Open Thread 2018-65
News & views ...
Posted by b on December 5, 2018 at 17:41 UTC | Permalink
next page »Just a note to the world to express my absolute disgust with Trump's designation of today, 5Dec2018, as a "National Day of Mourning", a "bank holiday", with no mail service (except for limited package service) - in order to honor a war criminal. I suppose I should be glad that all war criminals are not so honored - we'd get very little mail.
Posted by: dus7 | Dec 5 2018 18:58 utc | 2
@ dus7 | #2
I suppose I should be glad that all war criminals are not so honored - we'd get very little mail.
Good one!
Posted by: Zachary Smith | Dec 5 2018 19:18 utc | 4
This item and this item expose how the Republicans operate at the state level to destroy people's lives and inhibit very needful legislation, which may come as a surprise to readers outside the Outlaw US Empire. Yet as the comments at the first item illustrate, Democrats aren't held up as much better. However, the Michigan crap is just disgusting--how can anyone live by waiting tables for under $4/hr? Note how Republicans stole the opportunity from the public to vote on those measures. MbS has nothing on Republicans when it comes to EVIL. Imagine such legislative stunts being performed in Venezuela, Syria or Cuba.
Posted by: karlof1 | Dec 5 2018 19:25 utc | 5
That which is unsustainable, will not be sustained. "My opponents are crook" said the opponents on boths sides of the aisle, and they were both right for a change, not that change is what they seek.
Those here who hold dearly onto self images of them versus us may do well to reflect uopn what's in the mirror as well as that which is reflecting back.
Or, read Cicero and stop getting your panties in a twist.
Posted by: Covergirl | Dec 5 2018 19:30 utc | 6
Peter Lavelle must stop interrupting his guests' statements -- too often, important points are discontinued because Lavelle excitedly wants to make his point or interrupts to try to change the topic under discussion.
Posted by: chet380 | Dec 5 2018 19:36 utc | 7
another thread which will likely turn into a donkeytale-jr gong show about usa whataboutism - repubs and dems, lol.. originality at it's finest! take it away!!
Posted by: james | Dec 5 2018 19:45 utc | 8
There is a comet coming!
Comet Wirtanen is going to be at it's naked-eye brightest on December 16th, 2018 !
Comets are bad luck for someone, goes the folklore.
Yeah, I know, someone somewhere is always having bad luck.
Let us hope it is bad luck for the Saudi, MBS.
Posted by: librul | Dec 5 2018 19:57 utc | 9
G-20 wrap-up by Pepe Escobar. The analysis is great and punctuated with a few gems.
First:
"Wang, defiant, outspoken, and an expert on Japan, was promoted to state councillor last year, which means the Ministry of Foreign Affairs now has much more clout over other key Chinese institutions. Last summer, Wang coined a priceless take on Trump’s trade war: 'The U.S. often says that it is taken advantage of, but this is perplexing. It’s like someone who buys a hundred-dollar product in a supermarket, has the product in hand, and then complains that he is a hundred dollars short. Does that logic stand up?'"
Second:
"The Militarized Evangelical Banana Republic, formerly known as Brazil, once again, did not fail to deceive. French President Emmanuel Macron – already embattled by the Yellow Vest insurrection across France – reiterated that a free trade deal between the EU and Mercosur, under negotiation for nearly twenty years now, can only be clinched if the Brazilian government, under Jair Bolsonaro, does not ditch the Paris climate change Accord.
"Prior to the G20, Bolsonaro abdicated from hosting the UN summit on climate change in 2019 – as Brazil may leave the Paris Accord to the benefit of the powerful agro-business lobby ravaging the Amazon rainforest. For Macron, self-styled leader not only of the EU but global environment, that’s a major red line. And that will translate into a French veto on a deal with Mercosur."
And in case you missed it, and you probably did, Bhadrakumar's G-20 report complements Pepe's quite well while reporting on the Trilateral Summit within the G-20.
One thing China must never do is to privatize its banks as the CIA demands.
Posted by: karlof1 | Dec 5 2018 20:12 utc | 11
Chet at 7
I stopped watching CrossTalk for that reason, there being very little of it between guests but lots on his part. Also, he should cut the number of guests by at least one.
Posted by: Bart Hansen | Dec 5 2018 20:17 utc | 12
dus7 (2) - I am 100% in agreement for a National Day of Mourning...for the VICTIMS of bushit.
Posted by: Ralph | Dec 5 2018 20:18 utc | 13
Sen. Graham Wants a More Reliable Fascist in Saudi Arabia – Paul Jay
GREG WILPERT: Joining me now to make sense of these latest developments is Paul Jay. Paul is the editor in chief of The Real News Network and has been following the story closely for a long time. Welcome, Paul.As senators left the briefing–you heard the first clip that we have. He suddenly was very concerned about the murder of a Saudi citizen. Doesn’t that seem rather strange? I mean, they never seemed to care much about the tens of thousands of Saudi–tens of thousands that Saudi Arabia has killed in Yemen, and the countless dissidents that they have executed. So why is Senator Graham so willing to break with Trump, and blaming Mohammed bin Salman for the murder?
PAUL JAY: Well, first of all, every so often Donald Trump blurts out something that’s true in spite of himself. Just after the killing was revealed, and Trump–Trump was concerned about two things about the killing of Khashoggi. One, that it was the worst coverup ever. He wasn’t really worried about the killing. He was angry that the coverup was so badly executed. And two, he said, you Saudis–meaning the monarchy–wouldn’t last two weeks without the United States. He may have been exaggerating about two weeks. But I don’t think he was exaggerating that the Saudi monarchy wouldn’t last without U.S. military and financial support. In terms of financial, helping the Saudis amass trillions of dollars of oil wealth by keeping them in power.
So why do the Americans do this? And why all of a sudden is Graham and Senator Corker, why are they so upset? The fundamental alliance–and this is what Graham goes on to talk about–the strategic alliance with the Saudis, and you have to add to that the strategic alliance with Israel, to some extent Turkey, prior to the overthrow of the Shah of Iran you could include Iran. But right now the Saudi-Israeli-U.S. alliance is critical to U.S. control of the region. This is about American hegemony. This is about the United States trying to control the outcome of events. That doesn’t mean they do control the outcome of events. And the Iraq war is a good example of that. But they try very hard to control the outcome. And the strategic importance, obviously, is oil. And the Saudis are a critical player in this.
https://therealnews.com/stories/sen-graham-wants-a-more-reliable-fascist-in-saudi-arabia-paul-jay
Posted by: QuietRebel | Dec 5 2018 20:51 utc | 14
B, thank you for all you do.
https://pundita.blogspot.com/2018/12/moon-of-alabama-versus-information.html
Posted by: Pundita | Dec 5 2018 21:09 utc | 15
"The last two Democratic presidencies largely involved talking progressive while serving Wall Street and the military-industrial complex. The obvious differences in personalities and behavior of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama diverted attention from their underlying political similarities. In office, both men rarely fought for progressive principles — and routinely undermined them."
Article from Truthdig: https://www.truthdig.com/articles/what-it-means-that-hillary-clinton-might-run-for-president-in-2020/
Posted by: ben | Dec 5 2018 21:54 utc | 16
reply to: QuietRebel 14
"sen-graham-wants-a-more-reliable-fascist-in-saudi-arabia."
From what I have read the Prince in the wings is one that the CIA has been working with/on for some time. What "more reliable" really means is a CIA controlled monarch vs a Trump sorta controlled monarch. Which gives one a good idea of who owns Graham. Watch your back Trump.
Posted by: frances | Dec 5 2018 21:56 utc | 17
@ chet380 | Dec 5, 2018 2:36:52 PM | 7
___________________________________________
I've been watching Peter Lavelle and Crosstalk for a long time, and continue to watch because it has its moments-- and there really aren't many competitors.
But Lavelle's incorrigible foibles are exasperating and aggravating. As the saying goes, "he just can't help himself". Far too often, he behaves as if his guests are just there to prompt, or remind, him of things that he wants to say.
As a retired hearings officer, I think that the moderator/participant hybrid role is problematic and difficult to bring off at best-- and Lavelle's temperament is not suited for the delicate balancing act it requires.
It's nice that Peter is "passionate", but in addition to his domineering approach he also has a bully streak that manifests in an incipient "kiss up/kick down" manner. So, for instance, he rarely interrupts Mark Sleboda. But Dmitry Babich can't open his mouth without Lavelle either limiting his time, talking over him, and/or cutting him off.
Am I right to remember that you've used MOA open threads to complain about Lavelle previously? His uncritical fans really resent it; they defend him like a brother.
Posted by: Ort | Dec 5 2018 21:59 utc | 18
Yes when Lavelle shuts up and lets his guests talk, and he has intelligent guests, the shows are wonderful, like when he had Sharmine Narwani, Mohammad Marandi, and Ali al-Ahmed to talk about Khassoggi. But when he constantely interrupts or has ridiculous guests like the unbearable "Lionel" the show turns into a farce.
Posted by: George Lane | Dec 5 2018 22:08 utc | 19
Just a word that I discovered your site about six weeks ago during the MbS crisis and I'm very impressed. I come here every day. Keep up the great work.
Posted by: Eenusch | Dec 5 2018 22:09 utc | 20
Some new updates about ERA - the unique innovative technopolis of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. Military scientific laboratories on the resort coast of the Black Sea, which are developing including the newest Russian weapons.
James @ 8, lol, very funny...almost as funny as George Barris. You could be the host of the Gong Show featuring donkeytale and Jackrabbit.
Although you are more like "Carlton the Doorman" from the old "Valerie Harper" Show. Maybe before your time. Like Carlton, you have one bit repeated over and over and over and over (ad nauseum), announcing the entrance of all the actually interesting characters..er, I mean commenters on each and every thread it seems. LOL. No worries, though, carry on my wayward son...
Posted by: donkeytale | Dec 5 2018 22:16 utc | 22
I would like to join in the gossip about Peter Lavelle but he does present the only program I watch on RT, except for Chris Hedges. The more I watch and read stuff by Chris Hedges the more I admire him. This is a journalist who gave up a brilliant career because of Iraq and has dedicated his time to writing books and visiting people in prison. Not to discuss his books, but to read bits from Howard Zinn’s great work: A People’s History of the United States.
I was researching Auburn State Prison in New York State this week. From the early 1800s to the turn of the century inmates were prohibited from talking during meals and at work. When they walked they had to hold the shoulders of the guy in front. Then they went to their cells where they were alone. Many prisoners committed suicide by smashing their heads against the doors of their cells, or jumped off the fourth floor. The Auburn method was repeated across the US. When Nelson Rockefeller (grandson of the bastard) decided to impose punitive sentences for drug use on the inhabitants of New York State in the early 1970s new prisons had to be built in the "North Country" where rural whites were charged with supervising predominantly black and Hispanic inmates. Other States copied the Rockefeller’s initiative. But there was another dark side to it.
According to a 2016 article in Harper's Magazine article, John Ehrlichman, who had been Nixon's domestic-policy adviser, told reporter Dan Baum in a 1994 interview:
The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I'm saying? We knew we couldn't make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.
Posted by: Lochearn | Dec 5 2018 22:59 utc | 23
chet380 + ort
I gave up on trying to listen to "pundits" like this, too. I would add ones like Bill O'Rielly, Rush Limbaugh, and Alex Jones. Sometimes it seemed like they had the person on to sit there and listen to them rant or give their opinion. It's why I don't listen to other call-in shows. It's frustrating having to listen to an hour only to get 5 minutes of good information.
Posted by: Curtis | Dec 5 2018 23:50 utc | 24
Curtis @24
Loads of goods info here on what's really going on:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMf1qGR8km1c8vg_dtpzzVQ/videos
Their latest discussion sums up much of their work and brings it bang up to date, but if you begin with their first video and work through to their latest, you'll fully understand the dynamics they're exploring.
Posted by: Richard | Dec 6 2018 0:04 utc | 25
@ 24 and @ 25
This is a sophisticated geopolitical blog. It does not have time for posers. Give us your truth!
Posted by: Lochearn | Dec 6 2018 0:09 utc | 26
You link to your youtube page. Who the fuck is interested in that? If you have something to say say it.
Posted by: Lochearn | Dec 6 2018 0:16 utc | 28
@28
It's not my page. It's simply an immense resource for those who are starved of information on the real dynamics at play in the world today.
These guys use mainstream sources and official documents and present their conclusions to you.
I was just trying to be helpful to 24 above.
But sure, yeah, if I've anything else to say I'll say it, I suppose.
Posted by: Richard | Dec 6 2018 0:30 utc | 29
@29
"These guys use mainstream sources and official documents and present their conclusions to you."
Oh, well that says it all.
Posted by: Lochearn | Dec 6 2018 0:37 utc | 30
@30
What it says is that all the information you need to undermine the overall mainstream narrative is there in mainstream media itself.
Posted by: Richard | Dec 6 2018 0:44 utc | 31
@11 karlof1
Thanks for the two links. I especially liked Bhadrakumar's take on India's stance. We have seen India step forth on a certain path lately, but for me it took this piece to clarify that actually China and Russia probably are interested in helping India stand against the hegemon, and that actually the three nations together make one hell of an axis.
Posted by: Grieved | Dec 6 2018 0:51 utc | 32
@ donkeytale.. thanks for rolling with that.. i have yet to hear from jr... probably no comment at this point! let this be a lesson in finding a way to shut him up, lol.. it seems to have worked with the both of you temporarily!
Posted by: james | Dec 6 2018 1:17 utc | 33
Regarding rt's "Cross talk" I have to agree with the consensus here that it's much less than it could be. I find "Worlds apart" and "SophieCo" often worthwhile with interesting guests and informed questions.
For those who follow the Browder shenanigans this site has a new post up about Kordokovsky, Browder, and current court case in Cyprus: www.thekomisarscoop.com/2018/11/stealing-russias-energy-assets-is-the-real-russiagate/
Posted by: the pessimist | Dec 6 2018 1:41 utc | 34
WHY THE SAUDI BOMBING CAMPAIGN IN YEMEN IS LEGITIMATE - AT LEAST ACCORDING TO JOHN MERSHEIMER
John Mearsheimer lays out a case that the US and the west are responsible for the war in Ukraine (https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/russia-fsu/2014-08-18/why-ukraine-crisis-west-s-fault?cid=soc-tw-rdr via @ForeignAffairs). While the EU attempted to lure Ukraine into its economic sphere, NATO expansion advanced east to the doorstep of Russia adding the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia (over the objections of Russia).
".......At its April 2008 summit in Bucharest, the alliance considered admitting Georgia and Ukraine………Putin maintained that admitting those two countries to NATO would represent a “direct threat” to Russia. One Russian newspaper reported that Putin, while speaking with Bush, “very transparently hinted that if Ukraine was accepted into NATO, it would cease to exist.”......"
Putin - by supporting a war in Eastern Ukraine and illegally annexing Crimea - appears to be making good on his promise. Mearsheimer continues:
".......One also hears the claim that Ukraine has the right to determine whom it wants to ally with and the Russians have no right to prevent Kiev from joining the West. This is a dangerous way for Ukraine to think about its foreign policy choices. The sad truth is that might often makes right when great-power politics are at play. Abstract rights such as self-determination are largely meaningless when powerful states get into brawls with weaker states......"
According to Mearsheimer, Ukraine and Georgia apparently are not sovereign nations, but must remain largely dependent economically and politically on Russia. Mearsheimer writes, “Western leaders should acknowledge that Ukraine matters so much to Putin that they cannot support an anti-Russian regime there.” In other words, Ukrainians are not allowed to elect an anti-Russian President, or join the EU/NATO. So elections under the idea of Mearsheimer are a sham - as is the concept of sovereignty.
What happens when you apply a “might makes right” concept and a sphere of influence to other nations? The result is an international pecking order based on military strength. It applies in Yemen as well. Yemen falls within the “sphere of influence” of Saudi Arabia. The former internationally-recognized Sunni government was overthrown by the Houthis. The Saudis are locked in a regional struggle with Shia Iran - and a Shia (Houthi) government on her south border is a direct threat to the Saudis - both for internal reasons (destabilization) and for military reasons. Iran is the leading suspect in supporting and supplying weapons to the Houthis including ballistic missile technology which are a direct threat to Saudi Arabia. Luckily - according to Mearsheimer - the Saudis possess US weapons and technology to implement the “might makes right” policy.
Mearsheimer (wrongly) accuses the west and NATO of responsibility for the crisis in Ukraine. At the same time, he advocates for an international pecking order based on the military strength of each country - and a might makes right area of interests. He eliminates the concept of “sovereignty” throwing Ukraine under the bus. Mearsheimer’s strategy of appeasement toward Russian makes Nevil Chaimberlain look like a war hawk.
Posted by: craigsummers | Dec 6 2018 2:02 utc | 35
Posted by: paid jerk-off | Dec 5, 2018 9:02:16 PM | 35
Muddled thinking from a third-rate propagandist. Hyping the threat from Russia while ignoring most of what the West has done to threaten Russia is exactly what we've come to expect from this moron.
1) One Russian newspaper says that Putin "hints" of the danger of accepting Ukraine into NATO but our paid jerk-off turns that into a "promise" by Putin to destroy Ukraine. LOL.2) The false equivalence between Yemen-Saudi Arabia and Ukraine-Russia is just idiotic.
3) It is the US-led West that is using it's might to extend a sphere of influence across the entire world. As evidenced by covert ops, occupying Syria and Afghanistan, sanctions against any nation that trades with Iran, and more.
4) NATO was set-up to counter the Soviet Union. The Cold War ended 27 years ago. Why does NATO still exist? Why has it moved into countries/positions that threaten Russia?
Take your hand out of your pants and get a real job.Posted by: Jackrabbit | Dec 6 2018 2:49 utc | 36
Dear craigsummers, if Mexico decides to become part of the Russian Federation then they have the right to do that, because self-determination, right?
I see donkeytale has arrived from teaching English to Australians, to destroy this blog too. The human DeathStar.
Posted by: blues | Dec 6 2018 3:04 utc | 37
Hypothesis #1 (please prove this hypothesis wrong:
Ethnic derivation determines the obligation of a nation to those living outside of its borders?
Hypothesis #2 (please prove this hypothesis wrong).
A large number of persons living in Ukraine are derivatives of ethnic Russia.
Hypothesis #3 (please prove it wrong):
The USA, Inc has no ethnic progeny living in Ukraine?
Hypothesis #4 (please prove it wrong):
The Yemeni are ethnic derivatives of the Iranians?
Posted by: snake | Dec 6 2018 4:25 utc | 38
Loophole in Bernie Sanders’ Yemen Bill Actually Allows Continued US Involvement in Yemen
[The bill] ... require[s] the president to remove troops “except United States Armed Forces engaged in operations directed at al Qaeda or associated forces.” Notably though, the only U.S. troops “on the ground” in Yemen that are involved in “hostilities” (i.e., combat operations) are those that are allegedly involved in operations targeting Al Qaeda — operations that the U.S. frequently conducts jointly with the countries waging war against western Yemen, such as the United Arab Emirates.U.S. troops deployed in Yemen to target Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) also collaborate with the UAE and Saudi Arabia in “intelligence sharing,” “midair refueling,” and “overhead reconnaissance” for forces involved in counterterrorism operations that the U.S. is leading.
. . .
In addition, the Sanders-introduced bill will do nothing to stop the U.S.’ use of drone strikes that regularly kill scores of civilians in Yemen. Indeed, a recent investigation conducted by the Associated Press found that at least one-third of all Yemenis killed by U.S. drone strikes in Yemen were civilians, many of them children. Even though U.S. intelligence has regularly shown that the U.S. drone war in Yemen actually strengthens AQAP, this bill would do nothing to stop the U.S. military’s deadliest practice in Yemen, with a documented history of murdering civilians.
. . .
The bill appears to be little more than a PR stunt by Democrats and Democratic-aligned senators to distance themselves from Republicans.... the media widely reported the vote as a “rebuke” of President Trump ...
Though the death of Saudi journalist and U.S. resident Jamal Khashoggi has been blamed for the change of heart of Senate Democrats and some Republicans, reporting from MintPress and others has shown that the “outrage” regarding Khashoggi’s death is not about “human rights” but about money and pushing Saudi Crown Prince to move forward with expensive weapons deals and the neoliberalization of Saudi state assets that he had tried to back away from. Viewing the situation from this lens, SJR 54 seems little more than a PR effort to cast Democrats as “anti-war” when they are just as beholden to the military-industrial complex as the Republicans.
Posted by: Jackrabbit | Dec 6 2018 4:36 utc | 39
Canada has detained, for extradition to the USA, the CFO of Chinese electronics manufacturer Huawei, Wangzhou Meng, perhaps for US sanctions violations. When will the civilized world rebel against such arrogance?
www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-12-05/china-outraged-arrest-huawei-cfo-warns-it-will-take-all-measures
Posted by: the pessimist | Dec 6 2018 5:04 utc | 40
How False Testimony and a Massive U.S. Propaganda Machine Bolstered George H.W. Bush’s War on Iraq
HWB...
Posted by: Uncle $cam | Dec 6 2018 5:04 utc | 41
Following up from Uncle $cam, who turned me on to MoA so many years ago...
and for r'giap
a poem from Missoula, Montana, where our local leaders grovel to be an in-land silicon valley escape plan. I'm a burned out veteran of the non-profit sector with ten years of head-bashing, soul-crushing, failing (by design) system navigating acumen wondering the final shoe drops.
i put on
a yellow vest--
watch me as i
grow
sniveling sycophant
presidents
in their bones
will know
but that's across
a big, big pond
here--
we're more compliant
i do not have a yellow vest
we are
much less
defiant
This should be in everybody's attention: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fQoGMtE0EY
In 1983, a defected KGB agent, Yuri Bezmenov, had a lecture on subversion. You may feel discomfort after comparing what he says to what is going on today.
Posted by: Polly | Dec 6 2018 6:54 utc | 45
The arrest of the Huawei CFO for possible extradition to the U.S. over alleged Iran sanctions violations appears an unprecedented hostile act. The Canadian government should not have allowed this, as the pressure to follow through on the actual extradition will be overwhelming. In turn, the arrogance of the U.S. officials who have decided this is a good idea will have rebounding negative effect. This follows Pompeo's speech in Europe where he declared virtually all multilateral institutions other than NATO to be obsolete and demanded they reform to new American specifications.
Posted by: jayc | Dec 6 2018 7:44 utc | 46
F*** me dead, I couldn't believe it when the canucks bent over and spread their cheeks for amerika by slotting up Meng Wanzhou on Saturday, immediately before the G20 knees up. Meng isn't just the CFO of Huawei she is the daughter of Huawei's founder and major shareholder Ren Zhengfei.
It is tempting to consider this corporate rendition is an Agent Orange 'art of the steal' play to put pressure on China vis a vis the trump tariff scam.
That could be the case except it is tough to see trudeau acquiescing to donnie given their previous. The cia mob is another matter though. The involvement of Canada indicates this could be a 5 eyes rort deployed at such a time as to lead Jo/Joe Q Citizen to believe it is over a trade deal, when in fact it is a blatant attempt to extort Huawei and get access to communications made thru Huawei devices.
As many of you know Huawei has become the cellphone of the moment and not just because it is about 35% better value for money when comparing it feature for feature with the Iphone or Samsung, and a big draw is that unlike every other phone and network hardware manufacturer Huawei does not give the NSA/CIA easy access to hardware backdoors.
The inability to spy on citizens who chose huawei has been most usually dealt with by getting assorted gangs of amerikan and englander pols to put out press releases stating Huawei phones, modems, network repeaters thingies are untrustworthy and have easy access for PRC intelligence agencies. Not that Tom Cotton or Little Marco Rubio would know sh1t from clay when it comes to tech, since the inner workings are encrypted, there is no way of knowing what these communication devices do, so natch the pols relied on good old hearsay, gossip and innuendo to prevent amerikans from accessing a more reasonably priced product albeit one that amerikan sheetsniffers cannot eavesdrop you with:
"Huawei is effectively an arm of the Chinese government, and it's more than capable of stealing information from US officials by hacking its devices," Cotton roared in unveiling the bill. "There are plenty of other companies that can meet our technology needs, and we shouldn't make it any easier for China to spy on us."
Yeah right tommy you tit, don't be letting amerikans try and make ends meet on the sh1t pay rates you and yer cobbers engineered - not when they can pay nearly twice as much buying a crappy iphone which your stickybeaked homeland security drongos can access.
These arses stopped Aotearoa from installing redundancy on their datalink. Just after the entire Iranian internet went down for 3 weeks in the late noughties ( purely coincidentally you understand, the three fiber cables - two submarine and 1 underground suffered 'unforseen' accidents just outside Iran) a consortium of kiwi and chinese business people put together a proposal to run a submarine cable outta Guangzhou (aka Canton if yer an old fart like me) down to Aotearoa then up to Hawaii and on to LA. It was all go and vitally important for kiwis whose only other major data communications access is via the southern cross link which runs between Auckland and LA. Then another gang of DC slimebuckets piped up with "if you don't use CISCO you cannot come here" so that was the end of that deal, a situation which leaves Aotearoa completely exposed to and dependant on amerikan hegemony.
The charge agin Meng Wanzhou is that Huawei knowingly sold tech to Iran allegedly in breach of sanctions - not the recent JCPOA sanctions but some other nonsense dating back years. After Clinton H tried to interfere in Iran's 2009 election by way of 'tapping' into Iran's network following the cable disruptions I mentioned, the Iranians swapped out all their amerikan hardware for more secure huawei gear.
The amerikans are streching a very long bow by asserting that the Huawei hardware contains amerikan sourced hardware, claim which hasn't been supported in any IP litigation, but I guess the spooks believe they can play on amerikan paranoia about sand n1ggers and light-fingered slanty eyes for long enough to upset Meng Wanzhou's family.
I'm certain they will fail Wanzhou is apparently made from sterner stuff, when she got arrested she didn't say a dickie bird to the media or anyone outside of Huawei, consequently the security state has had to leak the story to the usual brown noses such as the grauniad. This hubris driven bullying is guaranteed to end in yet another security state massive FAIL
Posted by: Debsisdead | Dec 6 2018 8:00 utc | 47
i am enjoying larry johnsons drawing connections with felix sater and michael cohen via his posts at sst...
here is his latest....
unfortunate, but canada is just another cheap vassal of the usa's... usa says jump and our canuckistan leadership just ask how high...
Posted by: james | Dec 6 2018 8:21 utc | 49
A recent 2017 'stumble on' interview for other reasons but highly recommended -- at 88-y.o. an old man angrily nails the dark side of Obama's "killing" and labels (accurately, imo) the nature of military cowardice at 14,000ft.
"We travel a lot theses days the lieutenant general in charge of it [snipers killing] said in a famous interview..." [c.24:46]
Johan Galtung: US Empire Will Collapse and Become a Dictatorship [TURN ON SUBTITLES]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8npPSB90ZU
Posted by: imo | Dec 6 2018 8:38 utc | 50
imo | Dec 6, 2018 3:38:23 AM | 48
Thanks for the Galtung interview; excellent.
I hope his optimism is warrented...
Posted by: V | Dec 6 2018 9:59 utc | 51
I was also about to post about the looking Trade War over Huawei...
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-huawei-arrest-cfo-1.4934269
Posted by: ralphieboy | Dec 6 2018 10:18 utc | 52
So much for a truce in the US-China Trade War, Huawei CFO arrested for alleged breach of Iran Sanctions on Dec 1, yet strangely most media outlets are reporting about it today https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-12-05/trade-truce-over-canada-arrests-hyawei-cfo-us-request
US gets a 3 for 1 against both China, Iran and US tech competition. Would be great to get some objective analysis in what could turn out to be a pivotal moment in this downward spiral of confrontation.
Posted by: EtTuBrute | Dec 6 2018 11:41 utc | 53
@ Ort # 18
But Lavelle's incorrigible foibles are exasperating and aggravating. As the saying goes, "he just can't help himself". Far too often, he behaves as if his guests are just there to prompt, or remind, him of things that he wants to say.
We are doomed to live with it. Here we have another saying, "the grave corrects the humpback".
Posted by: Belomor | Dec 6 2018 12:55 utc | 54
@Posted by: Debsisdead | Dec 6, 2018 3:00:42 AM | 47
It is only the US and its owned "Five Eyes" who are trying to block Huawei´s devices operativeness in the fields of "security issues" when everybody and its dog knows that what they are regretting is that they cannot access these devices the same way they access and plug any other US techonology one.
We, the people, have been put to the point to not having but accept the free market rules of the nowadays capitalist hegemonic system, and, on this basis, have compared and decide that Huawei products are by far more reliable and comparatively advantageous.
Thus, many of us own Huawei phones, which, although not at the heights of stratospheric prices of the Apple products, prohibitive for the average worker, are in the ranges of the 300 euro/device.
If the European Union decides anytime to support this against any basic market competence measures and unable Huawei devices for use in the European space, the "Yellow Vests" revolt would be a joke compared to what millions of users, who are not willing to throw their invested money to the dust bin, would be willing to display.
It is not possible to be at mass and ringing the bells at the same time. You can not force the world to accept your free market rules even at bayonette force, as has been the issue through the XX century, and then, when those rules start benefitting others over you, decide that you break the board and do not play anymore. Because the thing is that it is not that you, now when bad times affect your economy, want to turn to communism, not, it is that you openly have expressed through eveyr of your moves what you really wnat to turn to... and iti s Fascism...i.e. no rules, no laws, no freedoms, no rights...unless you, always, win....As that the rest of the world would not agree...It is you against all of us....Accept your variable share, according to the market rules, moderate your usual astronomic earnings when things turn bad for you for a period, and cop with it....Otherwise you will lost everything...
Posted by: Sasha | Dec 6 2018 13:00 utc | 55
This is open thread day, Lochearn. You understand what that means?
Posted by: morongobill | Dec 6 2018 13:28 utc | 56
@Posted by: Sasha | Dec 6, 2018 8:00:08 AM | 55
" Because the thing is that it is not that you, now when bad times affect your economy, want to turn to communism, not, it is that you openly have expressed through eveyr of your moves what you really wnat to turn to... and iti s Fascism...i.e. no rules, no laws, no freedoms, no rights...unless you, always, win..."
As an illustration.....
Pax Americana: Pompeo tells UN, WTO, ICC to bow and comply with US-led world order
Posted by: Sasha | Dec 6 2018 13:44 utc | 57
Thanks, james | Dec 5, 2018 3:04:54 PM | 10
Found a nice gif of the comet Wirtanen using your link:
That gif was taken with a telescope in Namibia. Soon - very soon - we will all have a chance to
see it with our naked-eye. It will be at it's closest on December 16th, 2018.
Oh yeah, it will be at it's closest to us ! on December 16th.
Updated images can be found at this gallery:
http://spaceweathergallery.com/comet_gallery.html
Posted by: librul | Dec 6 2018 13:52 utc | 58
@Posted by: Sasha | Dec 6, 2018 8:44:46 AM | 57
As another illustration, it is today published at a Spanish online newspaper a reflection by some related to the recent winning of some parliament seats by a far-right fringe party holding the same discourse the current US administration defended through the last US electoral campaign and is using since it was raised to power.
It was recalled that, to counter nazi propaganda, the very Defense Department of the US, released this short video just after WWII, in 1945....
https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/1069674943309332481
I hope you, people in the US, notice how much your country has changed along these last years and towards what end you directly, and in a clear suicidal manner, are directed to..., then, I hope you reflect a bit...and act accordingly.....
Posted by: Sasha | Dec 6 2018 14:20 utc | 59
re: Huawei CFO
This speaks of desperation. Dumb, dumb move. No one of Canadian or American high society is safe now.
Posted by: Ian | Dec 6 2018 14:22 utc | 60
The arrest of Meng is clearly a slap in the face of the CCP. One aspect not widely reported about Meng, the daughter of the owner, a former military man is an extremely wealthy government-favoured insider and clearly a front for elite CCP capitalist greed interests (oxymoron alert).
And, besides this open display of insiderism at the confluence of Chinese state and capital, notice the rank nepotism rather than the socialism for the people involved here. Same as it ever was, but now with a Chinese Smiley Face! Have a nice day, useful idiots of the world.
In other news, the US stock market is set to crash again today after falling 799 points of light on Tuesday in honour of the death of the Reaganist lackey while so many other blessed affronts to the globalist system continue to accumulate, pointing the arrow straight down at the opening bell.
Price of oil continues to free fall, US jobs report weaker than expected, the joke of Brexit laughs its ass off in the ongoing British Parliamentarian display of masochistic lunacy, while escalating elitist fears of Gilets Jaunes erupting worldwide provide the background music for the demise of the EU austerity fraud. But not to worry, globalists. The hardy band of pseudo revolutionary bloggers in the US, Britania, Canadiena, OZ and NZ are too glued to our social media devices to actually, y'know, do anything but compare the prices and rate the useability of our slavery-produced slavery-inducing magical devices.
Meantime, recession hovers in the cooling air of late autumn in Amerikkka...
Wonderful day to be alive!
Posted by: donkeytale | Dec 6 2018 14:24 utc | 61
@53 My thinking FWIW ...the plan is to use Meng as some kind of bargaining chip in the US/China trade war. It's very Trumpian.
Posted by: dh | Dec 6 2018 15:33 utc | 62
Now China is being accused of engineering the Mariott hack via Reuters (although it could have been anyone as the hacking tools used are available online they note).
Posted by: the pessimist | Dec 6 2018 15:49 utc | 63
Canada showed itself to be an abject servitor to its yankee masters when its authorities arrested the Huaweh CEO yesterday on behalf of the yankee imperium's extraterritorial claims based upon actions taken outside the US resisting illegal sanctions on Iran. This exercise of power is a threat not only to Canada, which as a result of the large amount of Chinese investments which up to now has insulated it somewhat from the threat of economic collapse posed by reactions to yankee overreach elsewhere, but this abuse of power is a threat to the US economy itself. If Chinese business officials can be arrested (actually kidnapped since there is no legitimate legal theory which supports this) anywhere on flimsy extralegal exercises of extraterritoriality based solely upon the abuse of claims to world legal jurisdiction, then yankee or Canadian business people in Canada can be similarly detained by Chinese authorities, and, perhaps more significantly, Chinese authorities now have a rationale for seizing any US or Canadian corporation's assets in China to compensate for actions which are objectively illegal even if US and now Canadian court systems are too corrupt to recognize the rule of law any longer.
Posted by: exiled off mainstreet | Dec 6 2018 16:13 utc | 64
@Posted by: the pessimist | Dec 6, 2018 10:49:12 AM | 63
A misterious poster, posted in an old thread at For Russ this series of articles related to the DNC hacking and alleged Russian medling.
I spite of being very IT techie, one can get with the idea, especially through those of the articels which are a summary, that enough experienced people could make changes in and manipulate big data so as to make appear that something has been posted from Moscow when it really has been posted from the West US coast....
https://theforensicator.wordpress.com/guccifer-2s-russian-breadcrumbs/
https://theforensicator.wordpress.com/did-guccifer-2-plant-his-russian-fingerprints/
https://theforensicator.wordpress.com/cf-files-metadata-analysis/
https://theforensicator.wordpress.com/guccifer-2-ngp-van-metadata-analysis/
https://theforensicator.wordpress.com/guccifer-2s-west-coast-fingerprint/
Posted by: Sasha | Dec 6 2018 16:17 utc | 65
The zionized MIC and the "biased" truth about Russia's stance towards the West:
http://thesaker.is/why-russia-wont-invade-the-ukraine-the-baltic-statelets-or-anybody-else/
"Today, just like in 1911, Russia needs internal and external peace more than anything else, and that is not what she would get if she got involved in some foreign military adventure! In fact, attacking an alliance which includes three nuclear power would be suicidal, and the Russians are anything but suicidal."
The zionized MIC has been prevailing because of money. The uncounted and unaccountable money: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/50711.htm
The practice of DoD "violates Article I Section 9 of the US Constitution, which stipulates that, "No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time." ... The status quo has been generating ever-higher DoD budgets for decades...
The losers in this situation are everyone else. The Pentagon’s accounting fraud diverts many billions of dollars that could be devoted to other national needs: health care, education, job creation, climate action, infrastructure modernization, and more. Indeed, the Pentagon’s accounting fraud amounts to theft on a grand scale—theft not only from America’s taxpayers, but also from the nation’s well-being and its future."
Posted by: Anya | Dec 6 2018 16:32 utc | 66
Turning the nazi speech against their own "performers", some Spanish humor about the recent success of "neo-nazis" in Spain....
The xenophobic declarations of VOX in which they assure that they have to expel the foreigners and close the Schengen space to avoid the call-effect among the immigrants have produced a call-effect among fascists."In our country we are persecuted by our ideology, we could say that we are political refugees" says Günther Von Fachen, a German who wears a swastika tattooed on his forehead.
Day after day, neo-Nazis from all over Europe are coming to the Spanish coasts in search of a second chance to remain Nazis. "In our country we can not even tweet Nazi things, instead, on television we see how in Spain you make apology for fascism and xenophobia and not only do they not put you in jail, but they give you the leadership of a political party and they take you out in the debates in prime time, we only look for a better life! ", continues.
This call-effect has annoyed many Spanish neo-Nazis, who say that foreign Nazis "are invading us", that "they come to take us away immigrants whom to hit" and that "here we do not fit all".
Posted by: Sasha | Dec 6 2018 17:01 utc | 67
A top Huawei executive ,happy Zhang, a jovial mother, was onboard mh370
Happy Zhang had devoted herself to the telecommunication industry for almost twenty years. As the Vice President of CTG, Happy was responsible for the network planning and construction, which was one of the core and busiest functions of the company. The heavy workload never reduced her passion for the network world. The colleagues remembered how late she stayed in the office for proposing a network constructing plan. The partners remembered how passionate she was when talking about the network cooperation opportunities. The industry peers remembered her diligent and energetic figure that is always willing to work in the front line. On her way to the airport on March 7th, 2014, Happy was still thinking about SEA-ME-WE 5. Right before boarding, Happy finished editing the SEA-ME-WE 5 news release and sent out the last words to colleague: “SEA-ME-WE 5 is an important submarine cable for CTG to connect South East Asia, Middle East and Western Europe. Combined with the existing submarine resources of CTG, it can provide high speed, high capacity and high security channel from Asia-Pacific to Europe”.
http://www.seamewe5.com/in-memory/
Posted by: denk | Dec 6 2018 17:06 utc | 68
the U.S. National Security Agency was targeting Chinese telecommunications companies Huawei and ZTE. A special operation has been under way called Operation Shotgiant, specifically targeting them for “national security” issues, as Edward Snowden documents revealed.
Both Huawei and ZTE, major telecommunications companies, had top experts board MH370. Operation Shotgiant was to find links between Huawei, the Chinese military, the People’s Liberation Army. Congress and media has identified Huawei as a national security threat to the US – on account of its unproven hacking activities with respect to US networks. The US began using a back door to hack the Chinese, doing the same to Chinese networks – and possibly much more.
“If it is true, the irony is that what they are doing to us is exactly what they have always charged the Chinese are doing through us….” said William B. Plummer, Huawei’s vice president of external affairs, in an email to The Associated Press. [Read: MH370: NSA’s Been Targeting Huawei Says Snowden Doc, Black ‘Operation Shotgiant’, by Deborah Dupré.]
http://www.volusia.com/new-chilling-mh370-diego-garcia-links/
Posted by: denk | Dec 6 2018 17:19 utc | 69
@47 debs.. thanks..
@58 librul.. thanks.. that is a cool moving pic you linked to! thanks for that and update on time of closest proximity..
@62 dh... i was thinking that too..
@68 denk.. interesting coincidence or not...
Posted by: james | Dec 6 2018 17:30 utc | 70
regarding huawei.... here is one american viewpoint...
" blue peacock Walrus • 13 hours ago
Huawei stole all its technology from its JV partners like cisco.
China's sales pitch to western businesses was rather simple. There's this great big market of over a billion people who can buy your products. If you want to have access to them you must have a JV with a Chinese partner and make your products in China. Of course you should also transfer your technology to the JV so that the products can be manufactured. Many fell for this not realizing that once the Chinese partner learned the technology they just built the products on their own and screwed the western company.
Finally, someone is waking up and doing something about it. The fact is that the western political and financial elite have encouraged all this intellectual property theft, as well as turned a blind eye on China thumbing their nose on adverse rulings by WTO panels. Not to mention their mercantilistic policies.
In this case the CFO apparently arrived in Canada on a Canadian passport. Yes, her dad is in the top echelon of China."
Posted by: james | Dec 6 2018 17:33 utc | 71
What a US lackey!
Ecuadorian President Pressures Assange to Leave Country's Embassy in London
https://sputniknews.com/world/201812061070455542-assange-ecuador-embassy-london/
Posted by: Zanon | Dec 6 2018 17:42 utc | 72
I think its better to use this link
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/nsa-spied-on-chinese-government-and-networking-firm-huawei-a-960199.html
instead of clicking on that beforeitsnews redirection.
Posted by: denk | Dec 6 2018 17:43 utc | 73
Michael Hudson's comment on Naked Capitalism:
December 6, 2018 at 9:47 am
I think that America’s act against China borders on military aggression. The US is saying, “Don’t deal with any country that we’re imposing sanctions on. We want to grab Iran’s oil. That’s why we overthrew Mossedegh. That’s why we installed the Shah and his police state. We want Saudi Arabia’s money, and they told us we have to support the Sunni against Shi’ites, so our foreign policy is that of Saudi Arabia when it comes to the fate of who can and who cannot trade with Iran. China must follow our orders or we will do everything we can to stop its own development. It need only look at how we treated Iran to see what may be in store for it.”
This raises the Cold Wa to a new dimension.
Posted by: spudski | Dec 6 2018 17:56 utc | 74
@71 There is some truth to that. The Chinese have been screwing Western companies but the Western companies have done OK out of it too.
Now Huawei make an excellent product and it's more affordable than Apple or Samsung.
Hard to see how Trump is going to turn that situation around. Stock markets are crashing so it's a question of who blinks first.
Posted by: dh | Dec 6 2018 17:59 utc | 75
Besides top Huawei/ZTE executives,
there'r couple of dozens Chinese chip specialists [1] onboard mh370
https://rense.com/general96/tinymicro.html
[1]
All these would count as high value targets for the UsualSuspect !
Posted by: denk | Dec 6 2018 18:10 utc | 76
@75 dh... that was bound to happen... giving over one's industry to another country is what the usa has been doing for a very long time... apparently it was okay that everything was made in china and sold cheaply to the rest of the world.. apparently all everyone had to do was get higher education so you could get a better paying job in some tech, finance or something, as opposed to manufacturing.. or something like that..
so now the usa finds itself in this place where others are competing successfully, so they want to switch from democracy to fascism... not sure if trump is the exactly right leader for this...
Posted by: james | Dec 6 2018 18:16 utc | 77
@ dh | Dec 6, 2018 12:59:07 PM
... Stock markets are crashing ...
I would rather say that markets are going back to where they belong, at ~ half of the current value.
"In a famous critical remark directed at China’s heavy reliance on western-style, debt-led growth – an anonymous author (thought to be Xi or close colleague), noted (sarcastically) the notion that big trees could be grown ‘in the air’. Which is to say: that trees need to have roots, and to grow in the ground. Instead of the ‘virtual’, financialised ‘activity’ of the West, real economic activity stems from the real economy, with roots planted in the earth. The ‘Belt and Road’ is just this: intended as a major catalyst to real economics...."
Posted by: ex-SA | Dec 6 2018 18:24 utc | 78
Air Algerie AH5017, Air France 447, Malaysian MH370 and MH17: Vanishing Aircraft, “Numerology”, and the Global Elite
According to eyewitness account, AF447 was
prolly blasted out of the sky.
“Two pilots of an Air Comet flight from Lima to Lisbon saw a bright flash of light in the area where Flight 447 went down, the Madrid-based airline told CNN. The pilots have turned in their report to authorities.
“Suddenly, we saw in the distance a strong and intense flash of white light, which followed a descending and vertical trajectory and which broke up in six seconds,” the captain wrote in the report.
The flash of light contributes to the theory that an explosion is what brought down Flight 447, which was carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.”
To be sure, these reports have gone down the memory hole.
Any 'high value target' onboard per chance ?
In fact there's, Xiao Xiang was the pivotal figure in the nuclear aircraft carrier proj.
Coincidence ?
This American didnt think so...
M.A. in Oregon, u.s.a June 10, 2009 at 12:44 am
'I am so saddened to see this happen. I am praying for all the people and families involved. I hope that all countries involved or at least several countries will do their own investigations into what caused this to happen. Everyone knows the country I live in can’t be trusted for any reason whatsoever. I hope that all involved will find peace and comfort someday, as only time will allow. If anyone would like to read the truth about world events please visit: rense dot com, globalresearch dot ca, infowars dot com. Please watch internet movies: Zeitgeist the movie, Wake up call, and ENDGAME:Blueprint for global enslavement. There is no church or religion above the TRUTH. Always search for the TRUTH, wherever it may go, whoever it may lead to.
http://web.archive.org/web/20090808001236/http://www.airfrance447.com/06/03/xiao-xiang-35-scientist-chinese/">http://www.airfrance447.com/06/03/xiao-xiang-35-scientist-chinese/">http://web.archive.org/web/20090808001236/http://www.airfrance447.com/06/03/xiao-xiang-35-scientist-chinese/
Besides Xiao Xiang, there'r also Huawei executives onboard !
Huawei Technologies said in a statement Tuesday that an employee was on board the missing flight, but did not release any personal information or why he was on the flight.
But one of his colleagues in Brazil, who did not want to be named, told China Daily Tuesday over the phone that Zhuo was married last year just before he was assigned to the company's office in Rio de Janeiro.
It is not the first time that a Huawei employee has been in a plane crash: In 2007, a 29-year-old employee was among 114 people on board a Kenya Airways plane from Cameroon to Nairobi that crashed shortly after take-off on May 5.
"We travel a lot, flying from one country to another. Whenever we read reports of an air crash somewhere in the world, we all pray there is no Huawei staff on the plane," an employee of Huawei said in condition of anonymity.
http://www.china.org.cn/international/2009-06/03/content_17877861.htm
More coincidence ?
Think Ian Fleming's fundamental law of probability
Posted by: denk | Dec 6 2018 18:54 utc | 79
james
Apply the Ian Fleming's law of probability.
good night.
Posted by: denk | Dec 6 2018 18:55 utc | 80
Posted by: james | Dec 6, 2018 12:33:18 PM | 71 :
"Finally, someone is waking up and doing something about it."
You mean that arresting a woman on unspecified charges because the Jewish State and US corporations do not like Chinese commerce with Iran is not a violation of all and any rules of decency? (as well as an international law)
What kind of family you grew up in? -- Israel-firsters in the US? Banderites in Canada?
Posted by: Anya | Dec 6 2018 19:09 utc | 81
ok just one more...
US Declares Judicial War on The Free Market, on China And on The Human Rights of an Innocent Woman
Posted by: denk | Dec 6 2018 19:11 utc | 82
Disgusting Trump had a Chinese executive arrested in Canada to be extradited to the U.S. for doing business with Iran! Never mind the other b.s. being used as an ass cover for this Trump extra-judicial act and those here defending this shet! So you're telling me that what she did is worse than MbSawman's butchery??? And Trump is protecting that war criminal!
Shame on Canada for doing that orange a-hat's bidding and those of you defending this!
Posted by: Circe | Dec 6 2018 19:14 utc | 83
damn it !
sorry for posting another webarchive link which mess up the thread, did that in a haste.
but now really way pass bed time , good night.
Posted by: denk | Dec 6 2018 19:18 utc | 84
@81 Anya
I believe James was quoting "blue peacock Walrus" - I'm pretty sure he is not endorsing what Canada did. In fact, other than that quote, I don't see anyone else here supporting that action. But then again, English is a 2nd language for me, so maybe I missed something...
Posted by: xLemming | Dec 6 2018 19:26 utc | 85
@71
So exactly why are you repeating 'merican gov. Tool Talk? Is it just to spread that b.s. Trump propaganda? Or do you really think that hypocritical, double-standard litany merits a second glance?
Posted by: Circe | Dec 6 2018 19:29 utc | 86
@85
Personally, I think when someone repeats b.s. garbage or retweets same, it's usually 'cause they want it to gain traction. (No doubt to justify Trump.)
Posted by: Circe | Dec 6 2018 19:35 utc | 87
So let me get this straight now: a tyrannical monarch who starves an entire sovereign country by strategically blocking humanitarian aid at ports of entry there, and who has a dissident journalist who wants to start up an electronic army of dissidents against the Saudi monarchy sawed to pieces and boiled in acid is protected by Trump from the arrest and prosecution he deserves, but Trump uses the Canadian government to arrest and extradite a Chinese executive who dares to defy U.S. imperial sanction tyranny against Iran.
I hope, I really, really hope Mueller finds something really bad to use against Trump. Never mind the messenger -- get the sob once and for all!
Posted by: Circe | Dec 6 2018 19:52 utc | 88
@85 You are right I was just going to come to james' defence. He was quoting an anonymous comment from somewhere.
You should have been more clear james. See what happens? Now you're a Trump bot.
Posted by: dh | Dec 6 2018 20:03 utc | 89
@78 "I would rather say that markets are going back to where they belong, at ~ half of the current value."
Markets have definitely had a good run especially the so-called FANG stocks. But I don't think it's quite the same as the dot.com crash of 96. Apple do at least have a tangible product....just that they aren't selling enough.
Posted by: dh | Dec 6 2018 20:10 utc | 90
xLemming, you are correct.
My apologies to James for pestering him instead of addressing the "blue peacock Walrus'"
Posted by: Anya | Dec 6 2018 20:18 utc | 91
Trump is sooo manipulative. Now he's set to appoint Bush 41s Attorney General who is big on Executive power to replace Sessions. Gee, I wonder why??? Leverage?
Posted by: Circe | Dec 6 2018 20:24 utc | 92
((lizard 42, not bad, the poem, i liked it, yeah well, uncle scam pops in, r-giap other story.))
Posted by: Noirette | Dec 6 2018 20:25 utc | 93
@91 Anya - "My apologies to James..."
That was very gracious. It says much about your own fairness of mind, thank you.
One learns about regular posters here, and james is one of the good ones. He often quotes material from the enemy camp, and I think he knows how to use BLOCKQUOTE but he didn't in this case. All those who blew up at him might take a moment to slow down and "Lurk More".
Posted by: Grieved | Dec 6 2018 20:25 utc | 94
Who the hell is "blue peacock Walrus" and why does his merican-sk(r)ewed opinion matter?
Posted by: Circe | Dec 6 2018 20:30 utc | 95
Circe @83
I couldn't agree with you more - this Canuck is disgusted.
Posted by: spudski | Dec 6 2018 20:35 utc | 96
exiled off mainstreet @64--
Must agree with your sentiments and those of most. I expect massive push-back to occur against the Outlaw US Empire which will expose its massive economic weaknesses. If you can shortsell US markets, do so as they're going to drop bigtime.
Posted by: karlof1 | Dec 6 2018 20:38 utc | 97
@85 xLemming... thanks... thanks also anya and grieved... indeed i thought the line at the open and quotation marks were enough.. now i have to learn code, lol... thanks either way..
Posted by: james | Dec 6 2018 20:43 utc | 98
@97 Shortselling? Tut,tut....wouldn't that involve complicity in the capitalist system?
I think the 'total collapse' celebrations may be a little premature. Some kind of slow down is coming though for sure. It will probably be most noticeable in high fliers like google and facebook that depend on advertising. Amazon could get hurt by tariffs but only in the unlikely event that Americans stop consuming stuff.
My guess is Trump and Xi will work something out.
Posted by: dh | Dec 6 2018 20:58 utc | 99
@50 imo
Thanks for the interview with Johan Galtung. He presents a view that I've never encountered, that the Empire as it wanes runs out of power to manipulate events and so it has to send its own teams to kill targets, around the world. And that it was Obama, in his view, who first saw the need - or had the need forced on him - to send the snipers and the drones. And while we all saw the drones, the snipers went under the radar. And yet, more than a hundred countries were visited without their government's permission, says Galtung, for the people with the long rifles to do the job on somebody.
Combining this thought with the Huawei targets flying on passenger planes around the world, I wonder what weight the Empire places on a planeload of collateral innocents killed simply in order to get one person. From its behavior in other theaters, it doesn't seem even to consider much these other lives, let alone hesitate because of them.
~~
I was also pleased to learn Galtung's view that Xi Jinping is a deeply conscientious Buddhist. I shall have to keep an eye out for more collateral on this. The view of deeply moral forces - personified by both Xi and Putin (not to mention the Ayatollahs of the ME) - against a deeply profane Empire, is not a new concept.
Posted by: Grieved | Dec 6 2018 21:11 utc | 100
The comments to this entry are closed.
NYT, bastion of the liberals, covertly admits it doesn't like Trump because of the image he projects to the rest of the world, not because of his policies:
Why We Miss the WASPs, by Ross Douthat, <https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/05/opinion/george-bush-wasps.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage>
So, if you're a WASP, or at least did the American cursus honorum (i.e. went to Harvard or Yale), the American people is ok with you being POTUS. You're only an illegitimate POTUS if you weren't born and raised to be one -- nothing to do with winning an election with the help of the SCOTUS, or being a war criminal, or being a neoliberal.
Posted by: vk | Dec 5 2018 18:50 utc | 1