Note To Journos - When Pompeo Doubles Down On A Lie He Does Not "Confirm" It
Some people can't think but tweet anyway:
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The Israeli 'journalist' isn't the only one who fell for Pompeo's nonsense.
- MSN - US confirms Syria's Assad used chemical weapons in May: Pompeo
- Yahoo - US Intel Confirms Syria Committed Chemical Weapons Attack in May
- Breitbart - US confirms Syria’s Assad used chemical weapons in May: Pompeo
To claim that the man who bragged (vid) "We lied, we cheated, we stole" and continues to lie every time he opens his mouth can "confirm" anything is lunatic. What Pompeo falsely claimed 'confirmed' only a false claim his department had earlier made.
The NYT headlined more truthfully - U.S. Concludes Syria Used Chemical Weapons in May Attack:
The United States has concluded that Syria used chlorine gas in an attack against rebels last May, saying Thursday that it was the latest use of chemical weapons by President Bashar al-Assad’s government in the eight-year civil war but stopping short of threatening a military response.Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Mr. Assad’s government that “we’re going to do everything we can reasonably do to prevent this kind of thing from happening again.”
But he said that chlorine attacks amounted to a “different situation” than the suspected use of sarin, a nerve agent, that killed 80 people and provoked missile strikes against a Syrian air base by the Trump administration in April 2017.
As I did not remember any alleged chemical weapon attack in May I followed the link the NYT provided in its piece. It goes to a May 21 report by Edward Wong - U.S. Says Assad May Be Using Chemical Weapons in Syria Again:
The State Department said on Tuesday that the Syrian government might be renewing its use of chemical weapons, citing a suspected chlorine attack in northwest Syria, and maintaining that any use of such weapons would lead the United States and its allies to “respond quickly and appropriately.”The Trump administration said the suspected attack took place on Sunday in the Idlib area, the final stronghold of rebels who have tried to topple the government of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria.
The Times report was based on a somewhat generic State Department statement that did not even describe where and when the alleged incident happened nor did it describe how it happened or if anyone was allegedly hurt:
Unfortunately, we continue to see signs that the Assad regime may be renewing its use of chemical weapons, including an alleged chlorine attack in northwest Syria on the morning of May 19, 2019. We are still gathering information on this incident, but we repeat our warning that if the Assad regime uses chemical weapons, the United States and our allies will respond quickly and appropriately.The May 19 alleged attack in northwest Syria is ...
Idleb governorate is 6,097 km2 (2,354 sq mi) large. If there was attack why couldn't the State Department be more specific. Who "alleged" that such an attack had happened?
Curiously neither the Syrian Observatory nor any of the usual propaganda outlets nor the MI6 White Helmets fakers reported of any gas attack on Sunday May 19 in Idleb.
In its May 21 report the Times also noted that:
Independent monitoring groups and foreign news organizations have not issued any notable reports of a chemical weapons attack on Sunday.
There were no reports of a gas attack on May 19 in Idleb governorate because no gas attack had happened. Pompeo's State Department made that up to warn the Syrian army against liberating Idleb. It was threat that another fake chemical weapon would be made up and used as justification for U.S. bombing if the Syrian army would begin to liberate Idleb.
This opens the question why Pompeo came out yesterday to "confirm" an attack that had never happened.
The reason is likely this outrage mentioned in the last paragraphs of today's NYT piece:
Also on Thursday, the Treasury Department imposed economic penalties against a subsidiary of a Russian shipping company, three of its executives, and five vessels accused of evading American sanctions to deliver jet fuel to Russian forces in Syria who are assisting Mr. Assad’s government.
That the U.S. sanctions a Russian transport services company which provides logistic services for the legitimate Russian forces in Syria is unprecedented and in fact outrageous.
Yesterday's gas claim was not a confirmation but another Pompeo lie only spread to give some fig leaf excuse for the absolutely undiplomatic and illegitimate U.S. behavior.
Posted by b on September 27, 2019 at 16:53 UTC | Permalink
next page »Here is an interesting look at the net worth of Mike Pompeo and how his wealth compares to those of Donald Trump's wealthiest Cabinet members:
https://viableopposition.blogspot.com/2019/09/mike-pompeo-financial-disclosure-2019.html
Like his predecessors at the State Department, he is likely to cash in on the speaking circuit after he departs from his current position as chief war hawk.
Posted by: Sally Snyder | Sep 27 2019 17:24 utc | 2
"Note To Journos - When Pompeo Doubles Down On A Lie He Does Not "Confirm" It"
"The Israeli 'journalist' isn't the only one who fell for Pompeo's nonsense."
Note to B: When an Israeli "journalist" promotes a lie, he is not "falling for" it.
Posted by: Oscar Peterson | Sep 27 2019 17:39 utc | 3
Pomp can’t help it....he spends way too much time at the state department buffet to know what really goes on. Why is it is feel like we are reliving the “glory” days of Rome....we are sex, war, debauchery, games, bread for the masses...all that is missing is the Vomitorium...which I really need to use now..
Posted by: Gabe | Sep 27 2019 17:40 utc | 4
Why Trump picked Pompeo for Secretary of State is a more relevant question. He already had to get rid of Bolton and Abrahmson so that only leaves Pompeo and Haspell. What floored me at the time was the senate confirmed them with votes from Schumer, Leahy and others in the democratic "leadership." I couldn't believe it. Still can't. At minimum I thought the democrats would have criticized Trump for nominating war criminals but instead they voted to confirm without commend. Washington is one messed up place.
Posted by: Paul Bogdanich | Sep 27 2019 17:48 utc | 5
stonebird @1--
RT's fine. It has several good items along with its usual tawdry ones. Here's Imran Khan:
"While the US was pouring money into Afghanistan, in this futile war, the Chinese were developing first-world infrastructure… and I’m in New York, and I’m watching [my] car bumping around."
It also has a series of videos showcasing the massive cave & tunnel network near the recently liberated city of Khan Sheikhoun that's worthy of watching while drinking your tea.
As for Pompeo, the sooner he has his fatal heart attack, the better for humanity.
Posted by: karlof1 | Sep 27 2019 17:49 utc | 6
Paul Bogdanich @5--
Perhaps to get him out of CIA where he'd be more dangerous.
Posted by: karlof1 | Sep 27 2019 17:51 utc | 7
Rudy G. was really onto something when he said 'We live in a post truth world'. He should know, especially after clearing out of building seven before things really heated up and continually lying about it. The point being that these stooges can say whatever they want and the presstitute media heads will repeat it as if it were fact. It's worth noting that as contemporary humans we have access to information rather than data or facts. Unless are there to either verify or replicate, whatever is coming through our doors of perception is simply informational artifice. Comparing multiple informational streams and perspectives and assembling dynamic composite models is where things get interesting.
It does seem likely based on the past that Plumpeo's utterance is simply foreplay for more meddling and military escalation.
Until these stooges loose a goodly amount of men and materials under their watch they will continue to bluff and monkey-wrench their target nations. While nobody wants to incur their wrath and desperation, it has got to stop somewhere. Russia has done fine job of resisting provocation and they have taught their allies well in this regard. It seems as though countermeasures to hybrid warfare have been disseminated and various color revolutions around the world have been thwarted.
In regard to chemical attack nonsense, it was thoroughly debunked to the point that even the OPCW couldn't remain on the take and had to admit that staging occurred. The notion that the stooges in USG give two fhaaks about civilians is a cruel joke and so false a claim as to be criminal even to make. The outright lies and slander are so preposterous it's truly amazing that anyone outside the USA buys it. Question to posters outside UniStat (formerly USA): How do people perceive actions and statements such as the above?
Posted by: Chevrus | Sep 27 2019 18:00 utc | 8
Where's the CIA?
"We assess! We assess! We assess!"
ZH pointed to an al Masdar article on the same story. The ZH article says the accusation came from HTS, as in the very same al Qaeda franchise US and allies have supported as moderates for years. And their partners the White Helmets can't be far afield from them. I guess they're the same as those the MSM called "activist reporters."
Posted by: Curtis | Sep 27 2019 18:05 utc | 9
Southfront item on this cites Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem:
"'Who is Pompeo?' the Syrian minister told reporters who asked him to comment on the accusations during his presence in the U.N. Secretariat Building on September 26. A reporter replayed that Pompeo is the U.S. Secretary of State, only to be surprised by al-Muallem’s response: 'Good that you remember, I don’t know him.'"
Southfront states: "According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), four terrorists of al-Qaeda-affiliated Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) were injured [Link at original] in the alleged attack....
"The accusations came a few days after the formation of the Syrian constitutional committee, which is supported by the UN.
"The timing of these accusations raises serious questions about the U.S. motives. The accusations also suggest that Washington may have been cooperated with the terrorists to reach its conclusion."
I'll go further and declare the Outlaw US Empire to be the terrorists and direct curious barflies to my earlier open thread comment made this morning.
Posted by: karlof1 | Sep 27 2019 18:16 utc | 10
Trump is even less circumspect, disciplined and rational than usual. And why wouldn't he be? He may well be only the third president impeached and has a shot at being the first removed. Surely he must see the walls closing in and the potential for removal, prosecution and, worst of all for a first-class narcissist, humiliation. He was so thickheaded he didn't even realize what was incriminating. He was so foolish as to take advice from the equally unhinged Giuliani.
We shall see---
Posted by: Duncan Idaho | Sep 27 2019 18:53 utc | 11
thanks b... pompeo is part of the war cartel.. lying is what they do... i agree with the poster above, he is probably a lot less dangerous in this position then when he was head of the cia... mind you, i am sure they got another real loser as head of cia now too..
as for the sanctions on the russian transport services company - this is standard fare for the usa nowadays... until the us$ becomes unbuckled as the key currency on the world - it will be more of the same in this dept - sanctions up the yin yang from the country that is the one country that needs to be sanctioned - usa...
this wong guy has it all wong, but everyone here knew that.. more garbage from the msm... i am sure donkeys like it..
Posted by: james | Sep 27 2019 19:04 utc | 12
The most detailed infos i can find are those Karlof has already posted. It suggests the info came from TIP, Erdogan + Nusra Jihadists.
As those infos don't seem to be from open sources, and SF obviously often has its own sources in Russian intelligence circles, i think this is the best we got right now. And it does indeed check out.
A US+Turkey cooperation, as in the "good old days" of this murderous war.
Posted by: DontBelieveEitherPr. | Sep 27 2019 19:06 utc | 13
...""The United States has exposed its open support for terrorism. For Russia, the sanctions are nothing new. Fighting terrorists in Syria will continue despite the United States patronizing them and illegally occupying a part of this sovereign country’s territory, hampering the settlement of the Syrian conflict. We decisively condemn the cynicism and unscrupulousness of Washington’s policies," the foreign ministry noted."
and from the buffet queen himself, ..."As discussed in today’s Small Group meeting, the U.S. supports @UN efforts to end military violence in #Syria. Ongoing violence - fueled by #Iran and #Russia - is exacerbating Syria’s dire humanitarian situation & must cease for a political solution to take root."...
This farcical human being actually gets away with spewing this dog vomit day after day. The likes of Lavrov having to deal with these psychopaths must be very tiring indeed. Trump does not give two shits for how he and his hanger on's perform. Just endless stupid tweets and one liners masquerading as a foreign policy. These people are just plain retarded.
Posted by: Taffyboy | Sep 27 2019 19:17 utc | 14
This, and probably also the denying of visas for the Russian delegation to UNGA, comes after the Russian Research Foundation on the Problems of Democracy releashed its report on the White Helmets and the reality of chemical attacks in Syria....
They accuse NGO of killing Syrians to create false news
Research published by the Russian Research Foundation on the Problems of Democracy, revealed on Wednesday the "White Helmets", which are presented as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), systematically disseminate large amounts of false information about Syria.The report presented by Maxim Grigoriev, indicates that on several occasions the “White Helmets” killed children and adolescents, and also denounces that they use corpses of hostages executed by the terrorists to simulate, with videos and photos, alleged chemical attacks in Damascus.
"Some of them, including children and women, were deliberately executed for that purpose, their notes are sold and disseminated in large media and social networks," Grigoriev reiterated.
In Damascus, the authorities have denounced that the NGO maintains chemical materials in northern regions, especially in Idlib (northwest), to attack people and sell the news that they are massacred by the executive.
Grigoriev reaffirms that the "white helmets", although they denounce the Syrian government of genocidal, the images disclosed in social networks demonstrate the authorship of the NGO together with extremist groups in the murders.
Syrian President Bashar al-Asad considers the "white helmets" to represent the terrorist group Frente Al-Nusra (self-styled Fath Al-Sham Front), in a kind of "public relations maneuver" of the United States, the United Kingdom and France .
The NGO was created by James Le Mesurier and distinguishes itself by providing "assistance to civilians in conflict zones in Syria," with support from Western countries, especially the US, and seeks to overthrow the Government of al-Assad.
Posted by: Sasha | Sep 27 2019 19:20 utc | 15
This strategy of trying to control the global narrative by more lies, blustering and military flights along the Syrian borders as threats of "retaliation" are ongoing signs of a losing poker hand.
It matches the tweet led "market fundamentals" today where threats are being made to restrict investment in China businesses (sovereign capital controls). The US has much more to lose in this regard as the China economy is way more balanced and vibrant than that of the US and China could easily respond by dumping their large holding of US Treasuries.
WWIII continues......
Posted by: psychohistorian | Sep 27 2019 19:37 utc | 17
Taffyboy @14--
I invite you to read this comment of mine regarding the nature of it all. I see that Russia and China have now spoken at the UNGA. It'll be interesting to read what they said in light of these statements.
Posted by: karlof1 | Sep 27 2019 19:45 utc | 18
@Posted by: b | Sep 27 2019 19:35 utc | 16
I thought that demonstrating the close relation amongst the HK Maidaners, the Ukrainian Maidaners, the White Helmets, and "alleged" Iranian "communist" opposition, and their meeting at a aprty organized by German tabloid Bild would be on-topic...But, well....
Then, as Pompeo was head of CIA too, the forgotten testimony of Philip Agee on that "democracy" to the CIA goves really a damn...linking a couple of interesting documentaries one on the CIA real goals, and the other recently broadcasted by BBC comapring Maidan to HK revolts and encouraging those in Hk to repeat Maidan events.
I saw all these events related, and thus, tought them on-topic all the way...
Posted by: Sasha | Sep 27 2019 19:45 utc | 19
Vis the Khan Shaykhun non-event:
ScienceMag.org via Antiwar.com: Scientists clash over paper that questions Syrian government’s role in sarin attack
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/09/scientists-clash-over-paper-questions-syrian-government-s-role-sarin-attack
...…Now, a manuscript questioning that conclusion has caused a heated dispute among U.S. scientists. Until this week, the paper was scheduled for publication by Science & Global Security (SGS), a prestigious journal based at Princeton University. But as Science went to press, SGS’s editors suspended publication amid fierce criticism and warnings that the paper would help Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the Russian government. Both have denied that Syria is responsible.
The paper’s most prominent author is Theodore Postol, professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge and a respected expert on missile defense and nuclear weapons. …
Posted by: et Al | Sep 27 2019 19:56 utc | 20
Paul @ 5
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/l2W8UFfGZlE/hqdefault.jpg
Two wings of the same bird
Posted by: lgfocus | Sep 27 2019 20:00 utc | 21
My fear is, they are going to have another false flag in Syria to divert our attention from the real problems of our commander in tweet facing at home .
Second they will do what ever it takes to insure their proxy terror group are safe from being whipped out when the GREAT Syrian army begins the op
Posted by: Sam | Sep 27 2019 20:01 utc | 22
In time we will find out what happened to the 5000 missing hostages in ghouta that were murdered in the 2013 gas attacks they orchestrated for the media. Some were not dead yet but were even strangled and killed in later videos. The ambulance driver who surrendered said he drove bodies to the burial sites and some were still alive.
Like boosh the stupid said, you are with us or with the terrorists and those should be held accountable if not now then a 1000 years from now. God would not want 7 generations of pay for it if it was not justice and fair..
Posted by: Igor Bundy | Sep 27 2019 20:16 utc | 23
Lying repeatedly on any particular subject creates a false sense of truthfulness. This is a standard technique used by virtually all propagandists throughout history. Mainstream media are a key component of any propagandizing system, so the actual job of journalists is to publicize the repetition of the original falsehood and turn it into a meme.
Posted by: Rob | Sep 27 2019 20:22 utc | 24
@Posted by: Sasha | Sep 27 2019 19:45 utc | 19
Btw, it would be a good idea to move the "considered off-topic comments" ( of course when they are hardworked with musltiple links included and are not pure oneliner nonsense...), to the last Open Thread.... at least to not waste the time of hardworking activists here ( adn discourage them to post...) Some people, me think, could have found them informative... if not very interesting...
Posted by: Sasha | Sep 27 2019 20:28 utc | 25
@8 chevrus
In France, nobody buys it, to start with. Is France interesting to you ? It would have been for sure, a long time ago, before that "thing" called amerika started to spread like a disease, and contaminated everything it touched.
And if you can get all of Debord in english, i'm not sure that he did consider that world war, the language. A weakness to me. But back to your concern, I mean, probably the same percentage as in the u.s. don't buy it. The irony of the "society of spectacle" is that there is no more spectators.
Only npc's. Raised and vaccinated to be npc's. They're irrelevant in any discussion. The question here is : how, as the heirs of a culture and language that carries "enlightment" in its genes, and that is wisely named in chinese "the country of the law", how do we create something truly efficient, to get out of this mess. It'll happen in french, of that i'm sure. That's why they try to destroy our beautifull language. As Nietszche said, nothing great was ever thought but in french. We have to learn english, learn it very well. And maybe, someday, we'll be able to introduce our syntax and spirit, into the master of the game, english, and change its name. I mean, for the happy few. For the time being, those dangerous people are in charge. I hope they'll give us some time. Avoid the cities anyway. And the u.s. in general.
Posted by: Alain | Sep 27 2019 20:29 utc | 26
Have a look at this video from R+U videos on youtube. This video sums up who was responsible for the alleged Syrian chemical attack.
HREF="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80FrlaXIVlk&list=UU9D9q5JOOsIVIaYpDtcGZCQ&index=4/">Syrian Army continues to find caves and weapons in liberated areas | September 2019
@ Posted by: et Al | Sep 27 2019 19:56 utc | 20
Now that's interesting, especially because the vast majority of my scientific colleagues couldn't give a damn about geopolitics or the Syrian or Russian governments, except as they might affect their own little corner of the universe... I wonder who really started the food fight.
Posted by: AshenLight | Sep 27 2019 20:36 utc | 28
How do people (outside USA) perceive actions and statements such as the above?
Posted by: Chevrus | Sep 27 2019 18:00 utc | 8
I briefly checked the high ranking quality outlets here in Germany for you:
"Washington's new "Deep Throat": The hunt for the whistle blower (on Ukrainegate) has just begun." (Spiegel)
"The net around Trump tightens" (Süddeutsche)
"Guliani's Mission" and "Hundreds(!) of security service members support impeachment." (Zeit)
All top headlines. It is pathetic. But, well, it is 11:00 pm right now. Our quality journos need to read the New York Times tomorrow morning to learn what they have to type the coming day.
It's pathetic.
Posted by: Cemi | Sep 27 2019 20:53 utc | 29
Higgins couldn't recognise a 152 binary if you shoved it up his ass. The man is an utter cretin.
Posted by: S.O. | Sep 27 2019 20:55 utc | 30
Gabe @#4
Vomitoria are simply egress channels or aisles in large theatres or sporting arenas...
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vomitorium
Otherwise I agree with you.
Posted by: Cortes | Sep 27 2019 21:39 utc | 31
@LindseyGrahamSC
5h5 hours ago
More
Unbelievable Bashar al Assad would use chemical weapons again as reported by State Department.
Clearly we have lost deterrence when it comes to Assad. Time for the world to stand up and be counted in opposition to barbaric actions like this.
@LindseyGrahamSC
More
I recommend President Trump consider a decisive blow this time around – do to Assad what Reagan tried to do to Khaddafi.
Time to reset the table in the Middle East.
Will introduce Senate resolution declaring Assad a war criminal and expect to receive bipartisan support.
Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Sep 27 2019 21:42 utc | 32
Chevrus @ 8:
Here in Sydney (Australia), The Sydney Morning Herald reprints everything from The New York Times and The New York Post in its foreign news section. As The Age (Melbourne newspaper) is owned by the same company that owns SMH, one can assume The Age does the same.
The Australian edition of The Guardian (online) is only interested in the upcoming national rugby league and Australian football Grand Final competitions and the usual identity politics claptrap.
Over at Off-Guardian.org, David McIlwain just confirmed through his recent experience of complaining to the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) Ombudsman about SBS' coverage of the alleged CW attack on a Douma hospital in April last year, that the SBS news team is lazy, stupid and competent, and relies on discredited fluff pieces from the BBC, Al Jazeera and The Guardian among others as its sources of information on Syria.
https://off-guardian.org/2019/09/22/white-helmets-black-lies/
Much the same can be said of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as of SBS.
Coverage of Nancy Pelosi's impeachment attempt, Trump's telephone conversation with Volodymyr Zelensky asking Zelensky to help out with investigating Joe Biden's blackmailing of the previous Poroshenko government in Ukraine, and Joe Biden's conflict of interest as US Vice President with regard to his son's directorship in Burisma Holdings and that company's interest in drilling for shale oil in eastern Ukraine (then at war with Kiev) has been very superficial in Australian news media and is being spun as something to cheer about. "At last! They're going to get rid of Trump! Woo-hoo!"
Posted by: Jen | Sep 27 2019 21:45 utc | 33
Buried at the bottom of its home page is this little gem:
What's most impressive is that, after 2008, we from the rest of the world thought the USA would gradually tone down on the high moral ground rhetoric strategy. But it seems the exact opposite happened: the Americans are doubling down on their moral superiority narrative and doubling down of foreign interventions.
It's simply amazing that, the next day Ukraine-gate happens, Trump deepens Iranian sanctions, give USD 52 million to Guaidó, sanction Raul Castro for manifesting support for Maduro, sanction Russian companies for simply delivering goods for its country's military bases in Syria and the US Congress passes an Act essentially condemning China for violations of human rights in HK. Even more amazing, the American media is not showing signs it is willing to stop either: it is also doubling down on the aggressive propaganda each day, the more dirt over the Democrat elite is uncovered.
The USA is not showing signs it can reform itself. It will have to be crushed from the outside.
The bulbous Pompeo is trying hard to light up more chaos in Syria.
What a moron.
Posted by: AriusArmenian | Sep 27 2019 22:03 utc | 35
vk
Safer way is to isolate it from the world and the US will crush itself.
Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Sep 27 2019 22:11 utc | 36
Peter AU 1 @32,
Clearly the people have lost deterrence when it comes to their rulers. Time for the world to stand up and be counted in opposition to barbaric actions like this.
vk @33,
Have you ever seen Americans when the electricity blacks out? Americans are mostly alright, they just need to dry out from the media-drugs that keep them too mean and overstimulated to think, and the chemical-drugs that allow them to cope with the side effects of the media-drugs with only an acceptable number of mass shootings. A well-placed EMP blast country-wide and a few nukes in five major cities (DC, NYC, Chicago, LA, and Mountain View, California) would solve the problem once and for all without causing too many millions of deaths, and I say this as someone well within the fallout zone of one of those cities. I think you would find many, many Americans wailing and gnashing their teeth, and many more dancing in the streets and shouting some variation of "Thank God Almighty, I am free at last!" for as long as it were safe. The former would come around, having no other realistic option.
It's worth remembering that the Democrat Party has chosen to represent exclusively the gatekeeper class and their interests. Of course that includes the covert gatekeepers, who won big in 2018's Congressional elections, and the layabout none-dare-call-it-church ladies who fancy themselves priestesses and sit on NGOs funded by family offices. Pompeo's nominal party membership is irrelevant as there is only one party with many faces in the American system, just as designed. The system itself is the problem.
AshenLight @28,
Are you convinced yet that the actually existing peer review system is nothing but a grift?
Posted by: Jonathan^-1 | Sep 27 2019 22:19 utc | 37
It's simply amazing that, the next day Ukraine-gate happens, Trump deepens Iranian sanctions, give USD 52 million to Guaidó, sanction Raul Castro for manifesting support for Maduro, sanction Russian companies for simply delivering goods for its country's military bases in Syria and the US Congress passes an Act essentially condemning China for violations of human rights in HK. Even more amazing, the American media is not showing signs it is willing to stop either: it is also doubling down on the aggressive propaganda each day, the more dirt over the Democrat elite is uncovered.
@Posted by: vk | Sep 27 2019 21:49 utc | 33
What is amazing is that, even here, all the "thoughtful and imprescindible" commenters, have come again with the cantinelle of "vote for Trump since Biden is worst" meme of the 2016 with Clinton.
Notice that none of them suggests simply a mass abstention as response in face of the inadequacy of both candidates...Also, there is already mass banning or questioning of commenters in march in the usual blogs which campaigned for The Donald in 2016...
Posted by: Sasha | Sep 27 2019 22:35 utc | 38
I'm sorry to say that here in Sweden only one in 20 or so can see through the bullshit. The media is totally dominated by the empire line, so much so that not even the alternative media deviates.
There is the slightest glimmer of hope though. The state media has actually, the last year or so, started to sow some doubt as to the question of the upstanding quality of the so called "Syrian rebels".
Posted by: p | Sep 27 2019 22:42 utc | 39
@ Posted by: Jonathan^-1 | Sep 27 2019 22:19 utc | 36
> Are you convinced yet that the actually existing peer review system is nothing but a grift?
It depends on the specific topic; certainly it can be polluted by money just like any other system. In the absence of motives for that sort of thing, which of course depends entirely on the subject of inquiry, it can work pretty well.
This particular example is obvious, as this is just not the sort of topic that motivates scientists to send heated letters to journals -- you might get this reaction if they disagreed with his conclusions and were arguing about his errors or methods, but objections to publication for political reasons? I don't know a single one who would take that tack, let alone a profusion of them, prior the paper even being published...
Posted by: AshenLight | Sep 27 2019 22:44 utc | 40
11 - Obama and the Old Warhag seamlessly engaged Cheney's threatened Afghan surge, after McCain lost in 2008 and Karzai instead gave the Afghan oil and minerals leases to China and India. More 'Hope and Chains' followed in Libya, Niger, Syria, Somolia, Yemen at al. I think there was a dual-Israeli coup in Ukraine, and a Fake Gold Bond Rout in India under the We Came We Saw DNC Regime also.
Trump is the first President since Carter to refuse to start another war. DNC has no such compunction to moar. So if you're Hoping and Chains'ing for a DNC win in 2020, be sure to get your checkbook out. Simple back of napkin for Open Borders + Great New Deal + M/C For All is ~75% of Workers' paychecks, ...with all the usual 1% tax dodges left in place by the Red-Blue UniParty Congress.
Add AOC's-IPCCs $2,700-a-CO2-Ton carbon tax regime, which pencils out to $34 a gallon tax at the pump, and by 2024, the America you grew up in will be in Full Holocaust Mode for the Working Class and their disenfranchised and rapidly depopulated children and grandchildren. Once the Boomer Wealth is looted and lockboxed into the even Deeper DNC State, US citizens will be more useless mouths to feed. Just fly your 2028 DNC majority over the Open Borders, esse!
"All in all, I think that it was worth it!" as they say.
Posted by: Jack Martin | Sep 27 2019 22:49 utc | 41
@27 sasha
That's what is bothering me, too. In all of this debate and with accusations flying, the reality is these are alligators fighting over control of the swamp. There is no white knight slaying any dragons. I'm baffled by the support for one flavor of war criminal grifter over another.
The good news is that the empire is dying as these are not actions of a healthy government.
Posted by: Sorghum | Sep 27 2019 22:54 utc | 42
@ 20 et Al and @ ashenlight....
thanks et al.. the article is interesting.. i wonder if the fact that Gregory Koblentz, a biological and chemical weapons expert at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, happens to be just 20 minutes, or 11 1/2 miles down the road from cia headquarters? my feeling is it is not a coincidence..
Posted by: james | Sep 27 2019 22:55 utc | 44
@ 40 Jack Martin
There very much are new wars. You are defining wars as missiles and bullets flying, and that is the old war. Today's war starts long before that point with sanctions, currency destruction, coups, "moderate" rebels, appointing new presidents, trade wars, etc. So by the new method he started a war with China, Iran, Venezuela, and possibly Nicaragua, Cuba, Yemen, and Turkey.
Posted by: Sorghum | Sep 27 2019 22:59 utc | 45
As b. says this was a warning about the next false flag. But there’s also a pattern. Something has to be kept on the boil at all times. Just when the Saudi/Houthi event is fading in news cycles we get the Trump/impeachment/Biden/Ukraine in the US and Bojo/Brexit/Supreme Court in the UK. Then this sort of non-event. Just as Russiagate is being re-cooked as Ukrainegate we get another false flag in Syria which is not even current and not even accurate in terms of the empire’s own lies.
What it means of course is that we are in WWIII and have been, at least since the coup in Ukraine. In WWI and II everybody knew a war was going on. In this war most people go about their lives oblivious of the fact. But the empire is at war. And in war there are continual dispatches from various fronts, there is frenetic activity. The difference in this war is that while the huge majority have no idea what is going on (because there are no body bags… yet) an increasing minority know exactly what’s in play, thanks to great websites like this one.
Posted by: Lochearn | Sep 27 2019 23:01 utc | 46
"My fear is, they are going to have another false flag in Syria to divert our attention from the real problems of our commander in tweet facing at home..." Sam@22
No Sam, it has nothing to do with the current nonsense about Ukraine.
And I don't imagine that anything more than another batch of uninspired and childish lies will come of it.
A telling sign is Lindsey Graham's tweet reference to Reagan'a attack on Libya which was actually both farcical and tragic-US bombers having been used to kill a child, one of Ghadaffi's adopted children. Graham is about as obscene a caricature of homo sapiens as even, that Chamber of Horrors, the US Senate can produce but even he leaned unusually low in this communication.
Posted by: bevin | Sep 27 2019 23:08 utc | 47
The 'arc of resistance' Iran, Syria,Lebanon,Iraq, and Yemen backed by Russia and China are growing stronger by the day, the US occupied Eastern Syria is being prepared by the US to be split from the rest of Syria, hence the arming of the Kurds, when the US embark on a policy they are not usually put off by failure the first time, so when Rex Tillerson put forward that mad cap scheme of empowering the SDF and making it a border force in the hope that a nascent state might be formed [Balkanization of Syria] all hell broke loose with Turkey in the lead. The US now seem to be doubling down on this, Turkey, Syria and Russia are well aware of US machinations and will not let it happen.
The US are losing control of the Middle East and are verbally lashing out, I do hope they have the good sense not to lash out at Syrian troops who have many Russian advisors embedded and are also covered by S400's
Posted by: Harry Law | Sep 27 2019 23:17 utc | 50
The joke is that the US President himself hasn't a clue we are in WW III.
Posted by: Lochearn | Sep 27 2019 23:19 utc | 51
Pompeo subpoena'd:
House committees subpoena Pompeo in impeachment inquiry
Trump's envoy to Ukraine has just resigned:
US envoy for Ukraine Volker RESIGNS amid Trump-Zelensky impeachment controversy
There's a possibility a deal is being made behind the curtains between the Democrats and Trump: you get your hands off the skeletons we have in Ukraine and we let you go on with your anti-China crusade in the Middleeastern front. The US Treasury possibly sanctioned the Russian companies under Pompeo's orders in order to create a plausible deniability ahead of the subpoena.
It needs to be understood, what happens when a human is trapped inside one of the nation state containers.
Why, because the understandings needs to made into a immutable message that can transcend the nation state containers worldwide.
The victim of propaganda lives in a nation state controlled information environment.. a controlled reward environment..
much like a rat in a cage. To see what I mean think consider the at-birth child/parent exchange scenario
A child born to a NYC Jewish parent is exchanged with a child born in Iran to Shea Muslin parents. So the biological
parents do not raise their own child, and the children do not visit either the other child or their true biological parents.
The child is not told, and 24 years later, the two children exchanged at birth don't know each other, cannot speak each
others language, and in short, the children consider each other to be enemies. This is the result of container programming.
and it suggest that when done properly, it can keep the wars going for ever..
It seems to me the global problem that allows leaders of nation states to engage in personally enhancing
crimes and to inflict human rights damages on the people in foreign nations is the media.
How can the problem of media support for lies, wrongful propaganda, and so on be framed into a proper thesis . ?
Few inside of the containers know the media fed propaganda is not only false or misleading but is
also psychologically engineered to be sure the propaganda victim does not discover the malicious
nature of the psycho engineered contents they see on available media.
Nothing comes to the victims attention that suggest the media is telling a fib or supporting a crime.
In short only a few ever get a chance to look outside the container walls to see or look for the truth..
and most of those who do, they discover the situation to be the same, non truth propaganda
is media controlled and by law protected in every nation state container the truth seeker looks to.
Those few humans who do understand the predicament 24/7 information content control as delivered
on media are blacklisted, treated as spies or traitors, shunned from work places, denied access to jobs
and stuff or out and out murdered by their own nation state.
IMO the most pressing need of humanity worldwide is to be told (meaning have actual access to
truthful media) everyday, in everyplace on all media: mainstream or not.
Posted by: snake | Sep 27 2019 23:38 utc | 53
US might strike Syria again?!?! Because of a new bogus chemical attack?!?!?!
Bu.. Bu.. But a number of people have said that the SAA victory in Idlib was all but guaranteed. Erdogan has turned east! The border is closed. Etc.
Just as they assured us that the Syria war was over - the Assad must go! Coalition was defeated. Trump wants US troops out! (guess what, they're still there)
I said only about 3-4 months ago that Idlib was one of 4 strategic holdings.
<> <> <> <> <> <>
We've also been assured by some that an attack on Iran won't happen because Iran can retaliate and USA can't conquer the country. What is unstated is their assumption that a war necessitates an Iraqi War style invasion. That kind of war would certainly be foolish.
But the decision-makers in USA, Israel, and Saudi Arabia would be happy to simply degrade Iranian military capabilities and destroy it's economy. At which point, their proxies would continue the fight: MEK, Kurds, ISIS.
Posted by: Jackrabbit | Sep 27 2019 23:48 utc | 54
@ jr... this latest ramp up seems to give more support to your suggestion of more war on tap.. as someone else said upstream - the usa has been at war for longer then many want to acknowledge and this seems fodder for more of the same..
Posted by: james | Sep 27 2019 23:51 utc | 55
Kurt Volker, Trump's envoy for Ukraine, resigns
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Kurt-Volker-Trump-s-Envoy-for-Ukraine-Resigns-14474407.php
The sociopaths are abandoning their "leader".
Late stage capitalism was going to be interesting.
Posted by: Duncan Idaho | Sep 27 2019 23:55 utc | 56
p @38: ...not even the alternative media deviates.
It's always frustrating when I see alt-media that accepts propaganda memes. One example is Trump's "populism" and his peaceful intentions. Anyone can see that Trump has not drained the swamp and has brought warmongers into his Administration to the be the "bad cop" to his "good cop".
Another pet peeve is the "Democracy Works!" memes. Where the only thing that detracts from a more perfect democracy is YOUR VOTE. Yet participation that legitimizes the scam.
Posted by: Jackrabbit | Sep 28 2019 0:04 utc | 57
james @57: as someone else said upstream
Yeah, there are some good comments here. Informative and enjoyable.
Posted by: Jackrabbit | Sep 28 2019 0:06 utc | 58
james Jackrabbit
I guess we should expect a lot of moves against Iran's allies prior to the main play against Iran.
I posted this over in the open thread along with the link.
"The warning to Iran, pre-agreed by the three EU signatories to the 2015 deal, was made at a meeting on Wednesday, and makes clear that the agreement is now on life support.
The EU told Iran that it would put the issue of Iranian non-compliance into the agreement’s formal dispute mechanism if the next Iranian move away from the deal is significant."
Perhaps not a lot of moves directly against Iran until UNSC sanctions are reimposed.
Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Sep 28 2019 0:22 utc | 59
RST @54:
I have provided documents to the UN & INTERPOL about arms trafficking to ISIS terrorists
Thanks! This is real news vs. the fake media circus surrounding impeachment.
Posted by: Jackrabbit | Sep 28 2019 1:01 utc | 60
OPCW
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/us-accuses-syria-of-chemical-weapons-attack-vowing-to-not-let-it-go-unchallenged/ar-AAHTKHR?li=AAaehx7
"But Pompeo implied that military action was unlikely, given that it was chlorine and not sarin gas used. He did announce, however, that the U.S. will provide a new $4.5 million in funding to the OPCW."
https://www.state.gov/u-s-funding-support-for-opcw-laboratory/
"The United States announced this morning $7 million in assistance over two years for the construction of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Centre for Chemistry and Technology." (march 2019)
https://1540assistance.stimson.org/programs/support-to-opcw-for-the-special-missions-trust-fund-for-syria/
February 23, 2018
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Trust Fund for Syria Missions, 10191, Canada, Syria, Global Affairs Canada, Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Building on previous contributions to support chemical Weapons investigation and destruction activities in Syria, Canada provided additional funding to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to enable it to carry out critical verification and monitoring activities in Syria in a timely, responsive and effective fashion.
Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Sep 28 2019 1:07 utc | 61
FKA_Realist @50--
HaHa!! You are a load of laughs! Thanks for outing yourself as just another tawdry troll! Bye!
Posted by: karlof1 | Sep 28 2019 1:14 utc | 62
Going by the number of fake realist types hitting the blog recently, b must be causing some discomfort for the powers that be.
Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Sep 28 2019 1:28 utc | 63
@ Paul Bogdanich | Sep 27 2019 17:48 utc | 5
"At minimum I thought the democrats would have criticized Trump for nominating war criminals but instead they voted to confirm without commend. Washington is one messed up place."
You expect something different from the team of the "Drone Master" and his Tuesday kill list?
All these swamp creatures are on a leash, and many with enough dirt on their Epstein files to obey any dog whistle from mendacity central.
Posted by: imo | Sep 28 2019 1:34 utc | 64
Regarding the bipartisan enthusiasm for war, I think it's appropriate that the colors for the two parties, red and blue, are the same as the ones used by the Bloods and the Crips. There are about as many real differences between the Republicans and Democrats as there are between the Bloods and the Crips.
Posted by: Timothy Hagios | Sep 28 2019 2:22 utc | 65
Any news on the rumor that the US will use this allegation of Chemical weapons use to launch another strike on Syria. Ordinarily, I'd regard any allegations from the US as just more grand standing. However, the US sanctioning oil transportation services to the Russian forces in Syria seems like an attempt to reduce Russia freedom of action in Syria. I doubt the sanctions will actually impact the Russia forces in Syria but the Russians will have to view this as an initial attempt to "soften their forces up" for further actions in the future. Every day the US seems to move closer to some disastrous and arrogantly ill-conceived conflict with Russia and China.
Posted by: Kadath | Sep 28 2019 2:29 utc | 66
Kadath
Us moves at the moment seem more to do with demonizing Iran and its allies, using UN, OPCW ect.
Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Sep 28 2019 2:35 utc | 67
Kadath @74: I think the Russians find the sanctions quite annoying, but it is annoying in the way that a small yappy dog chewing on your ankle is annoying. Pompeous Maximus has said we probably won't bomb Syria over this. I think some people like to hype war to get clicks.
Posted by: Bemildred | Sep 28 2019 2:39 utc | 68
by: FKA_Realist @ 63 I agree the opposite mind set is reflected in the two (places, religions, and race) objects I choose to make my point.
These two objects NYC, Jewish race, Judea religion vs Iran, Arab, and Shea Muslim religion are opposite polar objects in our global society as you have indicated. The point of my post, though was that opposite mind sets are man made. Human behavior ( mind set driven) is a result of information available in the cage (propaganda). Teaching, reward system and propaganda in the caged environment allows the rat to be made into what ever the those in charge of the the nation state desire. When criminals are in charge of the information, teaching and reward systems they can use those systems to mold the innocent minds of those contained. Establishing control over the thought processes, directed learning (education), and reward system allows propaganda to establishes for the masses a belief system. Rule of law, reward ( medal of honor), directed learning are control systems which can be varied and controlled by properly engineered propaganda. If criminals gain control of the nation state system (human containers) they can use propaganda to polarize the people in one container against the people in another container <= polarizing the people of one nation state to hate the people or the ways of the people of target nation state. It is this container effect, that allows criminals or crazies) in charge to use the national resources and the people of a container (nation state) to conduct their wars for profit, power and prestige.
Some on tonight's comments, have suggested bombing several cities in America to stop the USA from its behaviors. But Pearl Harbor, 9/11 both prove propaganda can use these events to activate into action the masses against those that the containerized populations have been polarized to hate. <=it does not matter the facts of who did the 9/11 event? The invasion of Iraq is a prime case in point, no facts showed that Iraq did the 9/11 event, but private media 92% owned by 6 folks (MSM) engineered propaganda to suggest that Iraq was responsible (just as when the Houthi crashed out the Saudi oil infrastructure, the media, without a fact, pointed to Iran). .. After 9/11 millions joined the government military to help avenge 9/11.. but what the avengers actually did was put billions of dollars of profits into the pockets of the privateers who engineered the event and who used it to organize the attack on and invasion into Iraq.
Yet 90% of more of the USA governed Americans are still unaware of how 9/11 really happened and who actually engineered 9/11. Even when the verifiable facts were presented undermining nearly all points of the 9/11 story put forth by government, most Americans still believed the official story ( cause it can be quite painful not too, and because Americans are so media encapsulated that they believe anything the MS media distributes to be the truth . American's have no history of questioning their media, and the government usually ends up takeing the blame for media mistakes, but media in most western nations is privately owned.
propaganda + reward system + education + social conditioning + directed mind setting by positions of power = The container effect
Basically humans are information sponges, absorbing from the societies in which they reside or are raised 1) information and knowledge, 2) learning to engage only in normative and acceptable behaviors 3) etc. .. Does not matter the biology of the parents, the biology is merely a system of construction and maintenance, that maintains a physical structure (the body) able to support the molding of one's mind to maximize accommodation to system. It does not matter: the political system, the social system, the religious system, just the system explains it. Its the mind-set that the psycho engineer designs into the propaganda that counts. Container trapped humans adopt by osmosis the psycho engineered propaganda taught to the newborn, the structure of the human is not important, its the mind that returns a mind set controlled behavior that counts.
I say again to stop the wars it is necessary first so overcome the container effect. thanks for reading my comment.
Posted by: snake | Sep 28 2019 3:13 utc | 69
@ jr and peter au... next shit hits the fan moment via the astro is near the end of october... i can't predict full on war and when it happens.. i like the characterization that we have been in ww3 for some time, it just hasn't happened in the classical way most think of war.. but the financial sanctions and etc. etc. are all connected to this and all intended for the same purpose.. this also explains why they need first class liars like pompeo spouting his usual bs.. all of it is very predictable even without the astro..
Posted by: james | Sep 28 2019 3:38 utc | 70
Folks need to realize that Pompeo is just another meat puppet. Of course it doesn't mean he can't be called out on the bullshit that he's peddling. Replacing him with someone sensible is preferable but it's highly unlikely that will happen.
FKA_Realist | Sep 28 2019 1:43 utc | 72: Ugh...tattoos are such a turn off. Yuck!
Posted by: Ian2 | Sep 28 2019 3:45 utc | 71
snake
Culture. Any society has a culture. People borne into a society learns that culture.
Complicated when more than one culture within a nation.
That all nations feed their citizens propaganda, a fictional narrative .. I don't think so.
Another complication when judging nations is US information warfare against its target nations. Should those nations under information warfare attack leave its citizens vulnerable...
I now only judge nations as to whether they are aggressive or defensive.
In the west, propaganda is used against us to make our aggression against other countries look like defence and so forth.
Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Sep 28 2019 3:46 utc | 72
james
I'm not into stars, but end of october may be enough time for Israel to get its act together,perhaps also for the usual suspects to vote that Iran is not abiding by the nuke deal and bring the sanctions back. I think having the UNSC sanctions back in place is an important part re public perception.
Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Sep 28 2019 3:54 utc | 73
peter - we don't have long to wait either way...
indian punchline has an article up on modi and rouhanis meeting yesterday Modi-Rouhani meeting is a morality play key line from the article -
"India’s policies in the Persian Gulf have come under the influence of the Israel-Saudi-UAE axis. Indian diplomacy is quite adept at balancing the relations with Iran on one side and the Israel-Saudi-UAE troika on the other. But the present ruling elite abandoned that policy and began identifying with the troika."
and this one " India does not have many friends today and Iran is one of them." see article for more...
Posted by: james | Sep 28 2019 4:01 utc | 74
james
Research Hindutva and Mussolini fascism and it is not difficult to see were India is headed. Modi is the nice old grandpa that leads Hindutva's political party.
The recent annexation of majority muslim Kashmir gives a good indication.
Trump had a free the Ughar, freedom of religion type bullshit going as one of the UN sideshows. This was all directed at China.
Hindutva's hate muslims (at least the muslims in their parts) and communists. A good tool for Trump to use against China.
Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Sep 28 2019 4:14 utc | 75
james @78: next shit hits the fan moment via the astro is near the end of october
I've always been skeptical of astrology so I think it's very interesting that your last reading (a few months ago) was reasonably on target and this one aligns with expectations given the direction that we see things are headed...
Posted by: Jackrabbit | Sep 28 2019 4:16 utc | 76
The US maximum pressure campaign against Iran seems to be working in at least one respect, the Europeans are starting to fall meekly into line. The joint declaration between the US, Germany, UK and France was a sick joke on so many levels. Why on Earth, would Iran ever agree to a new deal with the Americans after they betrayed them on the last deal? Why would the Iranians ever accept the guarantees of the Europeans again, when they have so clearly failed to live up to them? Watching the Atlantic council conference on Iran last week, I was exacerbated with the jaw dropping ignorance of diplomacy, Iranian culture, human nature or even prior US policy experience of these supposed experts. Their answered basically boiled down to Iran has no choice and must ultimately submit (with some "face saving measure"). Iran most certainly has a choice, just like Cuba, North Korea, China and Russia have a choice and they have chosen not to grovel in the dirt before America and her vassals.
The US maximum pressure campaign real success seems to be in further dividing the world economy into a US Empire vs a Sino-Russo coalition. I suspect Trump was sold on this idea by Steve Bannon, as a way of cutting Chinese manufacturers out of the US economy so the US can rebuild it's industrial base while putting the screws to the US vassals in South American and Europe. However, the flaw in Bannon's thinking is the following
1) US capitalism is now parasitic, not productive, it is aimed at financializing transactions and existing products. Not investing in new material production, cut-off from cheap Russian & Chinese raw materials and labour, Western Parasitic capitalists will simply move their exploitive interests to Pro-US puppets, thereby denying the US the promised resurgent production
2) European vassalage is based on the promise of a high standard of living and a US funded security architecture, severing European access to cheap Russian & Iranian oil/gas, low cost Chinese production, forcing them to pay higher security/NATO costs and subjecting them to the constant refugee influx from US wars in the Middle East and Africa. WILL trigger a Political Crisis in the European states and eventually harsh anti-American response (it will be impossible to conceal the obvious effects of the US actions).
3) Lastly, As the US empire reorganizes itself away from Chinese production it will, for at least a few years, weakens as new production centers are located and brought online to replace China. However, the parasitic Capitalist class has shown that it will not accept even a temporary slow down in Economic growth, so it will respond by expanding it's financialization of the US economy, making it more vulnerable to economic disruption. Strong political leadership could manage this transition and restrain the worst impulses of the parasitic class, but the US has shown that for the past 30 years they have nether strong, nor unified leadership in US Domestic policy matters (only on foreign policy) so we'll get more gridlock and political paralysis.
All in all I feel that the US empire is entering a lost decade period (lets say from 2016 to 2028) where the US empire list from crisis to crisis in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe. hopefully the US won't start that many wars, but again the last 40 years has shown that the US always starts 1 new war in every President's first term.
Posted by: Kadath | Sep 28 2019 4:22 utc | 77
I suspect Kissinger had a lot to do with Trump's strategy.
The easiest way to stop China is to control its oil supplies.
Trump has been targeting three countries. Venezuela, Iran and China.
Posted by: Kadath | Sep 28 2019 4:32 utc | 78
@85 peter au... modis nationalism is definitely based on alienating the muslim people. i am not sure how he navigates all this.. as memory serves india is 20-30% muslim..
@ 86 jackrabbit.. thanks... i treat my involvement in astrology like my involvement in music.. i don't get wound up whether someone believes in it or likes it or anything.. we'll see how it goes..
@ 87 kadath.. the european poodles have always been such - subservient to usa-uk leadership role.. that is what it looks like to me..
Posted by: james | Sep 28 2019 4:53 utc | 79
I agree with the idea that this is WW3, just not at the total war stage. I suspect that is only because of retaliation with nuclear weapons. What I find interesting is that it would appear that the US empire and vassals are losing most of the battles and despite innumerable attempts to push the aggression into new spheres of chaos, they seem to be losing the war (both the hot and the cold/proxy).
Posted by: sorghum | Sep 28 2019 4:56 utc | 80
It is encouraging to read other MoA commenters agreeing that the world is engaged in WWIII and I agree with sorghum in comment # 92 who wrote
"
What I find interesting is that it would appear that the US empire and vassals are losing most of the battles and despite innumerable attempts to push the aggression into new spheres of chaos, they seem to be losing the war (both the hot and the cold/proxy).
"
I am hopeful that the understanding about public/private finance being the core of the war will follow. I liken it to the deprecation of monotheism and its associated belief that all other ways of thinking/being are "bad" and believers should be eliminated......such a sick and narrow minded view of our species and our evolutionary potential.
Sorry for being OT a bit.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Sep 28 2019 5:18 utc | 81
Post WWII great power competition began as soon as the defeat of Germany and Japan was in sight and continued through till the collapse of the Soviet Union. A short period of US snapping territory and then the return of great power competition in 2014 when Russia prevented US from grabbing Crimea. Since then, Russia has blocked most US moves. China I think is still somewhat unprepared for war, but Russia and Iran are now ready. Noticeable in the language now being used by Russian diplomats when calling out the US.
Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Sep 28 2019 5:39 utc | 82
james @78 "next shit hits the fan moment via the astro is near the end of october"
What aspects are you looking at?
Posted by: pogohere | Sep 28 2019 5:53 utc | 83
@94 psycho
There definitely is a war of finance going on. I'm not sure if it is private/public like you think, or just different groups of private posing as public.
@87 Kadath Excellent post!
Posted by: sorghum | Sep 28 2019 6:12 utc | 84
James @ 78
World War 3 is as you write already in progress. I don’t believe it will come to a fighting war in the Middle East, Israel is in the position of a hostage. The monsters in Washington don't mind women and children in Raqqa and Mosul being blown to bits, or in Teheran for that matter, but would let out a tremendous howl at the thought of their friends and relatives in Tel Aviv, including women, children and babies, being napalmed, incinerated etc which is certainly would be one of the first things to happen in a general war.
(Now the US is self-sufficient in oil, does it need Israel any longer? I bet you this thought has gone through the minds of many Israelis, who can have few illusions about America’s preference for pragmatism in foreign affairs).
But you could just as well say that the ancient divisions in the UK, and in America, are breaking out into civil war, so the events that you predict for late October might not necessarily take place in the Middle East.
Posted by: Montreal | Sep 28 2019 7:51 utc | 85
@77 snake | Sep 28 2019 3:13 utc
Think about the product of your fantasy Lab. What you will see there? Some Human, stripped from multiplicity of cultures, homogeneous, programmable, herd animal. Not better than your "Basic Human Sponge" ( may be worse).
Human is not reducible to the biological body, to herd animal. Every human has creativity, cultivates soul, searches for identity and struggles to create meanings for life, creates spirituality for generations to come. However there are disease killing creativity, eating layers of soul, down to biological flesh.
The dominant trend in western civilization was to strip human from soul and spirit. Why? May be because they were incompetent to innovate except their tools: fighting tools and production tools. All the tools are exterior.
Let me explain from my experience: I was born and raised up in Iran, we had jew and christian class mates in schools, I do not remember any problem at all about religion, every one were equal, nobody felt slightest discrimination. I remember one day a teacher asked a jew class mate, to stand up and explain about their traditions, their daily praying practice. everybody enjoyed the jew class mate explanations. I can imaging if a jew from NYC would come to our class and explain about their tradition we would enjoyed more because he was a foreigner.
So, IMO, the problem is not from religions, not from culture, not from traditions, not language, not from race, not from color. The problem is somewhere else. Do not confuse the problems.
Posted by: arata | Sep 28 2019 7:57 utc | 86
I heard yesterday that KSA would have accepted the ceasefire proposal of the Houthis.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-arabia-agrees-partial-ceasefire-yemen-report
Instead of reporting that, the MSM were full of "KSA opens to tourism".
Call it PR...
Posted by: Mina | Sep 28 2019 10:03 utc | 87
Meanwhile, more than two years after its publishing, the English translation of Udo Ulfkotte's book Journalists for Hire: How the CIA Buys the News is still listed as "Currently unavailable" on Amazon (link).
Posted by: S | Sep 28 2019 10:35 utc | 88
Egads, what a dreadful bore this impeachment affair is. Between the fascinatingly boring UK brexit imbroglio or this CIA democrat vs Trump impeachment bore, either way your head WILL nod off. zzzzzzzzzzz.....zzzzzzzzz.......zzzzzzzzz......
Posted by: deschutes | Sep 28 2019 10:50 utc | 89
.....zzzzzzz.... Oh! And one other thing before I take a nap: did it ever occur to the CIA democrats that if they do successfully impeach Trump and get him out of office, they will have an even worse person Mike Pence as the new prez? Going from bad to worse, a CIA democrat specialty. zzzzz.....zzzzzzzzz......zzzzzzzz.....
Posted by: deschutes | Sep 28 2019 10:54 utc | 90
Just a note I didn't post that item #78 (the one regarding Kissinger) someone else used my name, my last item was #77 (the one regarding the US maximum pressure campaign), not sure why someone would post under my handle but they did.
Posted by: Kadath | Sep 28 2019 12:49 utc | 91
Alain @26 (Apologies to b with this being off topic)
Umm - There is already a fair bit of French in the English language (we were ruled by the bloody Normans and their descendants for a while) just as there are also Greek, Roman, Arabic, Indian words tacked onto the basic Germanic structure and vocabulary.
Another Ummm - now I might be wrong here, but so far as my historical knowledge goes the French were also Imperialists (and continue to swagger in like fashion to some extent, albeit not to same level as the US-UK) and not keen or eager to loosen those bonds (Vietnam, Algeria, parts of sub-Saharan Africa etc.). Indeed the Brits and the French fought (on many occasions over the centuries) each other, each hoping to retain/expand their imperial reach. French was for quite a while the Lingua Franca of the imperialised world and grew miffed when displaced by English.
Franchement - Chinese or Russian or both are more likely to become a necessary language for the rest of the world at some point in the not too distant future. This is what has happened over the millennia - Greek had its turn; Latin its; Arabic to some extent, doubtless Persian too.
Thank you b for this piece. As one of the first commenters remarked, I don't think the Israeli reporter was hoodwinked into repeating the Lie. And I do think that Pompusses lies are cover for some really existing underlying intended US dirty works.
Posted by: AnneR | Sep 28 2019 12:57 utc | 92
Somewhat OT but worth it I think, Chas W. Freeman:
Ready, Fire, Aim: U.S. Interests in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria
Posted by: Bemildred | Sep 28 2019 14:14 utc | 93
Nader weighs in:
Trump: Will He Implode with Lies Before He is Impeached?
https://dissidentvoice.org/2019/09/trump-will-he-implode-with-lies-before-he-is-impeached/
Posted by: Duncan Idaho | Sep 28 2019 14:33 utc | 94
Hint:
Pakistan will probably be the first major over the cliff.
Posted by: Duncan Idaho | Sep 28 2019 15:17 utc | 95
Kadath @ 77
Excellent summation. The US is not going to move its production away from China and China is not interested in changing its positive export relationship with US multinationals either.
The talk you hear to the contrary from both sides in the trade dispute is simply sabre rattling and negotiation positioning. Neither Trump nor China can win this trade war because there is no defintion of a win wrt trade relations except on a class based analysis. The upper classes in both countries win bigly through the current arrangement and the lower classes lose. Rearranging the trade relationship will not alter this truth although the upper classes will survive the fallout much more comfortably than the lower classes in any event.
This is the same truth as Brexit which will alter trading relationships but not the class-based dynamics of globalisation.
Posted by: donkeytale | Sep 28 2019 15:23 utc | 96
@83 pogohere... first off as @ 85 montreal notes, the astro is applicable to more then the middle east, but it seems that is where the war gods are making the most amount of noise at present.. i am not good enough to isolate location with the astro, although i am on record from way back maybe 8 or so years ago predicting 2020 might signal the end of saudi arabia... most of the astro is the saturn-pluto conjunction which happens every 35-40 years approx... my passing comments for late october are to do with mars squaring onto this conjunction.. so my comments are fairly general and somewhat specific.. the outer planets saturn-pluto are connected to war and hardship.. mars passing thru this saturn-pluto conjunction usually connect to some more immediate hostilities - especially by square..
@85 montreal... thanks.. yes, i agree with you and i want to downplay the significance of late october here.. my comments are more general as noted above... the whole window of time we are in going into 2020 characterize all of the movement towards war.. i am only picking off turning points here with mars in hard aspect passing thru the saturn-pluto conjunction.. the opposition between these two planets coincided with 2001 and 9-11... it just seems these planets bring out greater hardship on the planet and war is connected directly to this.. late october is another window into it all thanks mars position..
Posted by: james | Sep 28 2019 16:00 utc | 97
Re: Donkeytale #98 yes, the bottom line is that no one forced the US economic elite to offshore their industrial production to China in a series of corrupt trade deals. The US economic elite chose to do that and they bribed the US political elite into letting them do so. Even *IF* Trump/Bannon are successful in severing US & Chinese economic ties, the economic classes will just cut new corrupt deals with other countries and bribe the US political elite into accepting these new arrangements like they did with China. The only way to prevent this would be strong political leadership that strictly imposes and enforces laws on the economic elites (i.e. capital controls, domestic production requirements, etc...). However, I see no evidence of such systemic reforms being implemented so the moment Trump leaves office (in 1 year or 5 years) or stops paying attention and brow beating companies into compliance they'll simple revert to off shoring product again. Trump fancies himself a strong leader, but just like Obama he's surrounded himself with people serving different special interests who are constantly at war with each other and official Whitehouse policy. The main difference seems to be that Obama didn't care what his courtiers did as long as he was praised in the media 24/7, whereas Trump is despised by the Media but he relishes a fight so everything is done big and in public view which distracts people from all the crazy, contradictory policies his administration is officially taking.
Posted by: Kadath | Sep 28 2019 16:01 utc | 98
Sasha wrote:
Btw, it would be a good idea to move the "considered off-topic comments" ( of course when they are hardworked with multiple links included and are not pure oneliner nonsense...), to the last Open Thread
No way, José. Delete them and perhaps those commenters will learn to stay on topic or wait for open threads. This site should not be a free for all. The comment section is rambling and low information and noisy enough already due to the slow and steady onslaught of trolls. I'm getting to the point of wanting to write a Firefox extension to hide all commenters except a narrow list of Karlof1, Paveway, two or three others and b.
Trump "browbeating companies"? What I see is companies ignoring Trump whose "browbeating" is in fact merely posturing to his base through the fake news media. See GM and Harley-Davidson. Globalisation doesn't respons to domestic political rhetoric because there is no effective proce to pay. And especially when the political rhetoric such as Trumps' is all fake to begin with
His policies contradict his rhetoric is all. In other words Trump is just anothe rlying politician who can't deliver on his policies.
For instance the only "accomplishment" Trump has to show for 3 years in office is a huge tax cut for corporations and the wealthy which is SOP Republican dogma for decades since Reagan.
You give Trump way to much credit and act as if he is sincere.
Posted by: donkeytale | Sep 28 2019 16:40 utc | 100
The comments to this entry are closed.
You can add that the US has recently sent two (or possibly three) convoys of 100+ lorries into the Eastern part of Syria. Destination either the SDF, or the 16 US bases in East Syria. Not "humanitarian", but either more arms or ammunition.
Note that the Russians report yet another massive drone attack today. Is the US thinking of opening another "front" in Syria or setting up a "no-fly" zone to protect it's bases? (As well as a "safe zone for the Turks?) Which means, are they trying to handicap the extension of the Hmeymim airbase, by limiting fuel first?
(PS: Has anyone else been having problems getting RT.com?)
Posted by: stonebird | Sep 27 2019 17:17 utc | 1