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June 9, 2017
Open Thread 2017-22
Comments
Yesterday was the 50th Anniversary of Israel’s attack on the USS Liberty. But if you mention that in the comments at MSM stories about the 6 Day War you’re called a bigot and told that everyone knows about it.
Posted by: Curtis | Jun 9 2017 13:00 utc | 2
I am convinced that it is already too late to stop global warming, and the dreaded methane clathrate gun is right now firing away in Siberia and Alaska. I would suggest balloons filled with ammonia to reflect sunlight back, and infrared sideways. It’s going to take something drastic like that, not some silly political solution.
Posted by: blues | Jun 9 2017 13:12 utc | 3
Testify is a word usually meaning to speak the truth with respect to facts. The Senate committee rejected facts and wanted Comey to convey impressions so that the media could tar and feather Trump based on what Comey THOUGHT Trump might have meant when he spoke to Comey. Awesome.
Some people were raising the question, what is genuine populism? This is a bit like searching for genuine cubic zirconia jewelry (I have seen such ads) or powerful placebo (I have seen such ads as well, apparently placebo has to be marked as such in ads, by some regulations, but it does not prevent “powerful” word).
There is some room for bait and switch in progressive programs, but at least they have genuine core. From my side of the pond (by residence), I can see a populist in power doing his darn best to implode imperialist coalitions from within. But this wrecking ball swings quite indiscriminately. And it makes me worried that the next choice will be again between idiots and smart-alecks (much less smart, and much less benign than they pretend). Corbyn is indeed a phenomenon that can influence positively in other Anglo-Saxon countries, and elsewhere, in particular, Democrats in USA may notice how centrist Labourites are being awed to submission by “genuine old ways”, and in the process, they get more seats with good perspective to return to power.
Posted by: Piotr Berman | Jun 9 2017 14:29 utc | 5
Trump has large investments in KSA including golf courses; Obama used ‘ISIL’ (rather than ‘ISIS’) to piss off Netanyahu, and Trump admin revered it immediately on gaining office; Benghazi ‘9/11’ (9:40 p.m., September 11, 2012) was a botched gun running exercise by the then US ‘Ambassador’; …
“Langleys Jihadists: From the Mujaheddin to ISIL – Wayne Madsen , #369”
langleys-jihadists-from-the-mujaheddin-to-isil-wayne-madsen
Posted by: x | Jun 9 2017 14:47 utc | 6
“Some people were raising the question, what is genuine populism?”
One major component is offering simplistic solutions to complex problems: remove government regulations to create more jobs, restrict foreign imports to create more jobs, ban immigration from certain countries to curtail terrorism, build a wall to prevent illegal immigration, ban teaching contraception to prevent teenagers from having sex, allow guns to let armed citizen vigilantes defend us against mass murderers, privatize education, government services and infrastructure to make them more “economical”, etc…
And most of all: elect a strong leader who is not bound by laws to come in and kick ass and make the country great again.
Posted by: ralphieboy | Jun 9 2017 14:55 utc | 7
@2
Not only the MSM but Internet websites that support the weapons industry as well. I tried to post the names of the Navy, Marine Corps and civilian personnel who were murdered by the Zionists on Thursday, June 8, 1967 on Military.com. The moderator rejected my post for its criticism of Israel.
Posted by: PokeTheTruth | Jun 9 2017 15:24 utc | 8
PokeTheTruth 8
I just searched via Google News and there’s a few local stories and a handful in the alt media. They want this story to go away.
Posted by: Curtis | Jun 9 2017 16:26 utc | 9
For those interested – Article on World Heritage Report on Destruction of Sur, Diyabakir. (Many other areas in Southern Turkey suffering the same fate.)
https://anfenglish.com/culture/world-heritage-watch-report-on-the-destruction-of-sur-20373
Needless to say there is NO major coverage in Turkey of this, the Amnesty, the UN or other similar reports published since 2015, and the above site is banned!
Posted by: AtaBrit | Jun 9 2017 16:45 utc | 10
Some cracks in the wall, already?
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/270565/Egypt/Politics-/Egypts-Sisi-and-Bahrains-King-Hamad-agree-on-nonin.aspx
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/270571/Egypt/Politics-/Egypt,-Saudi-Arabia,-UAE-and-Bahrain-issue-Qatarli.aspx
Qaradawi should be in Guantanamo… And what of Ar’ur the Syrian, who has been calling for killing the Shiites all day from Saudi Arabia since 2011?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adnan_al-Aroor
Posted by: Mina | Jun 9 2017 16:52 utc | 11
Russia, Syria and allies severed the Jordan-Daesh supply route to Deir Ezzor by restoring government control over al-Bawdah north-east of al-Tanf and bordering Iraq. Wonder what vile provocation US and its proxy armies will now dig out their sleeve. The GCC infighting also hampers the information war as Al-Jazeera is a major source for desinformation in the Arab world but also in the West. Its focus will now lay more on the co-terrorist sponsors like KSA en UAE.
https://southfront.org/russian-military-syrian-government-forces-reached-border-with-iraq/
Posted by: xor | Jun 9 2017 17:23 utc | 12
@4 Bill H – I too share in your observations that the hearing was short on facts and long on impressions. I for one don’t give a hoot about Comey’s psychological read of any whom he decides to play pretend mind reader.
What I found, at first, mystifying but now see as interesting was McCain’s line of questioning. Yes, he fumbled it terribly, but my read of what he was trying to get at was this –if the intelligence services are in fact conducting a counterintelligence investigation into Russia’s meddling of the 2016 campaign, then why isn’t the Clinton campaign included in that investigation? After all, it was the DNC who leveled the finger at Russia for their leak w/the Crowdstrike report and it was the campaign’s chairman, John Podesta, whose emails were phished then leaked. So why all of the focus, at least the media’s focus, on Trump when it was the Clinton campaign who leveled charges of Russian meddling. Too bad he fumbled it so badly b/c it is a legitimate line of inquiry.
Why isn’t the Clinton campaign’s charges of Russian hacking included in the FBI’s investigation? Why hasn’t the FBI secured the DNC computer(s) in question and conducted a thorough forensic analysis of the alleged breach? If we are to believe the FBI is truly conducting a legitimate investigation into Russia’s whatever, and of all of the candidates/parties that were campaigning for POTUS in 2016 with only one of those claiming Russia hacked into their computers, then why isn’t the Clinton campaign part and parcel of the FBI’s probe?
SAA reaches Iraqi border:
https://southfront.org/syrian-army-and-allies-reached-iraqi-border-northeast-of-at-tanf-confirmed/
Posted by: Lozion | Jun 9 2017 17:55 utc | 14
Germany, and now the US urge KSA to stop blockade
http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/katar-sigmar-gabriel-kritisiert-blockade-des-emirats-a-1151382.html
RT has an interesting pic of the press conference
https://arabic.rt.com/middle_east/882727-%D9%88%D8%B2%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D8%AE%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A3%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A7-%D9%82%D8%B7%D8%B1-%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%83-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA%D9%8A%D8%AC%D9%8A-%D9%85%D9%83%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%AD%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%A8/
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-40227247
Posted by: Mina | Jun 9 2017 18:29 utc | 15
nmb @ 1: Thanks for the link, I tend to agree with the article.
An excerpt:
“It appears that the time has come for the US empire to start the next proxy war, this time against Iran. Therefore, Saudis probably took the green light from Trump, after his latest visit which resulted in a massive arms deal, in order to begin another dirty war in the sequence of failed states, from Libya to Afghanistan, created mostly by the US imperialism.”
Posted by: ben | Jun 9 2017 18:49 utc | 16
Iraqi Kurds will push referendum for independence in Sep. Iraqi Gov says not so fast (and so do the Turks).
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/06/iraqi-government-rejects-kurdish-move-independence-170609093336816.html
Posted by: Curtis | Jun 9 2017 19:03 utc | 18
” What is genuine populism?”
Short answer, the same as Corbyn’s:” A government that works in the interests of the many, instead of the few.”
Posted by: ben | Jun 9 2017 19:04 utc | 19
Trump clearly follow the terrorist-saudi-propaganda against Qatar.
” Qatar has ‘historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level’ ‒ Trump ”
Posted by: Anon | Jun 9 2017 19:16 utc | 20
Anon 20
I wonder who wrote that for Trump to say. Kushner’s been writing his pro-Israel stuff.
Posted by: Curtis | Jun 9 2017 19:21 utc | 21
Sorry to post the al Jazeera link but only for the Kurdish thing. Their stories about the Saudi-Qatari rift are funny to read while also a bit revealing. Ex: Did US MSM report Qatar-Turk support for MB and its push in Egypt as well as their support for other “islamists” like those in Syria? Not really. And for some reason their support of the Libyan rebels is left out. Meanwhile they portray themselves as victims working to help those oppressed by authoritarian regimes. They are “anti-establishment” in support of political freedom.
Posted by: Curtis | Jun 9 2017 19:52 utc | 22
So the blockade of one of the richest countries in the world (with record stats of obesity) makes ghe headlines ten tiles more than the blockade oc one of the poorer countries in the world.
Where are the specialists of Yemen and other ngo ‘humanitarian’ buddies? Busy climbing social ladders?
Posted by: Mina | Jun 9 2017 20:39 utc | 23
@Curtis | 18
Dont be so sure of the Turks intentions in Iraqi Kurdistan. They devised the whole referendum charade!
Their goal had been to ensure Barzani’s increased influence and his crowning to retain their own influence, especially when the kerkuk pipeline opened, but since Russia has increased energy dealings with the region recently, and since Russia is committed publicly at least to territorial integrity it might be that the Turks have been persuaded to drop their game – or it might be that they are still playing both sides …
Posted by: AtaBrit | Jun 9 2017 20:43 utc | 24
Today may be the day Syria’s war against foreign superpowers and terrorists was won. A tremendous amount of work left to be done and sad to say lives to be lost, but President Assad and Putin put and end to the neocon dream of carving out large parts of eastern Syria.
* As post above by xox in post 12, the SAA made a lighting advance across the desert and have reached the border. The US regime mercenaries and terrorists are now cutoff and surrounded
* The SAA have linked up with the PMU from Iraq
* A massive SAA opeartion is starting to clear the foreign terrorists out of Daraa on the Jordan border – thanks to the massive number of troops that have been freed up by the Russian de-escalation zones and the SAA taking out many of the remaining terrorist pockets around the Damascus countryside
* Iran is furious from the most likely Saudi terrorist attacks and I am seeing talk that Iran plans to respond in a big way in both Syria and Yemen
* The US regime backed terrorists now have no frontline with IS and thus the pretext for the US regime’s presence in eastern Syria is gone as of today.
The only bad news is the apparent deal the US regime has made with IS to leave Raqaa and attack Deir ez-Zor. Russia appears to be furious with the US regime and has started to openly talk about the US supporting terrorism in Syria. Everyone, of course, knows this, but for Russia to be so open about is defintely a major change.
Hopefully Russia does not let the US keep them out of the Raqaa airspace and that the recent rapid advance by the Tiger forces are able to move to cut off IS trying to leave Raqaa. The SAA has been having a tough time advancing beyond Palmyra towards Deir ez-Zor.
Worst case scenario in the near term for Syria is:
1. The Tiger forces don’t move east to cut off IS moving from Raqaa to Deir ez-Zor because of some Russia/US regime agreement – aka the ‘our American partners’ garbage again
2. Russia lets the US keep them out of the Raqaa area
3. The SAA don’t reach Deir ez-Zor before Raqaa IS forces arrive to attack Deir ez-Zor
That would be very bad and would give the US regime’s hopes of carving out a huge chunk of northern Syria life once again.
Posted by: R Winner | Jun 9 2017 20:56 utc | 25
h @ 13
Exactly. This isn’t an investigation into hacking of the 2016 election but a coup attempt to force Donald Trump out and scapegoat Russia. If James Comey looked the other way for Bill and Hillary Clinton, Huma Abedin and Loretta Lynch why did he leak information on his meetings with the President? My take is that the global oligarchs whose organizations will hire him in the future are intent on removing nationalists from positions of power in the government.
The Washington Post is moaning about how the USA and UK are splintering into tribalist factions. But, corporate media never connects their owners with the chaos. Jeff Bezos for one along with the Walton family are directly responsible for the loss of retail jobs and the boarding up of Main Street.
Posted by: VietnamVet | Jun 9 2017 21:01 utc | 26
http://angryarab.blogspot.nl/2017/06/two-reactionaries-in-one-picture.htmlt
Posted by: Mina | Jun 9 2017 21:03 utc | 27
Here’s a link to Tillerson’s statement on GCC and Qatar – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5sIwBJk4NA
I posted this comment over at Mark Chapman’s Kremlin Stooge blog originally. What do MoA barflies make of the news in the links? Are we finally seeing the fake news about Russian involvement in the 2016 US Presidential elections crumble into dust and the responsibility for this news and the damage it has caused placed fairly and squarely with the Democrats themselves and Crowdstrike?
Some news [is] now trickling into the blogosphere that the Democratic National Convention paid Crowdstrike – that’s the cyber-security firm headed by Dmitri Alperovich with links to the Chalupa sisters and the Ukrainian diaspora in North America – to hack into its own server.
“DNC Russian Hackers Found!”
http://stateofthenation2012.com/?p=62536
“CONFIRMED: DNC paid the ‘Russian’ founder of CrowdStrike to hack its server so it could be blamed on Russia!”
http://themillenniumreport.com/2017/06/dnc-hackers-finally-identified/
Posted by: Jen | Jun 9 2017 21:16 utc | 29
VV @26 – Robert Parry over at Consortium News suggests a soft coup is what is in play, which syncs up with your take on the globalists agenda. Parry’s latest article discussing yesterday’s hearing brings to light the idea there may be more to the Jan 6 meeting held at Trump Towers b/w Trump, Brennan, Clapper and Comey. Clapper and Brennan left the meeting leaving Comey with the job of letting Trump know about the Steele dossier and that it was going public. It was shortly thereafter, if my recollection of events is correct, that it was being reported Trump was forgoing the daily briefing.
Something was said in that meeting b/w Comey and Trump. What it was is anyone’s best guess, but Parry suggests a J. Edgar Hoover kind of move –
If, however, you substituted FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover for FBI Director Comey, the significance of the I.C.’s gratuitous inclusion of such an unsubstantiated smear might take on a different coloring. It was, after all, the decision to tack this classified annex onto the Jan. 6 report that gave the mainstream media the hook to disseminate the “golden shower” accusation across the country and around the world.
Rather than minimizing “potential embarrassment to the President-elect,” as Comey demurred, the classified annex was guaranteed to maximize Trump’s embarrassment, which it did.
In other words, just as Comey said he inferred an improper or illegal order when Trump expressed “hope” that Flynn’s legal ordeal might end, Trump might well have deduced that Comey’s elevation of the urination story amounted to coercion or blackmail from the Intelligence Community.
There is some logic to Parry’s suggestion. If one gentleman can infer one’s motivation who says others can’t do the same? I can see Trump immediately becoming suspicious.
And I can’t forget how everyone believed Hillary was a shoe in and that if she won how we’d be enduring four, likely eight more years of furtherance toward the oligarch’s wet dream of global domination. The very idea scares the bajeebus out of me. For heavens sake, I was taught world domination was Hitler’s fantasy not America’s, but 60+ years later his (and the same family oligarchs just a different generation of them) vision was that much closer to being realized. Eight years of austerity under her neolib leadership would have destroyed the US which, unbeknownst to Americans,is apparently their goal.
We may have dodged a bullet this go round, and no, for the record, Trump is not part of Team Oligarch, he’s a lot of things but he’s not in the club so to speak. This world domination crap is a family business. Their march will continue on no matter…
https://www.reddit.com/r/cringepics/comments/6g9fpc/this_combination_fistbumphighfive_while_the/
fist bump bang!
Posted by: Uncle $cam | Jun 9 2017 22:30 utc | 31
” why isn’t the Clinton campaign part and parcel of the FBI’s probe?”
Posted by: h | Jun 9, 2017 1:42:39 PM | 13
Because it’s not in the script.
This “Russian interference” BS is nothing but distraction, while Trump and his business cronies funnel more $ to the 001% ers.
Clinton is part of that club. The sorry campaign Clinton ran, was not by accident. NOTHING in politics happens coincidentally. The populist theme Trump ran on in the key states didn’t happen coincidentally, it was planned. If anyone here believes a veteran liar and politician like Clinton simply “blew it,” by not campaigning in those key states, IMO,they’re naive.. Trump and Clinton are in the same club. Their “jobs” are to facilitate the transfer of wealth to their owners. Just like O’Bama.
Posted by: ben | Jun 9 2017 22:58 utc | 33
Geez, Ben @33, I truly hope you are wrong regarding Trump and his Club membership. I don’t agree but b/c of all of this Russian crazy business it’s hard to get a handle on who Trump is. He’s been a very busy man doing lots and lots of busy things none of which, or few, are reported on. Maybe that’s the plan. Keep us focused on how our country is being subverted all the while the guy leading gets a pass from all press on all of the busy things he’s been doing to ‘facilitate the transfer of wealth to their owners’.
Posted by: h | Jun 9, 2017 7:12:40 PM | 34
Well Macron just invited all disenchanted Americans to come and work in France.
Join the club, and become an ex-pat like so many professionals all over the world.
As a great thinker Lenin said (or it was Marx/Engels): “The worker class does not have a homeland”.
Posted by: hopehely | Jun 9 2017 23:29 utc | 35
@35 Lenin was truly a great thinker. He was probably thinking of IT jobs.
Posted by: dh | Jun 9 2017 23:36 utc | 36
hopehely @35 “The worker class does not have a homeland” is so true. Why is that, though? Without the ‘worker class’ there’d be no need for gazillionaires to rule/dominate the world. When is the ‘worker class’ going to give the boot to these neanderthals who have nothing better to do than plan world domination because they honestly have nothing else to conquer? Don’t most of us, the ‘worker class’, just want to make a decent living, raise our families, worship in our houses of choice, live in peace and be left the hell alone? What is in these families DNA? Better yet, how damned indoctrinated are these generations, and generations and generations of world conquerors? It’s sad these families have placed such a yoke around their children’s necks, but it’s abundantly obvious that they have and for what? Who in their right mind wants such responsibility, power to dominate and rule over hundreds of millions of the ‘worker class’ and why? Money? Glitz? Gets to say ‘I’m the big dog’. Seriously, how sick minded does one need to be to want to dominate and control another human being? We call such ilk sociopaths or psychopaths b/c that is what such a creature is, NUTS! What do these whacked out inbred parents say to their offspring to continue forward with the families goal of DOMINATION? I’m serious. I honestly don’t get what bill of goods their dumbass parents sold to them.
And dh @36 – I concur, he was thinking of IT jobs! No doubt. No question. LOL.
This is the strike at the heart of darkness enslaved humanity has been waiting for:
Attorney General Jeff Sessions: Fight against ‘evil’ pedophiles a top priority
This is the key.
Posted by: ProPeace | Jun 10 2017 0:17 utc | 38
Sorry if already posted:
Father Of Iconic Aleppo Boy Supports Assad, Says Son Was Used ‘For Propaganda’
Posted by: ProPeace | Jun 10 2017 0:23 utc | 39
How close is Saudi Arabia to internal revolt and the fall of the House of Saud? Not possilble? Well nobody saw the Arab Spring coming; nobody predicted Brexit; nobody predicted Corbyn stealing many seats from May. The world has had enough of the crooked aristocrats shoving everyone else into poverty while they roll around in their ill-gotten loot.
KSA’s attempt to isolate Qatar is surely just another desperate holding move; the ludicrous claims from Trump about Qatar doing more terrorism sponsorship than Saudi Arabia is equally ludicrous. See this article for some details:
….theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/06/isis-saudi-arabia-iraq-syria-bandar/373181/
The Free Syrian Army (FSA), the “moderate” armed opposition in the country, receives a lot of attention. But two of the most successful factions fighting Assad’s forces are Islamist extremist groups: Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the latter of which is now amassing territory in Iraq and threatening to further destabilize the entire region. And that success is in part due to the support they have received from two Persian Gulf countries: Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Qatar’s military and economic largesse has made its way to Jabhat al-Nusra, to the point that a senior Qatari official told me he can identify al-Nusra commanders by the blocks they control in various Syrian cities. But ISIS is another matter. As one senior Qatari official stated, “ISIS has been a Saudi project.”
ISIS, in fact, may have been a major part of Bandar’s covert-ops strategy in Syria. The Saudi government, for its part, has denied allegations, including claims made by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, that it has directly supported ISIS. But there are also signs that the kingdom recently shifted its assistance—whether direct or indirect—away from extremist factions in Syria and toward more moderate opposition groups.
Posted by: nonsense factory | Jun 10 2017 0:28 utc | 40
@34 h, ” the guy leading gets a pass from all press on all of the busy things he’s been doing to ‘facilitate the transfer of wealth to their owners’. ”
i think that’s definitely the case, although it would be the case no matter what they pushed to the top of the stack of superficial subterfuge.
Posted by: jfl | Jun 10 2017 0:35 utc | 41
@39 Propeace
I saw that video. It makes sense now that the boy would look so disoriented. Not from bodily trauma but from being surrounding by strangers who are clicking their cameras on him from a distance like an animal at the circus while his father had rushed back in the building to survey the status of his other family. We knew it was disengenuous to use a child like that to begin with, but now we know that they weren’t even rendering care. It was their Goebbels division.
Posted by: NemesisCalling | Jun 10 2017 0:38 utc | 42
@40 nsf
thanks for that link … from the atlantic, no less … it’s great to hoist them on their own petards.
Posted by: jfl | Jun 10 2017 0:40 utc | 43
38) Sessions appears to be an idiot – with his ol’ boy redneck (Okie from Muskogee https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68cbjlLFl4U) anti-marijuana crusade. Diametrically opposite the populist political purview.
BUT this anti-pedo thing MAY be that which is facilitating his upheaval.
Good to see something worthwhile from the mind of an apparent shithead.
Posted by: fast freddy | Jun 10 2017 0:50 utc | 44
@ 34 said: “it’s hard to get a handle on who Trump is.”
Seriously? He does have a record ya’ know:)
Posted by: ben | Jun 10 2017 1:05 utc | 45
@ fast freddy who wrote about Sessions: “Good to see something worthwhile from the mind of an apparent shithead.”
If the pedo shit is true involving a bunch of politicians then let the hammer fall but let me point out that this pedo thing didn’t develop in a vacuum and was allowed to continue.
With no apology I will posit that the folks that own global private finance and most of the earth’s tangible resources, and have for centuries, are behind all this……..what is the biggest power/control weapon besides money and military? Documentation of violation of “public norms”….its been used for centuries.
When you own the money system and have operatives in every country, tell me what one can’t do over time?
Posted by: psychohistorian | Jun 10 2017 2:15 utc | 46
@ben 33
Trump is certainly as much a member of the .1% as Clinton, and both are doing their best to promote their cronies’ interests. People will realize they were fooled, when they lose their health insurance, find only crappy jobs (if any), and see taxes being lowered for guess-who. But narcissist Trump will want to offer them something nonetheless, and I’m afraid it will be nationalism and xenophobia.
What’s more interesting is Trump’s foreign policy.
My impression is that he would ‘intrinsically’ pursue anti-ISIS/Saudi and anti-export-countries policies, but is being nudged and stratified towards the general line of western elites, i.e. anti Russia and Iran. From this perspective, the ridiculous focus on alleged ‘Russia connections’ suddenly makes sense, as it forces him to distance himself ever more…talk about shifting public enemies.
Trouble is, Trump is too weak and flip-floppy to stand up to the Neocons.
Posted by: smuks | Jun 10 2017 2:39 utc | 47
I want to share another data point with folks about the perfidy of our parasitic global elite
How the private Central Banks are bankrupting countries
I encourage you to at least scroll through the article to the chart showing the accumulating public debt skyrocketing since 2008. It represents a giant sucking sound that not many can hear……privatize the profits and publicize the debt…..over and over and over until it stops.
Our species doesn’t show well a this stage in its potential evolution………IMO
End private finance globally!!!! and while you are at it, neuter inheritance as well to stop facilitating making real psychos like Trump who is very hurt and needs neurofeedback therapy…..along with the rest of society in general
And on that note, I am developing a set of web pages for a presentation I am doing on Neurofeedback on the 17th or 18th of this month at a Solstice festival. When complete and after the presentation, I will add the set and link to my web site and summarize my spiel about my education and experience with this mental health model changing therapy with a link to it in an Open thread at MoA.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Jun 10 2017 2:40 utc | 48
@psycho 46
“what is the biggest power/control weapon besides money and military?”
Ideology. Actually it’s bigger than the other two.
As for ‘who owns…’ – capitalism invariably leads to ever greater concentration of wealth. It’s systemic, and we’re all part of it – though most of us are just very small fry. Would we act very differently if we controlled a vast fortune? I’m afraid not. Money, or rather capital, is power, and whoever owns it will try to profit from it in one way or another.
Posted by: smuks | Jun 10 2017 2:48 utc | 49
Qatar – What puzzles me most about this escalation is the timing. What triggered the chain of events?
There’s been a number of things happening in recent days:
– Trump’s visit to Riyadh
– NATO and G7 summits
– The Raqqa offensive
– Germany withdrawing its troops from Turkey
– Iraqi Kurds announce independence referendum
– Terror attacks in Tehran
It looks like an accelerated formation of two opposing blocks, with the US picking the Kurds over Turkey.
But I still can’t really see what’s cause and what’s effect here; I feel like I’m missing some element.
Posted by: smuks | Jun 10 2017 2:58 utc | 50
@36 dh
It is not about jobs, but about people who do the jobs, the workers.
Jobs change, they come and go, but the relationship between employers and employees has been pretty much the same for last 200 years, since the start of industrial revolution.
Posted by: hopehely | Jun 10 2017 3:37 utc | 51
@ smuks who is seeming to posit that capitalism is systemic…..GAG!
Capitalism is a fig leaf of historic ideological myth covering for the evolution of private property, finance and inheritance. None of the precepts of the capitalism myth exist in reality; perfect information/competition/etc. Its all bs like other religious myth.
The elite that rule our world no longer represent the strongest nor the brightest of our species that would underpin your fatuous capitalism….if they ever did.
I suggest we try this thing called government. At its core it is socialism which has historically been corrupted by those that own private finance and the rest of our world. That said, maybe we can get it right this time……make finance totally sovereign instead of the lie we live currently.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Jun 10 2017 4:35 utc | 52
psychohistorian@48 – Looking forward to your material, psy. You mentioned a few months ago that you were well along in your own neurofeedback. Update? What’s the verdict?
Posted by: PavewayIV | Jun 10 2017 6:17 utc | 53
@ PavewayIV who asked about my neurofeedback experience…grin…thanks for asking
After 75 sessions with one provider I was referred to another to get a QEEG (Quantitative EEG) to find out what is really going on…that was on May 18th. we haven’t got a response yet from the neurologist that is suppose to be evaluating the QEEG results to determine if/what neurological remediation is necessary/suggested. I was a bit freaked by the results but had to realize that the potential symptoms of the reported hurt are just that, potential…and I have spent a lifetime using my “extra brainwidth” to make me almost normal….until getting hit by the truck 11 years ago…..
A am a hopeful “Happy Lab Rat” now having experienced some special LENS protocol sessions that are attempting to unwind my serious hurt……more to follow…..stay tuned…..I AM!!!!!
Posted by: psychohistorian | Jun 10 2017 6:57 utc | 54
rt headline “Erdogan pledges ’full support to Qatari brothers’ amid Gulf crisis”
i guess i missed the one where he said the same about the yemeni brothers… shows you what a demented religious mind looks like… i guess i got the wrong branch of islam there, lol…
@50 smuks.. good question, but i wouldn’t be looking at just those events for an answer.. i don’t know that there is an easy answer.. there seems to be dissension in the ranks of the headchopper death cult supporters/state sponsors.. that is a good thing to my way of thinking.. if trump is a big enough jack ass to stir the pot more, i hope he continues! the timing looks bad as far as he is concerned.. i don’t believe this was premeditated.. trump comes across as ignorant of basic things like the fact there was a major us military base in qatar.. the dude is so busy staying on top of his twitter account, he doesn’t have time to know much about the world.. to me it looks like more ‘wheels coming off’ the us empire…
Posted by: james | Jun 10 2017 7:01 utc | 55
@ psychohistorian | Jun 9, 2017 10:15:19 PM | 46 and subsequent passim
Recognising your undergraduate degree in economics (would that translate undergraduate studies?) and consequent expertise, please explain to this unlettered reader just what you mean by private finance? What other kind, other than public finance is there? If you eliminate private finance, do you want the likes of Jeff Sessions, Donald Trump and Nancy Pelosi to have oversight and control of all finance? Have any politicians shown any ability to control and direct public finance that you can point out to this reader. If you cannot answer or be bothered to answer such simple questions, I shall consider your ranting over private finance the ravings of a demagogic, ignorant and sophomoric fool.
Posted by: Formerly T-Bear | Jun 10 2017 7:14 utc | 56
http://blogs.rediff.com/mkbhadrakumar/2017/06/10/trump-condemns-qatar-sets-middle-east-on-fire
Posted by: Mina | Jun 10 2017 9:18 utc | 57
Have any politicians shown any ability to control and direct public finance that you can point out to this reader.
T-Bear, Your remarks were directed to someone else but it seems to me that there have been ample examples of complementary/parallel currencies that might possibly be construed to be “public finance” that have often succeeded remarkably. Which is precisely why such currencies are often considered to be ‘taboo’ topics among the economic in-crowd. Bernard Lietaer is a prominent contemporary exponent whereas Silvio Gessell is often credited with earlier applications. And then England did in fact use tally sticks as measures of credit for about 700 years. Does this partially answer you ?? Ad hominems are poor form IMO.
Posted by: Avid Lurker | Jun 10 2017 9:21 utc | 58
MB direction is leaving Qatar today with families. Heniye is going to Tehran
Posted by: Mina | Jun 10 2017 9:53 utc | 59
Historic SCO Summit: the New G8 Emerge
Astana, Kazakhstan has hosted the historic summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Historic because for the first time since its official founding, the organization has new members. Now it includes two other nuclear powers – India and Pakistan. In addition, SCO has united almost half the world’s population. According to the Russian representative at the summit Vladimir Putin, all this will make the organization more influential, and not only in Eurasia. Visible evidence of the growth of the SCO authority – for the first time at the summit was the UN Secretary General.
The six founding countries flags added two new organizations – India and Pakistan . So, the geopolitical map of the world now have a new “big eight”.
probably won’t see this on the front page of any tnc medium. i added some stats to a map thereof. just looking at the area covered and the population is impressive. needless to say, both dwarf nato.
Posted by: jfl | Jun 10 2017 10:09 utc | 60
@ Avid Lurker | Jun 10, 2017 5:21:00 AM | 58
Let me guess, another duhmerican with their sacred opinions. As a culture, stretching the term beyond all recognition, you all seem to love your ignorance; one of the few areas that the country still excels the world at. What world class definitions can you provide to tell the difference between currency and finance, or are the fogs that muddle your mind too dense to find your way. Post a comment if you are capable, the question what is YOUR definition of currency and of finance, not something from a dictionary or wikipedia. You cannot read nor comprehend what you read nor draw a rational conclusion as well. Don’t go throwing terms such as ‘ad hominem’ about until you understand what they mean; above you don’t. This reply is likely the last you receive.
Posted by: Formerly T-Bear | Jun 10 2017 10:45 utc | 61
Iowa court: State cannot prosecute immigrant using fake ID
http://www.kcci.com/article/iowa-court-state-cannot-prosecute-immigrant-using-fake-id/10002837
Give Me Flint and LA over Paris Any Day. http://wsenmw.blogspot.com/2017/06/i-thought-i-couldnt-see-anything-more.html
China uncovers massive underground network of Apple employees selling customers’ personal data https://www.hongkongfp.com/2017/06/08/china-uncovers-massive-underground-network-apple-employees-selling-customers-personal-data/
Posted by: rawdawgbugfalo | Jun 10 2017 11:58 utc | 62
smuks@47:
“…Trouble is, Trump is too weak and flip-floppy to stand up to the Neocons…”
I have to disagree. Trump has been making some huge mistakes (mostly because he hasn’t been hanging out at MoA, heh) but what he’s just done was very brave indeed. He’s calling Comey on the bet that he, like so many other FBI heads, could hold what has been proudly pointed out by a member of the FBI as a sword of Damocles over the head of the newly elected president. And Comey is coming off as the sleazeball snitch he is. Sorry to use such strong language, but he himself is proudly proclaiming that he was ready to attack Trump from the word go. That’s simply not right. And as I said above, Trump is calling him on that. I don’t think that’s a sign of weakness. It’s bravery.
I don’t know what folk are – I was going to say smoking, but since I don’t believe in encouraging any form of it, I’ll just say – thinking, who say Trump and Clinton are bedfellows in the vast neoliberal conspiracy. I can see how it looks when Trump does stupid things like sling Tomahawk missiles in a knee jerk reaction and drop bombs on innocents in Yemen who God knows have suffered enough since the bombing of the Cole – my heavens, is that what happens to a country’s leadership when an act of sabotage occurs within their borders? Somebody has it in for ordinary populations at large and is giving very bad counsel. It’s someone or someones within our own borders and Trump was elected not being one of them, not being in that family as others have pointed out.
Sure, he has huge faults and they are magnified by his need for good advice more than by any adherence to the code of the neocon or neoliberal. Faults, yes, as do we all – that and the inertia that is endemic to the huge ship of state this government has become. But I praise him for standing up to Comey. And no, unfortunately President Kennedy did not stand up to his enemies in government. I loved him, but he didn’t call them out as Trump is doing, not publicly. If he had he might have changed the course we have been on since that fatal day in Dallas, though of course there is no knowing for sure. But that’s the risk; that comes with the job.
Posted by: juliania | Jun 10 2017 12:35 utc | 63
@Psycho 52
What you write is mostly(*) correct, but you miss the main point imho.
Capitalism, i.e. the accumulation of private capital as driving force of the economy, has its undeniable strengths. This is why it supplanted feudalism and emerged as the dominant model, and it has indeed produced some amazing results thanks to its individualist-intrinsic nature and flexibility, esp. in the face of crises: Unprecedented economic growth and abundance of previously scarce goods (plus maybe a contribution to a more liberal society).
No country can ‘afford to do without’, as it risks being left behind economically & then politically – so yes, it is a potentially universal system. However, it has its systemic weaknesses: Ever increasing inequality, and an inbuilt need for perpetual growth, which in the long run destroys people, societies and the planet. This explains why capitalism is unable to address today’s key problems – and why it’s time is running out.
(*) “perfect information/competition/etc.” – those are the precepts of neoclassical theory, not of capitalism. They’re obviously b/s (economists tend to mention them at some point, only to quickly forget them), but let’s not forget that Friedman considered them mere approximations for the sake of easier modelling.
Posted by: smuks | Jun 10 2017 12:41 utc | 64
Formerly T-Bear @ 56
Although incorrect, the term “Private Finance” refers to ownership of the medium of exchange.
The medium of exchange is imposed unilaterally and arbitrarily under penalty of law. Never was there a debate or a discussion or a referendum as to what type of monetary system should be implemented. Nobody ever came along to explain the pros and cons of implementing one type of monetary system over another.
In the West, the monetary system is imposed and management of same is bestowed upon an unelected entity.
Our current monetary system cannot contemplate private property. Thus the notion of “capitalism” has been subverted.
The fundamental precepts of economic exchange have been skewed in favour of the owner of the medium of exchange.
When economic entities exchange labor, time and skills for money, they are exchanging something owned out right for something that is not owned and on which taxes are owed.
Too, as governments run perpetual fiscal deficits, the medium of exchange is also inexorably devalued.
The diminishing marginal utility of debt however, guarantees that, in time, spiralling fiscal revenue needs, can only be brought about by ever more complex legislation.
This dynamic results in the monopolisation of business and industry which raises barriers to entry. Thus the economy is gradually hollowed (i.e. off shoring), and, eventually, unemployment will spiral out of control.
Declining Business Dynamism
The fundamental problem therefore resides in an economic exchange that is iniquitous from the get go.
Whereas economic entities offer tangible and limited intrinsic value (time, skills and ideas), the owner of the medium of exchange has no reciprocal obligation to guarantee the value of the money.
This monetary system is the equivalent of playing Monopoly with the owner of the factory that produces the game whom arrogates to himself the privilege to be the bank thus having access to unlimited supplies of notes from the factory floor.
Indeed economic entities can engage in lateral transactions in order to push back the time to total destitution. Buying property is a popular strategy. Spiralling fiscal demands however will eventually result in the destitution of the many.
In order to survive the fiscal Tsunami, economic entities can only hope to be subsumed into larger entities or be bought by larger entities thereby moving closer to the owner of the medium of exchange. But in typical pyramidal fashion, the many will arithmetically and necessarily be pushed to the lower strata of the pyramid.
A similar juncture in history is to be found during the decline of the Roman empire. Part of the reason Rome was finally overrun is because Romans had been fleeing the city due to gradually more stifling fiscal demands on the part of the state. People abandoned live stock, fields and homes thereby not only eroding the ability of the city to withstand a siege but also eroding the ability to raise an army or a militia.
Posted by: guidoamm | Jun 10 2017 12:58 utc | 65
Formerly T-Bear @ 56
Although incorrect, the term “Private Finance” refers to ownership of the medium of exchange.
The medium of exchange is imposed unilaterally and arbitrarily under penalty of law. Never was there a debate or a discussion or a referendum as to what type of monetary system should be implemented. Nobody ever came along to explain the pros and cons of implementing one type of monetary system over another.
In the West, the monetary system is imposed and management of same is bestowed upon an unelected entity.
Our current monetary system cannot contemplate private property. Thus the notion of “capitalism” has been subverted.
The fundamental precepts of economic exchange have been skewed in favour of the owner of the medium of exchange.
When economic entities exchange labor, time and skills for money, they are exchanging something owned out right for something that is not owned and on which taxes are owed.
Too, as governments run perpetual fiscal deficits, the medium of exchange is also inexorably devalued.
The diminishing marginal utility of debt however, guarantees that, in time, spiralling fiscal revenue needs, can only be brought about by ever more complex legislation.
This dynamic results in the monopolisation of business and industry which raises barriers to entry. Thus the economy is gradually hollowed (i.e. off shoring), and, eventually, unemployment will spiral out of control.
Declining Business Dynamism
The fundamental problem therefore resides in an economic exchange that is iniquitous from the get go.
Whereas economic entities offer tangible and limited intrinsic value (time, skills and ideas), the owner of the medium of exchange has no reciprocal obligation to guarantee the value of the money.
This monetary system is the equivalent of playing Monopoly with the owner of the factory that produces the game whom arrogates to himself the privilege to be the bank thus having access to unlimited supplies of notes from the factory floor.
Indeed economic entities can engage in lateral transactions in order to push back the time to total destitution. Buying property is a popular strategy. Spiralling fiscal demands however will eventually result in the destitution of the many.
In order to survive the fiscal Tsunami, economic entities can only hope to be subsumed into larger entities or be bought by larger entities thereby moving closer to the owner of the medium of exchange. But in typical pyramidal fashion, the many will arithmetically and necessarily be pushed to the lower strata of the pyramid.
A similar juncture in history is to be found during the decline of the Roman empire. Part of the reason Rome was finally overrun is because Romans had been fleeing the city due to gradually more stifling fiscal demands on the part of the state. People abandoned live stock, fields and homes thereby not only eroding the ability of the city to withstand a siege but also eroding the ability to raise an army or a militia.
Posted by: guidoamm | Jun 10 2017 12:58 utc | 66
@james 55
“to me it looks like more ‘wheels coming off’ the us empire…”
This goes without saying, but I’m still wondering about the sudden acceleration of events. Not saying it was premeditated, and there are very probably elements I’m not aware of, but I would suppose at least some trigger. Maybe the advances of the SAA and the fear of it reaching Raqqa first?
@juliania 63
Hmm…it’s good entertainment no doubt, but calling opponents out and fighting publicly is actually a sign of weakness, not of strength. Or it’s just theatre to distract from what’s going on: The whole Comey/ Flynn/ Russia stuff eclipses the fact that his campaign promises (‘drain the swamp’, ‘manufacturing jobs’, ‘build infrastructure’…) are all but forgotten. How does ‘standing up to Comey’ help me if I’m over-indebted and can only find part-time work as an Uber driver?
And talking about foreign policy, I don’t see T. as having any firm principles, but rather as easily manipulated.
Posted by: smuks | Jun 10 2017 13:05 utc | 67
@jfl 60
Hehehe…thanks a lot for pointing this out, and yes I actually missed it!
This could even explain the Qatar crisis: Any time there is an event highlighting the loss of western hegemony (important speech, state visit, conference, treaty…), out of nowhere comes a scandal or sensation which eclipses it in western news. Should this current confrontation quickly fade away, we can assume that it was just another distraction to maintain our ‘We’re No. 1 in the world!’ fairytale.
Russia and China are taking over in world politics and economy, and 99% of westerners don’t even notice.
Funny thing.
Posted by: smuks | Jun 10 2017 13:12 utc | 68
Re: R Winner | Jun 9, 2017 4:56:33 PM | 25
This is ISIS endgame. ISIS survived as a large state longer than anyone could imagine, and now they just need some final heroic and preserve as many followers to “fight another day” as possible, with discrete or not-so-discrete help of Saudis, Americans etc., while governments in Moscow, Tehran, Baghdad and Damascus want ISIS to vanish as completely as possible, together with “moderate” terrorists.
While helping from outside, Iran and Russia were committing rather few forces to avoid getting bogged down etc. But for a short endgame, I suspect that at the very least we will see a lot of PMU fighters entering from Iraq to rescue Deir-ez-Zor, it is imperative for Baghdad that deserts of Syria and Iraq are not a safe heaven for terrorists. The quality of PMU is mixed, but they got battle experience and ISIS is running out of people and heavy weapons, and IRC will help too. It is also possible that Tiger Force will flank Raqqa from the south, their recent advances in that direction were quite fast, and they entered Raqqa governorate few days ago.
Importantly, the strife between KSA + UAE and Qatar can improve the situation quite a bit. Erdogan is very close to Qatar, ideologically and financially, and the ultimatum given to Qatar was a personal insult to him, and a threat to the basis of his power. But to help Qatar, he must go through Iran and/or Iraq. Without speculative narratives, the “moderates” will fight internally more than before, and will get fewer weapons than before, so SAA will have fewer backstabbing attack when it is busy finishing off ISIS in Syria together with allies.
Posted by: Piotr Berman | Jun 10 2017 13:15 utc | 69
@ guidoamm | Jun 10, 2017 8:58:31 AM | 65 /66
Guidoamm, you have constructed an amazing edifice of neoliberal mumbo-jumbo. It qualifies for inclusion in Yves Smith’s “Naked Capitalism & Bordello”. A quick perusal provides a melange of discontinuous pieces from your comment – together they make no sense whatsoever even allowing for the slightest possibility of being coherent. You should demand your money back from whomever taught you this, it is not economics in any stretch of the word. You may have been hoodwinked, and likely robbed. Your comments also show you have never been introduced to history, but that is your loss. For other readers the word – Caveat Emptor applies.
Posted by: Formerly T-Bear | Jun 10 2017 13:23 utc | 70
Your comments also show you have never been introduced to history, but that is your loss. For other readers the word – Caveat Emptor applies.
Posted by: Formerly T-Bear | Jun 10, 2017 9:23:40 AM | 70
Actually, many people are “introduced to history”, but few understand it. The way it is thought or popularized does not help too much.
Posted by: Piotr Berman | Jun 10 2017 13:38 utc | 71
Buy popcorn before shortages
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/270644/World/Region/UAE-blacklist-likely-to-squeeze-liquidity-of-Qatar.aspx
They’ll soon get to the Libyan gas money.
Posted by: Mina | Jun 10 2017 14:06 utc | 72
@ 71 Piotr Berman
I do fear you are spot on about history. The price that will be exacted is a public not knowing from where the came, where they are and unable to navigate to places where they want to be; a terrible prognosis for any deceived by democracy. But having burnt up my three score and ten, I am unlikely to bear witness on the consequences. I do feel uncomfortable considering what passes as history as history in the traditional sense.
Posted by: Formerly T-Bear | Jun 10 2017 14:08 utc | 73
Piotr
Please don’t forget the French!! We had university professors and civil servant researchers explaining us on governmental radios and tv-s that IS should be seen as a state actor because they had managed to administrate some cities and regions and that international powers should engage into negociations with them.
Same scheme for talibans was planned somewhere in the background?
Posted by: Mina | Jun 10 2017 14:10 utc | 74
at least we won’t have to hear anything more about how rofl nadir tilted the election from one tapeworm to the other.
Posted by: j | Jun 10 2017 14:31 utc | 75
FWIW, the (‘animated’) exchanges in this thread brought this exceptional interview with Ronald Bernard, a former currency trader, to mind.
Real Big Money: Revelations by an insider (Video)
Some explicit segments are most certainly not for the faint of heart…
Posted by: Avid Lurker | Jun 10 2017 14:39 utc | 76
US SF coming to the rescue of…. Duterte.
https://www.rt.com/news/391792-us-special-forces-isis-marawi/
Posted by: Mina | Jun 10 2017 14:47 utc | 77
Posted by: h | Jun 9, 2017 8:09:30 PM | 37
Well the point of that quote is that unless are you a landowner, there is absolutely no reason to refer to the country you are born in as yours. The country belongs to someone else, not you. So if you are ‘proletariat’ meaning that the only capital you possess is bobbing above your shoulders, open your eyes, look up the skies and see, you’re just a poor boy…. You are free because you have nothing to lose but your illusions.
Posted by: hopehely | Jun 10 2017 14:57 utc | 78
Interesting… the UAE emir would have been behind the meetings between Trump and the Russians before the elections.
Posted by: Mina | Jun 10 2017 15:19 utc | 79
76 Avid Lurker – You linked to a conman and a con
All he wants is money for his bank
Very likely won’t see any of your money once you sent it.
But that would serve you right for being a stupid sheep. He tells you as much in the video.
Posted by: somebody | Jun 10 2017 15:48 utc | 80
@ Formerly T-Bear
It is important that you think about the role of “money”; what it does and how it does it.
At the most fundamental level, the exchange of something you own outright for something you do not own is the crux of the problem.
The Case of Von Nothaus
This monetary system is devised to concentrate rather than spread ownership and wealth.
There is a reason why powerful interests were pushing for a common European currency by stealth.
memo from the European section, advises VP EEC, Robert Marjolin, to pursue monetary union by stealth
There is a reason why academia has conflated the definitions of “capital” and “savings”
There is a reason why throughout the industrialised West during the 60s and 70s labor suddenly began to finance capital through forced Social Security contributions
There is a reason why interest rates are manipulated lower by decree and it has nothing to do with spurring economic activity
Regardless of what some politicians would like you to believe, debt does matter. If debt did not matter, then someone should ask why we need taxation at all
There is a reason why despite the political ideology of successive incumbent administrations and allowing for slight differences in style in Europe and the USA, the result is the same across the board: stagnating wages, decrepit infrastructure, spiralling cost of living and a progressively more intrusive government.
Admittedly different countries are at different stages along this trajectory, but all travel in the same direction
….
g
Posted by: guidoamm | Jun 10 2017 15:58 utc | 81
@65/66 guidoamm – excellent response to f tbear puffed up arrogant sense of self… thanks..
@67 smuks.. thanks.. i think your speculation in this post on raqqa is more in sync with the timing.. it is probably accidental, but it is an interesting timing overlap..
Posted by: james | Jun 10 2017 16:00 utc | 82
add to 80
more on the Ronald Bernard con – from his “cooperate bank” website
Our Bail-free Service
Do you posses 100.000 euro’s or more? Pay attention. Did you know that within the EU all (saving) deposits above 100.000 euro’s are vulnerable to acquisition in order to save banks? This means that your savings above 100.000 euro’s are no longer safe. Our answer is Bail-free. We protect capital by placing it in safe havens in Europe. There where the big money owned by royal families and large corporations is placed. With Bail-free we invest your money in the real economy, that gives revenue and serves society. Do you want to safeguard your savings?
Posted by: somebody | Jun 10 2017 16:04 utc | 83
Posted by: guidoamm | Jun 10, 2017 11:58:33 AM | 81
At the most fundamental level, the exchange of something you own outright for something you do not own is the crux of the problem.
When I was in boarding school, at lunch you could hear shouting throughout the restaurant:
Soup for Salad!
Salad for Soup!
Cake for Meat!
Meat for Cake!
And, I was exchanging my piece of cake for a piece of meat. I did not like cakes.
Before that, as a younger kid, I used to exchange my used and read comics books for the ones have not read yet.
Boy I was so young and so naive, I thought about all of it as a good deal and beneficial things to me…
Thank you for opening my eyes. I realize now that what I was doing was the crux of the problem. I exchanged something I own for something I do not….
:-p
Posted by: hopehely | Jun 10 2017 16:28 utc | 84
76 Avid Lurker – You linked to a conman and a con
All he wants is money for his bank
Very likely won’t see any of your money once you sent it.
But that would serve you right for being a stupid sheep. He tells you as much in the video.
Posted by: somebody | Jun 10, 2017 11:48:20 AM | 80
My my, I find it remarkable how certain posters repeatedly manage to avoid the main substance of particular postings yet resort to seemingly questionable weak inferences, if not pejorative putdowns and ad hominems too. Wow !
I also hazard to speculate that most viewers of said video won’t realize that Bernard is affiliated with a firm that offers investment opportunities. I certainly missed that but not a lot of more important details IMO. Nor does your first link (to several foreign language hits) seem to offer concrete evidence of your supposed con/conman inference. Have you any direct evidence for your accusation ??
Here’s another link on a related topic: The Magnificent (G)Seven
Next thing would be for some (tag team) troll to smear Jimmie Moglia as being a “conman” as well. Lol !!
Posted by: Avid Lurker | Jun 10 2017 17:27 utc | 85
Posted by: ralphieboy | Jun 9, 2017 10:55:08 AM | 7
The meaning of the word “populism” has been distorted to suit propaganda agendas. For instance, what you are describing is called “demagoguery” and not populism.
Real populism is an old left-wing notion. The Socialist Worker’s Party was populist, so were the Russian anarcho-syndicalists, etc. I’ll let you find out the rest. The Internet is replete with proper historians.
Posted by: Lea | Jun 10 2017 17:51 utc | 86
Posted by: Avid Lurker | Jun 10, 2017 1:27:22 PM | 85
It is a very transparent con. If you did not notice it watching the video you are a very easy prey.
There is no use klicking your second link as you disqualified yourself.
Posted by: somebody | Jun 10 2017 18:02 utc | 87
some folks are really uptight… no flex in them.. oh well…
Posted by: james | Jun 10 2017 18:06 utc | 88
@57 mina.. thanks.. it is a good read… my only problem is trump and M K Bhadrakumar unwilling to call a spade a spade with regard to saudi arabia, uae or turkeys support for terrorism as well.. someone might venture to say trump is being cunning with some sort of divide and conquer strategy here, but i don’t see it that way.. looks more like trump fumbling into an area, just like his idea of moving the embassy to jerusalem for example… grant it, i don’t think he is stupid, just not fully aware of the implications of some of his comments.. talking to the hometown crowd (usa) is not the same as talking on the world stage.. it doesn’t appear like he has any good management on this level and it looks like he badly needs it.
Posted by: james | Jun 10 2017 18:12 utc | 89
Ronald Bernard gives a convincing performance. If he is an actor, he is a good one. The interview certainly feeds the “conspiracy theorists'” world view. Hits all the bullet points.
It is true that division among common ppl prevents any significant successes toward improving our world.
It is true that evil SOB’s are in charge who foment war, crises and human suffering for money and power.
Difficult to believe that his evil associates would spare him his life.
Posted by: fast freddy | Jun 10 2017 19:18 utc | 90
Posted by: AtaBrit | Jun 9, 2017 12:45:42 PM | 10
re Diyarbakir. I think that the Kurdish website you quote may have got the wrong end of the stick, in wanting to put blame on the Turkish regime. It sounds to me, having read through the article, as though the Turks, having taken control of Antiquities, may be clearing people out of the archaeological site and old city, in order to preserve it as a touristic site. Rather brutal, but that’s often the way things are. For example, the Kurds did the same in the Citadel of Erbil. And I know another case in Iraq.
By the way, I once wrote an application to UNESCO for the classification of a site as World Heritage (which succeeded).
Posted by: Laguerre | Jun 10 2017 19:28 utc | 91
Posted by: fast freddy | Jun 10, 2017 3:18:54 PM | 90
He is doing his best to convince people that he knows how the rich avoid taxes whilst working for a “cooperative bank” offering to put people’s money in “European safe havens”.
Only stupid people don’t realise the crap he tells and those are exactly the people he needs to con.
The sudden interest in this thread in Silvio Gsell’s theory in a time of abundant cheap money is also kind of “strange”. Silvio Gsell’s cooperative was meant to ease deflation – i.e. not enough money to trade. Above con’s Ronald Bernard’s bank bofjoy.net also offers an “alternative currency”.
I find those scams kind of funny. I am still waiting to stumble across an online hütchen game.
Posted by: somebody | Jun 10 2017 19:49 utc | 92
It’s about Libya and South Sudan more than anything else
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/270611/Egypt/Politics-/Cairo-has-evidence-of-Doha-undermining-Egyptian-se.aspx
Posted by: Mina | Jun 10 2017 19:53 utc | 93
He is doing his best to convince people that he knows how the rich avoid taxes whilst working for a “cooperative bank” offering to put people’s money in “European safe havens”.
Only stupid people don’t realise the crap he tells and those are exactly the people he needs to con.
The sudden interest in this thread in Silvio Gsell’s [sic]theory in a time of abundant cheap money is also kind of “strange”. Silvio Gsell’s [sic] cooperative was meant to ease deflation – i.e. not enough money to trade. Above con’s Ronald Bernard’s bank bofjoy.net also offers an “alternative currency”.
I find those scams kind of funny. I am still waiting to stumble across an online hütchen game.
Posted by: somebody | Jun 10, 2017 3:49:25 PM | 92
Sorry Somebody, you’re showing your true colors (again): T-R-O-L-L. Drop the vitriol and get real. Oh I forgot, you may actually get paid for this !!
Posted by: Avid Lurker | Jun 10 2017 20:51 utc | 95
Russia Retaliates Against Obama Expulsions, Plans To Seize US Property In Moscow
“One of the last acts of Obama’s presidency was to “impose costs” on Russia over election-hacking allegations (so far unproven) by expelling 35 Russian diplomats and seizing two compounds in NY and MD. Putin initially warned of “proportional response” but then surprised many by “refusing to sink to ‘kitchen’ diplomacy.” However, six months later, Reuters reports Russia may seize U.S. diplomatic property in Moscow….”
Read more:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-06-10/russia-retaliates-against-obama-expulsions-plans-seize-us-property-moscow
Posted by: OJS | Jun 10 2017 20:58 utc | 96
Weird shit – Patrick Cockburn (relative of the Admiral Cockburn who torched the White House, I believe) has one of his always informative articles up on UNZ. This one looks at the British governments denial that the recent terrorism in the UK was connected to British actions in Libya, Syria, etc. The part that stuck out for me was this one
….tells the story of Syrian refugees, a man and his wife, who sent their small son, who spoke almost no English, to a nursery school. Because of his recent traumatic experiences in Syria he spent much of his time there drawing planes dropping bombs. The staff of the nursery might have been expected to comfort the young war victim, but instead they called the police. These went to see the parents and questioned them separately, shouting questions like: “How many times a day do you pray? Do you support President Assad? Who do you support? What side are you on?”
I suspect that President Assad’s supporters would be the least likely to indulge in salafist terrorism in the UK.
Posted by: Ghostship | Jun 10 2017 20:58 utc | 97
@94 chet380
Unless something has happened in the last hour or two, nothing is going on in al Tanf. The US back terrorists and the US military clowns embedded with them are now sitting on their asses surrounded by the SAA and PMU.
* The SAA made a secret rapid advance yesterday around the US backed terrorist in the al Tanf area.
* The SAA linked up with the Iraq PMU at the border
* The SAA is presently rapidly fortifying their positions at the border
* The US backed terrorists are now completely surrounded and have no frontline with IS
* The SAA has massed huge numbers of troops to the south in Daraa and are starting to clear out the city of foreign terrorists
The entire pretext for the US regime to be invading Syria just evoporated yesterday.
Posted by: R Winner | Jun 10 2017 20:58 utc | 98
@94 c380, ‘WTF is going on at Al Tanf?’
Map: Military Situation In Southeastern Syria After Government Forces Reached Border With Iraq, all i know is what i read online, but i’d guess … not much. the fsa in southeastern syria seems to be surrounded and out of the action. now it’s up to the saa and pmu to move northeast from their common border to al bukamal/al qa’im and points more northerly. supplies from jordan to deir ezzor have been cut off. i guess the saa will come back later for the fsa. their main concern now has got to be deir ezzor.
Posted by: jfl | Jun 10 2017 21:03 utc | 99
“Russia says tells U.S. not to strike Syrian pro-government forces again
It look like Putin have enough of Amerikka?
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-russia-usa-idUSKBN1910Y9
Posted by: OJS | Jun 10 2017 21:07 utc | 100