A Dive Into Washington's Swamp
One year ago Trump pledged allegiance to the Wahhabi Orb. The one Orb that rules them all:
This swearing of an oath to the Wahhabi death star was part of the opening of the potemkinesque "Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology" in Riyadh.
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The Saudis arranged the whole theater to flatter Trump into fighting Iran for them. They hope to have bought Washington's obedience.
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The Saudi "anti-terrorism" effort was directed at its local rivals Qatar and Iran. Trump strongly supported the Saudi anti-Qatar campaign until the Pentagon finally told him that Qatar hosts the biggest U.S. air-base in the Middle East, which can not be moved at a moments notice.
Now an interesting AP story gives some backdrop to Trump's deference to Riyadh. It is the result of many bribes and lots of shady dealings. If or rather how Trump or his family profited from these is not yet known.
The princes, the president and the fortune seekers:
After a year spent carefully cultivating two princes from the Arabian Peninsula, Elliott Broidy, a top fundraiser for President Donald Trump, thought he was finally close to nailing more than $1 billion in business.He had ingratiated himself with crown princes from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who were seeking to alter U.S. foreign policy and punish Qatar, an archrival in the Gulf that he dubbed “the snake.”
...
Broidy and his business partner, Lebanese-American George Nader, pitched themselves to the crown princes as a backchannel to the White House, passing the princes’ praise — and messaging — straight to the president’s ears.
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In return for pushing anti-Qatar policies at the highest levels of America’s government, Broidy and Nader expected huge consulting contracts from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, according to an Associated Press investigation based on interviews with more than two dozen people and hundreds of pages of leaked emails between the two men. The emails reviewed by the AP included work summaries and contracting documents and proposals.
Since the UAE and Saudi Arabia opened a feud against Qatar they have sought to win U.S. support for their position. The anti-Qatar campaign is related to the anti-Iran campaign and both have strong Israeli backing. In response to the Saudi efforts Qatar hired a company to hack the emails of the UAE ambassador in Washington DC and of other people involved in the Saudi lobbying effort. Both sides spent huge amounts for bribes, disguised as U.S. campaign donations to Congress and the White House, to influence U.S. legislation and behavior:
Summaries written by Broidy of two meetings he had with Trump — one of which has not been disclosed before — report that he was passing messages to the president from the two princes and that he told Trump he was seeking business with them.By December of last year, the partners were riding a wave of success in their campaign to create an anti-Qatar drumbeat in Washington.
Saudi Arabia was finding a new ascendancy following Trump’s election. Broidy sought to claim credit for it, emails show, and was keen to collect the first installment of $36 million for an intelligence-gathering contract with the UAE.
It all might have proceeded smoothly save for one factor: the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel to look into allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
There was no "Russian interference" in the U.S. election. All that Mueller found in one year of investigations was some minor old misbehavior by some Trump aides and a Russian Internet marketing company which tried to sell advertisements on its click-bait websites.
The real collusion happened between the Trump family and Israel, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Huge sums from Zionist interests and from the oil dictatorships flew into campaign funds and the relevant pockets. One of their main aims was and is to incite war against Iran. Those with access and influence over Trump, like Broidy and Nader, were hugely rewarded.
The swamp which Trump said he would drain, swallowed him whole.
The protagonists in the AP story include Erik Prince, the private military contractor of Blackwater fame. George Nader, a convicted pedophile, has known Prince for years. He negotiated solatia payments to families of Iraqis who Blackwater mercenaries had killed. In 2012 George Nader helped broker a $4.3 billion arms deal between Russia and Iraq. Erik Prince continues his mercenary business selling his private armies to the UAE and whomever else is willing to pay the right price.
Broidy was involved in the fleecing of the Malaysian development fund 1MDB by the former Prime Minister of Malaysia. Up to $4.5 billion have allegedly vanished. While Broidy was pitching the Saudi plans to Trump he also scored a big Pentagon contract.
The question not answered in the long AP story is how Trump or his family profited from the Saudi largess. One benefit was probably through his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who needs a large amount of money to keep his investment in a New York sky-scarper afloat. In early 2017 Kushner met George Nader in New York. Privately Nader referred to Kushner as 'clown prince':
Broidy met Trump once again on Dec. 2. He reported back to Nader that he’d told Trump the crown princes were “most favorably impressed by his leadership.” He offered the crown princes’ help in the Middle East peace plan being developed by Jared Kushner. He did not tell Trump that his partner had complete contempt for the plan — and for the president’s son-in-law.“You have to hear in private my Brother what Principals think of ‘Clown prince’s’ efforts and his plan!” Nader wrote. “Nobody would even waste cup of coffee on him if it wasn’t for who he is married to.”
Days after Broidy’s meeting with Trump, the UAE awarded Broidy the intelligence contract the partners had been seeking for up to $600 million over 5 years, according to a leaked email.
In early 2017 Kushner's family tried to get Qatari money for the family’s distressed asset at 666 Fifth Avenue. The Qataris declined. A few weeks later Jared Kushner supported the Saudi blockade against the "funder of terrorism" Qatar. In March 2018 Qatar was finally willing to pay up to save the Kushner's real estate. Shortly thereafter Trump endorsed Qatar as an ally in the fight against terrorism.
This sequence of events is of course pure coincidence. Trump and his family can not be bribed. They float way above the swamp. (Just kidding.)
In related news the Psy-Group, an Israeli company which influenced social media for the Trump campaign, has now been shut down:
According to the New York Times report, Mr. Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., met with Mr. Zamel months before the elections. At the time, Psy-Group was developing a proposal for a "covert multimillion-dollar online manipulation campaign” to aid Mr. Trump to win the elections, the New York Times reported, citing four people familiar with the matter.The campaign had been reportedly canceled after Psy-Group learned its involvement in the elections would be illegal. The New York Times reported Mr. Zamel still received a payment estimated at around $2 million from a Trump associate.
Paid by whom? And for what?
One year after the launch of the Mueller investigation of undue foreign influence in U.S. campaigns and politics, it is finally looking at the real culprits. No one has more influence in U.S. elections and policies than the Zionists and the Gulf monarchies. This is then the point where the Mueller investigation will likely be shut down. There are too many people benefiting from the swamp and all the slush money moving around. Neither party in Congress has an interest in publicizing their relations to Zionist campaign money and Gulf monarchies' bribes.
With Mueller gone it will be another free for all. The swamp will grow bigger.
Posted by b on May 22, 2018 at 13:26 UTC | Permalink
"The swamp which Trump said he would drain, swallowed him whole."
What in the biography of Donal Trump suggests that he is unsuited to living in swamps? To me, it is like a moose declaring that he abhors swamps.
Drawning? I am relaxing here!
Posted by: Piotr Berman | May 22 2018 14:26 utc | 2
If you are a crook before becoming President, you will be a crook after becoming President.
Posted by: mike k | May 22 2018 14:31 utc | 3
I'm not defending Trump or Clown Princes.
Mueller is dirty too, of course. He can only go so far without sinking himself. It's a big tent. And lots of manure to spread around. They must keep on "moving forward" or risk getting shite on themselves. So much money involved.
Posted by: fastfreddy | May 22 2018 14:58 utc | 4
Fascinating article shows clearly how the business of the United States of America is conducted by and on behalf of those who have no interest whatsoever in the governed slave-American.
Prime example of how the Pharaohs use the middle men (the slave drivers) to make their wealth at the expense of the little people (the Slaves of each of the nation states). The problem is the nation state system, not just one government but all of the leaders of the various governments seem to be involved; National leadership, government agencies and important people seem always in collusion conducting affairs that have no purpose that is a proper business of the governments they lead.
Posted by: fudmier | May 22 2018 14:59 utc | 5
In addition to Kushner's father there has also been a stream of jewish american bigwigs travelling to Qatar to meet with and demand various concessions from the Qatari leadership.
Qatari Foreign Minister on U.S. Jewish Groups Visiting
https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium-qatari-fm-says-building-good-relations-with-visiting-u-s-jews-1.5785713
Qatar’s foreign minister reacted publicly on Thursday to the recent wave of visits by leaders of U.S. Jewish organizations to his country at the invitation of the ruling Emir.
It seems the Qataris have figured out the best way to influence American foreign policy is to appeal to the real power brokers in the U.S..
The Sinister Reason Behind Qatar's Wooing of the Jews
https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-the-sinister-reason-behind-qatar-s-wooing-of-the-jews-1.5804517
Doha wants to influence D.C. elites. But rather than targeting Congress or the media, they're lavishly, and disproportionately, focusing on right-wing, pro-Israel Jews
One demand which the Qataris immediately acceded to was the suppression of the al Jezeera expose on the jewish lobby in American politics.
Israel Lobby Pressures Qatar to Kill Al Jazeera Documentary
https://www.richardsilverstein.com/2018/02/08/israel-lobby-pressures-qatar-kill-al-jazeera-documentary/
Two extraordinary events have come together to place Al Jazeera in a vise-like squeeze that may result in the death of a major TV documentary expose about the power and operations of the Israel Lobby in the U.S. The same investigative team ... created the remarkable four-part film, The Lobby, about the UK Israel Lobby.
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The new documentary follows a similar script. Al Jazeera recruited someone to infiltrate various Lobby organizations based in Washington...
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...Haaretz published a story acknowledging that almost all of these American Jewish supplicants came to Qatar for one very special reason (there may have been others, but this one was key). They wanted the Al Jazeera documentary killed. They knew if it was aired it would make them look as shabby, venal, and crude as the UK series did.
Posted by: pantaraxia | May 22 2018 15:03 utc | 6
@6
Somebody needs to leak that documentary to Wikileaks. It must be really damning if there's been such pressure to squelch it altogether. By the way, the airing of the film could soon become illegal in South Carolina if the state budget passes with the new anti-"semitism" legislation attached.
Posted by: WJ | May 22 2018 15:22 utc | 7
Could it be that Mueller is there for some other reason? we know there are special interests that the democrats represent and since the US federal system doesn't really lend itself to any sort of coalition govt of any form, that the investigation is cover for the those interests being represented in some fashion the form doesn't allow for.
Posted by: heath | May 22 2018 15:28 utc | 8
As I wrote two years ago. Isrealis and Saudis openly collude to rig US elections for decades now and nobody bothers to ask questions.
All that is a farce for public consumption.
Posted by: Kalen | May 22 2018 15:34 utc | 9
thanks b! it always amazes me how easily the usa public is duped.. the influence israel wields in the usa is so apparent, any country that wants to get leverage - must go thru israel to get it.. as @6 pantaraxia has pointed out - qatar figured it out too! meanwhile the mueller investigation is a distraction to keep everyone's attention directed in the opposite...
Posted by: james | May 22 2018 15:36 utc | 10
Heath,
That's what I'm thinking. It is apparent the "The Mueller Investigation" is - firstly - a major distraction. It is also apparent that it doesn't make any headway, lead to any conclusions or indictments of any big fish.
https://www.vox.com/
policy-and-politics/2018/2/20/17031772
/mueller-indictments-grand-jury
Posted by: fastfreddy | May 22 2018 15:46 utc | 11
“The government and us are cut from the same cloth.” Sam Giancana, former Chicago Mob boss, when asked about his thoughts on the federal government.
Posted by: Jose Garcia | May 22 2018 16:09 utc | 12
For those who don't want to be mined by nhs (@ 4) and the selloffs at Spectrum Equity, the direct link for the article "What happens when a country decides to decouple itself from the US/Saudi axis of evil" is here https://failedevolution.blogspot.nl/2018/05/what-happens-when-country-decides-to.html
Posted by: fx | May 22 2018 16:11 utc | 13
Thanks for the update, b!
You gotta love the ongoing (swamp)bitch-fight between different factions of the War Party, bringing each other's dirty laundry out in the open. Not that it will matter to the average Joe Goldfish and in terms of political responsibility or, God forbid, indictments, but it's never wrong to document the events for educational purposes...
Posted by: LXV | May 22 2018 16:15 utc | 14
Trump's commemorative medal for his upcoming success at the Kim Jong Un / Donald Trump summit meeting. Which, it ust be emphasized, has not yet taken place nor is a Trump desired outcome ensured.
https://www.vox.com/2018/5/21/17377278/trump-north-korea-kim-jong-un-challenge-coin
Best The Donald Swamp Monster mind the oh-so-old saying: "Don't count your chickens before they're hatched."
Posted by: jawbone | May 22 2018 16:23 utc | 15
Broidy appears to be the quintessential swamp rat who cut his teeth by fleecing New York pension funds for the benefit of Israel.
Donald Trump's New Fundraiser's Israel Connection
https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/.premium-trump-s-new-fundraiser-s-israel-connection-1.5388036
Elliott Broidy, the American-Jewish venture capitalist ... has been appointed deputy chairman of a fundraising organization for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's campaign.
...He is still thought to have extensive political ties in Israel.
Broidy's appointment ..., comes just weeks after Steven Mnuchin...was named Trump's national finance chairman.
and
About a decade and a half ago, Broidy decided to combine a Zionist act and a business opportunity in establishing a major venture capital fund that would operate in Israel. He used his ties with Alan Hevesi , the New York state comptroller at the time, who was also active in the Jewish community, to raise $250 million for the fund from the New York State pension fund...
The stated Zionist mission of the fund as well as Broidy's ties meant that there was a lot of politics involved in establishing Markstone Capital. In mid-2003, when Israel's finance minister, and now prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, visited New York and met with finance officials from New York's state government, the matter of the establishment of Markstone also came up.
and
Broidy was removed as its chairman in late 2009 after being accused of paying bribes to New York pension fund managers, allegations that he ultimately admitted to, acknowledging giving nearly a million dollars to state officials in return for the pension funds' investment ...
Broidy, ...is understood to have extensive political ties in Israel. He was also a regular dinner partner of the late Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
And that folks is how they roll.
Posted by: pantaraxia | May 22 2018 16:54 utc | 16
Re: Mueller. If the Trump-Russia set up began in spring 2016 or earlier, presumably it was undertaken on the assumption that HRC would win the election. (I say "presumably" because you never can tell..) If so, then the operation would have been an MI6 / Ukrainian / CIA coordinated op intended to frame Putin, not Trump. Presumably the op would have allowed HRC to undertake just the sort of actions against Russia that, after Trump's election, have been undertaken in any case. The difference being that there is at least some reason to bet that HRC along with Obama knew something of the operation, and that in conjunction with UK/Ukrainian interests was planning her early foreign policy directives. The election of Trump on this reading was accidental to the op as originally designed. Is this right?
Posted by: WJ | May 22 2018 17:00 utc | 17
The other possibility being that the operation was demanded by Trump winning the Republican primary, as a kind of insurance policy. He being the only candidate who could not be predictably counted on to follow the anti-Putin hard liners in the Military-intelligence community, something needed to be done to ensure that, on the off chance that he won, the anti-Russian measures already being planned for would not be affected. So it is perhaps unlikely that this op would have been necessary had, say, Jeb Bush or Rubio won the primary. What made it necessary was the unknown quantity that Trump represented. This would mean, again, that the op was not so much partisan (Dem v Rep) as it was about ensuring continuity of military-intelligence decisions in face of relatively unknown entity. Had Bush won the R nomination, there would have been no op because the Bush family like the Clintons are down for whatever.
Posted by: WJ | May 22 2018 17:08 utc | 18
One could argue the USA was a criminal enterprise from its inception and the ultimate swamp began when actual swamp land owned by George Washington was purchased by his government to build Depravity Central--the seat of the Federal Government. What few details of that era's Class War remaining within history books provides much needed context for the forces involved in building The Swamp City. Perhaps the ultimate irony is that eventually Swamp City will be swamped by the rising ocean generated by policies adopted within that City--I do wish I could live to see that occur. Or perhaps like No Name City, the earth will open right up and swallow it down as a stern message from god to mend their ways.
Posted by: karlof1 | May 22 2018 17:23 utc | 19
If they shutdown Mueller you can expect a sudden gush of leaks like some one took a shot gun to a fire hose.
Posted by: BraveNewWorld | May 22 2018 17:25 utc | 20
Pic of the day: https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/
Posted by: Frosty | May 22 2018 17:42 utc | 21
Venezuela just expelled top US diplomat for conspiracy per RT.
Posted by: WJ | May 22 2018 18:00 utc | 22
I guess I have a different conclusion to the one given. I assert that there is only one Western Empire with three heads. Whatever policies or actions are actually put in play work toward the interests of all three. Sure there is all kinds of royal court(s) intrigue, back stabbing and the size of the bribes is spectacular, and so on but in the end they act in concert. Empires have always operated on bribery, all it took to get through The Great Wall of China were a few coins and the doors opened. The AngloZionist/Wahhabi Empire There are no GODS. There is lust for POWER. (unknown possibly Polish)
By the way, there is a good historical case to be made for this in the deals made after WWII and how the players got there.
Posted by: Babyl-on | May 22 2018 18:01 utc | 23
Honestly that picture gives me the creeps, seriously. It in some way is evil and sinister and i actually find it very repelling and do get uncomfortable when I see it.
I very much hope to read 3 ORBituaries soon... (well I did try...)
Posted by: Den Lille Abe | May 22 2018 18:38 utc | 24
Paul Campos suggests that Elliot Broidy may have paid $1.6 million to Playboy model Shera Bechard, as hush money for yet another of Donald Trump's romantic affairs. In addition to making the payoff, Broidy took the blame (or, credit?) for getting Bechard pregnant. But all the circumstantial evidence points to Trump as the actual playboy.
Chump's personal neo-cohen lawyer was building a slush fund and accumulated a couple millions of dollars coming from big pharma, russian oligarchs, south korean aerospace, etc. Deplorable dunces will ascertain this as proof of stable genius playing multi-dimensional chess. At best, the moron in chief's playing 5th grade Lego. Only one year into his Making America gilded again regime, the country recorded it's LOWEST BIRTH RATE EVER !!! According to CDC the US is now below baseline replacement rate. Donald is winning at Making america depopulated again one year at a time. Reactionary republicans are so inept, they can't even implement policies to ensure a steady flow of replacement stromtroopers to man their imperial army. Can't fix stupid...
https://gizmodo.com/the-us-had-its-lowest-birth-rate-ever-last-year-1826114341
Posted by: Augustin L | May 22 2018 19:14 utc | 26
A reduction in population growth is not a bad thing, is it?
Posted by: Charles R | May 22 2018 19:28 utc | 27
Muh Drumpf! Hillary would've been so much better!
Derp.
Posted by: Clay | May 22 2018 19:44 utc | 28
"The campaign had been reportedly canceled after Psy-Group learned its involvement in the elections would be illegal. The New York Times reported Mr. Zamel still received a payment estimated at around $2 million from a Trump associate." - I wager that Trump associate would be Sheldon Adelson or a crony, but they're getting a pass because the AP doesn't want to get on Israel's bad side.
Posted by: worldblee | May 22 2018 19:51 utc | 29
25 Jerry
The vaunted "National Security Risks" abound. Trump on alleged unsecure phone. Bring in the Playboy model for questioning.
Did you see within that article that Nader is a cooperating witness in the Mueller investigation?
Posted by: fastfreddy | May 22 2018 19:55 utc | 30
WJ @17
Wrong. Trump follows the same faux populist model that worked so well for Obama. Why would the establishment want to change that?
The level of anger against an establishment candidate is dangerous. Witness George W. Bush.
Hillary would've faced opposition from both the left and the right. She would have little room to betray the people's interest. Trump is much better than Hillary at keeping us distracted and divided.
IMO Billary (Bill and Hillary Clinton) enjoys being a power-broker. It's a secure, life-long position. Her good friend Kissinger, for example, is still at it! I doubt that she really wants to be the 'front-man'.
Posted by: Jackrabbit | May 22 2018 19:59 utc | 31
I wonder to what extent the 2016 US Presidential election was used to wrest concessions (contracts and support for Israel) from the Gulf Arabs.
Hillary's assistant Huma Abedin has connections to the Muslim Brotherhood. In contrast, we know that within months of taking office, Trump was sword dancing with the Saudis.
Posted by: Jackrabbit | May 22 2018 20:08 utc | 32
So I'm proven right again. I wrote over a year ago that the collusion was with Zionists and that Trump was in bed with Zionists as opposed to Russian pros, but then if they were paid by a Zionist Russian oligarch, that counts 99% Zionist 1% Russian. Anyway Zionists already had the goods on Trump - therefore golden showers not required.
Posted by: Circe | May 22 2018 20:19 utc | 33
A number of characters directly benefited financially by hooking Trump up with the Saudis. Erik Prince (bonus: sister gets to destroy public ed); George Pedo Nader (rolled over), Broidy (RNC big wig), Clown Kushner and by extension, Trump (saved the 666 condos); the Playboy model.
It's a tv series.
Seems the Saudi's didn't get to destroy Qatar like they had intended to do. They had to pull in their horns, at least for the present. But they get to destroy Yemen. Maybe that was a trade off.
Posted by: fastfreddy | May 22 2018 20:25 utc | 34
I think it makes great sense to compare Trump and his Outlaw US Empire's performance with that of its stated #1 foe: Russia. Most know what's generally transpired within and without the Empire since the Trump Age began, but few know Russia's experience, why Putin retained Medvedev or why the latter proposed to Putin that most of the previous governing team remain, to which Putin agreed. It may seem too early to make a call on this, but IMO the Hybrid Third World War already has its victor--Russia--at whom it was directly aimed at. If you disagree, then I suggest you read the linked article followed by this one.
Although its advance is kept hidden from most of the Outlaw US Empire's populace by its Propaganda System, by 2020 the refusal of Russia, China, Iran, Venezuela, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, The Koreas, Italy, Austria, and Germany to kowtow to its edicts, sanctions, and blustering ultimatum bluffs, will thumb their noses and continue building their Multipolar Alliance. This with luck will promote the rise of a Countervailing Power within the Empire capable of wresting power away from the Deep State. Yes, that's admittedly a short time period, but as hinted at in the first article, the USA's headed for another self-induced financial crisis thanks to Neocon Hubris. The world's nations need to continue insulating themselves from the systems organized by and for the Outlaw US Empire so they can avoid most of the negative outcomes of that upcoming financial crisis.
Posted by: karlof1 | May 22 2018 20:48 utc | 35
Trump is America's Yeltsin. A tragedy and a farce all at once.
Posted by: Northern Observer | May 22 2018 21:13 utc | 36
Apparently when the swamp was first drained, it wasn't done very well as it really does need to be drained so it doesn't get swallowed up.
Posted by: karlof1 | May 22 2018 21:44 utc | 37
I have to smile at some of you who feel the US is somehow unique in being subject to israeli influence. Anyone who questions any aspect of the holocaust can be jailed in Europe. Who issued the Balfour Declaration that got the ball rolling? Pro-Israel lobbies in UK and Europe are just as prevalent as in US and their influence on the MSM is not insignificant.
The US Empire is basically an extension of the old British Empire. We fought their wars for over a century and pay tribute to the Queen by forgiving British and European War Loans and paying for the bulk of military expenditures to enforce Free Trade policies which benefit European and UK multi nationals as much as American multinationals. Frankly the multi national mega corporations that these wars benefit are global companies with no allegiance to any nation.
Lets face it, EU, UK and its commonwealth countries and US are all on the same Team playing various roles. These same oligarchal forces have infiltrated China and Russia at their highest levels and influence policies there. It may be what we are seing is a Good Cop- Bad Cop scenario so those countries /Populations not fully on board with the New Gobal Order can pick their poison and get ensnared in the Web on one side or the other.
Some say a World War between the two sides is necessary to get the people who survive the next holocaust on board, much like WWII did for Zionism and support for a UN. Perhaps, not really sure its needed. Maybe a simulated alien invasion will do.
Trump is playing his part. Reinforcing the idea that Democracy, Nationalism , unbridled Capitalism and Monotheistic Religion are bad. At the end of the day the New Global Order will have none of these elements. Earth Incorporated. Everyone an employee. No unions, no votes.
Posted by: Pft | May 22 2018 22:03 utc | 38
No wonder Ivanka Trump Kushner and Chelsea Clinton are good buddies, they have something in common: loser husbands who need their in-laws' money to stay afloat.
Posted by: Jen | May 22 2018 22:23 utc | 39
Karloff,
The USA admittedly cannot defend itself from a hypersonic missile attack by RU or CH, but it can destroy the entire planet.
Great Plan. Ham-fisted as usual.
Lockheed Martin is going to need a lot more money and time to get up to hypersonic speed.
Posted by: fast freddy | May 22 2018 22:36 utc | 40
Pft @ 38: The British government may have issued the Balfour Declaration in 1917 for reasons now no longer existent. Among other such reasons, one would have been to use the future Zionist state to spy on local populations in the Levant and to control them for the benefit of British strategic and economic interests. The British needed to control the lands between the eastern Mediterranean Sea on the one hand and on the other Persia (Iran), then an impoverished and weak nation then under the shaky Qajar dynasty, and British India. Persia was the source of the oil needed by the Royal Navy to drive its warships. British India was needed to supply food and troops for the British Army.
In the late 19th / early 20th centuries, a peculiar cult known as British Israelism - the belief that the British elites were descended from the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel - was prevalent within the British establishment and this inclined British politicians to favour the Zionist movement at the expense of Christian, Muslim and even local Jewish populations in Palestine. They had no idea that the Zionists themselves were planning a very different future for themselves and for the Palestinians.
Posted by: Jen | May 22 2018 22:54 utc | 41
ff @40--
I doubt the ability of any MIC corp to catch up with Russia or China. Close the gap, perhaps, but become equal or surpass, no. The one-time advantage was squandered, nor was the opportunity to establish a just peace utilized. The hubristic and greedy who thought they'd won will go to their graves knowing they actually lost. Brzezinski was the first to grasp that reality during his final months; GHW Bush will be next.
Posted by: karlof1 | May 22 2018 23:16 utc | 42
You being played fool.
The Muh Russia bullshit collapsed so the deep state pricks are casting a wider net. Hell, they are even going after holy sacred Usrael in an effort to save their sorry asses.
Posted by: Anon | May 23 2018 0:10 utc | 43
Wrong. Obviously pres. Sisi figure destroys the argument. He saved Syria by destroying bloody Muslim Brotherhood (islamic freemasonry) regime in Egypt, led by that murderous AngloZio stooge Morsi, about to wage war against Assad.
It's all smoke and mirrors, read about Konrad Wallenrod...
Nobody else in history before pres. has exposed Deep State for the public to see...
Posted by: PeacefulProsperity | May 23 2018 0:38 utc | 44
@41 jen.. aside from agreeing with you, i would encourage others to read 'paris 1919' by margaret macmillan - a canuck historian, who goes into great detail on what was being worked out for the middle east by 3 of the 4 powers that came out of the 1st world war - uk, france and usa, with russia being seen as a threat thanks the bolshevik revolution.. at the same time they were carving up the middle east, they were figuring out a way to remove any chance of a threat from russia.. needless to say, they cut russia out of their carving up of the middle east too..
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26348.Paris_1919
Posted by: james | May 23 2018 0:56 utc | 46
I like Meyssan's take Is peace around Israël possible ?
... As for the Revolutionary Guard, they reacted by convincing their Syrian allies to lead the operation against Israëli Intelligence in occupied Golan – then by inciting the Lebanese Hezbollah to announce that this operation marked a change of regional strategy - and finally, by pushing Hamas to organise a demonstration at the Israëli security frontier with Gaza.If Western public opinion failed to understand the link between these three events, Israël concluded that the Revolutionary Guard were now ready to attack it from Syria, Lebanon and Gaza.
The strategy of the Revolutionary Guard bore fruit, since the Arab, Persian and Turkish People unanimously condemned the repression of the Palestinian demonstrators (more than 60 dead and 1,400 wounded). The Arab League – several members of which, led by Saudi Arabia, maintain close unofficial relations with Tel-Aviv – suddenly began re-using its anti-Zionist rhetoric.
As for the Iranian interior, the Revolutionary Guard showed that the JCPoA agreement concluded by Cheikh Hassan Rohani was a dead-end, and that their political line was the only one that worked – they are now efficiently implanted in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Gaza, as well as in Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
It will therefore be impossible for Donald Trump to negotiate peace around Israël without the help of the Revolutionary Guard...
Posted by: PeacefulProsperity | May 23 2018 0:56 utc | 47
Once a grifter, always a grifter. No surprises there. What's nice to see is the complete stoppage of the system of justice and truth the U$A has always bragged about, but never really delivered to all citizens.
If anyone expects DT to be held accountable for his blatant grifting, don't hold your breath.
Posted by: ben | May 23 2018 1:05 utc | 48
P.S. What's going on in the U$A today under the DT regime, reminds me of a line from an old western movie: " If God didn't want the people sheared, he wouldn't have made them sheep".
The bleating continues...
Posted by: ben | May 23 2018 1:32 utc | 49
Much too much to post or condense. Giuliani, Elliot Abrams, Wikistrat. I hope readers can obtain this...
Posted by: daffyDuct | May 23 2018 2:29 utc | 50
Legal bribery has long been standard procedure in political systems - whether or not ostensibly democratic - run by and largely for insider money. Really a ho hum AP story. I wonder if and when the bottom 80% will ever wake up about what needs to be done, i.e., get money out of politics, despite the corporate media embargo on talking about that.
Posted by: fairleft | May 23 2018 4:53 utc | 51
Well, it seems now that the swamp has literally entered the White House. Lol.
An actual sinkhole has opened on the White House lawn. It’s growing
Posted by: meme | May 23 2018 6:04 utc | 52
27 "A reduction in population growth is not a bad thing, is it?"
It will immediately be replenished. Just look at what happened to Europa. Starting from 1970 people were enticed to have less children. I mean white people. (I have to include that statement because opponents of mass migration are supposed to be racists while the operation itself is a form of racial genocide.) As soon as the population starts to decline politicians will start to worry about economic growth and see mass immigration as their only way to save it. If this hadn't be the case then I would have agreed with you wholeheartedly.
The bigger picture is that the US forced (I never found an explanation for this fact so I invented it myself) Europe to abandon its public transport systems (50's-60's) and switch to individual transport. This caused a huge flow of money from Europe to enter the SA, while the US could profit from their petrodollar. They (the SA) bought our continent and we paid for it ourselves, although our lives have become a little more luxuous because of this, but are no longer ours.
Posted by: Antares | May 23 2018 6:28 utc | 53
Bloomberg has a bit more about the Psy Group which claims to not have worked for the Trump campaign but got paid $2 million:
Mueller Asked About Money Flows to Israeli Social-Media Firm, Source Says
Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team has asked about flows of money into the Cyprus bank account of a company that specialized in social-media manipulation and whose founder reportedly met with Donald Trump Jr. in August 2016, according to a person familiar with the investigation.The inquiry is drawing attention to PSY Group, an Israeli firm that pitched its services to super-PACs and other entities during the 2016 election. Those services included infiltrating target audiences with elaborately crafted social-media personas and spreading misleading information through websites meant to mimic news portals, according to interviews and PSY Group documents seen by Bloomberg News.
...
One of PSY Group’s founders, Joel Zamel, met in August 2016 at Trump Tower with Donald Trump Jr. and an emissary to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to discuss how PSY Group could help Trump win, the New York Times reported on Saturday.
...
Following Trump’s victory, PSY Group formed an alliance with Cambridge Analytica, the Trump campaign’s primary social-media consultants, to try to win U.S. government work, according to documents obtained by Bloomberg News.FBI agents working with Mueller’s team interviewed people associated with PSY Group’s U.S. operations in February, and Mueller subpoenaed bank records for payments made to the firm’s Cyprus bank accounts, according to a person who has seen one of the subpoenas. Though PSY Group is based in Israel, it’s technically headquartered in Cyprus, the small Mediterranean island famous for its banking secrecy.
Shortly after those interviews, on Feb. 25, PSY Group Chief Executive Officer Royi Burstien informed employees in Tel Aviv that the company was closing down. Burstien is a former commander of an Israeli psychological warfare unit, according to two people familiar with the company. He didn’t respond to requests for comment.
...
Unlike the Russian internet company which sold ads on click bait sites this is a real troll factory.
Tactics deployed by PSY Group in foreign elections included inflaming divisions in opposition groups and playing on deep-seated cultural and ethnic conflicts, something the firm called “poisoning the well,” according to the people.In a contracting proposal for the U.S. State Department that PSY Group prepared with Cambridge Analytica and SCL Group, Cambridge’s U.K. affiliate, the firm said that it “has conducted messaging/influence operations in well over a dozen languages and dialects” and that it employs “an elite group of high-ranking former officers from some of the world’s most renowned intelligence units.”
Although the proposal says that the company is legally bound not to reveal its clients, it also boasts that “PSY has succeeded in placing the results of its intelligence activities in top-tier publications across the globe in order to advance the interests of its clients.”
Psy Group shut down but now gets resurrected as "White Knight".
I wish I'd read b's article earlier. Here's some relevant stuff, all but one from Jewish/Israel publications:
ISRAEL AND THE UNEXPECTED NEW WORLD ORDER
https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Israel-and-the-unexpected-new-world-order-499310
“The world’s only Jewish state is making deals with Turkey, Russia and China, in spite of their alliances with Iran, which is dedicated to Israel’s annihilation. Why is Jerusalem pursuing such deals? And, ambivalent at best about Israel, why are these nations agreeing to them? A new world order, difficult for the West to recognize, answers many of these questions.”
“The project is called the Belt and Road Initiative… other notable members along with the Jewish state include Syria, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Qatar and the Palestinian Territories.
“Israel is only miles south of the China land road, and only miles north of its proposed sea road…. Israel is floating the idea of an alternate shipping route to Egypt’s costly Suez Canal.
“Most importantly, Israel is positioned to guard the world’s Internet. Everything today is traded, controlled and administered online. And Israel is emerging as the world’s number one guardian of the worldwide web.
“A global currency collapse might be seen as a way to wipe the slate clean of nation-based currencies, especially the US dollar, and establish an international one: like Bitcoin, perhaps.”
From 1998: The Economist: "Get Ready For A World Currency By 2018"
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-07-09/economist-get-ready-world-currency-2018
Israel's Answer to Bitcoin: A Digital Shekel That Could Replace Cash
In 100 Days, A New Jewish Elite Rises Under Trump
https://forward.com/news/national/370369/in-100-days-a-new-jewish-elite-rises-under-trump/
“Liberal-leaning Jewish activists, once the backbone of communal advocacy, had been pushed aside in favor of a new elite made up of activists who are more conservative in their politics and more Orthodox in their religious practice. The new leaders representing American Jewish interests in the White House are keen to shape policy on education and religious expression and to ensure a pro-Israel stance more in line with Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
“a new power structure is emerging, one that was forged in the pews of Teaneck, New Jersey, synagogues and at New York religious school fundraisers.
“The Zionist Organization Of America, which the Obama White House largely ignored, is also seeing its star rise under the new administration. It was the first to score a meeting with a member of the Trump team after the election.
“Trump, in his public outreach efforts, has made the Orthodox community a priority. During the presidential campaign, he gave his only interview with an American Jewish publication to the ultra-Orthodox Mishpacha magazine… The interview took place a day before the April New York primary..
“‘They’ve already learned they can do whatever they want and get away with it. Obama taught them that… observed the reporter, Yisroel Besser’”
Posted by: Daniel | May 23 2018 6:34 utc | 55
Pft @ 38:
I on the other hand love watching people like you making a fool of yourselves saluting yourselves for "truly knowing" israel/jews as if they were gods or something - capable of not only controlling western countries but also China and other WHILE in reality truly independent countries do exist.
Did you see how the old,wretched face of that so-called "master of universe" before he died? Doesn't look that powerful, does he? These people are still humans, vulnerable to the law of nature - the law of cause and effect, call it karma if you want.
It's apparent to me that people like you are nothing but sore losers, incapable of admitting that their own governments are the ones getting screwed while there are a few countries in the world being truly independent, out of israel/jews grubby hands.
Posted by: Face The Fact | May 23 2018 7:19 utc | 56
@56 Daniel.
jpost is the same as zerohedge and others "alternative news" with apparent bias against China. By quoting such websites, you don't give yourselves much credibility.
It's really ridiculous to assume that BRICS and OBOR don't care.
Oh, just in case you don't know. israel truly respects China more than it does towards usa.
Posted by: Face The Fact | May 23 2018 7:27 utc | 57
@ b with his update on Psy Group
Thanks for exposing more of the ugly underbelly of our swamp beasts. I wonder what Psy Group did for the 2 million?
@ Daniel with his reporting on Israel strategies......the one I got a chuckle out of was the "information" that Israel is emerging as the guardian of the world wide web.
IMO, global private finance and the God of Mammon religion make DC a swamp. Make all finance a public utility and the swamp is drained leaving fertile ground for tending to public needs........and no more incentives to have swamp creatures.
Posted by: psychohistorian | May 23 2018 7:31 utc | 58
@56 Daniel quotes "The project is called the Belt and Road Initiative… other notable members along with the Jewish state include"...... chortle.
So Israel is a member of the Belt and Road Initiative? Since when, exactly?
@56 Daniel also quotes "Israel is only miles south of the China land road, and only miles north of its proposed sea road"....... chortle.
So what I am reading is that Israel is being bypassed by the Belt and Road Initiative by land and by sea.
Apparently the Belt and Road Initiative is taking pains to go *around* Israel, yet we are expected to believe that Israel is a "member" of that very same initiative? Suuuuuuuuure.
But what does Israel actually have to offer, other than the threat of sinking any ship that comes near it, or bombing any road transport that wanders within range?
Or, in short: a "standover merchant".
Sure, I could see how that suits the Israeli mindset, though I wouldn't give much for its chances of success.
Posted by: Yeah, Right | May 23 2018 8:41 utc | 59
pantaraxia @7: My guess the Israel Lobby documentary was from the start intended to be leverage and not intended for the TV screen. Interesting/innovative exploitation of Qatar's journalistic 'power'.
Posted by: fairleft | May 23 2018 9:27 utc | 60
Karlofi @ 36
" ... the USA's headed for another self-induced financial crisis thanks to Neocon Hubris."
The West as a whole. I had hoped the Magic Bookkeeping Era would keep going for long enough to allow the Trump administration time to carry through its policies. The 2016 policies that is. Doesn't look as hopeful as it did. Certainly in the UK the politicians and the administration - the top few per cent for that matter - look more like a suicide cult than anything remotely rational.
Nor is the wholesale promotion of murder a rational foreign policy for the West. I suspect the victim populations are beginning to work out what's happening. Most of them are dumber than we are and still point their guns as directed. But an increasing number don't want to any more. The pawns on the Grand Chessboard aren't as obliging as they were.
So even in neocon terms it's not looking good. In our terms it looks like a mediaeval lunatic asylum. I don't suppose you have a plan B, do you? Difficult to see one in prospect at the moment.
Posted by: English Outsider | May 23 2018 9:52 utc | 61
The swamp will grow bigger
yeah, well, with 21 trillion missing, you can fund all kinds of growth, no?
for sure our congress critters can vouch for that.
me, i'm waiting patiently for the kudzu to relaim the National Mall, the great society's attempt at leaving its mark.
Posted by: john | May 23 2018 10:27 utc | 62
English [email protected] 62
As a Brit i agree, particularly your last comparison .
My comparison would be the film of the play 'the crucible 'by Arthur Miller' a community disintegrating into group
madness. Arguments and chaos abound. I tryed to find it on google but it seemed to have been taken down.rather sinister that! Oh bye the way it did'nt end well! We wonder about our global community
Posted by: Mark2 | May 23 2018 10:29 utc | 63
@English Outsider
" I suspect the victim populations are beginning to work out what's happening. Most of them are dumber than we are and still point their guns as directed"
dumber than we are
No I am afraid not.I think that on the slyding scale of aware vs dumb , USA,UK and their poodle are one side and Iran, Yemen and Syria are on the other.
Posted by: zaky | May 23 2018 10:47 utc | 65
zaky | May 23, 2018 6:47:04 AM | 67
I can agree with you on that.
Good post, IMO.
Posted by: V | May 23 2018 11:36 utc | 66
So if this blows up in the US what is going on in Saudi Arabia?
And why is it blowing up - highlighting George Nader's connections with Israel and Russia when Saudi - and Israel - are hedging their bets.
Posted by: somebody | May 23 2018 12:10 utc | 67
The anti-Russia conspiracy and the Mueller conspiracy that is a small part of it has nothing to do with Russia anyway, and never did have. The Democrats were happy to work with and accept bribes from all the Russian oligarchy including the pro-Russia Russian oligarchy.
The sole critical driving force in the whole conspiracy is to protect key criminals (politicians and especially "intelligence" officials) from jail sentences. Nothing else matters.
Remember Clinton's key phrase the moment Trump won - "we will all hang by the neck".
I speculate that the real reason behind the new anti-zionist slant is to blackmail those who are getting too close to check-mate against all the key principals in the FBI, DOJ, CIA, State Department etc.
There has been a lot of slowly plodding work done behind the scenes to prepare for prosecutions, and they are not looking for publicity.
The best source of key info on the whole conspiracy is here - it is a thoroughly right-wing site and nothing else that I have seen is worth reading (except on the Miami school shootings and coverup which they predicted in advance), but for the Muh Russia conspiracy they have excellent analyses.
Posted by: BM | May 23 2018 13:42 utc | 68
Interesting post and comments. That photo, though... my eyes, my eyes. It's truly sinister.
I've never believed much in the Russia! Russia! Russia! hype and doubted much, if anything, would be uncovered or proven. It seems to Mueller is going further afield and going after some of the dirty tricks and shenanigans of Trump and his "business associates." But I can't see how that ends bc as others have posited, so very many others are in so deep in this kind of grifting, graft, money laundering, gun running, drug smuggling, slavery of all sorts, kiddie diddling, porn stars and so forth. Where does it end? And who do you "protect" and who do you indict?
Eh? There's been some convictions, but the USA has long been a criminal empire. Maybe it was slightly less so for a brief period following WWII and FDR's implementation of the New Deal (against a vast amount of push back, to say the least). Those days are long gone now. Over and done.
The US populace are dumber than posts and are clueless about what's really going on. I see no way for them to truly awaken. We are still just financially secure enough to continue being fat, dumb and racist.
Anyway anyone who's relying on the fricking EFF BEE EYE to "save" them is a fool. Seriously. Mueller? Like he's so "clean"? Yeah, and I gotta bridge to sell ya.
At the end of the day, Trump's a horror show and completely unfit in any way for his role. However, the real powers behind the throne are gleefully using him as the big fat horrible distration that he is. And our rights as US citizens are being curtailed further and futher. And US citizens go: bah bah baaaaaahhhhh....
Posted by: RUKidding | May 23 2018 13:53 utc | 69
The bigger picture is that the US forced (I never found an explanation for this fact so I invented it myself) Europe to abandon its public transport systems (50's-60's) and switch to individual transport. This caused a huge flow of money from Europe to enter the SA, while the US could profit from their petrodollar. They (the SA) bought our continent and we paid for it ourselves, although our lives have become a little more luxuous because of this, but are no longer ours.
Posted by: Antares | May 23, 2018 2:28:32 AM | 54
The key was OIL. For the Oil companies tram is very bad, public buses are good, private cars are very good. Western Europe ripped up all it's excellent public tram networks and replaced them with public bus networks as a direct result of intervention by US oil corporations, with the sole aim of selling more oil and selling public bus vehicles.
The tram networks are cheap, highly economical, effective and efficient forms of public transport that save fuel costs, reduce toxic emissions, are cheap to run, and highly effective in transporting the masses across the city without causing traffic jams. Public buses are the exact opposite; a bonus for the poil companies is that the public transport by bus is so ineffective because of congestion that it boosts use of private cars, which makes things even worse.
Look at Berlin for example: East Berlin still has lots of trams (still being ripped up though...) while in West Berlin they are virtually extinct. In Berlin the change was directly linked to a specific oil company (I forget which, but one of the biggest in the US), and if I remember rightly also jointly with General Motors who sold the buses to the Berlin authorities.
Posted by: BM | May 23 2018 14:01 utc | 70
Zaky @ 67
Uighurs? Ukrainians? Kurds? And quite a few others. Though thinking it over I suppose your correction is justified. In any case, as you imply perhaps, it's not a contest in which we should be proud of leading the field.
Thing is, and either side of the Prog/Deplorable divide, there are plenty of us who know it's a shambles. There were plenty of us this side of the Atlantic who saw the Trump phenomenon and the equally odd Sanders phenomenon as the start of a way out of it. Well, Trump seems to be sat on by the Beltway and Sanders (willingly?) also sidelined. As I asked Karlofi, any other plan B's around your way?
Posted by: English Outsider | May 23 2018 14:10 utc | 71
Another interesting quote from Meyssan:
[In 1991] "...the Likud campaigned in the United States against Secretary of State James Baker and managed to prevent the re-election of President Bush the Father."
Posted by: Bart Hansen | May 23 2018 14:17 utc | 72
karlof1 @ 36. I agree your first article is very excellent. I think Russia is making the right choice by not trying to conform to US sanctions but working to circumvent them. Also like the shout out to their central banker, Elvira Nabiullina, who seems to be doing an excellent job.
""He (Putin) has specifically ruled out allowing Western banks from opening branches in Russia. Whilst Western banks are welcome to work in Russia – and many of them do – their operations have to be regulated by the Russian Central Bank in just the same way as those of Russian banks are.
In Russia’s case one reason for the apparent increase in the state’s share of the economy is almost certainly the increasing process of consolidation in the banking system.
That has been actively managed by the Central Bank as it seeks to strengthen Russia’s banking system by closing down Russia’s many unsound and insolvent banks.
That has left the banking system increasingly concentrated in a small number of big state owned banks.
This programme – expertly handled by the arch-liberal head of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina and her team – is universally considered a necessity and a great success.
Frankly, I have come increasingly round to the view that some people use the word ‘structural reform’ as code for ‘surrender to the West’.""
Also of interest, Medvedev, when speaking of the response to western sanctions said
""First, we must not harm ourselves, because we should act pragmatically. Even when something annoys us – and the Americans are behaving obnoxiously, as I have said, we must not do any harm to ourselves. Second, the reply, whether symmetric or asymmetric, must be painful.""
Posted by: financial matters | May 23 2018 14:49 utc | 73
English Outsider @73--
"Plan B's" IMO, to properly plan anything, the goal aimed for must be declared/defined. The goal for any Polity as I see it through my lens of Ethical Humanism is to provide for the best possible outcome for the greatest number of people--Win-Win as Xi and Putin have extoled. Obviously, such an outcome cannot be gained by a Polity engaged in a Class War, which by definition is a Zero-sum Game--Few win, most lose: The antithesis of the prior goal. Essentially, Xi and Putin have said: You are free to join us in an equal partnership as we try to establish a Win-Win based community of nations; although, you're free to continue your Class War if you desire as long as you don't try to disrupt our efforts. IMO, this provides the Ideological basis for what's currently happening. Presumably, MoA's Barflies would prefer to join Xi's and Putin's effort. So, the primary question becomes: How do we get our nation's governments to cease their Class War on their public for the 1%'s benefit alone and get them to join the emerging Multipolar Alliance aimed at establishing Win-Win?
IMO, two options exist: Peaceful Revolution using whatever democratic tools remain or Violent Revolution mimicking the French or Russian models. As history shows, Class War governments will do their utmost to forestall either choice from occurring--current UK events are an excellent example as is the entire Post-WW2 USA's. The EU's formulation also shows its intent for waging Class War. IMO, the linchpin at play is educating the public about what I've written--that was Occupy Wall Street's primary goal, which was why it was attacked by all three levels of government--local, state, federal--within the Outlaw US Empire (Although OWS began before Xi or Putin articulated their ideas and goals). And history also shows the two options are cause for division amongst those trying to defeat the Class War being waged on them such that their efforts are easily defeated by the state. So, regardless the option chosen, Solidarity is the public's paramount #1 goal. Once attained, either option ought to be invincible even in the face of the most oppressive coercion employed by the state. However, history also shows a counter revolution will always be mounted by the displaced forces which must be anticipated and neutered at its birth (such was realized by Aristotle, so this isn't new).
So, Plan B is to win the Class War so we can join those aiming at establishing a Win-Win global polity that's sustainable while being equitable, IMO. the English public, IMO, is in a much better position to Win since it actually has a political party leader with that goal in mind--Corbyn. IMO, Sanders within the Outlaw US Empire does not share such a goal or lacks the courage to articulate it, although he promotes policies to mitigate the worse effects of the Class War on those most vulnerable, thus his popularity (his behavior during the 2016 campaign proves he's not interested in winning the Class War).
Nader said it best during the 2000 election campaign, although it wasn't a new slogan of his, as he aimed at youth: Turn onto Politics or Politics will Turn on You.
Posted by: karlof1 | May 23 2018 16:22 utc | 74
- Saudi Arabia also fueled the swamp with (more) money. They poured money into a campaign to undermine the Iran deal.
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/the-saudi-lobbys-scheme-to-destroy-the-iran-deal/
Posted by: Willy2 | May 23 2018 16:24 utc | 75
Re: Posted by: meme | May 23, 2018 2:04:26 AM | 53
"Well, it seems now that the swamp has literally entered the White House. Lol. An actual sinkhole has opened on the White House lawn. It’s growing"
Somehow I imagine it leads straight to Hell. Or perhaps to the secret bunkers built far below.
Posted by: Perimetr | May 23 2018 17:32 utc | 76
@78 If we're lucky it will lead to Michael Cohen's email account.
"Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, received a secret payment of at least $400,000 (£300,000) to fix talks between the Ukrainian president and President Trump, according to sources in Kiev close to those involved.
The payment was arranged by intermediaries acting for Ukraine's leader, Petro Poroshenko, the sources said, though Mr Cohen was not registered as a representative of Ukraine as required by US law.
Mr Cohen denies the allegation."
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44215656
Posted by: dh | May 23 2018 17:52 utc | 77
karlof1 @ 76
Thank you very much. I go for this one - "Peaceful Revolution using whatever democratic tools remain" except that I'm more milk and water and go for peaceful reform instead of revolution. Hence my hopes for Trump 2016.
I do vote Corbyn (because of the ME and the Ukraine) but though I've succeeded in jumping the Prog/Deplorable divide to do so he hasn't returned the compliment. He will remain as Progressive as they come and I think would therefore be unable to carry out the necessary reforms.
In spite of your very clear exposition, and whether we belong to the pitchfork brigade or the milk and water contingent, I suspect all such considerations may become irrelevant. To borrow your quote, if Politics doesn't turn on us then events will. Maybe you also get the feeling that in the West, time is not on our side.
Posted by: English Outsider |
Posted by: English Outsider | May 23 2018 19:34 utc | 78
English Outsider @80--
Thanks for your reply. "Maybe you also get the feeling that in the West, time is not on our side."
Well, I'd say time isn't on humanity's side regardless of where one resides as long as Zero-sum policy goals dominate all others. Young people I meet willing to listen are told to learn a needed as opposed to a discretionary skill allowing them to remain a useful part of whatever economy remains after the next crisis. If they remain receptive after that, I suggest learning Russian or Mandarin so they can go where people are valued and ethics still exist. Despite the current ferment within the USA, the factions involved too often behave like religious sects blind to the fundamental need for Solidarity to be established. Atomization of society operates like Cancer or as a plague on that society, and that process is quite advanced here. I'd hoped for a better political response to the engineered 2008 financial crash, but the need to defuse such a response was anticipated and neutered by Obama's Hope and Change Big Lies that alienated millions from politics.
I think the best humanity can hope for is forcing the retreat of Zero-sum goals to the USA and containing them there while the nations forming the Multipolar Alliance get on with attaining sustainable Win-Win solutions for their populaces. Hard to say how long this might take, but IMO it must occur quickly--within the span of one generation: 20 years.
Posted by: karlof1 | May 23 2018 20:27 utc | 79
Yeah Right @60 asks?'
"So Israel is a member of the Belt and Road Initiative? Since when, exactly?"
A quick internet search reveals Israeli ties to the China “One Belt/One Road” Initiative go back… way back. In fact, back almost 2 decades before President Xi announced the renamed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Israel and China signed formative financial agreements.
1 Dec 2016
The China-Israel Financial Protocol and the Road and Belt Initiative
The China-Israel Financial Protocol ('Financial Protocol'), signed 20 years ago, already reached a cumulative value of 2.6 Billion USD to date. The first Financial Protocol was signed in 1995.
The main growth of the credit provided by the Financial Protocol followed the global financial crisis in 2008.
All leading banks in China and Israel are parties to this scheme.
This financial scheme is insured by an Israeli state-owned insurance agency, the Israeli Foreign National Trade Insurance Corporation Ltd. (ASHRA)
Israel and the BRI: Introduction
Israel’s growing ties to the PRC and its increasingly astute understanding of the possible political and economic impact of the BRI in the global order has brought about a rise in Israeli engagement with China. Examples of this engagement include Israel’s charter membership and participation in the AIIB (Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank) and various projects in the context of security, resource management, academia and technological innovation.
Combining the strategic value Israel’s physical location, which could play a role in the transport of Chinese goods to African and European markets, with the game changing technological advancements being developed in ‘Silicon Wadi’, Israeli expertise appears to have many applications within the BRI especially in the fields of security, big data and water management.
Posted by: Daniel | May 23 2018 21:07 utc | 80
@ 80, 81
A third way.
First, those exercising power are never going to relinquish that power, ever. Second, those exercising power cannot self correct, they depend upon the status quo, they rely on broad consent to maintain their power. Those holding power cannot change and maintain their power. Withdraw consent. And as the eloquent lines from W. B. Yeats' "The Second Coming" provide for the widening gyre and the centre not holding, the falconer loses command of power over the falcon …. Patience Grasshopper. Prepare to command the falcon and be patient.
Posted by: Formerly T-Bear | May 23 2018 21:16 utc | 81
LOL. “Face the Fact’ Hasbarat troll. So, the Jerusalem Post, a Zionist MSM publication founded in 1932 is some flaky “alternative” news sources? And you post this “concern trolling” about my “credibility” on Moon of Alabama? LOL
If you don’t like Zero Hedge (which frankly, I am ambivalent about), then let’s go to the source, The Economist (a Rothschild publication).
A global currency is not a new idea, but it may soon get a new lease of life
Sep 24th 1998
Posted by: Daniel | May 23 2018 21:20 utc | 82
Re a related item on ZeroHedge I texted my buddy who recently left the Secret Service about the general relationship between rank and file agents working low publicity cases and the higher administrative agents in both agencies (he was a liaison with an FBI counterintelligence unit for two years). His response:
"To your question about zerohedge, there's a massive disconnect between rank and file agents and hq leadership in the service and the fbi. Once you get to hq and leadership at that level, you've succumbed to or decided to contribute to the bureaucracy, especially the fbi, where the agency has so blurred the lines between criminal investigations and intelligence operations that the one bleeds into the other. The fbi has been political for a long time and now it's hubris is coming to a head."
It is everywhere the same.
Posted by: WJ | May 23 2018 21:28 utc | 83
psychohistorian @59.
As you may recall, I absolutely share your views of our economic situation and your suggestion to make it work for the 99%.
The way I'm reading these articles (and earlier ones I've posted about IDF's Unit 8200 and Operation Talpiot), the strong possibility is that the global financial cabal are instituting a global DIGITAL currency. And with its backdoors and keys to all things internet, Israeli organizations have positioned themselves to control it all.
Bitcoin was introduced (by some secret Chinese person I believe is the legend) and hugely promoted by "alternative" sites. It gained a real "hip" "halo" (as the auto industry refers to such managed perceptions). Then, it skyrocketed in value, but is remarkably unstable.
Hence, China, Israel (and Venezuela) are introducing their own "secure" digital currencies. And as we're seeing and discussing, the US petrodollar is losing ground fast.
What does a government do when it's shown that its entire infrastructure can be shut off or destroyed by Talpiot-related groups?
Posted by: Daniel | May 23 2018 21:34 utc | 84
Face The Fact chortles:
“people like you making a fool of yourselves saluting yourselves for "truly knowing" israel/jews as if they were gods or something …”
It’s not us who claim the Ashkenazi Jews are superior. It’s them.
Posted by: Daniel | May 23 2018 21:41 utc | 85
Daniel @84&86--
Asimov wrote about global and digital currencies in both his Foundation and Robot series beginning in 1942. I don't recall Verne, Wells or any other SciFi writer doing so before then. IMO, such currencies and the digital format just extends the logic of fiat money to its conclusion. That Russia was first to admit the need for the state to control the issuance of such currency was rather revealing whereas the West was mute on that point.
Posted by: karlof1 | May 23 2018 21:54 utc | 86
U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman (who is personally invested in illegal Jewish-only towns built in occupied Palestine) is shocked... SHOCKED, I tell ya... that unknown to innocent little him, he posed with a 3' x 5' photo of Jerusalem with the al Aqsa Mosque replaced by the glorious Third Temple.
Posted by: Daniel | May 23 2018 22:08 utc | 87
karlof1. Putin has also said that whoever gets control of AI first, will control the world.
The more I look into this high-tech, Unit 8200, Operation Talpot, BRI, BRIC, IMF/WB nexus, the more it looks like big changes are coming to "the West"... very soon.
The IMF is all in on the renamed “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI)
The City of London financial cabal notes:
https://www.beltandroad.london/about/
In Asia alone, the Asia Development Bank (ADB) estimates that there are $1.7 trillion of infrastructure needs every year until 2025. Some of this will be met though public financing and multi-lateral institutions- indeed, the Silk Road Fund and Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), of which the UK is a Founding Member, have been set up for exactly this purpose.
London is the number one exporter of financial services across the world… London houses more foreign banks, and accounts for more international bank lending, than any other financial city.
And of course, whenever they write "London" they are really referring to the independent entity, the "City of London" as can be seen on all their logos and documents.
Posted by: Daniel | May 23 2018 22:26 utc | 88
@79 dh -- from the article you referenced
" Mr Poroshenko decided to establish a back channel to Mr Trump. The task was given to a former aide, who asked a loyal Ukrainian MP for help.
He in turn used personal contacts in a Jewish charity in New York state, Chabad of Port Washington. This eventually led to Michael Cohen..."
and
"The senior intelligence official in Kiev said Mr Cohen had been helped by Felix Sater, a convicted former mobster who was once Trump's business partner. "
The Ukrainian president wants to establish a back channel to Trump and who is selected for the task? Why naturally an MP with 'personal contacts in a Jewish charity' (Chabad no less) . This 'naturally' leads to Cohen and Sater, two jewish-Ukrainian immigrants who just happened to have ties to the jewish mafia operating in Ukraine. Cohen's father-in-law was part of the Odessa branch of this mafia, while Sater's father just happened to have been a lieutenant in Semion Mogilevich's notorious jewish mafia. And both are intimately tied to Trump's business dealings.
So the choice of avenues to pursue a back channel is, naturally enough - a jewish charity. WTF ???
And specifically the Chabad of Port Washington. Yup, nothing to see her folks - its just business.
For those interested in the backstory of this 'charity' and just how swampy things really are, suggested reading: (too long to condense for comments)
The Happy-Go-Lucky Jewish Group That Connects Trump and Putin
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/04/the-happy-go-lucky-jewish-group-that-connects-trump-and-putin-215007
And that is how they roll.
Posted by: pantaraxia | May 23 2018 22:52 utc | 89
@ 42 Jen
A most interesting comment. I hadn't been aware of British Israelism, though it doesn't surprise me. There were a lot of marriages between aristocratic Englishmen and aristocratic Jewish women towards the end of the nineteenth century, which would indicate there was a certain cultural coming together. While I believe Balfour was a quid pro quo and the Zionists kept their side of the bargain with a campaign to get America into WWI that was brilliantly executed, things are often more subtle and The English may well have been thinking of a Zionist colony as a strategic base as you suggest.
Posted by: Lochearn | May 23 2018 23:01 utc | 90
Yulia Skripal gave a recorded statement:
https://twitter.com/JurisAbramenko/status/999334820923760640
Posted by: Charles R | May 23 2018 23:16 utc | 91
Daniel @90--
Yes, I read those words Putin uttered last year on several occasions. That London would find BRI extremely attractive ought to go without saying, but the silence about it from Wall Street's deafening.
I thought the Chinese adage about living in interesting times was meant to be limited to less than a decade, yet I find that every decade of my 62 years clearly qualify as interesting; and looking forward, they'll continue to be interesting. I've also noticed that asteroids are always zooming nearby, and for me the planet's alive yet sensitive to humanity's manipulations. The Meta Question I now have: Will Humanity Overcome Itself or Die Trying?
Posted by: karlof1 | May 23 2018 23:29 utc | 92
Yes, karlofi1... interesting times indeed. And growing ever more interesting. Though mostly we Westerners seem to be chasing squirrels instead of following the terribly interesting developments as the plans of patient peoples are executed around and upon us.
Perhaps we'll engage in that glorious revolution... if enough of us wake up and get unified behind a plan of action soon enough. I've noted my preference for a Chris Hedges style combination of mass strikes and targeted boycotts along with street protests. But is that really sufficient? It could result in TPTSB granting us some "reforms," but could such means bring about the sort of fundamental revolutionary changes that psychohistorian calls for (and which I agree are necessary)?
Posted by: Daniel | May 24 2018 0:59 utc | 93
Argentina is fishing for a big IMF loan (please refer to “Confessions of an Economic Hitman” for context). The leaders of both Peru and Bolivia were not elected to those offices, and in fact the leader of Bolivia cannot even legally run for the office he holds due to previous convictions for corruption.
But the US and its vassal states are outraged at the horribly undemocratic deed of holding a carefully monitored election in Venezuela. The very hip and cool PM of Canada barred Venezuelan nationals from voting in Venezuelan consulate buildings (which near as I can tell is illegal under International Law).
Speaking of hip and cool new, young national leaders, Mohammed bin Salman’s KSA has apparently arrested a dozen or more young women for promoting driving autos a month early.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-44223285
Posted by: Daniel | May 24 2018 1:31 utc | 94
@ Daniel with his reference to my suggested changes as revolutionary
I prefer to think of them as evolutionary.....can't find the quote I am looking for in my move, damn!
The folks that cast my suggestion of public finance as revolutionary do so as a denial that movement along the path of self regulating finance as a species is natural and not revolutionary.
Posted by: psychohistorian | May 24 2018 1:45 utc | 95
psychohistorian. I was using karlofi1's term "revolution." Though I would have to say that your suggestion surely fits most definitions of "revolutionary change." It would be pretty much a 180 degree turn.
But I don't recall reading your proposal for how to achieve it, whatever term you prefer for that process.
Posted by: Daniel | May 24 2018 4:13 utc | 96
@ Daniel who wrote:
"
But I don't recall reading your proposal for how to achieve it, whatever term you prefer for that process.
"
I have two current thoughts about your question
"The way that can be named is not the real way." Lao Tze
Again, why I call it an evolutionary process, the world of private finance will end because of its own internal contradictions in relation to our species. And the replacement outline has already created and executed 13 5-yeqr plans.....the future is not evenly distributed and what is 180 degrees off to you might be significantly less to others.
You are the future Daniel.
Posted by: psychohistorian | May 24 2018 6:07 utc | 97
psychohistorian
“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.”
~ Frederick Douglass quotes
Still true.
Posted by: Daniel | May 24 2018 19:40 utc | 98
Speaking of Ukraine and the presser by the Dutch Investigators that Bellingcat's social media images prove it was the Russians themselves who shot down MH17.... I see that South Front has reported a recent surge of Ukie aggression against DPR:
Posted by: Daniel | May 25 2018 4:33 utc | 99
The swamp which Trump said he would drain, swallowed him whole.
Trump knew, before he threw his hat into the ring as a candidate, that The Swamp is populated, exclusively, by extreme Right Wing Cranks. The common characteristics of RWCs are...
1. They consider themselves to be a collective of Supreme Beings.
2. They cook up madcap schemes, embrace deception, and dream of World Domination.
3. The resulting contempt for Humanity, and hostility toward mundane and 'populist' notions of morality, tends to make them deaf to, and dismissive of conventional thinking.
4. These flaws result in them believing all of their own bullshit.
Trump, who is no stranger to cooking up spontaneous variations on the truth, seems to have recognised that the difference between The Swamp and its bullshit, and Trump and His bullshit, is that he knows his bullshit is bullshit and is neither sufficiently rusted on to it, nor so blinded by his own magnificence, that he can't dump it in a heartbeat.
This gives him a potentially decisive advantage over The Swamp because he knows he can soothe any interim concerns they might have by paying lip service to their dreams and desires and thereby let their over-confidence fill in any gaps. It's working out quite well for Trump. They're getting more brazen every month and seem to be on the cusp of making a monumental blunder.
Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Jun 8 2018 4:25 utc | 100
The comments to this entry are closed.
Mueller hasn't got anything. He represents the beaten wing of the 'Intelligence Community' and Democratic Party that has been pushed out by the US Military.
Posted by: heath | May 22 2018 13:42 utc | 1