only he were not becoming
an unbalanced Hillary.
Yet, apparently, he is.
(Reprinted from
Fred on Everything by permission of author or representative)
"... This is the 100% true story of the #SyriaStrikes, and if you support sites like The Corbett Report that question it in any way you are a moonbeam fake news tyrant-loving hippy pinko Russian agent and should commit ritual suicide immediately. ..."
On the morning of April 4th 2017, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, on the verge of a military
victory against the terrorist insurgency in his country and on the eve of peace talks that would
secure his position as president, decided to use chemical weapons
he didn't have against a target of no military significance in front of as many cameras as
possible to cross the one red line that would insure his own government's downfall.
Without presenting a shred of evidence, President Donald Trump boldly launched a military strike
against Shayrat airfield because "national security interest," promising to help the "beautiful
children" (*offer does not apply to babies in
Gaza ,
Yemen ,
Pakistan , or basically anywhere else).
Throughout the world people rejoice as a horrible secular regime in the Middle East is replaced
by yet another peace-loving band of ragtag human rights campaigners and
child
beheaders motivated by a desire to subdue the armies of Rome in an apocalyptic confrontation
in Dabiq. (*
actual ISIS belief )
The chemicals for the previous "red line" attack in Syria have since been proven to
come from Libya with US approval , but that's probably not relevant to this case.
The CIA has released
declassified report after
declassified report showing that the plan to topple Syria's government has been in the works
for decades, but this just shows that they were right all along.
The mainstream media
unquestioningly asserts that the story is true because the US government says so, but that's
OK because we all know the msm is full of unbiased truthtellers and dig hard to get the raw facts
on every story. (" beauty
of our weapons ")
Even members of congress think the story is
a load of hogwash ,
but that's OK because they're probably crazy.
Meanwhile the White House has released
a report on its intelligence about the chemical attack that
refutes its own version of the story , but that's OK because when has the White House ever
lied people into war?
This man doesn't exist,
and if you think he does you're an enemy of humanity who should apologize for having been born.
Likewise him ,
her ,
her ,
him and
him . And him and
her .
This is the 100% true story of the #SyriaStrikes, and if you support sites like The Corbett
Report that question it in any way you are a moonbeam fake news tyrant-loving hippy pinko Russian
agent and should commit ritual suicide immediately.
If you love your country and/or liberty, NASCAR, supermodels, TV, water slides or your mother
you will not question this story in any way. Ever.
With the Russian election hacking scandal having gone from the merely strange, to the bizarre,
to the ironic, to the McCarthyist, and most recently, jumping the patently absurd shark - as of last
night, anyone who is against Hillary is "influenced
by Russia" according to a former Clinton advisor - Russia decided to have some fun at the expense
of US paranoia.
On Saturday, the ministry posted the following audio file of the "new" automated telephone switchboard
message for Russian embassies.
"You have reached the Russian embassy, your call is very important to us. To arrange a call from
a Russian diplomat to your political opponent, press 1. To use the services of Russian hackers press
2. To request election interference, press 3 and wait until the next election campaign. Please note
that all calls are recorded for quality improvement and training purposes."
Russian MFA developed automated voicemail system - please listen (Russian,
then English) and tell us your opinion. Feedback appreciated!
https://t.co/HH23WC1THi
- Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy)
April 1, 2017
And just to make it clear, it is April 1: as AP observes for the countless spy agencies, and congressional
committees still trying to explain how Moscow subliminally influenced millions of Americans to vote
for Trump instead of Hillary, a ministry officer confirmed that the post was a joke.
What does Russia do that the U.S. doesn't? Spy on it's people? Engage in state sponsored assassination?
Invade sovereign nations? Oh, I know what makes you angry! They don't allow homos access to children.
Yeah, only scumbags keep their children safe. S/
In particular, there is a popular anecdote about an American man proving the benefits
of freedom of speech to a Russian guy. The American claims he can safely go to the
White House and shout out "Screw you, Ronald Reagan!" The Soviet guy indifferently
replies: "So what? I can go to the Kremlin and yell 'Screw you, Ronald Reagan!' too."
Another well-known joke describes how various Soviet leaders responded to a
situation where a train they were travelling in suddenly stops. Vladimir Lenin
suggests uniting all workers and peasants and asking them to build a new road. Joseph
Stalin orders the train drivers shot. Nikita Khrushchev rehabilitates the executed
ones, orders that the rails be removed from behind the train and put in front of it.
And Leonid Brezhnev draws the curtains and starts swinging from side to side,
imitating the train's movement.
25th Anniversary of the USSR's Collapse: Perestroika in Pictures
20
There is also a joke about a disgruntled Soviet worker who decides to leave a line
in a liquor store because he finds it too long and instead attempt "to kill Mikhail
Gorbachev." However, later he returns, noting that "the queue there is even longer."
"Communism is an unscientific doctrine because it was not initially tested
on dogs," claims another political joke.
In another joke poking fun at the permanent shortages in stores, a man comes
into a shop and asks "You wouldn't happen to have fish, would you?" The shop
assistant replies, "comrade, you've got it wrong! This is a butcher's shop - here we
wouldn't happen to have meat. There is a fish shop across the road, that's where they
wouldn't happen to have fish!"
Finally we get Pence in control and he can carry on where Obama left off and
Hillary couldn't start, WWIII with Russia.... I so want to see what a first
strike looks like and the aftermath of what Russia will do to North America.
Attacking Russia will be the best show on TV, all the fake MSM news will have
to cover the fallout in North America in real time, awesome stuff....
WASHINGTON-Stopping and turning around as he made his way across the South Lawn after hearing
the unmanned aerial vehicle hovering just feet behind him, outgoing President Barack Obama tearfully
shooed away a loyal MQ-9 Reaper drone attempting to follow him out of the White House, sources
confirmed Friday.
"Go on now-get out of here!" said the former commander-in-chief, his lower lip
trembling and his eyes welling with tears as he affected a stern tone of voice in an attempt to
scare off the faithful hunter-killer drone that had spent the past eight years obediently at his
side.
"You can't come with me anymore, you got that? Can't you see this is for your own good?
Now scram. What are you waiting for? Go!" At press time, a heartbroken Obama had thrown a rock
in the drone's direction, causing the unmanned aerial vehicle to flee into the sky, where it paused
to look back one last time at its old master before flying off toward a Yemeni tribal wedding.
As Finland tests a program to give a universal basic
income to unemployed citizens, many wonder if a similar
initiative could work in the United States. Here are some
pros and cons of such a program:
PRO
Would make people feel valued by their government in
precise capitalist terms they can understand
Privileged elite no longer the only ones with access
to Pizza Hut Triple Treat Box
Whole basic human dignity thing
Opens up more opportunities to use the phrase "sucking
at the government's teat"
The look on some rich prick's face hearing about this
for the first time
More marks for your pyramid scheme
CON
System can be exploited by "welfare queens" who live
lavishly on the spoils of their $500 monthly allotment
Recipients might lose sight of the value of hard work,
the most noble and treasured aspect of American life
Would take forever to sign all those checks
Encourages entrepreneurship among dumb$sses who dream
of opening a f!@#ing cupcake truck or some other bull!@#$t
The long-term effects of bestowing lower class with a
sense of dignity are currently unknown
Leveling the playing field would be detrimental to the
vast minority of Americans
Here's 10 ways to spot a *real* Russian Spy in America:
1) Superior use of the English language, with a thick accent, failure to use articles such as
'the' and 'a' – such as 'take shower' instead of 'going to take a shower.' Russian Language
is far more complex but more logical and efficient in use of letters, speech, and writing.
Russian natives who master English typically have a large vocabulary, and will use proper tenses
and complex grammatical structures because they studied it, and will likely leave out slang such
as 'you know' and 'like.' (Until of course, they live here for 10 years)
2) Never smiling. Russians do not smile unless they are laughing at a joke, and maybe in
some rare cases when something funny happens. Even in this case, their dark sense of humor
is something they enjoy on the inside. It's not polite to walk around Moscow smiling.
If you do, someone may call the police (as if you have gone mad).
3) Seems to be rude – never says 'please' or 'thank you' – Russians do not have a concept of why
you should say 'thank you' to a stranger who just took $50 from you for your groceries. How
has this person really helped you or brightened your day? Isn't it their job? Should
you say 'thank you for doing your job' as if it's a miracle?
4) Does not wear shoes in his home, he has a foyer where when he enters his house takes off all
coats, scarves, hats, shoes and other 'outdoor' wear and puts on fuzzy house slippers or just wears
socks.
5) Constantly pays with physical cash. Although some Americans do this anyway who are not
necessarily Russian – nearly ALL Russians use 100% physical Rubles for everything from paying rent,
health insurance, doctors visits, buying a car, buying groceries, or investing. The electronic
economy hasn't taken hold in Russia – and partly because they are 'paranoid' that if they put their
money in a bank, the bank will seize it or bankrupt.
6) Never will open a door for a stranger, or move out of the way if you are in his walking vector,
in fact he may knock over any passersby like bowling pins if they are in the way; and certainly will
never say 'excuse me.'
7) Always well dressed, even to go grocery shopping – maybe keeps a pocket comb even if his hair
is only 2 cm long. Russians don't have a concept of wearing sweat suits or pajamas to the grocery
store. When they go out even if just to run to the corner store for a milk.
8) Wary to use air conditioner. In Russia very few buildings have A/C – in the summer months
when it's hot, it is still cool at night, when most open windows and enjoy a nice breeze. Modern
buildings of course have the conveniences of A/C but those who are older or who grew up in older
buildings do not have A/C – only heat. Therefore, they aren't used to cranking up the A/C year
round like the blue hairs in Sunny Florida. If they are hot they are more likely to take a
walk or open the windows.
9) Not likely to find Russians in paid public events unless they are formal. Russia has
a well-developed public system of parks and other free public use systems and they aren't used to
paying a few dollars to enter a public park, see Christmas lights, or $1 to view through binoculars
along side the highway. Paying $250 for theater tickets is different – they aren't cheap people,
they are just not used to being nickeled and dimed when outside their homes, because in Russia it's
all free.
10) Strange tippers. In Russia they don't use the 'tipping' system, if you eat in a café
or bar you may leave your spare change for example, if the bill is $9.50 you may leave the additional
$.50 – or if you have a few extra dollars you may leave it – or not. The majority of cafes,
restaurants, bars, and other establishments only expect tips from tourists. And if a Russian
does leave a tip, it's likely to be very small (not 10%!!).
There you have it! There are many cultural differences between USA and Russia, although
there are too many similarities. In this series of articles, we're spreading the facts about
Russia – the great unknown Bear.
"... What we ordinary folk think of as "American" interests are those interests as expressed by an entrenched foreign policy establishment to which the price of admission isn't only graduate studies in an expensive university. No, you have to walk within the lines. There's nothing as old under the sun as "group-think". ..."
"... he served a purpose when he diverged from long established consensus and said that maybe, just maybe, getting on with the Russians might not be that hard. Or that NATO is an out-dated, dead-weight non-alliance of the unwilling. Or that border-less trade ruined heartland America. ..."
The way things are supposed to work on this planet is like this: in the United States, the power
structures (public and private) decide what they want the rest of the world to do. They communicate
their wishes through official and unofficial channels, expecting automatic cooperation. If cooperation
is not immediately forthcoming, they apply political, financial and economic pressure. If that still
doesn't produce the intended effect, they attempt regime change through a color revolution or a military
coup, or organize and finance an insurgency leading to terrorist attacks and civil war in the recalcitrant
nation. If that still doesn't work, they bomb the country back to the stone age. This is the way
it worked in the 1990s and the 2000s, but as of late a new dynamic has emerged.
In the beginning it was centered on Russia, but the phenomenon has since spread around the world
and is about to engulf the United States itself. It works like this: the United States decides what
it wants Russia to do and communicates its wishes, expecting automatic cooperation. Russia says "Nyet."
The United States then runs through all of the above steps up to but not including the bombing campaign,
from which it is deterred by Russia's nuclear deterrent. The answer remains "Nyet." One could perhaps
imagine that some smart person within the US power structure would pipe up and say: "Based on the
evidence before us, dictating our terms to Russia doesn't work; let's try negotiating with Russia
in good faith as equals." And then everybody else would slap their heads and say, "Wow! That's brilliant!
Why didn't we think of that?" But instead that person would be fired that very same day because,
you see, American global hegemony is nonnegotiable. And so what happens instead is that the Americans
act baffled, regroup and try again, making for quite an amusing spectacle.
The whole Edward Snowden imbroglio was particularly fun to watch. The US demanded his extradition.
The Russians said: "Nyet, our constitution forbids it." And then, hilariously, some voices in the
West demanded in response that Russia change its constitution! The response, requiring no translation,
was "Xa-xa-xa-xa-xa!" Less funny is the impasse over Syria: the Americans have been continuously
demanding that Russia go along with their plan to overthrow Bashar Assad. The unchanging Russian
response has been: "Nyet, the Syrians get to decide on their leadership, not Russia, and not the
US." Each time they hear it, the Americans scratch their heads and try again. John Kerry was just
recently in Moscow, holding a marathon "negotiating session" with Putin and Lavrov. Above is a photo
of Kerry talking to Putin and Lavrov in Moscow a week or so ago and their facial expressions are
hard to misread. There's Kerry, with his back to the camera, babbling away as per usual. Lavrov's
face says: "I can't believe I have to sit here and listen to this nonsense again." Putin's face says:
"Oh the poor idiot, he can't bring himself to understand that we're just going to say 'nyet' again."
Kerry flew home with yet another "nyet."
What's worse, other countries are now getting into the act. The Americans told the Brits exactly
how to vote, and yet the Brits said "nyet" and voted for Brexit. The Americans told the Europeans
to accept the horrendous corporate power grab that is the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership
(TTIP), and the French said "nyet, it shall not pass." The US organized yet another military coup
in Turkey to replace Erdoǧan with somebody who won't try to play nice with Russia, and the Turks
said "nyet" to that too. And now, horror of horrors, there is Donald Trump saying "nyet" to all sorts
of things-NATO, offshoring American jobs, letting in a flood of migrants, globalization, weapons
for Ukrainian Nazis, free trade
The corrosive psychological effect of "nyet" on the American hegemonic psyche cannot be underestimated.
If you are supposed to think and act like a hegemon, but only the thinking part still works, then
the result is cognitive dissonance. If your job is to bully nations around, and the nations can no
longer be bullied, then your job becomes a joke, and you turn into a mental patient. The resulting
madness has recently produced quite an interesting symptom: some number of US State Department staffers
signed a letter, which was promptly leaked, calling for a bombing campaign against Syria in order
to overthrow Bashar Assad. These are diplomats. Diplomacy is the art of avoiding war by talking.
Diplomats who call for war are not being exactly diplomatic. You could say that they are incompetent
diplomats, but that wouldn't go far enough (most of the competent diplomats left the service during
the second Bush administration, many of them in disgust over having to lie about the rationale for
the Iraq war). The truth is, they are sick, deranged non-diplomatic warmongers. Such is the power
of this one simple Russian word that they have quite literally lost their minds.
But it would be unfair to single out the State Department. It is as if the entire American body
politic has been infected by a putrid miasma. It permeates all things and makes life miserable. In
spite of the mounting problems, most other things in the US are still somewhat manageable, but this
one thing-the draining away of the ability to bully the whole world-ruins everything. It's mid-summer,
the nation is at the beach. The beach blanket is moth-eaten and threadbare, the beach umbrella has
holes in it, the soft drinks in the cooler are laced with nasty chemicals and the summer reading
is boring and then there is a dead whale decomposing nearby, whose name is "Nyet." It just ruins
the whole ambiance!
The media chattering heads and the establishment politicos are at this point painfully aware of
this problem, and their predictable reaction is to blame it on what they perceive as its ultimate
source: Russia, conveniently personified by Putin. "If you aren't voting for Clinton, you are voting
for Putin" is one recently minted political trope. Another is that Trump is Putin's agent. Any public
figure that declines to take a pro-establishment stance is automatically labeled "Putin's useful
idiot." Taken at face value, such claims are preposterous. But there is a deeper explanation for
them: what ties them all together is the power of "nyet." A vote for Sanders is a "nyet" vote: the
Democratic establishment produced a candidate and told people to vote for her, and most of the young
people said "nyet." Same thing with Trump: the Republican establishment trotted out its Seven Dwarfs
and told people to vote for any one of them, and yet most of the disenfranchised working-class white
people said "nyet" and voted for Snow White the outsider.
It is a hopeful sign that people throughout the Washington-dominated world are discovering the
power of "nyet." The establishment may still look spiffy on the outside, but under the shiny new
paint there hides a rotten hull, with water coming in though every open seam. A sufficiently resounding
"nyet" will probably be enough to cause it to founder, suddenly making room for some very necessary
changes. When that happens, please remember to thank Russia or, if you insist, Putin.
NowhereMan said... Tuesday, July 26, 2016 at 7:13:00 AM EDT
Beautiful! I'm going to start using that word in conversation now just to gauge people's
reactions. Nyet!!! I have one particularly stuffy friend who's just baffled by the Trump
phenomenon. He's an old school GOP conservative at heart who's chagrined that he's had to
abandon the grand old party in favor of HRC and can't understand for the life of him why the
"dirt people" are so enamored with Trump and Sanders. I just laugh and tell him that they're
abandoning the Dems for the same reasons that he's embracing them.
The rich and the near rich (which seems to include just about everybody these days, if only in
their imaginations) here in the US all suffer from fundamental attribution bias - the idea
that their own exceptionalism is why they are doing well - rather than realizing that it's all
mostly just the luck of the draw - or even worse - their own willingness to carry corporate
water like the good little Nazi's they are that has allowed them to temporarily advance their
station in life.
Fortunately for us all, the sun is setting on America's empire as we speak, and fevered dreams
of US hegemony for the rest of time will be short lived indeed, although homo sapiens' time
might be limited as well. If history keeps recording in the aftermath, US nuclear enabled
hegemony will be but a brief blip on the historical radar, and like the legend of Atlantis
before us, we'll be remembered chiefly as a society gone mad with our technologies, who
aspired to reach out and touch the face of god, but instead settled for embracing our many
inner devils. We won't be missed.
Happy Unicorn said... Tuesday, July 26, 2016 at 9:26:00 AM EDT
A vote for Trump is a vote for Putin? Wouldn't THAT be nice!
Dave Stockton said... Tuesday, July 26, 2016 at 9:36:00 AM EDT
This whole, "a vote against Hillary is a vote for Putin", is the best thing that could have
happened this election. The US population will now have a debate and get to vote on whether we
truly want to start World War Three. Hopefully the powers that be will be surprised by the
response... NYET!
Unknown said... Tuesday, July 26, 2016 at 12:23:00 PM EDT
Nice...
Putin recently made fun of Lavrov, that he is becoming like Gromyko....
...and Gromyko was called Mr. NYET. :-)
Vyse Legendaire said... Tuesday, July 26, 2016 at 12:37:00 PM EDT
I hope someone would volunteer to design a 'Nyet!' T-shirt on teepublic for advocates to
show their unity to the cause.
Shawn Sincoski said... Tuesday, July 26, 2016 at 4:44:00 PM EDT
I really hope that the next time the TBTF banks need a handout, somebody, somewhere reacts
with a 'NFW' that resonates with the other plebes. Such a powerful word. But I am doubtful
that such an event will occur. With all that is going on with Hillary the house should be on
fire by now, but it is not (I am not advocating Trump by disparaging HRC). I suspect that the
coming American experience will be unique and (dis)proportionate to their apathy.
Cortes said... Tuesday, July 26, 2016 at 9:01:00 PM EDT
Herbert Marcuse: The first word of freedom is "No"
Irene Parousis said... Wednesday, July 27, 2016 at 6:58:00 AM EDT
BRILLIANT!!!
Wednesday, July 27, 2016 at 12:12:00 AM EDT
d94c074a-53e8-11e6-947a-073bf9f943f9 said...
Excellent.
There is a minor twist: "The corrosive psychological effect of "nyet" on the American
hegemonic psyche cannot be underestimated". Probably GWB's "misunderestimated" left some local
linguistic traume in your brain popping up in your otherwise perfect comment. I guess you
meant "cannot be overestimated". Nevermind, you message is clear and convincing anyway :-)
Mister Roboto said... Wednesday, July 27, 2016 at 8:07:00 AM EDT
This sums up why all the usual poppycock and folderol about why I need to vote for Hillary
that always succeeded in getting under my intellectual skin in the past is now just the mere
noise of screeching cats outside the window to me: There just comes a point where, if you have
any integrity at all, you have to say, "Nyet!"
Mark said...
Thursday, July 28, 2016 at 5:42:00 AM EDT
At some point, voting for a major party candidate is just throwing away your vote.
Roger said...
Thursday, July 28, 2016 at 7:11:00 AM EDT
I always enjoy Dmitry's blogs and the fact that he pushes the Russian perspective, as a relief
from the Russophobic drivel put out by the mainstream. However, a word of caution to the wise.
Obama, Kerry, Clinton, Trump et al. are, in fact, extremely unfunny. Charlie Chaplin lampooned
the funny little man with the moustache in the Great Dictator, xa! xa! xa! The truth came out
later. Do not be afraid of Neocon America, but please remember these are dangerous people. Be
vigilant always.
Bruno said...
Thursday, July 28, 2016 at 10:55:00 AM EDT
Loved.
And sad because Brasil didn't say NYET to the coup planted here by USA.
Unknown said...
Thursday, July 28, 2016 at 1:02:00 PM EDT
"Putin recently made fun of Lavrov, that he is becoming like Gromyko....
...and Gromyko was called Mr. NYET. :-)"
Even better, Lavrov was subsequently quoted in the press as saying "don't make me say the four
letter word".
What a tag team!
Marty said...
Friday, July 29, 2016 at 9:20:00 AM EDT
I really believe that you have hit the crux of the issue, the Neocon psychopaths are besides
themselves over the Nyets, and they find themselves to be a once powerful now toothless lion,
the are being laughed at, even by the American people.
I hope so because the worst of the bunch is Mrs. Clinton, she is just a crazy and stupid enough
to burn it all down, perhaps the only thing that would prevent her from doing so is that this
would interfere with her Diabolical Narcissistic need to be seen as the Kleptocrat she is and
to get away with being the biggest grifter in American history.
Turkey shows that they can't even organize a proper coup any more, even when they have a major
base in the country of the government to be compromised. The NeoCons must be so disappointed.
This failed coup was probably also was a big disappointment to those Fed Banksters who were
counting on looting the Bank if Turkey's 500 or so Tonnes of gold, as they did with Ukraine.
Roger said...
Friday, July 29, 2016 at 12:53:00 PM EDT
Leon Panetta sez "we know how to do this" despite an exuberant flourishing of evidence to the
contrary. But there's a glimmer of hope, even if it comes from a way down the ranks, because
there's a Col Bacevitch who begs to differ and sez "with all due respect, we DON'T know how to
do this."
You ask, know how to do WHAT exactly? Well, the topic at issue in a PBS panel discussion was
destroying the Islamic State. But knowing how to do it or NOT knowing how to do it could refer
equally to a series of monumental American foreign policy muffs. How could it be, that America
with all its military force, screws up so mightily and predictably? Because it's as Mr Orlov
asserts, there's a lot of NYETS out there and the American foreign policy establishment can't
fathom it.
But what they most crucially can't fathom is that those damn furriners have their own
interests at heart just like the Americans have their own interests. Americans from the street
level to the highest echelons view the world through Americentric lens resulting in
ludicrously distorted fun-house views of the world.
For example, why doesn't the Iranian see things the way Americans want him to? Why is it
always "nyet" coming out of Teheran? Why are Iranians so belligerent? Americans seemingly
can't comprehend that Iran is an ancient imperial power whose roots go back millennia, right
to the origins of civilization. But could it possibly be that Iranian concerns have got more
to do with goings-on in their geographic locale and pretty much nothing to do with the United
States? And that the Iranian is highly irritated that Americans stick their noses into matters
that concern Americans only tangentially or not at all? Could it be that the Iranian has his
own life pathways in age-old places that Americans know nothing about? Could it be that an
Iranian is educated in his own traditions in ancient academies that far pre-date anything on
American soil? You can replace the words "Iranian" and "Iran" with "Chinese" and "China" or
"Japanese" and "Japan" or dozens of other places and societies including "Russian" and
"Russia". American incomprehension goes deep.
Maybe some of the world is Washington-dominated. But maybe some this domination is more
apparent than real. Maybe it only seems Washington-dominated because in many of these places
there's a concordance of interests with the United States. But in most of the globe the
interests of Americans are not the same as those of the locals. And America has not got the
will nor the reach to make it otherwise.
Happy Unicorn said...
Roger: "But in most of the globe the interests of Americans are not the same as those of the
locals."
Most of the globe, including America itself! The interests of the Americans you're talking
about are usually not the same as mine or anyone's that I know ("the locals" in America). I
suspect the people of the USA who aren't brainwashed would have a lot in common with everybody
else in the world, because the first colony of any would-be empire (colony 0, let's say) is
always the country it originated from. More and more of us are saying nyet too, though the
utterance usually takes the less exotic form also enumerated by Dmitry awhile back: "No,
because we hate you."
Friday, July 29, 2016 at 3:03:00 PM EDT
flops said...
Saturday, July 30, 2016 at 7:22:00 AM EDT
In good wronglish:
There's America, Americans, USA.
And, in some point of our decolonized memory, there's Pacha Mama, our Mother Earth, the name
given to our land by the older people.
Not by chance, the unique country in Pacha Mama continents that have a pre-colonial language
as its official - Paraguay's Guarani - was the initial focus of this antidemocratic wave
attacking our countries.
We, the united states of...? What?
"Pacha Mama" is our best nyet!
Not anymore south and central americas, south and central "americans". Pacha Mama is our real
continents' name! We are The United States of Pacha Mama!
When mentioning people from brazil, angentine, chile, bolivia, peru paraguay
colombiavenezuelahaiti,surinamepanamacubamexico and so, please call us Pachamamists. That'
what we are.
Roger said...
Saturday, July 30, 2016 at 11:27:00 AM EDT
HappyUnicorn, of course you're right.
What we ordinary folk think of as "American" interests are those interests as expressed by an
entrenched foreign policy establishment to which the price of admission isn't only graduate
studies in an expensive university. No, you have to walk within the lines. There's nothing as
old under the sun as "group-think".
The lines are long established. Just think of it: globalization, off-shoring millions of jobs,
on-shoring millions of dirt-poor immigrants, legal and otherwise. Nothing warms the cockles of
the oligarch's heart like a desperate underclass.
I know Trump is a buffoon. But he served a purpose when he diverged from long established
consensus and said that maybe, just maybe, getting on with the Russians might not be that
hard. Or that NATO is an out-dated, dead-weight non-alliance of the unwilling. Or that
border-less trade ruined heartland America.
You saw the venomous reaction. A lot of people staked a career on the status-quo. Is the
best-before expired as Trump suggested? I'll bet that if it hadn't been a blustering clown
that raised it, many more people on the street would agree.
Some regional interests are historic and easily visible for example, along the Mason-Dixon
line. But even on either side of that old divide I think that the disparity is more an
artifact of opposing elites determined to not get along. Why don't they get along? Well,
there's a country to loot. You need distractions and diversions while pension funds and
treasuries are emptied.
And so we're off chasing our tails on burning problems like gender neutral washrooms.
Brilliant, don't you think? Kudos to the Obama regime for that one. And so it's God fearin',
gun packin' "conservative" versus enlightened, high-minded "progressive". What a joke, what a
con. Yet, predictably, we fell for it. You name it, school prayer, abortion, evolution, and
now washrooms, we fall for it, we always do.
Robert T. said...
Saturday, July 30, 2016 at 1:52:00 PM EDT
It would be very nice if someone could write a piece on what life in Russia, in all its
levels, is really like nowadays. I suspect that it is not just "nyet" that terrifies the
Empire, but rather what Russia herself is now increasingly coming to represent.
A lot of people, myself included, had been brought up thinking that Russia, while indeed a
superpower, isn't and cannot be on the same page as the US. But now here are reports saying
that a good and strong leader has pulled Russia out of the rut, and made things better. What's
more, this leader did it in a manner that seems antithetical to the Empire. And what's even
better is that this new Russia can't be easily rocked, like how the other countries had been
rocked and thrown into chaos. The Empire therefore is at its wit's end. If people from other
parts of the Earth, especially in those many places where democracy has failed miserably,
begin to see that there is indeed an alternative to the empirical system, won't they then
start to follow Russia's footsteps?
Headsails said... Tuesday, August 2, 2016 at 2:07:00 AM EDT
Just like a spoiled rotten child that needs to learn some manners. It needs to learn the
meaning of no. But in this case, instead of a spankng they would be chain ganged for life.
Brain Parasite Gonna Eatcha!
I've been experiencing some difficulties with commenting on the current political situation in the
US, because it's been a little too funny, whereas this is a very serious blog. But I have decided
that I must try my best. Now, these are serious matters, so as you read this, please refrain from
any and all levity and mirth.
You may have heard by now that the Russians stole the US presidential election; if it wasn't for
them, Hillary Clinton would have been president-elect, but because of their meddling we are now stuck
with Donald Trump and his 1001 oligarchs running the federal government for the next four years.
There are two ways to approach this question. One is to take the accusation of Russian hacking
of the US elections at face value, and we will certainly do that. But first let's try another way,
because it's quicker. Let's consider the accusation itself as a symptom of some unrelated disorder.
This is often the best way forward. Suppose a person walks into a doctor's office, and says, "Doctor,
I believe I have schizophrenium poisoning." Should the doctor summon the hazmat team, or check for
schizophrenia first?
And so let's first consider that this "Russians did it" refrain we keep hearing is a symptom of
something else, of which Russians are not the cause. My working hypothesis is that this behavior
is being caused by a brain parasite. Yes, this may seem outlandish at first, but as we'll see later
the theory that the Russians stole the election is no less outlandish.
Brain parasites are known to alter the behavior of the organisms they infest in a variety of subtle
ways. For instance, Toxicoplasma gondii alters the behavior of rodents, causing them to lose
fear of cats and to become attracted to the smell of cat urine, making it easy for the cats to catch
them. It also alters the behavior of humans, causing them to lavish excessive affection on cats and
to compulsively download photographs of cute kittens playing with yarn.
My hypothesis is that this particular brain parasite was specifically bioengineered by the US
to make those it infects hate Russia. I suspect that the neurological trigger it uses is Putin's
face, which the parasite somehow wires into the visual cortex. This virus was first unleashed on
the unsuspecting Ukrainians, where its effect was plain to see. This historically Russian, majority
Russian-speaking, culturally Russian and religiously Russian Orthodox region suddenly erupted in
an epidemic of Russophobia. The Ukraine cut economic ties with Russia, sending its economy into a
tailspin, and started a war with its eastern regions, which were quite recently part of Russia and
wish to become part of Russia again.
So far so good: the American bioengineers who created this virus achieved the effect they wanted,
turning a Russian region into an anti-Russian region. But as happens so often with biological agents,
it turned out to be hard to keep under control. Its next victims turned out to be NATO and the Pentagon,
whose leadership started compulsively uttering the phrase "Russian aggression" in a manner suggestive
of Tourette's Syndrome, entirely undeterred by the complete absence of evidence of any such aggression
that they could present for objective analysis. They, along with the by now fit-to-be-tied Ukrainians,
kept prattling on about "Russian invasion," waving about decades-old pictures of Russian tanks they
downloaded from their friends on Facebook.
From there the brain parasite spread to the White House, the Clinton presidential campaign, the
Democratic National Committee, and its attendant press corps, who are now all chattering away about
"Russian hacking." The few knowledgeable voices who point out that there is absolutely no hard evidence
of any such "Russian hacking" are being drowned out by the Bedlam din of the rest.
This, to me, seems like the simplest explanation that fits the facts. But to be fair and balanced,
let us also examine the other perspective: that claims of "Russian hacking" should be taken at face
value. The first difficulty we encounter is that what is being termed "Russian hacking" is not hacks
but leaks. Hacks occur where some unauthorized party breaks into a server and steals data. Leaks
occur where an insider-a "whistleblower"-violates rules of secrecy and/or confidentiality in order
to release into the public domain evidence of wrongdoing. In this case, evidence of leaking is prima
facie: Was the data in question evidence of wrongdoing? Yes. Was it released into the public domain?
Yes. Has the identity of said leaker or leakers remained secret? Yes, with good reason.
But this does not rule out hacking, because what a leaker can do, a hacker can also do, although
with difficulty. Leakers have it easy: you see evidence of wrongdoing, take umbrage at it, copy it
onto a thumb drive, smuggle it off premises, and upload it to Wikileaks through a public wifi hotspot
from an old laptop you bought off Craislist and then smashed. But what's a poor hacker to do? You
hack into server after server, running the risk of getting caught each time, only to find that the
servers contain minutes of public meetings, old press releases, backups of public web sites and-incriminating
evidence!-a mother lode of pictures of fluffy kittens playing with yarn downloaded by a secretary
afflicted with Toxicoplasma gondii .
The solution, of course, is to create something that's worth hacking, or leaking, but this is
a much harder problem. What the Russians had to do, then, was take the incorruptible, squeaky-clean
goody-two-shoes faithful public servant Hillary Clinton, infiltrate the Clinton Foundation, Hillary's
presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee, and somehow manipulate them all into
doing things that, when leaked (or hacked) would reliably turn the electorate against Clinton. Yes
Sir, Tovarishch Putin!
Those Russians sure are clever! They managed to turn the DNC into an anti-Bernie Sanders operation,
depriving him of electoral votes through a variety of underhanded practices while appealing to anti-Semitic
sentiments in certain parts of the country. They managed to manipulate Donna Brazile into handing
presidential debate questions to the Clinton campaign. They even managed to convince certain Ukrainian
oligarchs and Saudi princes to bestow millions upon the Clinton foundation in exchange for certain
future foreign policy concessions. The list of these leak-worthy Russian subterfuges goes on and
on But who can stop them?
And so clearly the Russians had to first corrupt the Clinton Foundation, the Clinton Presidential
campaign and the Democratic National Committee, just in order to render them hackworthy. But here
we have a problem. You see, if you can hack into a server, so can everyone else. Suppose you leave
your front door unlocked and swinging in the breeze, and long thereafter stuff goes missing. Of course
you can blame the neighbor you happen to like least, but then why would anyone believe you? Anybody
could have walked through that door and taken your shit. And so it is hard to do anything beyond
lobbing empty accusations at Russia as far as hacking is concerned; but the charge of corrupting
the incorruptible Hillary Clinton is another matter entirely.
Because here the ultimate Russian achievement was in getting Hillary Clinton to refer to over
half of her electorate as "a basket of deplorables," and this was no mean feat. It takes a superpower
to orchestrate a political blunder of this magnitude. This she did in front of an LGBT audience in
New York. Now, Hillary is no spring chicken when it comes to national politics: she's been through
quite a few federal elections, and she has enough experience to know that pissing off over half of
your electorate in one fell swoop is not a particularly smart thing to do. Obviously, she was somehow
hypnotized into uttering these words no doubt by a hyperintelligent space-based Russian operative.
The Russian covert operation into subverting American democracy started with the Russians sending
an agent into the hitherto unexplored hinter regions of America, to see what they are like. Hunched
over his desk, Putin whipped out a map of the US and a crayon, and lightly shaded in an area south
of the Mason-Dixon line, west of New York and Pennsylvania, and east of the Rockies.
Let me come clean. I have split loyalties. I have spent most of my life hobnobbing with transnational
elites on the East Coast, but I have also spent quite a few years working for a very large midwestern
agricultural equipment company, and a very large midwestern printing company, so I know the culture
of the land quite well. I am sure that what this Russian agent reported back is that the land is
thickly settled with white people of Anglo-Irish, Scottish, German and Slavic extraction, that they
are macho, that their women (for it is quite a male-centric culture) tend to vote same way as the
men for the sake of domestic tranquility, that they don't much like dark-skinned people or gays,
and that plenty of them view the East Coast and California as dens of iniquity and corruption, if
not modern-day Sodoms and Gomorras.
And what if Vladimir Putin read this report, and issued this order: "Get Clinton to piss them
all off." And so it was done: unbeknownst to her, using nefarious means, Hillary was programmed,
under hypnosis, to utter the phrase "a basket of deplorables." A Russian operative hiding in the
audience of LGBT activists flashed a sign triggering the program in Hillary's overworked brain, and
the rest is history. If that's what actually happened, then Putin should be pronounced Special Ops
Officer of the Year, while all the other "world leaders" should quietly sneak out the back entrance,
sit down on the ground in the garden and eat some dirt, then puke it up into their hands and rub
it into their eyes while wailing, because how on earth can they possibly ever hope to beat that?
Or we can just go back to my brain parasite theory. Doesn't it seem a whole lot more sane now?
Not only is it much simpler and more believable, but it also has certain predictive merits that the
"Russian hacking" theory lacks. You see, when there is parasitism involved, there is rarely just
one symptom. Usually, there is a whole cluster of symptoms. And so, just for the sake of comparison,
let's look at what has happened to the Ukraine since it was infected with the Ukrainian Brain Parasite,
and compare that to what is happening to the US now that the parasite has spread here too.
1. The Ukraine is ruled by an oligarch-Petro Poroshenko, the "candy king"-along with a clique
of other oligarchs who have been handed regional governorships and government ministries. And now
the US is about to be ruled by an oligarch-Trump, the "casino king"-along with a clique of other
oligarchs, from ExxonMobile to Goldman Sachs.
2. The Ukraine has repudiated its trade agreements with Russia, sending its economy into free-fall.
And now Trump is promising to repudiate, and perhaps renegotiate, a variety of trade agreements.
For a country that has run huge structural trade deficits for decades and pays for them by constantly
issuing debt this is not going to be easy or safe.
3. The Ukraine has been subjected to not one but two Color Revolutions, promoted by none other
than that odious oligarch George Soros. The US is now facing its own Color Revolution-the Purple
Revolution-paid for by that same Soros, with the goal of overturning the results of the presidential
election and derailing the inauguration of Donald Trump through a variety of increasingly desperate
ploys including paid-for demonstrations, vote recounts and attempts to manipulate the Electoral College.
4. For a couple of years now the Ukraine has been mired in a bloody and futile civil war. To this
day the Ukrainian troops (with NATO support) are lobbing missiles into civilian districts in the
east of the country, and getting decimated in return. So far, Trump's victory seems to have appeased
the "deplorables," but should the Purple Revolution succeed, the US may also see major social unrest,
possibly escalating into a civil war.
The Ukrainian Brain Parasite has devastated the Ukraine. It is by now too far gone for much of
anything to be done about it. All of the best people have left, mostly for Russia, and all that's
left is a rotten, hollow shell. But does it have to end this way for the US? I hope not!
There are, as I see it, two possibilities. One is to view those who are pushing the "Russian hacking"
or "Russian aggression" story as political adversaries. Another is to view them as temporarily mentally
ill. Yes, their brains are infected with the Ukrainian Brain Parasite, but that just means that their
opinions are to be disregarded-until they feel better. And since this particular brain parasite specifically
influences social behavior, if we refuse to reward that behavior with positive reinforcement-by acknowledging
it-we will suppress its most debilitating symptoms, eventually forcing the parasite to evolve toward
a more benign form. As with many infectious diseases, the fight against them starts with improved
hygiene-in this case, mental hygiene. And so that is my prescription: when you see someone going
on about "Russian hacking" or "Russian aggression" be merciful and charitable toward them as individuals,
because they are temporarily incapacitated, but do not acknowledge their mad ranting, and instead
try to coax them into learning to control it.
Companies used to pull their trucks off the road, or allow driver
discretion to pull over, in bad weather. Not so much any more. Because
corporate profits 2 people died.
nmewn
King Tut
Dec 17, 2016 12:12 PM
This just in from Fake Nuuuz Central:
Thanks for this– a much-needed Onion-esque satirical dig at the Globe/Post/NYT trifecta of
garbage. To base a headline on information gleaned from anonymous sources and unnamed officials
in secret meetings with unpublished agendas seems the most dangerous type of fake news there is.
The death of irony was greatly exaggerated, if you ask me.
"... it's truly amazing. many of these people have denounced joe mccarthy all their lives. ..."
"... I was thinking Katyusha. Besides being a very pretty diminutive name for Katherine, the sound of the Katyusha rockets made the forces of evil's collective sphincter tighten up. ..."
"... Just like the sound of the truth spoken to power here at NC is apparently tightening up some establishment sphincters :) ..."
"... Oh OIFVet, do you know where this line of snark is leading? Next, the NC will be "mischaracterized" as Stalin's News Organ! ..."
... Anyway, concerned by number of supposedly educated friends(Clinton supporters) being
taken in by this fake news/Russian ties thing. They've lost their heads and there's no discussing
it with them, they are convinced. Where does it end? Na zdorovie!
it's truly amazing. many of these people have denounced joe mccarthy all their lives. somebody
referred to invasion of the body snatchers on nc the other day, that's the only logical explanation.
I was thinking Katyusha. Besides being a very pretty diminutive name for Katherine, the
sound of the Katyusha rockets made the forces of evil's collective sphincter tighten up.
Just like the sound of the truth spoken to power here at NC is apparently tightening up
some establishment sphincters :)
"... I was thinking Katyusha. Besides being a very pretty diminutive name for Katherine, the sound of the Katyusha rockets made the forces of evil's collective sphincter tighten up. ..."
"... Just like the sound of the truth spoken to power here at NC is apparently tightening up some establishment sphincters :) ..."
"... Oh OIFVet, do you know where this line of snark is leading? Next, the NC will be "mischaracterized" as Stalin's News Organ! ..."
It's going to be a surprise and happen when everyone least expects it. Sneak attack by moose
and skwirral. Anyway, concerned by number of supposedly educated friends(Clinton supporters) being
taken in by this fake news/Russian ties thing. They've lost their heads and there's no discussing
it with them, they are convinced. Where does it end? Na zdorovie!
it's truly amazing. many of these people have denounced joe mccarthy all their lives. somebody
referred to invasion of the body snatchers on nc the other day, that's the only logical explanation.
I was thinking Katyusha. Besides being a very pretty diminutive name for Katherine, the
sound of the Katyusha rockets made the forces of evil's collective sphincter tighten up.
Just like the sound of the truth spoken to power here at NC is apparently tightening up
some establishment sphincters :)
Did anyone notice this?? This is serious as all hell! The U.S. House of Representatives just passed
H.R. 6393:
Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 This almost makes it sound like we are
at war with Israel! Here are some of the more outrageous parts:
Title V - Matters relating to foreign countries
Sec. 501. Committee to counter active measures by the State of Israel to exert covert
influence over peoples and governments.
(a)Definitions - In this section:
Active measures by the State of Israel to exert covert influence. The
term active measures by Israel to exert covert influence means activities
intended to influence a person or government that are carried out in coordination with,
or at the behest of, political leaders or the security services of the State of Israel
and the role of Israel has been hidden or not acknowledged publicly,
including the following:
(A)Establishment or funding of a front group.
(B)Covert broadcasting.
(C)Media manipulation.
(D)Disinformation and forgeries.
(E)Funding agents of influence.
(F)Incitement and offensive counterintelligence.
(G)Assassinations.
(H)Terrorist acts.
Appropriate committees of Congress
The term appropriate committees of Congress means
(A)the congressional intelligence committees;
(B)the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
and
(C)the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives.
(b)Establishment
There is established within the executive branch an interagency committee to counter active
measures by the State of Israel to exert covert influence.
(c)Membership
(1)In general
(A)Appointment
Each head of an agency or department of the United States Government set out under subparagraph
(B) shall appoint one member of the committee established by subsection (b) from among
officials of such agency or department who occupy a position that is required to be appointed
by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate.
(B)Head of an agency or department
The head of an agency or department of the United States Government set out under this
subparagraph are the following:
(i)The Director of National Intelligence.
(ii)The Secretary of State.
(iii)The Secretary of Defense.
(iv)The Secretary of the Treasury.
(v)The Attorney General.
(vi)The Secretary of Energy.
(vii)The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(viii)The head of any other agency or department of the United States Government designated
by the President for purposes of this section.
(d)Meetings
The committee shall meet on a regular basis.
(e)Duties
The duties of the committee established by subsection (b) shall be as follows:
(1)To counter active measures by Israel to exert covert influence, including
by exposing falsehoods, agents of influence, corruption, human rights abuses, terrorism,
and assassinations carried out by the security services or political elites of the State of Israel or their proxies.
(2)Such other duties as the President may designate for purposes of this section.
(f)Staff [...]
(g)Budget request [...]
(h)Annual report
Requirement
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter,
and consistent with the protection of intelligence sources and methods, the committee established
by subsection (b) shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report describing
steps being taken by the committee to counter active measures by Israel to
exert covert influence.
Matters included
Each report under paragraph (1) shall include a summary of the following:
(A)Active measures by Israel to exert covert influence during the previous
year, including significant incidents and notable trends.
(B)Key initiatives of the committee.
(C)Implementation of the committee's initiatives by the heads of the agencies and departments
of the United States Government specified in subsection (c)(1)(B).
(D)Analysis of the success of such initiatives.
(E)Changes to such initiatives from the previous year.
Separate reporting requirement
The requirement to submit an annual report under paragraph (1) is in addition to any other
reporting requirements with respect to Israel .
502.Limitation on travel of accredited diplomats and consulars of the State of Israel in
the United States from their diplomatic post
(a)Appropriate committees of Congress defined
In this section, the term appropriate committees of Congress means-
1. the congressional intelligence committees;
2. the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate; and
3. the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives.
(b)Quarterly limitation on travel distance Accredited diplomatic personnel and consulars of
the State of Israel in the United States may not be permitted to travel a distance
in excess of 25 miles from their diplomatic post in the United States in a calendar quarter
unless, on or before the last day of the preceding calendar quarter, the Director of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation has certified in writing to the appropriate committees of Congress
that during the preceding calendar quarter the Bureau did not identify any violations by accredited
diplomatic personnel and consulars of the State of Israel of applicable requirements
to notify the United States Government in connection with travel by such diplomatic personnel
and consulars of a distance in excess of 25 miles from their diplomatic post in the United
States.
OK - I lied a little. The text of the bill is as reads above, but I have substituted the text
the State of Israel and Israel in place of the original text: the
Russian Federation and Russia . You see, some countries are more equal
than others. (Apologies to all the U.S. readers that thought "Well, it's about damn time!"
)
[Dec 06, 2016] Obama invented a new psychedelic drug: a mixture of Hopium and Ballonium...
ALEPPO, Syria - In the midst of sectarian violence that has overtaken Syria for more than five
years, nine-year-old Asil Kassab is shocked by the defeat of Democratic presidential candidate
Hillary Clinton.
"I am so unhappy that a woman was not elected President," Asil said, briefly ducking as a bomb
from an American MQ-1 Predator drone leveled the hospital behind her. "Hillary Clinton is truly a
role model for young girls like me. I was so hoping that she'd be the one to order the drone
strike that would inevitably end my life."
Despite Clinton's support for regime change in Syria, leading to what is arguably one of the
greatest humanitarian crises of the early century, Kassab surprisingly says she holds no ill
will.
"I don't put much stock in the misogynist agenda of American politics," said Kassab, who, like
many children, cannot remember a time before the war that has killed 400,000 people, including
her family, and created over 4.7 million refugees. "People will always criticize her because she
is a woman in a man's world; One who has the audacity to run for President."
"It is sexism that motivates her critics, plain and simple," she added. "It is sexism, and
racism, that caused her to lose the election!"
Anya2358
4d ago
17
18
More about Clinton and the Washington establishment than
Trump. Just as Brexit was about Wasteminster's Elitists
and not the EU. I saw wonderfully funny cartoons sent to
me by my American friends, the best one said:
Voting for an independent is like eating a salad,
it's the right thing to do, but will it really make
much difference. Voting for Trump is like eating a
spicy, greasy Burrito, fun at first, but then you have
to digest it. Voting for Clinton is like eating the
fork, and only a complete moron would do that.
It is January 20th, 2017. President Donald J. Trump is presiding over his very first meeting with
his national security team.
Trump : We must destroy ISIS immediately. No delays.
CIA : We cannot do that, sir. We created them.
Trump : The Democrats created them.
CIA : We created ISIS, sir. You need them or else you would lose funding from the natural gas lobby.
Trump : Stop funding Pakistan. Let India deal with them.
CIA : We can't do that.
Trump : Why is that?
CIA : India will cut Balochistan out of Pak.
Trump : I don't care.
CIA : India will have peace in Kashmir. They will stop buying our weapons. They will become a superpower.
We have to fund Pakistan to keep India busy in Kashmir.
Trump : But you have to destroy the Taliban.
CIA : Sir, we can't do that. We created the Taliban to keep Russia in check during the 80s. Now they
are keeping Pakistan busy and away from their nukes.
Trump : We have to destroy terror sponsoring regimes in the Middle East. Let us start with the
Saudis.
Pentagon : Sir, we can't do that. We created those regimes because we wanted their oil. We can't
have democracy there, otherwise their people will get that oil - and we cannot let their people own
it.
Trump : Then, let us invade Iran.
Pentagon : We cannot do that either, sir.
Trump : Why not?
CIA : We are talking to them, sir.
Trump : What? Why?
CIA : We want our Stealth Drones back. If we attack them, Russia will obliterate us as they did to
our buddy ISIS in Syria. Besides we need Iran to keep Israel in check.
Trump : Then let us invade Iraq again.
CIA : Sir, our friends (ISIS) are already occupying 1/3rd of Iraq.
Trump : Why not the whole of Iraq?
CIA : We need the Shi'ite govt of Iraq to keep ISIS in check.
Trump : I am banning Muslims from entering the US.
Homeland Security : We can't do that.
Trump : Why not?
Homeland Security : Then our own population will stop fearing terrorism and be harder to control.
Trump : I am deporting all illegal immigrants to south of the border.
Border patrol : You can't do that, sir.
Trump : Why not?
Border patrol : If they're gone, who will build the wall?
Trump : I am banning H1B visas.
USCIS : You cannot do that.
Trump : Why?
Chief of Staff : If you do so, we'll have to outsource White House operations to Bangalore. Which
is in India.
Trump (sweating profusely by now): What the hell should I do as President???
CIA : Enjoy the White House, sir! We'll take care of the rest!
It's only been three days, oh, worthy of Quirites, from the moment that the Epicurean Trumparamp
was elected as the new king of Parthia, but one might think that instead the depths of Hades were
unleashed upon the world and that an unstoppable stream most incredible monsters poured out of
it!
Messengers convey that in the Parthian kingdom reigns mourning, though by no means among all
of the subjects – the heart-rending screams and rolling in the dust, while scratching one's face
with the nails is popular exclusively among the adherents of the king Abamarak and his chosen
Illariya, the priestess of the temple of the Giant Golden Toad – all sorts of Greeks (in both
senses of the word), painted buffoons, owners of amphitheatres and Nubians each of whom Illariya
promised free distribution of bread and five silver coins from the treasury. It is interesting
that here in Rome takes place exactly the same thing –capital dwelling useless loafers and Judean
owners of galleries with indecent murals, all wrapped in a black cloaks and shedding fiery tears,
realizing that the flow of Parthian gold into their mad undertakings might soon dry up.
What is happening in the Umbria defies any description. The local savages made countless sacrifices
to the good deity Peremogiks, daubing it in tasty pig fat and even proclaiming it a kinsman to
the Golden Toad. But, as it appears to be, the dreadful witch Gan'ba called forth the black forces
and summoned the sinister demon Zradiks, who plunged the Umbrians into utter despair. Witnesses
say, that the grieving barbarians gorged themselves on peas, trying to scare Zradiks off with
most powerful spell known to Umbria – the blowing of trhe Black Winds – that's why after hearing
the news from Parthia the sky over the city Kuyavis was colored with multicolored fire lanes,
and some Umbrians as a result flew up to the Moon and do not know now how to return back… And
it's not only because the priestess Illariya did not become the queen – they began to realize
that rich, but cost-wise Trumparamp, now won't give Umbria even a broken copper, especially after
the local leaders slandered him with unspeakable words and even splashed the statue of Trumparamp's
genius with pig's dung!
But how did it happen that the priestess of the Giant Golden Toad was denied the throne of
Parthia? And it wasn't even due to the story about the clay tablets – Illariya sent secret dispatches
using ordinary slave, and not purposely trained guard, making Parthian judges to begin an inquiry
of the matter. The last straw was the story of the Greek Pipisyandr, husband of one of the younger
priestesses, who assisted Illariya: this Pipisyandr became infamous for his habit of nightly break
ins into the houses of Parthian matrons and even innocent girls, whom he revealed his "riches"
of questionable value, and also ran away, filling neighborhoods with sinister laughter – all of
which, of course, caused considerable outrage. Perhaps this is the first and only time in history
when the king's elections were decided by someone's phallus!
The storm that broke out, however, does not abate day after day, and the Quirites in the Forum
only shrug never before a new king of Parthia caused this kind of whirlwind, streams of tears
and wailing chorus. Let's see what will happen next.
(1) Illariya was specifically instructed by KIng Abamarak to enscribe her clay tablets using
the secret cypher known as "Caesar's 4-letter shift". And to attach them to the legs of specially
trained evasive pigeons. Yet in her arrogance and contempt for her Nubian overlord, she enscribed
her instructions in cleartext and sent them in the hands of ordinary house slaves; and
(2) Pipisyandr was even better known for making impressions in clay of his enormous phallus, then
sending such impressions to the matrons of Rome, but verify at least he did attach these clay
phalluses to the legs of sturdy pigeons, which is what they called "tweeting" or "cooing" the
disgusting replicas.
Gaius Anonymus most notably omits (although inquisitive quirites remind him in comments beneath
this news-scroll) that Illariya and the wife of Pipisyandr might have engaged in the sapphic pleasures
of the flesh. This sad fact forced the spurned husband to steal some clay tablets with sensetive
data and plant his phallos unto them – without clearing what's been written on these tablets.
Thus the general public of Parthia became partial to the most scandalous exposure of secrets of
the state.
But has it also not been whispered among patricians and plebeians alike – though few dare breathe
the rumour openly – that Illariya's husband also made regular visits to a legendary island of
nymphs said to be owned by Galfridus Eburstanius?
And verily the scandal reached into the inner workings of the Vestal Virgin network. Malicious
plebeians gossip that Illariya's husband, Bubbus Primus, who disguised himself with cloaked hood,
also went under the alias of "Bigus Dickus" as he penetrated into the Vestal sanctum, a holy place
where technically males are not allowed.
But those rules are only for plebeians.
Also Gaius Anonymous omits to say that the most senior Parthian judge Iacobus Brianus Comnenus
twice declared that the investigations begun against Illariya for her use of personal slaves instead
of government messengers to transact government business had no merit, against the wishes of his
fellow judges and their clerks, scribes and centurions, that Illariya now blames IBC for her loss
in the elections, and that the judges may now be preparing to dethrone IBC himself and to reopen
their investigations against Illariya.
Presenting...the Clinton IT Department! This has not been an especially ennobling election.
Or a rewarding one. Or even entertaining. Pretty much everything about 2016 has been boorish and
grotesque. But finally it is time to laugh.
This has not been an especially ennobling election. Or a rewarding one. Or even entertaining.
Pretty much everything about 2016 has been boorish and grotesque. But finally it is time to laugh.
Ladies and gentlemen, I present the Clinton IT department.
Over the weekend we finally found out how Clinton campaign honcho John Podesta's emails were hacked.
But first a couple disclaimers:
1) Yes, it's unpleasant to munch on the fruit of the poisoned tree. But this isn't a court of
law and you can't just ignore information that's dragged into the public domain.
2) We're all vulnerable to hackers. Even if you're a security nut who uses VPNs and special email
encryption protocols, you can be hacked. The only real security is the anonymity of the herd. Once
a hacker targets you, specifically, you're toast.
I'm a pretty tech-savvy guy and if the Chinese decided to hack my emails tonight, you'd have everything
I've ever written posted to Wikileaks before the sun was up tomorrow.
But that is … not John Podesta's situation.
What happened was this: On March 19, Podesta got what looked--kind of, sort of--like an email
from Google's Gmail team. The email claimed that someone from the Ukraine had tried to hack into
Podesta's Gmail account and that he needed to change his password immediately.
This is what's called a "phishing" scam, where hackers send legitimate-looking emails that, when
you click on the links inside them, actually take you someplace dangerous. In Podesta's case, there
was a link that the email told him to click in order to change his password.
This was not an especially good bit of phishing.
Go have a look yourself. The email calls Podesta by his first name. It uses bit.ly as a link
shortener. Heck, the subject line is the preposterous "*someone has your password*". Why would Google
say "someone has your password?" They wouldn't. They'd say that there had been log-in attempts that
failed two-step authentication, maybe. Or that the account had been compromised, perhaps. If you've
spent any time using email over the last decade, you know exactly how these account security emails
are worded.
And what's more, you know that you never click on the link in the email. If you get a notice from
your email provider or your bank or anyone who holds sensitive information of yours saying that your
account has been compromised, you leave the email, open your web browser, type in the URL of the
website, and then manually open your account information. Again, let me emphasize: You never click
on the link in the email!
But what makes this story so priceless isn't that John Podesta got fooled by an fourth-rate phishing
scam. After all, he's just the guy who's going to be running Hillary Clinton's administration. What
does he know about tech? And Podesta, to his credit, knew what he didn't know: He emailed the Clinton
IT help desk and said, Hey, is this email legit?
And the Clinton tech team's response was: Hell yes!
No, really. Here's what they said: One member of the team responded to Podesta by saying "The
gmail one is REAL." Another answered by saying "This is a legitimate email. John needs to change
his password immediately."
It's like the Clinton IT department is run by 90-year-old grandmothers. I half-expect the next
Wikileaks dump to have an email from one Clinton techie to another asking for help setting their
VCR clock.
As the other guy likes to say, "only the best people."
"You're getting better quality, even though you don't know that Obamacare is
doing it," Obama said.
"Thanks, Obama," he added jokingly…
"So why is there still such a fuss?" Obama said. "Well, part of the
problem is the fact that a Democratic president named Barack Obama passed
the law."
Yeah, I am sure that's precisely the reason, you miserable piece of
narcissistic sh!t.
3. How will you address the problem of homelessness in this country?
Rebuild the nation's infrastructure to better conceal those living
beneath it
Provide them with gainful employment opportunities as ship ballast
Instruct the U.S. Mint to use small coins as vectors for a potent new virus
All of the above
I propose a drinking game: a shot of vodka every time Hillary mentions Russia. If you want
to pace yourself, a shot of vodka every time she talks about Russian aggression in Syria.
He doesn't seem to be sniffing so much today … so there goes one idea. I think you NEED a shot
of Jack Daniels every time Hillary laughs derisively after a Trump answer. As for beer chugs,
every time Trump repeats himself within 2 sentences?
As soon as the first batch of
Democratic Party emails were leaked in the Summer of 2016,
the Blue Team started churning out Cold War propaganda,
blaming it all on Russia while ignoring the damning
contents of the emails. With each new leak of exposing
information, the media hysteria about Russia continues to
grow. If Donald Trump were to respond to his criticism
like Hillary Clinton does, it might sound something like
this... Cheers!
The press is rightfully ignoring and
discrediting ludicrous conspiracy theories! If the press is unjust in
dismissing these outlandish claims about the emails 'scandal' and
Bill's supposed rape 'victims', then why do so many people still
choose to consume these media outlets? Are you accusing the majority
of Americans of being gullible and misinformed? That seems like a
pretty wild and unfair accusation!
Softpanorama
nmewn
King Tut
Dec 17, 2016 12:12 PM
This just in from Fake Nuuuz Central:
Troy Ounce
nmewn
Dec 17, 2016 12:20 PM
Never One Roach
Troy Ounce
Dec 17, 2016 12:22 PM
Plane loads of "therapy puppies" are being flown in to help assuage
the hurt New England snowflakes that are being "globally warmed" to
below freezing.
sudzee
Dec 17, 2016 12:12 PM
Putin is responsible for this mess. Quick, time for more sanctions.
