Pepe Escobar provides some inside dirt on Mohammad bin Salman and news about an aborted coup attempt prior to the current Qatar crisis, which ought to provide a number of talking points, https://sputniknews.com/columnists/201706241054941082-saudi-house-of-cards-inside-story/

Posted by: karlof1 | Jun 26 2017 14:57 utc | 1

"Think tank" in French:- Pense-char?

Posted by: Cousin Jack | Jun 26 2017 15:06 utc | 2

@ Cousin Jack | 2

I don't speak French, but I'm pretty sure the French word for "think tank" is bordel.

Posted by: Ort | Jun 26 2017 15:31 utc | 3

The new French Defense Minister had to leave her office after it became known that she was paid €10,000 per month by a U.S. think tank (french, machine translation.)

LOL, not a single fcking word in the western msm about this "influence" by the United States. Unbelivable. Typical propaganda cover up right here by the msm.

Posted by: nonymous | Jun 26 2017 15:50 utc | 4

re 2. according to the linked article the French word for think tank is difficult, it is : "think tank". Rather like GWBush saying the French don't have have a word for entrepreneur.

Posted by: Laguerre | Jun 26 2017 16:06 utc | 5

Concerning the fact that Uber is going down is described here which is part 1 of a long series by Hubert Horan. It is a technical description for why Silicon Valley venture (vulture?) capitalist are going to lose $13 billion -- that part was pleasant reading. The sad is news that these $13 billion was used to drive many independent cab drivers and companies into bankruptcy.

Posted by: ToivoS | Jun 26 2017 16:15 utc | 6

The Guardian for no apparent reason has an article about a teenage prisoner of the Syrian government and how and where he was tortured. He now claims to have left Syria but there is only his explanation of what happened to him. There are facts mentioned that don't ring true such as Aleppo being besieged by the Syrian government in 2013 when it seems to me that it was the government areas of Aleppo that were cutoff and besieged and anyone who was present in Aleppo at that time would know that.
Why now? Perhaps because the UAE government is accused to torturing people in Yemen on behalf of the US government and the Guardian feels a need to support the anti-Syrian government narrative it's been pushing since the beginning that the Syrian government is the most evil on the planet. There have been rumours about how the profligate Guardian is funded that involve the GCC, so perhaps that might explain the why. And it's important to remember that although the Guardian will try to deny it it has published propaganda from Ahrar al-Sham in the not so distant past, so perhaps this is just more terrorist propaganda from an office in Gazientap.

Posted by: Ghostship | Jun 26 2017 16:34 utc | 7

our hackers are better then your hackers?? does anyone believe this type of activity isn't done by everyone? talk about a tempest in a teapot.. the usa must be short of excuses for why their empire is falling apart... blame the twitter king, lol...

@1 karlof1... thanks for the link.. it's funny positioned next to the the french minisiter having to leave her office due the bribe...

Posted by: james | Jun 26 2017 16:39 utc | 8

@8 ghostship.. the guardian seems to be running on empty... maybe the 10000 pound bribe with the french defense minister would have been better spent paying a better liar to report for the guardian... they look ready to fold... maybe some neo con with deep pockets can buy them??

Posted by: james | Jun 26 2017 16:42 utc | 9

>>>> ToivoS | Jun 26, 2017 12:15:22 PM | 6
In a just world predatory behaviour like that by Uber and its venture capital backers would not be allowed or it would be punishable under criminal law. At the very least, it should be grounds for civil actions for damages against Uber and the venture capitalists by those who have suffered. Unfortunately we do not live in a just world.
There are those who think Uber is a Ponzi scheme but I think it's far simpler than that. Someone watched The Producers and thought he could pull the same scam on a far bigger scale. Uber is designed to be a failure but some people will become enormously wealthy as it does and there's no Springtime for Hitler

Posted by: Ghostship | Jun 26 2017 16:48 utc | 10

>>>> Ort | Jun 26, 2017 11:31:27 AM | 3

I don't speak French, but I'm pretty sure the French word for "think tank" is bordel.

LOL.

Posted by: Ghostship | Jun 26 2017 17:14 utc | 11

b - do un-closed or incomplete HTML tags cross into the next comment anymore? I added some "i" tags and the closing tag was incomplete but the comment after it appears OK.

Posted by: Ghostship | Jun 26 2017 17:18 utc | 12

Assange lists six reasons why the Democratic Party is doomed. A must-read interview, with Ralph Nader in The Independent provides an excellent thumbnail sketch of the Democrats' road to extinction.

Posted by: Mike Maloney | Jun 26 2017 17:26 utc | 13

@ 12

Apparently so, but you have to supply your own period (.) to close the sentence it seems. LOL.

Posted by: Formerly T-Bear | Jun 26 2017 17:45 utc | 14

@ Chet 380 from previous thread.

The reason the Zionist Entity cannot abide an Axis of Resistance victory is that with the consolidation of Iranian power and it's technological advancements in missile technology, it will not be too long before the Iranian Bavar 373 (the native version of the S-300, with claimed serif performance and range) will be deployed in western Syria and southern Lebanon. And while these systems are primarily defensive in nature, because of their coverage range and Ben Gurion Airport's proximity, once placed there, they have the ability to make the airport a no fly zone. This plus Iranian drones armed with guided missiles capable of hitting Damona will give new meaning to the adage that "people of the Jewish persuasion who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones". Nuff Sed.

Posted by: Nuff Sed | Jun 26 2017 17:58 utc | 15

@13

Nader link appreciated, thanks.

Posted by: spudski | Jun 26 2017 18:12 utc | 16

well, i'm french, and i think the translation for "think tank" is, "think tank". there's no such thing as "french" right now... great loss for the world, if you want my opinion :-) still, back in town, i would love to know what you smart readers of moa, think of that piece. well, for my part, i think the option is legitimate, and at least, it is thrilling.

https://www.geopolitica.ru/en/article/inside-story-how-trump-dropped-hammer-james-comey

Posted by: whatever | Jun 26 2017 18:44 utc | 17

Hundreds of thousands in UK face same fire risk as Grenfell Tower victims

Everything is being done to conceal the criminality of the policies and actions of successive governments and local councils, Conservative and Labour, and their big business partners, that resulted in the horrifying loss of life.

Last Friday a local resident, Sarah Colbourne, who lives near Grenfell, told the media she does not accept the official fatality figure. She said, “We know over 20 people who aren’t answering their phones, who aren’t responding to my emails. They’re not missing, they’re dead.

“Children haven’t turned up to school, or to activity groups my husband runs. They’re not ‘missing’, they’re dead. They’re telling us it’s 79. We’re not stupid… it’s in the hundreds. But they don’t want to release that number and we all know why and we’re sick and tired of what they’ve done. It’s 2017 in one of the richest boroughs in London and this happens.”

if bad news drives you to distraction ... stay away from this article.

while the tories are shorting england (scotland and wales, too?) in terms of housing, fire protection, health care, etc. it's party time in occupied northern ireland ...

Theresa May Strikes $1 Billion Governing Deal With Northern Irish Party

UK Prime Minister Theresa May has struck a so-called confidence and supply deal with Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party, one which will give the Conservatives sufficient votes to pass the Queen’s Speech and the budget, while Northern Ireland will get an extra €1 billion over two years as a result of the deal.

Posted by: jfl | Jun 26 2017 18:45 utc | 18

Ghostship @12

Concerning Uber. This article in fortune magazine describes how the Democrats gave Uber exclusive rights for Taxi services to their convention last August. Just another example for how the Democrats have been screwing the American workers -- in this case traditional cab drivers.

Posted by: ToivoS | Jun 26 2017 18:49 utc | 19

@17 whatever... article sounds plausible to me.. i haven't been following the usa political swamp... it is such a nightmare that is regularly dredged up here at moa, i tend to stay away... however, the article seems plausible.. that is about as much as i can say as an outsider to it all.. score one for the twitter king maybe..

Posted by: james | Jun 26 2017 18:54 utc | 20

=>> Mike Maloney | Jun 26, 2017 1:26:57 PM | 13

The Democratic party may be "doomed" -- But in name only -- because our choose-one (mis-named "plurality") voting method guarantees a two party "system"!

Coming soon: My new blog about strategic hedge simple score voting, which will eliminate this spoiler effect induced disaster.

Posted by: blues | Jun 26 2017 19:21 utc | 21

About mixed gender worship. It is issue in Israel, where some segment of the population wishes to express itself as feminist and devout Judaists by worshipping at the Western Wall in the area for men while dressed in such elements of male dress like prayer shawls. (I may be wrong, but a proper female head covering is triangular, and rectangles are for males. As we see, cross dressing can have many forms.) One argument of the Zionist feminists against the Orthodox fossils who are in the charge of the site are 100+ year old photos of male and female Jews praying at the Western Wall without any separation. An intelligent rebuttal was that the Jewish clerics wanted to mark separate worship zones and were prevented by Ottoman administration of Jerusalem. Now that Jerusalem is free, females can be regulated as Jews want.

It is easy to see why one would wish to pray exactly at that spot. Allegedly, the wall was build by Romans to create a flat plateau for the temple of Jupiter and Divine Augustus, so a rare place where one can venerate a lot of divinities (e.g. it is a stone throw away from the spot where Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, ascended to heaven, etc. etc.) Thus some sensible regulations are required.

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Jun 26 2017 19:30 utc | 22

@20james
yes, sounds plausible... anyway, it would bring some funny headlines for sure... (twitter king he is)

Posted by: whatever | Jun 26 2017 19:31 utc | 23

uber was a post-ttp/ttip corporation. operating pre-ttp/ttip they were simply outlaws, a bit ahead of their time. there were laws against what they did worldwide, but they 'somehow' ... 13 billion's worth of somehow, apparently ... escaped going to prison.

their operation had certain similarities to the tory housing/cladding operation in england. just ignore the law. the tories were the government, and so had/have no problem escaping prosecution for their crimes. uber must have invested that 13 billion in escaping prosecution for theirs.

the tnc msm reported their crimes and tnc msm editorialists wrote about how stellar they were, how 'persecuted' by governments invoking the laws they were scoffing.

in both cases its simple outlawry. corporations needn't obey the law. and editorialize in favor of their scoff-lawing.

i suppose there's a parallel as well in the us' scoff-lawing since its criminal invasion of iraq in 2003. slowly they turned, step by step, inch by inch ... until now the saudis and al-cia-duh/isis are semi-official 'good guys', somehow worthy of their support.

its about the tncs and their governments rising above the law. granting themselves immunity. i guess the rump realized they'd already won, and so dropped the tpp itself, when he needed an applause line.

Posted by: jfl | Jun 26 2017 19:36 utc | 24

it's true that there was inflammable material added to the front of the London fire building, but what no one mentions is that the person in whose apartment the fire started, packed his bags after the fire started, moved out of his apartment, and knocked on the door of his neighbour to tell her to ring the fire department. If he had done it himself, how many lives would have been saved? The guy is from Ethiopia, by the way. This is what happens when you have people from the developing world in your country - your country becomes like theirs. No civic mindedness, just every man for himself, even if hundreds die. At least his stuff is safe.

Posted by: mischi | Jun 26 2017 19:45 utc | 25

From my very, very limited French, the think tank that employed the French minister is not really American but cosmopolitan, the eponymous founder, Nicholas Bergen has German and American passports, and ancestry that includes Jews, Germans, Italians, Albanians etc, while he was born in Paris. Described in the press as "homeless billionaire" as he eschews buying a home and lives in hotels.

Activity of the institute seems as "nice" and anodyne as it is humanely possible (at last according to Wikipedia entry). That said, why they post this article:

As Machines Wage War, Human Nature Endures
By David H. Petraeus

It is human nature that war entails looting and rape, and both can be realized in the cyber domain. [That would be my article.]

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Jun 26 2017 19:48 utc | 26

@22 pb

lawrence davidson, America’s Palestine Popular and Official Perceptions from Balfour to Israeli Statehood, points out just how early the struggle against zionist colonialism was turned by the msm into a 'religious' struggle in palestine.

Who Should Own the Wailing Wall?

The Muslim religious authorities who oversaw the site had a longstanding policy of allowing Jews to worship at the Wailing Wall. But given the contentious nature of the times, and their awareness that Orthodox Jews felt the Wall should belong to them, the Muslims guarded their claim closely. They saw the Wall as part of the Mosque of Omar (Dome of the Rock), whence Muhammad was believed to have ascended to heaven. Therefore, according to Gilman, the Muslim authorities were

“very careful not to permit the introduction of any innovations or fixtures [by Jewish worshippers] which might create a precedent that might later become firmly established and form the basis of a claim to the privilege of conducting services or even erecting a synagogue on the site as a matter of right.” [74]

A short piece in the Washington Post affirmed as much when it reported that

“a Moslem delegation informed the [the British High] Commissioner ... that they consider the wall a part of the Mosque of Omar and never would permit ownership by Jews. ... They asked that ... [the Jews] be given no ‘rights beyond those enjoyed under the Ottoman regime.’” [75]

It was this Muslim insistence that customary practice determine Jewish worship at the Wailing Wall that was the backdrop of the September 1928 incident.

Newspaper Coverage of the Rebellion

Sheean, who reported for the North American Newspaper Alliance, was one of the very few reporters who tried to give a balanced picture of events, assigning part of the blame for the violence on the Zionists. On August 26, 1929, the Los Angeles Times printed one of his dispatches describing the outbreak of Arab violence as a response to Revisionist Zionist demonstrations of August 14 and 15. He described these demonstrations, which took place during a Muslim holiday, this way:

“A fearful responsibility rests on the Zionist Fascisti who precipitated the present crisis ... [by] assembling in Jerusalem [on August 14] from all parts of the country for a nationalist demonstration of the most dangerous and provocative character in the heart of the sacred Moslem district. ... The area was crowded with brawny young Fascists from the colonies. ... They were spoiling for a fight. ... The next day [August 15] they marched ... and made a formal nationalist demonstration ... before the house of the Grand Mufti. Moslem feelings then rose to the highest pitch.” [21]

[ 94 | America’s Palestine ]

With the exception of Sheean, there was no concerted effort on the part of the American press to understand the Zionist role in bringing about the troubles of 1929. Thus, in the search for what motivated the violence, most of the stories that accompanied the headlines concentrated on religious animosities over the shared sacred site of the Wailing Wall. Relying once more on Zionist sources (the Jewish Telegraphic Agency was widely utilized at this time) the press drew the following sort of conclusions.

On August 18 the New York Times described the violence as being “apparently unprovoked assaults” by Arabs [22] which it later attributed to “aroused Moslem fanatics” whose attention had been focused by an opportunistic leadership on the Wailing Wall. [23]

The Los Angeles Times in an August 24 piece entitled “Source of Trouble” stated, “The trouble is said to have arisen out of an attack by the Arabs on the Jews ... at the Wailing Wall,” [24] and on August 30 printed a front-page political cartoon depicting a Jewish worshipper at the Wall overshadowed by the figure of a giant Arab about to strike him with a sword. [25]

The Chicago Tribune described the violence as “race riots” occurring because of Muslim “objection over aspects of Jewish ritual at the Wailing Wall.” [26]

Finally, the Washington Post concluded on August 24 that “Arab assaults on Jews” were caused by “the Wailing Wall controversy.” [27]

This preoccupation with the Wailing Wall reflected the Western assumption that religion, not economics or resistance to colonialism, was the prime motivator of the Muslim population.

Posted by: jfl | Jun 26 2017 20:15 utc | 27

@26 pb

Nicolas Berggruen,

Nicolas Berggruen has been the president, chief executive officer and a member of our board of directors of Liberty Acquisition Holdings Corporation "since our inception in June 2007. Mr. Berggruen founded what became Berggruen Holdings, Inc. in 1984 to act as investment advisor to a Berggruen family trust that has made over 50 control and non-control direct investments in operating businesses since 1984. Mr. Berggruen has served as the president of Berggruen Holdings, Inc. since its inception. In 1984 he also co-founded Alpha Investment Management, a multi-billion dollar hedge fund management company that was sold to Safra Bank in 2004. Mr. Berggruen also serves on the board of directors of LAHIC and served on the board of directors of GLG Partners until January 2009. Mr. Berggruen obtained his B.S. in finance and international business from New York University." [1]

In January 2014 he teamed up with Arianna Huffington to launch World Post. [2]

Founder, Berggruen Institute

Arianna Huffington

2014 Jan In January 2014 it was reported that ... "Arianna Huffington [known in the UK mainly as Arianna Stassinopoulous] and the billionaire investor Nicolas Berggruen ... announced the launch of World Post, a comment and news website that looks set to become a platform for some of the most powerful people on the planet. Inevitably, the World Post will be launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this month. Many of its contributors including former British prime minister Tony Blair, Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Google’s Eric Schmidt are regulars at the annual jamboree for the world’s most connected people. Many are also advisers to the Berggruen Institute, the billionaire investor’s nonpartisan policy think tank."

Berggruen seems a big supporter of a united europe. he and micron.

Posted by: jfl | Jun 26 2017 20:26 utc | 28

@25, 'No civic mindedness, just every man for himself, even if hundreds die.'

applies to the tories in spades, doesn't it? at least their stuff is safe.

Posted by: jfl | Jun 26 2017 20:31 utc | 29

well said jfl

Interesting that Russia and Russia oriented media seem to have nothing to say about what is now a war between Syria and Israel. I wonder what the Putin admirers have to say about his love affair with Israel?

Posted by: paul | Jun 26 2017 20:36 utc | 30

'Think-tank'... in French: 'Casse-tête'... a game designed by some artificial intelligence in order to solve any smart problem, originally invented to make anyone think deeper. Some interactive hands-on manipulations are usually involved... possibly with currencies.

Posted by: kpax | Jun 26 2017 20:38 utc | 31

@22 piotr.. that is one reason i relate to isis who basically refer to such worship as worshiping idols essentially.. well, that is how i see it anyway...israel has become a religious fanatical nutjob society from my read... anyone with some liberal new agey type thinking like lgb or whatever - would be doomed if the fundemental whackjobs continue to rule the roost in israel... this is also why i see what an interesting fit israel is with saudi arabia and the born again neo con type nutjobbers in the usa... all a bunch of religious intolerant whackjobs by my read... walling wall - idolatry plane and simple... only materialists get caught up in this kind of crap as i see it.. their is nothing all that religious about any of it..

Posted by: james | Jun 26 2017 20:45 utc | 32

first time i have gotten this message while trying to view al-masdar website -
System Unavailable for You :-(

On behalf of the Al-Masdar News team, we are thankful for all the support we receive.

maybe the webserver is down..

Posted by: james | Jun 26 2017 20:56 utc | 33

@18 jfl

The Tory deal with Northern Ireland's SUP: George Galloway talking to Larry King likens these people to the Ku Klux Klan in this robust 4.5 min clip: Theresa May’s new allies ‘a kind of Ku Klux Klan’ – George Galloway

Hat tip to the Duran for this story. Link is to YouTube.

Posted by: Grieved | Jun 26 2017 21:23 utc | 34

@34 - of course that's supposed to be DUP. (Local politics, mind is full of Special Use Permit.)

Posted by: Grieved | Jun 26 2017 21:27 utc | 35

For those of you who - just like me - have never come across the name of Berggruen and think it's just another obscure think tank... I don't know how much of an impact their organization has, but their executives (Nicolas Berggruen, Craig Calhoun, Nathan Gardels) are also members of our beloved Council on Foreign Relations. Those guys are definitely on board.

Posted by: Scotch Bingeington | Jun 26 2017 21:30 utc | 36

"The first spinner toy was developed in Iraq around 2000 BC and Adam Smith copied many of his economic theories from Ibn Khaldun who had developed these 400 years before Smith plagiarized him."

And it was the jehudim that created the "best" spinning toy for children. (A religious toy called a Dreidel.) The "best" spinning toy was made of cast lead.

And for some reason the jewish state chose to call the mass murder of palestinian children in 2008–09 for Operation Cast Lead.

Why did they name the massacre of palestinian children after a toy for jewish children?

Posted by: Trond | Jun 26 2017 21:34 utc | 37

@ Cousin Jack | 2

Maybe 'Palais des Branleur'???

Posted by: et Al | Jun 26 2017 21:48 utc | 38

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/06/china-s-quantum-satellite-achieves-spooky-action-record-distance
Quantum entanglement—physics at its strangest—has moved out of this world and into space. In a study that shows China's growing mastery of both the quantum world and space science, a team of physicists reports that it sent eerily intertwined quantum particles from a satellite to ground stations separated by 1200 kilometers, smashing the previous world record. The result is a stepping stone to ultrasecure communication networks and, eventually, a space-based quantum internet....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_Experiments_at_Space_Scale#Analysis
QUESS lead scientist Pan Jianwei told Reuters that the project has "enormous prospects" in the defence sphere.[10] The satellite will provide secure communications between Beijing and Ürümqi, capital of Xinjiang, the remote western region of China.[10] The US Department of Defense believes China is aiming to achieve the capability to counter the use of enemy space technology.[10] Paramount leader Xi Jinping has prioritised China's space program, which has included anti-satellite missile tests, and the New York Times noted that quantum technology was a focus of the thirteenth five-year plan, which the China government set out earlier that year.[11] The Wall Street Journal said that the launch put China ahead of rivals, and brought them closer to "hack-proof communications".[12] Several outlets identified Edward Snowden's leak of US surveillance documents as an impetus for the development of QUESS, with Popular Science calling it "a satellite for the post-Snowden age".[8][13][14]

Posted by: Peter AU | Jun 26 2017 21:58 utc | 39

The Brits have launched their latest aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth. It cost £3.1 billion. It is supposed to carry 40 F-35Bs, so that is another £4 billion or so. The F-35Bs won't be available for ~3 years. So for ~10% (*) of its operational lifetime, it is not fit for purpose.

What is it all about? (other than maintaining MIC profit margins)

"Commanding officer Captain Jerry Kydd told BBC News that the ship was important for Britain's reputation as a naval power.

He said: "I think there are very few capabilities, by any country, that are as symbolic as a carrier strike capability. Submarines you can't see, but these are very visible symbols of power and power projection."

So there you have it. The Brits are blowing £7+ billion they don't have in order to maintain a symbol of power and for power projection.

The Navy also plugs the humanitarian disaster aspect. There is a piece of truth there. The UK Navy helped bring humantiarian disaster to Libya, with ISIS flags flying there within months. The Army and Air Force elements have done their bit to bring humanitarian disaster to east Ukraine, Syria and Yemen.

* - actually the Brits claim the thing will have a 50 year operational lifetime. That's a bit like them having a WW II vessel in active service today. I suspect the 50 year operational lifetime is an accounting trick to make the thing seem affordable.

Posted by: Anonymous | Jun 26 2017 21:59 utc | 40

If anyone needs confirmation that the Outlaw US Empire's Republican Party is the epitome of Evil, all one need do is follow their attempt to install what I'll term Death Care in place of the woefully inadequate Affordable Health Care Plan, otherwise known as Obamacare. Advocate Sister Simone is 100% correct to call the proposed Trumpcare Bill the opposite of their signature "Pro Life" talking point: "People will lose their lives if this bill becomes law," which is why I call it Death Care, https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/06/26/sister-simone-republicans-trumpcare-plan-opposite-pro-life

Posted by: karlof1 | Jun 26 2017 22:03 utc | 41

Sukhoi PAK FA T50 at 2017 airshow. Quite interesting a couple of minutes into the video. there may be other aircraft around but the Sukhoi's are the only ones I know of where maintaining airflow over the wings is no longer critical for control.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU1sG0bueeE

Posted by: Peter AU | Jun 26 2017 22:32 utc | 42

Mischi @ 25: Unfortunately for your rabid imagination, I have seen reports on other websites (such as wsws.org) that state that firefighters had been called to put out the fire caused by a fridge in Behailu Kebede's flat. They put out the fire in Kebede's flat and were actually leaving when firefighters outside the building saw flames travelling up the side (sides?) of Grenfell Tower and raised the alarm.

For his part, Kebede alerted as many of his neighbours as he could to leave their apartments. He is in emergency accommodation at present.

It's likely that faulty or suspect electrical wiring in the building, due partly to the substandard level of maintenance by its owners and managers, caused the initial refrigerator fire in Kebede's flat. What does his nationality or ethnic background have to do with the fire in the first place?

Posted by: Jen | Jun 26 2017 22:33 utc | 43

for the Putinistas:

https://youtu.be/Xb7wRp5x-Ug

With the parade in the Red Sqare this is pretty much it what's left from glorious Red Army and October revolution. The new regime in Moscow has embraced filthy liberalism and nationalism/religion. I sense they are ashamed of mentioning anything from its recent past. They rather talking about Alexander Nevski, Peter the Great, and the like shit.

Posted by: Chauncey Gardiner | Jun 26 2017 22:49 utc | 44

@44 Chauncey Gardiner

Putin is certainly not perfect and how far he is willing (or able) to go in opposing US/NATO dominance of the globe remains to be seen. HOWEVER...it is thanks to the Russian government's involvement in Syria that the Western behemoth has finally met with serious opposition it can't shock and awe out of existence.

The question is, does Putin realize the American government, regardless of who is POTUS du jour, absolutely cannot be trusted and waiting for reason to prevail in DC is a fool's errand? He still talks of "our American partners" as if he hopes they will eventually come to their senses and accept Russia as an equal partner on the world stage. Not going to happen. The US regime expects submission and nothing less. Even its "special friends" the UK and Canada let the United States dictate their foreign policy to them and offer little resistance to its economic bullying. The Canadians are especially adept at caving to US "trade" demands.

No self-respecting independent nation can ever become a US "ally" or "friend" because they are dealing with a nation that considers itself the master of the known universe. Do Putin and other leaders understand this? Regardless, ordinary people across the world understand perfectly and the era of US "hegemony" is over for good.

Posted by: Temporarily Sane | Jun 26 2017 23:32 utc | 45

@45 Temporarily Sane

Complicating things is America's cultural reach via Hollywood and consumer capitalism. Even people who despise US foreign policy use American products, likely on a daily basis, and many enjoy music, movies and other popular entertainment products (Twitter comes to mind...) originating in the US of A.

If the USA spontaneously combusts overnight, tomorrow is going to be a very quiet day indeed.

Posted by: Temporarily Sane | Jun 26 2017 23:42 utc | 46

TS @45--

Having read many Putin press conference transcripts, I can say he certainly knows the Outlaw US Empire is untrustworthy. Recently, it was made public that Russia considers the Outlaw US Empire to be incapable of honest negotiation and treaty making, and that it continually violates International and thus its own Domestic Laws. Yet, despite it all, "dialog" is still sought, as jaw-jaw is far better than war-war. Otherwise, your analysis is correct.

Posted by: karlof1 | Jun 26 2017 23:45 utc | 47

GW Bush nearly killed the R Party at the end of his reign. Voter self-identification as R was at an humiliatingly historical low.

Obama and the D Party would have simply needed to win over the public with ANYTHING that might have been beneficial to them after the chocks were removed for the market shorters to clean up trillions.

Again, O and Hillary have nearly destroyed the D Party after having had the opportunity to have crushed the R Party.

Same old song and dance.

Posted by: fast freddy | Jun 26 2017 23:49 utc | 48

@45 I tend to see the "our American partners" stuff as Russian humour. As for Chauncey the Spetsnatz probably have his number by now. It's 20 years in a filthy liberal gulag for him for insulting Alexander Nevski.

Posted by: dh | Jun 26 2017 23:51 utc | 49

@Temporarily Sane

Everything that you wrote stand as correct. It is not what I've addressed to. Putin/official Moscow, since they embrace filthy liberalism, would like to erase part of own history. They are now more capitalist and liberal than the West itself. They are proudly showing us its royalty as if it was heaven on earth. Quite contrary. Life of a peasant in the Czarist Russia was life of slave.

Posted by: Chauncey Gardiner | Jun 27 2017 0:04 utc | 50

"....it is thanks to the Russian government's involvement in Syria that the Western behemoth has finally met with serious opposition it can't shock and awe out of existence."

You know...before Russia has becomes what is today. "The western behemoth" did not dare to touch Syria, or Libya...just to mention two.

Posted by: Chauncey Gardiner | Jun 27 2017 0:09 utc | 51

@ToivoS, Ghostship, jfl

Thanks for your interesting thoughts on Uber.
Since it's cannibalizing the taxi industry, it's not 'the' corporations/ private capital but rather an infight of various factions among them. But the real crux is something else imo:

The platform economy of which Uber is the poster child offers undeniable efficiency advantages, and thus will succeed sooner or later - "it's the future". Entities whose business model is tied to the old system will keep fighting this paradigm change, but it's a battle they can't win, they're just playing Don Quijote to delay the inevitable a bit longer.

The real question is whether such platforms make sense in the shape of private/ capitalist corporations. As such, they either have to waste resources to make sure transactions pass through and benefit them, or they have to collect and sell users' data, a business model which is both unpopular and prone to legal hurdles or bans. Open, non-commercial platforms are much simpler to program, maintain and use, therefore much cheaper and ultimately more attractive to users.

So what does the future of platforms look like - Uber-style corporate data harvesting, or Wikipedia-style non-profit foundations?

Posted by: smuks | Jun 27 2017 0:18 utc | 52

Do I need to mention Moscow's flirting with fascist settler-state - the west colonial outpost? Do Russia need to nurture such relation with them? Of course not, ah yes both are democracies....

Posted by: Chauncey Gardiner | Jun 27 2017 0:20 utc | 53

@40, 'I think there are very few capabilities, by any country, that are as symbolic as a carrier strike capability ...'

not unlike the 'clad the towers' move, wherein its the appearance that counts, above all. tory gb used to be a naval power, has to keep up appearances ... as demonstrated at grenfell ... at any and all costs.

Posted by: jfl | Jun 27 2017 0:22 utc | 54

@53 You're in trouble Chauncey. You'll be sharing a cell with Pussy Riot.

Posted by: dh | Jun 27 2017 0:23 utc | 55

@smuks | Jun 26, 2017 8:18:41 PM | 52

you like to BS, do you?

Posted by: Chauncey Gardiner | Jun 27 2017 0:24 utc | 56

Yeah., I dunno, I could always kinda picture the one about Trump hiring a couple of Russian hookers to piss on a bed that he knew Barry'O once slept in at the Ritz Carlton Moscow... a refined taste, The Don's.

@Greived
The DUP are indeed crazies. Galloway is spot on here in his description. It's really an indictment on how depraved the Tories are, and for the many saying this coalition cant last: this is an unholy alliance, a match made in purgatory. It also says how much Blair gutted the Labour party, thankfully Labour has looked back into it's roots, reformed...and i laugh when i see the Tory reaction to the big airing Corbyn got at Glastonbury on BBC last weekend. Shitting in their boots.

Posted by: MadMax2 | Jun 27 2017 0:27 utc | 57

https://hbr.org/2017/06/uber-cant-be-fixed-its-time-for-regulators-to-shut-it-down

Regulator!? What is that?

Posted by: Chauncey Gardiner | Jun 27 2017 0:30 utc | 58

Jen, that is not what Kebede's neighbour says. She says he alerted her with his bags completed packed, and he immediately left the building. He is as responsible for the deaths of these people as the owners of the building and government officials who approved the materiel.

Posted by: mischi | Jun 27 2017 0:49 utc | 59

I HUMBLY REQUEST YOUR ATTENTION! THIS MAY BE VERY SIGNIFICANT!

/~~~~~~~~~~
Redneck Revolt -- What Is Redneck Revolt?
https://www.redneckrevolt.org/about

Redneck Revolt is a national network of community defense projects from a broad spread of political, religious, and cultural backgrounds. It is a pro-worker, anti-racist organization that focuses on working class liberation from the oppressive systems which dominate our lives. In states where it is legal to practice armed community defense, many branches choose to become John Brown Gun Clubs, training ourselves and our communities in defense and mutual aid.​

This project was founded in June 2016, by several members of previous similar community defense formations in Kansas and Colorado. We have 30+ vetted branches, united under our common goals as outlined in our principles, and organized through a collaboratively built national network.

WHAT IS REDNECK REVOLT?

The history of the term redneck is long and complex. One of the earliest recorded uses of the term comes from the 1890’s, and refers to rednecks as “poorer inhabitants of the rural districts…men who work in the field, as a matter of course, generally have their skin burned red by the sun, and especially is this true of the back of their necks”.

In 1921, the term became synonymous with armed insurrection against the state, as members of the United Mine Workers of America tied red bandanas around their necks during the Battle of Blair Mountain, a two week long armed labor uprising in the coalfields of West Virginia.

Today, the term redneck has taken on a demeaning connotation, primarily among upper class urban liberals who have gone out of their way to dehumanize working class and poor people. Terms like “white trash” and "hillbilly" have come to signify the view among these same upper class liberals of poor rural folks.

To us, the term redneck is a term that signifies a pride in our class as well as a pride in resistance to bosses, politicians, and all those that protect domination and tyranny.

It is with these conflicting histories in mind that Redneck Revolt hopes to incite a movement amongst working people that works toward the total liberation of all working people, regardless of skin color, religious background, sexuality, gender, nationality, or any other division that bosses and politicians have used to fragment movements for social, political, and economic freedom.

WHY THE TERM REDNECK?

White supremacy is a system of violence and power that ensures that political, economic, and social power is withheld from people who aren’t white.

White working class people have all benefited to a certain extent from the system of white supremacy that exists within the United States. However, this same system and our participation within it have also ensured that white working class people will stay poor and relatively powerless in this society.

The greatest threat to those that pull the political and economic strings in this society is a unified resistance movement among poor and working class people. The vast majority of those that live in the United States, have relatively no power over the decisions and conditions that affect our lives. The overwhelming majority of those that live in the U.S. are poor or working class. We are the ones that see our paychecks (if we happen to even get one) gutted, our pensions and benefits dry up, our communities destroyed by drug abuse and poverty related crimes, and our entire lives spent struggling to just survive.

WHY SHOULD WHITE FOLKS BE OPPOSED TO WHITE SUPREMACY?

If we, as working class people, want to see a reality of political, social, and economic freedom, REAL freedom for all people, then we must directly contribute to a struggle against all oppression, especially white supremacy.

The concept of community is very important to our goals and intentions, because it separates us from those who work only in defense of their immediate family, property, and possessions. We find that many movements that uphold the concept of liberty do so only in an individualist mindset, which undermines the idea that liberty is something that all people are entitled to. We strongly believe that the concept of liberty can not truly exist on an individual level alone, and that any class, race, or state construct that enslaves and oppresses anyone among us is a threat to the liberty of all of us. With that in mind, we use the term "community" intentionally to describe those who share the same material conditions with us; our neighbors, our family members, our friends, the people working alongside us. Most of us are only one bad emergency away from disaster; a sustained layoff, medical emergency, or death in the family could take away everything we've worked for. In those situations, the people we turn to for support often have as little as us, but understand better than anyone how tenuous and important our support network is. That is our community.

At moments that white working people have looked beyond their skin color and have worked alongside movements of poor and working class people of other races, the power of the ruling elite has become the most threatened. It is when the white working class has started to view itself in terms of class and not race, that liberation has waited just around the corner.

White supremacy is a system that white working people have helped protect, but it is also a tool against us all. Allegiance to a politics of white racism has allowed the rich to continue to hold onto power.

Our national network members come from a variety of ideological backgrounds - libertarians, humanists, anarchists, republicans, communists, and independents. In this project, political ideology is less important to us than our ability to agree on our organizing principles and work together. Many people nationwide have become politicized for the first time over the last several years, and are now seeking ways to get involved and protect vulnerable members of their community and keep them safe. We are ready to work with anyone who recognizes the urgency of building community defense networks to protect the most vulnerable among us, and can work and learn alongside us.
\~~~~~~~~~~

Contact Redneck Revolt:
https://www.redneckrevolt.org/contact

(Unfortunately they are using Google's Blogger platform, which is forcing their site to take about a minute to load.)

Via Shadowproof News:
https://shadowproof.com/2017/06/20/redneck-revolt-builds-anti-racist-anti-capitalist-movement-working-class-whites/

And MintPress News:
http://www.mintpressnews.com/redneck-revolt-builds-anti-racist-anti-capitalist-movement-with-working-class-whites/229127/

Shadowproof News and MintPress News are among the very few websites that report real news.

Posted by: blues | Jun 27 2017 0:56 utc | 60

#2 Voisin Jacques

Most French chars/tanks, especially those with any thinking ability, have a normal steering wheel, but only one direction and speed -

Reverse at TOP speed

Posted by: Quadriad | Jun 27 2017 1:03 utc | 61

Pussy riot, misunderstood and persecuted by the evil Putin.

Pussy Riot at a museum https://www.liveleak.com/view?i=a4d_1204458756
Pussy Riot at the supermarket https://www.liveleak.com/view?i=c58_1450377185

Posted by: Peter AU | Jun 27 2017 1:08 utc | 62

Of course, the default gear on a pense-char is a silent idle. That's for the initial keep calm & hide on in the deep maquis stage.

Posted by: Quadriad | Jun 27 2017 1:15 utc | 63

@42. PAK-50. Amazing. Does that have something to do with those configurable nozzles(for want of a better term)on the jets? I'm wonderin.

Posted by: ruralito | Jun 27 2017 1:17 utc | 64

@17 N'importe quoi

The problem with reading moas is that the local Maori apparently read too many of them back in the day. That's why there are no moas left.

Which comes as I recalled an episode of Asterix as a kid where the sujet was on the ancient fortune-tellers reading fish, birds, etc. Why not the biggest birds of them all then, and why'd Tangata Whenua be an exception?

Posted by: Quadriad | Jun 27 2017 1:19 utc | 65

#62 Pete Oz

I am normally on the opposite side of the philosophical spectral continuum from porn-bashers, but this could easily be the first time in my life that I was genuinely disgusted by adult human pornography.

Guys and gals, open Pete's links at your own mental peril.

Posted by: Quadriad | Jun 27 2017 1:26 utc | 66

64
Does that have something to do with those configurable nozzles. Yes. Worth watching a few of the short Sukhoi documentaries on youtube.
The US F22 is a nice aircraft, but the nozzles operate together and only in the vertical plane so still loses control at low or zero airspeed. Sukhoi nozzels have 360 degree movement and can operate independently. Gives total control at zero or even negative airspeed.

Posted by: Peter AU | Jun 27 2017 1:27 utc | 67

@66
Now imagine you took the kids to the museum.
Or went to a supermarket. To buy some chicken.
And witnessed that show there.

Posted by: hopehely | Jun 27 2017 1:32 utc | 68

@35 g, 'Local politics, mind is full of Special Use Permit'

An example of a special use permit may be found in a church applying for one to construct a church building in a residential neighborhood. Although the church building is not a residential building, the zoning law may allow for churches in the residential neighborhood if the local zoning authority may review the impact on the neighborhood. This process grants discretion to the local zoning authority to ensure that an acceptable land use does not disrupt the zoning scheme because of its particular location.

a church in a residential zone sounds ... well, maybe less threatening than a fracking injection well in an aquifer?

northern ireland remains england's own little west bank - settler colony - at home wherein they perfected settler colonialism, as practiced in the five eyes in north america and oceania ... and palestine. roxanne dunbar-ortiz tells the story ...

SETTLER COLONIALISM AND THE ULSTER-SCOTS

The core group of frontier settlers were the Ulster-Scots - the Scots-Irish, or “Scotch-Irish,” as they called themselves. [13] Usually the descendants of these Scots-Irish say their ancestors came to the British colonies from Ireland, but their journey was more circuitous than that. The Scots-Irish were Protestants from Scotland who were recruited by the British as settlers in the six counties of the province of Ulster in northern Ireland. The British had seized these half-million acres from Ireland in the early seventeenth century, driven the indigenous Irish farmers from it, and opened it to settlement under English protection. This coincided with the English plantation of two colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America and the beginning of settler colonialism there. These early settlers came mostly from the Scottish lowlands. Scotland itself, along with Wales, had preceded Ireland as colonial notches in the belt of English expansion. Britain’s colonization of Indigenous lands in North America was foreshadowed by its colonization of northern Ireland. By 1630 the new settlers in Ulster - 21,000 Britons, including some Welsh, and 150,000 Lowland Scots - were more numerous than British settlers in all of North America at the time. In 1641, the indigenous Irish rebelled and killed ten thousand of the settlers, yet Protestant Scots settlers continued to pour in. In some formerly Irish areas, they formed a majority of the population. They brought with them the covenant ideology of Calvinism that had been the work of the Scotsman John Knox. Later John Locke, also a Scot, would secularize the covenant idea into a “contract,” the social contract, whereby individuals sacrifice their liberty only through consent. An insidiously effective example, the US economic system, was based on Locke’s theories. [14]

So it was that the Ulster-Scots were already seasoned settler colonialists before they began to fill the ranks of settlers streaming toward the North American British colonies in the early eighteenth century, many of them as indentured servants. Before ever meeting Indigenous Americans, the Ulster settlers had perfected scalping for bounty, using the indigenous Irish as their victims. As this chapter and the following one show, the Scots-Irish were the foot soldiers of British empire building, and they and their descendants formed the shock troops of the “westward movement” in North America, the expansion of the US continental empire and the colonization of its inhabitants. As Calvinists (mostly Presbyterian), they added to and transformed the Calvinism of the earlier Puritan settlers into the unique ideology of the US settler class. [15]

In one of history’s great migrations, nearly a quarter-million Scots-Irish left Ulster for British North America between 1717 and 1775. Although a number left for religious reasons, the majority were losers in the struggle over Britain’s Irish policies, which brought economic ruin to Ireland’s wool and linen industries. Hard times were magnified by prolonged drought, and so the settlers pulled up stakes and moved across the Atlantic. This is a story that would repeat itself time and time again in settler treks across North America, the majority of migrants ending up landless losers in the Monopoly game of European settler colonialism.

The majority of Ulster-Scot settlers were cash-poor and had to indenture themselves to pay for their passage to North America. Once settled, they came to predominate as soldier-settlers. Most initially landed in Pennsylvania, but large numbers soon migrated to the southern colonies and to the backcountry, the British colonies’ western borders, where they squatted on unceded Indigenous lands. Among frontier settlers, Scots-Irish predominated among settlers of English and German descent. Although the majority remained landless and poor, some became merchants and owners of plantations worked by slaves, as well as politically powerful. Seventeen presidents of the United States have been of Ulster-Scots lineage, from Andrew Jackson, founder of the Democratic Party, to Ronald Reagan, the Bushes, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama on his mother’s side. Theodore Roosevelt characterized his Scots-Irish ancestors as

“a stern, virile, bold and hardy people who formed the kernel of that American stock who were the pioneers of our people in the march westwards.” [16]

Perhaps as influential as their being presidents, educators, and businessmen, the Scots-Irish engendered a strong set of individualist values that included the sanctity of glory in warfare. They made up the officer corps and were soldiers of the regular army, as well as the frontier-ranging militias that cleared areas for settlement by exterminating Indigenous farmers and destroying their towns.

[13] Phillips, Cousins’ Wars, 177–90.
[14] Akensen, God’s Peoples, 118.
[15] See Green, People with No Name.
[16] The presidents include:
1829–1837 Andrew Jackson
1845–1849 James K. Polk
1856–1861 James Buchanan
1865–1869 Andrew Johnson
1869–1877 Ulysses S. Grant
1881–1885 Chester A. Arthur
1885–1889 Grover Cleveland
1889–1893 Benjamin Harrison
1893–1897 Grover Cleveland
1897–1901 William McKinley
1901–1909 Theodore Roosevelt
1913–1921 Woodrow Wilson
1949–1953 Harry S. Truman
1969–1974 Richard M. Nixon
1977–1981 Jimmy Carter
1989–1993 George H. W. Bush
1993–2001 Bill Clinton
2001–2009 George W. Bush
2009–2017 Barack Obama

the irish have regained control of most of their homeland, may they regain it all, and may the palestinians do so in palestine and the indigenes of north america and oceania do so as well.

Posted by: jfl | Jun 27 2017 1:32 utc | 69

Perhaps Putin should indulge more in trash talk and soundbites to allow for the attention span and intellect of a western audience?

Putin on the "partners" and ISIS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbZDyr2LkdI

Putin on the partners and the strategic balance of power
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqD8lIdIMRo

Posted by: Peter AU | Jun 27 2017 1:35 utc | 70

@70 p au

i imagine you're joking, but in reality i think that putin and lavrov are raising expectations of the political class in the west, and casting the western political sideshow into the light in which it belongs ... along with pussy riot.

Posted by: jfl | Jun 27 2017 1:45 utc | 71

smuks @52 said Since it's cannibalizing the taxi industry, it's not 'the' corporations/ private capital but rather an infight of various factions among them.

That is incorrect. You should read Hubert Horan's articles (I posted the link to part 1 above) that have appeared in Naked Capitalism. There is no such thing as a national corporation that has traditionally controlled taxi services in the US. If you bother to read there is no such thing in this industry. Rather the Taxi business has been run by local (either city or county level) companies or independent operators (i.e. individuals that own a car and run their own "company" for tax purposes). In NY city and many other large cities in the US they need to have a medallion (big city regulations introduced the medallion about 60 years ago to control the number of cabs inside their cities).

What Uber has tried to do is create a national monopoly on this traditional operation of many small companies and individual operators. There is a small business tradition that involves people who run things like car repairs, restaurants, house and lawn cleaning, laundromats, and many other labor intensive operations that no national corporation model has replaced. Uber has just tried to do that with cab services and it is failing.

I realize that many here probably accept Lenin's admonition against permitting small businesses from being formed because they may grow into capitalist monopolies but that is not necessarily the case. The taxi industry is a good counter-example.

Posted by: ToivoS | Jun 27 2017 1:53 utc | 72

smuks @52 said Since it's cannibalizing the taxi industry, it's not 'the' corporations/ private capital but rather an infight of various factions among them.

That is incorrect. You should read Hubert Horan's articles (I posted the link to part 1 above) that have appeared in Naked Capitalism. There is no such thing as a national corporation that has traditionally controlled taxi services in the US. If you bother to read there is no such thing in this industry. Rather the Taxi business has been run by local (either city or county level) companies or independent operators (i.e. individuals that own a car and run their own "company" for tax purposes). In NY city and many other large cities in the US they need to have a medallion (big city regulations introduced the medallion about 60 years ago to control the number of cabs inside their cities).

What Uber has tried to do is create a national monopoly on this traditional operation of many small companies and individual operators. There is a small business tradition that involves people who run things like car repairs, restaurants, house and lawn cleaning, laundromats, and many other labor intensive operations that no national corporation model has replaced. Uber has just tried to do that with cab services and it is failing.

I realize that many here probably accept Lenin's admonition against permitting small businesses from being formed because they may grow into capitalist monopolies but that is not necessarily the case. The taxi industry is a good counter-example.

Posted by: ToivoS | Jun 27 2017 1:53 utc | 73

@52 smuks, 'Open, non-commercial platforms are much simpler to program, maintain and use, therefore much cheaper and ultimately more attractive to users'

well yeah, but the essence of uber - like google - is it's proprietary, globalized platform and its destruction of local laws regulating - taxis, in uber's case and just about everything having to do with privacy in google's. if local taxi drivers get together, meet qualifications and relevant safety laws, and setup their own 'platform' to interface with customers that'd be great for everyone.

uber is just the prototype of a scim operation ... like google, facebook, whatever ... uber is just directly parasitic on the providers of an actual service, arbitrarily eliminating regulation in the face of local governments, creating an unregulated, pirate environment. they are rogues, pirates, extortionists. as google says ... 'Payments will drive consumption — and not the other way round'.

Posted by: jfl | Jun 27 2017 2:06 utc | 74

A contemporary real economist who knows all about Ibn Khaldun. "The best economist in the world" - Paul Craig Roberts

Over to you Michael Hudson....

Revolts of the Debtors: From Socrates to Ibn Khaldun
https://www.counterpunch.org/2016/06/24/revolts-of-the-debtors-from-socrates-to-ibn-khaldun/

Posted by: Seby | Jun 27 2017 2:15 utc | 75

If you feel you would like to consider the opposing position to global warming, you might expose your mind to MIT professor Dr Richard Lindzen. He was a lead author of Chapter 7, "Physical Climate Processes and Feedbacks," of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Third Assessment Report on climate change.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orRNYPAo6qQ
Whether you are willing to draw conclusions or not, I guarantee that you will learn various items new and startling.

Posted by: Penelope | Jun 27 2017 2:20 utc | 76

Blues @ 60, I have found that rednecks are often more knowlegable than more "educated" people. This appears to be a consequence merely of their avoidance of much propaganda. They also seem often to recognize that certain media stories may be lies. It's an interesting phenomenon.

Posted by: Penelope | Jun 27 2017 2:27 utc | 77

FYI
https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/06/26/hershs-big-scoop-bad-intel-behind-trumps-syria-attack/

Hersh’s Big Scoop: Bad Intel Behind Trump’s Syria Attack
by Ray McGovern

....As of this writing, there is no sign in “mainstream media” of any reporting on Hersh’s groundbreaking piece. It is a commentary on the conformist nature of today’s Western media that an alternative analysis challenging the conventional wisdom – even when produced by a prominent journalist like Sy Hersh – faces such trouble finding a place to publish.

The mainstream hatred of Assad and Putin has reached such extraordinary levels that pretty much anything can be said or written about them with few if any politicians or journalists daring to express doubts regardless of how shaky the evidence is.....

The MSM has taken the position that pretty much whatever Trump says is untrue or at least deserving of intense fact-checking. But the MSM also believes whatever attacks on Assad that the Syrian “activists” post on social media are true and disbelieves whatever Putin says. So, this was a tug-of-war on which prejudices were stronger – and it turned out that the antipathy toward Syria and Russia is more powerful than the distrust of Trump.......

Posted by: michaelj72 | Jun 27 2017 2:29 utc | 78

@73 ts, 'many here probably accept Lenin's admonition against permitting small businesses from being formed because they may grow into capitalist monopolies'

as someone pretty ignorant of lenin and lenin's dictums i imagine he must have had some reasonable ones ... he must have done something right? or was he just a thug? just 'who' was going to prevent small businesses' being formed? the dictator of the proletariat, i suppose?

i think the problem with 'socialism' was/is the jacobins who run it.

The term “Jacobin” has ended up by taking on two meanings : there is the literal meaning, characterised historically, of a particular party in the French Revolution, which conceived of the development of French life in a particular way, with a particular programme, on the basis of particular social forces ; and there are also the particular methods of party and government activity which they displayed, characterised by extreme energy, decisiveness and resolution, dependent on a fanatical belief in the virtue of that programme and those methods. In political language the two aspects of Jacobinism were split, and the term “Jacobin” came to be used for a politician who was energetic, resolute and fanatical, because fanatically convinced of the thaumaturgical virtues of his ideas, whatever they might be.

-- antonio gramsci, selections from the prison notebooks, chapter 3, notes on italian history p. 66

i'm certainly no authority on communist thought, but my conception of jacobins seems shared by gramsci. i know 'many here' are of an age ... like country joe mcdonald ... to 'remember' the 'good ole days' ... but many of us have reflected on them since then, i imagine. no longer are we so convinced of the thaumaturgical virtues of our ideas. these days its the wahabists who are convinced of the thaumaturgical virtues of their ideas. they too have their 'platform' to globalize, not wholly different than what uber was working. beware the folks with the 'platforms' ... fanatically convinced of the thaumaturgical virtues of their ideas ... no matter what it is they seem to be selling.

Posted by: jfl | Jun 27 2017 2:34 utc | 79

PeterAu#62
Pussyriot @ the think tank... leaving behind too many fingerprints and the occasional unidentified... smudges while under pressure.
No link required.

Posted by: Kpax | Jun 27 2017 2:49 utc | 80

Well, this didn't take long. A day after the Seymour Hersh article is published in Germany, here we go:

""The United States has identified potential preparations for another chemical weapons attack by the Assad regime that would likely result in the mass murder of civilians, including innocent children," Spicer said in the statement. "The activities are similar to preparations the regime made before its April 4, 2017 chemical weapons attack.

"As we have previously stated, the United States is in Syria to eliminate the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria," he continued. "If, however, Mr. Assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons, he and his military will pay a heavy price."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/06/26/white-house-says-syrias-assad-preparing-another-chemical-attack-warns-of-heavy-penalty/?utm_term=.38f06bd4ad0e

Posted by: daffyDuct | Jun 27 2017 2:50 utc | 81

=>> ToivoS | Jun 26, 2017 9:53:07 PM | 73

As a younger individual, I drove taxi for several "companies". They are maybe 80% mafia. If you own a taxi company, you possess the perfect delivery system for exotic substances.

But yeah, in some sense they are monopoly-free. And all the smart money says that Uber is a virtual Ponzi scheme that will fail soon.

Be that as whatever, the "Naked Capitalism" website is an owned-and-operated by Democtrat Party website. Just another little big Dem tent where vigorous arguments are provided a rigidly circumscribed space.

I don't go there.

Posted by: blues | Jun 27 2017 2:51 utc | 82

Saudi Prince Reveals ‘US Conditions’ for Mohamed Bin Salman to be King

Saudi Prince Khalid Bin Farhan al-Saud, who lives in Germany, has revealed what he claims are the US conditions for helping Mohamed Bin Salman to become King of Saudi Arabia before his father’s death

The alleged conditions include “absolute obedience to the US and Israel and carrying out whatever they ask him to do;”

“Working to settle all Gaza residents in north Sinai as an alternative homeland and Saudi Arabia along with the UAE will afford the needed funds; getting rid of Hamas and whoever supports it;”

and getting Sanafir Island from Egypt

Posted by: Thirsy | Jun 27 2017 2:55 utc | 83

@76 pen @78 michael

these two posts ought to 'synergize' with one another. i think the odor of the anti-global warning position might be improved by a comparison of the anti-assad/anti-putin consensus (does it exist outside the media? i have no way of knowing) with the global-warming consensus ... tackle the downside of 'surety' rather than push this or that naysayer head on. maybe just a pointer to alternative arguments while emphasizing the dangers of 'throwing in with the crowd'. i, personally, believe i see anthropogenic effects in every corner of our biosphere, i hope that the 'climate forecast' is somehow too dire, i hope that other arguments - such as that the death, devastation, and destruction in the middle east, and north africa, and where next? arise from the dominance of our civilization by fossil-fuels or petrocarbons - can help to rein in (eliminate) their use and with it rein in the subsequent destruction they cause along all fronts of human-human and human-planet interaction.

Posted by: jfl | Jun 27 2017 2:57 utc | 84

@78 michaelj72

MSM answer to Hersh's piece:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_UNITED_STATES_SYRIA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2017-06-26-22-03-04

Dejavu, all over again...

Posted by: insanity | Jun 27 2017 3:03 utc | 85

Brazil's current President Michel Temer - assumed power after ousting former President Dilma Rousseff in a 'soft' coup that was tearing Brazil apart - and represented the return of neoliberal vampires to Brazil is now finally formally charged with corruption

In a filing with the Supreme Court, Prosecutor General Rodrigo Janot accused Temer of receiving a 500,000-real (about $150,000) bribe from the boss of a meatpacking company implicated in a corruption scandal.

Posted by: Thirsty | Jun 27 2017 3:07 utc | 86

I recall many saying 15 years ago that loss-making Amazon selling books online was doomed. Their losses grew as they launched sales of other categories. Amazon has now become enormous and has transformed consumer commerce.

Uber may not make it as a company. If they fail, their shareholders, all private entities lose their capital. No taxpayer funds were lost, unlike Solyndra, that Obama played venture capitalist with taxpayer's money. How much taxpayer money has similarly gone down the drain "greenwashing"?

Uber has importantly demonstrated, that consumers like ride-hailing services. Do you guys realize the number of rides a day that Uber, Lyft, Didi, Ola, Grab, etc provide? The scale is impressive!

We will see a similar transformation over the next 15 years in mobility as a service, as Autonomous (driver-assist) electric vehicles provide rides on-demand. Why bother haggling with a car dealer and driving in traffic and paying insurance on a vehicle that is on the road on average 10% of the time?

The big auto manufacturers are all going to get on the bandwagon in some shape or form.

https://www.usnews.com/news/technology/articles/2017-06-22/nissan-plans-driverless-ride-hailing-service-to-beat-off-startup-competition

Similarly, the hotel industry has whined as room-sharing services grow. Why do they grow? Because travelers who rent rooms like it.

BTW, what happened to all the Peak Oil doomsday cultists? Many would write mangum opuses on MoA on how it was irrefutable that the world would collapse as oil prices skyrocketed. Go and check the MoA archives. Fun reading all those writing with such certitude.

Posted by: ab initio | Jun 27 2017 3:07 utc | 87

Posted by: daffyDuct | Jun 26, 2017 10:50:15 PM | 81
"As we have previously stated, the United States is in Syria to eliminate the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria," he continued. "If, however, Mr. Assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons, he and his military will pay a heavy price."

Russian submarine Yuri Dolgorukiy conducted today a successful test of ICBM Bulava. The missile was launched from underwater in Barents Sea and hit the target in Kamchatka.

Posted by: hopehely | Jun 27 2017 3:10 utc | 88

=>> ab initio | Jun 26, 2017 11:07:36 PM | 87

Well Uber et al. will soon be famous for drugs, sex, and ultra-violence -- and deep-learning- death-driving. And deep investor loss. And Airbnb et al. will be known for paid admission apartment wrecking rave parties. And yes Peak Oil happened in Texas in 1971, and is happening in Saudi Arabia right now. Plus Amazon just stupidly bought Whole (Paycheck) Foods.

It's all falling apart. Almost as many gimmicks as the Federal Reserve. Step right up! You can't win if you don't play. (And, of course, pay.)

Posted by: blues | Jun 27 2017 3:31 utc | 89

This looks to be the official whitehouse statement on Syria/chemical weapons. Must be getting pissed off about getting lit up by the Russian SAM systems.
https://twitter.com/PressSec

Posted by: Peter AU | Jun 27 2017 3:43 utc | 90

Assad has purchased lots of old charred oak barrels from Jack Daniels Distilleries which were originally wine casks from France. With one eyebrow cocked, he's been seen stroking them lately. A housekeeper said that she's heard him murmuring in his sleep, the Syrian word for chemicals.

Posted by: fast freddy | Jun 27 2017 3:47 utc | 91

#44 Putin's cold shower

Looks like the last few years of Global Warming keeps reliably delivering on some of the coldest, sh*ttiest weather imaginable for the time of the year.

Posted by: Quadriad | Jun 27 2017 4:01 utc | 92

Yesterday I wrote that I wished I shared b's optimism about developments in Syria, but noted that the neo-cons don't quit and that we are only one false flag chemical attack away from a full invasion and overthrow. Well, here we go:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40413563

Posted by: qualtrough | Jun 27 2017 4:02 utc | 93

One never knows exactly when the dogs of war are released.
Standby for a chemical weapons attack which will be blamed on Assad. White helmets and CIA aligned AL-qaeda groups will kill many and blame Assad. Israel is pulling out all stops to get Trump to engage in Syria and Iran.

Posted by: col | Jun 27 2017 4:04 utc | 94

An article at RT published shortly before the whitehouse/Spicer announcement

https://www.rt.com/news/394192-lavrov-nusra-double-standards/
Russian FM Sergey Lavrov has accused the US-led anti-terrorist coalition of being reluctant to bomb positions of the former Al-Nusra Front in Syria, and has urged them to ditch "double standards" for the sake of an “uncompromising” fight against terrorism....

...In a recent phone conversation held between Lavrov and his US counterpart, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, at the latter’s initiative, the Russian official emphasized the importance of preventing provocations against the Syrian armed forces battling terrorists and urged the US to step up its fight against jihadists in Syria.

Moscow has been increasingly critical of Washington’s conduct in Syria since the US bombed the Shayrat Air Base in response to an alleged chemical attack in Syria's Idlib province. During talks between Lavrov and Tillerson in Moscow, the Russian foreign minister said that they had agreed that an "highly provocative" incident similar to the US airstrike "should not happen again."...

Posted by: Peter AU | Jun 27 2017 4:06 utc | 95

With regards to peak oil:

Didn't Russia just discover a massive deposit? I believe we here in the stated have discovered two recently: one in Alaska is largest offshore find in 30 years and Texas discovery has potential for 20bn barrels. I don't know. I think that is enough to get is through the duration, especially as oil consumption continues to decline and emerging middle classes in India and China are stuck huffing it and taking mass transit. Dumbasses. My Hummer h2 loves $2.25/gallon. Chug chug chug.

Interestingly enough, there was a documentary a few years ago called "Collapse" that was a long interview featuring the man who helped coin the theory of Peak Oil. The movie evolved into an intimate portrayal of a man who was looking for "the end" down many avenues. There are a lot of people like him wandering the states, today. Indeed, we all carry a piece of that inside of us, I believe, and it is wise to keep it under control.

Posted by: NemesisCalling | Jun 27 2017 4:27 utc | 96

apparently msm printed that the US is warning Syria about planning chemical weapons attack. now why would Assad do so? Logic says Assad won't. Assad knows the world would be pissed, and retribution would follow; Assad is winning so why now; chemical weapons are difficult to use bc must have right weather conditions so ordinary weapons would be more effective. I see this as a US pretext to get out of their trap and bomb their way out so they can have Eastern Syria.

Posted by: Toxik | Jun 27 2017 4:28 utc | 97

blue @82 said "Naked Capitalism" website is an owned-and-operated by Democtrat Party website.

You could not be more wrong. Obviously you have not read it at least in the last two years.

Posted by: ToivoS | Jun 27 2017 4:28 utc | 98

@97 tox, 'US is warning Syria about planning chemical weapons attack. now why would Assad do so? Logic says Assad won't. Assad knows the world would be pissed, and retribution would follow; Assad is winning so why now; chemical weapons are difficult to use bc must have right weather conditions so ordinary weapons would be more effective...'

the mirror image of your observation ...

'US is warning Syria about planning chemical weapons attack. now why would the US do so? Logic says Assad won't. Assad knows the world would be pissed, and retribution would follow; Assad is winning so why now; chemical weapons are difficult to use bc must have right weather conditions so ordinary weapons would be more effective ...'

i see this as the US 'justifying' in advance another of its series of illegal aggressive attacks against the syrian government based on false premises, the extension of US lies and aggressions begun with Iraq in 2003 - if not with Afghanistan in 2001.

i hope that the hersh article gets more widespread exposure, quickly.

Posted by: jfl | Jun 27 2017 4:53 utc | 99

@81 daffyDuct.. the fact they are running that up the flag pole in advance is indeed scary... looks like the west is set to run another false chemical attack flag up the pole..

@90 peter au.. the fuckers haven't proven any of them, or substantiated any of the previous ones in any manner, but they insist on pinning the blame for previous ones on assad... meanwhile they suppress the article out via hersh in the german sunday paper on this topic of use of chemical weapons by isis in iraq... these fuckers are a determined evil bunch..

@94 col.. yep...

@97 toxik... it makes no sense, unless one recognizes all the lies and bullshit, not to mention al tanf and etc are being set up for a showdown over more of the same lies and deception the west has become known for - all leading to murder and mayhem on innocent people.. thanks usa for being the warmonger everyone knows you for..

Posted by: james | Jun 27 2017 5:02 utc | 100