May the source be with you, but remember the KISS principle ;-)
Aftermath of US Presidential Elections of 2020
The aftermath of 2020 election revolved around claims of election fraud and it can be viewed as the start of the constitutional crisis in the USA -- the next stage of
the crisis of legitimacy of neoliberal elite
The neoliberal experiment – lower taxes on the rich, deregulation of labor and product markets, financialization, and
globalization – has been a spectacular failure. Growth is lower than it was in the quarter-century after the second world war,
and most of it has accrued to the very top of the income scale. After decades of stagnant or even falling incomes for those below
them, neoliberalism must be pronounced dead and buried.
Vying to succeed it are at least three major political alternatives: far-right nationalism, centre-left reformism and the progressive
left (with the centre-right representing the neoliberal failure). And yet, with the exception of the progressive left, these alternatives
remain beholden to some form of the ideology that has (or should have) expired.
The centre-left, for example, represents neoliberalism with a human face. Its goal is to bring the policies of former US president
Bill Clinton and former British prime minister Tony Blair into the 21st century, making only slight revisions to the prevailing
modes of financialization and globalization. Meanwhile, the nationalist right disowns globalization, blaming migrants and foreigners
for all of today’s problems. Yet as Donald Trump’s presidency has shown, it is no less committed – at least in its American variant
– to tax cuts for the rich, deregulation and shrinking or eliminating social programmes.
Neoliberalism
must be pronounced dead and buried. Where next?
by Joseph Stiglitz
The Guardian
may 30, 2019
A house divided against itself cannot stand ~Abraham Lincoln
Neoliberal elite celebrated the fact that Trump was deposed. And there are definitely positive aspects of this. But what they do
not understand, or do not wish to understand, is the revolt against neoliberalism that brought Trump to power did not dissipate. In
other words their victory is yet another Pyrrhic victory and it will definitely create new Trumps. New fighters against neoliberal
globalization, including unlimited movement of workers and immigrant and offshoring of manufacturing.
We will not moralize about whether the victory of globalists was a dirty and comes at the cost of destroying
the trust in the US election. Color revolutions (and this coup against Trump was a color revolution) are always dirty and always
involve intelligence agencies and bought journalists and MSM outlets. That's the nature of the beast. The real problem
is that neoliberal elite lost the legitimacy in 2016 and did not restore it in 2020. So, in a sense, no matter how one judge
2020 election Biden administration will, by definition, lack the legitimacy.
The Presidential elections of 2020 were less a referendum on neoliberal globalization than 2016 election. This happened mainly to COVD-19
epidemic and coursed by it recession. Also Trump self-destruct betraying his electorate, pandering to Israel lobby and
neocons. In short governing as Bush III. He also proved to be mediocre (or worse) politician. This combination of factors
favored classic neoliberals to take back power from "national neoliberals" like Trump.
Also it demonstrated the power of dirty "troika" of Amazon (WaPo, control of AWS), Facebook and Twitter and their ability
to influence election by pushing the desired narrative and suppressing all alternative information.
But "COVID junta" faces litany of structural problems
which they in no way are ready or willing to solve. Add to this the fact, that expected by neoliberal democrats the "Blue wave" that will give them
not only both Presidency and the control of Senate and the House, simply did not happened. Getting equal number of Senate
seats required from them inordinate amount of money and efforts( including the mobilization all of their resource for the
utilization of mail-invoting bonanza, created under false pretext of COVID-19 scare) while fighting against weak Republican
candidatures. Despite all his blunders and
"pro-rich" tax cut Trump retained a larger part of his voting base, then it was expected, and that helped Republicans to preserve their standing in
Senate and, paradoxically, increase their block in the House.
Looks like people were not exited about the idea of the restoration of neoliberal globalization and the return to the status quo which
existed before Trump. Which is the only agenda Biden proposed under the disguise of the "return to normal" (meaning
Clinton-style normal ;-)
People still hate neoliberalism and neoliberal Dems, and, paradoxically, neoliberal Dems managed to create a situation
in which many people hate them more then Republicans (which was and is the party of big business). Which is not that surprising, if we think about neoliberal Dems as sellouts
to Wall Street interests and financial oligarchy.
Both 2020 election were nor about Trump or Biden (both are dismal candidates, with Biden being a war criminal, if judged by
Nuremberg tribunal standards), but about the course
the country should take to escape from the crisis of neoliberalism which started in 2008.
Biden (who represent Clinton faction of Democratic
Party) proposed the return to the "status quo" (which deceptively marketed as the "return to normal") which existed before 2016. Which
is both impossible and dangerous idea, as you can't enter the same river twice. Both the country and the world changed.
Trump did not proposed anything -- his campaign was based on personality and did not have any distinct agenda outside of mainstream
Bush-style conservatism (which would be difficult in case case due to betrayal of his elections 2016 agenda).
But the most interesting part is that it look like neoliberal Dems tried to manipulate election in their favor resorting to
voting fraud and this way they caused a constitutional crisis in the USA, which might
have profound implications for the future of the country.
And the attempt to swipe it under the rag via Trump impeachment leave a bitter taste in the mouth.
In reality, Biden's domestic program and, especially, foreign policy program, do no differ much from Trump. In foreign policy both are neocons and Zionists;
in essence Biden is Trump-light or "Trump with a human face" if you wish. Similarly Blinken is Pompeo light (this is true
at least for their weights ;-). But "kicking the neoliberal can down the rod" policies did not address the huge
problems facing the country and gives
Republican incentive to block most of their legislative initiatives with the goal to capture the House in 2022 on the wave of voters
disappointment with the performance of Biden Government. What country needs is a kind of the New Deal II and rejection of
neoliberalism on official (both parties and the government) levels. Which is about asking for two much as both parties are so
married to neoliberalism that they will go over the cliff with it.
Trump had spend all his political capital and after he got into Dec 6 trap his legitimacy
will be questioned even more forcefully than in 2016 when neoliberal MSM launched Russiagate hoax against him, supported by powerful factions
within the major US intelligence agencies and the Republican Party.
While 2020 election was less then 2016 referendum on neoliberalism and neoliberal globalization, the issue of the collapse of
neoliberal ideology remains. And it will affect the future of the global, governed from Washington, neoliberal empire.
The neoliberal elite that supports neoliberal globalization and that was defeated in 2016 returned to power. They forgot nothing and learned nothing.
As such the result of this election represent not normalization, but a counterrevolution.
Neoliberalism remains in zombie state which it entered in 2016. The only avenue to maintain the status qui is false flag operations and repressions.
And we see implementation of this strategy, not without help from intelligence agencies, which created the
wave of Neo-McCarthyism and gaslighted the population of the country with "Russian threat" for four years.
And that happened despite the fact that we all now live in the period of collapse of neoliberalism and cracks within the
society. Part of this sad state of affairs can be explained by Trump flaws and the fact that he betrayed his voters both in his domestic
policies and foreign policy.
In 2021 the market fundamentalism and neoliberal globalization approached the end of their shelf lives. They caused the slide of the standard of living
of lower 80% of the USA population. They actually prevent realization of democracy, replacing the notion "one person one vote" with
the notion "one dollar one vote" (money as free speech).
Neoliberals put economic growth above the value of having a healthy middle class, leading to century-high levels of inequality. It
emphasized individuals over communities and divided us by race, class, and culture. And because it preferred markets to democracy, it
looked away as the wealthiest people and corporations rigged the government to serve their own interests, even at the expense of everyone
else:
This is not an ordinary political moment. Everywhere around us, the old order is collapsing. The golden age of postwar economic
growth is over, replaced by a new Gilded Age of inequality and stagnation... People once united by common culture and information
are now fractured into social media echo chambers.
The [neoliberal international order is cracking as nationalism grows in strength and global institutions decay. The United States’
role as a global superpower is challenged by the rising strength of China and a new era of Russian assertiveness.
Optimists hope that generational and demographic change will restore inexorable progress. Pessimists interpret the current moment
as the decline and fall of democracy.
.. we are currently in the midst of one of these epochal transitions. We live on the edge of a new era in politics — the
third since the Great Depression and World War II. The first era is probably best described as liberal.... from the 1940s through
the 1970s, a version of political liberalism provided the paradigm for politics. Charting a path between the state control of communists
and fascists and the laissez-faire market that dominated before the Great Depression, liberals adopted a form of regulated capitalism.
Government set the rules of the road for the economy, regulated finance, invested to create jobs and spark consumer demand, policed
the bad behavior of businesses, and provided a social safety net for Americans. Big institutions—big government, big corporations,
big labor—cooperated to balance the needs of stakeholders in society. In the United States, it was called New Deal Liberalism. In
Europe, social democracy. There were differences across countries, of course, but the general approach was similar. ...even the conservatives
of the time were liberal. Republican president Dwight Eisenhower championed the national highway system and warned of the military-industrial
complex. President Richard Nixon said, “I am now a Keynesian in economics.” His administration created the EPA and expanded Social
Security by indexing benefits to inflation.
...since the 1980s, we have lived in a second era — that of neoliberalism. In economic and social policy, neoliberalism’s
tenets are simple: deregulation, privatization, liberalization, and austerity. Under neoliberalism, individuals are on their
own and should be responsible for themselves. Instead of governments, corporations, and unions balancing the interests of all stakeholders,
the primary regulator of social interests should be the marketplace. Neoliberals opposed unions and unionization, they wanted to
pursue vouchers instead of public provision of services, and they sought to shrink the size and functioning of government, even if
it meant a less effective government. Markets worked like magic, and market logic would be applied to all aspects of life. Around
the world, the neoliberal era came with an aggressive emphasis on expanding democracy and human rights, even by military force. Expanding
trade and commerce came with little regard for who the winners and losers were—or what the political fallout might be. ...It was
President Bill Clinton who said that the "era of big government is over" and who celebrated the legislation deregulating Wall
Street.
...With the election of Donald Trump, the neoliberal era has reached its end. While in control of the House, Senate,
and presidency, Republicans neither repealed the Affordable Care Act nor privatized Social Security and Medicare. Their party is
increasingly fractured between Trumpist conservatives, who are far more nationalist, and the never-Trump old-line conservatives like
Bill Kristol or Jeb Bush. An increasing number of people recognize that neoliberalism’s solutions are unsuited to the challenges
of our time.
I would recommend to listen to the interview by John Anderson by Victor Davis
Hanson -- US Election 2020 - YouTube. While he is a Trump supporter
many of his point sound relevant to people who consider Trump a short-lived aberration, which sooner of later will be deposed by the
neoliberal establishment (aka the "deep state"). And who, before this was fully cooped by Zionist lobby and the Republican establishment and pushed "tax cut for
the rich." For example, he pointed out that the primary role of pollsters is the suppression of votes.
Biden claim that he can fix the country is high questionable taking into account his record as a staunch neoliberal and
warmonger:
PorkyPricklyPants, 2 days ago
Joe Biden’s political Career by year:
1973 Biden enters politics
1974
1975
1976
1977 Biden fights to keep schools segregated because "allowing blacks to integrate would create a racial jungle"
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983 Biden taxes SS
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988 Ran for president but had to end it after getting busted for plagiarism
1989
1990 C’mon man, almost there
1991
1992
1993 Biden taxes SS again
1994 Biden writes the stop and frisk law which is what African Americans blame for systemic racism today
1995
1996
1997 Almost, not yet because y’know the thing
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008 Calls Obama the first articulate and clean mainstream African American
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020 and now he’s ready to "FIX" the Country.
Imagine being so dumb that you think the guy in office for 4 years is the problem and the guy in office for 47 YEARS is
the solution
Jeff Olp 1 day ago
President Trump is exposing the lie and corruption of the whole thing. That is why the old guard are so upset. Opening up the
eyes of the people about the lie they live is part of the reason I voted Trump. They can not let the debt slaves wake up to the
truth or their power is destroyed.
Every government on earth are part of the lie and corruption. They keep us divided so they can pit us against each other. Cruelty
they created but blame on others so they can have their power hungry appetite fed.
Doug Sjogren 1 day ago
Since the days leading up to the election I've felt as if the air had left the room and I was slowly suffocating. I couldn't
believe the world I was seeing. The poles were lying, legacy media was lying, big tech was lying, the FBI was lying and I was
slowly dying inside. My hope was leaving for sure. T
he last hour listening to this man speak with such clarity, and intelligence has become a rush of fresh air into the room.
I again have hope for the future of this country because the left has made such a huge mistake in ignoring the middle class in
the election. They really thought that we couldn't see thru all of this bullshit. The people who stole this election from Trump
and the conservative Americans will have their day of reckoning.
They will lose the race because they have lost every shred of their credibility. It will start in two years when they loose
the House and in another two years when they loose the White House and the Republicans have a super majority with the House, the
Senate, and the Supreme Court. Thank you Donald Trump, for taking all of the rocks and arrows. You will never be forgotten for
pulling the drain stopper in the swamp.
Crisis of neoliberalism will not magically disappear in 2021. It might get worse due to effects of the COVID19 pandemics.
In foreign policy Biden was always a neocon warmonger, so members of his cabinet probably will not differ much from Trump. So the
Secretary of State might be less abrasive then Pompeo, but the policies stay the same: attempt to preserve and whoever possible to
expand
the global neoliberal empire governed from Washington.
In Domestic policy Biden represents a mix bag. On one hand he needs to placate "progressives" support of which contributed to his
victory. On the other he remains staunch neoliberal and it is difficult to teach old dog new tricks
First of all Biden has Chinagate waiting for him in the wings. Also relations with Russia are already
at such a low point that the next step down might be, God forbid, shooting. In other words he has very few degrees of freedom. Biden
was an important player in Russiagate hoax, so it is reasonable to expect that everything will be spoiled and toxic in this area
in his administration. And this fact hangs like albatross around his neck.
Another important negative factor is that Biden will probably appoint way too many female chickenhawks in his administration.
Suffering from the "inferiority complex" those chickenhawks will probably be way too jingoistic, and will contribute to the adoption of
the most dangerous and counterproductive foreign policies. For example, in Syria.
On domestic front the key USA problem -- mass unemployment will not subside. As Biden is Wall Street stooge he will do nothing
serious about it. Race relations, aggravating by BLM and antifa riots and destruction of monuments, will only get worse with "race-neutral"
white American probably moving to the right.
The measure taken against COVID-19 epidemic by COVID-19 junta probably will worsen that state of the economic in the USA
dramatically and increase unemployment to the levels of Great depression. Several important industries such as hospitality
industry, restaurants, health clubs, theaters and entertainment industry in in general, and airlines already took severe hits
and probably will not recover. Those hits will propagate down the food chain to cause additional shocks.
The fundamental
problems, he says, are a dark triad of social maladies: a bloated elite class, with too few elite jobs to go around; declining
living standards among the general population; and a government that can’t cover its financial positions.
...The problems are deep and structural—not the type that the tedious process of democratic change can fix in time to forestall
mayhem. Turchin likens America to a huge ship headed directly for an iceberg: ‘If you have a discussion among the crew about which
way to turn, you will not turn in time, and you hit the iceberg directly.’
The past 10 years or so have been discussion. That sickening
crunch you now hear—steel twisting, rivets popping—is the sound of the ship hitting the iceberg.
Pennsylvania 's
top election official has decertified the voting system of rural Fulton County for future elections, saying
that an election assessment by a third party had violated the Keystone State's election code,
according to a release on Wednesday.
Acting Secretary of State Veronica Degraffenreid, an appointee of Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf,
informed the Fulton County Board of Elections that she "did not arrive at this decision
lightly."
Wake Technology Services Inc. (Wake TSI), a software company based in West Chester,
Pennsylvania, had carried out an election assessment that involved its workers visiting Fulton
County in December 2020 and in early February.
The company in May released a report that concluded the election was "well-run" and did not
indicate any signs of fraud in Fulton County. However,
five "issues of note" were uncovered , three of which are related to Dominion Voting Systems ,
whose electronic voting system was used in the county for the 2020 election.
"While these may seem minor, the impact on an election can be huge," Wake TSI said of the
five issues. At the time, Dominion disputed the report's findings.
The Pennsylvania Department of State said in a statement on Wednesday that
Wake TSI's access to the Fulton County's voting system "undermined the chain of custody
requirements and strict access limitations necessary to prevent both intentional and
inadvertent tampering with electronic voting systems."
It added that the "unauthorized access" prevents the vendor -- Dominion -- from "affirming
that the system continues to meet state and federal certification standards."
Fulton county officials had allowed Wake TSI to "access certain key components of its
certified system, including the county's election database, results files, and Windows systems
logs," and to "use a system imaging tool to take complete hard drive images of these computers
and other digital equipment," the department noted.
"These actions were taken in a manner that was not transparent," Degraffenreid said in her
letter to Fulton County officials on Tuesday. She said the access given to Wake TSI has
caused Fulton County's voting system to be "compromised," and that neither the county, state
officials, nor Dominion could now "verify that the impacted components of Fulton County's
leased voting system are safe to use in future elections."
"I have no other choice but to decertify the use of Fulton County's leased Dominion
Democracy Suite 5.5A voting system last used in the November 2020 election," Degraffenreid
wrote.
The Fulton County Board of Elections and Wake TSI did not immediately respond to requests
for comment.
The Pennsylvania Department of State previously said that a risk-limiting audit of the 2020
election has confirmed the state's election results.
The
Pennsylvania Capital-Star reported that Fulton County needed to pay $25,000 to lease new
equipment for its municipal elections in May, because Dominion refused to let the county use
the voting machines that Wake TSI had accessed. According to the outlet, Dominion told the
county that it violated its contract in letting a unaccredited and non-certified company
inspect the machines.
Wake TSI's assessment in Fulton County was "set" by Pennsylvania Sen. Doug Mastriano, a
Republican, according to a Dec. 31, 2020 document
signed by the company that was obtained and published by the Arizona Mirror and The Washington
Post. Wake TSI said in its report that Mastriano and Pennsylvania Sen. Judy Ward, also a
Republican, "were aware of our efforts."
The document also said that Wake TSI was "contracted to Defending the Republic," a nonprofit
founded by lawyer Sidney Powell, who has alleged that widespread fraud occurred in the 2020
election.
Mastriano earlier this month
issued letters to York, Tioga, and Philadelphia counties requesting that they voluntarily
submit information and materials by July 31, to enable what he calls a "forensic investigation"
of the 2020 and 2021 elections. He told The Epoch Times that he seeks for an investigation that
would be "a big deep dive, like we saw in Arizona, but even deeper."
Wake TSI was also involved in the election audit still underway in Arizona's Maricopa County
up until
its contract expired in May. The audit in Maricopa County was ordered by the Arizona state
Senate's Republican majority. Dominion machines in Maricopa County will also be
replaced .
Arizona Senate President Karen Fann, a Republican, said the machines were not tampered with
during the audit and questioned the Board of Supervisors' decision to get new machines.
"If their experts can't prove the machines have not been tampered with, then how does the
[Secretary of State's office] or County Elections certify the machines before every audit to
make sure the machines haven't been tampered with?" she asked in June.
Comments suggest high level of discontent amount this selected category of US citizens. How
large is such a group is anybody guess, but just the existence of such a group is a threat to the
current neoliberal system in which corruption is systemic indeed.
Update (1352ET): Oddly, right as Senate President Karen Fann suggested that auditors may not
be able to determine whether a ballot had been duplicated once, or ten times, YouTube pulled
the feed we had originally embedded , claiming it violated their Terms of Service.
An alternate stream has been embedded below.
* * *
The Arizona Senate is holding a public briefing with leaders of the ongoing election audit
authorized by Senate President Karen Fann.
Fann is joined by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Warren Peterson, along with Senate
audit liaison Ken Bennett and the leaders of two of the vendors hired to conduct the audit,
Cyber Ninjas CEO Doug Logan and CyFIR founder Ben Cotton, according to KTAR .
Cyber Ninjas was hired as lead contractor for the audit, which started April 23 after the
Senate won a legal battle with Maricopa County for access to election equipment and
approximately 2.1 million ballots from the November 2020 general election in metro Phoenix.
Fann told KTAR News 92.3 FM's The Mike Broomhead Show on Tuesday that the number ballots
tallied during the audit didn't match the total documented by Maricopa County, but she didn't
know how far off the counts were.
Most audit operations have wrapped up, but counting machines are being used to recheck of
the total number of ballots, a process that was expected to continue into next week.
Audit officials have said a final report was expected to be released in late July or
August.
The U.S. House Oversight and Reform Committee sent Logan a letter Wednesday requesting
documentation about Cyber Ninjas' role in the audit, funding and possible connections to former
President Donald Trump or his surrogates.
Cyber Ninjas had no previous experience conducting election audits. Fann's selection of the
Florida-based firm's $150,000 bid quickly drew scrutiny over Logan's deleted Twitter account,
which had activity supporting unfounded election conspiracy theories.
The low bid doesn't cover the cost of the operation, expected to be in the millions, and
fundraising has been taking place in the name of the audit.
Fann has said the aim of the process is to restore faith in the election system and find
ways to improve Arizona's voting laws, not to reverse the result of the election.
However, many Trump supporters see it as a step toward invalidating President Joe Biden's
victory and returning Trump to office.
Attorney General Merrick Garland is the front-runner so far for 2021's bad timing prize. The
Justice Department last month rushed out a lawsuit claiming that Georgia's new election law
violates Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act only days before the Supreme Court laid down
standards that make the lawsuit a nearly certain loser.
Justice knew the likely timing of the Court's ruling in Brnovich v. DNC, so a fair guess is
that Mr. Garland succumbed to White House and progressive pressure to make a political
statement to support Democratic efforts in Congress to federalize state election laws in
H.R.1.
Bad call. Now federal judges hearing the case will have to contend with Justice Samuel
Alito's five principles in Brnovich as they assess the Georgia statute.
It won't be easy to find legal fault under those principles. Mere voting inconvenience can't
be considered disqualifying, since all voting imposes some inconvenience. Any specific voting
provision, such as the number of drop boxes, must also be considered in the overall context of
a state's voting rules. Georgia's rules are generally lenient and don't especially burden the
ability of minorities to vote.
Perhaps Justice can find a federal judge somewhere to rule against Georgia, but such a
ruling is unlikely to survive on appeal to higher courts. The legal and political result of the
lawsuit is therefore likely to vindicate Georgia Republicans during the 2022 election season or
leading up to 2024, depending on how the lawsuits proceed. Mr. Garland would be wise to drop
the suit in light of Brnovich, lest his term at Justice be marred by the continuation of this
patently political lawsuit.
Given what we have seen of Mr. Garland thus far in his questionable legal performance as AG,
it is looking like the Republicans were prescient in blocking his appointment to the Supreme
Court.
David Schmidt
Politics will always supersede good judgment.
DON WILLINGHAM
Yep, apparently its a burden for some of the libs to put a stamp on an ballot and mail it it
(I'm going one step beyond the extraordinary burden of getting off your behind to go to a
local polling location).
paul grunder
Looks like Coca Cola and Major L. baseball made a mistake. do you think they will have second
thoughts about leaving GA.? I know I now love Pepsi and don't watch baseball much at all
anymore. You can bet someone in each organization is saying, how do we save face over this.
p's wife
Brien Akers
None of this matters. Not lawsuits, not SCOTUS rulings, not State election laws, not lower
court rulings. None of it matters. Why? Because the Democrats know that they cannot win
without cheating as surely as they know the sun is going to rise tomorrow. That means they
will simply ignore all the laws and do they same thing in 2024 that they did in 2020. Ask
yourself this: Who's going to stop them? Question number two: Who will reverse the election
results?
DON WILLINGHAM
Tell us what citizen cannot vote in the next election? (no, felons don't count). Its not
hard to vote. Besides, where were all the whiners 4 years ago, 8 years, 20 years ago if GA's
laws were so restrictive. This is such nonsense.
Greg Elsden
I say keep going, Garland. Your party is known for epic fails (eg Russian Delusion and two
impeachments).
Steven S
The chances of DoJ voluntarily dismissing its lawsuit against Georgia's
more-lax-and-liberal-than-Delaware's voting regulations are somewhere between slim and none.
And Slim has left town.
Litigation of this kind takes years to wind its way through the lower courts and to reach
SCOTUS. By then, the Supreme Court could be packed with Justices of the same mindset as the
dissenters in Brnovich.
Only the "Jim Crow" Filibuster stands in the way of court packing.
David Alan
Another reminder that we dodged a bullet by not sending Merrick Garland through to
SCOTUS.
Robert Bridges
Amen to that. He isn't a moderate after all...
Jim Walsh
Democrats need the issue so that they can continue to use minorities, who they truly think
are too stupid to vote. It is insulting and stupid,
James Stock
Garland is really just a bureaucrat with a law degree. Deep down, he doesn't believe is this
ridiculous lawsuit. He made a deal with the devil by working for an incompetent president.
The voting measure has inflamed Republicans, who accused Democrats of engaging in
demagoguery.
"This bill is brazen," said Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas), ticking off a list of provisions in
the Democratic bill that he called damaging, including one that would shrink the Federal
Election Commission to five from six members, which he said would enable the president to turn
the agency into a weapon against political rivals. Mr. Cruz accused Democrats of "deliberately
inflaming racial tensions" by attacking policies like requiring voter identification that
Republicans say are designed to protect the integrity of the vote.
... ... ...
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D., Ore.), the sponsor of the Senate bill, a version of which
cleared the House in March , told CNN on Monday that there are ways to advance voting
legislation that would involve changing the filibuster, which requires three-fifths of the
Senate, or currently 60 members, to end debates and vote on most legislation.
"Fifty members getting into a room and deciding how we go forward will be kind of another
stage of how we proceed," Mr. Merkley said later on a call with activists.
The pressure-cooker environment in which the debate lands was highlighted by nascent
campaigns inside and outside the Capitol. Republicans are calling attention to a provision in
the Democrats' bill that would allow signatures in lieu of voter identification cards, saying
such a policy could be abused and would weaken trust in the validity of elections. A Monmouth
University poll released Monday found that 80% of Americans support requiring voters to show
photo identification to cast ballots.
Meanwhile, the progressive group Just Democracy is running ads aimed at Ms. Sinema,
suggesting that she is weak on voting policy because she hasn't come out in support of ending
the filibuster to make voting legislation possible.
Ms. Sinema is up for re-election in 2024. Her state is currently roiled by
an audit of votes cast in 2020 in Maricopa County, which Mr. Biden won, and is defending
some of its voting rules at the Supreme Court.
Ending the filibuster may get Democrats everything that the want for another 18 months. But
they will not be able to keep the legislation that they have passed.
As soon as control of both chambers and the White House passes to the other party, they
very quickly will repeal each and every bit of legislation that had been passed by the
Democrats.
At that point, Republicans will be able to pass absolutely everything that they want,
probably for 18 months.
By ending the filibuster we will get national laws that change with every change of
administration.
Aren't we better off, keeping the filibuster, so that nothing is ever accomplished by
either party? Deadlock.
Deadlock pleases politicians and the primary voters in their party, but it frustrates the
80% of Americans who are moderates. They want Congress to act to deal with the country's
problems. But deadlock it will be.
"... ...the prerogative to define extremism includes the power to attempt to banish certain ideas from acceptable discourse. The report warns that "narratives of fraud in the recent general election"¦ will almost certainly spur some [Domestic Violent Extremists] to try to engage in violence this year." ..."
"... If accusations of 2020 electoral shenanigans are formally labeled as extremist threats, that could result in far more repression (aided by Facebook and Twitter) of dissenting voices. ..."
...the prerogative to define extremism includes the power to attempt to banish certain ideas
from acceptable discourse. The report warns that "narratives of fraud in the recent general
election"¦ will almost certainly spur some [Domestic Violent Extremists] to try to
engage in violence this year."
If accusations of 2020 electoral shenanigans are formally labeled as extremist threats, that
could result in far more repression (aided by Facebook and Twitter) of dissenting voices.
How will this work out any better than the concerted campaign by the media and Big Tech last
fall to suppress all information about Hunter Biden's laptop before the election?
The Biden administration is revving up for a war against an enemy which the feds have chosen
to never explicitly define . According to a March report by Biden's Office of the Director of
National Intelligence, "domestic violent extremists" include individuals who "take overt steps
to violently resist or facilitate the overthrow of the U.S. government in support of their
belief that the U.S. government is purposely exceeding its Constitutional authority." But that
was the same belief that many Biden voters had regarding the Trump administration. Does the
definition of extremism depend solely on which party captured the White House?
The report notes that the "Department of Defense is reviewing and updating its definition of
prohibited extremist activities among uniformed military personnel." Bishop Garrison, the chief
of the Pentagon's new Countering Extremism Working Group, is Exhibit A for the follies of
extremist crackdowns on extremism. In a series of 2019 tweets, Garrison, a former aide to
Hillary Clinton,
denounced all Trump supporters as "racists." Garrison's working group will "specifically
define what constitutes extremist behavior" for American soldiers. If Garrison purges Trump
supporters from the military, the Pentagon would be unable to conquer the island of Grenada.
Biden policymakers also intend to create an "anti-radicalization" program for individuals
departing the military service. This initiative will likely produce plenty of leaks and
embarrassing disclosures in the coming months and years.
The Biden report is spooked by the existence of militia groups and flirts with the fantasy
of outlawing them across the land. The report promises to explore "how to make better use of
laws that already exist in all fifty states prohibiting certain private "˜militia'
activity, including"¦state statutes prohibiting groups of people from organizing as
private military units without the authorization of the state government, and state statutes
that criminalize certain paramilitary activity." Most of the private militia groups are guilty
of nothing more than bluster and braggadocio. Besides, many of them are already overstocked
with government informants who are counting on Uncle Sam for regular paychecks.
As part of its anti-extremism arsenal, DHS is financing programs for "enhancing media
literacy and critical thinking skills" and helping internet users avoid "vulnerability
to"¦harmful content deliberately disseminated by malicious actors online." Do the feds
have inside information about another Hunter Biden laptop turning up, or what? The Biden
administration intends to bolster Americans' defenses against extremism by developing
"interactive online resources such as skills-enhancing online games." If the games are as
stupefying as this report, nobody will play them.
The Biden report stresses that federal law enforcement agencies "play a critical role in
responding to reports of criminal and otherwise concerning activity." "Otherwise concerning
activity"? This is the same standard that turned prior anti-terrorist efforts into
laughingstocks.
Fusion Centers are not mentioned in the Biden report but they are a federal-state-local law
enforcement partnership launched after 9/11 to vacuum up reports of suspicious activity.
Seventy Fusion Centers rely on the same standard"""
If you see something, say something """that a senior administration official invoked in a
background call on Monday for the new Biden initiative. The Los Angeles Police Department
encouraged citizens to snitch on "individuals who stay at bus or train stops for extended
periods while buses and trains come and go," "individuals who carry on long conversations on
pay or cellular telephones," and "joggers who stand and stretch for an inordinate amount of
time." The Kentucky Office of Homeland Security recommended the reporting of "people avoiding
eye contact," "people in places they don't belong," or homes or apartments that have numerous
visitors "arriving and leaving at unusual hours," PBS's Frontline reported. Colorado's Fusion
Center "produced a fear-mongering public service announcement asking the public to report
innocuous behaviors such as photography, note-taking, drawing and collecting money for charity
as "˜warning signs' of terrorism," the ACLU complained.
Various other Fusion Centers have attached warning labels to gun-rights activists,
anti-immigration zealots, and individuals and groups "rejecting federal authority in favor of
state or local authority." A 2012 Homeland Security report stated that being "reverent of
individual liberty" is one of the traits of potential right-wing terrorists. The Constitution
Project concluded in a 2012 report that DHS Fusion Centers "pose serious risks to civil
liberties, including rights of free speech, free assembly, freedom of religion, racial and
religious equality, privacy, and the right to be free from unnecessary government intrusion."
Fusion Centers continue to be bankrolled by DHS despite their dismal record.
The Biden report promises that the FBI and DHS will soon be releasing "a new edition of the
Federal Government's Mobilization Indicators booklet that will include for the first time
potential indicators of domestic terrorism""related mobilization." Will this latest publication
be as boneheaded as the similar 2014 report by the National Counterterrorism Center entitled
"Countering Violent Extremism: A Guide for Practitioners and Analysts"?
As the Intercept
summarized , that report "suggests that police, social workers and educators rate
individuals on a scale of one to five in categories such as "˜Expressions of
Hopelessness, Futility,' "¦ and "˜Connection to Group Identity (Race, Nationality,
Religion, Ethnicity)' "¦ to alert government officials to individuals at risk of turning
to radical violence, and to families or communities at risk of incubating extremist
ideologies." The report recommended judging families by their level of "Parent-Child Bonding"
and rating localities on the basis in part of the "presence of ideologues or recruiters."
Former FBI agent Mike German commented, "The idea that the federal government would encourage
local police, teachers, medical, and social-service employees to rate the communities,
individuals, and families they serve for their potential to become terrorists is abhorrent on
its face."
The Biden administration presumes that bloating the definition of extremists is the surest
way to achieve domestic tranquility. In this area, as in so many others, Biden's team learned
nothing from the follies of the Obama administration. No one in D.C. apparently recalls that
President Obama perennially denounced extremism and summoned the United Nations in 2014 to join
his "campaign against extremism." Under Obama, the National Security Agency
presumed that "someone searching the Web for suspicious stuff" was a suspected extremist
who forfeited all constitutional rights to privacy. Obama's Transportation Security
Administration relied on
ludicrous terrorist profiles that targeted American travelers who were yawning, hand
wringing, gazing down, swallowing suspiciously, sweating, or making "excessive complaints about
the [TSA] screening process."
Will the Biden crackdown on extremists end as ignominiously as Nixon's crackdown almost 50
years earlier? Nixon White House aide Tom Charles Huston explained
that the FBI's COINTELPRO program continually stretched its target list "from the kid with a
bomb to the kid with a picket sign, and from the kid with the picket sign to the kid with the
bumper sticker of the opposing candidate. And you just keep going down the line." At some
point, surveillance became more intent on spurring fear than on gathering information. FBI
agents were
encouraged to conduct interviews with anti-war protesters to "enhance the paranoia endemic
in these circles and further serve to get the point across that there is an FBI agent behind
every mailbox," as a 1970 FBI memo noted. Is the Biden castigation campaign an attempt to make
its opponents fear that the feds are tracking their every email and website click?
Biden's new terrorism policy has evoked plenty of cheers from his Fourth Estate lapdogs. But
a
Washington Post article fretted that the administration's report did not endorse enacting
"new legal authority to successfully hunt down, prosecute, and imprison homegrown extremists."
Does the D.C. media elite want to see every anti-Biden scoffer in the land put behind bars?
This is typical of the switcheroo that politicians and the media play with the terms
"terrorists" and "extremists." Regardless of paranoia inside the Beltway, MAGA hats are not as
dangerous as pipe bombs.
The Biden report concludes that "enhancing faith in American democracy" requires "finding
ways to counter the influence and impact of dangerous conspiracy theories." Bu t permitting
politicians to blacklist any ideas they disapprove won't "restore faith in democracy."
Extremism has always been a flag of political convenience, and the Biden team, the FBI, and
their media allies will fan fears to sanctify any and every government crackdown. But what if
government is the most dangerous extremist of them all?
Georgia's secretary of state this week announced he is set to remove some 100,000 names from
voter rolls , the first major voting list maintenance following the 2020
election.
The names are being removed because of a National Change of Address form submitted to the
U.S. Postal Service, election mail being sent to them bouncing back; or having no contact with
elections officials for at least five years.
" Making sure Georgia's voter rolls are up to date is key to ensuring the integrity of our
elections, " Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger , a Republican,
said in a statement.
"That is why I fought and beat Stacey Abrams in court in 2019 to remove nearly 300,000
obsolete voter files before the November election, and will do so again this year. Bottom line,
there is no legitimate reason to keep ineligible voters on the rolls ," he added.
The case in question saw Abrams, a failed gubernatorial candidate, take Raffensperger to
court through her group Fair Fight Action. A judge ruled against the plaintiffs, but
Raffensperger's office eventually reinstated 22,000 names because, it said, it was interpreting
a state law differently. Fair Fight Action claimed the reinstatement came due to their
case.
Critics said they'd be reviewing the list of names set to be removed.
"The last time Secretary Raffensperger conducted a massive voter purge, he was forced to
admit 22,000 errors -- 22,000 Georgia voters who would have been kicked off the rolls were it
not for Fair Fight Action's diligence. We'll be reviewing the list thoroughly and reaching out
to impacted voters," Lauren Groh-Wargo, CEO of Fair Fight Action, told the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution .
The major maintenance is taking place separately from regular monthly removals of names for
felony convictions and deaths. It's the first major effort since 2019. Raffensperger's office
cited federal law as to why no such undertaking happened last year.
Voters who want to see if they face removal can visit this website . They will be able to block their
removal if they provide information within about a month.
Voters who are ultimately removed can reregister.
The number of removals is 1.3 percent of Georgia's registered voters.
1 hour ago
Amazing how 100,000 votes here and 100,000 votes there can swing an election. play_arrow 26
play_arrow
Solomonpal 1 hour ago
Or triple counted ballots and mysteriously appearing boxes from under the tables. View
the tapes and consider the source.
SoDamnMad 1 hour ago
Shout out here to Ruby Freeman and her daughter Shayne Moss for that "under the table"
trick.
Raffensperger got a kick back for installing Dominion voting machines to fix the
election.
personal109 4 minutes ago
Raffensperger better lawyer up, and while he's at it, get a criminal lawyer, he's gonna
need it.
KirkPatrickN 51 minutes ago
100,000 fake votes here, 100,000 fake votes there, and pretty soon your talkin' "real"
"President" who got 81M votes, the all time record, when Trump broke the previous all time
record with 73M. The same year.
Pro_sanity 46 minutes ago (Edited)
And the one who got 81M couldn't fill a middle school gym during the campaign. The other
overflowed major sports arenas with spillout to the streets.
Was the
"Capitol Riot" an Inside Job? IMO, good reasons to think so are surfacing. Putin's upped
the game by saying they could easily be considered political prisoners whose constitutional
and human rights are being violated. And given the FBI has orchestrated numerous terrorist
attacks in order to frame innocents provides some credibility to that possibility.
Comments for this article are pretty instructive about the particular strata of US population
mindset right now. Reminds the mood of dissidents in the USSR.
Tucker Carlson dropped several bombshells on his show Tuesday night, chief among them was
from a Revolver News report that the FBI was likely involved in organizing the Jan. 6 Capitol
'insurrection,' and were similarly involved in the kidnapping plot against Michigan Governor
Gretchin Whitmer .
" Why are there so many factual matters that we don't understand about that day? " asked
Carlson.
" Why is the Biden administration preventing us from knowing? Why is the administration
still hiding more than 10,000 hours of surveillance tape from the US capitol on January 6th?
What could possibly be the reason for that - even as they call for more openness... they could
release those tapes today, but they're not. Why?"
Carlson notes that
Revolver News has dissected court filings surrounding the Capitol riot, suggests that
unindicted co-conspirators in the case are likely to have been federal operatives.
We at Revolver News have noticed a pattern from our now months-long investigation into 1/6
-- and in particular from our meticulous study of the charging documents related to those
indicted. In many cases the unindicted co-conspirators appear to be much more aggressive and
egregious participants in the very so-called "conspiracy" serving as the basis for charging
those indicted.
The question immediately arises as to why this is the case, and forces us to consider
whether certain individuals are being protected from indictment because they were involved in
1/6 as undercover operatives or confidential informants for a federal agency.
Key segment from Tucker:
"We know that the government is hiding the identity of many law enforcement officers that
were present at the Capitol on January 6th, not just the one that killed Ashli Babbitt.
According to the government's own court filing, those law enforcement officers participated
in the riot - sometimes in violent ways . We know that because without fail, the government
has thrown the book at most people who were present at the Capitol on Jan. 6. There was a
nationwide dragnet to find them - and many are still in solitary confinement tonight. But s
trangely, some of the key people who participated on Jan. 6 have not been charged ."
Look at the documents , the government calls those people 'unindicted co-conspirators.'
What does that mean? Well it means that in potentially every case they were FBI operatives
... in the Capitol, on January 6th."
"For example, one of those unindicted co-conspirators is someone government documents
identify only as "person two." According to those documents, person two stayed in the same
hotel room as a man called Thomas Caldwell - an 'insurrectionist.' A man alleged to be a
member of the group "The Oathkeepers." Person two also "stormed the barricades" at the
Capitol on January 6th alongside Thomas Caldwell. The government's indictments further
indicate that Caldwell - who by the way is a 65-year-old man... was led to believe there
would be a "quick reaction force" also participating on January 6th. That quick reaction
force Caldwell was told, would be led by someone called "Person 3," who had a hotel room and
an accomplice with them . But wait. Here's the interesting thing. Person 2 and person 3 were
organizers of the riot . The government knows who they are, but the government has not
charged them. Why is that? You know why. They were almost certainly working for the FBI. So
FBI operatives were organizing the attack on the Capitol on January 6th according to
government documents. And those two are not alone. In all, Revolver news reported there are
"upwards of 20 unindicted co-conspirators in the Oath Keeper indictments, all playing various
roles in the conspiracy, who have not been charged for virtually the exact same activities
and in some cases much, much more severe activities - as those named alongside them in the
indictments."
Revolver , meanwhile, has important questions about January 6th
In the year leading up to 1/6 and during 1/6 itself, to what extent were the three primary militia groups (the Oath Keepers,
the Proud Boys, and the Three Percenters) that the FBI , DOJ , Pentagon and
network news have labeled most
responsible for planning and executing a Capitol attack on 1/6 infiltrated by agencies of the
federal government, or informants of said agencies?
Exactly how many federal undercover agents or confidential informants were present at the
Capitol or in the Capitol during the infamous "siege" and what roles did they play (merely
passive informants or active instigators)?
Finally, of all of the unindicted co-conspirators referenced in the charging documents of
those indicted for crimes on 1/6, how many worked as a confidential informant or as an
undercover operative for the federal government (FBI, Army Counterintelligence, etc.)?
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has demanded an explanation from FBI Director Christopher Wray:
We recommend you read the entire
Revolver piece, which includes the fact that at least five individuals involved int he
"Whitmer Kidnapping Plot" were undercover agents and federal informants .
_Rorschach 7 hours ago
Just remember folks
a Klan meeting is always 33 FBI agents
and 2 ACTUAL white supremacists
Dragonlord 7 hours ago
No CIA? I am disappointed.
_Rorschach 7 hours ago (Edited)
Glowies are never at the meetings
theyre busy planting bombs for the false flag afterwards
Misesmissesme 6 hours ago
90% of "terrorists" would never commit acts of terror if the US Guv wasn't coercing them
to commit said acts. The wrong people are in jail.
Wonder who in government started the ball rolling on 9/11 before it got away from
them?
Sedaeng PREMIUM 6 hours ago
it never got away from them! They directed through and afterwards... Patriot act just
'happened' to be on standby just in case? ha!
Not Your Father's ZH 6 hours ago (Edited)
Amid this chronic Machiavellian conniving, here are creatures who know how to act
right:
"Civilization is a stream with banks. The stream is sometimes filled with blood from
people killing, stealing, shouting and doing things historians usually record; while on the
banks, unnoticed, people build homes, make love, raise children, sing songs, write poetry
and even whittle statues. The story of civilization is the story of what happened on the
banks. Historians are pessimists because they ignore the banks of the river." ~ Will
Durant, "The Story of Civilization"
"He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a
monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss , the abyss also gazes into you." - Friedrich
Nietzsche
"Everything human is pathetic. The secret source of humor itself is not joy, but sorrow.
There is no humor in Heaven." ― Mark Twain
thomas sewell 6 hours ago
everything in the USA is bull sheet. its all polluted with mind fook.
the last 1+ year has gone beyond any psycho drama i could ever imagine.
krda 5 hours ago
Didn't Brennan issue the 9/11 hijackers' visas?
zedwork 1 hour ago
Yes, but no planes. That would have been way too risky when you can just add them into
the live feed later using CGI.
Bob Lidd 1 hour ago
You mean like what happen in the 1993 WTC bombing.....??
How there hasn't been a day of reckoning yet is beyond me.
SexyJulian 6 hours ago
And stacks of bricks.
E5 5 hours ago
The FBI does not have the right to commit a crime. They chose to run an operation they
should disavow all agents involved and they know it. Arrest them.
With Wray out there spreading fear about the Great White Supremacy Threat, you can bet
the FBI is working overtime to make something newsworthy happen. Remember folks: 3
"militia" = 2 FBI informants + 1 patsy
Until the JFK murder/coup is brought to light, you can bet it's all hoax, including
Trump being an 'outsider'. He's not. He did everything Israel told him to do.
GhostOLaz 3 hours ago
America's perception of the FBI comes from TV "programs", not history or reality.
Joiningupthedots 1 hour ago
"Why is the administration still hiding more than 10,000 hours of surveillance tape from
the US capitol on January 6th?"
For the same reason the UK government wont release the Skripal Tapes from Salisbury,
UK.......LMAO.
Its an inside job........OBVIOUSLY!
Faeriedust 2 hours ago
So. Incidents are being staged and then used as excuses for more draconian State
security powers. How is this different from the behavior of known historical groups such as
the SS and the KGB? How can this be interpreted except as the actions of a totalitarian
State?
Sizzurp PREMIUM 6 hours ago
Scary stuff. They manufacture their own crimes to suit their political narrative and
agenda. This is straight out of the Nazi playbook.
Garciathinksso 6 hours ago
this is SOP for FBI, long rich history of manufacturing crimes and low, mid and high
level corruption . Prior to that the BOI was even worse.
JaxPavan 7 hours ago remove link
The chickens coming home to roost.
This was a "color revolution" by us, against us. And, it was designed to fail. Like a
freakish side show.
Why? Let off political steam. Keep all the people in their respective aisle of the
democan and republicrat uniparty bus. Distract political attention away from the full
****** plandemic lockdowns. Keep the rest of the world agape for a few more years thinking
things will fall apart on their own, while their resources are extracted. . .
Jam 47 minutes ago
This scam getting some press now is better late than never, but not by much. Some of
these media types being all surprised by this must have lived pretty sheltered lives and
are lacking any street smarts. This set up was obvious since day one, this is the same
bunch that won't call out these crooks for rigged elections.
Oxygen Likes Carbon 48 minutes ago
It should be painfully clear that with the level of surveillance in 2021, nobody can
walk into high security governmental building, without being arrested. Let alone organize a
mass demonstration then go into Capitol Building during the day, while the politicians
being there, to take ... selfies.
... without some help, or coordination from some governmental services.
anti-bolshevik 7 hours ago (Edited)
Replace 'unindicted co-conspirators.' with Agent Provocateurs.
The entire chain-of-command that authorized / planned / executed / gave material support
to this Operation should be indicted and prosecuted.
In this course of its investigation, researchers at Fordham discovered that EVERY
SINGLE ONE of the 138 terrorist incidents recorded in the USA between 2001-2012 involved
FBI informants who played leading roles in planning out, supplying weapons, instructions
and even recruiting Islamic terrorists to carry out terrorist acts on U.S. soil.
Enraged 56 minutes ago
With FBI Director Comey, Assistant Director McCabe, and FBI agent/covert CIA agent
Strzok acting against President Trump, this should be considered treasonous, and hopefully
they will be prosecuted.
The question is who authorized the latest actions on January 6 since Comey, McCabe, and
Strzok were fired.
Conductor "Corn Pop" Angelo 38 minutes ago
I can think of two to start with. Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi. Both refused
additional security even after being told that the latest intel suggested there was going
to be a protest at the capital building on Jan 6th. The two were offered National Guard
troops, in addition to Capital Police, to help out, but refused. IIRC, both the Senate and
House Sgt at Arms lost their jobs over this, too
Make it three, Mayor Bowser had the same intel and did nothing
Andro1345 7 hours ago
These are old tricks by the FBI. They have been just as bad as the CIA for years.
So many instances going back so far. They plan things, set it up, help to encourage and
supply sheep to do these things. If I had someone trying to encourage me to get on board
something similar my first guess would be a government operative, seriously.
WeNamedTheDogIndiana 1 hour ago
I attended protests after the election, and it was obvious to be that the rallies at our
state capitol were infiltrated by FBI/deep state stooges. A number of them were talking
civil war, and said it too boldly in my opinion, and then many of them were carrying AKs,
when that was not necessary.
The only rally that I attended that seemed uncorrupted was the first protest in DC a few
weeks after the election.
taketheredpill 7 hours ago
Don't be shocked if the FBI funded some of the trips, hotels etc.
And for sure the FBI operatives "wound up" the participants...
But you won't find out for 10 years.
Alfred 7 hours ago
Not just infiltrated.
The FBI actually creates the organizations they then infiltrate.
Someone goes on a good rant here or there, can expect to be befriended by someone of
like mind. Thereafter that someone undergoes radicalization and then organization via FBI
sting ops. They get funding, they get resources, they get ready, they get busted.
Ha! It's all shake-n-bake, baby!
ProudZion 6 hours ago
...The proud boys was led by a FBI agent....
Mad Muppet PREMIUM 1 hour ago
They're called Agents Provacateurs and it's nothing new. The Government always initiates
the violence they say they want to prevent.
Ms No PREMIUM 1 hour ago remove link
"Informants" is a very misleading title. They aren't out there ferretting info of people
up to no good. It's more an infiltration and steering game and always has been.
They are basically agents without the boundaries of law. Good front guys too. They will
keep them out of trouble and protect them if they can but if it gets too hot they are
expendable and even easily patsied. It's all actually actually technically illegal because
even when they do real informant work it's actually entrapment.
We used to be protected from these things and now you see the reason behind that.
Nothing is new it just has different names and since it's always avoided by media, some of
it doesn't even have proper names, at least for the public.
It's basically false flag color revolution operations.
QuiteShocking 6 hours ago (Edited) remove link
The USA's standing in the world is vastly diminished by the continue lies and
mischaracterizations of what happened on Jan 6th by the democrats. The police officer died
from a stroke and not from the rioters. The unarmed white woman was executed by capital
police and no one was held responsible. The democrats have continued to blatantly lie and
mislead on what really happened on Jan 6th for political gain...
Max21c 7 hours ago
We recommend you read the entire
Revolver piece, which includes the fact that at least five individuals involved int
he "Whitmer Kidnapping Plot" were undercover agents and federal informants .
People were already aware that the FBI kidnapping plot against Michigan Governor
Gretchen Whitmer was an FBI thing from the start and all throughout. Just as many if not
most of these things are as they involve the secret police creating the plots and then
unraveling the plots they've created and managed and orchestrated all along the way.
Angular Momentum 7 hours ago
The states need to outlaw entrapment in cases like that. The FBI moles need to be
punished as severely as the dupes.
junction 7 hours ago
The FBI and the CIA apparently fund the so-call White Supremacist organizations. Your
tax dollars at work. Meanwhile, total silence for a decade from the FBI as Jeffrey Epstein
ran a transnational white slavery operation out of his Manhattan mansion, aided by the
Israeli Mossad.
Max21c 7 hours ago
The intelligence community and secret police community were well aware of what was going
on with the Epstein operation. It's not just the US side either as the UK and Israelis were
aware of it also.
Uncle Sugar PREMIUM 7 hours ago (Edited) remove link
Trump is better than Xiden, but
He left Chris Wray running the FIB
He didn't prosecute Comey, Brennan, anyone
He pushed the "Vax"
He spent worse than a drunken sailor
Conclusion - He's not the answer
OldNewB 6 hours ago
He should have pardoned Snowden.
otschelnik 7 hours ago
Well looks like the DOJ is bringing back the Obummer spygate team. John P. Carlin who
was head of DOJ/National Security Division is now deputy AG. He let the FBI give 4 civilian
contractors access to the NSA database for 702 inquiries, which Admiral Rogers stopped.
Also back is Lisa Monoco who oversaw the FISA warrants for Carter Page, and now she's going
to be heading up Garland's domestic terror task force.
That's all very ominous.
Farmer Tink 4 hours ago
I didn't realize that Carlin was back. He tried to defend his actions in the annual
report to the FISA court but Adm. Mike Rogers, on whose watch the NSA found out what the
DOJ was doing, carried the day. I also didn't realize that Lisa Monaco was the one in
charge of those illegal Page warrants. It's just sickening that they are being rewarded.
Thanks for the info.
glenlloyd 2 hours ago (Edited)
With such a high percentage of those 'involved' in the "insurrection" (said loosely
here) and the so called Whitmer kidnapping being from FBI / CIA / other intelligence
agencies AND those same people end up apparently being in leadership roles in these groups
that are supposedly going to be doing the kidnapping and insurrecting, then it's really
hard not to come to the conclusion that the fault was with the FBI et al.
It just seems like the FBI et al were way more involved in this than they should have
been, if you're going to suggest that it was the others that are to blame. The tough pill
to swallow is the claim that it was the people the FBI et al infiltrated and coerced into
do these things, that are to blame.
Things really do stink with this.
newworldorder 5 hours ago
How are these actions are not "entrapment."
InfiniteIntellRules 5 hours ago
I will stop, just too many tales of FBI corruption. Last 1
Under COINTELPRO, FBI agents infiltrated political groups and spread rumors that loyal
members were the real infiltrators. They tried to get targets fired from their jobs, and
they tried to break up the targets' marriages. They published deliberately inflammatory
literature in the names of the organizations they wanted to discredit, and they drove
wedges between groups that might otherwise be allied. In Baltimore, the FBI's operatives in
the Black Panther Party were instructed to denounce Students for a Democratic Society as "a
cowardly, honky group" who wanted to exploit the Panthers by giving them all the violent,
dangerous "dirty work." The operation was apparently successful: In August 1969, just five
months after the initial instructions went out, the Baltimore FBI reported that the local
Panther branch had ordered its members not to associate with SDS members or attend any SDS
events.
EVERY MAJOR EVENT. EVERY SINGLE TIME.
heehaw2 6 hours ago
All happened under Trumps watch. He said he was going to lead the March to Capital
building, then totally disappeared.
MrNoItAll 7 hours ago
Got to hand it to them. Those Fed guys sure know how to stage a riot to get media
attention and shape public opinion. How else could they explain why all the guard troops
were needed in D C. When getting them there could have been the primary goal of this staged
event.
lightwork 7 hours ago
In the early 70's it seemed that a government informant/ mole was instrumental in the
activities of virtually every left wing group in the country. It became common knowledge
that whomever was most vocal and advocated the most activist positions was usually "that
guy". It was effective since paranoia caused most groups to disintegrate.
otschelnik 8 hours ago remove link
Probably more snitches than that.
Oath Keeper Thomas Caldwell who is one of the lucky few released but still charged is a
former FBI contractor who had top secret security clearance according to his lawyer.
Proud Boy Enrique Tarrio who was arrested 2 days before the riot for vandalism (burning
a BLM banner), had been an informer to the FBI and law inforcement in Florida, according to
his lawyer.
They forgot Antifa and BLM in their list of groups.
State sponsored terrorist groups favored by Liberal Elites and their secret police are
generally omitted and immune.
heehaw2 6 hours ago
George Bush Senior, then head of CIA was in Dallas when JFK was assinated. Ol George
announced as President the New World order
QE49er 6 hours ago
Reichstag Fire style false flag.
Ruff_Roll 6 hours ago
It makes perfect sense that FBI or government supported operatives were acting as agents
provocateurs on 1/6, organizing and instigating the riot, and subsequently let off as
"unindicted co-conspirators." Pelosi was probably in on it, too.
TheySayIAmOkay 7 hours ago
This is the biggest "duh" ever. Of course the government is involved. Just like they
were in 9/11. Just like they were stealing the election. Just like they are in at least
some of these mass shootings (the FBI was warned about the Parkland shooter multiple
times). Just like they will be in the next big incident that massively strips rights from
the people.
The Deep State is real. And it is the upper echelons of the FBI, DHS, CIA, ATF, etc.
They are the shadow government that wags the tail. They can do whatever they want and
nobody can do anything about it. Do you think if Ted Cruz or Nancy Pelosi killed someone
they'd get away with it? No. They are figures. The limits of their power can be stripped
with a single, stupid, scandal. How about John Brennan? I have absolutely no doubt in my
mind he could. Because who will hold him accountable? Nobody in the CIA or FBI went down
for not listening to the FBI agent about the 20th hijacker. Mueller got PROMOTED! He's deep
state. Brennan was regional chief of the CIA in Riyadh leading up to 9/11. He got...
PROMOTED! Deep state.
3-fingered_chemist 7 hours ago
The fact the Capitol had essentially zero security the day all members were present to
tally the EC votes and people still think this wasn't faked?
Jim in MN 7 hours ago
Speaking as someone who actually attended the earlier 'Stop the Steal' rally in DC, I
said at the time that the Jan. 6th event didn't smell right and felt like a setup.
Recommended that folks stay away, expect trouble and stay frosty at that time.
Note that the FBI was/is also deeply involved in the BLM riots. AKA a criminal
conspiracy to destabilize US civil order. Of course a lot of mayors and police chiefs are
also involved in that criminal conspiracy.
The more you know.....
jammyjo 7 hours ago
FBI is making contact with unstable people, and do nothing but keep them on a list of
"assets" to be activated when needed.
Patmos 7 hours ago
Gives new meaning to false narrative. More than just spin, they actually create the
events themselves. Not quite a false flag, because nothing really happened.
Is anyone involved going to stand up and say no? Or have they all just decided to
reserve themselves to being corrupt little b!tches?
Feck Weed 7 hours ago
FBI is the US domestic secret police force for the Globalist Empire. Nationalism is the
enemy of the globalists...
The men on the street corners with "The End is Nigh" placards are beginning to
resemble Walter Kronkite in demeanor as well as credibility.
But then again Walter was one of the CIA's finest...
Nona Yobiznes 7 hours ago
I guess the crazy conspiracy theorists were right again.
benb 3 hours ago (Edited)
Dumb Hannity used to call the FBI "The Crown Jewel of Law Enforcement,."
C Rabbit PREMIUM 7 hours ago
Why has the FBI never released the surveillance videos from the Alfred P. Murrah
Buildings and the others around it from the morning of April 19, 1995. "It's still under
investigation."
Why have the videos from all around the Pentagon taken on the morning of 9/11 never been
released?
Why does the CIA refuse to release all of their files on the JFK assassination?
Why? Why? Why?
Muffdiver2269vIII 7 hours ago
Ahh, they are waiting for Durham to complete the reports?
wootendw PREMIUM 6 hours ago
"Congressman Matt Gaetz calls on FBI Director Christopher Wray to fully disclose the
role and involvement of FBI operatives during the January 6th Capitol riot."
That would be self-incrimination.
radical-extremist 7 hours ago (Edited)
FBI will never talk because that would be revealing "classified methods and
procedures".
Why of course they troll the boards looking for "extremists" to exploit. They befriend
them and groom them, until they eventually enable them to commit the crime itself.
Conspiracy to commit the crime isn't near as sexy as the real thing, let's put these people
away for life. If there's collateral damage now and then, so be it. "Justice" comes at a
cost. /s
If the prosecutor is obliged to choose his cases, it follows that he can choose his
defendants. Therein is the most dangerous power of the prosecutor: that he will pick people
that he thinks he should get, rather than pick cases that need to be prosecuted. With the
law books filled with a great assortment of crimes, a prosecutor stands a fair chance of
finding at least a technical violation of some act on the part of almost anyone. In such a
case, it is not a question of discovering the commission of a crime and then looking for
the man who has committed it, it is a question of picking the man and then searching the
law books, or putting investigators to work, to pin some offense on him. It is in this
realm-in which the prosecutor picks some person whom he dislikes or desires to embarrass,
or selects some group of unpopular persons and then looks for an offense, that the greatest
danger of abuse of prosecuting power lies. It is here that law enforcement becomes
personal, and the real crime becomes that of being unpopular with the predominant or
governing group, being attached to the wrong political views, or being personally obnoxious
to or in the way of the prosecutor himself.
Three Georgia county election officials have been hit with subpoenas to testify in a historic fraud case regarding the
2020 ballot count, according to reports.
Fulton County poll workers Wandrea Shaye Moss and her mother Ruby Freeman have been ordered to give depositions regarding events
during the 2020 election count.
Freeman and Moss were central to the after-hours ballot-counting operation at State Farm Arena during the presidential election.
Beckernews.com
reports: David Makever Alligood and Ruby Freeman were both served affidavits to give videotaped
depositions. Freeman is notorious for being suspected of election malfeasance during the 2020 election. Among those
activites were dragging out boxes of ballots from under a table after election observers were wrongfully sent home early
at State Farm Arena.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/jtmSVCJqBh0
The sworn deposition will provide an opportunity for Freeman to explain her videorecorded activities.
Ruby Freeman's daughter, who was actually her boss, was also subpoenaed to explain herself before the court.
Wandrea Shaye Moss also participated in dragging out boxes of ballots after she personally sent election observers home early.
She would then run stacks of ballots through tabulators on video, some of them multiple times. She will provide a videotaped
deposition on June 10, provided that she shows up.
Fulton County election officials are taking the probe very seriously. They have hired two top criminal defense attorneys for the
case, even though the court is not adjudicating criminal charges.
"The Fulton County Board of Registration & Elections has hired two of Georgia's top criminal defense attorneys & filed paperwork
to halt the audit proceedings previously ordered by the judge," Heather Mullins of Real America's Voice noted.
The two attorneys, Donald Samuel and Amanda Palmer, are affiliated with the high-powered Garland, Samuel and Loeb law firm in
Atlanta.
The Fulton County lawsuit has prompted a much-anticipated election audit that will put physical ballots under further
inspection. The ballot inspection will hopefully resolve what fair-minded observers witnessed on video: Fulton County election
officials appearing to run stacks of ballots through tabulation machines multiple times on election night.
"They weren't just a crowd of robbers and rioters," Mr Putin said of the Trump supporters
who stormed Congress on 6 January and temporarily suspended a session to certify Mr Biden as
the winner of last November's election. "Those people had come with political demands."
When the forum moderator at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum suggested Mr
Putin's comments about the Capitol riot could see him banned from US social media platforms,
the Russian leader drew applause from the audience by retorting: "I don't give a damn about
being blocked somewhere."
Earlier this week, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Capitol rioters were
being "persecuted" by the US government.
Some 500 suspects have been arrested for the riot, most of them charged with entering or
remaining in a restricted building or grounds. Many have been released pending trial, but some
are being held in solitary confinement.
A member of Mr Biden's own Democratic party, Senator Elizabeth Warren, has said some of the
defendants were being subjected to "cruel" treatment.
Mr Putin also rebuked the West for its criticism of Russian authorities' response to
anti-Kremlin demonstrations, including jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Opposition protests across Russia earlier this year were suppressed with crackdowns. Riot
police were seen beating and dragging protesters away, while thousands of people were
detained.
The Russian leader told business leaders that protesters in Europe have faced an even
tougher police response, with some shot in the eye by what he mockingly called "democratic
rubber bullets".
It is not clear what he was referring to, but a number of French demonstrators were blinded
by rubber bullets fired by police during the so-called yellow vest rallies that began in late
2018.
Believe it or not, the president says that human rights R us.
Hear that, BLM? Women? Asian Americans? Hispanics? homeless? heavily indebted students? .
. the list goes on.
Biden said so, May 30, 2021
"I had a long conversation -- for two hours -- recently with President Xi, making it clear
to him that we could do nothing but speak out for human rights around the world because
that's who we are. I'll be meeting with President Putin in a couple of weeks in Geneva,
making it clear that we will not -- we will not stand by and let him abuse those rights." . .
here
..reminds me of Aeschylus: "In war, truth is the first casualty."
"... No other book out there has the level of breadth on the history of US imperialism that this work provides. Even though it packs 400 pages of text (which might seem like a turnoff for non-academic readers), "How to Hide an Empire" is highly readable given Immerwhar's skills as a writer. Also, its length is part of what makes it awesome because it gives it the right amount of detail and scope. ..."
"... Alleging that US imperialism in its long evolution (which this book deciphers with poignancy) has had no bearing on the destinies of its once conquered populations is as fallacious as saying that the US is to blame for every single thing that happens in Native American communities, or in the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, etc. Not everything that happens in these locations and among these populations is directly connected to US expansionism, but a great deal is. ..."
"... This is exactly the kind of book that drives the "My country, right or wrong" crowd crazy. Yes, slavery and genocide and ghastly scientific experiments existed before Europeans colonized the Americas, but it's also fair and accurate to say that Europeans made those forms of destruction into a bloody artform. Nobody did mass slaughter better. ..."
I'm a professor at the University of California San Diego and I'm assigning
this for a graduate class.
No other book out there has the level of breadth on the history of US imperialism that this work provides.
Even though it packs 400 pages of text (which might seem like a turnoff for non-academic readers), "How to Hide an Empire" is
highly readable given Immerwhar's skills as a writer. Also, its length is part of what makes it awesome because it gives it the
right amount of detail and scope.
I could not disagree more with the person who gave this book one star. Take it from me: I've taught hundreds of college students
who graduate among the best in their high school classes and they know close to nothing about the history of US settler colonialism,
overseas imperialism, or US interventionism around the world. If you give University of California college students a quiz on
where the US' overseas territories are, most who take it will fail (trust me, I've done it). And this is not their fault. Instead,
it's a product of the US education system that fails to give students a nuanced and geographically comprehensive understanding
of the oversized effect that their country has around our planet.
Alleging that US imperialism in its long evolution (which this book deciphers with poignancy) has had no bearing on the destinies
of its once conquered populations is as fallacious as saying that the US is to blame for every single thing that happens in Native
American communities, or in the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, etc. Not everything that happens in these locations
and among these populations is directly connected to US expansionism, but a great deal is.
A case in point is Puerto Rico's current fiscal and economic crisis. The island's political class share part of the blame for
Puerto Rico's present rut. A lot of it is also due to unnatural (i.e. "natural" but human-exacerbated) disasters such as Hurricane
María. However, there is no denying that the evolution of Puerto Rico's territorial status has generated a host of adverse economic
conditions that US states (including an island state such as Hawaii) do not have to contend with. An association with the US has
undoubtedly raised the floor of material conditions in these places, but it has also imposed an unjust glass ceiling that most
people around the US either do not know about or continue to ignore.
To add to those unfair economic limitations, there are political injustices regarding the lack of representation in Congress,
and in the case of Am. Samoa, their lack of US citizenship. The fact that the populations in the overseas territories can't make
up their mind about what status they prefer is: a) understandable given the way they have been mistreated by the US government,
and b) irrelevant because what really matters is what Congress decides to do with the US' far-flung colonies, and there is no
indication that Congress wants to either fully annex them or let them go because neither would be convenient to the 50 states
and the political parties that run them. Instead, the status quo of modern colonial indeterminacy is what works best for the most
potent political and economic groups in the US mainland. Would
This book is about much more than that though. It's also a history of how and why the United States got to control so much
of what happens around the world without creating additional formal colonies like the "territories" that exist in this legal limbo.
Part of its goal is to show how precisely how US imperialism has been made to be more cost-effective and also more invisible.
Read Immerwhar's book, and don't listen to the apologists of US imperialism which is still an active force that contradicts
the US' professed values and that needs to be actively dismantled. Their attempts at discrediting this important reflect a denialism
of the US' imperial realities that has endured throughout the history that this book summarizes.
"How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States" is a great starting point for making the US public aware of
the US' contradictions as an "empire of liberty" (a phrase once used by Thomas Jefferson to describe the US as it expanded westward
beyond the original 13 colonies). It is also a necessary update to other books on this topic that are already out there, and it
is likely to hold the reader's attention more given its crafty narrative prose and structure
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This is exactly the
kind of book that drives the "My country, right or wrong" crowd crazy. Yes, slavery and genocide and ghastly scientific experiments
existed before Europeans colonized the Americas, but it's also fair and accurate to say that Europeans made those forms of destruction
into a bloody artform. Nobody did mass slaughter better.
The author of this compelling book reveals a history unknown to many
readers, and does so with first-hand accounts and deep historical analyses. You might ask why we can't put such things behind
us. The simple answer: we've never fully grappled with these events before in an honest and open way. This book does the nation
a service by peering behind the curtain and facing the sobering truth of how we came to be what we are.
This is a stunning book, not to be missed. If you finished Sapiens with the feeling your world view had
greatly enlarged, you're likely to have the same experience of your view of the US from reading this engaging work. And like Sapiens,
it's an entirely enjoyable read, full of delightful surprises, future dinner party gems.
The further you get into the book the more interesting and unexpected it becomes. You'll look at the US in ways you likely
never considered before. This is not a 'political' book with an ax to grind or a single-party agenda. It's refreshingly insightful,
beautifully written, fun to read.
This is a gift I'll give to many a good friend, I've just started with my wife. I rarely write
reviews and have never met the author (now my only regret). 3 people found this helpful
This book is an absolutely powerhouse, a must-read, and should be a part of every student's curriculum in
this God forsaken country.
Strictly speaking, this brilliant read is focused on America's relationship with Empire. But like with nearly everything America,
one cannot discuss it without discussing race and injustice.
If you read this book, you will learn a lot of new things about subjects that you thought you knew everything about. You will
have your eyes opened. You will be exposed to the dark underbelly of racism, corruption, greed and exploitation that undergird
American ambition.
I don't know exactly what else to say other than to say you MUST READ THIS BOOK. This isn't a partisan statement -- it's not
like Democrats are any better than Republicans in this book.
This is one of the best books I've ever read, and I am a voracious reader. The content is A+. It never gets boring. It never
gets tedious. It never lingers on narratives. It's extremely well written. It is, in short, perfect. And as such, 10/10.
I heard an interview of Daniel Immerwahr on NPR news / WDET radio regarding this book.
I'm am quite conservative
and only listen to NPR news when it doesn't lean too far to the left.
However, the interview piqued my interest. I am so glad I
purchased this ebook. What a phenomenal and informative read!!! WOW!! It's a "I never knew that" kind of read. Certainly not anything
I was taught in school. This is thoughtful, well written and an easy read. Highly recommend!!
A judge in Georgia
told parties in an election integrity case on May 27 that a previously scheduled meeting at a
ballot storage warehouse was canceled after officials filed a flurry of motions in the case
.
Media crews film while election workers process absentee ballots at State Farm Arena in
Atlanta on Nov. 2, 2020. (Megan Varner/Getty Images)
Henry County Superior Court Judge Brian Amero said a May 28 meeting was no longer taking
place because of motions filed by Fulton
County , the county's Board of Registration and Elections, and the county's clerk of
Superior and Magistrate Courts, a spokesperson for the court confirmed to The Epoch Times.
Amero said the motions must be heard before the plaintiffs can gain access to the absentee
ballots. He proposed a June 21 hearing, but the order scheduling the hearing hasn't yet been
filed.
"It seems like a desperation move. The silver lining is that we now have more time to
perfect the changes we had to make in our inspection plan," Garland Favorito, the lead
petitioner, told The Epoch Times via email.
County officials argued that the complaint filed by voters should be dismissed because the
petitioners failed to serve, or even attempt to serve, the county. They also said Fulton County doesn't have
final control over elections, that petitioners aren't entitled to declaratory judgment, and
that petitioners haven't complied with election contest requirements.
Amero heard in a hearing last week that petitioners weren't able to properly examine ballot
images they've received because of their low resolution -- 200 dots per inch (DPI). Amero
granted the petitioners' request to unseal the mailed ballots and said they could go to
where they were stored in order to observe county workers create higher resolution images of
the ballots.
Amero mentioned during the hearing that no parties had filed a motion to dismiss, allowing
petitioners to obtain some discovery.
During the hearing, lawyers for the county urged the judge not to grant access to the
ballots.
Before the latest update in the case, some officials had supported the ballot
examination.
"From day one, I have encouraged Georgians with concerns about the election in their
counties to pursue those claims through legal avenues. Fulton County has a long standing
history of election mismanagement that has understandably weakened voters' faith in its
system. Allowing this audit provides another layer of transparency and citizen engagement,"
he told The Epoch Times in an email.
However, Democrat Fulton County Commission Chairman Robb Pitts criticized the attempt to
examine the ballots.
"It is outrageous that Fulton County continues to be a target of those who cannot accept
the results from last year's election," he told news outlets in a statement.
A newly-obtained video shows United States Capitol Police officers speaking with several January 6 protestors including Jacob
Chansley, the so-called "Q shaman"" inside the Capitol that afternoon.
One officer, identified in the video and confirmed by charging documents as Officer Keith Robishaw, appears to tell Chansely's
group they won't stop them from entering the building.
" We're not against . . . you need to show us . . . no attacking, no assault,
remain calm ," Robishaw warns. Chansley and another protestor instruct the crowd to act peacefully. " This has to be peaceful, "
Chansley yelled. "We have the right to peacefully assemble."
The video directly contradicts what government prosecutors allege in a
complaint filed January
8 against Chansley: "Robishaw and other officers calmed the protestors somewhat and directed them to leave the area from the same
way they had entered. Chansley approached Officer Robishaw and screamed, among other things, that this was their house, and that
they were there to take the Capitol, and to get Congressional leaders."
Chansley later is seen
entering the Senate chambers with a police officer behind him; he led several protesters in prayer and sat in Vice President
Mike Pence's chair . (The man in the yellow sweatshirt is William Watson, a
drug
dealer out on bond. He was arrested in January.)
Chansley is not charged with assaulting an officer; he faces several counts for trespassing and disorderly conduct. He has been
incarcerated since January, denied bail awaiting trial. He has no criminal record.
American Greatness obtained the video from RMG News. The 44-second clip is reportedly part of a much longer video that has yet
to be released.
One can't blame everything on Israel. Yes, it is part of five eyes, more like SIX
eyes.
Biden (JB) is building a coalition to challenge China. JB's administration wants to
neutralize Russia. Nord Stream 2 is an element of contention and by making a concession JB is
making Germany and Russia happy. Agree, that its completion will be a "huge geopolitical win
for Putin". Let's see when Nord Stream 2 becomes fully operational. Time will tell.
Russia's main focus is De-Dollarization, stability in Russia and in its neighborhood.
China's announcement about Bitcoin led to it dropping by 30%. What will China, Russia,
Turkey and Iran announcement about the U$A dollar do to its value and the market? When will
China become the #1 ECONOMY?
The US is now the largest provider of LNG, so there is relatively little more financial
advantage to be gained from a direct confrontation with Germany or Russia. Political maybe,
but the dedollarisation is starting to take hold. (Aside; even Israel depends on the strength
of the dollar to continue, like musical chairs, when the music stops there will be
precious few chairs left ). The Gas/Oil lobbies in the US who are behind the sanctions
may have some other trick up their sleeve, but the deflation of Zelensky in Ukraine, and the
opening up of a steal-fest of Ukrainian assets might compensate.
***
Note that the West has closed Syrian Embassies so as to stop Syrians voting for Assad. They
steal it's oil, and Syria is still next to Israel and doing relatively well in spite of
tanker bombings, and missiles. It is also possible that, as you say, there is a price for
non-interference in Israel itself.
(nytimes.com)
371 Posted by msmash on Monday May 24, 2021 @04:00PM from the how-about-that dept. Florida
on Monday became the first state to regulate how companies like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter
moderate
speech online , by imposing fines on social media companies that permanently bar political
candidates in the state. From a report:
The law, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, is a direct response to Facebook's and Twitter's
bans of former President Donald J. Trump in January. In addition to the fines for barring
candidates, it makes it illegal to prevent some news outlets from posting to their platforms
in response to the contents of their stories. Mr. DeSantis said signing the bill meant that
Floridians would be "guaranteed protection against the Silicon Valley elites."
"If Big Tech censors enforce rules inconsistently, to discriminate in favor of the
dominant Silicon Valley ideology, they will now be held accountable," he said in a statement.
The bill is part of a broader push among conservative state legislatures to crack down on the
ability of tech companies to manage posts on their platforms. The political efforts took off
after Mr. Trump was barred after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Lawmakers around the
country have echoed Mr. Trump's accusations that the companies are biased against
conservative personalities and publications, even though those accounts often thrive online.
More than a hundred bills targeting the companies' moderation practices have been filed
nationwide this year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Many of the
bills have died, but a proposal is still being debated in Texas.
"... John Earle Sullivan of Provo, Utah, was also hit with additional criminal charges and now faces a total of eight criminal counts, including weapons charges , according to Reuters . Sullivan is one of more than 440 people charged in connection with the Jan. 6 'insurrection' in which Trump supporters who rejected the outcome of the 2020 US election stormed the Capitol with the full support of several Capitol Police officers - some of whom took selfies with the protesters. ..."
"... During one conversation with others while inside, Sullivan said, "We gotta get this [expletive] burned." At other times, he said, among other things, "it's our house [expletive]" and "we are getting this [expletive]." ..."
"... Sullivan told U.S. Capitol Police officers to stand down so that they wouldn't get hurt, according to the court filing ( pdf ). He joined the crowd trying to open doors to another part of the Capitol, telling people "Hey guys, I have a knife" and asking them to let him get to the front. He did not make it to the doors. He later tried to get the officers guarding the Speaker's Lobby to go home, telling them: "Bro, I've seen people out there get hurt." ..."
"... Following the riot Sullivan appeared on several mainstream television networks CNN and MSNBC, which paid him for the footage. ..."
US authorities have seized approximately $90,000 from a far-left BLM organizer who 'stormed the capitol' right alongside Trump
supporters and sold footage he took of US Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt being shot dead by a Capitol Police Officer.
John Earle Sullivan of Provo, Utah, was also hit with additional criminal charges and now faces a total of eight criminal
counts, including weapons charges , according to
Reuters
. Sullivan is one of more than 440 people charged in connection with the Jan. 6 'insurrection' in which Trump supporters who
rejected the outcome of the 2020 US election stormed the Capitol with the full support of several Capitol Police officers - some
of whom took selfies with the protesters.
After breaking into the Capitol through an open window, Sullivan was heard encouraging protesters to climb a wall to gain entrance
.
During one conversation with others while inside, Sullivan said, "We gotta get this [expletive] burned." At other times, he
said, among other things, "it's our house [expletive]" and "we are getting this [expletive]."
Sullivan told U.S. Capitol Police officers to stand down so that they wouldn't get hurt, according to the court filing (
pdf ). He joined the crowd trying to open doors
to another part of the Capitol, telling people "Hey guys, I have a knife" and asking them to let him get to the front. He did not
make it to the doors. He later tried to get the officers guarding the Speaker's Lobby to go home, telling them: "Bro, I've seen people
out there get hurt."
Following the riot Sullivan appeared on several mainstream television networks CNN and MSNBC, which paid him for the footage.
Auditors for a 2020 election investigation being carried out in Windham, New Hampshire, are
saying that some of their latest findings are "large enough to account for discrepancies" in
the election results.
Auditors said they found "experimental confirmation that if the contest is undervoted, a
fold through a vote target can create a vote."
"Something we strongly suspect at this juncture, based on various evidence, is that in
some cases, fold lines are being interpreted by the scanners as valid votes," Mark Lindeman,
part of the audit team,
told WMUR .
Harri Hursti, another auditor, said on Twitter that testing proved folded ballots were
misinterpreted by machines.
"Test decks proved that foldings across a vote targets is misinterpreted as additional
phantom votes or subtracts votes due to false overvotes," he wrote in a post.
Auditors finished the hand recount on May 21. The audit began
on May 11.
AccuVote didn't respond to a request for comment about the audit authorization by the Epoch
Times. The AccuVote machines' intellectual property are owned by Dominion Voting Systems.
Windham's four state representative seats were all won by Republicans on Election Night. The
presidential election was not an item for this audit.
Democrat candidate Kristi St. Laurent, who lost by a narrow margin of 24 votes, requested an
audit ( pdf ) claiming
that the machines were improperly programmed, and that double voting was involved.
As a result, New Hampshire's Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, signed a bill last month that gave authorization
for forensic analysis and a comprehensive recount of the 2020 election votes in Windham related
to optical scanning AccuVote machines.
An automatic recount was done, resulting in St. Laurent losing 99 more votes after a hand
recount. Meanwhile, four Republicans gained about 300 votes each.
The other three Democrats gained between 18 and 28 votes.
The audit team said that more issues could be involved besides folded ballots being
misinterpreted.
"The fold effect is large enough to account for discrepancies, but might not be all that's
going on," the team said on Twitter on May 22.
"75 folded ballots voted straight Republican. Only 48 votes recorded for them. Folds
generated overvotes. This is machine used on Election Day [for] most absentee ballots."
Another machine was found to have "an even more dramatic problem" by the auditors, who said
that only 28 percent of the votes for Republican candidates were counted.
"The work is not completed yet. While the folding seems to be a strong contributor it
clearly is not the only factor," Hursti said on Sunday.
"For example: We have observed vastly different error rates on two machines processing the
same ballots. Work continues."
One of the things that makes Wi-Fi work is its ability to break big chunks of
data into smaller chunks and combine smaller chunks into bigger chunks, depending on the needs of the network at any given
moment. These mundane network plumbing features, it turns out, have been harboring vulnerabilities that can be exploited to send
users to malicious websites or exploit or tamper with network-connected devices, newly published research shows.
In all, researcher Mathy Vanhoef found a dozen vulnerabilities, either in the
Wi-Fi specification or in the way the specification has been implemented in huge numbers of devices. Vanhoef has dubbed the
vulnerabilities
FragAttacks
,
short for fragmentation and aggregation attacks, because they all involve frame fragmentation or frame aggregation. Broadly
speaking, they allow people within radio range to inject frames of their choice into networks protected by WPA-based encryption.
Bad news
FURTHER READING
Serious flaw in WPA2 protocol lets attackers intercept passwords and much more
Assessing the impact of the vulnerabilities isn't straightforward. FragAttacks allow data to be injected into Wi-Fi traffic, but
they don't make it possible to exfiltrate anything out. That means FragAttacks can't be used to read passwords or other sensitive
information the way a previous Wi-Fi attack of Vanhoef, called
Krack
,
did. But it turns out that the vulnerabilities -- some that have been part of Wi-Fi since its release in 1997 -- can be exploited to
inflict other kinds of damage, particularly if paired with other types of hacks.
"It's never good to have someone able to drop packets into your network or target your devices on the network," Mike Kershaw, a
Wi-Fi security expert and developer of the open source Kismet wireless sniffer and IDS, wrote in an email. "In some regards,
these are no worse than using an unencrypted access point at a coffee shop -- someone can do the same to you there, trivially -- but
because they can happen on networks you'd otherwise think are secure and might have configured as a trusted network, it's
certainly bad news."
He added: "Overall, I think they give someone who was already targeting an
attack against an individual or company a foothold they wouldn't have had before, which is definitely impactful, but probably
don't pose as huge a risk as drive-by attacks to the average person."
While the flaws were disclosed last week in an industry-wide effort nine months
in the making, it remains unclear in many cases which devices were vulnerable to which vulnerabilities and which vulnerabilities,
if any, have received security updates. It's almost a certainty that many Wi-Fi-enabled devices will never be fixed.
Rogue DNS injection
One of the most severe vulnerabilities in the FragAttacks suite resides in the
Wi-Fi specification itself. Tracked as CVE-2020-24588, the flaw can be exploited in a way that forces Wi-Fi devices to use a
rogue DNS server, which in turn can deliver users to malicious websites rather than the ones they intended. From there, hackers
can read and modify any unencrypted traffic. Rogue DNS servers also allow hackers to perform
DNS
rebinding attacks
, in which malicious websites manipulate a browser to attack other devices connected to the same network.
The rogue DNS server is introduced when an attacker injects an
ICMPv6
Router Advertisement
into Wi-Fi traffic. Routers typically issue these announcements so other devices on the network can
locate them. The injected advertisement instructs all devices to use a DNS specified by the attacker for lookups of both IPv6 and
IPv4 addresses.
In an email, Vanhoef explained, saying, "The IPv6 router advertisement is put
in the payload (i.e. data portion) of the TCP packet. This data is by default passed on to the application that created the TCP
connection. In the demo, that would be the browser, which is expecting an image. This means that by default, the client won't
process the IPv6 router advertisement but instead process the TCP payload as application data."
Vanhoef said that it's possible to perform the attack without user interaction
when the target's access point is vulnerable to
CVE-2021-26139
,
one of the 12 vulnerabilities that make up the FragAttacks package. The security flaw stems from a kernel flaw in NetBSD 7.1 that
causes Wi-Fi access points to forward
Extensible
Authentication Protocol (AP) over LAN
frames to other devices even when the sender has not yet authenticated to the AP.
It's safe to skip ahead, but for those curious about the specific software bug
and the reason the video demo uses a malicious image, Vanhoef explained:
To make the victim process the TCP payload (i.e. data portion) as a separate
packet, the aggregation design flaw in Wi-Fi is abused. That is, the attacker intercepts the malicious TCP packet at the Wi-Fi
layer and sets the "is aggregated" flag in the Wi-Fi header. As a result, the receiver will split the Wi-Fi frame into two
network packets. The first network packet contains part of the original TCP header and is discarded. The second packet
corresponds with the TCP payload, which we made sure will now correspond to the ICMPv6 packet, and as a result, the ICMPv6
router advertisement is now processed by the victim as a separate packet. So proximity to the victim is required to set the
"is aggregated" Wi-Fi flag so that the malicious TCP packet will be split into two by the receiver.
The design flaw is that an adversary can change/set the "is aggregated" flag
without the receiver noticing this. This flag should have been authenticated so that a receiver can detect if it has been
modified.
It's possible to perform the attack without user interaction when the
access point is vulnerable to CVE-2020-26139. Out of four tested home routers, two of them had this vulnerability. It seems
that most Linux-based routers are affected by this vulnerability. The research paper discusses in more detail how this
works -- essentially, instead of including the ICMPV6 router advertisement in a malicious TCP packet, it can then be included in
an unencrypted handshake message (which the AP will then forward to the client after which the adversary can again set the "is
aggregated" flag etc).
Punching a hole in
the firewall
Four of the 12 vulnerabilities that make up the FragAttacks are implementation
flaws, meaning they stem from bugs that software developers introduced when writing code based on the Wi-Fi specification. An
attacker can exploit them against access points to bypass a key security benefit they provide.
Besides allowing multiple devices to share a single Internet connection,
routers prevent incoming traffic from reaching connected devices unless the devices have requested it. This firewall works by
using network address translation, or NAT, which maps private IP addresses that the AP assigns each device on the local network
to a single IP address that the AP uses to send data over the Internet.
The result is that routers forward data to connected devices only when they
have previously requested it from a website, email server, or other machine on the Internet. When one of those machines tries to
send unsolicited data to a device behind the router, the router automatically discards it. This arrangement
isn't
perfect
, but it does provide a vital defense that protects billions of devices.
Vanhoef figured out how to exploit the four vulnerabilities in a way that
allows an attacker to, as he put it, "punch a hole through a router's firewall." With the ability to connect directly to devices
behind a firewall, an Internet attacker can then send them malicious code or commands.
In one demo in the video, Vanhoef exploits the vulnerabilities to control an
Internet-of-things device, specifically to remotely turn on and off a smart power socket. Normally, NAT would prevent a device
outside the network from interacting with the socket unless the socket had first initiated a connection. The implementation
exploits remove this barrier.
FURTHER READING
Microsoft practically begs Windows users to fix wormable BlueKeep flaw
In a separate demo, Vanhoef shows how the vulnerabilities allow a device on the Internet to initiate a connection with a computer
running Windows 7, an operating system that stopped receiving security updates years ago. The researcher used that ability to
gain complete control over the PC by sending it malicious code that exploited a
critical
vulnerability called BlueKeep
.
"That means that when an access point is
vulnerable, it becomes easy to attack clients!" Vanhoef wrote. "So we're abusing the Wi-Fi implementation flaws in an
access
point
as a first step in order to subsequently attack (outdated)
clients
."
Getting your fix
Despite Vanhoef spending nine months coordinating patches with more than a
dozen hardware and software makers, it's not easy to figure out which devices or software are vulnerable to which
vulnerabilities, and of those vulnerable products, which ones have received fixes.
This page
provides the status for products from several companies. A more comprehensive list of known advisories is
here
.
Other advisories are available individually from their respective vendors. The vulnerabilities to look for are:
Design flaws:
CVE-2020-24588
: aggregation attack (accepting non-SPP A-MSDU frames)
CVE-2020-24587
: mixed key attack (reassembling fragments encrypted under different keys)
CVE-2020-24586
: fragment cache attack (not clearing fragments from memory when (re)connecting to a network)
Implementation
vulnerabilities allowing the injection of plaintext frames:
CVE-2020-26145
: Accepting plaintext broadcast fragments as full frames (in an encrypted network)
CVE-2020-26144
: Accepting plaintext A-MSDU frames that start with an RFC1042 header with EtherType EAPOL (in an encrypted
network)
CVE-2020-26140
: Accepting plaintext data frames in a protected network
CVE-2020-26143
: Accepting fragmented plaintext data frames in a protected network
Other implementation
flaws:
CVE-2020-26139
: Forwarding EAPOL frames even though the sender is not yet authenticated (should only affect APs)
CVE-2020-26146
: Reassembling encrypted fragments with non-consecutive packet numbers
CVE-2020-26147
: Reassembling mixed encrypted/plaintext fragments
CVE-2020-26142
: Processing fragmented frames as full frames
CVE-2020-26141
: Not verifying the TKIP MIC of fragmented frames
The most effective way to mitigate the threat posed by FragAttacks is to
install all available updates that fix the vulnerabilities. Users will have to do this on each vulnerable computer, router, or
other Internet-of-things device. It's likely that a huge number of affected devices will never receive a patch.
The next-best mitigation is to ensure that websites are always using HTTPS
connections. That's because the encryption HTTPS provides greatly reduces the damage that can be done when a malicious DNS server
directs a victim to a fake website.
Sites that use HTTP Strict Transport Security will always use this protection,
but Vanhoef said that only about 20 percent of the web does this. Browser extensions like
HTTPS
everywhere
were already a good idea, and the mitigation they provide against FragAttacks makes them even more worthwhile.
As noted earlier, FragAttacks aren't likely to be exploited against the vast
majority of Wi-Fi users, since the exploits require a high degree of skill as well as proximity -- meaning within 100 feet to a
half-mile, depending on the equipment used -- to the target. The vulnerabilities pose a higher threat to networks used by high-value
targets such as retail chains, embassies, or corporate networks where security is key, and then most likely only in concert with
other exploits.
When updates become available, by all means install them, but unless you're in
this latter group, remember that drive-by downloads and other more mundane types of attacks will probably pose a bigger threat.
Promoted Comments
When I'm networking I always assume the network I'm connected to is completely compromised, so all my devices use these things
and are properly firewalled in which case these attacks are pretty much worthless.
While only new versions of Android support DoT out of the box on the system level, Google has recently added the support for
DoH to Chrome, so in case your device is running an older version of Android you might want to enable DoH in Chrome to feel
safe.
And as for Firefox it's had the support for DoH for years. I've gone as far as to set network.trr.mode to 2 in about:config to
be extra safe. 3 is even better:
https://wiki.mozilla.org/Trusted_Recursive_Resolver
178 posts | register
They have a lot of work to do. There is a suspicion among cynics like myself that GOP
bossmen conspired with DNC to rig 2020 for the opposition.
Moribund Mitch was congratulating Catatonic Joe while the election was still contested and
GA runoff polls were still open. Mike Pence folded up like a ten dollar suitcase.
SurfingUSA 7 hours ago remove link
"Suspicion" ????
Those facts are locked down. See the following GOP champions of Domino Ion Voting with
documented roles in getting the equipment and obstructing investigations:
Note Domino Ion election management is to an extent a front for the CCP.
chunga 7 hours ago
The recount thing in AZ is a stunt as far as I'm concerned. Nobody ever bothered to
question suitcase girl. It is inexplicable.
YuriTheClown 7 hours ago
Don't do the China thing. That is the Republican version of Russia! Russia! Russia!
While I am sure China spreads the cheese around we all know it's the Giewash Mob banking
cartel that is firmly in control. The Cartel can shut off Chinese Cheese in a heart beat when
desired. They just like using other people's money.
19331510 3 hours ago
Main street does not want perpetual wars, why do you think Trump was elected for a second
time?
Miniminer1 8 hours ago
CNN and the msm will keep putting her on TV like she's important and telling their few
viewers she might be president and will go after evil trump and thereby keeping the
brainwashing alive . Keep fighting for justice president trump!!!
No_Pretzel_Logic 7 hours ago
CIA News Network is 100% Deep State operated.
I can flip to that channel anytime of day and within 120 seconds I am pointing at the TV
and saying, "Liars!"
It is almost completely Pravda-programming and remains a real threat to this country. Same
with MSDNC.
YuriTheClown 7 hours ago
You watch TV????
aegis551 8 hours ago
Cheneys is a neocons and a globalist. Hopefully the good people of Wyoming can see that
and kick this POS to the curb.
Paul Bunyan 8 hours ago
Darth Cheney is not pleased the GOP has discredited his daughter. I am sure he and the
Bushes will be doing everything they can to keep Trump from running in '24.
SPACE-CADET 8 hours ago
Little Bush killed 10,000 americans and over 1 million Iraq.
He retired to Texas with a cushy pension.
Paul Bunyan 8 hours ago (Edited)
Never mind the pension. The Bushes are American royalty and British royals before it. His
mother Barbara is a Pierce, as in the former POTUS and NYC banking dynasty. Everyone knows
CIA asset George Sr. Then there is patriarch Prescott who was a Senator, a banker with the
Harrimans ( THE bank that funneled Nazi money through Wall Street) and a Scull and bonesman
(as was GHWB and GWB). Then there is Uncle Bert Walker, where both names Herbert and Walker
come from. This man traces both names back to British royalty, where both the Herberts and
Walkers ruled on the British courts for hundreds of years. So for pensions, these families
have power and wealth that can not be imagined.
YuriTheClown 7 hours ago
Nah. As per Eustace Mullins ( a national treasure his recordings )
Bushes served Harrimans
Harrimans served Rothschilds
Bushes are high functionaries
arby63 7 hours ago
They all hated Trump because he wasn't in the club. This scum Cheney is a name I've had to
endure for 40 years.
Thats why they hated Trump. He wasn't one of them.
Dominion said in a statement to news outlets on Thursday that it would comply with the
audit, but Cyber Ninjas, the firm hired by the Arizona Senate to conduct it along with three
other companies, is not accredited by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.
" Releasing Dominion's intellectual property to an unaccredited, biased, and plainly
unreliable actor such as Cyber Ninjas would be reckless, causing irreparable damage to the
commercial interests of the company and the election security interests of the country ,"
Dominion said. "No company should be compelled to participate in such an irresponsible
act."
Cyber Ninjas did not respond to a request for comment.
Maricopa County officials previously said that they did not have passwords to access
administrative functions on Dominion Voting Systems machines that were used to scan ballots
during the election, according to the Senate's audit liaison, former Republican Secretary of
State Ken Bennett.
"They've told us that they don't have that second password, or that they've given us all the
passwords they have," Bennett told One America News at the site of the audit in Phoenix last
week.
Both routers or router images and access to election machines were part of the materials the
state Senate subpoenaed late last year. A judge in February ruled that the subpoenas were valid
and should be obeyed.
Arizona Senate President Karen Fann, a Republican,
recently threatened to subpoena county officials if they didn't stop their noncompliance
with the subpoenas, but
backed off the threat in a letter on May 12.
Instead, she asked Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jack Sellers, also a
Republican, to cooperate voluntarily by attending an upcoming meeting at the state Capitol to
go over the audit issues.
Fann said auditors have found discrepancies in the ballot count, including one batch that
was supposed to be 200 but only numbered 165. She also said the audit teams found an entire
database directory from an election machine had been deleted, and that the main database for
the election management system software was not located anywhere on the machine, suggesting
that the main database for all data related to the 2020 election had been removed.
Sellers on Thursday indicated he would not attend the meeting and disputed the
allegations.
Deleting files off the server "would be a crime -- and it is not true," he said.
"After reviewing the letter with County election and IT experts, I can say that the
allegations are false and ill-informed. Moreover, the claim that our employees deleted election
files and destroyed evidence is outrageous, completely baseless, and beneath the dignity of the
Arizona Senate," he added, calling for an immediate retraction of statements senators and their
liaison team made on social media and to the press.
The Board of Supervisors, which held a closed-door emergency meeting on Friday, plans on
holding a public meeting on Monday to address the matter.
Fann, an Arizona Senate Republican Caucus spokeswoman, and the liaison team did not
immediately respond to requests for comment.
Auditors, meanwhile, began packing up on Thursday evening because the audit will take a
break due to scheduling conflicts.
The audit has been taking place at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum on the state fairgrounds
in Phoenix. High school graduations are scheduled to take place at the building beginning May
15.
Hand counting stopped at 7 p.m. on Thursday and workers began collapsing tables and
preparing to move ballots to another location.
About 500,000 of the nearly 2.1 million ballots cast in Maricopa County in the 2020 election
have been counted in the audit, according to Bennett.
The Arizona Senate signed an extension to their original agreement that allows auditors to
store materials in the Wesley Bolin Building, which is also on the state fairgrounds, from May
12 to May 23.
The approximately 19,000-square foot building has a large open floor plan and two large
roll-up doors, according to the Arizona State Fair website.
"Due to temperatures during the summer months, this building is not recommended for use
between May through September," the site states.
Bennett told The Epoch Times in a previous interview that the materials will be secure and
that the site at which they'll be stored can be tracked online via 24-hour streaming, just like
the audit itself.
" There's no deadline for the audit ," Bennett said. " The goal is not speed; the goal is
accuracy and completeness. "
The audit teams can resume occupancy of the coliseum on May 23 and use it until June 30,
according to a copy of the extended agreement obtained
by The Epoch Times .
The original scope of work document from Cyber Ninjas said reviewing voter registration and
votes case would take approximately 20 days and that work would be conducted remotely. The vote
counting phase would take about 20 more days, it said, while the electronic voting system phase
would take some 35 days.
But all three of those phases could be carried out simultaneously, according to the firm. An
additional week was said to be required after completing everything else to finalize
reporting.
How would Liz Cheney, Kristina Peterson (writer of this column) or anyone else ( including
William Barr) know whether Trump is correct or not.? The obfuscation created by governors,
legislatures and judges made the process inscrutable. I personally believe it more likely
than not that Trump is correct.
The repetitive use of the term of "baseless" does not make it so. No one can possibly ever
know. The Supreme Court had the opportunity to examine it. Justices Thomas and Alito were
correct, the court should have taken the Texas case. Cheney obviously hates Trump. That's
what motivates her -- not some higher cause.
How would Liz Cheney, Kristina Peterson (writer of this column) or anyone else ( including
William Barr) know whether Trump is correct or not.? The obfuscation created by governors,
legislatures and judges made the process inscrutable. I personally believe it more likely
than not that Trump is correct.
The repetitive use of the term of "baseless" does not make it so. No one can possibly
ever know. The Supreme Court had the opportunity to examine it. Justices Thomas and Alito
were correct, the court should have taken the Texas case. Cheney obviously hates Trump.
That's what motivates her -- not some higher cause.
How would Liz Cheney, Kristina Peterson (writer of this column) or anyone else (
including William Barr) know whether Trump is correct or not.? The obfuscation created
by governors, legislatures and judges made the process inscrutable. I personally
believe it more likely than not that Trump is correct.
The repetitive use of the term of "baseless" does not make it so. No one can
possibly ever know. The Supreme Court had the opportunity to examine it. Justices
Thomas and Alito were correct, the court should have taken the Texas case. Cheney
obviously hates Trump. That's what motivates her -- not some higher cause.
Update (1400ET) : Wow, something must be really worrying Democrats?
There appears to be a full court press effort to delay and defer any and every effort to
audit Maricopa County's election results. The Biden justice department added to pressure from
Arizona's chief elections officer (a Democrat) and the Arizona Democratic Party, and now,
Daniel Payne at JustTheNews.com reports that officials in Arizona's Maricopa County are
withholding materials subpoenaed by the state legislature as part of its audit of the county's
2020 election , claiming that surrendering them would constitute a security risk for both law
enforcement and federal agencies.
A Monday letter
sent from the Maricopa County Attorney's Office to Ken Bennett, the former Arizona secretary of
state and the liaison between the state Senate and the auditors, said the county had elected
not to turn over "several routers" requested by the legislature due to an alleged "significant
security risk to law enforcement data utilized by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office as well
as numerous federal agencies."
Given that President Biden is the most popular president ever and we know from the
mainstream media that there was no, none, zip, nada, election fraud anywhere in America, why
are Democrats so aggressively interfering in the process of auditing the county's election?
* * *
Update (1300ET): Shortly after Arizona's top elections officer raised concerns about the
Maricopa County election audit process, the Biden Department of Justice piled on, expressing
concern about ballot security and potential voter intimidation.
As
AP reports, in a letter to GOP Senate President Karen Fann, the head of the Justice
Department's Civil Rights Division said the Senate's farming out of 2.1 million ballots from
the state's most populous county to a contractor may run afoul of federal law requiring ballots
to remain in the control of elections officials for 22 months.
And Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Pamela S. Karlan said that the Senate
contractor's plans to directly contact voters could amount to illegal voter intimidation.
"Past experience with similar investigative efforts around the country has raised concerns
that they can be directed at minority voters, which potentially can implicate the
anti-intimidation prohibitions of the Voting Rights Act," Karlan wrote.
"Such investigative efforts can have a significant intimidating effect on qualified voters
that can deter them from seeking to vote in the future."
So, Democrats play the race-card again?
"We are very concerned that the auditors are engaged in ongoing and imminent violations of
federal voting and election laws," said the letter sent by the Brennan Center for Justice,
the Leadership Conference and Protect Democracy.
Why are they so worried? They already told America there was no fraud?
In a letter ( pdf ) to former
Secretary of State Ken Bennett, a Republican who is the state Senate's liaison for the audit,
Hobbs outlined 13 points of concern over how the audit is being run. This included seven points
of concern over counting procedures that the state Senate and audit contractor Cyber Ninjas
disclosed, as well as six points of concern over what her observers saw at the audit site.
Under terms of a
lawsuit settlement filed on Wednesday, defendants Bennett, Arizona Senate President Karen
Fann, and the lead auditor, Florida-based Cyber Ninjas have 48 hours to respond to Hobbs'
concerns. If the concerns are not addressed, Hobbs could take them back to court for breach of
contract.
The audit began on April 23 and continues at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix,
a venue the auditors have booked and secured until May 14.
Hobbs, a Democrat, alleged that the procedures governing the audit do not ensure accuracy,
security, and transparency.
"I'm not sure what compelled you to oversee this audit, but I'd like to assume you took
this role with the best of intentions," she told Bennett in the letter.
"It is those intentions I appeal to now: either do it right, or don't do it at all."
The Arizona Democratic Party
filed a last-minute lawsuit against state Senate leadership to try to stop the audit from
going ahead but their bid to immediately halt it was rebuffed by a judge. The settlement means
the case has concluded.
"The settlement in ADP v Fann requires the Senate to have procedures to protect our
ballots, election equipment, and data. Today, I put the Senate on notice that security
shortfalls remain and must be addressed under the agreement," Hobbs said in a statement.
The official Twitter account for the audit, run by Bennet's team, said late on Wednesday
that Hobbs "continues to make baseless claimes [sic] about this forensic audit but has never
led an election audit in her entire career."
The message declared, "The audit continues!"
The group furthermore encouraged Twitter users to retweet if they think audits are a state
right. Another statement released later on Wednesday reads:
"Democrat [Secretary of State Katie Hobbs] who does not support election audits or
transparency now wants the Federal Government to get involved in the Arizona Senate forensic
audit. Arizona has the authority to conduct this audit without interference from the
Feds!"
Bennett did not immediately respond to a request for comment over the contents of Hobbs'
letter.
He told the
Arizona Capitol Times late Wednesday of Hobbs' concerns, "I think that most of the things
in her letter are completely unfounded . And the ones that have a little bit of legitimacy can
be dealt with pretty easily."
Bennett did not elaborate as to what concerns would fall into the latter category.
Real-time camera footage of Maricopa County's large-scale audit of the 2020 election,
Maricopa County, Ariz. (Screenshot/The Epoch Times)
Among the seven concerns based on the disclosed procedures, Hobbs alleged that there were
"no procedures for hiring qualified, unbiased counters." She noted that former State
Representative Anthony Kern, a Republican, has been among the people counting the ballots in
the audit.
Kern's name is listed on the ballot "not only as a candidate for State Representative but as
a Presidential Elector -- the exact race for which he is counting," Hobbs wrote, adding, "While
these facts would be disqualifying in any professional recount or audit, unfortunately, there
are additional reasons why Mr. Kern is not trustworthy to fulfill this role."
Hobbs in her letter also took aim at a number of procedures that she said "appear better
suited for chasing conspiracy theories than as a part of a professional audit," which included
using UV lights to search for watermarks, measuring the thickness of ballots, searching for
folds in ballots, and looking at ballots under a microscope.
She said these measures are "completely unnecessary steps if the goal of the audit is to
validate the election results."
She also questioned how tally sheets from ballot counters would be added up, and noted that
her office had "received no real explanation" over the matter "other than that an accounting
firm will handle it later."
"This is not transparency. Further, it appears that a single person enters the totals from
the tally sheets into an electronic spreadsheet, leaving wide open the opportunity for error,
inadvertent or otherwise," she wrote. "At minimum, a bipartisan team of at least two
individuals should aggregate the tally sheets or otherwise confirm that data is entered
accurately for aggregation."
In addition to concerns over the disclosed procedures, Hobbs alleged in her letter that
observers from her office have seen a number of problems, which include inadequate physical
security of ballots, unattended computers at the forensic analysis tables, constantly changing
rules in the audit procedures since the beginning of the audit, and "frequent violations" of
the procedures that do exist.
The Arizona Republican-led Senate previously
hired four out-of-state firms to carry out the audit, which are Wake Technology Services,
CyFIR, Digital Discovery, and Cyber Ninjas.
The state Senate has said that the "
broad and detailed " audit "will validate every area of the voting process" and includes,
but is not limited to, scanning all the ballots, a full hand recount, auditing the voter
registration and votes cast, the vote counts, and the electronic voting system. This includes
examining some 2.1 million ballots, as well as voting equipment that includes 385
tabulators.
Bennett
told The Epoch Times on Monday that the audit may last longer than originally planned. An
analysis of the equipment used in the 2020 election was completed over the weekend, but
reviewing other materials will need more time, he said.
President Joe Biden was the first Democratic presidential nominee to win Maricopa County in
decades.
*** Please Note: Russia is not weak considering that it has the ability to nuke America in
to ashes within 30 minutes, or any other bunch of idiots that chooses to step over her red
lines. Okay the US has 350 million people compared to 150 million Russians, but the US is
irrevocably divided and Russia is fully united even the Muslim minority is united with the
State in Russia. A divided house can not stand no man can serve two masters. On top of that
the US has no moral values whereas Russia is a Christian country where marriage is between a
man and a woman, by State law. Biden can fly all the queer flags he likes but he still leads
a divided nation with a corrupt State comprised of dual passport holders, amoral materialists
and deluded mentally challenged idiots like Waters and Pelosi.
"... Bernie Sanders in 2016, the self-described democratic socialist "showed little interest or knowledge about US-Russia relations and the attendant dangers of a new cold war." Instead, Sanders was ultimately content to mimic the juvenile and Manichean "democracies versus authoritarians" model of international relations. ..."
"... in the Obama era, as mediocre academics like Celeste Wallander were given positions on the National Security Council, and an ideologue like Michael McFaul was bizarrely appointed as ambassador. ..."
"... Under Biden – who caved to pressure from the foreign policy blob to not appoint Rojansky – the advisers who are in place or in line, including Jake Sullivan , Antony Blinken , Madeleine Albright/Hillary Clinton adviser Wendy Sherman, the German Marshall Fund's Karen Donfried , and State Department nominee Victoria Nuland represent more of the same dangerous ineptitude and strident thinking. Many of these advisers, like their predecessors, have little on-the-ground experience with contemporary Russia. ..."
"... Neoconservative ideologue Nuland, of course, is a slightly different case in that she has put her boots on the ground in the region. Unfortunately, that experience includes facilitating the dangerously divisive 2014 coup in Ukraine, without which Crimea would still be in Ukraine and the Donbass would be at peace. Competent officials would have warned Obama and Biden that the Maidan would lead to consequences like these. ..."
"... importantly, this 'perceived enemy' and its corresponding narrative sells... it enriches the military complexes, CIA etc. Even if it sounded unbelievable and outrageous, they will still be regurgitated and at best, given a new guised repackaging ..."
"... the author assumes that the mistakes made by advisors to Obama and others were because of incompetence, when in fact it should be seriously considered they were actually quite deliberate and planned ..."
"... the job was NOT to deliver facts to the public; the job was to tell the public how to think and what to believe; ie. anti-Russia propaganda. ..."
The rejection
of Matthew Rojansky's candidacy as a Russia adviser to Joe Biden represents an escalation, and
not a departure, from a pervasive bipartisan American pattern of dangerous ignorance about
Russia in the post-Soviet era.
It was reported last week that Joe Biden's government would not be hiring Rojansky, of the
Kennan Institute think tank, to help form policy towards Russia. Though the analyst is known as
a moderate realist regarding Russia issues – in other words, he is not a virulent
anti-Moscow ideologue – he was considered too controversial to be allowed a hearing
during White House deliberations on policy regarding the world's largest country.
Rojansky's sin? Unlike many of the current crop of foreign policy officials, he actually has
some expertise and experience on the subject.
While the scholar's fate may be a glaring and extreme
example of an anti-Russia mindset in Washington that is counterproductive, it represents
only a new low, and not a change from a pervasive bipartisan pattern in the post-Soviet
era.
Those who aspire to, or attain, the most powerful executive position in the United States
have shown a disturbingly willful ignorance of Russia. I learned from a former State Department
official that, in response to a renowned Russia expert attempting to brief presidential
candidate Bernie Sanders in 2016, the self-described democratic socialist "showed little
interest or knowledge about US-Russia relations and the attendant dangers of a new cold
war." Instead, Sanders was ultimately content
to mimic the juvenile and Manichean "democracies versus authoritarians" model of
international relations.
Similarly, an American business executive told me that, during a lunch with him and other
leaders of commerce at the US Embassy in Moscow in 2012, then-Vice President Joe Biden showed
no interest in his interlocutors' suggestions that it was in the US' best interests to partner
with Russia after they offered social, economic, and strategic justifications for their
view.
Biden seemed to see the meeting as an opportunity to lecture on his position rather than to
learn or seek insight on Russia.
Moreover, once a US president is in power, the advisers that are appointed to counsel the
commander in chief about Russia have been less than impressive from the 1990s onward.
Condoleezza Rice served as an expert in the George Bush Senior administration and was
wrong about the impending collapse of the Soviet Union. During her stint as secretary of
state in the second term of the junior Bush administration, her Russian counterparts who spent
significant time with her made the observation
that Rice was "a Soviet expert, and not a Russia expert."
There was little improvement in the Obama era, as mediocre academics like Celeste Wallander were
given positions on the National Security Council, and an ideologue like Michael McFaul was
bizarrely appointed as ambassador.
According to investigative journalist Gareth Porter, advisers to Obama were so utterly
incompetent that those serving in the administration really didn't think Russia had the ability
or inclination to counter Washington's provocative actions in
Syria, and therefore they did not plan for that possibility. This incompetence was also
highlighted by Obama's public comments to the Economist in 2014, in which he claimed that
Russia didn't make anything, immigrants didn't go there, and male life expectancy was 60 years
– three claims that anyone with actual expertise on Russia should have easily known were
false.
In fact, at that point, Russia was the second most popular migration destination in the
world, after America itself, while average lifespans have been converging with those of the US
over the past decade. As for manufacturing, Obama said these words at a time when the US, for
instance, was totally reliant on Russian rockets for access to space, having retired its own
unreliable Space Shuttle fleet. If he had access to a competent adviser on the subject, would
he have made these mistakes?
Under Biden – who caved to pressure from the foreign policy blob to not appoint
Rojansky – the advisers who are in place or in line, including Jake Sullivan , Antony Blinken ,
Madeleine Albright/Hillary Clinton adviser Wendy Sherman, the German Marshall Fund's Karen
Donfried , and State
Department nominee Victoria Nuland represent more of the same dangerous
ineptitude and strident thinking. Many of these advisers, like their predecessors, have little
on-the-ground experience with contemporary Russia.
Neoconservative ideologue Nuland, of course, is a slightly different case in that she has
put her boots on the ground in the region. Unfortunately, that experience includes facilitating
the dangerously divisive 2014 coup in Ukraine, without which Crimea would still be in Ukraine
and the Donbass would be at peace. Competent officials would have warned Obama and Biden that
the Maidan would lead to consequences like these.
It takes a special kind of hubris for the US political class to keep thinking they can get
away with this level of sloppiness in understanding the world's other nuclear superpower
– a country so massive that it straddles two major continents and is the sixth largest
economy in terms of purchasing power parity – without serious consequences. At what point
will God's providence run out?
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the
author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.
If you like this story, share it with a friend!
Natylie Baldwin is author of "The View from Moscow: Understanding Russia and U.S.-Russia
Relations," available at Amazon. She blogs at http://natyliesbaldwin.com/ .
"Washington has a dangerous & destructive pattern of wilful ignorance on Russia in
post-Soviet era" It is not just wilful ignorance per se. Without a 'perceived enemy', the
narrative for Russia will fall apart. Ditto China, Iran, N Korea et al.
But importantly, this
'perceived enemy' and its corresponding narrative sells... it enriches the military
complexes, CIA etc. Even if it sounded unbelievable and outrageous, they will still be
regurgitated and at best, given a new guised repackaging, but with the antiquated contents
remaining intact.
dotmafia 6 hours ago 6 hours ago
Good article, but, the author assumes that the mistakes made by advisors to Obama and others
were because of incompetence, when in fact it should be seriously considered they were
actually quite deliberate and planned. In the example of Obama's remarks to The Economist,
the job was NOT to deliver facts to the public; the job was to tell the public how to think
and what to believe; ie. anti-Russia propaganda.
Levin High 8 hours ago 8 hours ago
It used to be said that you couldn't be fired for buying IBM, now days in the US you seem to
be hired for blaming Russia.
apothqowejh 9 hours ago 9 hours ago
The US State Department is packed with idiots, political appointees, ideologues and globalist
nut jobs. Their lack of anything remotely like competence is as astonishing as the CIA's full
on embrace of evil.
wowhead1977 4 hours ago 4 hours ago
The cabal in America always want to blame Russia. I'm a American citizen and have no problem
with Russia. These so called sanctions on other countries is a control tactic that most
Americans didn't vote for. This race baiting tactic is from The Fabian Society play book.
Wolf in sheep's clothing is the Fabian Society logo.
We must realize that our Party's most
powerful weapon is racial tension. By propounding into the consciousness of the dark races,
that for centuries have been oppressed by the Whites, we can mold them to the program of the
Communist Party ... In America, we will aim for subtle victory. While enflaming the color
people minority against the Whites, we will instill in the Whites, a guilt complex for the
exploitation of the color people.
We will aid the color people to rise to prominence in every
walk of life, in the professions, and in the world of sports and entertainment. With this
prestige, the color people will be able to intermarry with the Whites, and begin a process
which will deliver America to our cause." ~ Israel Cohen - Fabian Society Founder
" as a condition, the judge insisted that the Dems post a $1 million bond to cover potential
costs incurred as a consequence of the delayed recount. And, by the afternoon, the outlet said,
the state party had indicated it wouldn't do so.
That cleared the way for the recount to go on as planned.
Earlier this week, Senate Republicans exercised a subpoena to move voting equipment and
ballots from county storage to the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, where they have said a
team will spend a month doing a hand recount and forensic audit.
According to the Post, Senate leaders have said the process is intended only to explore ways
to improve future elections, not to cast doubt on Biden's win by more than 10,000 Arizona votes
over Trump.
But the recount has been slammed by Dems and other critics and voting rights advocates as
lacking proper oversight and having potential to perpetuate baseless claims of an illegitimate
election outcome.
Trump insisted for weeks following the vote that he'd been defeated only because of rampant,
systemic fraud. He filed numerous lawsuits, but they gained no traction ; Biden was
sworn in, as scheduled, on Jan. 20.
Comment: "but they gained no traction" Oh BS! The damned judges and boards would not hear
the evidence! The worst was SCOTUS who would not hear Texas' suit against Pennsylvania in what
was a matter of Original Jurisdiction for SCOTUS, i.e., a dispute between states as sovereign
entities.
The result of this re-count will be interesting. pl
The question is if they're just gonna count the ballots or first verify that the ballot
is valid by comparing signature to voter roll if it is a Mail-in ballot? If the latter what
are the criteria to verify signature compliance? Reply
Looks like they will be using special scanners, ala Jovan Pulitzer's pattern
detection technology, to determine the initial validity of the ballot itself- scanning
for water marks, creases and machine-made markings.
This comes from someone who observed what looked like this sort of equipment was
present on a table, from the in-house surveillance cameras. Not confirmed.
Since the goal is surveying for in inherent voting procedure flaws that would
undermine any election integrity, this would be a reasonable up front physical ballot
evaluation to make.
How can you mail in a ballot that has no creases? Put it in a large envelope is one
way – perfectly valid. Thousands of them – all for one candidate? All with
the exact same down ballot choices?
No watermarks – someone took the money for himself and hired the cheapest
bidder to print up non-water marked ballots and sent them out as "official" – and
there was no double checking?
Machine printed ballots, filled out at home. Handicap accommodations? How many ways
to Sunday can phony ballots be added into the final count. How may ways to Sunday
ballot anommolies can finally be explained.
How to reverse engineer as many possible methods of voting fraud as can be
speculated. Everyone wins in this case, even if any one favored candidate does not win
the final new vote count in the long run.
Look for loop holes, build in every imaginable level of fraud prevention. We can
settle for nothing less. But first we have to know all the ways to Sunday voting fraud
can possibly take place. Democrats should be joining in this speculation – surely
Stacey Abrams would want to know more about her "stolen" Georgia governors race
election. She might have been on to this a lot earlier than 2020. Reply
They are doing a lot more than just count the ballots, its going to take them a
month. I don't know but I assume, as everything else is being double checked, that
signatures are being validated against those previously held on file.
AZ still has enough deplorables in the population that the Governor and a lot of the
state legislature retains the will to fight the woke bolshies. AZ recently joined other
states in a commitment to defy the federal government on whatever attacks they make on the
second amendment.
Pretty sure that if the recount/audit shows that Trump actually won AZ, we are all going
to hear about it. That fact would lend support to the state fighting back against
Washington (DC?) in whatever manner the state sees appropriate. Reply
Does that not answer your own question? How indeed does one know there is a valid
vote count. Looks like a lot more failsafe mechanisms need to be put in place. This new
survey will be a good place to get started adding deeper transparency to the process.
Continuing to use vote counting systems that cannot be made transparent is one way not
to ensure vote count integrity.
A couple of layers that need a lot more transparency: valid registration; valid
ballots; valid counting; valid reporting. . Reply
For a start it is being done under the unblinking gaze of 9 CCTV always online to
the Internet.
Every aspect of the votes is being checked from signatures to mail in ballot folds,
visually and with UV. All ballets sent for manual intervention in November are being
digitally rechecked.
The hardware and its firmware, comms links and associated software is also being
pulled apart.
On top of that electors are going to be interviewed to double check that what they
thought they voted was recorded. The external teams will also investigate the large
number of ballots from single addresses.
AZ was won with a majority of under 12,000 so if failed votes over that are found
all kinds of issues arise. This is no doubt with the Democrats have a very large crack
team of lawyers on the job. As an example, in the court case today they have apparently
forced the recusal of the current judge by appointing an attorney who was once one of
his interns. Using every trick in the book. Reply
A fun part of the new state voting law in Georgia is that the state can take over voting
in counties that have shown to have problems with running elections. Some counties have
always had problems even when the state has rules for the number of ballot marking devices
per eligible voters to prevent long lines. Some counties often have interruptions in their
counting. Another function of the law is to make ballot drop off boxes more secure.
I suspect a lot of the noise against the Georgia law is that the state will take away
control of some of the polling from the local political machines and prevent unfolded
mail-in ballots from being counted. Reply
My husband has become woke in recent years. I still love him, but don't get me
started Anyway, yesterday I heard pundits on either MSNBC or CNN (of course his main
sources of news) RANTING about how, due to the new GA voting laws, that no one's
allowed to offer food and drink to people waiting to vote, and that it'll harm
minorities . Why, they could get sick or even die of thirst or starvation don't you
know! And this will discourage them from voting!
As has become typical and customary among far too many leftists, this RACIST claim
presumes that people of color can't bring a bottle of water or snack along with them if
they anticipate a long wait at the polls. I say it's racist because it infers white
people are smart and conscientious enough to have a contingency plan and take care of
themselves, but not minorities. The same goes for providing acceptable ID at the
polls, or returning absentee ballots in a timely manner, etc., etc. SMFH Reply
The audit is to be at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, for Maricopa County,
Arizona. Nine cameras are set up inside at a distance that are broadcast live over the
Internet– http://www.azaudit.org Reply
Biden's Western Hemisphere foreign policy is not much different from that of Obama's,
Wayne Madsen writes.
Like proverbial bad pennies, the neocon imperialists who plagued the Barack Obama
administration have turned up in force in Joe Biden's State Department. Secretary of State
Antony Blinken has given more than winks and nods to the dastardly duo of Victoria Nuland,
slated to become Blinken's Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, the number three
position at the State Department, and Samantha Power, nominated to become the Administrator of
the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Nuland and Power both have problematic spouses who do not fail to offer their imperialistic
opinions regardless of the appearance of conflicts-of-interest. Nuland's husband is the
claptrappy neocon warmonger Robert Kagan, someone who has never failed to urge to prod the
United States into wars that only benefit Israel. Power's husband is the totally creepy Cass
Sunstein, who served as Obama's White House "information czar" and advocated government
infiltration of non-governmental organizations and news media outlets to wage psychological
warfare campaigns.
True to form, Blinken's State Department has already come to the aid of Venezuela's
right-wing self-appointed "opposition leader" Juan Guaido, whose actual constituency is found
in the wealthy gated communities of Venezuelan and Cuban expatriates in south Florida and not
in the barrios of Caracas or Maracaibo.
Blinken and his team of old school yanqui imperialists have also criticized the
constitutional and judicially-warranted detention of former interim president Jeanine
Áñez, who became president in 2019 after the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS)
government of President Evo Morales was overthrown in a Central Intelligence Agency-inspired
and -directed military coup. The far-right forces backing Áñez were roundly
defeated in the October 2020 election that swept MAS and Morales's chosen presidential
candidate, Luis Arce, back into power. It seems that for Blinken and his ilk, a decisive
victory in an election only applies to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, not to Arce and MAS in
Bolivia.
It should be recalled that while Blinken was national security adviser to then-Vice
President Biden in the Obama administration, every sort of deception and trickery was used by
the CIA to depose Morales in Bolivia and President Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela. In fact, the
Obama administration, with Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, claimed its first Latin
American political victim when a CIA coup was launched against progressive President Manuel
Zelaya of Honduras. Today, Honduras is ruled by a right-wing kleptocratic narco-president, Juan
Orlando Hernández, whose brother, Tony Hernández, is currently serving life in
federal prison in the United States for drug trafficking. For the likes of Blinken, Power,
Nuland, and former Obama national security adviser Susan Rice, who currently serves as
"domestic policy adviser" to Biden, suppression of progressive governments and support for
right-wing dictators and autocrats have always been the preferred foreign policy, particularly
for the Western Hemisphere. For example, while the Biden administration remains quiet on
right-wing regimes in Central America that are responsible for the outflow of thousands of
beleaguered Mayan Indians to the southern U.S. border with Mexico, it has announced that Trump
era sanctions on 24 Nicaraguan government officials, including President Daniel Ortega's wife
and Nicaragua's vice president, Rosario Murillo, as well as three of their sons –
Laureano, Rafael, and Juan Carlos – will continue.
Biden's Western Hemisphere foreign policy is not much different from that of Obama's. Biden
and Brazilian far-right, Adolf Hitler-loving, and Covid pandemic-denying President Jair
Bolsonaro are said to have struck a deal on environmental protection of the Amazon Basin ahead
of an April 22 global climate change virtual summit called by the White House. A coalition of
198 Brazilian NGOs, representing environmental, indigenous rights, and other groups, has
appealed to Biden not to engage in any rain forest protection agreement with the untrustworthy
Bolsonaro. The Brazilian president has repeatedly advocated the wholesale deforestation of the
Amazon region. Meanwhile, while Biden urges Americans to maintain Covid public health measures,
Bolsonaro continues to downplay the virus threat as Brazil's overall death count approaches
that of the United States.
Blinken's State Department has been relatively quiet on the Northern Triangle of Central
America fascist troika of Presidents Orlando of Honduras, Alejandro Giammattei of Guatemala,
and Nayib Bukele of El Salvador. Instead of pressuring these fascistas to democratize and stop
their genocidal policies toward the indigenous peoples of their nations, Biden told Mexican
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador that he would pump $4 billion into supposed
"assistance" to those countries to stop the flow of migrants. Biden is repeating the same old
American gambits of the past. Any U.S. assistance to kleptocratic countries like those of the
Northern Triangle has and will line the pockets of their corrupt leaders. Flush with U.S. aid
cash, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador will be sure to grant contracts to greedy Israeli
counter-insurgency contractors always at the ready to commit more human rights abuses against
the workers, students, and indigenous peoples of Central America.
Biden is also in no hurry to reverse the freeze imposed by Donald Trump on U.S.-Cuban
relations. Biden, whose policy toward Cuba represents a fossilized relic of the Cold War,
intends to maintain Trump's freeze on U.S. commercial, trade, and tourism relations with Cuba.
Biden's Homeland Security Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, a Jewish Cuban-American expatriate, is
expected to reach out to right-wing Cuban-Americans in south Florida in order to ensure
Democratic Party inroads in the 2022 and 2024 U.S. elections. Therefore, even restoring the
status quo ante established by Barack Obama is off-the-table for Biden, Blinken, and Mayorkas.
The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the Cuban-American and
ethically-challenged Democrat Bob Menendez, has stated there will be no normalization of
pre-Trump relations with Cuba until his "regime change" whims are satisfied. Regurgitating
typical right-wing Cuban-American drivel, Mayorkas has proclaimed after he was announced as the
new Homeland Security Secretary, "I have been nominated to be the DHS Secretary and oversee the
protection of all Americans and those who flee persecution in search of a better life for
themselves and their loved ones." The last part of that statement was directed toward the
solidly Republican bloc of moneyed Cuban, Venezuelan, Nicaraguan, and Bolivian interests in
south Florida.
While Blinken hurls his neocon invectives at Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, and Cuba, he
remains silent on the repeated foot-dragging by embattled and highly unpopular right-wing
Chilean President Sebastian Pinera on implementing a new Constitution to replace that put into
place in 1973 by the fascist military dictator General Augusto Pinochet. The current Chilean
Constitution is courtesy of Richard Nixon's foreign policy "Svengali," the duplicitous Henry
Kissinger, an individual who obviously shares Blinken's taste for "realpolitik" adventurism on
a global scale.
While Blinken has weighed in on the domestic politics of Bolivia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and
Cuba, he has had no comment on the anti-constitutional moves by Colombian far-right
authoritarian President Ivan Duque, the front man for that nation's Medellin narcotics cartel.
It would also come as no surprise if Blinken, Nuland, and Power have quietly buttressed the
candidacy of right-wing banker, Guillermo Lasso, who is running against the progressive
socialist candidate Andrés Arauz, the protegé of former president Rafael Correa.
Blinken can be expected to question the results of the April 11 if Lasso cries fraud in the
event of an Arauz victory. Conversely, Blinken will remain silent if Lasso wins and Arauz cries
foul. That has always been the nature of U.S. Western Hemisphere policy, regardless of what
party controls the White House.
This was Bush racket. Invasion on false pretenses to establish a foothold
and get to former USSR republic. This move was initially a big success (and
Putin helped by using his influence on Northern Alliance) but later
backfire. In other words this was typical imperial policy.
I would guess 2 things, 1. He's hoping if he ends the war then none
of the terrorists that just snuck in won't attack. 2. He plans on
starting a war elsewhere.
"Obama may have gotten (U.S. soldiers) out wrong, but going in is,
to me, the biggest single mistake made in the history of our
country." -- Donald J. Trump
The policies of the Biden administration towards Russia and China are delusional. It
thinks that it can squeeze these countries but still successfully ask them for cooperation.
It believes that the U.S. position is stronger than it really is and that China and Russia
are much weaker than they are.
It is also full of projection. The U.S. accuses both countries of striving for empire, of
wanting to annex more land and of human rights violations. But is only the U.S. that has
expanding aspirations. Neither China nor Russia are interested in running an empire. They
have no interest in planting military bases all over the world. Though both have marginal
border conflicts they do not want to acquire more land. And while the U.S. bashes both
countries for alleged human rights issues it is starving whole populations (Yemen, Syria,
Venezuela) through violence and economic sanctions.
The U.S. power structures in the Pentagon and CIA use the false accusations against Russia
and China as pretense for cold military and hot economic wars against both countries. They
use color revolution schemes (Ukraine, Myanmar) to create U.S. controlled proxy forces near
their borders.
At the same time as it tries to press these countries the U.S. is seeking their
cooperation in selected fields. It falsely believes that it has some magical leverage.
Consider this exchange from yesterday's White House
press briefing about Biden asking for a summit with Putin while, at the same time,
implementing more sanctions against Russia:
Q What if [Putin] says "no," though? Wouldn't that indicate some weakness on the part of
the American administration here?
MS. PSAKI: Well, I think the President's view is that Russia is on the outside of the
global community in many respects, at this point in time. It's the G7, not the G8. They
have -- obviously, we've put sanctions in place in order to send a clear message that there
should be consequences for the actions; the Europeans have also done that.
What the President is offering is a bridge back. And so, certainly, he believes it's in
their interests to take him up on that offer.
The G7 are not the 'global community'. They have altogether some 500 million inhabitants
out of 7.9 billion strong global population. Neither China nor India are members of the G7
nor is any South American or African country. Moreover Russia has
rejected a Russian return into the G7/8 format:
"Russia is focused on other formats, apart from the G7," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov
said in a brief statement ..
Russia has no interest in a summit which would only be used by the U.S. to further bash
Russia. Why should it give Biden that pleasure when there is nothing that Russia would gain
from it. Russia does not need a 'bridge back'. There will be no summit.
... ... ...
If Biden wants cooperation with Russia or China he needs to reign in the hawks and stop
his attacks on those countries. As he is not willing or capable of doing that any further
cooperation attempts will fall flat.
The U.S. has to learn that it is no longer the top dog. It can not work ceaselessly to
impact Russia's and China's military and economic security and still expect them to
cooperate. If it wants something it will first have to cease the attacks and to accept
multilateral relationships.
Posted by b on April 17, 2021 at 17:53 UTC |
Permalink
"It can not work ceaselessly to impact Russia's and China's military and economic security
and still expect them to cooperate"
You have to understand the USA. They're doing it against Europe on a daily basis, and it
actually works... Get them confused why it doesn't always work against others.
It's interesting what's happening right now (in the past hour or so).
First: Russian and Belorussian news about the arrest of leaders (or key participants) of
an attempted military coup in Belarus, planned by the US security services.
Then, 30 minutes later: the Czechs expel 18 Russian diplomats, accusing them of spying and
of connection to some explosion back in 2014.
I could've been skeptical about the details of the first story, but the second one seems
to confirm it. The second story appears to be an obvious attempt to squeeze the first one out
of the news. And who else could order the Czech government to do this with a 30 minute
notice?
Wouldn't Oceania rulers love to print more of their own currency to buy up all the paper
rights to industrial output without having to invest in the factories or anything else! They
love this kind of business model.
"The secret of success is to own nothing but control everything."
Because of what's at stake and how little I trust Oceania, I confess I no longer have an
opinion about global warming. Even if many of its scientists are *earnest*, who obtained,
processed, and stored the data before they started building models? Those institutions are
capable of anything.
Hundreds of corporations, including Starbucks, Amazon, and Netflix, have signed a letter signaling their opposition to election
integrity efforts in numerous states, promising to oppose any related legislation they deem "discriminatory."
The effort, led by former American Express chief executive Kenneth Chenault and Merck chief executive Kenneth Frazier, both of
whom recently
led
a
group of black business leaders urging corporations to take a stand against election integrity efforts, has corporations vowing
to stand against "any discriminatory legislation," representing what the
New
York Times
deemed
"the
broadest coalition yet to weigh in on the issue."
"We stand for democracy," the statement
reads
.
"A beautifully American idea, but a reality denied to many for much of this nation's history. As Americans, we know that in our
democracy we should not expect to agree on everything":
However, regardless of our political affiliations, we believe the very foundation of our electoral process rests upon the
ability of each of us to cast our ballots for the candidates of our choice. For American democracy to work for any of us, we
must ensure the right to vote for all of us. We all should feel a responsibility to defend the right to vote and to oppose any
discriminatory legislation or measures that restrict or prevent any eligible voter from having an equal and fair opportunity
to cast a ballot.
"Voting is the lifeblood of our democracy," the statement continues, calling on Americans to take a "nonpartisan stand for this
most basic and fundamental right of all Americans."
Signers include Bank of America, Amazon,
Estée
Lauder
, Eventbrite, General Motors, Netflix, Starbucks, Synchrony, Nordstrom, PayPal, Peloton, Pinterest, United Airlines,
Twitter, Under Armour, and more.
Some, such as Coca-Cola and Delta, which spoke out after Georgia passed its election integrity law, did not add their names to
the list, nor did Home Depot
, as the
Times
reported:
Coca-Cola and Delta, which condemned the Georgia law after it was passed, declined to add their names, according to people
familiar with the matter. Home Depot also declined, even though its co-founder Arthur Blank said in a call with other business
executives on Saturday that he supported voting rights. Another Home Depot co-founder, Ken Langone, is a vocal supporter of
Mr. Trump.
Coca-Cola and Delta declined to comment. Home Depot said in a statement on Tuesday that "the most appropriate approach for us
to take is to continue to underscore our belief that all elections should be accessible, fair and secure."
JPMorgan Chase also declined to sign the statement despite a personal request from senior Black business leaders to the
chief executive, Jamie Dimon, according to people briefed on the matter. Mr. Dimon has publicly declared that he supports
Black Lives Matter and made a statement on voting rights before many other companies, saying, "We believe voting must be
accessible and equitable."
"It should be clear that there is overwhelming support in corporate America for the principle of voting rights," Chenault said.
While the statement does not list specific state election efforts, it follows the debate over Georgia's recently signed election
integrity law, which the left has
inundated
with
misinformation, including the false claims it eliminates "Souls to the Polls," thereby suppressing minority votes. In reality,
the law expands ballot access in several ways, including by
increasing
the
mandatory days for early weekend voting.
"The nuts and bolts of [the law] are this, it makes it easy to vote and hard to cheat," Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R)
said
during
a March appearance on
Breitbart
News Daily
:
The biggest -- probably the top four things to me -- is it replaces a signature match with a voter ID on absentee ballots. It
secures ballot drop boxes around the clock It also requires poll workers to continue tabulating ballots until all votes are
counted and then it actually -- contrary to what the national media and those that are profiting off of this whole exercise of
not being truthful with people -- expands voting access, especially on the weekends.
A Rasmussen Reports survey
released
last
this week revealed a majority of likely voters, or 60 percent, believe it is more important to make sure there is no cheating in
elections rather than prioritizing making it "easier for everybody to vote." Additionally, a majority of likely voters, including
a majority of black voters,
reject
the
notion that voter ID laws are discriminatory against some voters.
Dementia Joe and his coterie of enablers have embarked on a foreign policy that is likely to result in a new war that will
endanger America and further a growing perception that the United States is weak and divided. There are three troublesome
flashpoints (Ukraine, China and Iran) that could explode at any time and catapult our nation into a costly, deadly military
confrontation. Topping the list is the Ukraine.
The corrupt dealings in Ukraine over the last four years by Joe and Hunter Biden leaves them completely compromised and
subject to coercion, even blackmail. With this as a backdrop the decade long effort by the United States to weaken Russia's
influence in eastern Ukraine has been revived with Biden's arrival in the White House.
Let me first introduce you to some essential facts:
Larry Johnson,
If the Ukraine blows so will Syria! Then the situation might transition from nemesis to tisis in short order. Here is a
strangely appropriate analysis with just one word blanked out.
In the
years ahead, _____________ will assuredly find itself in new international crises involving nations or groups that have
powerful leaders. In some cases, these leaders may have a special, dangerous mindset that is the result of a
"hubris-nemesis complex." This complex involves a combination of hubris (a pretension toward an arrogant form of
godliness) and nemesis (a vengeful desire to confront, defeat, humiliate, and punish an adversary, especially one that
can be accused of hubris). The combination has strange dynamics that may lead to destructive, high-risk behavior.
Attempts to deter, compel, or negotiate with a leader who has a hubris-nemesis complex can be ineffectual or even
disastrously counterproductive when those attempts are based on concepts better suited to dealing with more normal
leaders.
https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monograph_reports/2005/MR461.pdf
We, too, pray for sanity.
Ishmael Zechariah
Reply
Larry, I unfortunately agree with your observations and conclusion.
I would add that in my opinion, the Russians are a lot more determined, as are the Chinese and Iranians, then the
generally self absorbed younger generations in the West. "Woke" culture has no answer to sunken warships, downed
aircraft and body bags. Do the SJWs want to die for LBGTIQ rights in Russia or another of their pet obsessions de jour?
I don't think so.
My concern for President Biden and America is that, if Ukraine attacks, unless President Putin succeeds in delivering a
very short, sharp and successful lesson to Ukraine there is not going to be a clear path forward to a negotiated
armistice. If that doesn't happen through bad luck, the fog of war, etc. Then I don't think Biden has the intelligence
to get us out of the mess.
If you add to that the possibility that Zelensky may demand American support "or else" when he starts to lose then we
are in very very dangerous territory. If I were the Chinese, I would just stand back and watch. Taiwanese independence
is a meaningless concept without American military backing and I'm sure the Taiwanese know it.
The wild card to me is what is Israel's attitude? Is it possible that they might be a moderating influence for a change?
Reply
Oh, yeah .!!!!!! The country that shoots women and children who get too close to the fence they have constructed in
PALESTINE on other people"s land will be the moderating party. Or maybe Mad Dog Bolton.
Try getting real, and come up with real world situations. Not some fantasy of killers acting like kittens. The
Russians seem more balanced in responding to such provocations than the U.S. & it's gang of follower- puppets. How
long would any of the these follower-puppets be able to go toe to toe with Russia in all-out-war situation. I'd bet
less than 24 hours, probably far less. Or as a Chinese General once asked: would you want to give up Los Angeles to
save Tiwan? The U.S. doesn't seem to have any sort of reliable anti-missile defence system. Would Ole Uncle Joe
really like to get into such pissing contest so early on in his term of presidency? Maybe I am wrong, but from what I
have seen so far, he just seems to be throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. In this game, if one
blunders, the walls vanish, an the lights go out.
Reply
Russia moves cannon boats and amphibious vessels from Caspian Sea to the Black Sea, but in reality these combatants are
perfect for operations in shallow waters and that means Azov Sea and Ukraine's South-Western flank. These ships can form
both a surface group capable of dispatching anything Ukraine may have on Azov Sea, plus form excellent tactical
amphibious group which can land a battalion or two of marines and support them with fire from the sea, both artillery
and MLRS. Of course, there are other forces Russia has there but it is a good way to give Caspian Flotilla a chance for
yet another combat deployment, after its missile ships spearheaded first salvos of 3M14 cruise missiles at ISIS targets
in Syria in 2015. Here are some of those ships:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Caspian_Corvette_Astrakhan_2.jpg
Russia has an overwhelming firepower in the Black Sea proper and whatever the US is sending there is primarily for ISR
purposes in case Ukies go bananas and decide to attack Donbass in death by cop scenario. The US will not interfere in
any meaningful way other than supplying Ukies with recon data.
Reply
It is bigger than Biden or even the Military Industrial Complex. The establishment foreign policy apparatus transcends
political parties and has a continuity that survives changes in administrations. It is obsessed with Russia. It opposed
not just communism but Russia itself so when the Berlin wall fell for it the Cold War never ended and it successfully
pursued the the break up and looting of the Russian Empire and the relentless eastward march of NATO. Putin pushed back
on this resulting in him being demonized by the orchestrated Western media. Trump for all his faults had at least a
halfway rational view of these matters but now the Borg is back and spoiling for a fight. I never cease to be amazed by
the stupidity of these people, their apparent lack of understanding of the importance of Ukraine and Sevastopol in
Russian history and their inability to read a map or know the basics of military operations to see the obvious
indefensibility of Ukraine's eastern border. The danger now is that Ukraine's leaders will overestimate the support they
think they have from the United States and start something they can't stop. This has the feel of 1914.
Reply
Or the Georgian/Russian of 2008 when Georgia attacked on Russian territory. President Bush was talking tough, saying
he would send aid to Georgia on warships. But the rules governing ships entering the Bosferus proscribed such stuff,
aND Bush ended doing nothing. The Russians quickly neutralized the Georgian forces and pushed deeper into Georgia
where they currently remain. The odiot who started the mess was forced out of Georgia & was afterwards appointed a
governor or some such in Ukraine. But I think that too went bad. Such is the level of governance in Ukraine.
Reply
The last 5 Ukros killed were killed by mines. The contact line has many zones where minefields are employed by both
sides. It appears some were killed in their own minefield according to local reports. Civilians in the LPR and DPR have
been killed by incoming fire, most recently a 5 year old boy. Of course OSCE is worthless except as a "bean counter";
who fired what and where is too much to record..
Reply
US defence attache with a group was up at the front yesterday as well as the comic.
Ukraine really has its back up against the wall financially. This year with big interest payments due and no way to get
the funds as the IMF seems to hit its limit on their 'we're never getting it back' budget. Their only steady source of
funds is ironically Russia with the gas transit fees guaranteed at $7B total over the next four years, much of which
will go to the EU and IMF as interest payments. After that the gas fees will drop to zero as the gas transits move to
TurkStream and NS2. With nothing to pay Russia, apart from the little mentioned oil transit fees, Russia may stop
shipping gas/coal/electricity for local consumption as well. At that point either Ukraine crashes or someone else has to
pick up the bill.
Although Kiev will lose dramatically there are very good reasons why Kiev would push the button. Will they ever again
have this PR opportunity to play the innocent victim?
Reply
Earlier this morning I saw a pic of Zelenskiy visiting the front, behind him was a makeshift field tent with a sign on
it, the sign is in Ukrainian but translates as "Vietnam". Is Biden serious about backing Zelenskiy, I guess we'll find
out soon enough.
Reply
wondering if anyone can point me to a fairly, anyway, reliable, (assuming one exists) 'war games scenario' document on
an attempted invasion of Taiwan by China. Intuitively, it would seem a difficult challenge, especially given China's
lack of any appreciable experience in seaborne invasion. Thanks in advance for any help anyone can provide, and my
apologies upfront LJ if you deem this offtopic.
Reply
Not meaning to be a smart-alec about it, but why assume that an invasion has to be "seaborne"?
In WW2 the Royal Navy had total control of the waters around Crete. So the Germans simply went over the top of them
and invaded the island from the air.
It was very definitely touch and go for a while until German paratroopers managed to capture an airfield, and from
that point it was all over.
No idea how well defended Taiwanese airfields are, but the PLA would only need to capture one and, again, the final
result will not be in doubt.
Reply
well, the quick answer to your question would be 'fine, alter my initial question to include war games scenarios
on airborne attacks on Taiwan. The glib answer might be, Taiwan is not Crete. And the Chinese PLA are not the
Wehrmacht. Who, by the time of the Crete attack had built up a record that included many successful airborne
attacks. I see no such history with the PLA. That, by no means rules it out. But, in any event, I can't imagine
the PLA would role the dice, SOLELY, on an airborne attack. They would have to have a seaborne plan of attack, in
case Plan A failed. So, in any event, I would be still be in search of that war games scenario.
Reply
Absent any new evidence, I am going to continue to assume that this is really about Nordstream II. The Biden Junta are
probably planning on having their Ukrainian cat's paw make a lunge at DNR/LNR, forcing the Russians to intervene
directly. Ukraine, of course, is not actually a full NATO member, so no Article 5 will be triggered. Instead, Washington
just self-righteously hollers 'Russian aggression!' and demands that Merkel immediately shut down Nordstream II -- the
Russian pipeline into Germany -- just before it's ready to go online.
And then, as a lush reward for their undying loyalty, the Germans get to import frack-gas and oil all the way from the
US at four or five times the market rate. Problem solved!
Reply
you are correct – the Ukraine state does not really want the return of the Donbass region let alone Crimea as it
would result in a complete change in the balance of power in the Ukraine with the Russian-speaking population being
able to form the government, as it had done pre 2014. They really want to push the Germans into stopping Nord Stream
2 by provoking Russia
Reply
Struggling to understand how a Ukraine with such supposedly strong ties to National Socialists of a century ago managed
to end up with a Jewish comedian as President.
Reply
Here's the viewpoint of Ukraine Army's snipers who are primarily composed of volunteer housewives. While to D.C. and
Moscow, it's part of their sphere of political chess, however to those on the front lines, it is survival and protection
of their loved ones.
Almost half a century ago, I took a course in the German language as a refresher during the summer session at my local
junior college. The woman who taught the course was a native Ukrainian. She told the class a little about her
background.
When the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union, she was in her mid- to late-teens. She had an intense dislike (hatred) of the
Russians and took a job working for the German military government of occupation as an interpreter. She said they had
welcomed the Germans as liberators from the oppression of the Soviet Communists.
Later, when the Red Army juggernaut was rolling west through Ukraine, she realized that it would not be good for her
long-term prospects to remain at home. She chose to move west with the retreating German army. Subsequent to the end of
the war in Europe, she rattled around for awhile in displaced person camps, and ultimately made her way to the United
States.
I have no reason to doubt the veracity of her story. This was my first introduction to the enmity between the Russians
and the Ukrainians.
Reply
Biden is a tin-hat emperor moving tin soldiers in his bathtub at play time. Surrounded by self-selected idiots who make
him dangerous as hell. This is what his "return to decency" looks like? May he be struck down deaf and dumb.
Reply
Two front war – Russia moving into Ukraine at the same time China moves on Taiwan. They put their wet fingers up to the
wind to see which way the Biden operation blows.
And they could not escape the conclusion this was the time to strike if there is any fortuitous time to strike. Biden
and his new team muddle deeply into reckless ineptitude. And Kamala Harris doesn't have anything to wear.
Reply
An odd thesis. The Russians are signally very, very strongly that they do not want the Ukraine to start a war by
attacking the rebels in Donbass.
They could not be more explicit if they sent a hypersonic cruise missile through Zelensky's office window with a sign
on it that reads "Don't start something you won't even live to regret".
They very clearly do not think that this is "the time to strike", nor even that they think there is a "fortuitous
time" for them to go to war with Ukraine.
If Ukraine strikes first then, sure, they'll strike back. But I fail to see how anyone can come to the conclusion
that the Russians are provoking this when it is very clearly the Ukies and their promoters in the White House who are
pushing these buttons.
Similarly with Taiwan.
The Chinese are not provoking this. They made their red lines clear to everyone as far back as Nixon's trip to China
i.e. if the USA sticks to a one-China-policy then the mainland will refrain from using force against Taiwan.
But the USA is not sticking to the one-China-policy. Recent US diplomatic moves look exactly like what it is:
maneuverings to prepare for when the Taipei government declares independence.
Which is crazy.
But in both cases the USA may well provoke a conflict and then dump their patsies like a discarded toy.
Which would be beyond crazy. It would be an outcome so loopy that there isn't even a word to describe it.
Reply
Thank you for setting it straight.. it seems pretty evident Russia does not want a war but is sure as hell ready
to finish this business if a war is pushed on to them and pushed on to them by the Americans. Ukraine has been
armed by the U.S , funded by the IMF, and cheered by NATO. They will not do a single thing without their owners
permission.
Reply
Back in December 2020 Putin had an expanded meeting with his Defense Ministry Board. In it he laid out several items and
agendas to be carried out by the Military Staff.
http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/64684
March 24th saw Ukraine's Zelensky virtually declaring war against the Russian Federation. One can not rule out Zelensky
using the trade deals with Doha and use the direct flights between Kiev and Doha to smuggle in Jihad's from Syria and
Libya to fight in Donbas. Zelensky on March 3rd in a joint press conference with the European Council President in Kiev
stated that the retaking of Crimea from Russia was now Ukraine Official Policy.
https://asiatimes.com/2021/04/ukraine-redux-war-russophobia-and-pipelineistan/
Reply
Speaking of 'foreign policy', question is who will win out -- D.C. or Tel Aviv?
'The model' is headed to D.C. to try and convince our IC's head-cheeses that the Iran JCPOA isn't such a good deal, and
Tel Aviv is trying to get him an audience with his high-arsed the 'King', China Joe. If D.C. swallows 'the model's'
spiel, then they're bigger suckers than they already appear to be.
Assume this Mossad meeting will take place between Kackling Kamala who will be channeling Obama-Jarrett; or will it
be Stinking Liar Susan Rose channeling Obama-Jarrett? But the Big Guy will be out to lunch.
Reply
" voters still overwhelmingly support laws requiring that voters show identification before casting a ballot.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 75% of Likely U.S. Voters believe voters should be
required to show photo identification such as a driver's license before being allowed to vote. Only 21% are opposed to such a
requirement. (To see survey question wording,
click
here
.)
"Support for voter ID laws has actually
increased
since 2018
, when 67% said voters should be required to show photo identification such as a driver's license before being
allowed to vote.
Eighty-nine percent (89%) of Republicans support voter ID requirements, as do 60% of Democrats and 77% of voters not affiliated
with either major party."
Comment: In Virginia it was not necessary to present identification at a polling place untl about 20 years ago. This was a relic
of an older time when most Virginia communities were quite small and it was expected that one or more people would recognize
acitizen at the polling station,
IMO the time has come when national ID cards would be a good thing. The trick would be to make it as tamper proof as possible. pl
I recently got a new driver's license, the kind that complies with airport security in order to be able to fly. And boy, my
county Department of Motor Vehicles office was absolutely TOUGH, real hard asses, when it came to the documentation required to
qualify for such a license. I had to go back THREE TIMES with various documents in order to satisfy them and meet their criteria
EXACTLY, with no exceptions. So did my husband. I would hope that any national ID, if ever mandated, would be obtained by
fulfilling similarly rigorous standards and conscientious processing. I bet it would set off leftists and libertarian-leaning
rightists BIG TIME though, for different reasons: leftists would want lax standards and libertarians would oppose the notion
per
se
.
High profile attorney means possible troubles for Dominion and its lobbyists. such layers ten
not leave a single stone unturned, which is not in Dominion best interest. Emails will definitely
be subpoenaed and judging from the behaviour of one Dominion executive they were not too
careful.
I kel the joke "Are their lawyers also going to argue that no reasonable person would believe
Fox news?"
Fox News has hired two high-profile defense attorneys to combat a $1.6 billion lawsuit filed
against it by voting technology company Dominion.
The media outlet disclosed in a court filing that it had Charles Babcock and Scott Keller
for its defense. Fox News confirmed the hirings to The Hill.
... ... ...
Fox News Media told The Hill after Dominion filed its suit that it is "proud of our 2020
election coverage, which stands in the highest tradition of American journalism, and will
vigorously defend against this baseless lawsuit in court."
And yet discovery will be very interesting, and Fox News is now pitted against Dominion,
and their best way to defend themselves is to show that the criticisms were legitimate...
Fox can now subpoena anything relevant from Dominion, and Dominion has to comply or be
criminally prosecuted...
There is not much to discover with Dominion. It mainly functions like a windows 10
computer. so it is hackable. It is very easy to install fraudulent software on these
machines
See Harryi Hursti KILL CHAIN: THE CYBERWAR ON AMERICA'S ELECTIONS and look at his
affidavit See "Investigators for Attorney DePernoReportedly Discover Modem Chips Embedded in
Michigan Voting System Computer Motherboards" via today on theGatewayPundit
When testifying before the MI legislature, the Dominion CEO recommended that a full
forensic audit be ordered if voters suspect that these machines were connected to the
internet.
On Dec 1 election officials deleted the electronic voting data in violation of state
la
Sidney Powell lit a fuse. She woke the Republicans and others who want election integrity,
so the Democrats won't be able to steal any more. At least not with the same tactics
Lou Dobbs might have gotten confused once. I believe he said that an affidavit that
criticized Smartmatic had instead criticized Dominion. However, there are so many problems
with Dominion, I would consider it to be an immaterial mistake. After all these machines
appear to be unusable:
[Vote counting machines] "presents serious system security vulnerability and
operational issues that may place plaintiffs and other voters at risk of
deprivation of their fundamental right to cast an effective vote that is
accurately counted," U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg wrote in a Oct 2020
Electionic vote counting machines were banned in France, Ireland and the in
the Netherlands via Gateway Pundit because they were unreliable.
The Gateway pundit could be sued if they make false statements.
via Twitter:
Elections Canada @ElectionsCan_E
· Nov 16
Elections Canada does not use Dominion Voting Systems. We use paper ballots counted by
hand in front of scrutineers and have never used voting machines or electronic tabulators to
count votes in our
100-year history. #CdnPoli
It is very easy to install fraudulent software on these machines See Harryi Hursti on
seeKILL CHAIN: THE CYBERWAR ON AMERICA'S
ELECTIONS and look at his affidavit
The actual claim is here (400+ pages):
www DOT documentcloud DOT org/documents/20527880-dominion-v-fox-news-complaint
These lawyers have their work cut out for them. As explained in the claim, Dominion
contacted Fox multiple times after the first accusations. They provided Fox with independent
assessments and other evidence that their systems were sound. Fox ignored it, never mentioned
this and continued presenting that Dominion systems were fraudulent (and stated that as a
fact, not as an opinion).
Once again, FOX News will likely claim that they are an entertainment network, not a
news agency ... and therefore they should not be expected to propagate facts on their
broadcasts.
Dominion fights as its image was damaged and it has deep pockets. But how valid are their
claim is for the court to decide. In no way they are as clean as they pretend. Their connection
Dem party operatives is probably provable beyond reasonable doubt. The whole story with Dominion
replacing Diebold on this business is murky to the extreme.
Roger Parloff · Contributor Tue, April
13, 2021, 5:06 AM · 22 min read
... "Instantly," said Steven
Bellovin , a professor of computer science at Columbia University with almost 40 years of
experience in computer networking and security. That's how long it took him to realize, he said
in an interview, that a certain purported spreadsheet that I showed him was "not just fake, but
a badly generated fake by someone who didn't know what they were doing."
The spreadsheet, together with an animated film that was said to illustrate its data, formed
the crux of a nearly two-hour "docu-movie," called "Absolute Proof," which aired at least 13
times last February on the One America News Network. The movie, presented in a news magazine
format, was hosted, co-produced, and relentlessly flacked by Mike Lindell, the irrepressible
CEO of MyPillow, Inc. It purported to furnish absolute proof that the 2020 presidential
election was stolen from then-President Donald Trump in an international cyberattack exploiting
vulnerabilities in voting-machine software that had been intentionally designed to rig
elections.
Dominion Voting Systems, which makes voting technology, filed a $1.3 billion defamation suit
against Lindell and his company in late February -- the third of four massive cases it has
filed since the election -- in part because of "Absolute Proof," which referenced Dominion more
than 40 times. (An in-depth analysis of Dominion's suits over bogus election-fraud claims, as
well as one brought by a rival voting-device company, Smartmatic, is provided in an earlier
story I wrote
here .)
The column is extremely week and fragments are republished here for the sole purpose to
critique/
I think Dean Baker is very superficial here. Dominion is a corporation business model of
which is based on lobbying Congress and states. It is definitely closely connected to the
Democratic Party apparatchiks. This is a very questionable model. So now it tried to present
being White Knight defending itself again absurd claims like Hugo Chaves claim. This does not
change the nature of their business. In reality this is two dirty persons struggling in a mud
peat.
Also the key question remains unanswered: are Dominion machines do any good to the USA voting
system? If yes, then defending itself makes some positive sense. If not, why bother?
...Hugo Chavez, the former president of Venezuela who has been dead for eight years, figures
prominently in many of the stories. Nonetheless, many Fox News viewers believe them.
For a voting machine manufacturer, the claim that your machines are rigged is pretty much a
textbook definition of a damaging statement. Therefore, Dominion should have a pretty solid
case.
Sullivan doesn't dispute any of this, instead, she points out that libel or defamation suits
can also be used against news outlets doing serious reporting. She highlights the case of
Reveal, a nonprofit news outfit that is dedicated to investigative reporting. Reveal was nearly
forced out of business due to the cost of defending itself against a charity that it exposed as
being run by a cult. Sullivan's takeaway is that defamation lawsuits can be used as a weapon
against legitimate news organizations doing serious reporting.
Sullivan is right on this point, but wrong in understanding the implications. Every
civil course of action can be abused by those with money to harm people without substantial
resources. There are tens of thousands of frivolous tort cases filed every year, but would
anyone argue that we should deny people the right to sue a contractor that mistakenly sets
their customer's house on fire? The same applies to suits for breach of contract. If I pay
someone $10,000 in advance to paint my house and they don't do it, should I not be able to sue
to get my money back?
... ... ...
The reality is that our legal system can be abused by the powerful to harm those with
less power. That is the result of the enormous disparities of income and power in this country,
and the inadequate shields against abuse in the legal system...
The World Health Organization recently published its report on the
origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus which has caused the Covid-19 pandemic. Most scientist agree
that the virus is of zoonotic origin and not a human construct or an accidental laboratory
escape. But the U.S. wants to put pressure on China and advised the Director General of the
WHO, Tedros Adhanom, to keep the focus on China potential culpability. He acted accordingly
when he
remarked on his agency's report:
Although the team has concluded that a laboratory leak is the least likely hypothesis, this
requires further investigation, potentially with additional missions involving specialist
experts, which I am ready to deploy.
The Governments of Australia, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Israel, Japan, Latvia,
Lithuania, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Slovenia, the United Kingdom, and the United
States of America remain steadfast in our commitment to working with the World Health
Organization (WHO), international experts who have a vital mission, and the global
community to understand the origins of this pandemic in order to improve our collective
global health security and response. Together, we support a transparent and independent
analysis and evaluation, free from interference and undue influence, of the origins of the
COVID-19 pandemic. In this regard, we join in expressing shared concerns regarding the
recent WHO-convened study in China, while at the same time reinforcing the importance of
working together toward the development and use of a swift, effective, transparent,
science-based, and independent process for international evaluations of such outbreaks of
unknown origin in the future.
The most interesting with the above statement is the list of U.S. allied countries which
declined to support it,
Most core EU countries, especially France, Spain, Italy and Germany, are missing from it.
As is the Five-Eyes member New Zealand. India, a U.S. ally in the anti-Chinese Quad
initiative, also did not sign. This list of signatories of the Joint Statement is an
astonishingly meager result for a U.S. 'joint' initiative. It is unprecedented. It is a sign
that something has cracked and that the world will never be the same.
The first months of he Biden administration saw a rupture in the global system. First
Russia admonished the EU for its hypocritical criticism of internal Russian issues. Biden
followed up by calling Putin a 'killer'. Then the Chinese foreign minister told the Biden
administration
to shut the fuck up about internal Chinese issues. Soon thereafter Russia's and China's
foreign ministers met and agreed to deepen their alliance and to shun the U.S. dollar. Then
China's foreign minister went on a wider Middle East tour. There he reminded U.S. allies of
their
sovereignty :
Wang said that expected goals had been achieved with regard to a five-point initiative on
achieving security and stability in the Middle East, which was proposed during the visit.
"China supports countries in the region to stay impervious to external pressure and
interference, to independently explore development paths suited to its regional realities
," Wang said, adding that the countries should " break free from the shadows of big-power
geopolitical rivalry and resolve regional conflicts and differences as masters of the
region ."
Suffice to say, the China-Iran pact deeply is embedded within a new matrix Beijing hopes to
create with the Arab states of the Persian Gulf and Iran. The pact forms part of a new
narrative on regional security and stability.
Countries in Asia and further afield are closely watching the development of this
alternative international order, led by Moscow and Beijing. And they can also recognise the
signs of increasing US economic and political decline.
It is a new kind of Cold War, but not one based on ideology like the first incarnation.
It is a war for international legitimacy, a struggle for hearts and minds and money in the
very large part of the world not aligned to the US or NATO.
The US and its allies will continue to operate under their narrative, while Russia and
China will push their competing narrative. This was made crystal clear over these past few
dramatic days of major power diplomacy.
The global balance of power is shifting, and for many nations, the smart money might be
on Russia and China now.
The obvious U.S. countermove to the Russian-Chinese initiative is to unite its allies in a
new Cold War against Russia and China. But as the Joint Statement above shows most of those
allies do not want to follow that path. China is a too good customer to be shunned. Talk of
human rights in other countries might play well with the local electorate but what counts in
the end is the business.
Even some U.S. companies can see that the hostile path the Biden administration has
followed will only be to their detriment. Some are asking the Biden gang to
tone it down :
[Boeing] Chief Executive Dave Calhoun told an online business forum he believed a major
aircraft subsidy dispute with Europe could be resolved after 16 years of wrangling at the
World Trade Organization, but contrasted this with the outlook on China.
"I think politically (China) is more difficult for this administration and it was for
the last administration. But we still have to trade with our largest partner in the world:
China," he told the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Aviation Summit.
Noting multiple disputes, he added: " I am hoping we can sort of separate intellectual
property, human rights and other things from trade and continue to encourage a free trade
environment between these two economic juggernauts. ... We cannot afford to be locked out
of that market. Our competitor will jump right in."
Before its 737 MAX debacle Boeing was the biggest U.S. exporter and China was its biggest
customer. The MAX has yet to be re-certified in China. If Washington keeps the hostile tone
against China Boeing will lose out and Europe's Airbus will make a killing.
Biden announced that "America is back" only to be told that it is no longer needed in the
oversized role that it played before. Should Washington not be able to accept that it can no
play 'unilateral' but will have to follow the real rules of international law we might be in
for some
interesting times :
Question: Finally, are you concerned that deteriorating international tensions could lead
to war?
Glenn Diesen: Yes, we should all be concerned. Tensions keep escalating and there are
increasing conflicts that could spark a major war. A war could break out over Syria,
Ukraine, the Black Sea, the Arctic, the South China Sea and other regions.
What makes all of these conflicts dangerous is that they are informed by a
winner-takes-all logic. Wishful thinking or active push towards a collapse of Russia,
China, the EU or the U.S. is also an indication of the winner-takes-all mentality. Under
these conditions, the large powers are more prepared to accept greater risks at a time when
the international system is transforming . The rhetoric of upholding liberal democratic
values also has clear zero-sum undertones as it implies that Russia and China must accept
the moral authority of the West and commit to unilateral concessions.
The rapidly shifting international distribution of power creates problems that can only
be resolved with real diplomacy. The great powers must recognize competing national
interests, followed by efforts to reach compromises and find common solutions.
Russia's president Vladimir Putin has repeatedly asked
for a summit of leaders of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council:
Putin argued that the countries that created a new global order after World War II should
cooperate to solve today's problems.
"The founder countries of the United Nations, the five states that hold special
responsibility to save civilisation, can and must be an example," he said at the sombre
memorial ceremony.
The meeting would "play a great role in searching for collective answers to modern
challenges and threats," Putin said, adding that Russia was "ready for such a serious
conversation."
Such a summit would be a chance to work on a new global system that avoids unilateralism
and block mentality. As the U.S. is now learning that its allies are not willing to follow
its anti-China and anti-Russia policies it might be willing to negotiate over a new
international system.
But as long as Washington is unable to recognize its own decline a violent attempt to
solve the issue once and for all will become more likely.
Posted by b on April 1, 2021 at 17:52 UTC |
Permalink
Very thought provoking b, I wish time off brought me back firing on all cylinders like
this!
No doubt vk will chime in here better than I but it surely cannot be a matter of "if
America decides". There are historical forces at work in this financialized phase of late
capitalism that are not grasped by the US leadership, let alone factored into intelligent
policy debates. Biden is an arch-lobbyist for the vested interests which compel the US's
unilateral and interventionist foreign policy. I'm quite sure he is incapable of 'deciding'
anything (not just mentally but institutionally). But the underlying dynamic of
world-historical change is beyond him and his whole country. The die was cast long ago when
the Soviet Union fell and the US couldn't help themselves. Junkies for unilateralism since
1989, they will keep shooting up until they OD (Boeing notwithstanding...). I suspect they
will end up like the schizoid UK, psychologically unable to accept increasing and humiliating
losses of empire until it hits the bottom of the dustbin of History.
The US-China meeting in Anchorage took place 75 years almost to the day of the Winston
Iron Curtain speech in Fulton, Missouri. Just as the latter signalled a break point in the
uneasy, war forced cohabit of the West with the communist Soviet Union, so too the Anchorage
will enter the history as the break point in the US hegemony threatening collaboration of the
West and China.
Since WW2, no other nation, not even Russia, has confronted the US so firmly and so
publicly as did Yang Jiechi, one of the ruling member of the Chinese Politburo when he said
that "the United States does not have the qualification to speak to China from a position of
strength'.
That was a slap in the face the Americans will have to respond to, and it's in the nature
of the response one will find whether the American Governing elite is prepared to share power
or go for a confrontation.
The real question is not about his neocon delusions, which are pretty predictable, but about
the ability for the USA project global dominance in the decade to come.
Blinken is a marionette. And pretty much second rate even in that.
Notable quotes:
"... Let's consider this headline for a moment: "Blinken Accuses China of Trying to Undermine US-Dominated World Order." Blinken provides us with a definition of that "world order" in his own words cited in the article: "'... preserve the rules-based international order, in which we have all invested so much over the past 75 years , and which has served our interests and values well'." [My Emphasis] ..."
Let's consider
this headline for a moment: "Blinken Accuses China of Trying to Undermine US-Dominated
World Order." Blinken provides us with a definition of that "world order" in his own words
cited in the article: "'... preserve the rules-based international order, in which we have
all invested so much over the past 75 years , and which has served our interests and
values well'." [My Emphasis]
Clearly, he's referring to the rules put in place by the UN Charter. But as we at this bar
all know, it's the Outlaw US Empire for whom Blinken works that's the #1 criminal when it
comes to violating the UN Charter which is why it's "served our interests and values
well."
Now when we turn to reality, it become very clear that China seeks to uphold the UN
Charter--it's one of the foundational members of the newly established Friends of the UN
Charter Group that the Outlaw US Empire will certainly snub because of the reality of its
actual relations to that Act and Organization .
Indeed, what is being said by the very formation of that Group is a big NO!! to the
Outlaw US Empire's attempt to say it abides by the system it's continuously violated for the
past 75+ years. Yet, it's also clear that NO!! isn't being shouted out by global media
enough, particularly when Outlaw US Empire officials give such an excellent opportunity to be
rebuffed and ridiculed for their lies.
We have many good writers here who could take Blinken's words and turn them into an
indictment of himself and the nation he represents. That implies that writers for global
publications are just as good but need to examine the framing of their articles. Peace won't
come to our planet unless the Outlaw Bully Nation is daily accused for what it is and
does.
NATO is a distinct minority yet it holds the world captive in a terroristic manner. It's
well past time to stop groveling and kow-towing and to stand-up and call out the bullshitters
for what they are since being nice isn't getting us anywhere.
To go back to a previous BTL discussion on Patrick Cockburns recent article in
Counterpunch, Bidens missteps so early on are a very worrying indicator that his foreign
policy team is worse than just being malign. They are incompetent. Thats a very dangerous
combination.
I don't think the Russians, Chinese, or most other major countries (apart from Europe) had
a fundamental problem with Trumps approach. They understood him, and were quite happy to
ignore his bombast and threats and focus instead on what was happening in the real world. But
things are different for someone like Biden, and I'm very surprised nobody in his team seem
to realise this. When he talks on the record, its assumed that it is a reflection of a real
policy. At first, I thought maybe he was just doing the usual new guy in power thing of
talking tough to set the ground for later compromises (the opposite of Obama, who appeared
very weak to other leaders, and then just looked indecisive when his policies turned more
hardline). But that does not seem to be the case so far.
I've no idea what the final outcome will be, but I do think that this is one of those
points in history where things take a very sharp and irreparable change in direction.
Obviously, things have been brewing for years, but the ineptness of US foreign policy seems
to have created a strategic Russian/China alliance which will force many countries to make
some very hard choices about which side of the fence they are on.
On a related note, I woke up this morning to find that a speech by Lawrence P. Wilkerson,
who is associated with the conservative paleoconservatives is getting very wide circulation
in China (you know this has to be officially approved otherwise it disappears very rapidly on
WeChat. He makes a claim that the CIA back in the early '00's intended to use the Uigurs as a
sort of proxy army to destabilise China. For all sorts of reasons, I would doubt that, but it
is now widely believed among Chinese people, even those who have no liking for the CCP. The
notion that the Uigurs are a sort of third force within China, and as such need to be
destroyed now seems to be very deeply embedded in Chinese thinking, and the interference by
'official' western NGO's are undoubtedly making things much worse for them.
"[Wilkerson] makes a claim that the CIA back in the early '00's intended to use the Uigurs
as a sort of proxy army to destabilise China. For all sorts of reasons, I would doubt that,
but it is now widely believed among Chinese people, even those who have no liking for the
CCP."
Just curious as to what your reasons would be for doubting this. The CIA has been doing
precisely this all over the world for over 70 years. There is a clear pipeline between the
Uighurs in China and the CIA-supported "rebels" in Syria. The expatriate Uighur organizations
that are integral to the Western propaganda apparatus is supported and amplified by the NED
and other CIA fronts, as your last sentence implies. This is not to deny the historical
Uighur desire for autonomy in Western China, nor to defend Chinese policies toward them.
Rather, it is to acknowledge the CIA's use of ethnic tensions to sow chaos and division in
non-conforming nations *everywhere*.
1. The US has had little to no success in its many attempts to establish an intelligence
foothold in China. There is zero evidence, direct or indirect, that it has had any successful
contact with Uigur groups directly, although contacts via others, such as the Pakistani or
Turkish intelligence agencies are possible. If there was even the tiniest amount of evidence
of such a link, the Chinese would be broadcasting it from the skies, and not just
re-messaging out tired CT stuff. Chinese intelligence is far ahead of the US in that region,
so they would certainly know if something like that was happening.
2. Uigur groups in general such as we know about them tend to be as virulently anti
Western as anti Han Chinese. All evidence suggests that the brand of Islam that has been
belatedly introduced into those regions is essentially second hand Wahhabism (traditionally,
they were never all that religious).
3. Any such attempt could be easily countered by China – simply by dumping Uigur
radicals into Afghanistan to bolster the Taliban, or anywhere else that would create trouble.
The fact that they haven't done this strongly suggests that the Chinese themselves see no
link.
4. US military intelligence is often a misnomer, but even the CIA can't be stupid enough
to think that fostering another islamic state on the borders of Afghanistan is anything but a
terrible idea.
Of course, no doubt some mid ranking CIA officer may have circulated some report saying
more or less 'hey, maybe we can use those Uighurs or whatever they are called'. But thats an
entirely different thing from suggesting that there have been active links and a strategy for
using them to destabilise the borders of China. The reality is that the US has been entirely
unsuccessful in any attempts (when they've been made) to undermine China via internal Chinese
ethnic or religious groups.
Incidentally, the reliability of Wilkerson (who I actually quite like and who says some
interesting things), on that topic can be measured by his statement that the invasion of
Afghanistan was motivated by an attempt to stop the Belt and Road Initiative. It's quite
impressive intelligence if that was the case as the invasion predated the Belt and Road
Initiative by more than a decade.
Yes, I think the important point is your last one. It's not out of the question that on a
rainy afternoon in Virginia some junior CIA analyst amused himself by sketching out such an
idea, and one day the product may leak and be presented as "proof." But for the reasons you
give, the political leaders who would have to approve the scheme would turn it down, even if
it were physically possible. I doubt it would be, actually: from what little information is
publicly available, the US seems to be having little or no luck penetrating that area.
Thanks for the systematic reply. I appreciate each of your points, and pretty much agree
with the first one – including your comment about Turkish intelligence. But regarding
the others, the fact that we are talking about anti-Western Wahabist radicals does not mean
the CIA (or elements of the CIA or other military/intelligence operations) would hesitate to
weaponize them if possible. We did this in Afghanistan, Bosina, Kosovo, Iraq, Syria, Libya,
Chechnya etc. Indeed, we seemed to *welcome* the fostering of an Islamic State in Eastern
Syria, because the various jihadists were a means to destroy the Syrian government. When the
goal is to foster chaos and destruction in order to *undermine* an existing state, the
calculus of unleashing the head-choppers is different than if we were actually interested in
fostering stability in the region. I admit that such a strategy might sound insane to *us*,
but Einstein's definition of insanity seems to rule our National Security Establishment.
Not PK, but I would suggest these cases are not only different from each other, but also
different from the Uigurs. Essentially, there was a war going on in all of these cases, and
the US (and they were scarcely the only ones) decided to try to get a bit of influence by
arming one or more of the factions. This is a tactic which is as old as arms themselves, and
has a pretty spotty record of success, if that. Its advantage is that it is low-key and
doesn't require a massive presence (the classic case is the Soviet Union and the Chinese
flooding Africa with AK-47s and copies in the 1960s and 1970s). But the cases you mention are
very disparate. In Bosnia there do seem to have been some (illegal) CIA deliveries to the
Muslims in violation of the embargo, but these were very small scale and in any event the
Muslims were one of the major parties to the conflict, as well as constituting the de facto
government in Sarajevo, because the other ethnicities had withdrawn. Likewise, and in spite
of preening memoirs and films, the US influence in Afghanistan was quite small : the
mujahideen were already forming in the 1970s, and the only contribution the US really made
was to supply anti-aircraft missiles, which complicated the Russians' existence quite a bit.
But actually fomenting and arming an insurgency next to one of the three or four major powers
on the planet, with highly skilled intelligence services? There is stupidity and there's
downright insanity.
I the 1950s, the CIA and MI6 trained and armed the "Forest Brothers" in the Baltics.
Neutral Sweden and Finland were across hundreds of km of water. Land access was through
Soviet territory or satellites. There was no significant international trade or commerce in
the area at the time. Yet they had tens of thousands of well supplied (for that era)
resistance fighters that took a decade for the USSR to stomp out.
To suggest that today's CIA is incapable of stirring things up in a well-connected
Xinjiang when thousands of foreigners travel there, tons of business shipments and
international flights and road transport is a mystifying statement. Particularly after CIA's
decades of experience managing jihadis all across North Africa, Mideast and Central Asia,
more than a few being Uigurs.
And suggesting that the only thing the US supplied the Afghan jihadis were Stinger
missiles is far off the mark. It was a multi-billion dollar per year operation conducted by
the US with collaboration of the ISI and Saudis. All those tens of thousands of jihadis
didn't arrive by camels and make slingshots.
I agree "There is stupidity and there's downright insanity" in fomenting troubles in
Xinjiang. The US has already passed that test. Many times.
We are three generations past the 1950s. Not a relevant example.
The US is not even remotely as good as you'd have to believe to accept this theory. For
starters, we don't begin to have enough people with native level language competence, much
the less willing to live there long enough to be trusted. They'll take our arms, but our
directives?
It is in the interest of the CIA to take credit for all sorts of things where their role
was non-existent to marginal because funding.
I can't claim any great knowledge or insight into the region, but the notion that the
Uighurs were part of a grand CIA strategy, or that they have had sufficient influence in the
region to manipulate them into opposing China, just doesn't pass the smell test.
Unfortunately, like the notion that Covid is spread on frozen food, so far as I can tell it
is now considered 'a fact' by most Chinese, inside and outside the country. As a result, even
Chinese who strongly dislike their government are not at all bothered by reports coming out
of the region.
For what its worth, I knew an English guy who lived for a few years in Urumqi with his
Chinese wife about 15 years ago. He was virulently anti-muslim and didn't much like the
non-Chinese locals he met, but I remember at the time that said that what he saw around him
convinced him that things were going to end very badly for the Uighurs, the Chinese were just
waiting for the opportunity to wipe them out. I was in Tibet at that period (I was fortunate
to get a visa on the last year solo traveller were allowed in) and witnessed the way Tibetans
were openly abused on the street by Chinese soldiers. Even Tibetans said that the Uighurs got
it worse.
The US government and privately motivated US citizens have no credibility on this issue.
That means if anyone is going to raise it, it will have to be someone other than America or
Americans.
That doesn't change the fact of Great Han Lebensraum genocide-policy against the Uighurs
on the part of the Chinese Communazi Party. And Chinese statements about their Lebensraum
genocide against Uighuria are just as much hasbara as Israeli statements about
antiPalestinianitic persecution in the Occupied West Bank.
And if that purely-private opinion of a mere U S citizen makes any Great Han hasbarists (
or might I say . . . Hansbarists) on this thread mad, then that makes me happy.
Your friend was English; I have not seen this attitude on the part of Chinese friends or
Chinese I've talked with. I was traveling on a domestic flight in China a number of years ago
and found myself sitting on a plane next to a random Chinese soldier -- a memorably tall,
handsome young man. He spoke English well enough to have a discussion (the relaxed atmosphere
and the need to pass the time does wonders when it comes to breaking down language barriers).
Major Uighur terror attacks and unrest had been in the news (around 2009), so I asked him
what he thought about it. He said that he grew up in Xinjiang. His parents were Han Chinese
who had first come to Xinjiang during the cultural revolution to build some local
infrastructure/improvement project (he described it to me but I don't remember the details).
They saw their goal as improving conditions in the region. Of course, the government wanted
to solidify Chinese presence in that region of their country, but I heard no hint of anger or
derision toward the Uighur. He said he was very concerned that the Uighur people were happy
and he hoped China could find a way to mend the relationship. He said that growing up, there
were many mixed Chinese/Han marriages and that "people say" that mixed Han/Uighur marriages
produced the most physically beautiful children. I didn't see any evidence of the malignant
racism you describe on the part of your English friend.
Strong central governments vs violent separatist movements tend to create lasting
problems. Growing up in a border state over 100 years after our own civil war, I grew up with
the fact that many people had still not let go of that resentment. Southerners still
maintained a sense of grievance back then. The Maryland state song that I learned as a child
is only now being decommissioned by the state legislature. One stanza refers to the "Northern
scum".
This week's WaPo headline: "Maryland poised to say goodbye to state song that celebrates
the Confederacy".
If your Han Chinese interlocutor's feelings are widely shared among the ruled-over rather
than ruling-over ordinary majority of Han citizens, then it would appear that it is the
MonoParty RegimeGovernment ruling over China which is Communazi, not the people as such.
Regardless, it will be up to countrygovs which have moral standing in this area to comment
or not, not the US anymore. At least for now.
Probably the Uighurs have it even worse than Tibetans because Uighuria is very inhabitable
by Han settlers whereas Tibet is high and dry enough that ( I have read), that
lowland-adapted Hans have trouble physically coping over time with the lower oxygen levels at
Tibet altitude.
If that is so, then the High Tibetan Plateau at least would not provide Lebensraum for
millions of Han Settlers in any case, so why clear the Tibetans off the plateau and out of
existence? Not so much need, in Tibet's case.
@PlutoniumKun
I have no knowledge about points 1 to 3, but totally disagree with point 4.
The hubris and desire of the US alphabet agencies to meddle is remarkable. A current example
is the CIA support of jihadis in Syria that the US military itself is fighting against.
Interesting caution re Wilkerson – do you have a link?
Here is a link to an article talking about that talk PK. Having a coupla thousand Uygurs
in Syria gaining combat experience for use later who knows where was probably proof enough
for China of western intentions. Just think of the other Jihadists who have been used in
places like Libya and the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war and the Chinese would be drawing their
own conclusions-
The Georgia GOP secretary of state who bucked Donald Trump is up against serious resistance
within his own party.
..."He's toast," said Jay Williams, a Georgia-based Republican strategist. "I don't know
that there's a single elected official who would put their neck out for Brad Raffensperger
right now."
Not everyone in state political circles is convinced Raffensperger's political plight is so
grim. Some still see a path to reelection, despite the serious resistance within his own
party.
Either way, as the GOP forges its post-Trump era identity, Raffensperger's reelection
campaign is emerging as one of the earliest and most contentious test cases for the direction
of the party.
...Jason Shepherd, the chair of the Republican Party in Cobb County, Georgia, said he has
friends who are "completely uninvolved in politics" who tell him "there is no way they are
going to vote to reelect Raffensperger."
That sentiment, he said, is coming from "the type of person you're almost surprised they
know the name of the secretary of state."
Earlier this week, Rep. Jody Hice, a defender of Trump's effort to overturn the election,
announced he's running with Trump's
endorsement to unseat Raffensperger. And the Georgia Republican Party isn't exactly
sitting on the sidelines.
The state executive committee publicly called this week on Raffensperger to repudiate his staff for misquoting Trump's words in a December phone call in which Trump urged a Georgia
elections official to find "dishonesty" in the vote in an attempt to reverse the election
results.
The party said Raffensperger has "dodged repeated attempts" by committee members to discuss
the issue with him.
Closer to home, Raffensperger failed this past weekend to get Republicans in his own
precinct to elect him as a delegate to his county's upcoming Republican Party convention, said
Stewart Bragg, executive director of the Georgia Republican Party. After Raffensperger wrote a
letter asking to be elected, no one at the precinct meeting moved to nominate him, Bragg
said.
In a statement, the chair of the Fulton County Republican Party, Trey Kelly, said he was
unaware of any letter from Raffensperger, adding that, "like many others who did not attend
Saturday, he was not added to the delegate or alternate list for the county convention." A
person close to Raffensperger also denied that he sent a letter seeking election.
His representatives otherwise declined to comment for this story, pointing to
Raffensperger's past public statements.
Raffensperger's official responsibilities have also been targeted by Republicans in the
state. On Thursday, the Republican-controlled state legislature passed a law, signed by Georgia
GOP Gov. Brian Kemp, that removes the secretary of state as the state election board chair -- to be replaced
by a person approved by the state legislature.
The law, in effect, hands control of the five-person board over to the state legislature:
Two other members on the board are picked by the respective legislative chambers. The law also
gives the state election board the ability to suspend county election officials, who are
replaced by an individual picked by the board.
... ... ...
Raffensperger has joined the chorus of Republicans across the country in opposing H.R. 1, or
the For the People Act, congressional Democrats' sweeping piece of legislation that would
drastically remake most aspects of federal elections, penning an op-ed in USA Today on Friday that says the bill makes "reckless demands
of Georgia's elections system."
At the same time, Raffensperger has been harshly critical of the falsehoods about the 2020
election promoted by Trump and embraced by Hice, saying voters will punish Hice because of
it.
On Dec. 22, Coomer filed a
defamation suit in Denver state court , seeking unspecified damages, against Oltmann and 14
others, including the Trump Campaign; Giuliani; Powell; the One America News Network (OAN); OAN
chief White House correspondent Chanel Rion; Newsmax Media; Newsmax contributor Michelle
Malkin; The Gateway Pundit website; and radio and podcast host Eric Metaxas.
The Russian government is
responding angrily to Biden's derisive comments about Putin:
The Kremlin has reacted angrily to US President Joe Biden's remarks that Russian leader
Vladimir Putin is "a killer," calling the comment unprecedented and describing the
relationship between the two countries as "very bad."
U.S.-Russian relations have been deteriorating steadily over the last ten years, and it
always seemed unlikely that Biden would improve them. Now there will be even less of a chance
that Biden can work constructively with his Russian counterpart. The president's blunt answer
to a rather silly question from George Stephanopoulos has further damaged the relationship to
neither country's benefit. Anatol Lieven
observed recently that this is a "completely unnecessary confrontation with Russia" at a
time when the U.S. needs Russian cooperation on some important issues. Lieven cites U.S.
reentry into the JCPOA and extricating U.S. forces from Afghanistan as his examples of issues
where Russian cooperation could be very valuable, but he could have added new negotiations on
future arms control agreements as well. Making progress on any one of these becomes much more
challenging when our president is gratuitously insulting theirs. For an administration that
prides itself on practicing diplomacy, they have a funny way of showing it.
The Joseph Biden administration has named Richard Nephew as its deputy Iran envoy. As the
former principal deputy coordinator of sanctions policy for Barack Obama's State Department,
Nephew took personal credit for depriving Iranians of food, sabotaging their automobile
industry, and driving up unemployment rates.
Nephew has described the destruction of Iran's economy as "a tremendous success," and
lamented during a visit to Russia that food was still plentiful in the country's capital
despite mounting US sanctions.
Nephew's appointment to a senior diplomatic post suggests that rather than immediately
returning to the JCPOA nuclear deal, the Biden administration will finesse sanctions
illegally imposed by Trump to pressure Iran into an onerous, reworked agreement that Tehran
is unlikely to join.
Nephew's "simple framework" for "sanctions to perform their expected function" reads like
a torturer's manual (replace "target state" with "prisoner"):
- identify objectives for the imposition of pain and define the minimum necessary remedial
steps that the target state must take for pain to be removed
- understand as much as possible the nature of the target, including its vulnerabilities,
interests, commitment to whatever it did to prompt sanctions, and readiness to absorb
pain
-develop a strategy to carefully, methodically, and efficiently increase pain on those
areas that are vulnerabilities while avoiding those that are not
-monitor the execution of the strategy and continuously recalibrate its initial assumption
of target state resolve, the efficacy of the pain applied in shattering that resolve, and how
best to improve the strategy
Combatting malign influences in the Americas: OGA (Office of Global Affairs) used
diplomatic relations in the Americas region to mitigate efforts by states, including Cuba,
Venezuela, and Russia, who are working to increase their influence in the region to the
detriment of US safety and security. OGA coordinated with other U.S. government agencies to
strengthen diplomatic ties and offer technical and humanitarian assistance to dissuade
countries in the region from accepting aid from these ill intentioned states. Examples
include using OGA's Health Attaché office to persuade Brazil to reject the Russian
COVID-19 vaccine, and offering CDC technical assistance in lieu of Panama accepting an offer
of Cuban doctors.
Blinken, like his boss, is a complete moron. He blew it with his patronising threatening
'rules based order' drivel because he has no expertise. Blinken has been doing this for a
decade or two: Syria, Libya, Turkey, Afghanistan, Iran, and on and on. He has the form of a
killer, the mind of a killer and the intentions of a mass murderer. He has proven the latter
and is the type of global ambassadorial psychopath that one should meet with once and then
never meet again.
The USA has lost its mind and every day that passes proves that point.
This bar deserves broader analysis of other quarters of the planet and no more references
to the Guardian or NYT.
Biden under pressure to tap fewer political ambassadors than Trump, Obama
Donors are growing impatient as Biden delays naming coveted ambassador posts.
I know that the United States and its leaders are determined to maintain certain relations
with us, but on matters that are of interest to the United States and on its terms. Even
though they believe we are just like them, we are different. We have a different genetic,
cultural and moral code. But we know how to uphold our interests. We will work with the
United States, but in the areas that we are interested in and on terms that we believe are
beneficial to us. They will have to reckon with it despite their attempts to stop our
development, despite the sanctions and insults. They will have to reckon with this.
The author provides basic but essential definition of conflict resolution. The USians either
don't understand or defy it.
Your link to statement by Blinken & Sullivan is propaganda as you say. It is also an
expression of how deeply limited and very stupid these two are. They have no idea what just
hit them.
"... I'm surprised Republicans haven't done as much to sink the Libertarian Party. ..."
"... The Ballot Marking Devices section in essence legalizes election theft.) ..."
"... The dems carried AZ and PA AFTER they got the Greens removed from the ballot in both states. It tells you all you need to know about the Democratic Party and "free elections". ..."
H.R.1 (the " For the People Act ") is the
enormous election law reform bill just passed by the House and sent to the Senate. (The PDF has
791 pages.)
Black Agenda Report describes the 2019 version as "a sleazy ghetto ice cream truckload of
empty promises."
Associated Press uses more measured language:
House Resolution 1, which touches on virtually every aspect of the electoral process, was
approved on a near party-line 220-210 vote. It would restrict partisan gerrymandering of
congressional districts, strike down hurdles to voting and bring transparency to a murky
campaign finance system that allows wealthy donors to anonymously bankroll political
causes.
The stakes in the outcome are monumental, cutting to the foundational idea that one person
equals one vote, and carrying with it the potential to shape election outcomes for years to
come. It also offers a test of how hard President Joe Biden and his party are willing to
fight for their priorities, as well as those of their voters.
This bill "will put a stop at the voter suppression that we're seeing debated right now,"
said Rep. Nikema Williams, a new congresswoman who represents the Georgia district that
deceased voting rights champion John Lewis held for years. "This bill is the 'Good Trouble'
he fought for his entire life."
To Republicans, however, it would give license to unwanted federal interference in states'
authority to conduct their own elections -- ultimately benefiting Democrats through higher
turnout, most notably among minorities.
Establish automatic voter registration at an array of state agencies; Establish same-day
voter registration; Allow online voter registration; Allow 16- and 17-year-olds to
pre-register so they'll be on the rolls when they turn 18; Allow state colleges and
universities to serve as registration agencies; Ban states from purging eligible voters'
registration simply for infrequent voting; Establish two weeks of in-person early voting,
including availability on Sundays and outside of normal business hours; Standardize hours
within states for opening and closing polling places on Election Day, with exceptions to let
cities set longer hours in municipal races; Require paper ballots filled by hand or machines
that use them as official records and let voters verify their choices; Grant funds to states
to upgrade their election security infrastructure; Provide prepaid postage on mail ballots;
Allow voters to turn in their mail ballot in person if they choose; Allow voters to track
their absentee mail ballots; Require states to establish nonpartisan redistricting
commissions for congressional redistricting (possibly not until the 2030s round of
redistricting); Establish nonpartisan redistricting criteria such as a partisan fairness
provision that courts can enforce starting immediately no matter what institution is drawing
the maps; End prison gerrymandering by counting prisoners at their last address (rather than
where they're incarcerated) for the purposes of redistricting; End felony disenfranchisement
for those on parole, probation, or post-sentence, and require such citizens to be supplied
with registration forms and informed their voting rights have been restored; Provide public
financing for House campaigns in the form of matching small donations at a six-for-one rate;
Expand campaign finance disclosure requirements to mitigate Citizens United ; Ban
corporations from spending for campaign purposes unless the corporation has established a
process for determining the political will of its shareholders; and Make it a crime to
mislead voters with the intention of preventing them from voting.
There's certainly a lot of good stuff here (though as readers know, I loathe early voting,
since it can only increase voting for Party, not candidate, and would prefer a system that
maximized in-person voting, with Election Day a national holiday, and hand-marked paper ballots
hand-counted in public. But I recognize this is an outlier's position). Whether the bill will
pass is, of course, another matter, given the
filibuster . In fact, the bill (
as BAR points out ) seems designed to have its various sections lifted out and turned into
standalone bills. From
Axios :
Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21 and a longtime proponent of campaign finance
reform, says Democrats have a 3 -- 5 year strategy for enacting the key elements of H.R. 1
.
So, we'll see. In this post, I will focus on concerns more familiar to NC readers: H.R.1's
shocking[1] legitimation of the Washington Post's McCarthyite PropOrNot debacle; its
institutionalization of Ballot Marking Devices (which are not the same as "hand-marked paper
ballots"), and its provisions to cripple third party formation and growth. I don't know if
these issues are deal-breakers for anyone, or anyone who matters, but I do know that the
mainstream has not raised them.
Legitimizing PropOrNot
From the
text of the bill , "Subtitle C -- Strengthening Oversight of Online Political Advertising,
SEC. 4203. FINDINGS":
(2) On November 24, 2016, The Washington Post reported findings from teams of independent
researchers that concluded Russians '' exploited American-made technology platforms to
attack U.S. democracy at a particularly vulnerable moment * * * as part of a broadly
effective strategy of sowing distrust in U.S. democracy and its leaders."
Frankly, I'm gobsmacked to find this quotation from WaPo codified as a Congressional Finding
and embodied in statutory language[2]. For those who came in late, I'll unpack my
gobsmackedness, beginning by quoting Craig Timberg's WaPo story, "
Russian propaganda effort helped spread 'fake news' during election, experts say, " which
was oddly[3] placed in the Business Section:
Two teams of independent researchers found that the Russians exploited American-made
technology platforms to attack U.S. democracy at a particularly vulnerable moment , as
an insurgent candidate harnessed a wide range of grievances to claim the White House.
One of those "teams" was PropOrNot:
PropOrNot's monitoring report, which was provided to The Washington Post in advance of its
public release, identifies more than 200 websites as routine peddlers of Russian propaganda
during the election season, with combined audiences of at least 15 million Americans. On
Facebook, PropOrNot estimates that stories planted or promoted by the disinformation campaign
were viewed more than 213 million times.
[A shady website, PropOrNot,] has compiled a blacklist of websites its anonymous authors
accuse of pushing fake news and Russian propaganda. The blacklist includes over 200 outlets,
from the right-wing Drudge Report and Russian government-funded Russia Today, to Wikileaks
and an array of marginal conspiracy and far-right sites. The blacklist also includes
some of the flagship publications of the progressive left, including Truthdig, Counterpunch,
Truthout, Naked Capitalism, and the Black Agenda Report , a leftist African-American
opinion hub that is critical of the liberal black political establishment.
It became apparent soon after that the Post had itself fallen for shoddy information. The
story relied heavily on a report by PropOrNot, an anonymous internet group that bills itself
as "Your Friendly Neighborhood Propaganda Identification Service, Since 2016!" While its
study claimed to show how a deliberate Russian effort had unduly influenced American public
opinion, it included in its calculations non-fake, left-wing sites like Naked Capitalism and
Truthdig, among others.
A number of those sites have objected to being included on PropOrNot's list, and some of
the sites, as well as others not on the list, have publicly challenged the group's
methodology and conclusions. The Post, which did not name any of the sites, does not
itself vouch for the validity of PropOrNot's findings regarding any individual media outlet,
nor did the article purport to do so [wowsers]. Since publication of The Post's story,
PropOrNot has removed some sites from its list.
So the story was . what? Some goons made a list the Post won't vouch for? Swell reporting
standards there[4]. You can't spell "McCarthy" without including " Marty ," I guess. And there the matter rested,
just one of those stupidities that our famously free press routinely emits. One might have
supposed it forgotten. Until the story appeared in the text of a bill House Democrats
passed!
(I) The voting system shall require the use of an individual, durable, voter-verified
paper ballot of the voter's vote that shall be marked and made available for inspection and
verification by the voter before the voter's vote is cast and counted, and which shall be
counted by hand or read by an optical character recognition device or other counting device.
For purposes of this subclause, the term 'individual, durable, voter-verified paper ballot'
means a paper ballot marked by the voter by hand or a paper ballot marked through the
use of a nontabulating ballot marking device or system , so long as the voter shall
have the option to mark his or her ballot by hand.
This language is extremely broken. Hand-marked paper ballot advocate Jenny Cohn suggests a
revision:
Los Angeles County's horrid VSAP system uses QR codes (
discussed at length here ). Here is why QR codes are both unauditable and (if the ballot
marking devices are hacked) enable election fraud by insiders:
Voter makes selections on touch-screen (software, hence buggy and insecure), selections
are stored (ditto) and printed out (ditto) on a page with a human-readable receipt reflecting
(one assumes) the touchscreen selections, and the ballot itself, which is the QR code, which
is not human-readable. The page is then scanned (ditto) and QR code is then tabulated
(ditto). The sleight of hand is, of course, the ballot itself. A human may think that their
reciept, which they can read to check that it matches what they selected on the touch screen,
also matches the QR code, which they cannot. But there's no reason on earth to think that!
And the unreadable QR code, since that is what is tabulated, is the ballot! Take the matter
out of the delusional digital realm. Suppose voting worked like this: You voted by
hand-marking a yellow paper ballot. You then handed the yellow paper ballot to an official
who, behind a screen so you could not see, marked a blue ballot that you could not read,
sealed it so you could not read it, and then handed the blue ballot back to you and told you
to put it in the ballot box, that's your vote. Does that make any sense? That is how a
"Ballot Marking Device" works.
In essence, ballots printed out by Ballot Marking Devices are not hand-marked ; the
digital (i.e., the hackable) interposes itself at every point: At the touchscreen, at the
printer, at the reader. And because the printed-out QR code is what is counted, the QR code
is the ballot . And since the QR code is not human-readable, voting is not transparent to
the slightest degree.[5] (The VSAP post describes many other problems with ballot marking
devices, but this is the most important.)
H.R. 1 contains a poison pill designed to reduce political competition and voter choice by
weakening minor parties, at exactly a time where, according to a recent Gallup poll,
support
for a third party is at an all-time high .
Ever since then-presidential candidate Barack Obama shunned the federal public
matching funds program in 2008 , among all parties' general election candidates, only
Green Party presidential nominees have applied for and qualified for these funds. H.R. 1
would solve this minor party/Green Party "problem" by raising the threshold to qualify for
matching funds beyond the realistic ability of Greens (and other minor party nominees) to
reach.
This move to disempower minor parties and their voters is cloaked within the promise of a
new and improved matching funds program, designed to entice major party candidates to opt
into the program, with the promise of substantially increased funding.
The current donation threshold to qualify for a 1:1 match is to raise at least $5,000 in
each of at least 20 states, in donations no larger than $250 each. The public already
supports funding minor party candidates under this formula. Green candidates Jill Stein
(2012, 2016) and Howie Hawkins (2020) each qualified for matching funds in the last three
cycles.
The new H.R. 1 threshold would replace the existing 1:1 match program with a 6:1 match,
but would
simultaneously increase the minimum amount of donations by 500% to a minimum of $25,000
in each of 20 states. It would also increase the minimum number of contributions to reach it
by 625%, by subtlety lowering the size of donations that can count toward reaching the
threshold from $250 to $200. This would make it even harder on minor party candidates -- who
are mostly excluded from candidate forums and media coverage and have a far smaller base of
well-funded donors to draw from -- by disqualifying 20% of the $250 donations they are able
to raise.
The real-world effect of eliminating the existing 1:1 threshold would be to eliminate a
matching funds threshold that is demonstrably reachable by minor party candidates and replace
it with a category reachable likely only by top-tier major party candidates. This
sleight-of-hand will lead people to think Democrats are for increased public funding, but
apparently only for themselves.
I was part of Jill Stein's campaign team in 2015-2016, and I can tell you we barely met
the old threshold in about 22 states. It was a near thing. Eliminating those federal matching
funds for a Green Party presidential campaign would mean all but certain erasure of the Green
Party from the ballot in a good dozen or more states for 2020, and maybe a dozen more in
2022. Since most states also require a presidential and/or US Senate nominee to appear at the
top of the ballot, HR 1 would prohibit the Green Party from running any local candidates in
states where a defunded Green Party's vote drops below a certain level, and it will plummet
if Green campaigns, which which accept no funding from corporations will be far less able to
hire staff or contractors and to perform the necessary functions of a campaign.
Hard to believe that Democrats would do such a thing deliberately, but here we are.
Conclusion
So these are the three flaws that I can see in H.R.1. Whether these flaws should be
sufficient to sink the bill, I don't know. Readers?
NOTES
[1] It does not speak well of our national security goons that this material still lives in
their institutional memory.
[2] A foreshadowing of RussiaGate, perhaps. It turns out that anonymous sources don't need a
layer of indirection, like a shady website. You can just quote them, and nobody calls you on
it.
[3] Timberg's story dropped on Thanksgiving Eve. We were told at the time by sources in a
position to know that his piece made it into the paper without being vetted by the national
security desk at which he once worked, which led to some fiery internal email exchanges at
WaPo.
[4] On the begrudging and sluggishly inserted Editor's Note, CJR
commented :
[T]he editor's note vaults into verbal gymnastics in an attempt to simultaneously
rationalize and distance itself from an obviously flawed primary source. Any data analysis is
only as good as the sum of its parts, and it's clear that PropOrNot's methodology was
lacking.
The Post, of course, was merely reporting what PropOrNot said. Yet it used declarative
language throughout, sans caveat, lending credence to a largely unknown organization that
lumps together independent left-wing publications and legitimately Russian-backed news
services. The Post diminished its credibility at a time when media credibility is in short
supply, and the non-apologetic editor's note doesn't help.
A Post spokeswoman declined to comment further on the episode, saying that the editor's
note speaks for itself.
Indeed!
[5] The hacker's exploit would make it so the human readable part of the ballot read as if
the voter voted for candidate A; but the QR code, that which, being tabulated, is the actual
ballot, would be for candidate B, or whatever else the hacker wanted it to be, like a spoiled
ballot.
I'm surprised Republicans haven't done as much to sink the Libertarian Party.
They can't really do that at this point. One effect of Obama and the Dems' criminal
complicity with Wall Street after the 2008 GFC was the Tea Party's rise as a reaction to that,
which in turn enabled Charles Koch -- a libertarian, NOT a Republican -- to pour money into
supporting Tea Party candidates.
As a result, Koch may effectively have a hold on a majority of the competent political
operators in the Republican party now. Thus, when Trump won in 2016, he was compelled to hire
people straight out of the Koch machine -- Pence, Kellyanne Conway, Pompeo, McCarthy, and
approximately 60 percent or more of the Trump administration's rank and file have CVs directly
attaching them to the Kochtopus if you investigate (and whenever an old-school Republican left,
the Koch people would move one of their one into that position as, forex, when Pompeo replaced
Tillerson).
One presumes Trump was too stupid to have figured this out. Anyway, Koch overall now has a
more sophisticated political machine than the Republican party as a whole. It's easy to assume
Charles Koch is some kind of standard evil capitalist Richie Rich born with a silver spoon in
his mouth. In fact, he's highly intelligent with two MIT master's engineering degrees, one in
nuclear and one in chemical engineering, and his companies were among the first American
companies to integrate computers into their operations back in the 1970s. Thus, when you heard
all the squawking about Cambridge Analytica, and the Mercers and Steve Bannon subverting
democracy, the reality is that Koch has operated an electoral data-collection and targeting
company called i360 doing all the things Cambridge Analytica was accused of for the last decade
and a half. It's far more sophisticated than anything the Republican Party has in-house and the
Koch machine uses it to support candidates it approves of even at a loss.
Why don't you hear about this and how does Koch get away with it? Because, again, he's a
libertarian, not a Republican, and thus the Koch machine gives money to Democratic politicians
and organizations, too.
So what happens with an undeniable win of an unapproved party happens? Will the reformers of
the correct "losing party" just accept it?
Also, seeing the security state's apparatchiks in Congress, along with the Nevada Democratic
Party's pettifactors and pettifoggers, and the national nomenklatura or high priests with their
following of fanatical believers concerned citizens doing a good job is heart
warming.
Finally seeing competent ruling in action is good; we must keep those unwashed
proles along with the displaced disposables in their proper places.
I am in awe of the Democratic Party physical congress of the American people during
the last forty years. Why, they are almost as good as the Republicans.
> I guess I just don't understand the urgency, here.
The urgency is Republican efforts at the state level, most (all?) of which have the effect
of making it harder to vote and restricting the franchise. It's all pretty bad, but it's
possible that H.R.1 could make it worse. (The Ballot Marking Devices section in essence
legalizes election theft.)
The dems carried AZ and PA AFTER they got the Greens removed from the ballot in both states.
It tells you all you need to know about the Democratic Party and "free elections".
Just another political party trying to get a leg up on the other one. Nothing to see
here.
Some outlets in the designated free-speech zone bleachers on the farther side of the stadium
have taken notice of this year's statement; from the nearer side, not so much yet that I've
seen. But here's hoping. And thanks to NC for coming straight at this fraud repeatedly. (Thanks
too for knocking the props out from under the PropOrNot provision.)
" Since most states also require a presidential and/or US Senate nominee to appear at the
top of the ballot, HR 1 would prohibit the Green Party from running any local candidates in
states where a defunded Green Party's vote drops below a certain level, " I don't believe that
that claim is correct. It is certainly not true in Massachusetts (where I am a former
Libertarian State Party Chair) and does not match my knowledge of New York, New Hampshire, or
California.
The Libertarian Party Presidential candidate has almost always ignored Federal campaign
funds for the nominating campaign. The last LP campaign to take Federal nominating funds
appears to have lost money on the deal. The Libertarian Party has repeatedly had a Presidential
candidate on the ballot in every state, thanks to the efforts of its donors and volunteers.
The Green Party's difficulty (and the difficulty faced by the third Third Party, the
Constitution Party, which appears to have been forgotten here) is that it is small, a third or
a half the size of the Libertarian Party, and therefore lacks the resources it needs. It does
not help the Greens that they have sometimes worried about causing the Democratic Presidential
candidate to lose. Libertarians as a group do not have this concern. While the other two major
parties are not the same, neither of them is viewed by Libertarians as being desirable people
to hold office.
The analogy presented about BMDs is not very apt, for two reasons:
1. If both the human-readable receipt and the QR code are scanned, this provides
after-the-fact auditability. 2. Although QR codes aren't human-readable, they're very easily readable by a personal device
that everyone carries around in their pocket. This provides in-the-moment auditability, with
unpredictable, distributed auditors.
The combination of those two factors make life extremely difficult for any attacker: if even
one person happens to check that their QR code matches their receipt and discovers it doesn't,
it's going to trigger an audit of the entire system, and the attack will be discovered.
The analogous system described, with the sealed blue ballot, provides no in-the-moment
auditability, and if we are to assume that the yellow ballot is thrown away, no after-the-fact
auditability.
There is no requirement that what you see when you scan the QR code will make any sense to
the voter. A bunch of race/candidate code pairs not necessarily in an order compatible with the
paper ballot and perhaps encrypted
"Ban corporations from spending for campaign purposes unless the corporation has established
a process for determining the political will of its shareholders"
So it's ok for a corporation to donate if it's shareholders approve. Do the donations have
to mirror the political will of the shareholders? Is a simple majority sufficient? What if it
has two-class share structure?
That's before getting to the two big issue: firstly, the tax advantage of making campaign
(or any political donation) through a corporation as I can't deduct a contribution, but I'm
pretty sure that a corporation can. In addition and more importantly, what about all of the
other stakeholders?
Why not simply prohibit any campaign contributions from corporations?
I can see it now -- Corporation X asks its shareholders to support political donations to
candidate Y. You as a shareholder must confirm your support or the C Suite might have to find
something else to do with all that cash that was going to be distributed as dividends. And if
you fail to mail in your proxy at all, they'll just take that as tacit agreement of
support.
Did every Democrat in Congress just write down their favorite wish and they collected them
all into a single bill? Do they actually want it to pass the Senate? Surely they don't
all want some controls on corporate campaign spending!
We do need national standards for some of those bullet points that enable voters and help
make machine voting more secure. That would be difficult enough without all the other baggage
in the bill.
Maybe there will be a deal in the Senate -- Democrats get to use their excuses for losing in
2016 to suppress third parties and dissenting views, and Republicans use theirs in 2020 to
suppress the voters.
If a bill does pass would be interesting to understand which pieces they cared about enough
to make severable from the whole before the lawsuits start.
In any case, they really need to pass the voting rights bill HR 4/S 4263 to restore the full
protections of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, before we get mired in some "3-5 year strategy" for
HR 1.
A duopoly of power exists in the electoral-legislative-executive industrial complex.
Anything that stifles outside competition is a feature, not a bug.
Don't overlook this clause: " so long as the voter shall have the option to mark his or her
ballot by hand."
That means BMDs exist only along side of current hand marking, never in place of hand
marking. Most voters will mark by hand so few BMDs will be purchased, likely only one per
precinct. That will cause a waiting line for the BMD and result in its non-use by any voter
capable of making direct marks by hand.
The ability to steal an election with QR codes via BMDs will be so remote that it won't be
worth the trouble to attempt it.
Do you not remember the issues with provisional ballots in the Democrat primaries? Having
the "option" to hand mark a ballot doesn't mean it will be easy to exercise that option, and in
fact you may be outright lied to by the volunteers running the polling booth and told you don't
have that option.
I have always known the Republican party to be disegenuous in the extreme, untrustworthy and
authoritarian. I long thought Dems to be milquetoast anodyne. Since 2015 however I have come to
be even more opposed to the Dem party than the Republican party, this HR 1 being an example of
how they have become authoritarian in the extreme while hiding behind preening moral
superiority.
I have been wondering too though, with the spate of election reform bills in Republican
controlled states, why I have not heard any calls to outlaw Dominion and the like?
Clearly both parties want to "fix" the system in their (nefarious) favor.
With the spate of election reform bills in Republican controlled states, why I have not heard
any calls to outlaw Dominion and the like? Clearly both parties want to "fix" the system in their
(nefarious) favor.
The analogy presented about BMDs is not very apt, for two reasons:
1. If both the human-readable receipt and the QR code are scanned, this provides
after-the-fact auditability.
2. Although QR codes aren't human-readable, they're very easily readable by a personal
device that everyone carries around in their pocket. This provides in-the-moment
auditability, with unpredictable, distributed auditors.
The combination of those two factors make life extremely difficult for any attacker: if
even one person happens to check that their QR code matches their receipt and discovers it
doesn't, it's going to trigger an audit of the entire system, and the attack will be
discovered.
The analogous system described, with the sealed blue ballot, provides no in-the-moment
auditability, and if we are to assume that the yellow ballot is thrown away, no
after-the-fact auditability.
There is no requirement that what you see when you scan the QR code will make any sense
to the voter. A bunch of race/candidate code pairs not necessarily in an order compatible with
the paper ballot and perhaps encrypted
It would be good to get rid of electronic voting machines.
I like paper ballots. It might not really do anything to discourage corporate influence to
simply ask the corporations to represent all of the politics of their employees. That is a
murky requirement at best. But it is (citizen's united) currently a blatant form of
gerrymandering.
Most of this is just paper trail stuff, however the real election theft seems to happen
long before the ballots are even printed. How did we get a clearly senile president? He was
the chosen candidate in a "party" process that is not the least bit answerable to the general
electorate. Or even to its own electorate.
What better example of election malpractice is there than Joe Biden? So, obviously, the
national committees of the opposing political parties need some restrictions here. They could
be subjected to tighter regulation.
Their influence could be diluted by allowing many more political parties to participate in
both primary and general elections. We need regulations that promote transparency on all the
sausage-making before a party candidate is chosen. We also need transparency on the king
makers, whether corporate or political.
Who is backing the candidate? HR1 doesn't really scratch the surface. It basically just
encourages people to get out and participate in a very corrupted institution.
A duopoly of power exists in the electoral-legislative-executive industrial complex.
Anything that stifles outside competition is a feature, not a bug.
Don't overlook this clause: "so long as the voter shall have the option to mark his or her
ballot by hand."
That means BMDs exist only along side of current hand marking, never in place of hand
marking. Most voters will mark by hand so few BMDs will be purchased, likely only one per
precinct. That will cause a waiting line for the BMD and result in its non-use by any voter
capable of making direct marks by hand.
The ability to steal an election with QR codes via BMDs will be so remote that it won't be
worth the trouble to attempt it.
Do you not remember the issues with provisional ballots in the Democrat primaries? Having
the "option" to hand mark a ballot doesn't mean it will be easy to exercise that option, and in
fact you may be outright lied to by the volunteers running the polling booth and told you don't
have that option.
I have always known the Republican party to be disingenuous in the extreme, untrustworthy
and authoritarian. I long thought Dems to be milquetoast anodyne. Since 2015 however I have
come to be even more opposed to the Dem party than the Republican party, this HR 1 being an
example of how they have become authoritarian in the extreme while hiding behind preening moral
superiority.
I have been wondering too though, with the spate of election reform bills in Republican
controlled states, why I have not heard any calls to outlaw Dominion and the like? Clearly both
parties want to "fix" the system in their (nefarious) favor.
Both parties seem intent on delegitimizing the U.S. electoral processes. I sense growing
unrest and discontent with our political processes and government. The myth of free elections
is an important pressure relief for venting popular discontent. I believe the actions of our
Elite are becoming increasingly arrogant and imprudent.
So the Dems want greater voter participation but only if they are the beneficiaries.
Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.
The Duopoly is the real flaw in our system as some of us see it. What good is greater
public involvement if the public only has two corrupt choices? It's still a rigged game.
"America is back" claimed Joe Biden to no ones amusement. But the world has changed
after four years of Trump and after a pandemic upset the world. The U.S. position in this
world and its role in it have thereby also changed. To just claim one is back without
adopting to the new situation promises failure.
As candidate Joe Biden promised that there would be no changes.
Former Vice President Joe Biden assured rich donors at a ritzy New York fundraiser that
"nothing would fundamentally change" if he is elected.
Biden told donors at an event at the Carlyle Hotel in Manhattan on Tuesday evening
that he would not "demonize" the rich and promised that " no one's standard of living
will change, nothing would fundamentally change ," Bloomberg News reported.
That Biden statement destroyed the illusion of those who had hoped that he would lift
the standard of living for the average Amercian.
Biden stayed true to his words at the fundraiser. There will be no rise in the minimum
wage. The $2,000 checks he promised to all voters will now be only $1,400 checks. They will
also be
heavily means tested . Those who made more than $80,000 in 2019 but lost their income
in 2020 will get no check at all.
Even as they hold the White House and the House and Senate majorities the Democrats are
unable or unwilling to deliver basic progress. This will likely cost them their House
majority in 2022 and the presidency in 2024.
Biden's "nothing will fundamentally change" attitude extends into foreign policy.
Secretary Pompeo @SecPompeo - 0:29 UTC · Dec 21,
2019
Today, the #ICC prosecutor raised serious questions about the ICC's jurisdiction to
investigate #Israel. Israel is not a state party to the ICC. We firmly oppose this
unjustified inquiry that unfairly targets Israel . The path to lasting peace is through
direct negotiations.
---
Secretary Antony Blinken @SecBlinken - 1:34 UTC · Mar 4,
2021
The United States firmly opposes an @IntlCrimCourt investigation into the Palestinian
Situation. We will continue to uphold our strong commitment to Israel and its security,
including by opposing actions that seek to target Israel unfairly.
That nothing will change is also expressed in two policy papers the Biden administration
released yesterday. The early emphasis on human rights, which distinguished it from the
Trump administration, is already gone.
The common theme is now 'democracy' as if that were not just a form of government but a
value in itself.
The White House published an Interim National
Security Strategic Guidance (pdf). The paper is dripping with ideological LGBTQWERTY
librulism. Its central claim is that 'democracy' is under threat:
At a time when the need for American engagement and international cooperation is greater
than ever, however, democracies across the globe, including our own, are increasingly
under siege . Free societies have been challenged from within by corruption, inequality,
polarization, populism, and illiberal threats to the rule of law. Nationalist and
nativist trends – accelerated by the COVID-19 crisis – produce an
every-country-for-itself mentality that leaves us all more isolated, less prosperous, and
less safe. Democratic nations are also increasingly challenged from outside by
antagonistic authoritarian powers. Anti-democratic forces use misinformation,
disinformation, and weaponized corruption to exploit perceived weaknesses and sow
division within and among free nations, erode existing international rules, and promote
alternative models of authoritarian governance. Reversing these trends is essential to
our national security .
It then singles out China:
We must also contend with the reality that the distribution of power across the world is
changing, creating new threats. China , in particular, has rapidly become more assertive.
It is the only competitor potentially capable of combining its economic, diplomatic,
military, and technological power to mount a sustained challenge to a stable and open
international system. Russia remains determined to enhance its global influence and play
a disruptive role on the world stage. Both Beijing and Moscow have invested heavily in
efforts meant to check U.S. strengths and prevent us from defending our interests and
allies around the world. Regional actors like Iran and North Korea continue to pursue
game-changing capabilities and technologies, while threatening U.S. allies and partners
and challenging regional stability. We also face challenges within countries whose
governance is fragile, and from influential non-state actors that have the ability to
disrupt American interests.
To fight China the U.S. will (ab)use its allies:
We can do none of this work alone. For that reason, we will reinvigorate and modernize
our alliances and partnerships around the world. For decades, our allies have stood by
our side against common threats and adversaries, and worked hand-in-hand to advance our
shared interests and values. They are a tremendous source of strength and a unique
American advantage, helping to shoulder the responsibilities required to keep our nation
safe and our people prosperous. Our democratic alliances enable us to present a common
front, produce a unified vision, and pool our strength to promote high standards,
establish effective international rules, and hold countries like China to account.
Good luck with that. Neither the European U.S. allies, nor the Asian ones, have any
interest in following the U.S. into a confrontation with China. It is their greatest
trading partner and they do not perceive it as an ideological or security threat.
The more we and other democracies can show the world that we can deliver, not only for
our people, but also for each other, the more we can refute the lie that authoritarian
countries love to tell, that theirs is the better way to meet people's fundamental needs
and hopes. It's on us to prove them wrong.
So the question isn't if we will support democracy around the world, but how.
We will use the power of our example. We will encourage others to make key reforms,
overturn bad laws, fight corruption, and stop unjust practices. We will incentivize
democratic behavior.
But we will not promote democracy through costly military interventions or by
attempting to overthrow authoritarian regimes by force. We have tried these tactics in
the past. However well intentioned, they haven't worked. They've given democracy
promotion a bad name, and they've lost the confidence of the American people. We will do
things differently.
The "lie that authoritarian countries love to tell, that their's is the better way to
meet people's fundamental needs and hopes" is targeted at China. But that China did and
does much better than the U.S. to meet its people's needs and hope is not a lie. The
pandemic has again demonstrated that.
The last quoted paragraph has seen some positive attention on social media. But it is
based on a falsehood. The U.S. has not once used military means to 'promote democracy'. Not
ever. It has used war to gain markets and power, to destroy its competition. The
neo-conservatives have claimed to be motivated by 'democracy promotion'. But that was
always just a pretext to hide the real reasons for waging war. Iraq became democratic not
because the U.S. wanted it to be that. In fact, after invading Iraq the the U.S. pro-consul
Paul Bremer tried to prevent universal elections in Iraq. Only the insistence of Ayatollah
Sistani on a universal vote led to a somewhat democratic system in Iraq.
Blinken is, just like Pompeo before him, focused on China:
And eighth, we will manage the biggest geopolitical test of the 21st century: our
relationship with China.
Several countries present us with serious challenges, including Russia, Iran, North
Korea. And there are serious crises we have to deal with, including in Yemen, Ethiopia,
and Burma.
But the challenge posed by China is different. China is the only country with the
economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to seriously challenge the stable
and open international system – all the rules, values, and relationships that make
the world work the way we want it to , because it ultimately serves the interests and
reflects the values of the American people.
That there is no change from the Trump to the Biden administration in hostility to China
is disappointing only for those who had expected some:
Pang Zhongying, a specialist in international relations at Ocean University of China,
said Beijing would be disappointed with the Biden administration's approach to "continue
and even elevate" the tough policies of the Trump era and to strengthen alliances to deal
with China.
"There does not seem to be any change yet in the serious tensions in China-US
relations," he said. "I think there may be some frustration in Beijing that after more
than 40 days [of the new administration] they have not seen any change but there is
actually more pressure from the US."
Beijing will manage the conflict and it is likely to see it as a chance.
The U.S. failure to adopt to new circumstances will accelerate its demise. The U.S.
empire was a historical abnormality and its twilight is near
:
[The Realist professors of International Relations David Blagden and Patrick Porter]
observe America's "position as 'global leader' is premised on a set of impermanent and
atypical conditions from an earlier post-war era", but " the days of incontestable
unipolarity are over, and cannot be wished back ". The result is that "overextension
abroad, exhaustion and fiscal strain at home, and political disorder feed off one another
in a downward spiral, cumulatively threatening the survival of the republic".
The US empire is, then, at an impasse. Its moral and political justification of
overseeing a global order of universal liberal democracy -- the closest real-world
equivalent to the Kantian perpetual peace that has both motivated and eluded liberal
idealists for the past two centuries -- is now beyond its capabilities to maintain.
...
How does this end for America? Biden and the presidents after him will be forced to make
a hard choice: whether to retrench to a smaller and more manageable empire, or to risk a
far greater and more dramatic collapse in defence of global hegemony.
Biden has made his choice. Nothing will fundamentally change under him. He is thereby
likely to repeat all of Trump's foreign policy failures. There will be no new JCPOA with
Iran nor will there be any win for the U.S. in the Middle East. North Korea will continue
to test bombs and missiles. The U.S. will continue to be stuck in Afghanistan. The
Chinese-Russian alliance will strengthen. U.S. allies will further distance themselves from
it.
We can not yet know what, at what point will cause the collapse of U.S. hegemony. But we
are coming more near to it.
Posted by b on March 4, 2021 at 18:04 UTC |
Permalink
Frankly, Biden's speech to the grand poobahs sounded more like a plea for understanding
than a promise, and if you take what the policy paper says at face value it suggests that
"Biden" understands that we have to change to compete. It is also an admission that they
have presided over a period of decline in Uncle Sugar land, so of course they don't want to
dwell on that. I think Biden is worried the "owners" wom't let him do anything.
And it is totally appropriate that Biden is the guy up there trying to deal with this
mess, because he as one of the prime intigators or the present situation, going back 40
years.
Patrick Porter's book, The False Promise of Liberal Order, is good.
But, his realist critique of vulgar liberal propaganda for US imperialism doesn't locate
the source or material roots of US grand strategy.
Realist theory understands power, hegemony and balancing only in terms of military
power. That is the only currency of power in realist thinking, because realism rests on a
state centricity which insists on the autonomy of the state from any social or economic
factors. Military power is thus all that remains.
This theory obviously fails to explain the real history of US foreign policy, which has
used militarism and other tools in support of strategic economic interests on a global
scale, primarily in the South. The military balance of power is by and large only an
expression of the economic balance of power and the class interests of ruling classes
derived from it.
Porter and other realists point out the contradictions of liberal theory and practice
but fail to provide a scientific explanation for consistent US policies.
There is a partnership currently but it's not yet an alliance. The rationale for one is
very strong. Russia needs China or it will be overwhelmed by a hostile US and fairly
hostile Europe. China needs Russia to save it from a resource embargo by US and allies.
Together they will form a huge power bloc in Eurasia combining their respective territories
with joint influence over Central Asia. Other countries in Asia like South Korea, Vietnam
and India will see bloc and decide to stay neutral or side with the China-Russia bloc.
As compelling as this vision is it hasn't happened yet. It takes time sure but there
must be reluctance from within the countries and other challenges. Which side is dragging
its feet more? It would be interesting to understand why things aren't moving faster.
As compelling as this vision is it hasn't happened yet. It takes time sure but there
must be reluctance from within the countries and other challenges. Which side is dragging
its feet more? It would be interesting to understand why things aren't moving
faster.
Posted by: dsfco | Mar 4 2021 18:54 utc | 4
A guess: PRC having vastly greater economic power thinks its share of influence should
be greater. Russia having vastly superior military power & technology, disagrees. For
example the Chinese government might like access to the most advanced Russian military
technology; the Russians having been invaded many times from both East & West, probably
take the long view.
This week the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a confirmation hearing for Wendy Sherman, nominated by the Biden
White House to serve as deputy secretary of state.
The career diplomat answered the usual questions on how she views United States posture toward American rivals and official
enemies like Russia, China, and Iran. Once again it was Sen. Rand Paul who had the most direct pushback and biting
criticism against an administration that seems bent on returning to the foreign adventurism and unilateral military
interventionism of the Obama and Bush years.
"We've gone to a liberal form of John Bolton,"
Paul said of President Biden
during his turn to question Sherman. Paul is especially outraged over Biden's Syria strike without consulting Congress last
week.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/8HanUqh_-CE
During the above exchange with Wendy Sherman, Paul in his concluding remarks had blasted away at Biden's vision of the
world, citing past failed Democratic-led military interventions in places like Libya, Yemen, and Syria.
"I think we've gone to a liberal form of John Bolton with your new boss and that's
something I'm really concerned with,"
Paul said.
"All I will say is that
we're bombing now again in Syria without Congressional
approval and we're sending more convoys in there without Congressional approval
. It's a messy war - it's been
going on forever, there's nothing good that's going to come out of our involvement," Paul explained in his statement.
"People say
'well US lives are at risk'
...
yeah
because we put'em there
. We put them in the middle of a civil war that's largely over but can continue if we
keep putting troops into there... to put our troops as a 'trip wire' to get involved in a further escalation of this war."
And that's when the Republican Senator from Kentucky blasted President Biden on his Syria stance and general
interventionist foreign policy:
"I hope that we'll be sane voices and I hope that you'll be one of those," he said addressing Sherman.
"But I don't have a great deal of confidence that we've actually gone away from John Bolton,
I've
think we've gone to a liberal form of John Bolton with your new boss, and that's something I'm very concerned with
."
Sherman in response had tried to claim that the Biden admin is not trying to get more deeply involved in the Syria
conflict, but maintained the 'countering ISIS' stance that the Pentagon has used for years to argue it must continue the
occupation of the northeast portion of the country.
Richard J. Daley, also known as King Richard I, ran the most honest elections Chicago has
ever had. Which is not saying much. Prior to Richard the basic system was City Hall told ward
bosses what the numbers would be night before, ward bosses passed orders to precincts.
Precincts did as told. It was notorious that African American precincts always turned out big
numbers for the machine even though polling places never opened the doors.
I could tell quite a few stories about my own adventures in voting in Chicago in more
recent years. Main reason to vote was until very recently a voters receipt was good for a
free drink at many taverns. Also the precinct captain often kept track of who showed and who
neglected to show. Only the truly delusory ever believed in an honest count. In 1960 there
would have been few places in US where anyone expected an honest count. And fewer where that
expectation came to pass.
President Trump was decisively beaten, if not fair and square. The hopes of millions of
American voters were squashed and extinguished. The saga of the Orange Man is over. The victors
used a gambit: they sacrificed the sanctity and security of the Capitol, allowed intruders in,
permitted them to take selfies in the Speaker's office, and then faked horror and outrage. The
attempted calls for electoral transparency were deflated in real time as huge crowds were
dispersed, electors were confirmed, and the ascendancy of Biden was assured, while Trump
followers were branded 'domestic terrorists'.
Donald Trump denounced the people whom he personally called to protest. His close political
allies withdrew their support. Within hours, or even minutes, this ruler of the world admired
by millions became a non-person. Like a boy who posted an obscenity, he was banned by Twitter
and Facebook. Time will tell whether he will go to prison, as so many Dems pray for, but his
political life seems to have ended, even if his cause may live.
Four people were arrested in
Texas
last
month on 150 counts of voter fraud dating back to the 2018 Medina County Primary Election,
according to reports.
The Texas attorney general's Election Fraud Unit on Feb. 11 arrested Medina County Justice of the Peace Tomas Ramirez, and
earlier detained Leonor Rivas Garza, Eva Ann Martinez and Mary Balderrama on election fraud allegations, News4SA reported.
According to a
release
from
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office,
the case involved allegations of vote
harvesting at assisted living centers in Medina County in the 2018 Medina County Primary Election.
Ramirez faces one count of organized election fraud, one count of assisting voter voting ballot by mail, and 17 counts of
unlawful possession of a ballot or ballot envelope, according to the news outlet.
Balderrama is charged with one count of organized election fraud, nine counts of illegal voting, two counts of unlawful
possession of ballot or ballot envelope, one count of mail ballot application, two counts of unlawfully assisting voter
voting by mail, two counts of tampering with government record, and eight counts of election fraud.
Garza faces a single count of organized election fraud, two counts of illegal voting, eight counts of unlawful possession
of a ballot or ballot envelope, two counts of election fraud and four counts of fraudulent use of an absentee ballot by
mail.
Martinez is charged with a single count of organized election fraud, nine counts of illegal voting, 28 counts of unlawful
possession of ballot or ballot envelope, three counts of purportedly acting as an agent, five counts of tampering with
government record, 14 counts of election fraud, and four counts of fraudulent mail ballot application,
according
to News4SA
.
The Texas attorney general's office didn't immediately respond to a request for comment by The Epoch Times.
In a separate incident, Raquel Rodriguez, a Texas woman who bragged about being able
to deliver thousands of votes for tens of thousands in cash was arrested in January on charges including election fraud and
illegal voting.
Rodriguez
was
filmed
during an undercover project by Project Veritas,
an investigative journalism nonprofit. She was
recorded in footage released last year that she could deliver "at least 5,000" votes "county-wide" for $55,000 in cash and
that it would hire her "entire team." She acknowledged what she was discussing could land her prison time.
Based on the footage, Paxton, a Republican, opened an investigation. That probe led to the arrest, Paxton announced on Jan.
13.
Rodriguez faces a prison sentence of up to 20 years if convicted.
The
high courts claimed that Trumps cases had no validity. But yet they refuse to see things like this.
Corruption...corruption..corruption in the high courts.
BarneyFife714
7 minutes ago
Can't we just all agree please that voting our way out of tyranny is a pipe dream now?
KekistanisUnite
10 minutes ago
Alright how about some arrests in AZ, GA, MI, NV, PA, WI?
Biden has been a major disappointment for those who hoped that he'd change course
regarding America's pathological involvement in overseas conflicts
Who hoped that? He didn't run on such a platform. "Engagement with the world" and a
"restoration of the pre-Trump era" was his platform. Don't ask me why but this made him
more popular. He was literally the VP in the most interventionist Presidency in US
history.
... People like Giraldi sometimes seem like plants put in place to discredit
anti-interventionism by trying to make it synonymous with anti-semitism.
In the late 1980s, Rannie Amiri, an independent commentator on political affairs, challenged
then-Senator Joe Biden on his stance toward the Israel-Palestine conflict following a campus
speech that Biden gave, asking him:
Rather than succumb to the influence of various lobbying groups in Washington, such as
AIPAC [American Israel Public Affairs Committee -- which promotes the views of Israel's
right-wing Likud Party], and the untold amount of money they use to dictate policy,
wouldn't it be more prudent to examine the real effects that collective punishment, daily
humiliation, and countless civilian casualties inflicted by the Israelis have on an
occupied population, and use that understanding to formulate a more rational approach
toward the Palestinians?
Here is Biden response to that:
At the end of the exchange, Biden turned, put his arm around Amiri's shoulder, and
addressed the audience.
If this was not such a fine, articulate, and sincere young man, and he implied that my
vote had been bought, I would give him a swift kick in the ass.
The audience roared in applause, and Amiri sat back down to his chair defeated.
However, a friend rose up to defend him, telling Biden: "If my father heard you say such a
thing, I believe he would have done the same to you first."
The tribal stupidity of the people who support Israel first is beyond words. Who would
think in the 20th and the 21th century we would be led by primitive thinking of tribal
fantasies from thousands of year ago?
Most of the us in the west did not know that this has been going on for so long since we
have been deluded with the term "free press" to describe our press in the west. We are slowly
waking up to reality with some "freedom" here and there on the internet like this site.
So, Biden has been a major disappointment for those who expected that he might change
course regarding America's pathological involvement in overseas conflicts while also having
the good sense and courage to make relations with countries like Iran and Israel responsive
to actual U.S. interests.
You're giving the morons way too much credit, Sir. It's doubtful even 5% of voters know or
care about geopolitics, and probably less than 1% who voted based on fraudsident biden's
foreign policies.
For 5 years it was nonstop Trump-hatred from the ((( lügenpresse ))) even as Trump
did weasel jared's bidding. Stevie Fking Wonder could see the election was rigged.
The USA is kaput, the supreme joke spineless
The ((( Underminers ))) are a c ** t-hair away from total control.
The Free United States must part ways with the devils in DC. Texas, Florida,
Oklahoma, the Dakotas and Montana for starters.
Ralph
Nader poses tough questions for Pelosi about her complete bungling of the Impeachment
Trial--twice! The message IMO is there's to be no law enforcement when it comes to High
Crimes committed by the POTUS, for much of what Trump's guilty of Obama and Biden are as
well--and in several cases far worse since they committed thousands of Capital Crimes.
"Yes, the Republican Party may be entering a period of contention or civil war, but if
the 'show trial' showed anything, it demonstrated again the hold that Trump has over the
party base. The trial might well have consolidated that hold if anything – even if some
old-style conservatives depart a metamorphosised GOP, in search of a more peaceful and civil
anchorage. McConnell's conservative contingent seems, in retrospect, to emerge as the
ephemeral element, rather than a key pivot around which a new GOP might form.
Yet Biden, in many ways, is in the politically weaker position. His party is less than
homogenous – it is a more conflicted bunch. Many of its components simply detest each
other. The Clinton-Obama neoliberal wing is fixated in its belief that they, and the U.S.,
have been on the global side-lines for far too long – and are agog to jump back in.
They are escalating in Afghanistan, in Syria, and preparing a new push in Ukraine. Trump's
troop withdrawals have been all reversed (even for Germany) – and numbers deployed
rather, have been augmented.
In spite of their heady eagerness to lead the world, they are likely to find themselves
banging heads with a changed world. Iran, Russia – even the EU – are not showing
regard to the Biden bugle call: 'America is back'."
America has two Presidents on this day, besides Washington and Lincoln.
One half of the country believes Trump rightfully won.
Yet the events of Jan. 6th still hang like a cloud over Washington.
Critics fault his claims of a stolen election for provoking the protests.
But what if the Democrats really did steal the election? Wouldn't the fault be theirs?
And how can we know whether they really stole it?
Claims of "Massive fraud" on one side vs. "No sign of fraud" on the other -- who is
right?
One thing is crystal clear: Unconstitutional, illegal changes to voting laws generated
millions of irregular ballots -- a hundred times greater than the margin between the
candidates, in some swing states. If the balloting is illegal, there is no way the count can
be correct.
An unconstitutional vote can only produce an unconstitutional result. Everything that
followed -- the certification of the popular vote, the electoral college vote, and the
inauguration -- none of these steps had any legal foundation.
Bad data makes bad decisions. Since Nov. 3, our machinery of government has been spinning off
course on erroneous, unlawful inputs.
The only solution in such cases is to correct the error.
Until runoff elections are held in conformity with the law, we will still have two
Presidents.
Only one of them can be the rightful one.
The optics for the establishment of the Capitol incursion were so horrible I find it hard
to believe it was planned. The photoshop of bed guy that the FBI presented as criminal
evidence doubled down on the humiliation. Honk honk! They can't keep this together for long I
don't think.
@AReply that the Japanese Navy was heading towards Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Well
played, Party* gerontocracy and affiliated corporate elites! That's two wildly successful
covert operations in as many months, the other being the fake election.
3. The massive beat-up of confected hysteria by the media, turning a mildly raucous
event into an 'insurrection' complete with police state witch-hunt of the mainly bumbling
dupes who participated, culminating in yet another show trial of the leftists preferred
scapegoat/scumbag , is to anybody with half a brain, symptomatic of the massively
diseased and terminally cancerous state of the modern JSA.
What crime? The no-warning shot, cowardly point blank murder of Ashli Babbit? The
treasonous mass censorship/public hanging of the First Amendment? Other than those two
atrocities, all I saw was a Tea Party. And it was beautiful.
p.s. The broad wisdom of Gen. Petrov (RIP) is worth some study. for example:
The problem, is that Trump is dirty , has a whole lot of dirty baggage and everyone knows
that Washington's middle name is blackmail or assassin. If he were to ever succeed as a
reformer, he'd have to be ready to commit political and business suicide for the cause
– and he 's not the type. More than 1/2 of America, wanted what he was selling –
but that just turned out to be campaign BS. America is toast unless something really big
happens at the peasant level . What a shame.
Despite the naming of the process as "election", the actual function of the process is the
creation of consent, the belief that so and so is legitimate in custom and law.
Seen objectively, the recent "election" failed. There is no consent. That does not mean
that Mr 10% and his gang or cohort will now go home. It means that they will now use force.
That will work, for a while.
In the longer term, however, regions will invite in the Chinese and Russians, as they have
thousands of tons of gold, functioning industries, and massive resources, and they will pay
the army.
It's collapse. After a time it happens. Empires fall.
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs 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 Ozymandias, King of Kings:
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".
I love optimism, but I just don't do it. Biden is ruling with EO, and the Supreme Court
made it almost impossible for EOs (unless they're Trumps) to go away. So despite the theater
of a two party system, we are under a corporate dictatorship. Kind of a fascism, except the
corporations and bankers are on top. Gotta a plan for fighting any of that? The GOP is in on
it. As for the Donald, he needs to purge his movement of the Kushners to show he is serious.
Since he won't do that, MAGA is toast.
For the record my suggestion is to go small and take as much independence as you can from
the system. Corporations don't like confederations, which will lead them to demand fed
action. The feds are run by doddering old fossils, inbred bureaucratic aristocrats, silly
woke girls , and not nearly bright as advertised Zionist Jews. I think if we act like our
ancient ancestors, we can work against the feds.
And can the corporations even function without using the government for cheating? I have my
doubts on that. We just need to give up defending the USA , and move on to defend
ourselves.
California's Evidence Code § 1230[3] defines "Declarations against interest" as:
"Evidence of a statement by a declarant having sufficient knowledge of the subject is not
made inadmissible by the hearsay rule if the declarant is unavailable as a witness and the
statement, when made, was so far contrary to the declarant's pecuniary or proprietary
interest, or so far subjected him to the risk of civil or criminal liability, or so far
tended to render invalid a claim by him against another, or created such a risk of making him
an object of hatred, ridicule, or social disgrace in the community, that a reasonable man in
his position would not have made the statement unless he believed it to be true."
Now Trump is more powerful than when he was in the White House.
That anybody celebrates that is nuts.
Nitwit narcissistic Donald Trump is a fatally flawed, fatally failed and totally bogus
change agent. What America needs is a genuine change agent with genuine intelligence, genuine
wisdom and genuine integrity. And that ain't Trump.
Even Ann Coulter, one of Trump's earliest high profile supporters sees Trump for what he
really is, a selfish rank opportunist. America will be hosed as long as Trump is the front
for the anti-Status Quo movement.
As a man who doesn't give two shits about Trump and his carpet bagging family that
includes a greasy Jewish Supremacist racist like Jared Kushner and as a man who thinks
"Honest Joe" is just about the sleaziest individual that I have ever laid eyes on lemme say
that it is at least refreshing to see a positive article here.
The reason I enjoy this website and alethonews.com is because at least a reasonable attempt is made
to see through the MSM propaganda. It doesn't mean, however, that dots are sufficiently
connected to see what is actually happening. For example, thinking that Glenn Greenwald is
some beacon of truth instead of a seriously flawed controlled opposition proponent misses the
point dramatically. And not just Greenwald, if you analyze any of the so-called truth tellers
you'll find they won't be willing to discuss the massive mind fuck that is 9/11 or the
Kennedy assassinations. Our government is a one party system is that is broken beyond all
repair. Thinking that is country is winning at all is blind.
US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) may have voted against impeaching Donald Trump,
but he seems open to holding Vice President Kamala Harris to the same standard after the 2022
midterms.
Appearing on 'Fox News Sunday,' Graham railed against the impeachment trial in the Senate,
which ultimately failed, with the 53-47 vote not enough to reach a 'guilty' ruling. He called
it an "affront to the law" and "unconstitutional."
Despite its failure, however, the Trump-supporting Republican says Democrats have "opened
Pandora's Box" and leaders like Harris could pay the price.
"We've opened Pandora's Box to future presidents. And if you use this model, I don't know
how Kamala Harris doesn't get impeached if the Republicans take over the House," he
said.
Harris was brought up multiple times during the impeachment trial for her past promotion of
a bail fund for Black Lives Matter protesters that released rioters who ended up rearrested on
separate criminal charges.
Graham's apparent threat to Harris, mixed with his own disapproval of the standard used to
try and convict Trump for "inciting an insurrection," have many blasting the senator for
hypocrisy, with many also rushing to Harris' defense.
"Well it only works if the impeachee is a Democrat, a woman or Black (in VP Harris' case
she meets all three of Jim Crow Caucus chairman @LindseyGrahamSC's criteria," MSNBC's Joy
Reid tweeted in response to a user
asking how impeaching Harris could be possible.
Others even suggested Republicans taking control of Congress could mean a chance to overturn
election results in 2024.
"Graham is correct about the stakes of the 2022 midterms: If Republicans take Congress,
they could not only impeach Biden and/or Harris (though unlikely they'd have the votes to
convict), they could potentially succeed in overturning the results of the 2024 election,"
former Barack Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau suggested .
Graham also revealed to Fox News that he'd spoken to Trump since the trial ended and
suggested the former president will be actively involved in the Republican Party going
forward.
"I spoke to him last night; he was grateful to his lawyers. He appreciated the help that
all of us provided. You know, he's ready to move on and rebuild the Republican Party," he
said, adding the former president is "excited" for the 2022 midterm elections.
Trump's influence over the Republican Party has been a hotly-debated topic, especially in
light of seven Republican senators voting to impeach on Saturday, and Sen. Mitch McConnell
(R-Kentucky) seemingly turning on his past support and giving a speech on the Senate floor
saying Trump was "responsible" for the January 6 riot at the US Capitol – despite
voting against impeachment – and suggesting he could be pursued in criminal court.
Graham said McConnell's speech could come back to haunt Republicans.
"I think Senator McConnell's speech, he got a load off his chest, obviously, but
unfortunately he put a load on the back of Republicans," he said. "That speech you will
see in 2022 campaigns."
jfc46wv 6 hours ago 14 Feb, 2021 04:13 PM
I don't understand the talk of retaking the house or Senate or winning the presidency in
2024. How is this supposed to happen now that the Dems have masterered the fine art of
controlling the votes?
silvermoon jfc46wv 2 hours ago 14 Feb, 2021 08:12 PM
Another election steal line and obvious while trying to be subtle. You don't even need any
evidence. Of course non has ever been given.
Austin Rock jfc46wv 3 hours ago 14 Feb, 2021 07:20 PM
No, in mid terms, two years from now you will see a swing and a lame duck president for last
three years. I dont think anyonevtruthfully believes their was electoral craud on a scale to
affect result. Trump lost, tough.
Blackace180 5 hours ago 14 Feb, 2021 04:38 PM
The dems took their best shot and failed, but they did loose the dogs of war. What goes
around comes around. Trump was right about a large number of things and the dems will find
out the hard way. Taxes Gas Forever wars Open borders Free trade China virus... See more
Bob Blackace180 2 hours ago 14 Feb, 2021 07:37 PM
sorry to say-the GOP is one with the Democrat party on all these issues Donald Trump was the
ONLY one not playing by the SWAMP playbook.
Blackace180 6 hours ago 14 Feb, 2021 04:22 PM
Impeach the former escort. I say impeach, impeach, impeach. Take her out tonight. It amazes
me the hate they hurled at Trump and then they want unity and actually expect to return to
normal. No, it ain't happening. Impeach.
justliloleme Blackace180 1 hour ago 14 Feb, 2021 08:53 PM
She also encouraged BLM riots that murdered >19 people according to Forbes who expects
that to be a low number They also rioted, spreading covid widely She should have been
arrested when she encouraged that on TV
CarolABinkley Blackace180 2 hours ago 14 Feb, 2021 07:47 PM
In a rather stunning and head-scratchingly self-serving and hyprocritical moment, Leader
McConnell spoke after the Senate acquitted former President Trump and threw him back under the
bus while covering his own political ass.
...
This marks the second time in twelve months that Trump has survived impeachment.
Update (1300ET)
: After a couple of
hours of 'negotiations' during which Sen. Cruz threatened to subpoena Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Trump's lawyers said they
would call "100s of witnesses", a deal has been reached that means no witnesses will be called.
House impeachment managers dropped their request to obtain testimony from
Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler
after senators agreed instead to enter into the record an account of her
secondhand account of a phone call between Trump and House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy.
This agreement has
averted the prospect of an avalanche of requests for testimony
from both sides
that would have extended the impeachment trial beyond its expected conclusion later today (and
perhaps delayed any attempts at reaching a stimulus agreement).
As a reminder, Senator Lindsey Graham, who has been advising Trump's legal team, said that
if
the Senate agrees to the request by House impeachment managers to depose Herrera Beutler, he'll insist on "multiple
witnesses"...starting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
He said she should be required "to answer the question as to whether or not there was
credible evidence of pre-planned violence before President Trump spoke? Whether Speaker Pelosi, due to optics, refused
requests by the Capitol Hill Police for additional resources like the National Guard?"
* * *
Just when you thought Donald Trump's second impeachment trials was over,
five
Republicans have joined their Democratic colleagues in a Saturday morning vote (55-45) to call witnesses
- an
unexpected development in this snap impeachment over Trump's alleged role inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
GOP Sens. Collins, Graham, Murkowski, Romney and Sasse were the five.
The move - which was originally opposed by several Democrats, will allow them to strengthen their case. It is unclear what
kind of delay this may cause, after impeachment managers and Trump's defense team estimated it would be over on Saturday.
In response to the vote, Trump attorney Michael van der Veen answered that if witnesses are going to be called, "
I'm
going to need more than 100 witnesses
, not just one," adding "we should close this case out today," but if that
doesn't happen, "Do not handcuff me by limiting the number of witnesses I can have."
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren suggested that a debate on the number of witnesses should not take place, saying "I
don't think there's any limit right now, and that's part of what will be debated."
As
Axios
notes,
Trump
himself is Democrats' most desired witness
, however the former president has already quashed that - saying he
would
not
comply willingly
. The Senate could subpoena him, however it's unclear whether they would have enough support.
Instead,
Democrats plan to call GOP
Rep. Jamie
Herrera Butler
of Washington, who the
NY Times
reported on Friday said Trump
'sided with the mob' during a phone call
as the attack was unfolding. Herrera Butler, who voted to impeach Trump
in the House, was requested to testify by House impeachment manager Jamie Raskin.
In a statement on Friday night, Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler, Republican of
Washington, recounted a phone call relayed to her by Mr. McCarthy of California, the minority leader,
in
which Mr. Trump was said to have sided with the rioters, telling the top House Republican that members of the mob who
had stormed the Capitol were "more upset about the election than you are."
She pleaded with witnesses to step forward and share what they knew about Mr. Trump's
actions and statements as the attack was underway. -
NY
Times
"
To the patriots who were standing next to the former president as these
conversations were happening, or even to the former vice president: if you have something to add here, now would be the
time
," said Herrera Beutler in a statement.
According to her account, McCarthy 'frantically' called Trump on Jan. 6 and asked him to "publicly and forcefully call off
the riot," and that Trump replied that it was Antifa, not his supporters, who were responsible. When McCarthy pushed back
saying that wasn't true, Trump allegedly said "Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you
are."
Senate Democrats who initially opposed witnesses include Kristen Gillibrand of NY, who said on Thursday: "We've heard from
many witnesses based on their interviews and their video presentations, so, I feel like we've heard from enough witnesses."
Sen. Angus King of Maine said "I think the case has been made. I don't know what witnesses would add."
Once witnesses have testified
, impeachment managers and Trump's defense
team will present
closing arguments
- with each side allotted two hours. A
full vote on whether to convict or acquit will follow.
To that end, Senate Minority Leader
Mitch McConnell
(R-KY) has told his
fellow Senate GOP in an email that he will
vote to acquit
the former
president - writing "As I have said for some time, today's vote is a vote of conscience and I know we will all treat it as
such," according to
Politico
's Burgess Everett.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/_Iywct0QlRQ
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Foe Jaws
3 hours ago
McConnell got had by the D Rats and now he is backing out of the bargain they made to fcck over Trump.
Foe Jaws
2 hours ago
Same for Mike Pence. All he had to do was investigate the election fraud and he betrayed every single
Trump voter in America. Pence can burn in hell forever.
Doom Porn Star
2 hours ago
Even IF Trump had been provided with intelligence indicating that fringe organizations were plotting a
violent protest at the Capitol, doesn't the power to call in the National Guard reside with the local DC
mayor Bowser who made the decision to call them up or not during the BLM protests earlier in 2020 and on
the closing night of the Republican convention when Rand Paul was famously swarmed?
Why are assertions this call was suddenly Trump's call to make being entertained at all?
Shouldn't any call for National Guard support have been from the Capitol police to the office of Mayor
Bowser?
Doom Porn Star
2 hours ago
(Edited)
Look at what actually happened all throughout 2020.
Mayor Bowser was the person who called in the National Guard or did not.
Bowser had/has the authority and has used it or not at her discretion:
The first witness the defense should be the Ex-US Capitol Police Chief who already said:
"The entire intelligence community seems to have missed this", ... "I must add that I wish that before
placing the blame on the USCP and on me as the Chief for the breach of the Capitol by an insurrectionist
mob, more consideration would have been given to the impact of incomplete information provided by
intelligence assessments, the denied National Guard request, and the subsequent delayed approval for
National Guard assistance", ... "I still cannot fathom why in the midst of an armed insurrection, which
was broadcast worldwide on television, it took the Department of Defence over three hours to approve an
urgent request for National Guard support"
Doom Porn Star
1 hour ago
(Edited)
remove
link
Exactly WHO had authority to call for the National Guard?
Exactly WHO called for the National Guard?
-Congress may not have the authority to call. -The Capitol police may not either.
-The MSM doesn't have any authority to call the National Guard, or to command troops to act or stand
down.
Exactly WHO did they call and WHO did they speak to?
-There are facts behind all this hysterical rhetoric, newsroom caterwauling, and political puffery.
WHO decided when and which troops to deploy from where?
-Names, rank and serial numbers.
Was DC Mayor Bowser called and what did Mayor Bowser do?
-These questions are all painfully obvious and no one is asking...
SoDamnMad
17 minutes ago
remove
link
I saw a video which I saved which showed, NOT Capitol Police on the barricades of the Capitol but DC
Metropolitan Police. If the Capitol Police are 2300 strong WHERE THE HELL WERE THEY?
holdbuysell
3 hours ago
Witnesses no longer mean anything. They've poisoned this well when they brushed away thousands of
affidavits, signed under the penalty of perjury, citing massive election and voter fraud.
These people have destroyed any semblance of the rule of law.
GodSpeed
3 hours ago
call the BLM activist as a witness and let people see it wasn't just Trump Supporters in the Capitol.
This spectacle of a show trial would make Stalin proud. Now we have a moron old man with Stage 2 dementia
sitting in Oval Office surrounded barbed wire/steel fencing, and 15,000 troops. Think about what America
has devolved into.
GreatUncle
2 hours ago
Can't recall a senator but I think a petition to enable into state law and constitutionally approved in
the state the ability to expel a senator by a vote that is instigated by 20% of the population signing a
petition would be a dam good start.
Reckon it is needed and not just in SC and not just for Republicans neither but for any that break
promises or expose themselves too poor judgement.
So the Democrats may win more seats does it really matter anymore?
It can also restore accountability to the electorate that a fraudulent election may steal.
Twitter censors Oltmann for revealing truth about Coomer,
Dominion
election
fraud
Dominion
,
which is tied to both Nancy Pelosi and Dianne Feinstein, appears to have in its upper ranks a diehard
Trump hater who expressed a willingness to do anything possible to prevent Trump from winning reelection.
The news connects the dots between Eric Coomer's actions for
Dominion
Voting
Systems in the U.S., the CIA raid in Frankfurt, Germany to protect
Dominion's
servers
and destroy the evidence of election
fraud
,
and now the actions at Leonardo in Italy. It even ropes in the deep state in the U.S. government.
"We conclude that the
Dominion
Voting
System is intentionally and purposefully designed with inherent errors to create systemic
fraud
and
influence election results," Russell Ramsland Jr.,...
UnicornTears
2 hours ago
(Edited)
Where were all the guns for this alleged 'insurgency' ? Surely in a country with half a billion guns
there would have been one or two in this attempt to 'overthrow the government'? Do you ever ask yourself
why you believe such obvious lies?
boyplunger7777
2 hours ago
remove
link
Rigged elections, rigged markets, state run media, censorship of opposing views, multi-trillion dollar
fiscal deficits, central bank monetizing debt, and now a show trial that would make Stalin proud. This is
America in 2021. Have a plan, things are going to fall apart very quickly from here.
WolfgangIffans101
2 hours ago
I see complicity everywhere, and at all levels. Why would it fall apart quickly from here? The USSR held
together for quite a while, no?
chunga
3 hours ago
It figures a guy like Raskin is the face of this thing. I can't watch this today because yesterday I was
boiling over.
nmewn
2 hours ago
"In a statement on Friday night, Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler, Republican of Washington,
recounted a phone call
relayed
to her by
Mr. McCarthy of California, the minority leader, in which Mr. Trump was said to have
sided with the rioters, telling the top House Republican that members of the mob who had stormed the
Capitol were "more upset about the election than you are."
She's going to testify to receiving
second
hand
information, from McCarthy?
She's going to testify that McCarthy said Trump said that some Americans were "more upset about the
election than you are."...meaning, McCarthy?...mmmkay, besides the Senate's complete lack of
jurisdiction over "trying"
a
private citizen
in
the Legislature
I guess we can add some...
she-said-he-said-that-he-said
...nonsense
for the 80yr old "Supreme Court Justice" Patrick Leahy to wade through, if he can stay awake ;-)
Posa
2 hours ago
Illegitimate? Yes. Five key swing states had no signature checks and validation for millions of mail-in votes.
Doesn't prove fraud; then again, this doesn't prove there was no fraud. It does prove this was not a legitimate
election when so many ballots were indiscriminately cast.
SWRichmond
2 hours ago
(Edited)
remove
link
Trump "publicly and forcefully calling off the riot" would imply, of course, that he was in charge of it,
would it not? Trump asked for the rally, not the riot.
I think he did the right thing by NOT doing that.
the_pencil
2 hours ago
remove
link
If Pelosi is called as a witness, she/they will all be toast. And they know it.
Keep digging your hole, Dems.
Baconeggs
2 hours ago
Must have been trump that ordered the cops to allow everyone into the capitol then right? Maybe we
should have someone investigate that
Aquamaster
2 hours ago
And these clowns in the House, Senate, and the rest of the D.C. swamp
STILL
can't
seem to understand why normal Americans hate them so much.
the_pencil
2 hours ago
"Hate"....is nowhere near strong enough. The whole bunch is pure filth.
cleg
2 hours ago
they have brought it all on themselves
Xena fobe
2 hours ago
They understand. They want to be hated. It means they are getting filthy rich.
Jim in MN
2 hours ago
Here, let me help....
We The People DEMAND TO SEE:
Seth Rich's laptop
Hunter Biden's laptop
Anthony Weiner's laptop
Epstein's tapes
The Soros/DNC riot conspiracy surveillance files
The bioweapon strike files
the_pencil
2 hours ago
remove
link
If Pelosi is called as a witness, she/they will all be toast. And they know it.
Keep digging your hole, Dems.
Baconeggs
2 hours ago
Must have been trump that ordered the cops to allow everyone into the capitol then right? Maybe we
should have someone investigate that
Aquamaster
2 hours ago
And these clowns in the House, Senate, and the rest of the D.C. swamp
STILL
can't
seem to understand why normal Americans hate them so much.
the_pencil
2 hours ago
"Hate"....is nowhere near strong enough. The whole bunch is pure filth.
cleg
2 hours ago
they have brought it all on themselves
Xena fobe
2 hours ago
They understand. They want to be hated. It means they are getting filthy rich.
Jim in MN
2 hours ago
Here, let me help....
We The People DEMAND TO SEE:
Seth Rich's laptop
Hunter Biden's laptop
Anthony Weiner's laptop
Epstein's tapes
The Soros/DNC riot conspiracy surveillance files
The bioweapon strike files
tyberious
4 hours ago
remove
link
Witnesses? To what?
I want hand counted votes and voter ID!
found our POTUS won CO and VA!
chiquita
4 hours ago
This opens the door to calling in Pelosi, Harris, Zuckerberg, and a whole laundry list of people who had
their hands in what happened with the riots and the election fraud. It also means the impeachment
hearing can go on for quite a bit longer, but now a whole lot of information will come out that might
never have been shown to the American public. It's crazy because Trump will still never be convicted,
but if they get out the election fraud information, people will know what happened.
Why they're doing this is to try to make it look like Trump put Pence's life in danger, which is absurd.
No one is going to remember the opening case the demorats presented, nor the boring opening response from
Trump's team, especially his first attorney. All anyone is going to remember is how the demorats were
exposed as lying hypocrites yesterday, and today how they tried undo the damage by gaming their sham to
their advantage. Cheating is all they know, just like their election fraud. But all they did is
actually score the biggest 'own goal' they could to lose in epic fashion, and as a result had to slink off
the field humiliated once again by Trump. This is how their world ends...not with a bang...but with a
whimper. I would love to see how their deranged base is reacting to this. Must be the biggest suicide watch
in history.
USAllDay
32 minutes ago
I am not sure democrats are capable of being humiliated. One must grasp reality and have certain level of
respect to experience the feeling.
Joe Davola
51 minutes ago
(Edited)
Hey Mitch:
How's about prosecuting those who scammed the FISA court and spied on the incoming administration?
Yeah, that's what I thought.
champ2top
1 hour ago
(Edited)
Nancy holds the keys. She knows who sponsored the riots this past summer, she knows who is part of the deep
state, she knows where the dark money comes from, she knows who hired the agent provocateurs who led the
Capitol incursion. The coup and voter fraud are now hidden away unless someone comes forth. We can only hope
someone is brave enough.
Samual Vimes
1 hour ago
She is not alone in that knowledge.
champ2top
1 hour ago
Where are the witnesses? Where is Nancy? The deep state and swamp once again is successful in hiding the
truth from the people. Our government is a sham government. Our media is a sham media. Neither
is representative of the people.
Subsidence
2 hours ago
Meanwhile on main street.... we are losing our jobs, our culture and buried in debt. Our way of life has
been deemed extremist and not compatible with the "new" America. The elites in charge see us as a throwaway
and a useless group of people. We are dying out here and yet our government is more concerned about
appeasing a group of coastal yuppies by placing the former president on a sham trial. They hate us! Its past
sad and getting to the point of pure anger. We are at the breaking point.
hugin-o-munin
43 minutes ago
US elections need to be fully manual and with paper ballots only going forward. The way elections are stolen
using electronic voting machine systems is so obvious and fraudulent that it can't be used any more. Even
with all these sophisticated systems of fraud Biden couldn't win so they had to go full banana and van in
loads of freshly printed fake ballots in the middle of the night and let teams rerun the tabulators many
times to 'win'.
Kina
1 hour ago
Absolutely undoubted the USA
has undergone a total coup by the Global Deep State.
America is now owned and run by a group of international oligarch from various countries, for their own
ideological power purposes.
And people like Lindsay Graham are absolutely traitors to America.
Hard to witness Americans selling out their own country for some global world govt.
"
Insurrection
is a term of art. It's defined in the law
,"
argued Castor. "
It
involves taking over a country, a shadow government, taking the TV stations over and having some plan on what you're going to do
when you finally take power. Clearly this is not that
."
Update (1410ET):
After spending much of
the morning laying out their case for why the impeachment is a sham, former President Trump's legal team proceeded to play
several
montages of Democrats doing the exact same thing they've impeached Trump over
- namely, calling for violence against
Republicans. Interspersed throughout are clips of leftists committing violence against conservatives following the 'incitement.
Watch:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/rhJYHU3ejLc
They also played clips of Democrats
objecting to election results
:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/umsAhEFHFKA
As well as clips of Democrats gunning for a Trump impeachment at all costs:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/cq4GiGTZaKQ
* * *
Watch Live:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/TMeAOM52n2M
* * *
After Democratic impeachment managers spent the last two days dissecting videos and tweets - and in one case
fabricating
evidence
to try and convince the world that former President Trump incited the Jan. 6 Capitol riot,
it's
now time for the defense to counter
.
In what is expected to last just one day,
Trump's impeachment lawyers will reportedly
present a montage of prominent Democrats similarly 'inciting' their base
, as BLM and Antifa extremists spent much of
last year committing violent and destructive crimes throughout the country.
SeaDonkey
6 hours ago
remove
link
You guys
keep reducing it down to democrats versus republicans. Both parties are in bed with each other. Both parties
strike deals with corporations, special interest groups, lobbyists, and any other entity which provides wealth and
power. Dan Crenshaw is the exact same thing as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. His job (like hers) is to attract right
leaning voters which may be disenchanted with contemporary American politicians. He brings the outcasts and the
exiled back to the party while reassuring them that they can trust him- since, he claims to not be 'one of them.'
This country needs to hold ALL politicians accountable and clean house.
That is the only thing they really need to answer.
hugin-o-munin 1 hour ago (Edited)
Do we have any irrefutable evidence that she really was shot and died? I'm mentioning this
because there have been video reviews of what actually happened there and nothing makes sense
unless it was a film op.
Everything wrong with the Capitol Shooting HOAX - Ashley Babbit
The former Capitol Police chief sent a letter to congressional leaders explaining why the
Capitol Police appeared unprepared for the January 6 demonstrations. In the letter, which was
addressed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Steven Sund said the failure to respond to violence
during the demonstrations was largely due to a lack of intelligence on the type of people that
would be there.
Sund, who resigned after the demonstrations, noted he had relied on assessments from the
FBI, Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security when preparing for potential unrest
.
He said three days prior, an internal intelligence assessment showed a number of
extremist groups, including Antifa, were expected to target the Capitol Building and "could
become violent."
That's when Sund detailed a timeline of his many attempts to shore up support and expedite a
mass delivery of protective equipment for his officers. Although 100 riot helmets were
delivered on January 4, Army Lt. Gen. Walter Piatt allegedly told Sund he "did not like the
visual of the National Guard standing in a line with the Capitol in the background."
This came despite several people in the crowd "wearing radio earpieces indicating a high
level of coordination" and "carrying weapons, explosives and climbing gear."
In the letter, Sund recognized that a "number of systems broke down," adding that officials
who violated policies or directives need to be held accountable. He went on to say the National
Guard was far too slow, noting they sent in 150 troops about five-hours after his request for
their support was approved by the Capitol Police Board and called for that process to be
reformed.
On Sunday, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said he truly appreciated Sund's letter and wished more
people would come forward because the American public deserves to know what really happened on
January 6.
The senator added, he's "suspicious" that Democrat leaders knew about the attack and are
using the upcoming impeachment trial as a "diversion tactic."
Here is the site of Matthew DePerno, one the lawyers in the video. He needs financial aid to
keep up the Absolute Truth about the fraudulent 2020 election.
Time
has published an
explainer
piece
offering a fascinating insight into how the presidential election was won. It's titled "The Secret History of the Shadow
Campaign that Saved the 2020 Election."
The fascinating part is what it tells us about the brazenness of the left in general and the corrupt, mendacious MSM in particular:
they are now heavy-hinting that they cheated but want you to know that it's all OK because they were doing it to not to destroy
democracy but to preserve and enhance it.
Here's the key paragraph:
That's why the participants want the secret history of the 2020 election told, even though it sounds like a paranoid fever
dream–a well-funded cabal of powerful people, ranging across industries and ideologies, working together behind the scenes to
influence perceptions, change rules and laws, steer media coverage and control the flow of information. They were not rigging the
election; they were fortifying it. And they believe the public needs to understand the system's fragility in order to ensure that
democracy in America endures.
Do you see what they just did there?
The Democrats (and their sympathisers) didn't
rig
the
election. They just
fortified
it
by taking care to ensure the right guy won rather than the wrong guy won, regardless of what those pesky voters might misguidedly
have wanted.
Could this have anything to do, you wonder, with President Trump's upcoming impeachment trial?
My suspicion that Time's piece is both pre-emptive strike and damage limitation exercise. It anticipates the possibility that Trump
will provide evidence in support of his claim that the election was "stolen."
This evidence will be much harder to brush under the carpet in the Senate.
I'm reminded here of an old article from the
Times
(of
London), which
described
the
process whereby political projects are advanced by stealth.
It is at first denied that any radical new plan exists; it is then conceded that it exists but ministers swear blind that it is
not even on the political agenda; it is then noted that it might well be on the agenda but is not a serious proposition; it is
later conceded that it is a serious proposition but that it will never be implemented; after that it is acknowledge that it will
be implemented but in such a diluted form that it will make no difference to the lives of ordinary people; at some point it is
finally recognised that it has made such a difference, but it was always known that it would and voters were told so from the
outset.
This is where we are headed now with the"'stolen" election. Columnists who blithely assured us that the election was above board may
now begin to finesse their position.
"OK, so maybe it was rigged," they will start to concede. 'But isn't that always the case with elections? And anyway it's a done
deal now."
Sorry, my bad -- that use of the word "rigged" was a complete slip of the tongue.
What I meant to say is that the presidential election was "fortified." And what's not to like about that, eh?
"Oh say, can you see! By Dawn's early light; a pro-dollar trade; that puts the bears to
flight?" Bloomberg Daybreak this morning boldly states "American exceptionalism is back"
(baby). Apparently better-than-expected data and corporate earnings and the prospects of fiscal
stimulus show the USA is still the global standout after all. As a result, bearish USD trades
touted for the first month of the year need to suddenly be unwound: EUR is now back below 1.20,
AUD is clinging to 0.76, and JPY is past 105.50, while as an EM proxy, MXN is back to 20.38 at
time of writing vs. 19.55 on January 21.
... ... ...
President Biden has called on the military in Myanmar to relinquish power after their recent
coup. What happens when they refuse? A signature criticism of the Obama foreign policy team was
its refusal to match US rhetoric (e.g., "pivot to Asia") with any substantive action (e.g., in
the South China Sea or Syria). The new team gave interviews before assuming office saying they
had learned these lessons. So what options with teeth does the US have for the generals in
Naypidaw to back their demand? Sanctions are meaningless for a group who rarely travel abroad
and whom can look to China for support if needed, despite their coolness towards Beijing to
date.
This underlines the need for any top dog (or cat) to build up a pack (or clowder). Here
again we see problems. Many articles have been written about the new US administration's call
for the EU to stand alongside it to create new global frameworks favourable to the West (and by
extension for USD) and not China (and CNY); and about how the EU is not willing to step up to
that plate because of French exceptionalism and German Merkel-cantilism. Macron now says
the EU should not gang up on China with the US : " This kind of common front against China
risks pushing Beijing to lower its cooperation on issues like combatting climate change, and
exacerbating its aggressive behaviour in Asia, including in the South China Sea, " he says. So
will the US response then have to be Trumpian and EUR negative, like last time? If not, then
what exactly?
Of course, the previous administration had been building bridges to India, which has its own
issues with China. However, this relationship is still in its early stages, and India has
traditionally looked to Russia for muscle, a role Moscow would be happy to play again. In that
regard, the White House backing large anti-government protests in New Delhi against an
agricultural reform programme ostensibly to the US's liking, and criticizing the government for
cutting off the internet to try to disrupt them, is unlikely to help build bridges: indeed,
India has already drawn comparisons to the events of 6 January in the US Capitol, showing the
US is not as exceptional as it likes to project it is. These kind of shifts can matter, even if
this is just one small step on a much longer journey (and USD trend channel).
Meanwhile, the Aussie government (which has also never and will never target house prices,
"just land, bricks, mortar, etc.") might be wondering what the US will help do about a report
that
a Chinese company is planning to build a new city on a Papua New Guinea island near Australia's
northern border . 'New Daru City' allegedly includes an industrial zone, seaport, business
and commercial zone, along with a resort and residential area. Will Canberra regard this as a
market-driven response to the well-known Chinese demand for lifestyle residences in the vibrant
cultural hub that is the PNG hinterland, or as a Bond-villain project to develop a port just
200km from their Northern Territory? The PNG Prime Minister himself says he is "unaware" of
this proposal(!) Yes, this may well not come to pass; but one can again see the paving stones
being prepared for alternative paths for currencies like AUD, USD, and CNY (to say nothing of
PNG's Kina) to travel over the course of the 2020s.
Meanwhile, the US can at least rely on the UK, as usual, where yesterday saw regulators ban
China's CGTN TV news service, and the Telegraph also reports that three Chinese spies posing as
journalists have just been expelled from the country. Somehow, along with the whole BNO
passports issue, this is not likely to help ensure the "golden era" of Sino-British relations
promised under previous UK leadership.
But will it ensure a golden era of Bido-BoJo relations? That is another path as yet
untrod.
Happy Friday! "We love it so much, I think you do too."
The first reason is that the impeachment proceedings aren't a criminal trial, so even
conviction wouldn't establish guilt the way an actual criminal court might. Contrary to what
the public thinks -- with its third grade–level understanding of American politics -- and
what the media is happy to imply, impeachment is strictly a political process that does nothing
more than remove a person from office. The Democrats' new interpretation that impeachment can
be used to bar someone from holding office in the future is a rather novel approach.
Justus_Americans 6 hours ago remove link
Gaslight 1944 Movie both timeless and timely the gaslighting of America in 2021.
Projection, accusing others of what they themselves do. https://youtu.be/sLXlAIVP46c
US Banana Republic 10 hours ago remove link
This "impeachment" is 100% a political move (10 RINOs not withstanding).
It is supported 100% by oligarchical propaganda.
It depends on mass hysteria, with no logic whatsoever.
karzai_luver 16 hours ago remove link
Keep it simple. Just go with whatever John Brennan says you can do.
Don't drone me bro.
Don't want to be branded a Domestic Terrorist or extremist.
Over the last four years, there has been a type of race by politicians and pundits who seek
to outdo each other in the most sensational claims of how Donald Trump could be prosecuted or
impeached on an ever-expanding list of offenses. Each claim is
stated with absolute certainty despite long-standing questions or constitutional barriers.
Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of California has been a
standout in this crowd -- calling for impeachments and prosecutions from the very beginning of
Trump's term in office. She is now insisting that Trump can and should be charged with
"premeditated murder" over the deadly riots at the U.S. Capitol on Jan.
6th. The statement was made on MSNBC which has trafficked in such ridiculous theories without
any pushback from the media or legal experts.
Waters made her statement in an interview with Joy Reid, who has had one of the most
controversial records in television for her
racially charged language , dubious
legal arguments , and
unsupported claims . Reid notably does not press Waters on her claim that Trump should be
charged with premeditated murder.
Here is the interview:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/l3TfKQYuoDc
In the interview, Reid refers to the 1990s and the "insurrections in Los Angeles." It is not
clear from the interview what constitutes an insurrection in the 1990s but the term "riot"
seems effectively barred today in favor of "insurrection."
When Trump or his allies made outlandish and unsupported claims about the law in the past,
the media piled on with coverage stating that such claims were ridiculous or unfounded. I
regularly called out Trump for such claims, including his call for
changing whole areas of law like defamation. However, equally unsupported claims on the
left are met with little or no push back from hosts or the media.
Waters states "He absolutely should be charged with premeditated murder because of the lives
that were lost for this invasion with his insurrection,. For the President of the United States
to sit and watch the invasion and the insurrection and not say a word because he knew he had
absolutely initiated it – and as some of them said, 'he invited us to come. We're here at
the invitation of the President of the United States."
In Washington, D.C., a person is guilty of first degree murder when he or she specifically
intends to kill another purposely with premeditation and deliberation, or kills while in the
process of committing a felony. See Section 22-2104 . Most states require that
first-degree premeditated murder be proven as a willful, deliberate, premeditated killing. That
is treated as a specific intent crime with the showing of a purposive act or an act with
express malice. You must generally show a specific intent to kill and premeditation is usually
shown by evidence that a defendant reflected on the act or planned for the act of murder.
Waters' home state courts have dealt with this issue recently:
"Murder, whether in the first or second degree, requires malice aforethought. (§
187.) Malice can be express or implied. It is express when there is a manifest intent to kill
(§ 188, subd. (a)(1)); it is implied if someone kills with "no considerable provocation
. . . or when the circumstances attending the killing show an abandoned and malignant heart"
(§ 188, subd. (a)(2)). When a person directly perpetrates a killing, it is the
perpetrator who must possess such malice. People v. Gentile (Riverside County Court December
2020)."
In this case, there is no evidence that Trump directly murdered anyone or sought the death
of anyone. He is being accused of conspiring in the commission of such murders. That sounds
more like a claim of being an aider and abetter to murder. However, even in California where
charges can be based on the the natural and probable consequence of the aided and abetted
crime, courts have balked at such broad interpretations. "Under the natural and probable
consequences doctrine, an accomplice is guilty not only of the offense he or she directly aided
or abetted (i.e., the target offense), but also of any other offense committed by the direct
perpetrator that was the "natural and probable consequence" of the crime the accomplice aided
and abetted (i.e., the nontarget offense)."
This distinction was again recently drawn in California:
"In Chiu, we held that the natural and probable consequences doctrine cannot support a
conviction for first degree premeditated murder. (Chiu, supra, 59 Cal.4th at p. 167.) We
reasoned that in the context of murder, the natural and probable consequences doctrine serves
the purpose of "deterring aiders and abettors from aiding or encouraging the commission of
offenses that would naturally, probably, and foreseeably result in an unlawful killing." (Id.
at p. 165.) But this purpose "loses its force" when an accomplice is held culpable for first
degree premeditated murder under a natural and probable consequences theory. (Id. at p. 166.)
First degree premeditated murder carries significantly higher penalties than second degree
murder and requires the additional mental state that the killing be "willful, deliberate, and
premeditated." PEOPLE v. GENTILE Opinion of the Court by Liu, J. 12 (§ 189, subd. (a);
Chiu, at p. 166.) Whether or not the direct perpetrator killed with premeditation "has no
effect on the resultant harm. The victim has been killed regardless of the perpetrator's
premeditative mental state." (Chiu, at p. 166.) We further concluded that subjecting an
accomplice to enhanced punishment based solely on the "uniquely subjective and personal"
mental state of the direct perpetrator was inconsistent with "reasonable concepts of
culpability." (Chiu, supra, 59 Cal.4th at pp. 166, 165.)"
In her interview, Waters was apparently referencing reports that some of the rioters had
planned in advance to storm the Capitol. On the day of the riot, many of us noted that some of
the rioters clearly brought ropes and other items that indicated preparation to the attack.
Those reports however cut both ways. It certainly shows that those individuals had
premeditation, but it also shows that the speech itself may not have been the incitement for
those individuals. Critics can fairly note that the President had engaged in reckless rhetoric
for weeks. However, there is a difference between reckless and criminal speech. More
importantly, if such comments are now dispositive evidence of premeditation for murder, it
would allow such vicarious charges for homicide in a wide array of cases involving
politicians.
While Waters has defended her long list of impeachable offenses as based on the view that
"impeachment is whatever Congress says it is ," the same is not true of the criminal
code.
I t is a fitting end to four years of Donald Trump in the White House.
On one side, Trump's endless stoking of political grievances -- and claims that November's
presidential election was "stolen" from him -- spilled over into a mob storming the U.S.
Capitol. They did so in the forlorn hope of disrupting the certification process of the
Electoral College vote, which formally declared his opponent, Joe Biden, the winner.
On the other side, the Democratic Party instituted a second, unprecedented
impeachment process in the slightly less forlorn hope of foreclosing any possibility of him
running again in 2024.
Barely concealing its alliance with the then-incoming Biden administration, Silicon Valley
shut down
Trump's social media megaphone. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lobbied the Joint Chiefs of Staff to
cut an "unhinged" Trump out of the chain of command, in a move that was reportedly rejected
out of hand by Pentagon officials because, they told The New York Times , it would
amount to a "military coup."
And Biden, who boasts that he was the author the Patriot Act years before 9/11, has been
touting
a new "domestic terrorism" bill, as though the U.S. did not already have a plethora of ways to
crack down on dissent, of both the legitimate and the illegitimate varieties.
With that as the backdrop, Washington, D.C.,
designated Biden's inauguration last month a "national special security event."
Authoritarian Tribes
None of this is just the latest sign that the U.S. political system has degenerated into
tawdry theater. It is growing evidence that U.S. politics is devolving into a permanent
confrontation between two authoritarian tribes. Both are convinced that the other side is
un-American, perverting the true republic. Both are unwilling to compromise, believing they
share no common ground. And ultimately both are fighting for a rotten cause.
This is not a divide between ethical and unethical politics. This clash is now a bitter
grudge match. It is civil war by other means. Not only is the chasm between these rival camps
widening, but the real criminals are making off -- as they always do -- with the loot.
Each tribe has been coalescing for a while now around a center of gravity. On the Republican
side that became clear with the emergence of the Tea Party and the birther movement during
President Barack Obama's tenure. But it took Trump's election as president in 2016 to create a
proper oppositional center of gravity on the other side.
Those in the Democratic tribe who now disdain Trump and his supporters for their desperate
refusal to accept November's result overlook how they greeted Trump's victory in 2016. They
struggled against the legitimacy of that outcome too, even if they did not resort to the overt
violence of the mob at the Capitol.
It began with arguments that, while Trump might have won the Electoral College vote, he
lost the popular vote . Four years ago, the Electoral College also faced self-serving
accusations that it had disenfranchised the majority.
The Democratic tribe took to the streets as well, in protest marches in cities across the
U.S. under the banner of the Resistance, denying Trump was their president. That was
understandable, given his personal behavior and the policies he advocated. But it did not end
there.
The disavowal of the Trump presidency quickly regressed into a dangerous narrative -- one
that has never properly gone away, despite the dearth of evidence to support it. The claim was
not only that the Russians interfered in the 2016 election to help Trump win, but that Trump
himself had actively colluded with Russia to steal the election from his opponent, Hillary
Clinton.
Anything that had damaged Clinton -- including emails showing that the Democratic leadership
rigged its own primaries to make sure she was the party's candidate rather than Bernie Sanders
-- got sucked into
that vast conspiracy theory. That included the messenger of these bad tidings: WikiLeaks
and its founder Julian Assange.
For years, the Democratic tribe has invested its considerable energies in fruitless efforts
to prove its theory, including the first bid to remove Trump through an entirely self-defeating
impeachment process.
None of this could be justified politically. It was a Democrat counterpoint to Trump's MAGA
slogan: "Make America Great Again". Democrats promised the much less catchy SAPD: "Save America
from President Deplorable."
For this tribe, Trump was an illegitimate president from the outset, one whose election to
the highest office in the land revealed something unwholesome about their country they
preferred to avert their gaze from because it might implicate them too. Removing Trump largely
eclipsed the struggle to improve the lives of ordinary Americans.
The obsession with Trump above everything else seemingly rationalized any means -- fair or
foul -- to be rid of him. Few thought about how this would look to his supporters or to those
not already safely ensconced in one or other tribe.
To understand, they now need only look to the storming of the Capitol How they felt watching
the building being ransacked -- a Deplorable putting his feet up contemptuously on House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi's desk -- was how Trump's tribe felt watching their president being
denounced as a Russian agent and dragged through impeachment proceedings.
This mood is not likely to dissipate. The two political tribes are locked in an antagonistic
tango, mirroring each other's moves, each other's grudges, each other's sense of victimhood.
Much more unites them than they would ever care to admit.
Festering Culture War
This may be the pathology, but what of the cause.
What we see here is the culmination of a festering culture war stoked by an unhealthy
investment by both sides in a simple-minded and highly divisive identity politics.
Much has correctly been made of the white supremacism of the most loyal sections of Trump's
tribe, and that was on show again during the invasion of the Capitol. The Confederate flag, the
neo-Nazi slogans, the T-shirts extolling the Jewish supremacy of Israel are all indicators of a
toxic politics of white grievance that may be less articulated but is still felt by a wider
swath of Trump's supporting constituency.
This ugly identity politics is rightly rejected by the other tribe, but is nonetheless
mirrored in its equally deep commitment to identity politics. The progressive coalition of
identities at the core of the Democratic Party may be more reassuring to modern sensibilities,
but has served in practice to accentuate to parts of the Trump tribe the supposed threat to
their white identity.
This is not to equate the justified struggle of Black Lives Matter against endemic racism,
including in the police, with the reactionary forces seeking to preserve some notion of white
privilege. It is to simply observe that when the political field of battle exclusively revolves
around identity, then one cannot be surprised if each side continues to frame its struggle in
precisely those terms.
Those who live by the identity sword are likely to die by that same sword.
The Trump tribe want their president, and the Republican Party more generally, to guarantee
a white supremacism they fear is being eroded as the Democrat Party flaunts its progressive,
multicultural credentials. The Democrat tribe, meanwhile, wants to challenge the old order --
and most especially reactionary institutions like local police forces -- that have been an
oppressive bulwark against change.
This dynamic can lead only to permanent confrontation, bitterness and alienation.
Class Struggle
There is a way out of the dead-end culture war that pits one tribe against the other. It is
to formulate an alternative, popular politics based on class struggle -- the 99 percent against
the 1 percent. But neither the Republican nor the Democratic leaderships, or the respective
medias that cheerlead them, has any interest in encouraging a political realignment of this
sort.
The Democratic Party is not a vehicle for class struggle, after all. Like the Republican
Party, it is designed to preserve the privileges of an elite. Its biggest donors, like the
Republicans', are drawn from Wall Street, Silicon Valley, Big Pharma, the arms industries. The
political battle in the United States is between two parties of capital united by far more than
divides them.
The shadow play of U.S. politics is the enervating, antagonistic confrontation of identities
described above. While ordinary Americans get stoked into a mutual tribal loathing by a
corporate media that profits from this theatre of hate, the elite enjoys a free hand to pillage
the planet and the commons.
While we fixate on identities that have been crafted to divide us, while we remain immersed
in the surface of politics, while we are distracted from the real battle lines, those elites
prosper.
Political paralysis may not harm the establishment. But it is profoundly damaging to us, the
99 percent, when our communities are being ravaged by a pandemic, when our economies are in
meltdown, when the planet is on the brink of ecological collapse.
We need a functioning political system that reflects popular priorities, like Medicare For
All, a dignified minimum wage and free college; that understands the urgency of the challenges
posed by multiple crises; and that can marshal and channel our energies into solutions, not
into endless, irresolvable confrontations based on grievances that have been cultivated to
weaken us.
Trump is not the enemy. That target is far too small and limited. The class he belongs to is
our enemy, as is the system of privilege he has spent the past four years upholding and his
successor will defend just as assiduously.
Whether Trump is ultimately convicted or not in the Senate, the system that produced him
will be acquitted -- by Congress, by the new president, by Wall Street, by the corporate
media.
It is we who will pay the price.
Jonathan Cook is a former Guardian journalist (1994-2001) and winner of the Martha
Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism. He is a freelance journalist based in Nazareth. If you
appreciate his articles, please consider offering your financial support .
This dude's father (he was adopted) is a retired general.
The embedded video shows him teaching people how to dress in black bloc. Is he behind
bars? Don't make me laff. Also this AP (agent provocateur) was right next to the woman that
was shot dead on Jan. 6.
Black bloc gear is right out of Germany. This guy didn't learn these tactics on his own.
The scary part is that the MSM is ignoring the real history of black bloc, out of Germany,
and how it migrated here to the US.
Fox News is facing a rise of the machines, voting machines that is, as election software
firm Smartmatic is suing the network, three of its anchors and lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney
Powell for allegedly false claims of fraud.
The defamation lawsuit , which was
filed on Thursday in New York state court in Manhattan, seeks $2.7 billion in damages. In
addition to Fox and the two lawyers, Smartmatic names Fox hosts Lou Dobbs, Jeanine Pirro and
Maria Bartiromo as defendants, saying they falsely claimed that the company's technology was
used to help 'steal' the November 3 election from former President Donald Trump.
Florida-based Smartmatic said the defendants knew the election wasn't rigged, "but they
also saw an opportunity to capitalize on President Trump's popularity by inventing a story.
Defendants decided to tell people that the election was stolen from President Trump and Vice
President (Mike) Pence." The company added that "without any true villain, defendants
invented one. Defendants decided to make Smartmatic the villain in their story."
Moreover, Smartmatic said its software was used in just one jurisdiction in the November 3
election – Los Angeles County. Democrat Joe Biden won California by more than 5 million
votes. Trump made allegations of election fraud in decisive swing states where Biden had narrow
margins of victory, such as Georgia, Pennsylvania and Michigan.
How many people were in the TCF Center and is there any validity to the excuse that they
were over the "COVID capacity" – the excuse they used to exclude the Republicans from
watching vote processing
Why did so many Democrat poll workers bring in suitcases ? Did they hide illegal ballots
in them like their colleagues in Georgia?
Were the machines networked? Can we see the modem and the wires networking the tabulating
machines as described by Patrick
Colbeck?
Who brought in what at 3:30/4:00 am, were they ballots as the Republicans have said they
witnessed or was it food/camera equipment as the media claimed? Shane Trejo and Jose Aliaga claim these were ballots.
Was there any security keeping people out of the building who did not have credentials to
get in?
Were there other unexplained ballot dumps past the 8:00 PM deadline for ballots as
several other witnesses have alleged?
Were GOP Poll Challengers being ejected for making good-faith challenges or were they
refusing to wear a mask?
... ... ...
And after our initial review of the TCF security video, we can assure you -- We have
evidence of illicit and likely criminal activity and we have it on video.
On January 19th, the US Senate held confirmation hearings for Joe Biden's Secretary of State
nominee Antony Blinken. Blinken has a reputation on both sides of the aisle for being
exceptionally qualified for the job of America's top diplomat, which is surprising considering
he was on the wrong side of every major foreign policy blunder of the last 20 years ;
Iraq, Libya, and Syria .
When Senator Rand Paul
asked Antony Blinken what lessons he has learned from his disastrous foreign policy record
in Libya and Syria, Blinken replied that after "some hard thinking" he's proud that he has done
"everything we possibly can to make sure that diplomacy is the first answer, not the last
answer, and that war and conflict is our last resort."
Of course war is the last resort. Even the most hawkish war criminals would agree that war
is the last resort. But the question is, war is the last resort to accomplish what? If war is
the last resort to get a country to fully capitulate to Washington's demands then eventually
the US will be at war with everyone. To Blinken, war as the last resort can only be understood
in the same way a mugger considers shooting his victim as a last resort to stealing their
wallet.
Blinken displayed his hubris a few minutes later when he said, "The door should remain open"
for Georgia to join NATO under the justification of curbing Russian aggression .
Rand Paul informed Blinken, "This would be adding Georgia, that's occupied [by Russia], to
NATO. Under Article 5, then we would go to war ."
Senator Paul is right. According to Washington, Russia has been
occupying 20 percent of Georgia since 2008. Under the principle of collective defense in
Article 5 of NATO, the US would be obligated to treat Russia's occupation of the country of
Georgia the same way the US would treat a Russian occupation of the US state of Georgia. That
sounds like a recipe for war. But don't worry, peaceniks, Antony Blinken has assured us that
war is the last resort!
Blinken's framing of the issue exposes his disingenuous approach. Russian aggression is a
term used by Washington insiders to describe a Russian reaction to western aggression. Blinken
knows that the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia was not Russian aggression, he calls it that
because it suits his agenda and the American press is dependably ignorant enough to not ask
questions.
In the 2008 war, Georgia
was the aggressor against the South Ossetians, a people who are ethnically distinct from Georgians, and
who have never --
not even for one day -- considered themselves a part of Georgia. The Ossetians have a
history of Russian
partiality ; they were among the first ethnic groups in the region to join the Russian
Empire in the 19th century and the USSR in the 1920s. Today, ethnic Ossetians straddle both
sides of the current Russian border, and they are more aligned with the Russian government than with the
Georgian government.
When Georgia gained sovereignty from the former Soviet Union in 1991, South Ossetia declared
its independence. In response, Georgian forces invaded South Ossetia, initiating an armed
conflict that killed more than
2,000 people . In 1992, a ceasefire agreement was signed in Sochi between Georgia, Russia
and South Ossetia, which created a
tripartite peacekeeping force led by Russia. Although the international community never
acknowledged South Ossetia's independence, they have enjoyed political autonomy since the 1992
Sochi agreement.
The Sochi agreement held up until Georgia's ultra-nationalist President Mikheil Saakashvili
came to power in the 2003 western-backed
bloodless " Rose
Revolution " coup-d'etat. The pro-western President Saakashvili advocated joining the EU
and NATO, and insisted on asserting Georgian rule over South
Ossetia. U.S. President George Bush
supported the new Georgian president's effort to bring Georgia into NATO, which for Russia
would mean bringing a hostile military up to its border. In 2006, President Saakashvili offered
South Ossetia autonomy in exchange for a political settlement with Georgia. A
referendum was held, and the South Ossetian people overwhelmingly reaffirmed their desire for
independence from Georgia.
In August, 2008, After exchanging artillery fire with South Ossetia,
Georgia invaded South Ossetia's capital city of Tskhinvali, killing
1,400 civilians and
18 Russian peacekeepers . Georgia's attack triggered a Russian invasion into South Ossetia
and Abkhazia (another breakaway region) to restore stability and protect peacekeeping
forces.
Russia is by no means innocent -- they used
disproportionate force attacking targets inside Georgia -- but only a Russophobic shill
would conclude that this war was somehow caused by Russian aggression. The idea that Russia had
no business intervening is laughable. Under the
1992 Sochi agreement , Russia took charge of a peacekeeping coalition to help prevent
exactly the scenario that happened in the summer of 2008.
If George Bush had succeeded in bringing Georgia into NATO, the United States may have been
dragged into war with Russia in 2008. Antony Blinken claims that NATO membership deters Russian
aggression, but does he really believe that Russia would have been deterred from intervening to
protect its own peacekeeping force? Does Blinken believe that Georgia -- backed by the U.S.
military -- would have acted more cautiously in South Ossetia, or is it more likely they would
have been bolder?
It's undeniable that it is in Russia's best interest to have pro-Russian countries on its
borders. But pretending as if Russia is going to march into Tbilisi and reabsorb the entire
country of Georgia into Russia is a level of paranoia that should disqualify anyone from having
an opinion on the subject. The military conflict in Georgia is about the two breakaway regions
and their right to self determination. Russia's self interest happens to align with the wishes
of the people in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
By supporting Georgia, America -- the champion of democracy and self determination -- has
adopted the position that South Ossetians didn't really mean to repeatedly choose independence
when given the option. This is a situation where America's professed values are diametrically
opposed to its policy of countering Russian influence everywhere on the map.
Antony Blinken should pause to consider if America's policy objectives are worth fighting a
war for. Is it worth confronting Russia in South Ossetia? Was it worth confronting Russia over
Crimea and the Donbas in
Ukraine ? Is it a good idea to withdraw from the INF
Nuclear Treaty and the
Open Skies Treaty ? Should we have spent the last 30 years marching NATO -- a military
alliance hostile to Russia -- right up to the doorsteps of
Russia ? Is any of this really making us safer?
Blinken has bought into his own propaganda. To Blinken, regardless of the stubborn details
of history, every conflict on Russia's border is simply Russian aggression. Washington's
solution is the expansion of NATO, which Russia describes as "
NATO encirclement. " This is an unacceptable military threat to Russia, who has
a deep distrust of western intentions due to a long history of western invasions into Russia.
Antony Blinken still lives in a bipolar world in which the United States and Russia are
existential threats to each other's existence. Every conflict and every alliance is only viewed
through the lens of the New Cold War crusade against Russia. This maniacal crusade could thrust
America in the unthinkable abyss of nuclear war.
Rand Paul got his answer, Antony Blinken learned nothing from all his mistakes! The danger
isn't merely resorting to war too early, the danger is in sticking our noses in conflicts that
we have no business being in. War should be the last resort to defending America's people and
it's homeland from foreign invasion; it should not be the last resort to enforcing America's
utopian vision on the world, and it certainly shouldn't be the last resort to prevent an ethnic
group in the South Caucasus -- that almost no American has ever heard of -- from the right to
self-determination.
Kenny MacDonald is a former Navy SEAL and Afghanistan War veteran. He is currently pursuing
a bachelor's degree in history. Youtube Channel . Medium . Facebook .
It's an hour-and-a-half long, and I just don't have time to listen to it all. It would be
great any readers had to time and the inclination to pick out the highlights and put them in
comments (and if you do, please include time codes).
"AOC on Instagram Live: Recounting Jan. 6 attack details draws more than 160K viewers" [
Staunton News-Leader ]. "[S]he laid out the fact that people knew violence was coming on
Jan. 6. Members of Congress, trying to help her, sent messages as early as the Thursday before
Jan. 6 that they expected bad things to go down as the Congress moved to certify the Electoral
College results of the November election."
The News-Leader is a Gannet paper in the Shenendoah Valley, but they didn't pull the story
from the wires, they had a reporter write it up. The last politician I can remember who
made the story like this was, well Donald Trump.
"Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Opens Up About Trauma in a Moving and Powerful Instagram Live" [
Marie Claire ].
"On Monday night, in a brave and candid video on Instagram Live, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
revealed her deep trauma following the Jan. 6 siege of the Capitol, and the prior traumas that
had made it even more triggering. Ocasio-Cortez shared that she is a survivor of sexual
assault: 'I haven't told many people in my life," she said. She began crying during her
retelling of the events of Jan. 6, but fought to continue to tell her story. 'All of your
traumas can, kind of, intersect and interact,' she explained. Ocasio-Cortez compared
Republicans' insistence on telling her and other survivors of the Jan. 6 attack to 'get over
it' to the tactics used by abusers. She added: 'The folks [false note, there] who
are saying we should move on, we shouldn't have accountability, etc., are saying: 'Can you just
forget about this so that we can do it again?' I'm not going to let it happen to me again and
I'm not going to let it happen to our country."
I have mixed reactions to this. On the one hand the "we should just move on" attitude has
done the country a lot of damage. Obama's version of this was " we need to look forward as
opposed to looking backwards ," and as a direct result Gina Haspel, a torturer, headed the
CIA.
On the other, I would want expert testimony on whether traumas "intersect and interact," and
how they do. On yet another, I'm deeply suspicious of the concept that trauma conveys
authenticity, especially political authenticity. If trauma did convey authenticity, then
PSTD-suffering soldiers would make the best cops. Finally, it's a category error, exactly on
the order of confusing government with a household, to equate personal trauma with political
violence. They may have similar roots (say, deaths of despair), and they may feel the same to
the person experiencing them, but they are products of difference systems.
"AOC: Ocasio-Cortez recalls Capitol raid, calls for accountability" [
Al Jazeera ]. "US Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has described being
terrified for her life during the storming of the US Capitol, doubling down on calls for
Republican politicians to be held accountable.
In an emotional broadcast on Monday night, New York House member Ocasio-Cortez said she was
harassed by those she identified as fans of former President Donald Trump for days before the
January 6 incident and was warned by other members of Congress to be "careful" on the day of
the rally."
To me, it looks like AOC -- a very, very talented politician -- is picking up the power
that's lying in the street. First, the "survivor" rhetoric, like it or not -- I don't; see my
comment above -- speaks directly to the bourgeois feminists of the Clintonite wing of the
Democrat Party. Who else is doing that?
Second, the "accountability" rhetoric speaks directly to the broad (albeit PMC) base that
really wants to stick it to the Republicans, bipartisanship be damned. Who else is doing that?
(The pink pussy hat brigade will, of course, do whatever the leadership tells them to, but
that's their initial, default, setting).
Third, in a party with a weak bench thirsting for non-geriatric leadership, AOC is stepping
forward. Who else is doing that? Finally, speaking directly to her fan base (i.e., one assumes,
voters, ultimately) on Instagram -- as, apparently, she while cooking (!) -- bypasses the press
entirely.
Who else is doing that? Again, one thinks of Trump. I wonder if she does A/B testing?
(There are all sorts of reasons to dislike AOC on policy -- I notices a long time ago she was
saying "working class" a lot less -- but there's no denying her talents as a
politician.)
Really sorry that AOC was scared for her life. Was gonna look it up re how many
politicians have been killed by Americans in the past 100 years but .just too much
energy.
We've all been traumatized.
45,000 Americans.die every year from no insurance.
There is a shorter video by AOC linked in the following tweet and I will say this for her.
She knows how to project an image. In the video you will see the black borders on either
side, a cream background, and AOC dressed in a grayish-black top with her face being the only
colour in this 1:37 min video. If these were not her decisions, then she must have a very
good media advisor-
"'Be ready to fight': FBI probe of U.S. Capitol riot finds evidence detailing coordination
of an assault" [
WaPo ]. "FBI agents around the country are working to unravel the various motives,
relationships, goals and actions of the hundreds of Trump supporters who stormed the U.S.
Capitol on Jan. 6. Some inside the bureau have described the Capitol riot investigation as
their biggest case since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and a top priority of the agents' work
is to determine the extent to which that violence and chaos was preplanned and coordinated."
• And if so,
by whom .
"'Blame Trump' defense from alleged Capitol rioters dovetails with Democrats' impeachment
case" [
CNN ]. "One by one, die-hard supporters of former President Donald Trump are now blaming
him for their actions that day, after being charged by federal prosecutors and facing
possible jail time. A lawyer for one rioter who allegedly attacked police officers with a
baseball bat said he was "inspired" by Trump's incendiary speech at a rally beforehand. The
so-called QAnon shaman, whose horned bearskin headdress made him go viral, now claims he was
"duped" by Trump, his lawyer said. At this point, the statements may be more of a public
relations strategy than an articulated legal defense. But they dovetail with Democrats' case
in favor of impeaching and convicting Trump; they agree that the former president incited the
deadly insurrection that overwhelmed the Capitol on January 6."
"A 2009 warning about right-wing extremism was engulfed by politics. There are signs it's
happening again." [
USA Today ]. "In April 2009, federal intelligence officials issued a prescient warning to
police departments around the country. 'Right-wing extremists will attempt to recruit and
radicalize returning veterans in order to exploit their skills and knowledge derived from
military training and combat," experts in the Department of Homeland Security wrote. 'These
skills and knowledge have the potential to boost the capabilities of extremists –
including lone wolves or small terrorist cells – to carry out violence.' It was one of
DHS' most explicit mentions of homegrown terrorists since 9/11, one with a direct connection
to the military. But the call to action was effectively buried after powerful Republican
politicians and their allies in the right-wing media launched broadsides against President
Barack Obama's administration and Democrats , alleging that they had disrespected the
men and women in the U.S. military while attempting to surveil and silence conservatives. The
blowback shifted the debate away from how to actually address the threat and into another
partisan public spectacle." • Translating, the Democrats -- assuming good faith -- were
weak. Yet another 2009 debacle from Obama.
"How to fix our domestic terrorist problem" [ Washington
Examiner ]. "We saw five dead in the Jan. 6 attempted coup d'etat. We saw possible
assassination plots against both former Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi. We saw coercion designed to prevent certification of President Biden's Electoral
College victory. We now see the Capitol necessarily secured behind razor wire. But we also
see some Republican members of Congress trying to sneak guns onto the House floor. One has
even called for violence. It is time to confront these putschists." One suggested measure:
'Make fire and police departments that receive federal grants have their members sign
commitments not to engage in acts to overthrow the government.'" • Hmm.
Impeachment
"House Dems make their impeachment case in pretrial brief" [
ABC ]. "'The only honorable path at that point was for President Trump to accept the
results and concede his electoral defeat. Instead, he summoned a mob to Washington, exhorted
them into a frenzy, and aimed them like a loaded cannon down Pennsylvania Avenue,' the
managers wrote in their brief submitted ahead of next week's trial of the former president."
•
The Pennsylvania secretary of state who emerged as a villain to supporters of former
President Donald Trump said Monday she will resign for failing to comply with an unrelated
state election law.
Kathy Boockvar, a Democrat, will leave office on Feb. 5. Her office botched the handling of
a state constitutional amendment that would allow more sexual abuse victims to sue their
alleged abusers.
In a statement, she said, "I've always believed that accountability and leadership must be a
cornerstone of public service. While I only became aware of the mistake last week, and
immediately took steps to alert the administration to the error, I accept the responsibility on
behalf of the department."
Pennsylvania law requires that proposed amendments pass the state legislature twice. The
secretary of state's office must publicize the proposed amendment in two newspapers in each of
the state's 67 counties ahead of the election between votes, which her office failed to do.
Gov. Tom Wolf, also a Democrat, announced Boockvar's resignation in a press release that
stressed the issue was separate from the presidential election.
"This change at the Department of State has nothing to do with the administration of the
2020 election, which was fair and accurate,"
Wolf said .
6 Warning Signs from Biden's First Week in Office The "progressive" candidate praised as
a "woke bloke" seems to be carrying on where all his authoritarian Imperialist predecessors
left off Kit Knightly
What do these orders, or any of his other moves, tell us about the future plans of the
recently "elected" administration? Nothing good, unfortunately.
1. VACCINATION
PASSPORTS
I still remember people claiming the introduction of vaccination passports (or immunity
passes or the like) was just a "conspiracy theory", the paranoid fantasy of fringe "covidiots".
All the way back in December, when they were
getting fact-checked by tabloid journalists who can't do basic maths .
International Certificates of Vaccination or Prophylaxis. Consistent with applicable law,
the Secretary of State, the Secretary of HHS, and the Secretary of Homeland Security
(including through the Administrator of the TSA), in coordination with any relevant
international organizations, shall assess the feasibility of linking COVID-19 vaccination to
International Certificates of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (ICVP) and producing electronic
versions of ICVPs.
2. CABINET APPOINTMENTS
Biden's cabinet is praised as the "most diverse" in history, but will hiring a few non-white
people really change the decades-old policies of US Imperialism? It certainly doesn't look like
it.
His pick for Under Secretary of State is Victoria Nuland , a neocon warmonger and
one of the masterminds of the Maidan coup in Ukraine in 2014. She is married to Robert Kagan , another neocon
warmonger, co-founder of the Project for a New American Century and senior fellow at the
Brookings Institute and one of the masterminds behind the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
The incoming Secretary of State, Antony Blinken , is also an inveterate US
Imperialist, arguing for every US military intervention since the 1990s, and criticised Trump's
decision to withdraw from Syria.
Biden's pick for Defence Secretary is the first African-American ever appointed to this
role, but former General Lloyd Austin is hardly going be some kind of "progressive" voice int
his cabinet. He's a career soldier who retired from the military in 2016 to join the
board of Raytheon Technologies , an arms manufacturer and military contractor.
As "diverse" as this cabinet may be in skin colour or gender there is most certainly no
"diversity" of opinion or policy. There are very few new faces and no new thoughts.
So, it looks like we can expect more of the same in terms of foreign policy. A fact that's
already been displayed in
3. IRAQ
Despite heavy resistance from the military and Deep State, Donald Trump wanted to end the
war in Iraq and pledged to pull American troops out of the country. This was one of Trump's
more popular policies, and during the campaign Biden made no mention of intending to reverse
that decision.
The Iraqi parliament has made it clear it wants the US to
take its military off their soil , so any American forces on Iraqi land are technically
there illegally in contravention of international law. But that never bothered them
before.
4. AFGHANISTAN
Turns out the US can't withdraw from Afghanistan either. Last February Trump signed a deal
with the Taliban that all US personnel would leave Afghanistan by May 2021.
Joe Biden has already committed to "reviewing"
this deal . Sec. Blinken was quoted as saying that Biden's admin wanted:
to end this so-called forever war [but also] retain some capacity to deal with any
resurgence of terrorism, which is what brought us there in the first place".
As a great man once
said , nothing someone says before the word "but" really counts. The US will not be
withdrawing from Afghanistan, and if there is any public pressure to do so, the government will
simply claim the Taliban broke their side of the deal first, or stage a few terrorist
attacks.
5. AND SYRIA
Far from simply continuing the on-going wars, there are already signs Biden's "diverse" team
will look to escalate, or even start, other conflicts.
Syria was another theatre of war from which Donald Trump wanted to extricate the United
States,
unilaterally ordering all US troops from the country in late 2019.
We now know the Pentagon ignored those orders. They lied to the
President , telling Trump they had followed his orders but not withdrawing a single man.
This organized mutiny against the Commander-in-Chief of the US Armed Forces was played for a
joke in the media when it was finally revealed.
There will be no need for any such duplicity now Biden is in the Oval Office, he was a
vocal critic of the decision to withdraw , claiming it gave ISIS a "new lease of life".
Indeed, within two days of his being sworn in a column of American military vehicles was
seen entering Syria from Iraq
.
6. DOMESTIC TERRORISM
We called this before the
inauguration . They made it just too obvious. Before the dirty footprints had been cleaned
from Nancy Pelosi's desk it was clear where it was all going.
Direct the Justice Department, FBI and National Security Council to execute a top-down
approach prioritizing domestic terrorism; pass new domestic terrorism legislation; or do a
bit of both as Democrats propose a crack down on social media giants like Facebook for
algorithms that promote conspiracy laden posts.
That last part is key. The "crack down on social media" part, because the anti-Domestic
Terrorism legislation will likely be very focused on communication and so-called
"misinformation".
Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez has publicly called for a congressional panel to
"rein in" the media :
We're going to have to figure out how we rein in our media environment so you can't just
spew disinformation and misinformation,"
And who will be the target of these crack downs and new legislations? Well, according John
Brennan (ex-head of the CIA and accomplished war criminal), practically anybody:
They're casting a wide net. Expect "extremist", "bigot" and "racist" to be just a few of the
words which have their meanings totally revised in the next few months. "Conspiracy theorist"
will be used a lot, too.
Further, they are moving closer and closer toward the "anyone who disagrees with us is
literally insane" model. With many articles actually talking about "de-programming" Trump
voters. The Atlantic suggests "mental
hygiene" would cure the MAGA problem.
Again AOC is on point here, clearly auditioning for the role of High Inquisitor, claiming
that the new Biden government needs to fund programs that "de-radicalise" "conspiracy
theorists" who are on the "spectrum
of radicalisation" .
*
As I said at the beginning, it's been a busy week for Joe Biden, but you can sum up his
biggest policy plans in one short sentence: More violence overseas, less tolerance of dissent
and strict clampdowns on "misinformation".
Blinken does not seem to have repented from his fundamentalist belief in American
imperial goodness, notwithstanding his appeal for "humility".
Barring an earthquake in Washington, Antony Blinken is set to become the new U.S. Secretary
of State and America's top diplomat. The youthful and telegenic Blinken (58) takes over from
Mike Pompeo who was America's representative to the world under the last Trump
administration.
The contrast could not be more stark. In place of Pompeo's thuggish, rough-edged style,
Blinken has the appearance of consummate diplomat. He's fluent in French owing to a European
education, he's urbane and sophisticated and comes from a family which has diplomacy in its
genes. His father was an ambassador to Hungary and an advisor to President John F Kennedy. An
uncle was ambassador to Belgium.
Blinken has Hungarian and Russian Jewish ancestry. His mother remarried a Polish-American
Jewish survivor of the Nazi holocaust. During his confirmation hearing in the Senate this week,
Blinken
told the story of how his stepfather escaped from a Nazi death march in Bavaria and was
eventually rescued by an American tank driven by an African-American officer.
That story has shaped Blinken's worldview of America's prestige and international role. He's
a proponent of U.S. military interventionism with a presumption of moral duty. He's an advocate
of America working with European allies and upholding the transatlantic alliance – in
contrast to Trump's boorish America First sloganeering. Understandably, Blinken is imbued with
an unshakable belief in "American exceptionalism" and "manifest destiny" as a world leader.
The Senators at his confirmation hearing this week
swooned as Blinken spoke. He's certain to be confirmed as the new Secretary of State in the
coming days. That's because he is seen to be perfect for the task of restoring America's
international image which has been so badly tarnished under Trump and his grumpy gofer Pompeo.
The Europeans will lap up Blinken and his transatlantic romanticism.
Blinken has said that America's foreign policy must be conducted with "humility and
confidence", which may sound refreshingly modest. But it's not. Underlying this "quiet
American" is the same old arrogance about U.S. imperial might-is-right and Washington's
presumed privilege of appointing itself as the "world's policeman".
If Blinken's record is anything to go on, his future role as America's top diplomat is
foreboding.
Previously, he was a senior member in the Obama administrations serving as national security
advisor to both the president and Joe Biden who was then vice-president. Blinken rose to become
deputy Secretary of State in the final years of the second Obama administration. In those roles
he was a key player in a series of foreign interventions which turned out to be utterly
disastrous.
He was a big proponent of U.S. military intervention in Libya in 2011 which led to the
toppling and murder of Muammar Gaddafi. That intervention along with other NATO powers has left
a ruinous legacy not only for Libya but for North Africa, the Mediterranean and Europe.
Blinken was also a point-man in Obama's intervention in Syria where the U.S. (and other NATO
powers) supplied weapons to anti-government militants. The so-called "rebels" were in fact
myriad terrorist groups affiliated with Al Qaeda and other extremist Islamists. Up to half a
million people have been killed in the decade-long Syrian war and much of that blood is on
America's hands from its de facto support for terror gangs. Maybe Blinken genuinely thought he
was supporting "pro-democracy rebels". But even if we give him the benefit of doubt, the upshot
is still a disaster of American interventionism.
Another catastrophic consequence of Blinken's policymaking is Yemen. Under his direction,
the Obama administration backed the Saudi war on its southern neighbor beginning in March 2015
and continuing to this day. Yemen has become the worst humanitarian crisis in the world with
millions facing starvation amid Saudi aerial bombardment carried out with U.S. warplanes and
logistics.
The new Biden administration has indicated it will withdraw military support for Saudi
Arabia in its war on Yemen. But that doesn't absolve the U.S., and Blinken in particular, for
having created the horrendous quagmire from which it is belatedly trying to extricate itself
from.
What's rather perplexing, however, is that Blinken does not seem to have repented from his
fundamentalist belief in American imperial goodness, notwithstanding his appeal for "humility".
During his Senate hearings, he
showed little regret about America's illegal bombing of Libya and its arming of jihadists
in Syria.
He described the world with the conventional brainwashed American ideology as being a place
where China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are enemies that must be confronted. He also
told Senators he was in favor of increasing supplies of lethal weaponry to the Ukraine and
its rabidly anti-Russian regime in Kiev. Recall that it was the Obama administration which
instigated a coup d'état in Kiev against an elected president in February 2014. The new
regime was and is dominated by far-right nationalists who laud past links to Nazi Germany. If
Blinken has his way the war against ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine will escalate and could
ignite a bigger confrontation between Russia and the U.S.
One of the hallmarks of the U.S.-backed regime in Kiev is its espousal of Neo-Nazi
traditions and in particular antisemitic hatred.
Given Antony Blinken's own Jewish ancestry and his own intimate connection to the Nazi
holocaust, you do have to question his competence if he becomes America's foreign policy
leader. His boss President Joe Biden has fondly lionized Blinken as a "superstar" of diplomacy.
Superficially perhaps, he has finesse and intelligence. But in much the same basic way of
adhering to American imperialism, Blinken is as crude and thuggish as his predecessor Pompeo.
He just projects a more plausible look and sound, which is most desirable as a moral cover for
America's criminal imperialism.
Blinken is
known to self-deprecate his "insatiable habit" for making up bad puns. For example, on one
occasion when he was addressing an audience on policy regarding the Arctic, he began by joking
he would be "breaking the ice". Given his ability to pursue destructive dead-end policies, he
might therefore appreciate the moniker "Secretary of State Tony Blinkered".
he direct evidence is Pravy Sektor's Sergei Dybynyn at the front of the violent Capitol groups yelling "Faster! Faster!" in
Russian. At first, the media started trying to paint Dybynyn as a Russian propagandist and provocateur. But, the fact Dybynyn
received a medal from former Ukrainian president Petr Poroshenko for his work changed that story and big media dropped it.
Because of his work for Poroshenko,
he
is wanted for supporting terrorism
in the Donbass Lugansk People's Republic.
In August 2020, we reported on the ties between Ukrainian neo-Nazis and US Antifa. The Ukrainian fascists were given asylum in
the US by the Obama administration working with John Brennan in the tens of thousands from late 2016 to 2020. When the FBI caught
on to the violent groups relocating to the US from Ukraine, they stopped it. Over 17,000 Ukrainian nationalists emigrated during
this timeframe.
According to the WaPo article,
"an
unlikely nationality has come to represent a disproportionate share of the refugees who have been entering the United States in
recent years: Ukrainians.
The United States last year resettled more nationals from Ukraine, a country that barely registers in the United Nations'
assessments of the global refugee crisis, than it did almost any other nationality
Many
of the newly arrived Ukrainians have ended up here in Washington state, near Seattle "
In that
article
series
we warned the large groups of
Ukrainian
nationalists
came to the US for the purpose of beefing up riots against Donald Trump after they started. This Obama policy
brought the worst of the worst into the US under a false asylum claim until it was finally stopped.
Sergei Dybynyn self-identifies as a Pravy Sektor (Right Sector) member in the middle photo. The blood and soil (red and black)
menorah is what Jewish members wear showing off affiliation.
The connection between Ukraine's radical nationalists (fascists) and AntiFa-BLM is they began their history together. Azov
battalion which I'll be focusing on is another Pravy Sektor spinoff and US aid funding goes through Pravy Sektor leader Dmitro
Yarosh hands.
Time Magazine's January 7
th
article
seems
to be a lead-in waiting for the proof of Azov's participation in the Capitol siege. The article lays it out and makes that point.
"Outside Ukraine, Azov occupies a central role in a network of extremist groups stretching from California across Europe to New
Zealand, according to law enforcement officials on three continents.
"Azov has been recruiting, radicalizing, and training American citizens for years," the letter said. Christopher Wray, the
director of the FBI, later confirmed in testimony to the U.S. Senate that American white supremacists are "actually traveling
overseas to train."
In their letter to the State Department in 2019, U.S. lawmakers noted that "the link between Azov and acts of terror in America
is clear." The Ukrainian authorities have also taken notice."
Former Ukrainian president Petr Poroshenko has supported the work of Pravy Sektor and Azov since 2014 when they propelled him
into power; they in turn support him. Poroshenko has worked non-stop to unseat Donald Trump since the 2016 election season.
Ukrainian MP Andrey Derkach published taped conversations between Poroshenko and then Vice President Joe Biden explicitly
detailing how Poroshenko fabricated allegations about Paul Manafort in an attempt to derail the Trump campaign.
What kind of opportunities requiring courage would Ukraine be looking for? The following Poroshenko tweet after the Capitol siege
caught my eye for that reason.
The ICC is investigating Ukraine for atrocities committed by Azov and Pravy Sektor on his watch as president and even before any
of the facts are known, he's condemning Donald Trump. Was he in on it? I started watching for a cookie to be thrown to him and
didn't have to wait long for it.
On January 11
th
,
the US Treasury sanctioned the Ukrainians who exposed Poroshenko and Joe Biden's effort against Trump as well as Burisma ties.
MP
Andrey Derkach also exposed
the details of the Biden-Burisma scandal at the same time.
Exposing
the Biden-Ukraine 2016 election interference
is the same as the Russian election interference narrative in 2020.
Poroshenko did take advantage of every window of opportunity to make sure Biden made it past January 6
th
.
What you are about to read raises serious questions for me. Is there such a thing as too many coincidences? When does coincidence
line up to conspiracy? This is
Maxim
Yarosh
(Макс Ярош). According to his own statements, his job in Azov is infiltration and crowd agitation. Yarosh is a Pravy
Sektor member and very active in the violence in Ukraine from Maidan until now. As you can see in the photo, Poroshenko awarded
him medals for his service. His reputation for thuggishness speaks for itself.
In the photo below, he is in the first row, second from the left, and on the right is former US Ambassador Geoff Pyatt. Ukrainian
soldiers didn't take photos with Pyatt unless they have high enough standing with Petr Poroshenko. Poroshenko and Yarosh knew
each other well going all the way back to Pyatt's tenure.
Around the January 9
th
through
the 11
th
,
Yarosh makes a point of establishing he was in Quito, Ecuador for a religious pilgrimage (his words). The timing itself raises an
eyebrow and the proof he posted on Facebook are two photos showing him at the airport and this one placing him outside the Mayor
San Jose Seminary showing off his neo-nazi tattoos.
Even if we know one Pravy Sektor member, Sergei Dybynyn, was videoed taking part in the Capitol siege, so far it's not
newsworthy. But if Yarosh was there, then things change completely.
At the same time, according to Petr Poroshenko, he took his family (wife and children) to Ecuador. His story is they flew in
under an assumed name (fake passports), rented a yacht, and toured the Galapagos Islands for a couple of weeks starting at the
end of December until around January 11
th
or
12
th
.
The circumstantial evidence that points to the possibility Yarosh was involved in the Capitol siege, which involves Poroshenko,
was reported in the news. Maxim Yarosh made a point of confronting Petr Poroshenko on the flight to Amsterdam and again after
they landed.
In light of the events on the 6
th
,
this looks like a crude attempt at establishing an alibi for Maxim Yarosh.
The following video is unedited and of poor
quality. Unless you speak Russian, I'd suggest turning the volume off and concentrating on what's wrong with the video.
Petr Poroshenko was the President of Ukraine until 2019. Ex-presidents have State provided bodyguard details for life. If you
google "Poroshenko bodyguard" you'll see why Poroshenko doesn't travel without bodyguards anywhere.
There were no bodyguards on the plane intervening or even visible. There were none at the airport to intervene for Poroshenko.
The ex-president looks like he's playing a part.
Ukrainian Billionaires like Poroshenko that fly halfway across the world to rent a yacht for a few weeks don't fly business class
on commercial airliners. Looking at the seating arrangement, he might as well have gone with economy class. His wife kneels in
the aisle next to his seat to take part in the conversation. It makes you wonder if he moved to this seat just for the video.
Petr Poroshenko and his wife are the only two people not wearing COVID masks on the flight which makes them the only two people
that were 100% identifiable on the video.
At the airport, for a few seconds, Poroshenko drops back a few steps talking with what might be another radical. Again, there are
no presidential bodyguards to be found.
Here's the problem. Yarosh has the motive, method, time, and opportunity to have been part of the Capitol siege.
Yarosh is the right guy for the job, has the needed skill sets and mentality, and most importantly places himself with the one
guy in the world that wants to make a Capitol siege event happen so he can claw back into power.
If anyone has facial recognition capabilities, this is a key person to look for at the Capitol.
Poroshenko's Ukrainian neo-Nazis and AntiFa
According to AntiFa, from the beginning of the group in pre-Nazi Germany, they were a socialist group fighting fascists like the
Nazis. While the statement is almost true in a specific timeframe, they were never the social humanitarian heroes they pretend to
be.
The leader of the political group Antifa belonged to at the time was an architect of the final solution during WWII. That's a
little different than they like to present themselves.
AntiFa's history can be summarized like this -- the group started out as the military wing of the
German
Communist Party (KPD)
. Before the rise of Hitler, they supported Stalin and Marxist socialism. Nazis were fascists. The KPD
didn't like other socialist groups so they were labeled fascist too.
The KPD's armed group was AntiFa and they fought in the streets against every group the KPD labeled fascist. The KPD decided it
liked Hitler so Stalin was fascist. Then Hitler was fascist again. After this they merged with the SA, better known as the
Brownshirts and Stalin was fascist again.
The Waffen SS was formed as a subgroup by the SA (Antifa) which was demanding the socialism Adolf Hitler promised them.
"The Munich-born American historian Konrad Heiden was one of the first to document this phenomenon in his 1936 book Hitler: A
Biography, remarking that within the Sturmabteilung (Brownshirts, SA) ranks there were "large numbers of Communists and Social
Democrats" and that "many of the storm troops were called 'beefsteaks' – brown outside and red within." The switching of
political parties was at times so common that SA men would jest that "[i]n our storm troop there are three Nazis, but we shall
soon have spewed them out."
Wikipedia
Hitler didn't like the political power the leader of the
SA
,
Ernst Rohm was gaining or the AntiFa SA elements who were looting, robbing, and raping and demanding socialism while he was
trying to consolidate power. He set up the Reichstag fire to deal with all the Nazi's undesirables and his competitor. The night
of the long knives followed.
The Nazis prosecuted the KPD-AntiFa's top leader, Ernst Torgler. After Torgler was found innocent, he worked for Reinhard
Heidrich in 1941. Hitler called Heidrich the man with the iron heart.
In 1942, they presented "The Final Solution to the Jewish Problem." Reinhard and the KPD-AntiFa leader Torgler were the
architects of the Holocaust.
In 1941, Ukrainian nationalists formalized their relations in with the SA and SS Antifa groups with 3 Waffen SS Battalions.
In 1991, the last Ukrainian nationalist leader from that period (Slava Stetsko) immigrated to Ukraine and started her own
political party with a militant wing. The militant wing called Trizub-Bandera is led by Dmitro Yarosh, the head of today's Pravy
Sektor, Azov, and the other groups that came out of the 2014 Maidan.
German Foreign Policy notes
the successors to Slava Stetsko's OUN (Ukrainian Nationalists) are Svoboda, CUN, Pravyi Sector,
and UNA-UNSO.
Ultra-Nationalist UNA-UNSO also doubles as Ukraine's Antifa and has taken this mantle for a few decades.
Why would Ukraine neo-nazis help Antifa and the Democrats with the Capitol siege? In the photo they're working together in Lviv,
Ukraine.
All three share the same politics. Imagine the 3
rd
Reich
without Hitler. Imagine.
It's not only the Ukrainian nationalists and US Antifa-BLM, but over 120+ Congressmen and Senators from both parties support the
groups that made this happen and should be investigated formally.
At 12:13 PM on January 6th, 2020, Trump Supporters began chanting "BULLSH*T" in the
overflow area after President Trump made a statement on election fraud. Soon after this a
group began gathering and left for the US Capitol around 12:20 PM while President Trump was
still speaking.
The Capitol is 1.6 miles away from Ellipse Park which is near the White House. This is
approximately a 30-33 minute walk. Trump began addressing the crowd at 11:58 AM and made his
final remarks at 1:12 PM. Therefore, protesters, activists and rioters had already breached
Capitol Grounds a mile away 19 minutes prior to the end of President Trump's speech.
I arrived outside Capitol Grounds at 12:50 PM, within 3 minutes rioters forced the
Capitol Police to retreat and breached both sets of barriers protecting the Capitol from the
backside of the building officially establishing the location where the riot will take
place.
For over an hour a large-scale riot blazed at the base of the US Capitol, leading to over
50 police officer's and countless protestors being injured. A continuous barrage of rubber
bullets, tear gas, pepper spray, and crowd control munitions were deployed at the crowd
affecting thousands of people.
ANTIFA Press can be seen setting up a photo-op of a fellow comrade, this is a very common
tactic they use when framing a specific narrative.
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A man with a hole in his cheek due to a rubber munition makes a statement, then takes a
bath in pepper spray.
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Rioters cut into ramparts and began climbing in an attempt to get past the Police. After
over 20 minutes rioters successfully forced themselves past the remaining Officers guarding
the Capitol.
What seems to be an ANTIFA Provocateur is seen removing his gas mask to take a drink of
water, he immediately put his mask back on when noticed he was being recorded. Rioters are
seen entering the Capitol through broken windows and a pair of double doors that have been
opened from within. A Rioter is also seen attempting to kick doors down inside
unsuccessfully, and another smoking a cigarette.
At approximately 2:35 PM, Ashli Babbitt began to wander from the main group. I then
followed her to a pair of doors leading to the Senate Chambers, a crowd quickly followed and
one rioter in a fur hat began violently punching windows.
John Sullivan, ANTIFA organizer, and BLM Activist is seen telling Officers to "Go home."
After being arrested he faced the following charges; civil disorder, disorderly conduct, and
entering a restricted building without authority. Almost immediately after being detained, he
was released with no bail.
Ashli Babbitt is seen pulling herself through the window frame when she was shot in the
neck, without warning by an agent who was hiding around the corner. All three officers who
were protecting the doors are seen against the wall next to where Ashli was shot. No verbal
warnings or attempts to stop her were made.
A man shifted Ashli's body after she fell from the window. Three Capitol Police Officers are
seen on the stairs, none of which attempted to apply medical aide to Ashli's gunshot wound. For
a brief moment I attempted to provide light so the gunshot wound could be found. When located,
pressure was applied but there was nothing we could have done to save her.
Mainstream Media reported that Ashli Babbitt died in the hospital, this is a lie. I
watched Ashli Babbitt's life drain from her eyes, she died laying in a flag of red, white,
and blue. The same colors she served her Country in for 14 years.
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If Ashli Babbitt died in the hospital, why was she carried down the stairs, upside down, and
with no pressure on her wound?
I, Tayler Hansen, in no way, shape, or form support the events that unfolded on the 6th.
With that being said, it doesn't take a genius to know it's impossible for unarmed protestors
to have successfully breached one of the most secure buildings on Earth, while the Vice
President was inside. As time passes one thing becomes more clear, the Capitol was the perfect
set up, and Trump supporters took the bait.
The Capitol siege was the biggest political power grab in modern-day history. The Left has
officially shifted the spotlight, and this time they're coming for Trump supporters. We're
witnessing the most intense roll out of Big Tech censorship we've ever seen. Which just so
happens to be targeting President Trump, conservatives, and what's left of real journalists.
Big Tech told conservatives to create their own platform if they didn't want to be censored, so
they did. In response, Apple and Google removed that platform Parler, an app founded on free
speech. Mainstream media is attempting to silence independent and fact-based reporting, forming
the ultimate monopoly on the so-called "truth". They have Americans right where they want
them.
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This was ANTIFA's proudest, and most accomplished moment yet. Known ANTIFA provocateurs have
been exposed for causing the initial violence and unrest at the Capitol, but it doesn't matter.
Left-wing extremist groups have caused over $2B in property damage, attempted to burn down
Federal Buildings, and are responsible for over 30 deaths since last May of 2020. There were
never any reports of an "insurrection" or "terrorist attack" when ANTIFA attempted to occupy
Federal Buildings in Portland or the historic courthouse in Nashville. Left-wing terrorists
have received nothing but praise from elected officials, celebrities, and mainstream media
throughout their existence.
Meanwhile, the mainstream media has labeled everyone at the US Capitol "Domestic Terrorists"
even the hundreds of thousands who were there in DC to listen to President Trump and then left
the area after he ended his speech. We're bearing witness to the ultimate double standard.
"The Capitol siege was the biggest political power grab in modern-day history. "
That's a negative, Sir. The biggest political grab in modern-day history was the theft of
the 2020 Presidential election from President Trump right before our very own eyes.
And the indirect proof?
Now D.C. must be militarized indefinitely
because of all the violence on the right.
What violence had the right committed
over the previous 12 months? Almost none.
Who was rioting nonstop for the past year?
This violence is like "racism" in the universities--
yes, there is racism--but perpetuated by whom?
The lying leftist media, and RINO Quisling enablers, will allow the Democrat Nazis to use
this fake "Reichstag Fire" to impose a dictatorship upon the United States.
Was FBI informant Enrique Tarrio was running a off the books operation when he helped
create the Proud Boys in 2016 around the time the RUSSIA!!! hoax was created by the FBI as
well?
This is about painting a target on Tarrio's back. What other purpose could it serve? Just
the kind of sleazeball tactics one expects from the Derp State. And even if it was true, so
what? The people he allegedly help snag were "bad hombres."
Target?
Good!!!!
He put over a dozen people in Fed were there is no parole.
The guy is a FBI snitch and he was being run by the FBI when he helped "create" PB.
The Proud Boys are a FBI creation.
Who the heck knows. At this point. What's it matter. No one can be trusted. Not even you.
You could be an Demokkkrat communist operative feeding false information to stir up conflict.
That is what they want. The Demokkkrats sent Antifa in to stir up trouble at the Capitol.
That is exactly what happened in Nazi Germany to protect the 3rd Reich. Now we have the
Demokkkrats playing the same thing. We all all screwed. It isn't going to end well.
Already did. She was spewing nonsense. Proud Boys was started by Gavin McInnes. So I guess
he's and FBI informant as well. The whole story stinks, and only serves the purposes of the
Derp State. And yet this troll is desperate to blow it up out of all proportion. Cui bono? I
like GP, but the commenters aren't necessarily the most sophisticated crowd, given the
upvotes she's received.
One case that's not making news in the Democrat Party's mainstream media is a
decision made by a Virginia judge on Monday. The
judge ruled that last-minute changes made by election officials to allow absentee ballots
with missing or illegible postmarks to be counted is illegal.
Washington Examiner- "This is a big win for the Rule of Law," said Public Interest Legal Foundation President J. Christian Adams, who represented
Frederick County electoral board member Thomas Reed in the case. "This consent decree gives Mr.
Reed everything he requested -- a permanent ban on accepting ballots without postmarks after
Election Day and is a loss for the Virginia bureaucrats who said ballots could come in without
these protections."
The case was over a Virginia Board of Elections rule issued in August that allowed mail-in
ballots without a postmark to be received up to three days after the November election.
The new Virginia Board of Elections rule notified county election boards that any
ballots "received by the general registrar's office by noon on the third day after the election
but does not have a postmark, or the postmark is missing or illegible" should not be rendered
invalid. The elections board decided a week later that those ballots should be counted. One win
for Virginia voters who care about election integrity. It's a pity this practice wasn't stopped
BEFORE the ballots were tabulated in the November election.
I also noticed two months ago how quickly the vital questions concerning the mail-on ballots
got diverted into some wild goose-chase involving voting machine software from Venezuela.
Another attempt at side-tracking the investigation and drumming up support for 'régime
change'?
As far as the Q-Anons themselves are concerned, I always sympathized with them to a large
extent, even though I thought their 'theories' were a little off. Most of them are good people
by nature, but perhaps just a little too credulous. I agree with Larry here: put your faith in
God, not man. When analyzing the events of this world, stick to evidence and logic as much as
you can. At the end of the day, hope is just another drug--hopium--that can skew your judgment
... which is just what the enemy wants.
But I have to admit that I still like the Q-Anon motto: 'Where we go one, we go all'
(WWG1WGA). I'd like to rehabilitate it for general use by us deplorables, if I may. ;-)
Due to the immense power of propaganda, normal people who should identify politically as the
"left" are actually supporting these dangerous policies and the erosions of liberty are
accelerating in direct proportion to the level of resistance, such as r/Wallstreetbets and the
immediate crackdown across several platforms to stop them.
I've seen an extraordinary erosion of rights and liberties over the past few years. It
really started with the cover up after the Trump election, which sought to steer the
narrative of public opinion away from the failure of the Clintons and the Democratic machine
with obvious fantastic lies about Russia.
For a myriad of reasons probably understood best by likes of Freud, Jüng, and others,
everyone on the left (who are supposed to be the smart and rational ones in society) bought
these lies and repeated them.
Once this was allowed to happen, once Maddow was allowed to lead the vanguard of libel
with no recourse, the snowball began to roll and now we are seeing the enforcement of that
thought-policing, which is as unconstitutional as the libel itself, especially considering it
is being perpetrated ubiquitously among media owners.
The phenomenon of Donald Trump the villain President has been used as an excuse to destroy
free speech and shoe horn in authoritarian policies. Due to the immense power of propaganda,
normal people who should identify politically as the "left" are actually supporting these
dangerous policies and the erosions of liberty are accelerating in direct proportion to the
level of resistance, such as r/Wallstreetbets and the immediate crackdown across several
platforms to stop them.
This Wall St. favoritism is obvious, but will likely end without bankers taking much
damage besides some short term outrage. They still control all the levers of currency and
trade no matter the President.
The real dangers of the day are the clamping down on speech. Starting with imprisoning
Julian Assange and then migrating to various corners of the Internet. I'll be very interested
to see how things shake out with the stock market, but I imagine it will go back to the firm
grip of those who control the money supply, which it was for a very long time.
In the meantime, shutting down the Reddit forums and Discord servers is a very serious
danger and I hope we can shine a light on it.
"... "I am also reading the the next focus of the little people investors is the highly manipulated precious metals markets.....I love the smell of burning Wall Street in the morning." ..."
"... Back in the Oughts when the fraudulent mortgages were grossly inflating Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), there were many instances of naked short selling to keep honest REITs down, activities I learned firsthand. We formed a shareholders organization that lobbied the SEC to enforce its laws but to no avail--the regulators were well captured and did zip. ..."
"... There's short selling, and then there's naked short selling. Why do the markets require naked short selling? If those hedge funds already owned the stocks that they are selling short, they would not be in such trouble now. ..."
Early this week a few amateur stock trading nerds decided to promote a stock that was heavily shortened by certain hedge funds.
The idea was to raise the stock price of Game Stop Corp., a vendor for computer games, by having lots of small stock traders to
buy into it. The hedge fund that shortened the stock, and thereby bet on a dropping stock price, would then make huge losses while
the many small buyers would potentially profit.
Instead of greed, this latest bout of speculation, and especially the extraordinary excitement at GameStop, has a different
emotional driver: anger. The people investing today are driven by righteous anger, about generational injustice, about what
they see as the corruption and unfairness of the way banks were bailed out in 2008 without having to pay legal penalties later,
and about lacerating poverty and inequality. This makes it unlike any of the speculative rallies and crashes that have preceded
it.
The movement was successful. The stock price of Game Stop Corp. rose from some $10 to over $400 within just a few days. The
short seller
had
to take cover under a larger firm:
Hedge fund Melvin Capital closed out its short position in GameStop on Tuesday after taking huge losses as a target of the
army of retail investors. Citadel and Point72 have infused close to $3 billion into Gabe Plotkin's hedge fund to shore up its
finances.
I'm shocked! Absolutely shocked to see that the game of finance is rigged!!!!/snark
There have not been market fundamentals since the beginning of financialization in 1971 when money became fiat instead of gold
backed. I find it interesting that it has taken 50 years for the cancer of financialization to fully compromise the host. It will
be interesting to see where this goes from here.
I think the speed of decline of empire is speeding up as noted by the increase in international investment in China.
I am also reading the the next focus of the little people investors is the highly manipulated precious metals markets.....I
love the smell of burning Wall Street in the morning.
"I am also reading the the next focus of the little people investors is the highly manipulated precious metals markets.....I
love the smell of burning Wall Street in the morning."
Is Max Keiser going after the silver market again? I bet he was posting on r/Wallstreetbets to stir things up!
Back in the Oughts when the fraudulent mortgages were grossly inflating Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), there were many
instances of naked short selling to keep honest REITs down, activities I learned firsthand. We formed a shareholders organization
that lobbied the SEC to enforce its laws but to no avail--the regulators were well captured and did zip.
We even ran full pages ads in the NY Times and WaPost to add visibility to our justifiable outrage, which was well proven when
the bubble burst.
But Obama didn't do his job and enforce the law, and the entire mess is far worse now. This episode epitomizes the amazing
amounts of corruption masquerading as well regulated markets and an equitable financial system.
I support Hudson's debt forgiveness for the main reason it will bankrupt the debt holders--the Financial Parasites--who are
also the beneficiaries of the corrupt system; and with their destruction, will allow for the rise of the Public Financial Utility
that will restore law and order to that realm of the economy. Yes, this must be seen as yet another episode of the longstanding
Class War, one of the most brazen ever.
There's short selling, and then there's naked short selling. Why do the markets require naked short selling? If those hedge
funds already owned the stocks that they are selling short, they would not be in such trouble now.
Citadel and Point72 have infused close to $3 billion into Gabe Plotkin's hedge fund to shore up its finances.
-b
How Robinhood was rigged:
Robinhood sells its orderflow to Citadel for execution. Citadel then chiselled the retail investor for pennies per trade by frontrunning (think high freq trading) before execution
of retail order, inflating the price and cheating the customer.
Citadel bailed out Citron, essentially inheriting the short position. Citadel then threatened Robinhood with refusing payment for orderflow
The Democratic Party controls the Presidency and both houses of Congress. Trump is out of
public life (for now, maybe). This is all starting to feel like 2009 all over again. I
feel as though the focus on understanding Trump voters is to distract away from a lack of a
meaningful agenda to actually progress the country forward, or at worst, an excuse as to why
nothing meaningful will get done. In 2009, the voters handed the Democratic party a gift to
change the system in ways unthinkable and were amenable to such change given the fallout of
the credit crisis. It was largely an opportunity squandered. In 2021, I think the focus on
Trump is displaced energy whereas the focus should be on what the parties agenda is.
That is a good point, Dave, and I think the next Congress will accomplish nothing of
importance. The only changes we will see in the next two years will be executive orders
that will immediately be tied up in Federal Court. Some have said that McConnell prefers to
act as an obstructionist and enjoys a role as the minority leader. I think Schumer, on the
other hand, desperately wants to be King. It's good to be the King!
The Republicans must look upon the democratic party and its control over its subjects
with envy. Worship of feckless leaders and delivery for the PMC and Wall Street class. If a
state party comes out and says this, how much longer can the Republican party exist as a
viable entity without some sort of schism? Granted, Massachusetts GOP was blathering on about
unfair elections and their own Republican disavowed him, so perhaps this is more about the
minor state parties being home to wing nuts while more reasonable types retire to independent
status.
"Where is the line between a successful global business, in-demand services and
consolidation of big data – and attempts to harshly and unilaterally govern society,
replace legitimate democratic institutions, restrict one's natural right to decide for
themselves how to live, what to choose, what stance to express freely?" Putin wondered.
"We've all seen this just now in the US. And everybody understands what I'm talking
about," he added.
The Russian leader was apparently referring to the crackdown by Big Tech corporations like
Twitter, Facebook, Google, Apple and Amazon, mostly on Donald Trump and his supporters, during
the recent presidential election in the US. The companies, which, according to some critics,
sided with Democratic candidate Joe Biden, blocked President Trump's social media accounts over
accusations of inciting violence, with the same being done to many pages of groups and
individuals who'd backed him.
However, one-sided bias claim voiced by some might be an overestimation – the accounts
of Democrats supporters were also subject to restrictions, but on a much smaller scale.
Conservative Twitter-like platform Parler was also forced offline, and now there are calls
to block the Telegram app as well.
These events have shown that Big Tech companies "in some areas have de facto become
rivals to the government," Putin said.
Billions of users spend large parts of their lives on the platforms and, from the point of
view of those companies, their monopolistic position is favorable for organizing economic and
technological processes, the Russian president explained. "But there's a question of how
such monopolism fits the interest of society," he stressed.
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shadow1369 8 hours ago 27 Jan, 2021 07:51 AM
This is a great opportunity for Russia to create some Big Tech operators which actually allow
free speech. Russia certainly has the expertise and the means, and cannot be bullied by
western regimes.
Proton1963 shadow1369 1 hour ago 27 Jan, 2021 02:54 PM
Sure.. But only after the Russians can build a drivable car or a decent smart phone or a
laptop.
The West is surely giving Russia a lot of opportunities, through its own arrogance and
stupidity, does not it ? It keeps going backwards in its effort to diminish Russia. And the
same goes for China too.
JOHNCHUCKMAN 7 hours ago 27 Jan, 2021 08:45 AM
Putin is a remarkable statesman, and he sets a very high standard for political discourse. I
can't think of any of our Western leaders who speak in these truthful and philosophic terms.
What we hear in the West are slogans or whining or complaining.
Tenakakhan JOHNCHUCKMAN 3 hours ago 27 Jan, 2021 01:03 PM
The patriarch of the west has become extremely weak. It seems like our leaders lack any moral
authority to speak truth and common sense for fear of being cancelled. What we see now is the
virtue signaling dregs sponsored by extreme groups leading our nations down the toilet. If a
real war was to break out now we would be cannon fodder.
Hilarous 7 hours ago 27 Jan, 2021 09:04 AM
I think there's a simple explanation. Big tech is afraid to lose section 230 of the
communications act, which stipulates that online platforms are not legally responsible for
user content. Trump and some Republicans have accused social media sites of muzzling
conservative voices. They said undoing Section 230 would let people who claim they have been
slighted sue the companies. So Big Tech has a strong interest to remove Trump and run down a
few bad examples to convince people and politics that Section 230 must remain.
Count_Cash 8 hours ago 27 Jan, 2021 07:40 AM
In many cases they aren't rivals, but owners of government. Money controls everything in the
west and big tech have it. They have taken control of, or are blackmailing governments. The
Western Liberal Regime straddles both Big Tech and government!
RTaccount Count_Cash 7 hours ago 27 Jan, 2021 08:57 AM
Correct. Let us never forget that in America we are ruled by oligarchs just like the rest of
the world, and that our oligarchs are largely hidden. They are our true government, and so it
is meaningless to make this type of distinction.
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In a matter of hours, Biden's key national security people -- Antony Blinken as secretary of
state, Avril Haines as director of national intelligence, and Lloyd Austin as defense secretary
-- gave us a remarkably fulsome idea of what we are in for these next four years.
Haines and Austin, neither of whose records are to be admired, are at bottom functionaries
who were nominated and swiftly confirmed because they do what they are told and do not think
too much -- always a career-advancer in Washington.
It is instead Blinken, who is said to enjoy some kind of
"mind-meld" with Biden, that we must consider carefully. (Such a meld must be odd
terrain.)
Blinken's Senate
testimony last Tuesday sprawled over four hours. It is best to scrutinize his remarks while
seated in a chair with sturdy armrests, ideally to calm one's nerves with a pot of chamomile
tea.
Seen or read as a whole, those four hours gave us an extraordinary display of how empire
works and how it prolongs itself. One by one, Blinken's senatorial interlocutors told him in so
many words, "Son, this is what you need to say if you want our confirmation. We want you to
endorse our commitment to aggression, to unlawful interventions, to 'regime change' ops, to
merciless sanctions, and altogether to the empire. But you must make it look nice. Make it look
thoughtful and complicated and considered."
July 14, 2016: Vice President Joe Biden, right, and Deputy Secretary of State Antony
Blinken. (Air Force, Christopher Hubenthal)
I am convinced, having endured the entire C–Span recording, that what I watched was
sheer ritual. Blinken won the Senate's support and now succeeds the shockingly bovine Mike
Pompeo at State. He will do so, however, with the élan and faux sophistication
our nakedly bankrupt foreign policy now requires if the American pantomime is to be sustained
another four years.
Among Blinken's many rather sad-to-witness "Yes sirs," two standout: his finely chiseled
endorsement of Pompeo's reckless assassination a year ago of Qassem Soleimani, Iran's revered
military commander ("Taking him out was the right thing to do"), and his approval of the Trump
administration's decision to send lethal arms to the manically corrupt regime in Kiev
("Senator, I support providing that lethal defensive assistance to Ukraine," when the Obama
administration, from which he comes, did not.)
Late last year, Blinken
appeared on "Intelligence Matters," the podcast run by Michael Morrell, the coup-mongering
former deputy director at the Central Intelligence Agency and now -- of course -- a regular
commentator on the televisions news networks. In their exchange, the two took up the question
of our "forever wars" and Biden's well-advertised commitment to ending them. Here is a snippet
from Blinken's remarks:
"As for ending the forever wars, large-scale deployment of large, standing U.S. forces in
conflict zones with no clear strategy should and will end under his [Biden's] watch. But we
also need to distinguish between, for example, these endless wars with large-scale,
open-ended deployment of U.S. forces with [sic], for example, discreet, small-scale
sustainable operations, maybe led by special forces to support local actors. In ending the
endless wars we have to be careful not to paint with too broad a brushstroke."
This is what we are in for these coming years, the hyper-rational irrationality of the
middling technocrat. There will be adjustments at the margin, reconsiderations of method. There
will be no consideration whatsoever of America's hegemonic objectives -- of the imperial
project.
Blinken's testimony reflected these bitter truths start to finish.
Changes to the Iran Deal
July 14, 2015: President Barack Obama, with Vice President Joe Biden, announcing the signing
of the Iran-nuclear agreement. (White House)
Of the various questions the new secretary of state took up during his confirmation
hearings, Iran is the most pressing. Senator Bob Menendez, Blinken's interlocutor in this case,
insisted that yes, the U.S. wants to rejoin the 2015 accord governing Iran's nuclear programs,
but only if this includes prohibitions against Tehran's "destabilizing activities" and a
missile program that Iran justly considers essential to its security.
An honest, clear-eyed diplomat who wanted to get somewhere with Tehran would have rejected
the very frame of Menendez's line of inquiry, with its references to "support for terrorism"
and "funding and feeding its proxies." But Blinken read his cues and tucked right in:
"The president-elect believes that if Iran comes back into compliance we would, too, but
we would use that as a platform to seek a longer, stronger agreement and also, as you have
pointed out, to capture these other issues, particularly with regard to missiles and Iran's
destabilizing activities. This would be the objective."
This is sheer charade. Blinken knows as well as anyone else that the added conditions the
Biden regime will require before rejoining the agreement -- an end to Iran's ballistic missile
programs and its support for the Syrian government against Islamists and the illegal U.S.
incursion -- effectively cancel all chances that the U.S. will rejoin the accord.
I
predicted in this space shortly after Biden was elected that he and his foreign policy
people only pretended to be serious about reviving the nuclear agreement with Iran. Blinken's
testimony confirms this.
Over the weekend The Times of Israel , citing Channel 12 television,
reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is sending Yossi Cohen, chief of Mossad and
a close confidant, to Washington to "set out terms" for any revival of the nuclear deal. Israel
purports to "set out terms," and Biden will receive this spook? This is getting completely
unserious. Completely.
On China, Russia, and Venezuela: Blinken was putty in the hands of the Foreign Relations
Committee's across-the-board hawks. A two-fronted new Cold War across both oceans -- Sinophobia
and Russophobia all at once -- is to be our reality these next four years.
Over the weekend, to be noted, the American Embassy in Moscow had the gall to broadcast
routes protesters could take to demonstrations in various Russian cities to dispute Alexei
Navlany's arrest . A good start.
Marco Rubio, the coup-loving senator from Florida, wanted to know if Blinken thought the
U.S. should continue backing Juan Guaidó, the buffoon Rubio and Pompeo puffed up as
Venezuela's "interim leader" as part of a failed coup operation a couple of years ago.
Blinken:
"I very much agree with you, senator, first of all with regard to a number of the steps
that were taken toward Venezuela in recent years, including recognizing Mr. Guaidó and
seeking to increase pressure on the regime . We need an effective policy that can restore
Venezuela to democracy, and how can we best advance that ball? Maybe we need to look at how
we more effectively target the sanctions that we have ."
Grim, grim times lie ahead if Blinken runs State as he promised the Senate he would.
There are those among us who look for shafts of light. People I greatly respect (some,
anyway) thought it was good news when Biden named William Burns, a career foreign service
officer, to head the CIA. At last diplomacy, not unlawful interventions!
Over the weekend, there were reports
that Biden will review -- not more at this point -- the designation of Yemen's Houthis as
terrorists, a label Pompeo affixed as he emptied his desk last week. Finally, we will stop
supporting the Saudis' savagery!
People believe what they need to believe these days, I find, and belief overrides cognition
in many such cases. I caution these people. At bottom Blinken demonstrated for us that no one
who purports to alter our imperial course will ever be allowed to hold high office. For people
such as Blinken, it is merely a question of wielding influence without having any.
This is where Americans live -- in a crumbled republic no longer capable of changing.
Patrick Lawrence, a correspondent abroad for many years, chiefly for the International
Herald Tribune , is a columnist, essayist, author and lecturer. His most recent book is
Time No Longer: Americans After the American Century . Follow him on Twitter @thefloutist . His web site is Patrick Lawrence . Support his work via
his Patreon site .
John Allen aka Ol' Hippy , January 26, 2021 at 12:16
I'm 66, almost 67, and will, most likely, never see any real peace from the US government.
A big portion of the economy is based on imperialist actions and the manufacture of conflicts
around the globe mainly to keeps the arms makers in business. Or simply, war. And no, there
is no nation willing to risk the wrath of the US government by trying to halt this insane
posture of aggression, it's just too big and has a momentum all its own. Biden will continue
unabated this absurd, insanely expensive machine to its eventual implosion in the near
future. All the parts of the fall of the economy are in place, all that's needed is some ill
defined tipping point to be crossed. Perhaps, a war with Iran?
"Blinken has said that America's foreign policy must be conducted with 'humility and
confidence', which may sound refreshingly modest. But it's not. Underlying this 'quiet
American' is the same old arrogance about U.S. imperial might-is-right and Washington's
presumed privilege of appointing itself as the 'world's policeman'.
"If Blinken's record is anything to go on, his future role as America's top diplomat is
foreboding.
"Previously, he was a senior member in the Obama administrations serving as national
security advisor to both the president and Joe Biden who was then vice-president. Blinken
rose to become deputy Secretary of State in the final years of the second Obama
administration. In those roles he was a key player in a series of foreign interventions which
turned out to be utterly disastrous."
The once upon a time manufactured aura of Virtue projected by the Outlaw US Empire that
was swallowed by so many naïve nations has vanished with nothing other than its stark
ugliness as a replacement. Refusal to see that reality is what Xi just referred to again as
"arrogance" which puts Blinken into the same ideological camp as Pompeo. As Global Times notes
, if the Outlaw US Empire's attitude's not going to change, than why should China's as
Pompeo's constant lying is replaced by Psaki's:
"When White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki responded to a question Monday about US-China
relations, she said that 'China is growing more authoritarian at home and more assertive
abroad,' adding that China 'is engaged in conduct that hurts American workers, blunts [US]
technological edge, and threatens [US] alliances and [US] influence in international
organizations.' She also noted that Washington is 'starting from an approach of patience as
it relates to [its] relationship with China.'"
The editor's response to such inanity:
"Psaki's statement shows that the Biden administration's view and characterization of
China is virtually identical to those of the Trump administration. Psaki stressed that 'We're
in a serious competition with China. Strategic competition with China is a defining feature
of the 21st century,' reflecting that the Biden administration only cares about a "new
approach" to holding China accountable."
And Psaki's words are the same as Blinken's, which were the same as Pompeo's and Trump's.
In other words, the hole digging by the Outlaw US Empire in its relations with the rest of
the world will continue, which will cause further deterioration of its domestic Great
Depression 2.0. Yesterday I posted a comment that highlighted Putin's expounding on the
further enhancement of the educational component of Russia's Social Contract that is
impossible for Navalny's backers to match. On the previous thread, a good comparison was made
between the Yeltsin years and the ongoing drowning of the Outlaw US Empire. The Reset that's
in the works isn't the one envisioned by Global Neoliberals like Klaus Schwab of the
WEF/Davos crew. It's what Xi spoke of yesterday that I commented upon and Escobar reported on
today. The Winds of Change are blowing again, but there's a gaping hole in the USA's wind
sock so it can't see in which direction it's blowing.
blinken is bad news.. i think that is very obvious from a superficial read on him.. the usa
can't get out of the ditch it has made for itself.. nothing is gonna change...
'liberal interventionism' has always been the hallmark of the US Liberal Class and its
foreign policy Establishment, especially since at least Wilson's jumping into WWI.
Has the US ever not intervened in Latin America whenever it felt like it or thought its
"interests" were at stake?
I think Caitlan J. has a good grasp on what to expect from the Biden war mongering crowd
that has recently moved into DC once again:
"....Trump's base has been forcefully pushing the narrative that the previous president
didn't start any new wars, which while technically true ignores his murderous actions like
vetoing the bill to save Yemen from U.S.-backed genocide and actively blocking aid to its
people, murdering untold tens of thousands of Venezuelans with starvation sanctions, rolling
out many world-threatening Cold War escalations against Russia, engaging in insane
brinkmanship with Iran, greatly increasing the number of bombs dropped per day from the
previous administration, killing record numbers of civilians, and reducing military
accountability for those airstrikes....
....Rather than a throwback to "new wars" and the old-school ground invasions of the Bush
era, the warmongering we'll be seeing from the Biden administration is more likely to look
like this. More starvation sanctions. More proxy conflicts. More cold war. More coups. More
special ops. More drone strikes. More slow motion strangulation, less ham-fisted overt
warfare...."
---
Simply put, more small scale wars/ops mostly by proxy, more support for local wankers
(like Guaido in Venezuela, who has incredibly little popular support), and more of these
killing sanctions, which are especially pernicious to the civilian populations in vulnerable
countries like Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, Nicaragua and Venezuela, etc.
"... Likewise, the looting of BLM was 'largely peaceful', but selfie snapping in the Capitol was a work of 'internal terrorists'. The victors are so dishonest, that I feel pity for Trump – and for all of us. ..."
At 78, after a prolonged illness and without recovering consciousness, Joe Biden succumbed
to the Presidency. The last hopes of the last QAnon believers vanished like smoke in the night,
with Biden assuming the mighty US throne. This is truly a dark day for America and for the
world, as the US example will be followed by many. It is also a farewell to the real world we
were brought up in. The new world is virtual, like most of the inauguration. It is virtual and
dark, ruled by digital companies fronted by old and tired politicians.
The creepy voice of Biden, the voice of a dirty old man offering sweets to a nine-year-old,
delivered some platitudes. Biden was greeted by the dead – by flags marking those who
died of Covid – all highly symbolic: he was elected by the dead, so he owes them. They
say that a man was so annoyed because his in-laws voted for Biden that he stopped visiting
their graves. The King of the Dead, a character out of Game of Thrones, came to govern America
on behalf of lifeless machines.
The frail old man will lead the old women. Together, they are the Gang of Four: Harris, 56,
Pelosi, 80, Clinton, 73. His first days, his first acts were ominous. He donned the mask, an
attribute of Death, and obliged all federal officials and civil servants to wear masks. He
invited Latin America to invade the US. He opened the gates for immigrants from the Middle
East. He promoted sex-change for boys and girls. He returned the US into the climate-change
impending disaster of the Paris Accord. He sent more troops to Syria. He started a new campaign
against Russia and sent warships to the South China Sea.
At the same time, Pelosi
eliminated the words mother , father , son , daughter ,
husband , wife from the vocabulary of Congress as 'sexist'. Such purged language
would never allow a rendering of Virgil's miraculous prophecy ( Incipe, parve puer, risu
cognoscere matrem ) into English, or any other sacred text. It does not matter much; in the
Covid world, there will be no church anyway, no marriage, no woman or man; instead of making
children locally, new Americans will be imported. Indeed, if everything else is outsourced, why
stall at reproduction?
The Biden regime is just a front for the power of Big Data, of the five giants that removed
Trump and installed Biden in the White House. We shall see soon whether the power-thirsty
politicians will be satisfied with fronting for real power. Trump was the last wholly human
statesman at the helm of the Republic, and he was defeated by the mail-in vote.
Whenever Trump complained that it is open to fraud, Bezos' Washington Post screeched,
'President Trump has peddled false claims or imaginary threats about voting by mail'. Three
days after Trump's removal, Amazon (owned by the very same Bezos) rejected mail-in voting for its
unionising employees as the mail-in vote is notoriously unreliable. "We believe that the best
approach to a valid, fair and successful election is one that is conducted manually, in-person,
making it easy to verify",
said Amazon. The mail-in vote for the Presidency was a must because of the pandemic, but
there is no outbreak when Amazon employees try to join a trade union.
Likewise, the looting of BLM was 'largely peaceful', but selfie snapping in the Capitol was
a work of 'internal terrorists'. The victors are so dishonest, that I feel pity for Trump
– and for all of us.
I do feel pity for Donald Trump, though his last days in the White House were anything but
inspirational. He did not dare to pardon people who went for him into the Capitol, he didn't
pardon Assange or Snowden, but surprisingly he pardoned a whole lot of Jewish cheats. The
Jerusalem Postpublished
the list of prominent Jews he pardoned. On the list is an Israeli spy runner Aviem Sella
who was responsible for Jonathan Pollard; the rest are dishonest machers like Sholam
Weiss (who stole US $150 million, sentenced to 850 years) or Eliyahu Weinstein (stole up to
$200 million, sentenced to 24 years). See also a detailed analysis here . A devout believer in the
demonic power of Jews, Trump had thought to make up to them to avoid their anger. In vain:
there are already
plenty of cases against him, from potential tax fraud to sexual assault allegations. A
legal storm is brewing and Mr Trump may not be able to weather it as he has done in the past,
say the US federal prosecutors.
He could be lucky to avoid prison; unless he asks Mr Putin to lend him his excellent if
uncompleted Gelenjik Palace . On
second thoughts, perhaps the palace was built for exactly such an occasion.
The Jews do not need him: they have very strong positions in the new administration, while
gratitude is not a renowned Jewish trait. The Jewish news agency JTA boasted of the Tribe's achievements:
the State Department, CIA, National Intelligence, Homeland Security, NSA, Treasury and in
addition "Nine Jews are in the new Senate (including the new Majority Leader) and 25 in the
House of Representatives, making up more than 6 per cent of the total Congress. That's more
than triple the percentage of Jews in the general population. There are also two Jews out of
the nine justices on the U.S. Supreme Court."
This is not a good sign: Jews are good when allied with the oppressed. Then they use their
energy to promote the cause of the downtrodden. While at the top, they oppress more vigorously
than anybody; ask the Palestinians, if in doubt.
Mind you, I do not subscribe to the idea of Jewish supremacy and massive IQ. The all-Jewish
country of Israel is devastated by three lockdowns, by the biggest vaccination drive in the
world (86% already vaccinated), by an ongoing civil war of Zionist power against Orthodox Jews
who refuse lockdown and vaccination; by the forthcoming fourth national elections, as liberals
incessantly try to remove the Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu saying he is Israel's Trump. This
week, Israel's only remaining international airport was closed down; the people were told
nobody would get out at least until the summer. In this small country with its huge density of
population and poor housing it feels too much like a ghetto for comfort.
If Jews were as clever as they think they are, they would not get themselves into this
no-win Covid war. The Swedish way remains the only way to deal with it, as a
recent study has proven beyond all possible doubt. Israeli Jews have been whipped into such
a degree of Covid hysteria that there is no way to get out of it. Now they, and the
Brits were told that "having a coronavirus vaccination is not a licence to abandon
lockdown". Even if all will be vaccinated, the masks, lockdowns and social distancing will be
with us forever, if the people who decide now remain in power, because Covid is just a
justification for the Great Reset, or Digital Revolution, or the Brave New World or whatever
you call it. Jews got convinced and convinced others, and now they are being screwed up like
everybody else. If lockdown is a punishment meted out by the global force, as C J Hopkins
says , perhaps it
is Netanyahu's retirement they want to obtain.
The Jewish cause works fine when allied with the wishes of the real power. They could remove
Jeremy Corbyn for his alleged tolerance of antisemitism because the bosses hated his plans to
improve the lot of the workers and cut military spending. But Jews have to shut up or even
support Alexei Navalny who expressed his dislike of Jews right before he learned to keep his
mouth shut.
In this screenshot of his response in 2007, Mr Navalny bans somebody for being "a bugger and
a kike". Still, Jews supported him all right when told by their betters. They didn't even
mention his real anti-Jewish prejudice for they were (reasonably) afraid the Russian masses
would see it as rather a feather in his cap. The Jews are in line with the obscure real power,
and have to follow its demands, like the jesters before the king. The Covid plans for the world
reset are more important for the Masters than Jewish sentiments, and Jewish leaders recognise
that.
The Biden regime considers Russia its enemy Number One. Russia is in relatively good shape.
Russians are on their way out of Covid mass hysteria. They have begun to dismantle the Covid
measures. The rules are still there, but people sabotage them as they sabotaged Brezhnev's
rules. They also have their own vaccine Sputnik-V which is an old-style vaccine without gene
modification, as opposed to much of the Western stuff. I do not think it is necessary for
health, but it could help citizens under the spell of Covid to recover and forget the lockdown
nightmare.
Things began to move very fast after Biden was installed in the White House. After a year of
delays caused by US sanctions, on Monday 25/01/2021 the Russian pipe-laying vessel
Fortuna resumed its work off Denmark's shores on the undersea pipeline Nord Stream 2 to
sell Russian gas directly to Europe bypassing the latest US colony, the Ukraine. The US wants
Germany to stop the project and buy (more expensive) American gas instead. It would make Russia
more vulnerable. Despite the sanctions, Germany refused to stop the project. At the same time,
the Russians began to supply gas to Serbia creating a new line bypassing the Ukraine. At this
time, the Biden regime employed the Navalny card.
The return of Alexei Navalny to Russia is part of a plan to undermine Russia. The immense
power of Big Data and its social networks promoted his return as the new savior. But somehow it
didn't work. Instead of the expected tens of thousands, only one or two thousand followers
turned up at the airport, fewer than for a pop singer. He was promptly detained and arraigned
for thirty days. It was anticipated, and his people published his new Gelenjik Palace
film together with his call to demonstrate on 23/01.
The Russian internet had been saturated by YouTube pushing people to view it. The video had
been offered endlessly, time after time, and the numbers of viewers allegedly grew into the
billions. It was basically a psyops played by Google (the owner of YouTube) against Putin.
Again, it didn't work.
I witnessed the demo on Saturday 23/01, and it was not particularly impressive. Being a day
off, with a lot of people walking the streets and practically nobody carrying a poster or a
slogan, it is difficult to estimate how many were actually demonstrating, but it was in the low
thousands, as far as I could see. The police were well behaved; none of the rough justice we
see meted out in Paris or Amsterdam, let alone Washington. The Navalny activists were also
rather peaceful, excepting some marginal figures who were promptly arrested.
It seems that the Russians are not as silly as the Western planners expected them to be. In
1990 they, or their parents listened to Yeltsin's calls to throw off the privileged Communist
rulers because they, the rulers, had it so good with cars, dachas, Western goods. They paid for
this response with ten of the most awful years our generation experienced. Now they and their
children are unlikely to smash their state and their life just because their president has (or
has not) a palace. We shall see what the Russian state will do against inevitable future
assaults.
Putin is a cautious statesman. He does not want to aggravate relations with the Biden
regime, but the digital giants do not leave him many options. A Russian company gave a hand to
the Parler social network that was
deplatformed by Amazon, and it came back into being. Another Russian social network, Vkontakte , began to attract Western users. And
Russia is not alone: Turkey's Erdogan hit
Twitter , Pinterest and Periscope with advertising bans after they refused to follow
Facebook and appoint a local representative to take down contentious posts under a new law
aimed to pass the right to censure from the networks to the Turkish state. Russia plans to
follow the Turks. China has its own networks and is immune to the Big Five pressure.
Now there is the World Economic Forum's annual meeting online, where the victors will decide
how to proceed with their Great Reset. Trump is not invited. In a few days, we shall know more
about their plans, and whether there are any forces we can hope and cheer for. At present it
does not appear there are. Despite their multiple disagreements, they agree against us, so we
all can disagree with them.
I've received a letter saying: This is Miguel from Florence You mentioned Trump's
pardons
one of the only 143 people he pardoned, who knows why, was a tiny Florentine crook, who
was not even in gaol, just being investigated for fraudulent bankruptcy, a certain Tommaso
Buti.
Here is an article I wrote mentioning him, which touches a lot of other amusing
personalities
I believe the Russian vaccine uses an adenovirus, which causes the body's cells to make a
protein also present in the COVID-19 virus that the immune system suppresses. That may not be
as innnovative and questionable as the use of messenger RNA (I'm no immunologist and both
types of vaccines may prove safe and effective in the long run), but the Chinese
vaccine is the traditional one that uses is dead or attenuated viruses to stimulate the
immune system. If I had to take the jab and could choose the vaccine, I'd choose the Chinese
one.
Biden and Nancy seem to believe that Jay Powell can fix and fund anything they want to do.
But real damage has been done. I see it in grocery stores. Missing items that used to always
be available aren't. Auto Assembly lines shutttered because of the chip shortage.Empty store
fronts. Millions out of work. Not just in America but around the world. There isn't a lot to
reopen if they finally decide to reopen. Mothballed airplanes and cruise ships can't be just
restarted and begin service again even if Fauci and that Ethiopian mountain monkey who runs
the WHO declares it safe to resume travel. It doesn't work like that. Hysteresis sets in made
worse because people are scared and demoralized by the tyranny being imposed on them.
Buti was one of the owners/founders of the Fashion Cafe which opened in NYC back in the
90s. He apparently skimmed from the till. The restaurant got a bunch of supermodels like
Claudia Schiffer and Naomi Campbell to invest and do PR appearances. Melania ran in these
circles and probably knows Buti. Maybe she even liked that he (allegedly) stole from her
modeling competitors!
He did not dare to pardon people who went for him into the Capitol, he didn't pardon
Assange or Snowden, but surprisingly he pardoned a whole lot of Jewish cheats.
Trump could have assured himself a worthwhile legacy, but he listened to the same control
tools as he did throughout his presidency.
I doubt I'm alone in feeling somewhat betrayed. I say 'somewhat' because I certainly would
have been surprised if he did that – pleasantly surprised to be sure, but
surprised.
Sad.
R.C.
Before too many comments accumulate here, I just want to thank Ron Unz, the publisher, for
highlighting this general subject, now consistently. Many of us readers do indeed feel in our
bones that this is a turning point, and you, sir, deserve credit for recognizing the gravity
of this moment in American history. Thank you for placing stories and columns about this at
the top of your now-more-valuable-than-ever publication.
Do you have an alternate plan in case the powers that be try to silence you? I don't
understand how this works, but it would be pretty crazy not to have an alternative way to
publish "online" if you need one.
Maybe you could reassure us with some mention of the subject. (That would be edifying, if
it would not be too revealing. Whatever works. Let's just hope UR can go on. Some of us can
find no substitute.)
And thank you, Israel Shamir, for you work. This selection from today's seems particularly
relevant:
Mind you, I do not subscribe to the idea of Jewish supremacy and massive IQ. The
all-Jewish country of Israel is devastated by three lockdowns, by the biggest vaccination
drive in the world (86% already vaccinated), by an ongoing civil war of Zionist power
against Orthodox Jews who refuse lockdown and vaccination
Not quite masters of the universe. Just people with good PR.
You mean there is an obscure real power above the jews? The jews follow it's demands as
jesters? Who is this obscure power before whom the jews dance as jesters? Who is this great
king?
thing is that like unz, they gather everything you write and use it against you in the
long run. yeah we encourage you in every way. What they don't say is that everything you say
will be recorded and examined by artificial intelligence.
One of the main reasons you can comment here while not being able to comment in any of the
myriad fake sites of alternative right/left. Cuz they are absolutely designed, just like the
cbc.ca to not allow anyone with open opiones to
comment. They will close you down and delete your comments all the time to prevent ordinary
people from commenting on things of importance. To everyone and how much we make and how hard
we have to work for it and how much we hate the government taking it from us to spend on
political wars and ecological destruction (while lying about it all the time) Like how piss
poorly they handled Covid and how many lives that cost while those stupid shits fucked around
with politics. Lot of us knew that back in Jan/Feb last year. Lot of us knew that back then
and watched a tidal wave of protests from where? BLM and Antifa were cover stories financed
by rich people to cover the real indignation of ordinary people about how piss poorly our
governments were doing in relation to this virus which has pretty much smacked us back on our
socks.
It is what turned me off of politics completely. It is what made me realize that I have a far
better understanding of this virus than they do. It was commenting on the cbc with perhaps a
dozen far sighted citizens and being completely over-whelmed by political bots and
ignorance.
What is the answer? The answer is not to drink the koolaid. The answer is to look at your own
country and your own culture and support that. It may be a few decades but that it is what it
is going to return to. Or you could die. Good luck. You give that up and allow your culture
to be overwhelmed by violent, religiously motivated cultures from centuries ago then you
might just as well turn Hari Krishna, to avoid your criminal past and sell vegetarian recipe
books to people who would actually eat that shit. Y'all have a great day.
What a dog's breakfast of half truths and misdirections. Russians and Socialists are
always ready to cuck for jews. They are virtual pornstars of the night.
Y'all want a perfect example of a a fake left-wing site which is actually completely right
wing? Try theTyee.ca .
Looks left wing, smells left wing, has tons of trained porpoises and and other paid and
unpaid fools which support them.
Say a single thing about changing the political status quo and you are banned my friend. Good
luck arguing about it when when you are a monster in a horror flick and cannot say a single
word.
Putin is all too aware of Jewish perfidy for he knows the rotten treatment meted out to
Donald J Trump by the very people who got the most out of him.
Vlad won't make the same mistake and perhaps he might even set the world free by launching
a nuclear missile at the Silicon Valley to take out the "Big Five" before going down, unlike
hapless DJT!
He promoted sex-change for boys and girls.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- –
This is going to explode. Women are going to go crazy over this.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Why is it everyone is angry over a man competing in women's sports but no one is angry over
women competing in men's sports?
Trump's great merit – to me and some others – is that he ripped back the cloth
of gold that previously concealed the exalted office of the presidency, and showed everyone
all the horrible rotten decay underneath. Messrs Obama and Biden and the Clintons, in sharp
contrast, are enthusiastic guardians of the cloth of gold. In Jesus's day, they would have
been precisely the scribes and pharisees whom he despised and rebuked for their extreme
hypocrisy.
And that is equally the reason why so many hate Trump. They would have preferred the
hypocrisy to continue unchallenged, the whited sepulchres to remain unbroached.
I can count on my left-hand fingers people who write with empathy and correctly about
those who got depleted uranium bombs on their heads. Thank you for your genuine and valuable
service to the entire humanity and global justice. Good health.
Like the dishonest servant in the parables of Jesus, Trump is a wise man. As a man of the
world, he knows better than us how to make a place for himself after being thrown from the
palace. All this dealing was for continued wealth and freedom from serious prosecution, is my
thought.
Good for him. He can continue to poke at the pigs this way.
Softpanorama
92,170
Deap says: April 25, 2021 at 8:19 pm
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