@1 woogs…. i appreciated the history lesson from debs is dead on the other thread… from wikipedia “During the Spanish–American War, the United States captured Guam on June 21, 1898. Under the Treaty of Paris, Spain ceded Guam to the United States on December 10, 1898.”
pawns on a chess board… the usa has it’s tentacles all over the globe… military might makes right apparently… sure looks like one big monopoly board where the ones at the center of the ponzi scheme reap the pillage, while the planet continues to suffer by and large…
must keep the economy jumped up on war, and the threat of war..nothing serves the interests of the financial and military industry, not to mention the oil industry nearly as well… feeding people and helping one another out? fuck that shit…

Posted by: james | Aug 11 2017 18:42 utc | 3

i see pat had another one of his minor tantrums, lol…

Posted by: james | Aug 11 2017 18:43 utc | 5

The Russiagate Conspiracy Theory Is Crumbling
http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/russiagate-conspiracy-theory-crumbling/ri20660

Posted by: Anoui | Aug 11 2017 19:13 utc | 7

@james #5
The high regard which Col Pat Mustard is held by many here is, as I said earlier on another thread, a complete mystery to me.
Heres his latest “analysis”

 1- The judgment that North Korea now possesses miniaturized nuclear weapons is now a US IC consensus judgment.  Anyone who thinks that CIA likes agreeing with ANY DIA judgment knows nothing of the US intelligence community.
2.  The hypocrisy  of many of the comments on SST concerning this crisis is surprising to me even after 12 years of this,  The absurdity of thinking that all states are equal in weight and responsibility in the world is just foolish and ahistorical.   The deep anti-Americanism of many in the commentariat on SST is sad.  It is especially sad in being expressed by people whose countries have long been the beneficiaries of US protection.  It should be acceptable to the US that North Korea should “demonstrate” the ability to deliver a nuclear weapon to Guam?  How absurd!  Would those who think that so be accepting if the North Koreans demonstrated the same ability to deliver a warhead  into the English Channel, the North Sea or off the coast of British Columbia?
3.  I think not.  The countries so threatened would run to NATO and beg for US protection. 
4.  Ah, I forgot, the evilness of the US justifies anything.  pl

The man is clearly a bit of an idiot if he expects anyone but a fellow 2nd rate retard to swallow that nonsensical train of alleged “logic” whereby he arrives at the conclusion that NK poses a real viable threat to the US, one the actually needs to be military reacted to asap.
Basically the idiot is saying that because CIA agree with DIA on these mini-nuke claims, is cast iron proof of the veracity of those claims.
Why?
Cos CIA never agrees with DIA, therefore when they do it must be true!
Utterly retarded circular “reasoning”.
How Lang is viewed with anything other than complete derision is a mystery

Posted by: Just Sayin’ | Aug 11 2017 20:47 utc | 9

WTF IS A “PREEMPTIVE STRIKE” ON NORTH KOREA?
CNN speculates on nuclear war:

The last resort: How a US strike on North Korea could play out – Zachary Cohen, August 11, 2017
Washington (CNN) It’s the no-win situation that can only be imagined by US military officials tasked with preparing for a worst-case scenario — conducting a preemptive strike on North Korea.

But what is this supposed “preemptive strike on North Korea?”
1) A nuclear or conventional strike to destroy North Korea’s nuclear deterrence?
Wikipedia defines a “pre-emptive nuclear strike” as follows:

In nuclear strategy, a first strike is a preemptive surprise attack employing overwhelming force. First strike capability is a country’s ability to defeat another nuclear power by destroying its arsenal to the point where the attacking country can survive the weakened retaliation while the opposing side is left unable to continue war. The preferred methodology is to attack the opponent’s strategic nuclear weapon facilities (missile silos, submarine bases, bomber airfields), command and control sites, and storage depots first.

This is highly unlikely, as North Korea’s nuclear missiles are all mobile. It would be impossible to know the location each and every launcher before the strike. Making missiles mobile is the normal anti-first-strike countermeasure, as it allows North Korea to launch a retaliatory “countervalue” second-strike.
2) Attack North Korean defenses?
This is not a pre-emptive or even preventative strike, as it is not targeted at North Korean offensive capabilities. The only purpose of such a strike can be escalation. Either a) it is a start of a long campaign that ends is a full land invasion of North Korea, similar to the US actions against Iraq from 1990 to 2003, or b) the planners of the operation hope for a North Korean retaliation that will allow the US to respond with even greater aggression.
This is exactly what is planned, at least according to the CNN article:

The operation would likely include several strategies aimed to neutralize North Korea’s defensive and counterstrike capabilities.
Countering North Korea’s relatively formidable surface-to-air missile defense capabilities, stealth American F-22s, F-35s and B-2 bombers would likely lead a joint air campaign with the help of Japanese and South Korean F-15 or F-16 fighters, he said.

There are a three ways North Korea can respond to an US attack:
1) Demonstrate and test its nuclear deterrence. The first step might be a test of North Korea’s alleged thermonuclear warhead at full fission-fusion-fission power. This might for example take the form of launching a fully armed ICBM at some designated test area near the Antarctic.
2) Launch attacks at “soft” targets. This might include nuclear strikes at US allies that participate in the US attacks on North Korea or who allow the US to launch attacks at North Korea from their territory.
3) Nuclear strike at US military bases.
The exact form of retaliation will depend on the size of the US attack. a “symbolic” attack will generate a symbolic response.

Posted by: Petri Krohn | Aug 11 2017 21:00 utc | 11

https://www.n2yo.com/satellite/?s=41332
KMS-4 (Kwangmyongsong-4 meaning Bright Star-4 or Lodestar-4 in Korean) is an earth observation satellite launched by North Korea on 7 February 2016. The launch happened after North Korea conducted a nuclear test on 6 January 2016.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-satelitte-missiledefense-idUSKCN0VJ2PD
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A satellite put into orbit by North Korea at the weekend does not appear to be transmitting, but it is worrying that the rocket that took it there delivered twice the payload of Pyongyang’s previous launch, the head of the U.S. Army’s Missile Defense Command said on Wednesday.
https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Baker-Statement-5-13-EMP.pdf
Misconception C: Megaton-class nuclear weapons are required to cause serious EMP
effects. “Entry-level,” kiloton-class weapons will not produce serious effects.
Due to a limiting atmospheric saturation effect in the EMP generation process, low
yield weapons produce peak E1 fields of the same order of magnitude as large yield
weapons if they are detonated at altitudes in the 50-80 km range. The advantage of high
yield weapons is that their field on the ground is attenuated less significantly at larger
heights of burst (that expose larger areas of the Earth’s surface.
Nominal weapons with yields ranging from 3
kilotons to 3 megatons (a 3 order of magnitude difference in yield), exhibit a range of peak
E1 fields on the ground with only a factor of 3 difference, i.e. 15kV/meter vs. 50 kV/meter.
Although E3 fields vs. yield and height of burst are not illustrated above, a 30 kiloton
nuclear weapon detonated above 100 km can cause magnetic field disturbances as large as
solar superstorms, although over smaller regions.
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/7301-400-chernobyls-solar-flares-electromagnetic-pulses-and-nuclear-armageddon
A “successful” EMP attack launched against the US would most likely result in the immediate collapse of the grid across roughly 50 percent of the country, a stock market crash and critical failures in many affected areas’ electronic systems that control nuclear reactors, chemical plants, telecommunications systems and industrial processes. These systems include programmable logic controllers (PLC), digital control systems (DCS), and supervisory control and data acquisition systems (SCADA).
A powerful EMP from a sub-orbital nuclear detonation would cause extreme electromagnetic effects, starting with an initial, short-duration, “speed of light” pulse, referred to as an “E1” effect, followed by a middle-duration pulse called an “E2” effect, followed by a longer-duration disturbance known as an “E3” effect. The “E1” effect lasts a few nanoseconds and is similar to massive discharges of electrostatic sparks, which are particularly damaging to digital microelectronic chips used in most modern electronic equipment.
Nuclear power plants are designed to disconnect automatically from the grid in the event of a local power failure or major grid anomaly; once disconnected, they begin the process of shutting down the reactor’s core.
Since spent fuel ponds typically hold far greater quantities of highly radioactive material then the active nuclear reactors locked inside reinforced containment vessels, they clearly present far greater potential for the catastrophic spread of highly radioactive contaminants over huge swaths of land, polluting the environment for multiple generations. A study by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) determined that the “boil down time” for spent fuel rod containment ponds runs from between 4 and 22 days after loss of cooling system power before degenerating into a Fukushima-like situation, depending upon the type of nuclear reactor and how recently its latest batch of fuel rods had been decommissioned.

Posted by: Perimetr | Aug 11 2017 21:09 utc | 13

Defence stocks surge to all-time high
———–
I see the resident nuke-head cricle-jerkers are still furiously jerking it, above

Posted by: Just Sayin’ | Aug 11 2017 21:16 utc | 15

Why do people say that a conclusion or inference they disagree with is ‘sad’?
Sometimes truths sadden us the worst, for the very reason they are true.

Posted by: Charles R | Aug 11 2017 22:52 utc | 17

I was obliquely critical about Col. Pat here about six months ago, and this got somebody mad about it. I really think that the Col. has the kind of patriotic approach that used to be much more prevalent 50 years ago. It has taken me about 2/3rds of my life to come “out of orbit” from such a patriotic approach. It’s a bit shocking to encounter such an individual today. I guess there are still some who did not make the painful journey that I did. It’s hard for me to understand at this point.

Posted by: blues | Aug 11 2017 23:17 utc | 19

@16
Col Pat Mustard doesn’t brook any dissent whatsoever, from the little I have seen of his “work”. That speaks more to his obvious small mindedness and insecurity than anything else. .
This is hardly surprising in an individual so obviously ill- accustomed to producing anything remotely resembling an original thought, let alone enlightening analysis
Calling him 2nd rate is probably something of a compliment, in truth

Posted by: Just Sayin’ | Aug 11 2017 23:25 utc | 21

I have yet to see any mention, in the American corporate media, of this fact:
http://zeenews.india.com/world/us-rejects-chinese-proposal-to-reduce-tension-with-north-korea_1984772.html
Leads one to believe the U$A has no intention of dialog, they want confrontation. Morons..

Posted by: ben | Aug 12 2017 0:07 utc | 23

us state dept daily press briefing from yesterday – mostly all on north korea..
https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2017/08/273325.htm

Posted by: james | Aug 12 2017 0:50 utc | 25

As if any more evidence was required proving the Democrat Party corrupt beyond corrupt, more is now revealed from the lawsuit filed in July 2016 in Florida alleging civil fraud. The linked article lays it all out quite well:
“The DNC charter is fairly explicit. Article V, Section 4 says: ‘In the conduct and management of the affairs and procedures of the Democratic National Committee, particularly as they apply to the preparation and conduct of the Presidential nomination process, the Chairperson shall exercise impartiality and evenhandedness as between the Presidential candidates and campaigns.’
“The charter goes on to state: ‘The Chairperson shall be responsible for ensuring that the national officers and staff of the Democratic National Committee maintain impartiality and evenhandedness during the Democratic Party Presidential nominating process.’
“DNC emails that reached the public a year ago show direct and purposeful violations of those DNC rules.”
At the trial:
“When compelled to respond at a hearing in U.S. District Court in southern Florida on April 25, the DNC’s legal team came up with a revealing defense — claiming that the DNC has a right to be unfair during the presidential nominating process.”
DNC Charter be damned it seems. https://consortiumnews.com/2017/08/11/lawsuit-challenges-dnc-anti-sanders-bias/

Posted by: karlof1 | Aug 12 2017 2:03 utc | 27

I get the impression too many links in a post can sandbox it, so I’ll add add this last paragraph seprately.
More on Korea. Some may be unimpressed with Alexander Mercouris, but I find he does an excellent job of marshaling facts, concepts, timelines and likelihoods, and with a lawyer’s precision. He’s a useful place to keep abreast of developments, plots and theories. He has a nice backgrounder today on NK and China as the “Unhappiest of Allies“, as well as a stab at trying to figure what the hell Trump thinks he’s about, and also the latest news (from AP) that the US and NK are already talking in a back channel at the UN.
All in all, all seems well with the North Korean “crisis that roared”.

Posted by: Grieved | Aug 12 2017 2:11 utc | 29

james @ 24: I heard today they are in ” back channel ” talks, if true, it’s a step in the right direction, however, still no mention of any kind of talks in the U$ corporate media.
Thanks..

Posted by: ben | Aug 12 2017 3:05 utc | 31

This article is from May of this yr., but, still highly relevant..
http://www.globalresearch.ca/what-the-corporate-media-never-tells-you-about-north-korea/5587728
An excerpt:
“Do you know that North Korea has repeatedly asked the US to engage in bilateral talks, to cool off the ever-escalating tension? The offer was flatly rejected by both Obama and Trump.”

Posted by: ben | Aug 12 2017 3:17 utc | 33

Grieved@29 – The only thing I disagree with in Mercouris’ Korean articles on TheDuran is how he interprets the supposed plans by North Korea to fire missiles near Guam. In BREAKING: China says it will defend North Korea in event of US invasion, he paraphrases one part of the Global Times statement of a Chinese response as:

“…In other words if North Korea is so stupid as to launch an unprovoked attack on the US – which in this context probably covers the wild and reckless North Korean threat to launch a missile demonstration against Guam – it is on its own…”

I’m kind of surprised he is so quick to consider the North Korean missile ‘demonstration’ or whatever it is as an unprovoked attack on the US. Guam’s territorial waters extend 20 km off it’s shores. 30 – 40 km puts the missiles well into international waters. Provocative and ill-advised? Sure. But a lawyer would be the first to point out that it’s not an attack on US or Guam ‘soil’ and it’s not even in Guam territorial waters. What if North Korea said 100 km off of Guam? Or 1000 km? At what point is near Guam not Guam? International convention says beyond 12 miles or 20 km is no longer Guam territory. As long as North Korea doesn’t go fishing 40 km away (not sure how far the economic zone goes) then North Korean military live-fire exercises are legal.
This is not a trivial question. We already know the US will consider any missile aimed within, probably, hundreds of km of Guam an attack. But will China necessarily have the same opinion?
Say unarmed missiles are actually launched (which is far from certain) and they land 100 km away from Guam. China will condemn the action, but they MIGHT say it was too far to be considered anything but a provocation and cannot be considered an ‘attack’ on the US. I know the US will think otherwise, but the US opinion is immaterial here. It only matters what China thinks about a US response. If they think a US counter-strike is over-reacting and unjustified, then they might intervene militarily to prevent the US from doing anything against North Korea.
Plenty of if’s and but’s here based on less-than-official statements, but there may be some rationale to North Korea’s actions. It begs the question of who gets to judge which acts of provocation by either side cross the line into being considered the equivalent of an actual attack. The latest round of squawking came about because the US conducted simulated B-1B attacks on North Korea just outside it’s borders. Legal and the US announced the exercise beforehand. North Korea missile ‘demonstration’? Legal as far as I can tell and North Korea announced (kind of) that they had no intention of actually striking Guam. The US objection will be based on our general demand (and UN insistence) that North Korea stop conducting missile tests.
I’m certainly not advocating a North Korean demonstration, but the US might be kind of screwed here. It may – at least in the eyes of China – not automatically be a green light for the US to attack. We may, alternatively, just lob a few cruise missiles into North Korea to punish them without invading. That will undoubtedly draw some kind of military response by them, which will quickly spiral out of control. China WILL be forced to intervene at that point, and it won’t be to help the US.

Posted by: PavewayIV | Aug 12 2017 4:46 utc | 35

Tensions on the Korean peninsula could at any given time completely be relieved if the biggest purveyor of war aggression of the current time would simply respect international law, stop provocations and went home. Through economic warfare and sedition it has devastated countless of countries with their only crime of wanting some independence, Venezuela again the victim now as we speak. Militarily countless of other countries have been bombed and destroyed, the most recent examples Libya and Syria. The US has no business in Asia. Everyone knows that the war simulations are provocations that at any moment can mutate in actual attacks and are intended to elicit certain reactions from the threatened sovereign nation. The escalations the US is trying to provoke are in reality directed against China whose economic clout is surpassing that of the US.

Posted by: xor | Aug 12 2017 6:50 utc | 37

^ Can you say 25th Amendment? Trump’s a madman and possibly being given enough rope to hang himself.
I smell a set-up (I hope); but Pense? Possibly more rational, but clearly a wack job as well.

Posted by: V. Arnold | Aug 12 2017 8:23 utc | 39

Anoynmous
Hm, hadn’t thought of that.
My link above to a Newsweek (ya, ya, I know) article is an interesting read; two rocket experts (one I’m familiar with, Ted Postol), is definitely a credible authority on ballistic missiles; worth a read.
The article claims NK weapons are a hoax; especially the rockets.

Posted by: V. Arnold | Aug 12 2017 8:48 utc | 41

What does MoA think?
I have no idea; nor should I…
But, I did see an extensive interview with Steven somebody and the Google employee; and it was clear Google fucked up. The names escape me at this moment…
I do not support Google, Yahoo, or whomever.

Posted by: V. Arnold | Aug 12 2017 10:37 utc | 43

Analysis
11 August 2017
North Korea’s “not quite” ICBM can’t hit the lower 48 states
Theodore A. PostolMarkus Schiller Robert Schmucker
please read this article, it is the source of Newsweek article
i hate to see expert scientific analysis dumbed-down
http://thebulletin.org/north-korea%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Cnot-quite%E2%80%9D-icbm-can%E2%80%99t-hit-lower-48-states11012

Posted by: mauisurfer | Aug 12 2017 12:43 utc | 45

“Blues” @ 19 –
Being a patriot is simply a matter of wishing to see one’s community or nation prosper and of wishing to see that community properly defended. You can be a patriot and still be critical of those running your country.
In fact at present, if one does wish to see one’s community prosper, and if one does wish to see the community properly defended, it’s impossible not to be critical of those running it. That’s the case in your country and mine.
So it’s OK to be a patriot and to be highly critical of your government. It’s OK for others to be patriots too, and on the same terms.
On Trump, he’s a wild card and could go in just about any direction. He tends to pick up or intuit the opinions of those surrounding him and to reflect those opinions. When he was on the stump he picked up the general discontent with current politics and articulated that discontent. Now he’s ensconced in Washington DC he’s picking up the consensus there and is tending to articulate that. Which is bad news for those of us, and not just in the States, who aren’t very impressed with that consensus.
Therefore one hopes he gets reminded that there are still people outside Washington who are just as dissatisfied with the way they’re governed now as they were in 2016.
Otherwise he’ll end up as Obama II. Lots of nice-sounding hope and change stuff at the beginning. Almost immediately the swamp enfolded him in its embrace. By the end all that was left of the original Obama was a charismatic spokesman for the Beltway. You surely don’t want a re-run of that?

Posted by: EnglishOutsider | Aug 12 2017 13:13 utc | 47

Has Narenda Modi Switched Sides?
“It’s very discomforting to see the nation of India, one of the great potential leading countries of the world systematically self-destruct. Provoking a new war with China over remote chunks of land in the high Himalayas where the borders of China’s Tibet Autonomous Region converge with India and the Kingdom of Bhutan, is only the latest example. The question posed is who or what grand design is behind India’s foreign and domestic policies under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Has Modi switched sides? If so to whom?”
————————-
Right now China currently faces the prospect of a war with India on it’s Western border, and on it’s Eastern border we have the gurning idiot wunderkind playing a game of chicken, with the US, involving missiles.
This game of chicken the idiot gurning wunderkind is playing now gives the US complete post-facto justification for it’s earlier decision to install THAAD system missiles in South Korea. Prior to this gurning-idiot-wunderkind-provided THAAD-justification, the Empire was having a hard time convincing any but the most gullible that its decision to install the THAAD system was aimed at anyone other than China.
Now the gurning idiot wunderkind has so generously provided them with all the justification they could possibly have ever desired.
If the Chinese have any sense, they surely must be wondering just who the idiot wunderkind is actually working for.

Posted by: Just Sayin’ | Aug 12 2017 14:01 utc | 49

Macron leads the effort of the Western neocolonialists to make a deal on looting Libya’s resources

Posted by: nmb | Aug 12 2017 14:27 utc | 51

March 2015. Re. Benghazi and other, it is revealed that Killary had a ‘secret’ private basement-server with no security and used it for official biz. She hardly ever used Gvmt. matériel / accounts / security. The FBI investigates, a jagged incomprehensible fakey surface drama unfolds and meanders on till this day — involving Comey, Bill Clinton, Lynch, Trump, Congress, etc. Covering up for Killary creates a scramble.. Official enquiries limp or are snuffed out. Huma Abedin’s emails were sent to her home and these ended up on a laptop belonging to her hubby Anthony Weiner (convicted sexter) and are now in legal limbo, nobody knows what is on there. The original Guccifer, a Romanian taxi driver, Lazar, now in prison in Romania, was accused (much later) of hacking into Killary’s server, he has denied it, there is no evidence for it and he not convicted for it, etc. massive details: http://g-2.space/sixmonths/
I have always thought that Russia has a copy of Killary’s basement server. Today, I heard Guccifer say that.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/08/11/guccifer-calls-fox-from-romania-says-shouldnt-be-sent-back-to-u-s.html
March 2016. Podesta emails published by Wikileaks. Podesta retyped his password = p@ssw0rd say, anyone could have done that hack. Repecussions, the most important: Pizzagate takes off. Russia is blamed. (“Fancy bears” supposedly connected to Russia.) Imho, the aim was to legitimise the claim that Russia ‘inserted’ false emails, as the pedophilia matter is very a-hem “sensitive.” An important, strong, menacing enemy was needed, outside the USA; some pip-squeak hackers would not/could not be so sophisticated and evil.
July 2016. DNC 20k emails + attach. released by Wikileaks. Show collusion against Sanders, plus more. Wasserman-Shultz resigns and goes to work for Killary campagin. The culprit is supposedly Guccifer 2.0. Recently, it is claimed (even published by The Nation! – 11 Aug. 2017) that Guccifer 2.0 was an invention of the DNC, kind of pre-emptive move to blame Russia for forthcoming revelations from the e-mails.
https://www.thenation.com/article/a-new-report-raises-big-questions-about-last-years-dnc-hack/
Seth Rich is murdered July 10, 2016, he was / is suspected of leaking the DNC emails. Ppl keen on this interpretation signal that Assange has more or less admitted Rich was a contact.
July 2017. one arrest…The Awan brothers plus family, friends had access to all coms. of House Dems, were hired by DWS / other Dems, from 2004 on, earning huge amounts of money…And were obviously slimy crooks, involved in multiple scams (failed car franchise, scuzzy landlords, illegit mortgages, insurance fraud, stealing equipement, bankruptcy, etc. had no security clearances, etc.) Could they have had something to do with the leaks/hacks? – Here we have drama about another hidden and then confiscated laptop! My intuition says no, this is a separate matter. Yet, links are being drawn between an Awan brother and Rich.
Allright, taking for granted that Russia did not ‘meddle’ in the US Prez. election (though a silent threat of revealing the Killary server contents existed imho) what happened? Is all this just the dirty laundry of corrupt and stupid ppl fiddling on their own ways with the media reporting one thing or another and then others contradicting? Probably.
apologies for length i wanted to sort this out

Posted by: Noirette | Aug 12 2017 15:21 utc | 53

Is NK being set up to be the next “group of amateur Saudi pilots with boxcutters”? Probably.

Posted by: sejomoje | Aug 12 2017 16:13 utc | 55

We should remember and understand that TPTB consistently use the MSM (six corporate war profiteers) in a relentless program of fear-mongering to frighten the public and to maintain a state of fear. Big Mouth Donald Trump is serving them well (and expertly).
Hillary would have served them equally well, but Clown Donald puts on a real dummy show.

Posted by: fastfreddy | Aug 12 2017 16:28 utc | 57

The protests in Charlottesville VA are interesting. Ostensibly they are about a Confederate statue but of course they are about much more than that. No direct Trump connection but the far right guys are certainly Trump voters.
Melania has called for calm saying ‘No good comes from violence’ as her husband stays ‘locked and loaded.’

Posted by: dh | Aug 12 2017 17:46 utc | 59

I posted this on the N. Korea thread and am bringing it up here…
@109 justsayin [or is it ‘Circe’] – I am not pro or anti N. Korea. It’s a country I’ve honestly rarely given thought to. The Middle East tends to dominate my geo studies. What I am is an American who does not want any country reaching the US shores with nuclear weapons; especially one who is under no international agreement regarding their arsenal. I make no apologies for my position. I do find Kim Jong Un’s actions provocative because they are intended to be provocative.
But why?
To better understand what may (or not) be behind said provocation and Trump’s response to it, I go to a handful of conservative sites who have made it their business to study then analyze everything about that man and what makes him tick. After all it was the conservatives of the U.S. who supported Trump’s presidency. Of course, some here may know them or refer to them as the deplorables or the new name commie branding of them as ‘extreme’ alt right, whatever the hell that is. But I digress.
I might suggest, for any who are befuddled by Trump and his actions on any issue, but in particular the current NK/China/US situation, needs to accept that the old political/policy paradigm ruling this country since George Sr, died on Nov 8, 2016. Thus, employing the tools of yesteryear when attempting to figure out what in the world Trump is up to, pick a topic, is futile and will drive you crazy.
All of the battles we’ve witnessed over these last six months, in my opinion, has everything to do with the death throes of that decaying paradigm. And the conservative sites are slowly beginning to fill that void. If you’ve never followed any conservative sites, I highly suggest you do, that is if you want to understand Trump, HIS game board and strategy with a bit more clarity.
Below is a link to one of my go to conservative sites. I began following them years ago (there are many more I follow). Their team of conservative writers have been spot on over and again and they know DC. They are a humbled bunch of souls and damn, their commenters are polite and respectful.
Their take on this N. Korean situation may be of interest to those striving to understand what is [may be] going on – Report: President Trump To Announce “Section 301” Trade Investigations Against China on Monday – https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2017/08/12/report-president-trump-to-announce-section-301-trade-investigations-against-china-on-monday/
And Scott Ritter’s analysis may be helpful to some as well “Resolving N. Korea Without Fire and Fury – http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/resolving-north-korea-without-fire-and-fury/

Posted by: h | Aug 12 2017 20:01 utc | 61

@53 – have you heard the Seymour Hersh conversation that Butowsky or is it Budowsky (sp?) secretly recorded and then released? You may want to add it to your sorting out process, as well as the recording of Rod Wheeler, the PI Butowsky hired to work with the family to investigate. Wheeler offers a ton of detail.
And former Amb Craig Murray recently went on record again stating ” Well, through my association with WikiLeaks, I know for sure that it was a leak and not a hack. As Bill Binney, former technical director of the NSA, has pointed out, were it actually a hack the NSA would be able to pinpoint it. In fact, there is no such evidence. This is not something WikiLeaks got from a foreign state or from hackers. No, there is no doubt at all that this was an internal leak. Besides which, we are talking about two separate things in the DNC emails and the Podesta emails, so it would be wrong to presume that there is only one leaker.”
https://consortiumnews.com/2017/08/11/lawsuit-challenges-dnc-anti-sanders-bias/
What is up with the Awan mess is anybody’s best guess. It doesn’t look good. Sen Judiciary has requested records from the FBI regarding the investigation.
And has anyone else noticed how suspiciously quiet the Left media has been regarding Russiagate? Almost makes one think the instigators have been asked to come for a sit down, under oath, in some dark office in DC.

Posted by: h | Aug 12 2017 20:21 utc | 63

My apologies @53, but Sen Judiciary requested the Awan teams immigration records NOT FBI.
Here’s a link to Wheeler’s report to his boss, Butowsky/Budowsky – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p8at6PD4L8

Posted by: h | Aug 12 2017 20:29 utc | 65

h @63–
“And has anyone else noticed how suspiciously quiet the Left media has been regarding Russiagate?”
It was the Nation that first published what was already known–that Russiagate was a leak, not a hack, https://www.thenation.com/article/a-new-report-raises-big-questions-about-last-years-dnc-hack/
At least I think the Nation is still considered leftist.

Posted by: karlof1 | Aug 12 2017 20:45 utc | 67

How do people here feel about the new movie, “City of Ghosts”
http://www.cityofghosts.com/
About the group “Raqaa is being Slaughtered Silently”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBeqGcMaC-A

Posted by: Inkan1969 | Aug 12 2017 21:28 utc | 69

@Paveway 60
Or the classic line ‘Nice country you got there…would be too bad if something happened to it!’
China sure isn’t very happy about THAAD, and would gladly pay a price to get rid of it, at least in S Korea.
I’ve been wondering for a while now what that price could be. Was even thinking of Venezuela (coincidence that Trump just brought it up?), but no, selling out a longtime ally wouldn’t improve Beijing’s global reputation. Plus the loss of face.
So now I’m wondering, if Beijing brokered a mutually face-saving solution for the current NK standoff, what would it get in return? The Chinese currently look like the only adults in the room, starting to get impatient with the kids…
@ashley 20
Thanks, I was unaware. Makes sense that the US would just copy British strategies of containment and tension in the region…as elsewhere. In recent years though, all efforts at establishing new bases in S E Asia were pretty fruitless. Why oh why did we give up Subic and Clark…

Posted by: smuks | Aug 12 2017 21:52 utc | 71

Seth Rich is a mystery.
Why is the Rich family so quiet? No demands for justice. No demands for an investigation. No statement to dispel nasty statements like “he wanted money”.
<> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <>
Mysterious. Just like the supposed amateur photographer that just happened to get a video of Hillary being lifted into a van on 9-11. The story was YUUGE! But reporters didn’t seem too inquisitive – they accepted what he told them. Retire firefighter from Czech Republic who heard that Hillary would be at the ceremony and he wanted to see her.
The rumors of Hillary’s health problems just happened to start just a few weeks before – and disappeared soon after.
But this story has a happy ending – soon after winning the election, Trump said he wouldn’t pursue charges against Hillary. “She’s been through enough” he said (after previously telling a reporter that: “I don’t wanna hurt them [the Clintons]. They’re good people …”
When Bill Clinton met Loretta Lynch on the Tarmac, was she there to deliver the script for Hillary’s 9-11 health scare? Had it been decided that TRUMP would be President instead of his good friend Hillary? But the planning included guardrails in the form of ‘Russia hacked the election’.
This is the only scenario that makes sense to me.

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Aug 12 2017 22:31 utc | 73

tannenhauser @ 4, Yeah, I think you’re right: the oligarchs of many countries are allied against the ordinary people because they want to rule them. Usually the political hacks are mere masks for the big boys, but sometimes they are lower-echelon members themselves.
Clearly this cartoonish N Korean thing is counter-intelligence theatre for the masses. Wm Engdahl points out that Kim was educated in the West & all of his theatrics are the pretext that excuses US STILL being in S Korea.
Conjecture: Do you think it’s a way for the US to “accept” anti-Kim military action by their supposed opponent, the Chinese? You see, there isn’t any other way to establish China as the administrator of Asia for the NWO. How can the US allow Chinese military action while maintaining that China is an opponent? Of course! Have China act against a part of Asia that’s actually threatening the US. Beautiful.
But who knows? It’s too deep for me.
I’m pretty certain the Russian oligarchs incl Putin are in on it: US withdrew Patriots to allow their entrance into Syria, didn’t notice their entry until “too late.” US/Britain were the first to declare Russian aircraft downing in the Sinai as having been committed by jihadis. Since it was going to be used as pretext for Russian escalation in Syria, why wd they DO that?
Moreover, the Sinai crash was a hoax: heavy engine sits light as a feather on the sand, wings are attached to each other, land right side up w no damage to them; they even catch on fire without exploding the gas tanks in the wings.
And if that’s not enough look at the fotos of the Donbass crash, supposedly shot down by the Russians as a pretext for sanctioning their economy. But it’s another hoax! Heavy engines don’t dent the farmland. The one aerial shot shows what a tiny amount of wreckage there is– all within a few feet of the only roads in the area.
Look at: The Plane That Never Crashed MH17 Hoax Revealed. But before you do, please remember that incredibly realistic blood & guts are seen all the time in the movies– they are not real.
Regards, Penelope

Posted by: Penelope | Aug 12 2017 23:19 utc | 75

Penelope 76
In late 1913 and throughout 1914 there were many interdependent deals being forged between French and German industry – if I remember correctly they were in mining and steel production – but to no avail when confronted by the imbroglios of AUG./SEP. 1914. War , world war was not expected in 1914 . Lenin was preparing to relax into his memoires , more or less although History was preparing its cards .

Posted by: ashley albanese | Aug 12 2017 23:44 utc | 77

@ 74 said: “Trump’s cause is economics and trade. His voters cause is removing the UniParty aka the Swamp and returning DC to law and order under the U.S. Constitution. Period. Together, they make a forceful team.”
Great semantics, and writing, but, Seriously?

Posted by: ben | Aug 13 2017 2:39 utc | 79

@h
You seem to think that Trump’s preparation for a Presidential run legitimizes him as a candidate.
But ask yourself: why would he run? Especially since it meant that he would be likely to face his friend Hillary? No wealthy oligarch would do that. The Clinton’s are a powerful political family that any oligarch would be happy to be close to. Moreover, their daughters are best buds.
Oligarchs are risk adverse. They will screw the little guy but not a powerful politician. ( You can read about oligarchs in books like Jeffrey Winters “Oligarchy”).
Trump was involved in the birthers because of Hillary. She was the first to question if Obama was qualified to be President.
Trump has always been interested in politics. But that doesn’t explain his run. Oligarchs like a sure thing. Trump is an opportunist, not a populist.
The

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Aug 13 2017 3:54 utc | 81

penelope 78
I really don’t care one way or the other about global warming. Global climate has always been changing. Some civilizations went underwater around around eleven thousand years ago, due to climate change and melting icecaps. Quite a bit of undersea archaeology occurring now in those areas that went underwater. I also do believe a changing gas mix in the atmosphere will change the ambient temperature somewhat and therefore affect the climate climate.

Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Aug 13 2017 4:26 utc | 83

>>>> dh | Aug 12, 2017 1:46:58 PM | 59

The protests in Charlottesville VA are interesting.

It seems to me that the counter-protesters initiated the violence – there was a headline in The Guardian about them being peaceful along side a photograph of a counter-protester using an aerosol as a flame thrower. Just how peaceful is that?
Meanwhile, liberals are saying it’s all about democracy – preventing people from demonstrating as the “liberals” in Charlotteville did seems fairly undemocratic to me. BTW, observers claimed that there were about 1,000 right-wing protesters present – 0.0003% of the US population was all they could muster for what was supposed to be major day of action for the far right – a major threat to democracy?
The protesters must be deeply conflicted. A few years ago they saw those self-same “liberals” supporting Nazi and neo-Nazi protesters using murderous violence to overthrow a democratically-elected president with the support of the liberal regime in Washington.

Posted by: Ghostship | Aug 13 2017 12:42 utc | 85

@85 Doesn’t take much to turn a peaceful protest into a violent riot. No doubt it was intended to provoke. Big problem for Trump though because the demonstrators see him as being on their side. Seems like a lot of people are conflicted.

Posted by: dh | Aug 13 2017 13:57 utc | 87

@88 In theory. I think the only person detained so far is the guy who drove the car into the crowd. He could face a charge of second-degree murder.

Posted by: dh | Aug 13 2017 14:17 utc | 89

add to 90
Trump seems to play good cop bad cop with Ivanka. He is a businessman keeping good contact lines open to all sides.

Posted by: somebody | Aug 13 2017 14:26 utc | 91

networth

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Aug 13 2017 15:07 utc | 93

>>>> dh | Aug 13, 2017 9:57:12 AM | 87

Big problem for Trump though because the demonstrators see him as being on their side.

A thousand right-wingers – I hardly think so, even multiplying it up for those who couldn’t be bothered to attend. When they were exercising their constitutionally-protected democratic right of assembly, any criticism of the demonstration itself by Trump would have been seized upon as an example of Trump’s authoritarianism by the “liberals”. Perhaps he should have just quoted Evelyn Beatrice Hall (not Voltaire).

Seems like a lot of people are conflicted.

I was being sarcastic.”Liberals” such as Obama and Clinton are quite happy to use what ever unpleasant people or organizations are around (eg. Al Qaeda, ISIS, KSA, etc.) when it suits their objectives so I’m sure no “liberals” were conflicted by this typical act of hypocricy

Posted by: Ghostship | Aug 13 2017 17:06 utc | 95

@96 add…..Maybe by hypocrisy you mean the liberal counter-protestors? They can be as mean and nasty as anybody. In fact they seem to enjoy smashing stuff up.
The demonstrators were quite well behaved mostly….except for the young man in the car who got carried away by all the excitement.

Posted by: dh | Aug 13 2017 18:20 utc | 97

The media is intentionally sowing the divisiveness, hatred and dischord. All to hang onto their ill-gotten gains aquired via their globalist puppet masters. More and more people are waking up to this fact. Whether one is left or right or in the center off the aisle, it matters not to the corrupt Deep State controlled mainstream media. All that matters to them is creating the smokescreen of what is really taking place and protecting their cashcow. People of both sides of the political aisle need to resist this divisiveness and come together. More proof that they openly lie to the public is here: #WhitehelmetsEXP Intertwined — The White Helmets and FSA Terrorist Groups — Evidence of Collusion -Part 1 https://clarityofsignal.com/2017/08/13/intertwined-the-white-helmets-and-fsa-terrorist-groups-evidence-of-collusion-part-1/

Posted by: Liam | Aug 13 2017 19:03 utc | 99