The Dems in total denial, completely devoted to the establishment!

Posted by: nmb | Mar 14 2017 16:30 utc | 1

Certain elites might be to trying to walk back the neo-McCarthyite hysteria that they helped create, but I don't see that finding its way into the pages of the daily papers, which still regularly refer to Russian plans to subvert elections in the Netherlands, France and Germany.

The Turkey-vs.-Holland vaudeville show is instructive in terms of how neoliberals are trying to co-opt the rising populism. If Mark Rutte comes out on top tomorrow, expect other neoliberal politicians to arrest their descent in the polls by punching Erdogan.

Posted by: Mike Maloney | Mar 14 2017 16:39 utc | 2

The global deep state is not going to give up, they have been working centuries on this plan. Hitler had all of Europe under his command and almost made it to Moscow, yet he lost to them in the end.

This is why the warning was made with the white house intruder carrying a napsack while Trump was nearby. There probably will not be a second warning but an assassination attempt. Once the attempt is successful, or even partially successful, the US will be ripe for civil war, collapse, surrender and finally slavery and the mark of the beast.

Posted by: Heros | Mar 14 2017 16:40 utc | 3

There is no need to oust Trump. It's becoming evident he has capitulated and become a puppet.

Posted by: Musburger | Mar 14 2017 17:07 utc | 4

The verbal bombardment of Russia may have backfired but they aren't giving up. NGO's are busy starting a Maidan in Belarus....

https://charter97.org/en/news/2017/3/13/243587/

Posted by: dh | Mar 14 2017 17:19 utc | 5

Heros , 3

It wasn't the deep state of anglo imperialism that beat Hitler but the Soviet Union . The Soviet's fought very reluctantly as they felt they had better things to do ie. building socialism .

Posted by: ashley albanese | Mar 14 2017 17:42 utc | 6

So finally it was a good thing that Flynn was kicked out under a "russian' pretext.
It is hoped that hysterical Erdogan will pay the price by loosing the referendum, to the sigh of relief of the whole world.

Posted by: virgile | Mar 14 2017 17:45 utc | 7

I hope you're right, but I think your analysis is way too optimistic.
The US has very clear strategic objectives to which Russia is the primary obstacle.

There may be a lull in the storm, but Washington has no choice but to confront Russia either in Syria, Ukraine or some other far-flung front. This is just the beginning of US war on Moscow, not the end.

Posted by: plantman | Mar 14 2017 17:54 utc | 8

I believe that US Presidential aspirant Ralph Nadir got it correct when he coined the term 'two party duopoly.'

Duopoly - a situation in which two suppliers dominate the market for a commodity or service.

Posted by: ALberto | Mar 14 2017 18:03 utc | 9

That's all well and good and I'm not disagreeing on the whole, but you ignore the fact that Trump made an error in judgment that might bring the whole Russia-collusion issue to the forefront again when he accused Obama of tapping his phones. Now apparently this administration is playing the Bubba word-game card: Clinton said, "It depends upon what the meaning of the word 'is' is. ... If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement".

So we have this administration, who's back is now against the wall with the Intelligence Committee demanding evidence to back up the wiretapping allegation, spinning that the reason Trump wrote "wire tapping" in quotes was to express a more generic surveillance.

HeLLo?? Then why did he write two other tweets where he specifically wrote Obama taped my phones.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/837996746236182529

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/837994257566863360

So in fact he used tapped my phones twice and in fact that's exactly what he meant!

So now the DOJ is scrambling asking for more time to cough up the evidence Trump based these claims on.

Now, the problem is that once they come back empty-handed, people are going to revert to the context in which Trump made these claims. Usually when someone tries to deflect or distract with bombshell criminal allegations against another that turn out to be false, it is a strong indicator of consciousness of guilt.

So, then, we'll see if Trump with his own deception and stupidity brings the Russian collusion issue back to the forefront.

I believe the rose-colored perception of Russia-U.S. relations is premature, especially as it relates to collaboration on Syria.

Today Trump is hosting the Saudis at the White House and after the photo-op in the Oval Office the press were escorted out without commentary by Trump or questions. Now, we all know that Syria, safe zones and Iran, and also Yemen where this administration has stepped up bombing raids, will be the main topics of discussion. This White House has been tight-lipped on the report the Pentagon was mandated with producing by Trump regarding Syria and safe zones.

Maybe the report has been drafted and Trump is running the issue of safe zones by the Saudis. I don't know, but the media blackout really bothers me.

We all know that Putin is for territorial integrity in Syria and that's a good thing, because if Putin capitulates on this issue then he will have done the Empire's work wasting treasure in Syria to end up benefitting the Empire's hegemonic agenda.

We'll see what Trump is up to with the Saudis. Maybe it'll come up in the daily presser, but the image of the Saudis in the Oval Office is rather ominous and disgusting.

Posted by: Circe | Mar 14 2017 18:19 utc | 10

Judge Napolitano this AM:"Three intelligence sources have informed Fox News that President Obama went outside the chain of command” to conduct the surveillance on Trump. Napolitano said that GCHQ did it.

Posted by: fnn | Mar 14 2017 18:33 utc | 11

Just to update on my comment 10: As I suspected, at the press briefing, Spicer totally waived off the question on the reason for the Saudi crown prince visit and issues discussed. Note as well that the prince is also KSA's defense minister. What's Trump up to with the Saudis? Well, we don't know, do we? BECAUSE HE'S F#%KING BLACKING OUT THIS GLARING EVENT from the media!

Posted by: Circe | Mar 14 2017 18:40 utc | 12

taibbi is basically stating a lot of obvious stuff that any reader of MoA (and other "fake news" sites on the propornot list) already knew. plus he actually says there is "little doubt" that russia "hacked" the DNC. even trump thinks so (never mind that every taibbi article lately is about how clueless trump supposedly is).

i guess matt and many others in the media have yet to get the vault 7 memo. or they just don't care and are clinging to whatever thin branch they can find to prevent falling from the "russia is teh suk" tree. sad. his reporting on goldman was pretty great at times.

Posted by: the pair | Mar 14 2017 18:45 utc | 13

@11

So then why is the administration trying to fudge the definition of "Obama tapping my PHONES", bringing up microwaves with cameras nonsense, and delaying providing a shred of evidence that Obama tapped Trump's phones?

It was a distraction; deflecting suspicion of Russia collusion off himself to accuse Obama of a criminal act and have the media whiplash to Obama=Nixon.

Now, I'm not saying Trump colluded; I'm saying he falsely deflected and that's not good; that makes HIM look guilty.

Posted by: Circe | Mar 14 2017 18:53 utc | 14

I agree, no evidence. But can somebody please tell me what "evidence" would look like if there were any?

Posted by: ruralito | Mar 14 2017 18:55 utc | 15

The Saudis are in a state of panic.

What they want of the USA
-The war in Yemen is a quagmire. Pakistan and Egypt have refused to participate. The Saudis have not found any Sunni allies to help and the army is weakening
They want Trump to help crush the 'Iranian' backed Houthis under the pretext of fighting Al Qaeda
- They are very uncomfortable with the alliance Christian-Shia-Sunni of Turkey-Iran-Russia. They see that all the money they have spent to topple Bashar al Assad and install a Sunni government in Syria have failed. They want the US to counter the Russian and Iranian influence in Syria, Libya, Egypt and to prevent a victory of Bashar al Assad, as this will be an enormous humiliation for them
- They want more US sanctions on Iran

What Trump wants to them
- Trump will ask them to officially recognize Israel
- continue to buy weapons from the USA

Posted by: virgile | Mar 14 2017 18:58 utc | 16

Well, well, well = sick!

The empire has a huge military and a spy agency capable of all sorts of nasty stuff. Do Americans care? March Madness is an appropriate name for the obsession with sports - a means of pretending that all is well in the world.

Come on economic collapse!

Posted by: rg the lg | Mar 14 2017 18:59 utc | 17

In this evolving nightmare of fluffy rumor, latest puzzler that I've now seen, is a claim that the CIA hacked the DNC to hurt Clinton because they "knew" Trump would be more malleable ... and they "really" wanted Trump ... yet, some folks chose to believe it ... because it's even more convoluted than the last "conspiracy theory of everything" ... as if the DNC e-mails mattered very much in the equation (except Sanders supporters, while the DNC said claim it was "business as usual" and went back to stonewalling) ... now that traditional Clintonian stonewalling ... on the other hand ... nevermind.

Posted by: Susan Sunflower | Mar 14 2017 19:08 utc | 18

B, while I'd like to agree with your analysis, this part of Taibbi's article refutes it:
"Moreover, the case that the Russians hacked the Democratic National Committee now appears fairly solid. Even Donald Trump thinks so. This of course makes it harder to dismiss stories like the one in which former Trump adviser Roger Stone appeared to know that Wikileaks was about to release the hacked emails of Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman John Podesta."
When even Taibbi accepts this goofy stuff, the journalistic so-called profession is clearly in trouble.
On the other hand, the anti-Russian campaign has not been as successful as those pushing it would like. The main difference from the times of the old cold war is that people now have access to various sources of information and can compare and contrast stories. So the control over people's minds will not be the same, no matter how many fake news cia plants.
Here is a challenge: Udo Ulfkotte, a former editor of Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, wrote a book on disinformation (http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2014/10/leading-german-journalist-admits-cia-bribed-leaders-western-press.html). He recently died - at 56 years. Is there more to this?

Posted by: anonymous | Mar 14 2017 19:25 utc | 19

@16

Another journalist later in the brief pressed Spicer on the Saudi meeting and Spicer blurted that safe zones was one of the issues Trump wanted to discuss with the Saudi defense minister.

Posted by: Circe | Mar 14 2017 19:46 utc | 20

The anti Russian hysteria and accusations without evidence should be
a source of embarrassment for those who (uncritically) have embraced
them. History has provided the term "Witch Hunt". This is why I
advocate getting information and analysis from a variety of sources
outside the "mainstream" with special attention to information
provided by skeptical and/or adversarial sources. In my experience
educated people are often easily bamboozled. The parable/fairy tale of
The King's New Clothes seems to be played out on a discouragingly
regular basis with the "experts" and the "wise" all agreeing that the
bare ass naked King is dressed in the finest of all robes. The
assertion that only the wisest and most qualified can see and
appreciate their splendor is still made on a regular basis. HaHaHa. I
have also seen educated and presumably well informed people band
together to demonize an innocent party and call for their head. In
particular I remember the allegations of child abuse and satanism that
were made against a Montessori school where I live in the 1980's that
ruined the life of the innocent owner. There were a number of these
cases alleged nationally at that time. Pure Bullshit it turned out but
the cries for quick and sure "justice" for the "obviously guilty"
parties were a chorus joined all to often by those who should have
known better.
When your ox is gored perhaps it is best to be careful when assigning
blame.

Posted by: Gurrker | Mar 14 2017 20:03 utc | 21

All not so quiet on Libya's Eastern front

The news agency Reuters reported earlier, citing diplomatic sources that Russia appeared to have deployed a 22-member special forces unit to an airbase at Sidi Barrani in western Egypt near the border with Libya.

http://tass.com/politics/935372

MOSCOW, March 14. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said he has not heard anything about some presence of Russian troops in Egypt on the border with Libya from any sources other than Western media.

More:
http://tass.com/politics/935395

Reuters piece

Russia appears to have deployed special forces to an airbase in western Egypt near the border with Libya in recent days, U.S., Egyptian and diplomatic sources say, a move that would add to U.S. concerns about Moscow's deepening role in Libya.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-russia-libya-exclusive-idUSKBN16K2RY

Posted by: ALberto | Mar 14 2017 20:28 utc | 22

@ Posted by: fnn | Mar 14, 2017 2:33:44 PM | 11

Napolitano said that GCHQ did it.

NO ?! I'm shocked, I tell you, shocked !

@ Posted by: anonymous | Mar 14, 2017 3:25:02 PM | 19

'Robert J. Myers' (MSM tool) and his friend 'Ray Cline' (ex CIA Division head) appeared at a January 1978 congressional hearing on the CIA and the media where Myers stated:

"The reciprocal relationship between the CIA and the American press has been of value to both parties and often to the individuals themselves whose careers may have mutually benefited by such connections."

@ Posted by: virgile | Mar 14, 2017 2:58:28 PM | 16

Had a pleasant daydream ... R2P was used to justify the overthrow of Saudi-Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, UAE & Kuwait, with subsequent UN & Independent monitors overseeing new temporary UNSC declared 'Mandates' with TRUE Free & Fair, one vote - one (wo)man elections.

Whilst concurrently the walls in Israel were being expanded and finished so as to completely enclose & seal the Israeli's IN. An enforced, No-fly-zone, all military, commercial & private aircraft. All access, transit, trade, shipping, flights, blockaded, until they collectively decided to renounce religious apartheid, neo-colonialism, illegal settlements and rejoin humanity on Terra ... alas, but a dream.

Posted by: Outraged | Mar 14 2017 20:31 utc | 23

Thanks for fixing the formatting. For the first time the comments column fits my cell phone screen.

Posted by: Lurking Reader | Mar 14 2017 20:42 utc | 24

Taibbi is a limited hangout. His Rolling Stone contemporary reporter Mike literally crashed and burned in a horrible, unexplained Mercedes-Benz fireball, the story disappeared, the spouse, the next-of-kin, and the relatives made little noise.

It's enough to make a guy a limited hangout (he's been one all along). No more bad news about Goldman. Jumped on the Trump-bashing bandwagon.

From outraged 23 -

"The reciprocal relationship between the CIA and the American press has been of value to both parties and often to the individuals themselves whose careers may have mutually benefited by such connections."

Posted by: fast freddy | Mar 14 2017 20:44 utc | 25

The anti-russian bias and hate, lies wont stop. Just put it that way, EU/US attitude to Russia will lead to war sooner or later, that is for sure.

Posted by: Anonymous | Mar 14 2017 21:22 utc | 26

There's something unwritten, at least in popular histories, that influences US military policy. Friendship. During the Crimean war, the US sent 4 observers, one, a young offer who'd later become the general of all US Forces, George Mcllelan. You can read details here. The British said, screw off, the French were nice, the Prussians were genial and displayed all sorts of ordnance and fortifications, once they got to the front, they were able to see French trenches, but the Russians treated them with the most respect.
http://fmso.leavenworth.army.mil/documents/Delafield-Commission.pdf
The lessons they learned were that european nation states were pouring entire national treasuries into building massive armies that could be moved anywhere by steamship, about the threat of artillery, and the massive changes needed for effective cavalry tactics. It lead to the building of huge coastal fortifications, most of which still exist, fortifications meant to dissaude a franco-british amphibious assault.

But most importantly it created a friendship between the imperial Russian officer corps and American officer corps. It also prevented the Franco-British recognition of the slave states as a sovereign body, which potentially would have allowed large scale intervention.

Quoting "Fifth, the final value of a FAO‘s
product might have little to do with the
original mission guidance. Britain and
France did not jointly invade the United States,
although the French Foreign Legion and the Federal
Army came close to fighting along the Rio Grande
after the Civil War. But, England and France also did
not recognize the Confederate States of America—a
recognition that was probably prevented by the
Emancipation Proclamation and actions of a friendly
Russian government. Russian fleets arrived almost
simultaneously in both New York harbor and San
Francisco harbor while Britain and France were considering
formal recognition of the Confederacy. "

Imperial Russia helped keep the civil war a civil war.

And so this friendship between officer corps continued and lead to the pointless American participation in expeditions to northwestern and northeastern Russia during the Bolshevik revolution. The western half managed to participate in the freeing of the czech legion and not much else. The eastern half was shocked when the Japanese showed up with 70,000 troops rather than the 7,000 promised, and mostly stayed behind to keep an eye on them. Those Japanese troops would hang around for another 2 years, until the Bolsheviks ejected them.

Anyway, there was considerable Iranian military officer training in the US, and buying of weapons of course. So continued enmity towards Iran probably has as much to do with generals friends being persecuted as the hostage crisis or the shah or anything like that. Add Iran giving some aid to Iraqis fighting to stop the occupation and you get the witch's brew of momentous stupidity that tells the us military "We must Stop Iran AT ALL COSTS."

So I propose we start by having Green berets cross train with revolutionary guard, then we sell them some of our old jets, give away the abrams tanks we don't want, and we can end this bellicosity.

The friendship with foreign officer corps should not be underestimated when it comes to the creating of phony wars and the feeding of proxy wars.

We've trained countless Saudi officers, and we catch about one a year trying to snatch a 14 year old boy from a las vegas hotel room so he can rape him, but they pay well, so who's complaining. The friendship between Saudi officers and American high command is a good reason why we keep supplying bombs used to explicitly kill civilians.

Make friends with American generals is good advice, I think

Posted by: Cresty | Mar 14 2017 21:35 utc | 27

@circe 12
It's not that complicated imo. ISIS is withdrawing on all fronts, and the big question is 'where to?'. Washington and Riyadh have some talking to do an what they'll do with all these crazy jihadis now they're no longer needed in Syria - they certainly don't want them running wild in KSA, do they?
Ah and there's the oil price thing of course...

I basically agree with what you write about Trump and distraction, just I can't be bothered to try and take this man seriously.

Posted by: smuks | Mar 14 2017 21:51 utc | 28

The funny thing about libya is that Italy/the EU ASKED for fussian help in February -- and they have 20 people (omg 40!!! boots) on the ground
Guardian (02/09/2017): EU reaches out to Russia to broker deal with Libyan general Haftar.
and
VOICE OF AMERICA: 02/11/2017: Italy Seeks Russia's Help to Stabilize Libya, End Migrant Crisis.

yesterday's reports pretended "surprise" or even "alarm" (the Ruskies are trying to steal the oil!!!!)

Posted by: Susan Sunflower | Mar 14 2017 22:07 utc | 29

b: The Democrats failed in their anti-Trump, anti-Russia campaign.

Ur probably right, so far, but the fat lady ain’t sung yet.

All they really needed to do was STFU and STFD and let DTDuck slit his own throat, for instance by accusing Obama of wiretapping Trump Tower. There is no known immunity from self-immolation. DTDuck will be history w/in 2 years. He’s mental. Then what will we have to watch on Saturday night? Bummer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

fnn | Mar 14, 2017 2:33:44 PM | 11

Napolitano . . . now there’s a laugh. If I had $10 for every time Judge Nap claimed Hillary would be indicted before the election, I could buy that new Mercedes I’ve been looking at.

Posted by: Denis | Mar 14 2017 22:15 utc | 30

Outraged @23--

Using melatonin to help you relax to get fitful sleep?! Like your dreamplotter!

I see the philosophies invoked by Russia and China in their development schemes as part of the remedy--they are using culture as a brake/control on human actions to ensure equanimity (win/win). Furthermore, their attempt to restore the Rule of Law to its proper place while resigning the Devine Right of Monarchs back to the dustbin is another sign of their attempt to use culture as it was designed.

My philosophy prof back in 1996 described our current time as a Paradigm Shift from Modernism to Post-Modernism but didn't elaborate much on the many nuances it would display or the forces driving them. His name for the Deep State was the MegaMolarSchitzoidMachine--likely derived from King Crimson's 21st Century Schizoid Man--but he was reluctant to go into it in detail. Previous Paradigm Shifts were marked by destructive dislocation followed by a rebirth, with many concerned thinkers doubting if another rebirth will be possible, myself included. I don't say so as often, but this conflict between two competing philosophies has already ignited World War 3--the Outlaw US Empire trying desperately to attain Full Spectrum Dominance before the Multipolar Alliance can overturn its place and defang its power--which is what's fueling the anti-Russian diatribes throughout every outpost of the Outlaw US Empire.

Humanity and the planetary biota have a chance if the Multipolar Alliance prevails. A nightmare technoborg existence well beyond the veiled horrors of Soylent Green await the planet if the Outlaw US Empire attains its policy goal. Farfetched? Not when one looks into technological developments and their rapid weaponization. This is no casual game of Go; this is a very powerful struggle for a decent future existence.

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 14 2017 22:18 utc | 31

Salon has a "security expert" who has written several books and is a regular on MSNBC who says that the election hacking comes on top of year and years of a diabolical Russian/Putin plot to seize control of the American Zeitgeist via disinformation ... and they've already succeeded to such a point that their "coup" has been successful .... no dates, no details, just conspiracy ... with a neat "bodysnatchers' twist" which is that if you doubt the Russian coup, that just means that they have already infiltrated your reality ... "you've already be duped" if you doubt the deep state, USG, CIA, MSM and him ...
Salon: Intelligence expert Malcolm Nance on Trump scandal: “As close to Benedict Arnold as we’re ever going to get” -- Career counterterrorism officer says Putin pulled off a "brilliant" coup — but Trump is headed for impeachment.
yuppers, it's bigger, deeper, badder, bolder and worse than you can even imagine ....
(the reviews of his books on Amazon say they contain little to no information not available elsewhere, quick-and-dirty cut-and-paste insta-books for your $$$ and reading pleasure ... of the have your fears/prejudices confirmed!!! variety.

I had to read the article twice because it was so empty of content ....

Posted by: Susan Sunflower | Mar 14 2017 22:23 utc | 32

@ Posted by: Susan Sunflower | Mar 14, 2017 6:23:57 PM | 32

But, but, it is actually all true, isn't it ?

I mean, come on! There's even a candid surveillance photo in 'The Paper of Record' of the Evil™ Russkie guy with, a cat, and, and leopard skin PJs, just like SPECTRE's Ernst Stavro Blofeld !

Russian Espionage Piggybacks on a Cybercriminal's Hacking ((NYT(Pravda!))(Mar1217)

To the FBI, Evgeniy Bogachev is the most wanted cyber criminal in the world (Ooh! A real live Boogeyman!). The bureau has announced a $US3 million bounty for his capture, the most ever for a computer criminal, and has been trying to track his movements in the hopes of grabbing him if he strays outside his home turf in Russia.

He has been indicted in the United States, accused of creating a sprawling network of virus-infected computers to siphon hundreds of millions of dollars from bank accounts around the world, targeting anyone with enough money worth stealing - from a pest control company in North Carolina to a police department in Massachusetts to a Native American tribe in Washington.

In December, the Obama administration announced sanctions against Mr. Bogachev and five others in response to intelligence agencies’ conclusions that Russia had meddled in the presidential election. Publicly, law enforcement officials said it was his criminal exploits that landed Mr. Bogachev on the sanctions list, not any specific role in the hacking of the Democratic National Committee.

@ Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 14, 2017 6:18:41 PM | 31

... this conflict between two competing philosophies has already ignited World War 3--the Outlaw US Empire trying desperately to attain Full Spectrum Dominance before the Multipolar Alliance can overturn its place and defang its power--which is what's fueling the anti-Russian diatribes throughout every outpost of the Outlaw US Empire.

Indeed. The late stage struggle of the Empire against it's imminent fall is apparent (pre 1989 redux), and there are some early indicators certain vassal States are considering/contemplating hedging their bets for a possible future Multi-Polar World (rats, deserting, ship), if there isn't a miscalculation, resulting in no Terra, no more.

Posted by: Outraged | Mar 14 2017 22:50 utc | 33

one more thing ... yes, I've noticed TPTB "backing away" from the Russian Claims but I'm not certain (at all) that they acknowledge that there's no "there" there (as in "evidence" since they don't seem to need any) but more that they have begun to realize that there is no end-game or happy-ending to the Russian/traitor claims (in part because they'll almost certainly never be able to produce proof (even if the claims were "true")... short of transcripts of the phone calls between principals, that would never have happened (even if claims were "true" because "precautions would have been taken" ... the claims have been so broadly elementary school/comic-book level ... as if this were all carried out with the assistance of the Russian envoy ... grrr. oh yeah, some senator want RT investigated tooooo.

TPTB may be about to pivot to investigating Trump's financials (including his alleged Russian connections) which should have a better papertrail and not require NSA/CIA/FBI "national security" considerations. There were always too many heads-of-the-hydra they were claiming... the indoctrination level wrt the Russian connection reached near-saturation levels.

The folks who want to bring down Trump likely "can't wait" for the investigation to show progress and will move onto something WRT Trump and possibly (see Libya above) something WRT Russia's treat to American hegemony.

Posted by: Susan Sunflower | Mar 14 2017 22:55 utc | 34

Unrelated to the D-Party fueled Russophobia but certainly related to the internal D-Party crisis are the details revealed in this recap of Single Payer status, http://www.counterpunch.org/2017/03/14/the-time-for-single-payer-has-come-so-why-is-bernie-sanders-still-hawking-obamacare/

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 14 2017 23:40 utc | 35

If Russia isn't demonized it'll be China or Iran, or maybe North Korea. Six or half a dozen eh? The point is, to get the U$A morons to feel terrorized by SOMEONE. It's how they justify defense spending. Shoveling vast sums of $ to the already rich.

Donald Trump & President Bannon have one job. To deconstruct the U$ Govt. and turn it over to the giant Multi-Nationals and business cronies, so they can rape the U$ working classes.

" It's just business" U$A business interests will brook no competitors.

Posted by: ben | Mar 14 2017 23:44 utc | 36

Obviously angels and demons, amongst us, fighting for our souls and the full global dominance on a cellular (as in our living cells) level ... who knew? and I slept well and woke up refreshed. Sneaky little bastards.

I wonder when I will acquire the ability to speak and read Russian (or would that be too "unsubtle" and water muddying?) very very reminiscent of "previous bodily fluids" of Strangelove ...

Oddly, Nance characterizes that the effort to hijack the 2016 election as an "attempt" [book title: “The Plot to Hack America: How Putin’s Cyberspies and WikiLeaks Tried to Steal the 2016 Election.”]... even if he claims Russia's "coup" has already succeeded.

Posted by: Susan Sunflower | Mar 14 2017 23:53 utc | 37

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 14, 2017 7:40:00 PM | 35
wow, that was depressing ... but yes, also, the DNC is all done with introspection and lessons-learned and they think they're winning -- Haven't you heard? Clinton won by 3 millions votes (in blue states)
They're writing off the Sanders continent as hopeless, the deplorables, in fact all Trump voters ... path to congressional dominance minus any attempt to regain any red-state losses. You're either on their bus or you're off their bus and good riddance ... they'll send you off the island with razzberries and epithets ... fageddaboutit.

Posted by: Susan Sunflower | Mar 15 2017 0:04 utc | 38

P. S.- Unless I miss my guess, The "Good Cop, Bad Cop" is playing out with this Dem. push to impeach Mr. Trump. It will all come to nothing. It's just part of the " Good Cop, Bad Cop", show.

With few exceptions, We, in the U$A, if you're working class, have no representation in our Govt.

Posted by: ben | Mar 15 2017 0:08 utc | 39

The entire Russia stole my lunch money, coloring book, crayolas and will not allow me to say 'the Pledge of Allegiance' scenario holds little or no water. Where is the proof? What effect did the alleged hacking of the selection interfered with said election? This entire argument in not only nonsensical but it is also moronic. It all stems from a basic lack of technical knowledge. 90% of your everyday citizens posses little or no knowledge or understanding of computer science. Listeners key on 'hacking' without examining the information allegedly provided.

The sheer volume of classified information provided the public is so large that a large anti CIA coup has to be happening. From within. All of Washington is waiting for the first shoe to drop in the form of criminal charges. This coup of 'deep state' entities was most definitely authored by insiders as the volume of information is immense and very damaging to several US spy agencies.

It would appear to be quite logical that several people with Top Secret clearance and access to information used memory sticks to transport that information and make it available to the general citizenry. Making the covert overt so to say. Sort of 'mission fragging.' Just me opinion.

One other thing. The PTB medias are still hammering on the Orlando shooting where 49 people were allegedly murdered and 53 wounded. Not mentioned is that the father of the alleged terror attack attended a Hillary Clinton political rally after the alleged attack.

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/orlando-shooter-father-clinton-226819

Never underestimate the collective intellectual group somnambulance of the US public.

Posted by: ALberto | Mar 15 2017 0:11 utc | 40

Campaigns are all about gaining and maintaining eyeballs and the not so evolve brains behind them.

The self licking ice cream cone of wag the dog optics needs constant feeding and even more so when challenged. But those times also bring opportunity to make radical social changes if bullied through by aggressive leadership.....how is that signal/noise ratio these days?

The anti-Trump factions will continue to press their agenda but both factions (D/R) are anti-humanistic/pro-private finance; so what is to like?

Maybe the only thing to like is that the optics show stress in the corridors of the Western elite.....

Posted by: psychohistorian | Mar 15 2017 0:16 utc | 41

Of course everyone is backing away from the hacking claims as others have noted without any proof, there is nowhere further to go with them.
Unfortunately both halves of the amerikan empire duopoly can claim success. The dems have used the bullshit to ensure the party's central command remains firmly in the control of neoliberal corporate puppets and the rethugs have been hard it at warmongering under cover of this distraction.
Trump plans on avoiding the problems oblamblam had of being closely tied to murder and mayhem committed by the CIA and The Pentagon by loosening the controls on drone attacks and permissable civilian casualties

The administration has already loosened rules of engagement in parts of Yemen (As FP has noted), and is expected to soon do the same in areas of Somalia in order to give U.S. drones and Special Operations Forces a freer hand to hunt al Qaeda-linked groups.

Lowering the threshold. The administration is also wrapping up a review of how to grant the Pentagon the authority to launch counterterrorism strikes anywhere in the world while “lowering the threshold on acceptable civilian casualties and scaling back other constraints imposed by the Obama administration,” senior U.S. officials told the Washington Post’s Greg Jaffe and Karen DeYoung. The new rules would allow the Pentagon to take strikes without the authority of the White House, and scrap the “near certainty” rule of avoiding civilian casualties put in place by then-president Obama.

That's good eh? From now on amerika can blow the bejezeez outta as many humans as they like anywhere in the world and if anyone has the gall to ask why a bunch of humans quietly going about their business in Somalia, Yemen, the Philippines or Iran got offed, they will be told "We don't know. The president doesn't concern himself with such pointless ephemera, maybe it was the pentagon, maybe it was langley or even Tillerson's new energy resource liberation mob over at foggy bottom. The 0800 numbers of those agencies has been included in your handout."

The defacto position of the duopoly has become "we kill anyone, anywhere because we're always right."
That position will never change no matter which asshole is made prez. The dems will quietly accept whatever bribes are offered by corporate amerika not to rock the boat, but why would they? One of the biggest 'negatives' the dems had was their close association with murder and mayhem, Obamblam with the drones and ClintonInc with Bengazi. Get some distance from the slaughter and then plead ignorance is a much safer option politically.

Posted by: Debsisdead | Mar 15 2017 0:29 utc | 42

The Democrats failed in their anti-Trump, anti-Russia campaign.

b, from your hands at the keyboard to the Big One’s Ears. Big Ears have much work ahead.

The sedition by sore losers continues. The shadow governments and anti-Trump campaigns are just getting started.

American Oversight

Former Obama administration staffers have launched an organization to closely monitor President Donald Trump and his administration.

Known as American Oversight, the group will search for anything that seems amiss, whether it touches on ethics or fraud, among other potential problems, the group’s executive director, Austin Evers, told Fox News.
“We are conducting oversight because Congress won’t,” said Evers, who was a State Department lawyer in the Obama administration. “We are using tools available to American citizens to investigate instances of fraud, corruption, violation of ethics rules, you name it. If there’s something that Congress should be investigating, we will be.”
Evers founded the group with Melanie Sloan, a former federal prosecutor who worked for Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Joe Biden when he was a senator. The group's website notes that Ms. Magazine once called Sloan “the most feared woman in Washington."
Sloan and Evers also brought in three more attorneys.
John Bies’s work for the Obama administration included serving as counselor to former Attorney General Eric Holder. Cerissa Cafasso’s work for the administration included being counsel in the Department of Labor. Sara Kaiser Creighton worked for private law firms, and clerked for federal judges.[..]

Link

And Assange Claims Hillary, Intel Officials Quietly Pushing A Pence Takeover
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-03-14/wikileaks-assange-claims-hillary-intel-officials-quietly-pushing-pence-takeover

Add former Obama AGs Holder and Lynch.

”we have done it before”

Catch this very bold recent video of Lorretta Lynch’s on Resistance
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2017/03/former-obama-attorney-general-loretta-lynch-releases-overnight-disturbing-video-about-blood-and-death/

Posted by: likklemore | Mar 15 2017 0:52 utc | 43

DiD @ 42:"That position will never change no matter which asshole is made prez."

Exactly Debs, although convincing others of that truth isn't easy.

And for all those waiting for the eminent demise of the U$A/NATO empire, don't hold your breath. They're coming for you too.

Posted by: ben | Mar 15 2017 1:05 utc | 44

A 64GB memory stick (flash drive) can store 1,280,000 8X12 pages and fits into ones pants pocket. Many politicians and M$M telepromter readers and the general public cannot comprehend this fact. Wikileaks Vault 7 dump totals 8,000 pages. INSIDE JOB. This is what happens when you piss-off the hired help. Acts of sedition and Treason. I'm waiting in hope of the other shoe dropping.

Posted by: ALberto | Mar 15 2017 1:55 utc | 45

Guardian: (02/14/2017) David Cay Johnson: David Cay Johnston: 'Publishers assumed Trump would soon disappear' // The investigative reporter explains his struggle to publish alarming findings about the US’s extraordinary new president.

Posted by: Susan Sunflower | Mar 15 2017 2:14 utc | 46

SS @ 46: Thanks for the link, it highlights the problem here in the U$A, that very seldom, if at all, actual facts filter down, thru the MSCM( main stream corporate media). Entertainment is more profitable to the corporate media, so, that's what the sheeple get. REAL information is boring to most Americans anyway. Most media outlets have totally gutted their ability to generate REAL news. They take handouts and tidbits from the corporate and gov. "sources", and call it news. As a result, they manipulate the population
with disinformation. Real, honest, journalism, is almost dead in the U$A.

Posted by: ben | Mar 15 2017 2:38 utc | 47

maybe now that "Russian interference" has entered mythology, the propagandists can relax. No-one will be affected by difficult-to-find, non-headlined convoluted admissions of anti-Russia hysteria.

And, once the mythology has been created, details of actual evidence-based reality, no matter if easily available, makes no difference.

Posted by: mijj | Mar 15 2017 2:55 utc | 48

.. or ...

now that Trump has folded (on easing tensions with Russia) the propaganda campaign no longer needs to continue. So, perhaps we're just seeing the aftermath of a successful campaign to steer Trump away from creating a civilized relationship with Russia.

Posted by: mijj | Mar 15 2017 2:59 utc | 49

While the Russia hysteria and tales of spying microwaves dominate the headlines, Golden Boy parks THAAD system in South Korea and frees up the CIA to drone away as per debisdead's comment above. Seems to me that both poles of the ruling elite are hard at work convincing their "half" of the population that the other side is engineering a subversion and hostile takeover of government as business proceeds more or less as usual. Whatever faction winds up winning, they are providing fertile ground for a crackdown on subversive elements within.

Posted by: Almand | Mar 15 2017 3:19 utc | 50

...
but you ignore the fact that Trump made an error in judgment that might bring the whole Russia-collusion issue to the forefront again when he accused Obama of tapping his phones. Now apparently this administration is playing the Bubba word-game card: Clinton said, "It depends upon what the meaning of the word 'is' is. ... If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement".

So we have this administration, who's back is now against the wall with the Intelligence Committee demanding evidence to back up the wiretapping allegation, spinning that the reason Trump wrote "wire tapping" in quotes was to express a more generic surveillance.
...
Posted by: Circe | Mar 14, 2017 2:19:16 PM | 10

I knew you weren't a deep thinker, Circe, but I'm surprised that you are incapable of deducing why Trump made the phone-tap allegation, and/or why he'll make it stick.

Go on. Give it a try. And if you're still stumped, tell me, and I'll happily point out the bleeding obvious for you.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Mar 15 2017 3:51 utc | 51

Posted by: dh | Mar 14, 2017 1:19:17 PM | 5

Russian "regime media" sound very sympathetic. This here is the opposite of "regime media" they seem to notice a rift. Preemptive regime change?

Posted by: somebody | Mar 15 2017 6:02 utc | 52

First he deflects from the Russia collusion investigation and narrative in the media by alleging a Nixon-Watergate against the previous President.

Then, yesterday, he has someone anonymously deposit only two pages of an old multi-page tax return in the mailbox of an individual with ties to an MSNBC reporter and he and his son tweet some fake outrage about how shameful it is that his old tax return was leaked, blah-blah-blah he paid so much tax blah. All this theater to stoke the shock, awe and change in narrative for mass distraction. To cover what?

The question everyone should ask is this: What is the motive for these diversionary tactics?

What can you say about an individual who gives tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires but threatens healthcare for the poorest and elderly?

Today he met with the most corrupt gang of billionaires on the planet funding terrorists, the Saudis, and blacked out the content of their discussion on safe zones in Syria and no doubt escalation in Yemen.

It all stinks of rot. It's fitting that someone like him should be the author of his demise and take the Empire down with him.

Posted by: Circe | Mar 15 2017 6:26 utc | 53

The deep state moves as one, with two feet left and right. Obviously the objective of all this stupidity was to innoculate Trump. Now that (almost) everyone sensible is no longer paying attention, the real agenda can move forward, as even the illusion of public discourse becomes completely unnecessary.

Look folks, it's easy. We are taken where they want us to be. Once there, they wave their arms furiously and you fall for it again.

The plan was always the same. Russia and the USA are dancing together, thesis please bow to your partner antithesis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9SrXRNPRCA

Posted by: C I eh? | Mar 15 2017 8:02 utc | 54

In this article Clinton says that the US would ring china with missile defenses
https://www.reddit.com/r/askhillarysupporters/comments/57i2as/in_this_article_clinton_says_that_the_us_would/

Posted by: Anonymou_s | Mar 15 2017 8:42 utc | 55

I am more interested in Trump's business connections with Russian and ex-Soviet oligarchs.

Posted by: ralphieboy | Mar 15 2017 11:04 utc | 56

Posted by: ralphieboy | Mar 15, 2017 7:04:21 AM | 56
There won't be any. The democrats are fools to looks for it. Trump is a very old fashioned capitalist - see his investment via Baron Funds - the Henry Ford type.

Posted by: C I eh? | Mar 15, 2017 4:02:09 AM | 54
It ends in synthesis, remember?

Posted by: somebody | Mar 15 2017 11:40 utc | 57

Latest by Thierry Meyssan (March 22 very important): Trump – clarification?

...This is why it is a good idea to clarify as quickly as possible the position of the United States in terms of the Syrian Arab Republic. It should be announced in Washington on 22 March, during a meeting of the anti-Daesh Coalition, in the presence of the Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson. The least we can say is that for the moment, nothing has changed on this subject – at the Security Council, ambassador Nikki Haley supported yet another project for a Franco-British resolution against Syria, and collected a sixth veto from China, and a seventh from Russia.

Behind the Franco-British manœuvre of accusing without proof, on the simple basis of alleged witness accounts from the aggressor groups, Syrian ambassador Bachar Ja’afari denounced an attempt to justify régime change, and also to absolve Israël, which is guilty of possessing a nuclear arsenal, despite the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

Putting an end to jihadism would mean abandoning the joint plan by London and Washington to remodel the Greater Middle East and place the Muslim Brotherhood in power everywhere. That would be tantamount to recognising that the «Arab Springs» were nothing more than the re-run by the CIA and MI6 of the «Arab Revolt» of 1916. This would make it necessary for the United Kingdom to abandon a map that it has been developing patiently for a century; for Saudi Arabia to dismantle the Muslim World League, which has been coordinating the jihadists since 1962; for France to let go of its fantasy of a new mandate over Syria; and for Turkey to cease sponsoring their political organisations. In all probability it is therefore not a uniquely US decision, but one implicating at least four other states.

Despite appearances, this decision is a lot bigger than Syria. It could mean the end of the Anglo-Saxon imperial policy and its innumerable consequences for international relations. This is in fact the aim of Donald Trump’s electoral programme, but no-one can tell if he will be able to implement it effectively, faced as he is with the extraordinary opposition of the US elites.

As for the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Dunford, he held a meeting in Ankara with his Russian and Turkish counterparts. The participants dealt with questions concerning the avoidance of interference between the different armies in a conflict with multiple actors. Iran was not invited, considering that on the ground - unlike Hezbollah - its armed forces have for a long time been limiting themselves to the defence of Chiite populations only.

While the Syrian Arab Army liberated Palmyra once again, the contingent of US military illegally present on Syrian soil had been expanded to 900 men. It crossed the North of Syria, making itself as conspicuous as possible.

The most important practical question is what troops the United States are expecting to rely on for support in an attack on Raqqa. The Press continues to claim that the Pentagon is counting on the Kurds of the YPG, but other sources are talking about a possible reproduction of the plans for Mosul - US advisors supervising the national army.

During the meeting in Ankara, General Dunford seemed preoccupied by the foreseeable Turko-Kurdish confrontations, particularly since a part of the YPG has chosen to place itself under the protection of Damascus faced with the announcement of a possible Turko-Mongol tsunami.

At best, it will be on 22 March that we find out if President Trump accepts to admit that the Obama administration lost the war against Syria, and if he is serious when he says he wants to eradicate jihadism. And what will become of those who, for a century, were the faithful executors of British policy?

Posted by: ProPeace | Mar 15 2017 11:44 utc | 58

@fnn | Mar 14, 2017 2:33:44 "Napolitano said that GCHQ did it"

Who'd think? All roads of evil lead to the City of London...

Posted by: ProPeace | Mar 15 2017 12:16 utc | 59

America, how do you like having what the CIA has done to dozens of other nations, get done to you at home?

Not a pretty sight and not very tasty either, is it? At least Trump hasn't visited Dallas in an open-air limo.

Posted by: Greg Bacon | Mar 15 2017 12:21 utc | 60

Here's a thought:

REQUIRE all politicians to ride around at least 4 hours each day (two of which must be in the 'hood') in open air limos!

Seems like that could eventually solve a few issues?

Posted by: rg the lg | Mar 15 2017 12:51 utc | 61

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/15/damascus-suicide-bombing-dozens-killed-syria-reports-say
At least 25 people killed in Damascus suicide bombing.
Blast at city’s Palace of Justice is second such attack in Syrian capital in five days

Posted by: okie farmer | Mar 15 2017 13:01 utc | 62

Taibbi may be right that Trump is inoculated against future accusations of influence. (good pointing out the NYT involvement!) So far, the intel people have said they're the only ones with the truth when it is apparent they have no clothes. But at the same time with what we've seen in the past it looks like Mission Accomplished once again. They beat the war drums, pushed as far as they could, and then stopped. So they have it built up in the minds of many that Russia/Putin and Syria/Assad and Iran are very bad guys. And if anything bad happens in the future with respect to these countries, there won't be much opposition to any future action we take. Peoples' attention spans are rather short so you have to push impressions of the news on them and do so repeatedly. In the eyes of DEMs, Trump is unbelievably corrupt and tainted. If this wasn't to actually produce action against Russia, it at least fueled an opposition and a more divided US.

Angels to Evil Making Process
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rsb6pSUvz08

Posted by: Curtis | Mar 15 2017 13:52 utc | 63

I don't think the Democrats are embarrassed at all. Why should they be? In two weeks it will all be forgotten just like the fact they cheated Sanders out of the Presidency (had he run he would have won). The mainstream belongs to the Deep State and they will create more tempests in teapots to distract most of the people most of the time from the hands reaching into their pockets. Now, instead of the "Russians" they will use the phrase "our enemies" which will work fairly well but maybe a bit less than in the past. Are "the people" wising up? I think so but it is very gradual. Certainly the "progressives" and "liberals" have shown themselves even more credulous than the Tea Party stalwarts.

Posted by: Banger | Mar 15 2017 14:28 utc | 64

@Susan Sunflower

Malcolm Nance is not a security "expert" he is a cryptologist (technician) with a high school diploma and an amateur. Any serious position in US Navy (where Mr. Nance became a cryptologist) requires Bachelor's Degree minimum and an officer rank, for starters. The guy is a joke, nor does he have education and skills to pass any judgement on any serious intelligence operational issues and it shows. His "expertise" in anything related to Russia is non-existent. In simple words--the guy is a fraud.

Posted by: SmoothieX12 | Mar 15 2017 14:47 utc | 65

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-blast-idUSKBN16M1J0
Two suicide bomb attacks killed at least 31 people and wounded dozens more in Damascus on Wednesday, state media reported, in the second such spate of bombings in the Syrian capital in five days.
The first suicide bomber targeted the Palace of Justice, the main courthouse in central Damascus near the Old City. Justice Minister Najem al-Ahmad told reporters the initial death toll was 31, mostly civilians.
The second suicide blast struck a restaurant in the al-Rabweh area of Damascus to the west of the first attack causing several casualties, state media reported.
~~~
Syrian state television broadcast footage from inside the courthouse showing blood splattered on a floor littered with papers, a shoe and broken tiles and stones. Images from a hospital showed a man in a suit on a stretcher with blood on his clothes.
The explosion hit the courthouse "at a time when the area is crowded" with lawyers, judges and civilians, harming a large number of people, Ahmed al-Sayyid, a senior state legal official told state-run al-Ikhbariya TV.
He later added that 45 people had been wounded. No further details were immediately available.

"RETALIATION"
"The attack came as a retaliation against the latest victories of the Syrian army and the political victories in Geneva and Astana," Ahmad said, referring to recent peace talks in Switzerland and Kazakhstan.

Posted by: okie farmer | Mar 15 2017 14:49 utc | 66

Moon of Alabama is on Harvard's Fake News list. Your comment about it?

http://www.globalresearch.ca/harvards-fake-guide-to-fake-news-sites-americas-21st-century-index-librorum-prohibitorum/5579697

Posted by: Observer | Mar 15 2017 16:58 utc | 67

@4 musburger, 'There is no need to oust Trump. It's becoming evident he has capitulated and become a puppet.'

i think that's right. now that tee-rump has ben tamed the nytimes and others will take turns putting their heads in his mouth.

he's come around. heat's off. back to 'normal' in ac/dc.

Posted by: jfl | Mar 15 2017 17:20 utc | 68

On Batchelor, Stephen Cohen was vaguely hopeful that Tillerson's much-noted low-profile signals (certainly does not rule out) back-channel negotiations with Russian counterparts, citing "increased cooperation" in Syria as indications that there is no deep-freeze or shut-out.

Posted by: Susan Sunflower | Mar 15 2017 17:54 utc | 69

The haters seem to have forgotten that Trump launched his Presidential campaign on the strength of the support of a significant number of senior US military officers.
It seems to me that the Armed Forces of most(?) countries in the world maintain within their ranks people with the knowledge and expertise to dismiss the Government and competently govern on behalf of The People until a new government can be formed.

The Officers Oath of the US Military charges officers with the responsibility of protecting their country from "threats from within and without."

Therefore a military takeover of the US by its own Armed Forces would, in certain circumstances, be substantially Legal and Constitutional.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Mar 15 2017 17:57 utc | 70

Looks like the surveillance on Trump and his people may have been done by GCHQ. Intelligence Sources Reveal: Obama Used British Agents For Trump Wire Tap Surveillance.

Allowing itself to be used as an instrument of U.S. intelligence and the CIA in particular has long been one of the chief tactics the UK has used for keeping the “special relationship” in existence. But being used against an elected U.S. president is, as far as I know, a new departure.

Zerohedge was there reporting what Judge Andrew Napolitano said on Fox News three intelligence sources had told him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAn6V3_r2TI

And, as Napolitano reminds us in that clip, GCHQ chief Robert Hannigan mysteriously quit on Jan. 23 of this year. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jan/23/gchq-chief-robert-hannigan-quits

Posted by: lysias | Mar 15 2017 18:27 utc | 71

Yes, it was the pentagon that thwarted Obama's dreams of military intervention, while the CIA bitched and complained of his timidity ... and it was the military that backed Trump and the CIA and "State Department" (likely CIA cronies) who rallied to Clinton ... this is being mis-reported regularly as serves various arguments. Obama's last minute admission that he had much wanted to intervene in Syria but was unable to win the argument wrt deployment of resources and personnel was a tacit admission of same ... and a bit of a shock to those (like me) who thought he had recognized and resisted involvement in a "stupid" or "dumb" war.

Posted by: Susan Sunflower | Mar 15 2017 18:31 utc | 72

@ Posted by: SmoothieX12 | Mar 15, 2017 10:47:59 AM | 65

For what its worth ...

Nance retired from the US Navy as a Senior Chief Petty Officer, a SNCO - Not a Commissioned Officer!. He was a Cryptologic Technician(CT), who was taught arabic whilst assigned to the NSA as a linguist. This involves endless, incredibly tedious, shifts of translating assigned SIGINT 'collection'. That's it.

He was subsequently trained as a tactical interrogator because of said acquired Arabic language/translation skills. Ex service chased the then big bucks as a 'Private Contractor'(mercenary) interrogator during the Iraq War. Spends his time between Iraq, UAE & New York.

First rose from obscurity as a media shill/puppet on Fox News, subsequently anyone that is willing to pay, recently consistently Dem/DNC bought & paid for MSM sock-puppet mouthpiece/ventriloquists dummy.

If interested further read his breathless 'Walter Mitty' style self profile on his website TAPSTRI, or

Do a search on 'Fraud Malcolm Nance'. One of many examples is the Glen Greenwald article of Oct 12 2016 and is a most cutting putdown, and/or

Otherwise search on a 'Book Review' of one of his obviously co/ghost-written 'Books' such as 'The Plot to Hack America: How Putin S Cyberspies and WikiLeaks Tried to Steal the 2016 Election', published 20 September 2016. Laughable, though also somewhat amusing, if in the right frame of mind. Somehow mis-categorized, should be in 'Fiction' along with Mr Steele's (Ex(?)-MI6) dodgy fabricated 'Dossier' known to have been widely covertly distributed prior to and concurrently ... upon reflection, suspect Nance's above 'Book' was deliberately crafted, written & published, quite timely, to add credence to the collective 'narrative' re the global Putin = Trump Psyop campaign.

2c is up

Peace. Salaam. Shalom.

Posted by: Outraged | Mar 15 2017 18:38 utc | 73

Now this

Yahoo Hack: What US Mainstream Media Don't Tell You About Russian 'Spy

Posted by: virgile | Mar 15 2017 18:51 utc | 74

Posted by: lysias | Mar 15, 2017 2:27:27 PM | 70

I'm wondering how much it matters who performed the snooping ops?
The factoids indicate that it was done on behalf of the US entities who attempted to use the info (illegally) obtained to damage the reputation of POTUS. One suspects that the people who received the snooped info carelessly included 'something' in their accusations which enabled someone in the Trump Admin to identify info unique to a specific conversation, on a specific date and time.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Mar 15 2017 19:01 utc | 75

Hillary has had far more contact with the Russians, and at more resent times, than has Trump. I don't doubt the uranium deal she gave to the Russians would make her far more likely to "owe" them some favors than the actions of Trump way back in 2005.

Posted by: Cranford | Mar 15 2017 19:22 utc | 76

Nance is presented not only as a "recognized expert" but also, by way of his many endorsements (Maddow and Richard Engel blurbed his book), as "reasonable" ... while his personal version of the Russian Menace conspiracy theory actually rivals and echoes (what I believe was) a Scientology origin story in which two different types of aliens (from other planets) colonized the earth, eons ago... although Nance doesn't eggzactly say when Russian began their oh-so-successful campaign to infiltrate our zeitgeist ... the "coup" he alleges is now complete with Trump as boy-king. That's still pretty far-out-stuff for such MOR MSM as MSNBC and Salon to be pimping. Isn't it?

Posted by: Susan Sunflower | Mar 15 2017 19:43 utc | 77

The Democrats failed in their anti-Trump, anti-Russia campaign.

From a rational pov, yes. Doesn’t matter too much, the aim is to sneakily toss blame all-over, > the Russians, to Trump, North Korea (whoo, whatever…) to deplorables and anyone else, outdated print-outs lodged under a juddering, shaky, elbow.

Not really a failure - idk, maybe 90% Killary supporters - will continue to rage n’ weep about traitorous horrific 'Nazi' Trump and his ‘ties’ to Russia which wants to nuke the US, assasinate male gays, spit on and vilify lesbians, subvert honorable, right-thinking, upstanding, TV ‘left’ shows, interfere in US elections, hack everyone, etc.

Next week news! ‘flash’ bulletin, say, will state that Trump + Putin are violently against peace-loving muslims, we didn’t know, wake up, they are Uighurs, only want to practise their heartfelt spiritual religion freely, they are staunch resistors and have beautiful temples. :) China is a violent communist dictatorship!

The Dems have to go down this road, as they need to keep their shrinking slice of supporters on board, or pretend to do so, they have no choice, after decades of gathering votes thru ‘identity politics’ and scurrilous lies. Also looks like they no longer count on all that, votes become less and less important day by day (for all parties) while infighting goes on behind the curtain. Anyway, any new rubbish issue will do.

Posted by: Noirette | Mar 15 2017 19:46 utc | 78

@Outraged

Thank you. I did make a "study" of this guy and even wrote about him in my blog in October 2016:

http://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2016/10/time-to-speak-in-broadsides-it-is-still.html

Posted by: SmoothieX12 | Mar 15 2017 19:47 utc | 79

hoarsewhisperer @69
where did you go to law school?
seriously deficient declaration

Posted by: mauisurfer | Mar 15 2017 19:52 utc | 80

@74

"One suspects that the people who received the snooped info carelessly included 'something' in their accusations which enabled someone in the Trump Admin to identify info unique to a specific conversation, on a specific date and time."

Would it not be prudent to assume that Trump's communications/security professionals record ALL Trump Tower electronic communications?

Posted by: ALberto | Mar 15 2017 20:22 utc | 81

@ Posted by: SmoothieX12 | Mar 15, 2017 3:47:47 PM | 78

No, no, thank you ! :)

Interesting post. Hadn't realized your ID links to your blog. Hm, will set some time aside for that, some interesting topics. Former Russian Services ... well met, Tovarishch.

In the US/NATO system his original role would be referred to as handling 'Secure Key' Crypto material, or a TSO, re Top Secret/Code Word (compartmented/'briefed') keying material/equipment/SOPs/manuals/etc, under supervision, of the Commissioned TSO/s ... as you address in your link, neither that role nor subsequent (tactical interrogator/translator) relates to nor qualifies re professional training/skills/competencies/experience regarding Intel analysis/assessment etc of such topics as Strategic Intelligence, Counter-Terrorism, Counter-Insurgency, Enhanced/Coercive 'formal' Interrogation, CyberWarfare, etc, beyond local 'tactical', ie immediate battlefield/operational value. Laughable.

Doubt this Nance actually 'originates' most of the recent years fluff, is merely a 'conduit', what you aptly label a 'useful idiot'.

re the Nance post, merely did a quick series of targeted keyword searches ... trivial research/analysis task. What these types and similar 'cultivated'/'constructed' frauds & groomed 'agents of influence' don't have the capacity to realize is how trivial it is given the 'net to collect & analyze a large portion of their 'public' lives, writings & utterances. In many cases, given the Wayback Machine, for posterity.

As an aside, complementary to this brief discussion, what is not commonly/well known, in fact, is that ~70-80% of raw Intelligence collection (re written, published works, articles, journals, speeches, photos, etc) is wholly or derived from, publicly accessible 'Open sources'. Once processed, corroborated, evaluated, assessed, commented and graded, what was raw 'open source', then becomes, 'classified product'.

Cheers.

@ Posted by: ALberto | Mar 15, 2017 4:22:23 PM | 80

Indeed. And more importantly encourage/advise 'seeding' the contents of critical communications.

Posted by: Outraged | Mar 15 2017 21:09 utc | 82

Prudence, thy name is not Trump .... who allegedly (something I read somewhere) bragged about listening into the phone calls of guests at Mar-a-Lago ...

Presidents (and other important people) often have secretaries who keep a diary of all (reported) phonecalls and everything else ... that's part of why Clinton was so eager to keep her Blackberry, as I recall, because it was synched and continuously updated with Huma back at the office ... a real social media hound, like Trump, however can be communicating on multiple devices simultaneously ... what a nightmare for a presidential secretary attempting to keep their logs up to date.

I don't know what system or systems are in place, installed by whom under whose supervision. Apparently some security suites include the tracking of and/all downloads ... but that's still not widespread ... nobody wants to prevent anyone from accessing "work" documents, etc.

Various people's "bad memories" about meetings with !!Russians!! suggest that either they're independent types who weren't briefed recently about what and who they met or perhaps that such briefings were incomplete and/or compartmentalized. Democrats to label such "forgotten" or compartmentalized "lapses" as lies represent another dangerous "presumed lying and guilty" trend ... likely to backlash in tit-for-tat fashion ... and avid sports fans will lap it all up as significant.

Posted by: Susan Sunflower | Mar 15 2017 22:24 utc | 83

Here we go again, endless propaganda and hysteria against Russia.

McCain: Rand Is ‘Working for Vladimir Putin’
http://www.breitbart.com/video/2017/03/15/mccain-rand-is-working-for-vladimir-putin/

Posted by: Anonymou_S | Mar 15 2017 22:25 utc | 84

@ Posted by: Anonymou_S | Mar 15, 2017 6:25:45 PM | 84

Follow-on:

Rand Paul later issued a statement to explain his opposition to taking on a new ally:

Currently, the United States has troops in dozens of countries and is actively fighting in Iraq, Syria, Libya, and Yemen (with the occasional drone strike in Pakistan). In addition, the United States is pledged to defend 28 countries in NATO. It is unwise to expand the monetary and military obligations of the United States given the burden of our $20 trillion debt.

Matt Welch doesn’t think much of McCain’s outburst:

Despite writing a book critical of his views, I have happily defended John McCain against scurrilous charges about his patriotism and heroism. To see him go rhetorically McCarthyite against a fellow American for having the temerity to disagree with his often questionable foreign policy judgment is one of the most disgraceful moments of his long career.

Posted by: Outraged | Mar 15 2017 23:02 utc | 85

Circe @10

Now, the problem is that once they come back empty-handed, people are going to revert to the context in which Trump made these claims. Usually when someone tries to deflect or distract with bombshell criminal allegations against another that turn out to be false, it is a strong indicator of consciousness of guilt.

I've been pondering the same point. The other angle to consider would be Trump's attempt to rub in their face the unsubstantiated claims against him by the press by himself putting out an unsubstantiated accusation, thus leveling the playing field in his mind, yet not realizing that his case will be tried much more heavily. He's gone a bridge too far on this one. The indictments against the Russian moonlighter hackers today puts the finger on the other end of the scale.

Posted by: stumpy | Mar 15 2017 23:04 utc | 86

hoarsewhisperer @69
where did you go to law school?
seriously deficient declaration
Posted by: mauisurfer | Mar 15, 2017 3:52:12 PM | 80

Didn't get to law school, but have read dozens of Judge's Final Summaries.
Anyway it's not a declaration. It's an Equation. And the answer depends upon the value ascribed to each variable.
I'm an optimist so I ascribed higher values to the Trump + Generals variables than the Swamp + Fake News variables.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Mar 16 2017 1:01 utc | 87

Stephen F Cohen (a real actual expert on Russia) says
Kremlin-baiting of Trump is widely assumed to have ended his promise of better relations, or détente, with Russia. Trump has stopped discussing this aspiration publicly (and understandably, in today’s toxic atmosphere), but has taken possibly significant steps in this direction. Cohen cites four examples:

§ Trump’s nomination of Jon Huntsman to be his ambassador to Moscow was regarded by the Kremlin as an important positive signal, because Huntsman, unlike preceding recent ambassadors, is a major American political figure, and thus a sign of Trump’s respect and seriousness of purpose. In addition, Cohen points out, Huntsman, as a former ambassador to China, is highly qualified to deal with the US-Russian-Sino element of détente that would emerge.

§ Reports of increased US-Russian military cooperation in Syria, almost entirely absent in the past, are highly significant, partly because Trump always suggested he wanted to begin cooperation in that fight against terrorism and because the dangers of a US-Russian military clash in Syria were, and perhaps remain, too immediate. We will know more about the degree of cooperation as the battle for Raqqa, the last ISIL stronghold in Syria, unfolds. Both the Russia-Syria coalition and the US-led one want to “liberate” the city. Cooperation in this pursuit will send an even stronger signal that US-Russian détente-like relations are possible elsewhere.

§ There is also the public silence in this regard on the part of Trump’s secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, which has been interpreted in various negative, even degrading, ways. Cohen thinks it possible, however, that Tillerson is doing what he should be doing in these very poisonous times in Washington: quiet diplomacy with Russia and with other relevant governments.

Whatever lies ahead, Cohen concludes, Putin—“The Most Powerful Man in the World”—is now conveniently blamed for all the US establishment’s woes in the world, from Trump to electorally endangered allies in Europe, from the crisis of the US-backed government in Ukraine to Syria, even, it is being said, to Democratic Party electoral losses around the United States. And the list is growing.
https://www.thenation.com/article/while-neo-mccarthyism-spreads-us-russian-detente-may-be-unfolding/

Posted by: mauisurfer | Mar 16 2017 1:28 utc | 88

If you're like most of us, the news on television and in the papers doesn't make sense, because it is a toxic stew of projection and imaginings western power-brokers wish were true, or hope to make come true with your support. Once, the public was as easy to fool as Santa, and you could just tell him you had been good all year and you were still in the zone for that bike, or whatever.

A part of the public will always be that stupid, because it's too lazy to inform itself and is willing to believe the government does not lie despite daily contradiction of that belief. For the rest, if you want to know what the news really means, read Moon of Alabama. B has a hell of a lot better record of accuracy than the New York Times and the Washington Post combined.

Posted by: Mark | Mar 16 2017 1:46 utc | 89

@67 O

i looked at the harvard fake news site ... i looked at browser plugins ... the BS Detector (Chrome, Firefox, Safari) uses a database of 'fake news' sites compiled by OpenSources. moa is among their notCredible sites.

lots of lists of 'fake-news' are available, i imagine. and they probably all pass around the same site lists. OpenSource provides their list in .json form, to be directly loaded by browser plugins such as BS Detector ... i didn't download the plugin, but presumably it squawks when you visit a notCredible site or doesn't allow the browser to open the site. i don't know how popular self-gelding will become. i imagine captive populations might be forced to use browsers with such plugins installed, or they might be stealthily installed as malware.

Posted by: jfl | Mar 16 2017 2:54 utc | 90

Thanks so much for that update. Great news about Morrell. Apparently Comey is set to testify to congressional investigation on Wednesday ... Politico.
Although their two pressing questions have to do with Trump's claims wrt Obama wire-tapping Trump tower (whatever that means) and -- tah-dah -- whether there actually is an ongoing investigation into Trump's alleged Russian ties.

""The other big question for lawmakers is whether the FBI is conducting any criminal investigations into Trump campaign aides for potential collusion with Russia""

A little late for this question to remain unanswered given how long it has been claimed that the FBI was sitting on this unconfirmed investigation -- I fell pretty sure that the Clinton campaign thought Comey and the FBI were gonna nail Trump, likely on the basis of the Steele dodgy dossier and were outraged that Comey and the FBI let them down.

The investigative reporter who received the 2 pages of tax returns said in the Guardian that until July 2016 he was unable to find a publisher of his latest Trump book (he's written several over years and years) ... he think the main reason was because everyone thought Trump would "go away" and then sales would be minimal. (Also fear of law suit, and laziness because Trump was providing so much other easy-to-report "news" ) Guardian: .

I will be eagerly looking for signs that the same "sane" wing of the democratic party that stopped Hillary in 2008 will prevail and prevent some endless Blue Team White Water redux ...

Posted by: Susan Sunflower | Mar 16 2017 14:12 utc | 91

Unless I do not comprehend what is written, NBC has Morell speaking out of both
sides of his mouth:

Former Acting CIA Director Michael Morell, who endorsed Hillary Clinton and called Donald Trump a dupe of Russia, cast doubt Wednesday night on allegations that members of the Trump campaign colluded with Russia.
Morell, who was in line to become CIA director if Clinton won, said he had seen no evidence that Trump associates cooperated with Russians. He also raised questions about the dossier written by a former British intelligence officer, which alleged a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia.[.]

Morell pointed out that former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said on Meet the Press on March 5 that he had seen no evidence of a conspiracy when he left office January 20.
"That's a pretty strong statement by General Clapper," Morell said.[.]

But, but although there is no evidence None, zilch, nada

In August, Morell accused Trump of being an "unwitting agent of the Russian Federation."

Morell said Wednesday that he continues to believe that the Russian campaign of hacking, leaking and fake news, which the CIA says was designed to hurt Clinton and help Trump, was a hugely consequential action to which the U.S. has not sufficiently responded
Putin, he said, has suffered no consequence for his unprecedented interference in the U.S. election.

"This has never happened before in American history on this scale, never not even close. And Putin did not pay any price for this — nothing, zero."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Opinions or NBC editorializes the latter paragraph?

“Putin has suffered no consequences.”

NBC/Morell ignores Obama’s expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats and the seizing of their property?
NBC wrote this on the diplomats' expulsions

Posted by: likklemore | Mar 16 2017 15:20 utc | 92

August was when the Steele dossier was turned over to the FBI and was being shopped around to journalists. It's possible that Morrell was assuming that, given its HRC/MI5 pedigree there was something to it.

Intercept is "onto" the walkback as well intercept.

I've seen no one yet pick up the angle that "somehow" both the CIA and Team Obama "must" have dropped the ball (been oblivious or unmoved) wrt all this interference. I suspect there would also be the matter of proving that whatever "interference" occurred, it somehow surpassed "business as usual in an election year (any election year going back to 2000 or before wrt the internet).

Delightful that millenials are skeptical wrt yet another claimed "existential threat."

Posted by: Susan Sunflower | Mar 16 2017 16:53 utc | 93

What can you say about an individual who gives tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires but threatens healthcare for the poorest and elderly?

Posted by: Circe | Mar 15, 2017 2:26:57 AM | 53

This is a central issue, and Democrats are suicidal in their focus on "Russian menace". They totally botched the marketing/propaganda aspect on the issue of healthcare. Regulated insurance market is possible, but totally counter-intuitive: the "choice" is bad for consumers, insurance works best if there is no choice, like with car insurance (state mandates) and home insurance (mandated by banks, as homes are initially mortgaged). Single payer is a simple idea and does not require voters to know game theory. In short, healthcare is an issue that affects all people and given the absurdity and cruelty of Republican approaches, it should be a gold mine for the Democrats. Which was not.

By the way of contrast, however hard Democrats may try, the pose of "vigilant patriots" does not give them political dividends, Trump effortlessly bears the mantle of the "vigilant patriots" and attempts to dent it with scandals, true or fictitious, are futile. Most important, the foreign policy of the declining empire is un-inspiring, in the large part because it makes no sense. So, on slogan side, Democrats cannot out-do Republicans, least of all, the current White House, and on merit, they can offer somewhat less radical nonsense, but best mind have hard time figuring out who is more nonsensical here. Citizenry is simply befuddled.

NYT, bless their souls, runs stories about evil Russian-made leaks and urges the readers to contact editors (phones and e-mails provided) if they know any interesting leaks.

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Mar 16 2017 17:19 utc | 94

@82, Outraged.

In the US/NATO system his original role would be referred to as handling 'Secure Key' Crypto material, or a TSO, re Top Secret/Code Word (compartmented/'briefed') keying material/equipment/SOPs/manuals/etc, under supervision, of the Commissioned TSO/s ... as you address in your link, neither that role nor subsequent (tactical interrogator/translator) relates to nor qualifies re professional training/skills/competencies/experience regarding Intel analysis/assessment etc of such topics as Strategic Intelligence, Counter-Terrorism, Counter-Insurgency, Enhanced/Coercive 'formal' Interrogation, CyberWarfare, etc, beyond local 'tactical', ie immediate battlefield/operational value. Laughable.

Exactly. I always wonder how those people live with themselves--I guess they enjoy to be called "intelligence professionals" by ignorant media, which, most likely, raises their self-esteem. That, plus being political shills for the party.

Posted by: SmoothieX12 | Mar 16 2017 17:37 utc | 95

Nance is on the gravy train and folks pay him to show up and bloviate .... Greenwald exposed the dubious credentials and revolving-door financials of these "experts" years ago ... successful con ... best hotels, restaurants and access to starry-eyed young people. Nance has his own "think tank" meaning that he has access also to all sorts of eager first-job researchers all to eager (and desperate) to put him on their contact list and resume ...

Idiotic Judy Miller penned a book on biological / chemical warfare after 09/11 (published 10/01/2001 in fact per wiki). Saw her on Charlie Rose ... her lack of working knowledge was apparent.

Posted by: Susan Sunflower | Mar 16 2017 18:22 utc | 96

Judith Miller's book on biological/chemical warfare was obviously in preparation long before 9/11 and the anthrax attacks actually occurred. The book was probably largely written by others for her to sign. The CIA has a history of doing that for willing writers.

Another indication (like the fact that Cheney and his staff were put on cipro the very evening of 9/11) that 9/11 and the anthrax attacks had been long in preparation.

Posted by: lysias | Mar 16 2017 19:19 utc | 97

I just figured it was part of the long-standing psych-op prep for the attack on Saddam wrt WMD and bio/chem weapons ... but I'd say she was definitely already on the US_approved gravy train long before GWII. Ambitious with a feminist grievance, she was a perfectly accomplice to whatever might impress the folks back at the office and at her next high school/college reunion.

Posted by: Susan Sunflower | Mar 16 2017 19:45 utc | 98

The damage to the US foreign policy is definitely off-the-charts. Without fixing the US-Russian relationship, the space for America's geopolitical maneuvering is getting tighter than it ever was. At this particular point, Moscow would be well advised to not actively seek any rapprochement with the US at all, and let Washington do all the dirty work itself. It's only a matter of time before Americans start knocking on the Kremlin's door with profuse apologies and whole lot of concessions.

Posted by: telescope | Mar 16 2017 20:18 utc | 99

@99, telescope.

with profuse apologies and whole lot of concessions.

This, I am highly doubtful about. As events of the last 20+ years (in realty, longer) proved beyond the shadow of a doubt--US contemporary "elites" (with minor exceptions) are incapable of admitting mistakes or learning. The problem is deeper than just the space for geopolitical maneuvering getting tighter, albeit this too is correct. The problem is systemic and it is not going to be solved by knocking on Kremlin's door or by offering concessions. A fundamental, underlying problem is in the fact that US "elites" (deep state, establishment, what have you) fails miserably on two key strategic points formulated by Sun Tzu long-long time ago:

1. Know thyself;
2. Know thy enemy.

US knows neither. That is the most terrifying fact with global ramifications.

Posted by: SmoothieX12 | Mar 16 2017 20:30 utc | 100